This post is the third part of a trilogy that I have created from posts that were shared a number of years ago. This article, ‘Have We Forgotten God?’ was originally posted in March 2020.
Let us begin:
I wish I could convince everyone who is reading this article to purchase a copy of Ray Ortland’s commentary on the Book Of Isaiah.
Christine and I are currently reading the Book of Isaiah, using Ortland’s commentary, for understanding, as we proceed through the scripture.
His explanation of the words of Isaiah are incredibly relative to the times in which we live.
Every night we find ourselves in agreement with what the prophet Isaiah was saying to, and about God’s people, and to the surrounding nations because it is applicable to what we were witnessing in our own nation at this time.
[It is amazing how much the prophet said that spoke clearly to the time in which we were living then[2020], and the time in which we are living now[2024].] (additional comment mine)
I am so grateful for the Body of Christ that prays, seeks the Lord, and shares their heart to encourage fellow believers and also stirs non-believers to consider Christ.
As I have read and reflected upon a number of posts on Facebook, I have found myself pondering the following truth.
‘God is sovereign’, therefore, completely in control of what our world experiences.
I do not say that glibly to sugar-coat our current situation regarding the caronavirus. God is Sovereign. It has always been that way and will always be that way.
That is absolute reality.
A few nights ago, Christine and I were discussing the Sovereignty of God. She was looking at a map of the world that was showing all the places on the earth where COVID-19 had been identified.
That raised an obvious question?
Father, what are you saying to humanity?
Hence, the title of this blog, Have We Forgotten God?
In the Book of Isaiah, God’s people were giving lip service to God but they were following after other gods, specifically idols.
Let me digress for a moment. For the past several days, I have been revisiting previous thoughts regarding end times: things I have pondered, read about, talked about with the Lord, and even shared with others on occasion.
I am NOT seeking to be prophetic, or a prophet.
What I am trying to embrace and comprehend is the reality of what I believe about the Sovereignty of God.
What we profess as the Body of Christ, is absolutely TRUE! I know that. As believers, we can look back over our lives and recall incidents where we have stood in awe ,realizing that the Sovereignty of God was present in our circumstance, for which we are grateful and thankful for every one of them.
We have read the Word of God and seen the Sovereignty of God at work in the nation of Israel, and other individuals throughout pages of scripture.
B.U.T. (Believer Understand This), how many of us have seen the Sovereignty of God, up close and personal, like we are witnessing at this time in our lives?
I know God is real, and most of you who are reading this blog, know that too.
Because we know, for a certainty, God is Sovereign, we are at peace.
Jesus said to His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” [John 16:33, NKJV].
Where was Jesus headed ? To the cross.
He had just finished the Passover meal with His disciples and shared with them His final words before praying to His Father (John 17).
Consider that prayer!
Does it reflect that Jesus knew His Father was Sovereign.
Absolutely, He was in His Father’s Hands, and so are we, in Christ.
{I am inserting the following.}
{Yet, in spite of that ‘knowing’, He wrestles vehemently with the will of His Father that lay before Him. Yes, He is the Son of God; but He is also the Son of Man.}
{He, Who knew no sin, was going to become sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. He had never experienced that before. }
{What was the result of that experience? }
{Matthew 27:46, NKJV, “And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” this is, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” “}
{This was the first and only time the Father and the Son had ever experienced total separation. They were willing to do that between themselves; so that you and I would not have to experience that separation from God, the Father, because of our sin nature. This is God’s love for you.}
{He embraced the will of His Father, went to the cross, shed His blood for the forgiveness of sin, and cried out, “It is finished”.(John 19:30)}
{Luke 23:46, NKJV, says, And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.” As I have heard it taught, Jesus didn’t have His life taken away from Him, He was in control and relinquished it.}
{The work that was set out for Him before the foundation of the world was complete. He committed His spirit to His Father, and died. He was buried and three days later He was resurrected from the dead, just as He said. (Luke 24:5-7)}
Returning now to the original post:
However, I am sure that there are many believers, in Christ, that do not have that ‘knowing’ certainty and are not at peace but are experiencing fear, anxiety, stress, and uncertainty.
Do I have it perfectly all together? Absolutely not; but “… I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that what I have committed to Him until that Day (the Day of His glorious Return).” [2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV] (parentheses mine).
Our God is Eternal. He existed before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-14).
Our God knows exactly what He has purposed for this world from the moment of the inception of creation to the final moment of its existence when He ushers in His eternal Kingdom.
What we are experiencing is part of that eternal purpose.
The truth is that every moment of our lives is part of His eternal purpose.
But some of you might be saying I don’t like what is going on.
That was an issue God addressed with His people through the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 45:9, “Woe to him who strives with his Maker!…Shall the clay say to him who forms it. ‘What are you making?’ [NKJV]
I am not trying to be harsh. I am trying to come to grips with the Reality of Who God is.
