“Can Franklin Graham save America? Meet the world’s next greatest evangelist… and find out how you can get a free gift worth $30.00.” With this question NewsMax.com begins the coronation of a new right wing conservative superstar. Not only is there the possibility that the right reverend Graham can save America but you can get a free gift worth $30.00. Here it is folks! Step right up and get yourself a ticket to the big show! See Franklin Graham ride in on a white horse, save the damsel (America) in distress and live happily ever after in the land of the free, the home of the brave with a Republican controlled white house, senate and congress, lower taxes, and all our enemies defeated!
Now who do you think this message is aimed at? Well that would be those who have the minds set on the things of the flesh. Who is that? That would be the person who feels that America is a Christian nation, built on Christian principles, by conservative Republicans, who keep the jobs plentiful, taxes down and the money flowing. At the heart of the individual who fits this profile is the mindset that we are at war with flesh and blood individuals, just like us. We are right and they are wrong. This mindset has caused the professing Christian to be a tool in the hands of right wing ideologues.
Romans Chapter Eight, Verse 5, in The New King James Version of the Bible, says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds of the things of the flesh, but those who live according the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Ephesians Chapter Six, Verse 12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” For some reason much of the professing church is not aware that Hillary Clinton and the “far left” are really not the enemy that seeks to kill us. And in fact that the nation of America is not what is at stake, but the souls of men and women all over the world, including our own. There is an enemy and he seeks to destroy every one of us. When we focus on each other as the enemy that takes the emphasis off him and we do the dirty work for him.
I know that some are already heating up the tar and pulling the chicken feathers out. There is probably nothing I can say to stop you but it will not stop the truth. As I’ve written before, the church has allowed itself to be duped into thinking that the battleground is in America and it is between the far left and the conservative Christians. But I beg to differ with that position. The fact of the matter is that there is one enemy of the lot of us and it is Satan and we would do well for a reminder of that very thing before it’s too late.
When we posit the battle between factions we lose objectivity and enter the state of confusion. 1 Corinthians Chapter Eleven tells us that there are divisions in the professing body of Messiah. The Apostle Paul says these divisions are not good. Men who have their minds set on the things of the flesh decide that they have the answer to removing the division and allowing unity in the body and ecumenism is born. The unifying factor is that it is the church against the world, instead of Satan against God and mankind. In 1 Corinthians Eleven Paul says there “must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.” The Greek word, translated as factions, means “heresies.” Paul is saying that there “must be heresies among you.” Heresy causes factions, as I’ve written in other articles, and results in division. But the church’s answer today is to set aside the various heresies and concentrate on a common enemy; the far left and the democrats who want to destroy our heaven on earth – America. But Paul says that the heresies should cause those “who are approved” to be “recognized among you.”
There is evil in the world. Hateful, violent, vile, putrid things are taking place at the hands of men. Abortion is murder, homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord, gay marriage and sexual molestation of children is abhorrent. But the professing church is playing right into the hands of the enemy in their efforts to keep these horrible atrocities from happening. But what the good conservative “foot soldier” seems to forget is that the one he is shooting as is in the sway of the enemy and the greatest weapon against Satan we have has been set aside for a self-righteous pea shooter that will allow him to kill the combatants on both sides.
In Luke Chapter Four the story of Satan tempting Messiah in the wilderness is recounted. Yeshua (Jesus) had just finished fasting for forty days and we read that “He was hungry.” The enemy comes along and tells Him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” We know Him to be the Son of God who could easily have performed this miracle and satisfied His hunger. But He did not. His answer: “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'” Then the ancient enemy of God and man showed Messiah “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time… and said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give you, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” Yeshua, the Living Word, answered him and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve.'” The third temptation came and Satan tried to make Messiah prove He was God by throwing Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. Satan went as far as to quote Scripture to the Messiah, using the same words that Yeshua used in His previous answers, “It is written.” Yeshua’s to the point reply, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord you God.'”
