The Silver Knife: Pastor Rajiv's Mid-Week Message

 

Self Will: Our Daily Reflection

"Thy will be done".

Saying this is easy but doing it is as hard as climbing Mt. Everest. 

A sixteenth-century doctor, Thomas Fuller, once said, "Beware of no man more than thyself." So true.

Yesterday we talked about how we try and force our will on God and our inherent rebellion. Isaiah 48:4 says - 

“Because I know that you are obstinate, And your neck is an iron sinew, And your forehead bronze..."

Our rebellious self-will is well known to God as well and there are numerous warnings in the Bible.

Overcoming self-will, to be able to do Gods will takes tremendous courage and strength. Where do we get this courage?

Simple: ASK God. He has already given all we need to know and remember in His word. Dwell in it.

Ask, Seek, Knock and keep knocking till you find the answer. But where is the door? It's the Bible and your prayer is your knock. Keep reading, keep praying.

The Rebellion: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

By nature, men and human have an undeniable religious impulse, but they also have an undeniable rebellion against God. What men want most is not the elimination of religion but want their own version of "religion". They say they want the kingdom, but they don’t want God in it.

If God wants to enter our kingdom, He better show some proof, and this is frightening, especially the emphasis on signs and wonders among some Christians is frightening.
Yet we look for signs, not remembering that when Moses and Aaron showed miraculous signs, so did the Egyptian magicians as did the cohort of Anti-Christ.

Why then do we rebel and ask for proof when our very lives are proof? God created us and invited us into His Heavenly Kingdom, yet we want to have our own kingdom, where we are the kings and queens and our wishes and desires reign paramount. My way or the Highway Lord!

And, if God wants to live in our kingdom, He better show some signs and miracles! Give me what I want. 

This rebellion can cost us heavily. The outcome of rebellions is frequently mentioned in the Bible -
1. Those who rebel are delivered into the hands of their enemies. Nehemiah 9:26
2. The rebellious dwell in a dry land. Psalms 68:6.
3. If you rebel against the Lord’s commandments, the hand of the Lord will be against you. 1 Samuel 12:14-15.
4. Rebellion can cut short your life and ministry.
5. The Holy Spirit will turn against you. Isaiah63:10.

And just to demonstrate how seriously God takes ourbrebellious acts here are some examples - 
Rebellious acts in the Bible
• Lucifer was cast out of Heaven. Ezekiel 28:11-19, Isaiah 14:12-14.
• Saul was removed from being king. Isaiah 13:16.
• Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Number 27:14.
• Jonah was swallowed by the big fish. Jonah 1:15-17.
• Judas Iscariot hung himself because he rebelled against Jesus. Luke 22.


Still want to rebel with your will ?


It is dangerous to rebel against the Kingdom of God, the Will and Word of God and to turn away from His plans, for there is no real liberty in rebellion. So, if you have rebelled against God, it is not too late. Our God is merciful. If you cry out to Him, He’ll save you. Psalms 107.

Which is the bigger wonder? Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

Which is the bigger wonder? Gods' faithfulness or our unbelief? 

He keeps his promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt him.

We are as continually vexed with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and disturbed with fears, as if our God were the mirage of the desert.

Yet as we read Isiaah we see He says -
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. — Isaiah 49:16

. “I have graven thee.” It does not say, “your name.” The name is there, but that is not all: our person, our image, our case, our circumstances, our sins, our temptations, our weaknesses, our wants, our works; He has graven us, everything about us, all that concerns us.

With this understanding will we ever say again that our God has forsaken us or forgotten us, when he has "graven" us upon his own palms?