Isn’t this the lesson of Job?
This type of discussion has always been a part of the dialogue between God and mankind.
This topic has been brought before the Lord by multitudes of people throughout history.
As gracefully as I can say it, it’s not about us, it’s about Him, God.
It’s about, “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one, For Yours is the kingdom and power and glory forever. Amen.” [Matthew 6:9-11 NKJV]
Disruption within humanity is not new; it began in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned; and the consequences of that disruption of disobedience permeate the history of humanity.
Incidents of pandemic diseases have been many. I am not minimizing their devastation or thinking lightly of what is happening at this time in our world.
The world as a whole has virtually come to a stop.
People are looking for answers; governments are looking for solutions to provide relief; and scientists are scrambling to find a cure.
People are praying, believers and non-believers(I am sure).
Who are they praying to?
Multitudes are praying to the One True God, the Creator, the Sovereign God of the universe; others are praying, hoping, that something or someone will hear and intervene. And some, say there is no god, and do their best to cope.
Unfortunately, as we have seen, some ignore what is going on claiming that the epidemic is no big deal.
But the truth is, it is a big deal.
And ,the fact is, there is a God in heaven.
He is the Sovereign God of His universe.
How easily it is for Him to allow things to take place to show us that we are incapable of living,( i.e. existing) without Him.
Maybe that is the issue!
Humanity as a whole has so ignored God that He has allowed circumstances to be such that brings our life ,as we know it to a screeching halt, and says, “Remember Me”.
What grace, what mercy, what love, to step in, and turn our attention to Him.
I am so thankful that in spite of our arrogance toward God and our dismissal of God from our daily lives, God has been long-suffering and tolerant with us.
I know that one Day that will no longer be true.
God’s people experienced that; it is recorded in the book of the prophet Amos.
See Amos 7: 1-9.
Quoting the notes from my Study Bible regarding verse 8, it says, “The time of forgiveness has passed, and judgment is approaching. Amos has no opportunity to intercede for the people. Their fate is sealed.”
One day, the fate of all humanity will be sealed too when the Lord Jesus Christ returns. Have we reached that point? I do not believe so; but then, I am not God, and no one knows the hour of Christ’s return.
Jesus told us to remember the ‘days of Noah’.
What was going on then?
People were living their lives, eating and drinking, but were ignoring the building of an ark, a place of safety.
Are people today so absorbed with their lives that they are ignoring God’s ark, the Lord Jesus Christ?
In Noah’s day the rains came and the whole earth was flooded; only those in the ark were saved.
God had shut the door to the ark; those outside the ark fate was sealed.
Let me ask this question, What is God doing?
Answer: God is doing what He has always been doing, working out His eternal plan of salvation.
God is awakening His Church, and the world (i.e. all of mankind) to His existence, giving His Church the opportunity to share the love of God with a hurting world; but you say that has always been the plan; absolutely, but like Israel, the Church has ‘failed’, or shall I say, ‘fallen short’ of what the Lord Jesus Christ wants His Church to be and do.
Has the church in America become a Laodicean church?
Please read, Revelation 3:14-22
{I am inserting the following}
{What is our response to the indictment of the Lord to this church?}
{Question: Does the church in America see itself as ‘rich’, ‘wealthy’, and in ‘need of nothing’? }
{That’s a dangerous place to be?}
{Jesus says, let Me tell you what I see. You, “do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked–” }
{Many believe that the Laodicean Church represents a picture of the church prior to the Lord’s return.}
{To me the words that Jesus uses regarding the nature of this church is that they are ‘homeless’ and ‘Fatherless’: meaning that the church is out of Biblical fellowship (1 John 1:5-10) with the Father.}
{Jesus instructs His church what to do}
{re- read verse 18, and heed His counsel.}
{Verse 19 reminds us of His love for us; and because of that love, He has come to rebuke and chasten His church.}
{The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ does not leave us hopeless. He is the Head of the Church.}
Remember Hebrews 12:3-6, NKJV, “For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discourage in your souls. And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” “
Returning now to the original post:
To use the words of the Message, the Lord is calling His Church to ‘account’ for their behavior and tells them to repent. The Lord is getting His Church ready for a mighty work.
Do you want to be used by the Lord in this mighty work?
I believe that the Lord is going to manifest Himself mightily through the Word of His Gospel, confirming the Word with signs and wonders.
This is not new; it has been noticeably absent in the church of the western world.
However, in order for this to happen, the church needs to embrace:
2 Chronicles 7: 12-14
First repentance, then revival, followed by reformation-a new great awakening.
Only then will the church be equipped and ready to take the Good News of the Gospel to the darkened hearts of humanity.
I Thessalonians 1:5-6 says, ” For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in the assurance, as you what kind of men we were among you for your sake. And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, “
May the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ,repent, be revived, and arise to take the Gospel to a hurting world.
a brother in Christ, deo