Satan offered Messiah food and the authority over the whole world, along with the chance to prove He was the Messiah by being shown at the pinnacle of the temple that Israel held in such high regard, and by casting Himself down and showing that He was not harmed would have sealed the deal. Israel would have welcomed Him as the Messiah. He would have shown Himself to be the one who could have conquered Rome and all the other enemies of Jerusalem. He was the Messiah they were looking for. The world would have been in the hands of Almighty God who could turn stones into bread to feed the poor and have the authority to end abortion, gay marriage, child sexual exploitation, and all the vile things that men do to one another. He would have ended Roman rule and the heavy taxation. Israel would have been free to live in the traditions of their fathers. Why didn’t Yeshua accept the offer from the enemy? Because of three words that He spoke in his answer to Satan; “It is written.”
Today, just as in the days of Yeshua’s incarnation, men tend to live circumstantially and subjectively, left to lean to their own understanding instead of what “is written.” We are so steeped in our fleshly perspectives that we are not hearing the voice of the Lord saying, “It is written.” In our zeal to get rid of all the things in the world that are in opposition to Him we leave His instructions to us out of consideration when we enter the battle. We’ve decided who the enemy is and how we are going to fight. We have decided to disobey the commands of our leader and begin to group together with those of like mind and fire at all those who differ from our faction. The old saying “Birds of a feather flock together” is true. But what they fail to realize is that they are all birds and all have the same ultimate fate.
The enemy has been at work since the beginning. He had a hand in the fall that got us in the mess we find ourselves in today by deceiving Eve. Eve, whether Adam did not teach her well or whether she acted purely on emotion, listened to the half truth of Satan and viewed the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” as something to be desired instead of an instrument of death, as God had said. I tend to fall to the opinion that emotion had something to do with it. Think about it. It is much like the temptation of Messiah. What was offered, on the surface, looked good. What is wrong with having the “knowledge of good and evil?” Wouldn’t that be a great help in everyday life? You would have wisdom to know what to do and what not to do and how to help others with those hard decisions in life. Why… you would be like God! Sounds good doesn’t it? You would be a hero to mankind. But the problem is that God did not say that. He said if you eat it you will die.
Being fully committed to the Truth of God’s Word – His commandments, is all we need to get through this mine field we call life. The reason that the world is full of violence and hatred is because men are lovers of self rather than lovers of God. The reason the church is impotent in making a difference in people’s lives is because, by and large, she has become a lover of self rather than a lover of God. The words of Yeshua in John Chapter 15 give us the direction we need in dealing with the world we live in. We are told by him that we cannot do anything without Him. But the church is fond of saying that they are feeding the poor in His name, casting out demons in His name etcetera, etcetera. But Messiah qualifies it by saying “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you.” He then narrows it down even further and says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” He then goes on to say, “whatsoever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Keeping the commandments is the key to obtaining what we ask from the Father. In His commandments we find His instruction for life. When we pray we ask Him to accomplish that in and through us. His causing us to walk in His commandments will result in victory in the areas of conflict that we face.
God’s instructions are His commandments. It is Torah. It teaches us how to live for Him, paints the picture of the real Messiah that we might recognize Him when He comes and in doing it we will be blessed. The Torah, lived out by a true believer in Messiah Yeshua, will make a difference in this world. Those who are living in poverty, sickness and disease will be able to see in such a believer that the Lord blesses, even in the middle of the storm. They will see one who is favored by the Lord and that will cause a hunger and thirst for the peace of God.
In Exodus 19:4-6, the Almighty tells Moses to speak to the people and say, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people’ for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” God reminds them of how He defeated Pharaoh and Egypt and set them free from a cruel taskmaster. The one who had killed their children and kept them enslaved to his economic system was crushed by Yahweh and the people were set free. Understand that freedom only came to the obedient ones. When God told them to kill the Passover lamb and smear the blood on the doorposts of their homes, only those who obeyed did not get a visit from the death angel. He is reminding them of that now, just prior to writing His commandments on tablets of stone. They will no longer honestly be able to leave it up to interpretation because God will say, “It is written.” And He is saying very clearly that these commandments are for good. It will cause the obedient ones to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation… and a special treasure to Me, above all people.” Now who wouldn’t want to be a part of that group of people? This sure doesn’t sound like a description of the professing church today, especially in America who is looking to a man to save it.
Church, we have strayed from what is “written” and that is why we have no power or authority in America. We have decided that our fellow man is our enemy and we’ve judged him and especially ourselves based on subjective commandments and doctrines of men instead of the loving instruction of our heavenly Father. We are powerless because, as Paul said to Timothy concerning those in the last days, we have a “form of godliness but denying its power.” The power, as Paul goes on to tell Timothy, is in the Holy Scriptures; able to make one wise unto salvation and to be complete for every good work. The Holy Scriptures are shown to be that of the Books of Moses (Torah) the Prophetic Books, and the other books of the Hebrew Scriptures. He tells Timothy to continue in what He has learned from the “Holy Scriptures” from “childhood.”
Do you want to have peace in your own heart, with God? Do you want to be used to make a real difference in this world? Then come to the Messiah, by faith in what He has already said and we know that “it is written.” The Book of Romans says that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” To the person who says, “I have faith in Jesus. I’m a child of God by grace. I love Jesus.” Well, and good, but where’s the fruit of that conversion? What can you point to that shows you love Him and abide in Him? Are you keeping His commandments, as He said one who loves Him would do? Consider the results of keeping His commandments: We have His love in us and are able to love one another. We are made complete for every good work, able to do things that make a difference in this world because they are what He desires and He does them.
If the church is so effective in her practices and traditions then why is the church reeling almost daily from her leaders falling away from God? It’s because, by and large, the church has forsaken what “is written” and has leaned towards its own understanding and in futility has separated off according to heresies. After separating according to heresies the professing church has said “let’s overlook the heresies and come together to fight the common enemy. It is those who don’t say they are Christians. They are the enemy.”
What deception the enemy has caused. We separate ourselves from those who don’t “see it our way.” And then we see that we’re in trouble so we come together and decide to overlook those things that we fought about and separated us because there’s a bigger enemy. The very beginning of the problem causing the separation came by deciding how we see it. Those who see it my way come with me. You take those who see it your way. And then because both groups, who see it their way, have not read what “is written” to learn how God sees it, we are doubly deceived when we can lay aside those differences and begin to fight the common enemy.
In this regard the professing church is much like the various factions in Islam. The Sunni’s fight against the Shiite’s and this faction against that faction, but then there’s Israel and the Great Satan, America, so they suspend fighting amongst themselves in order to take on the common enemy. It is the same in the church. You are my enemy because you don’t see it my way. We fight and quarrel and tear each other apart until the abortionists come along. And don’t forget those hated homosexuals. We then, in effect, say to one another, “You guys have it all wrong, but at least you say you are a Christian and these abortionists and homosexuals make even you look good, so let’s combine forces and wipe them out!” Yeshua said, “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” To see the plank we have to look at it the way God sees it, not the way we see it. Objective judgment is required, beginning with ourselves. The separation and error comes when we employ self righteous judgment. God’s commandments are the standard of righteousness by which we must judge and is the standard whereby we have unity. It is the age old decision of God’s righteousness versus self righteousness; our choice. When we decide to allow Him to be Lord and His Word to reign supreme in all matters we won’t be looking to any man to save America we will be looking to Messiah to set things right in us and allow us to be used to draw men to Him and not to us, and certainly not to a man or institution. We need to put the guns away, pick up our Bibles, learn and do what He says and allow Him to accomplish in and through us what He desires. If you call yourself a liberal Christian – stop it and become a biblical Christian. If you call yourself a conservative Christian – cut it out and begin to live as a biblical Christian. We need to put the guns away, pick up our Bibles, learn and do what He says and allow Him to accomplish in and through us what He desires. It is through faith in what “is written” that the mighty work of God’s grace in our lives accomplishes good.
