I was thinking today about the multitudes of people who place God on trial,
trying to analyze, understand and fit God into their frail and limited human
understanding. I have been guilty myself of doing that. For a time in my
life I had stopped praying, frustrated that it seemed as if God wasn't
answering any of my prayers. But I eventually understood that it was a
sinful attitude for me to place demands on God. Friend, you cannot blackmail
God. You cannot demand that God show you a sign, or else you won't believe,
pray or serve him. God is not obligated to give us additional evidence that
He exists, cares, understands or loves us, than what He has already
provided.
We are taught in Hebrews 1:1-2 that God speaks to us in these last days through His Son (i.e., through the Word of God). That is why we are commanded by Christ Himself in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” God will not show you a sign, or answer a prayer as a condition for you to continue praying as every believer ought to do (Philippians 4:6-7; 1st Thessalonians 5:17). I admit that I regularly feel like God is ignoring me. David also felt that way. Psalms 44:23, “Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.” I am leery of professed Christians who claim that God always answer their prayers. That has not been my personal experience. My experience is that God never answers my prayers! I am just being honest. Some people are weird, thanking God for answering their prayer that the sun rose in the east this morning. In other words, they pray for things that would have happened anyway.
I will not give God credit for something that is not true. I am not saying that God never answers my prayers. I am saying that I feel like God never answers my prayers. That is why, for a time in the past, I stopped praying in protest to God. But the indwelling Holy Spirit convicted me, because the Word of God commands us as believers to “Pray without ceasing” (1st Thessalonians 5:17). If you feel like God answers your prayers, good for you, but that has not been my case. It could be that God has lovingly already met all my needs, so that I didn't need to ask Him for anything that He wants me to have (Matthew 6:7-8). It could be that some of my prayers were things God didn't want me to have (James 4:3). It could be that personal sin has hindered God from answering my prayers (1st Peter 3:7). Or it could be that God is testing my faith (Luke 18:1-8). My gut feeling is that it is the latter reason more than anything! But regardless of the reason, I am commanded to pray about everything and not to worry (Philippians 4:6-7).
Dear friend, shall that which is formed of clay question almighty God Who created us? I think not. Like Job, I have contended with God at times, wondering why He doesn't seem to help me out. But like Job, I realized that man cannot debate with God and win. Job 9:1-3, “Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.” I know BY FAITH in the inspired Word of God that God is just (1st John 1:9), that God is faithful (1st Corinthians 1:9), that God is good (Romans 2:4), that God cares about me (1st Peter 5:7), that God knows everything about me (Psalms 139:1-6), that God is holy (1st Peter 1:15-16), that God has a plan for my life (Romans 8:28-29), that God works in me (Philippians 2:13), and that God will never leave nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).
If we stop praying because it seems like God is not answering our prayers, it is because we are walking BY SIGHT. But the Bible teaches that believers should walk BY FAITH. 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:” To walk “by faith” means to abide in the Scriptures and take heed in obedience to them. John 17:17, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” The heathen world continually places God on trial. The Lord is not to blame for the sins of humanity. I saw a commercial on TV the other day for gourmet dog food delivered fresh right to your front door. Oh brother! Millions of humans are starving to death globally, while Americans order gourmet dog food for their pooch! How then dare we blame God for world starvation?
A man emailed me the other day, asking why God allows wicked politicians to continue committing evil? I replied that it is because WE THE PEOPLE do nothing to stop it. Thomas Jefferson rightly said: “Evil triumphs when good men do nothing.” Yes Sir! Most pastors today don't take a stand against evil. Do you think Hillsong, with their inclusion of the unrepentant homosexual community in their worship, please God? No way! The clergy has become a mere career, instead of being a divine calling from God. Before joining one of Hillsong's apostate churches, I'd rather join The Kitty Poo Club! These are apostate times. 2nd Timothy 4:34, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Hillsong is part of the Luciferian fulfillment of occultist Alice Bailey's Externalisation Of The Hierarchy (i.e., the revealing of the New World Order to the world). The following shocking quote from Alice Bailey ought to alarm every born-again Christian in the world. Here I explain the satanic meaning and dark agenda set forth by Mrs. Bailey in the following disturbing quote...
The Christian church in its many branches can serve as a St. John the Baptist, as a voice crying in the wilderness, and as a nucleus through which world illumination may be accomplished. I indicate the hope. I do not assert a fact. Its work is intended to be the holding of a broad platform. The church must show a wide tolerance, and teach no revolutionary doctrines or cling to any reactionary ideas. The church as a teaching factor should take the great basic doctrines and (shattering the old forms in which they are expressed and held) show their true and inner spiritual significance. The prime work of the church is to teach, and teach ceaselessly, preserving the outer appearance in order to reach the many who are accustomed to church usages. Teachers must be trained; Bible knowledge must be spread; the sacraments must be mystically interpreted, and the power of the church to heal must be demonstrated.
...There is no question therefore that the work to be done in familiarising the general public with the nature of the Mysteries is of paramount importance at this time. These Mysteries will be restored to outer expression through the medium of the Church and the Masonic Fraternity, if those groups leave off being organisations with material purpose, and become organisms with living objectives. [emphasis added]
SOURCE: Alice Bailey, The Externalisation Of The Hierarchy, pp. 510, 514
Did you get that? Alice Bailey said that apostate churches would PRESERVE THE OUTER APPEARANCE in order to reach the religious masses with Luciferian ideologies. In other words, to deceive the world (Revelation 12:9). That is exactly what Hillsong, Elevation Church, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Rick Warren, Pat Robertson, TBN, Joel Osteen and all the other wishy-washy ecumenical apostate mega-churches and televangelists are doing today!!! They have a combined following of several hundred million people, all being led into the Devil's New World Order, preparing the masses to receive the coming Man of Sin, the Antichrist. Ecumenism is of the Devil. Truth divides, error unites.
Take a look at this creepy scene of Kanye West dancing on stage at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. Did you see the giant All Seeing Eye? This evidences what I just taught you, about Luciferians infiltrating the churches to promote the New World Order. The way that Satan accomplishes this is through social, clergy, legislative and media pressure upon churches and pastors to go along with the wicked politically correct agendas of our time (e.g., gender inclusion, homosexuality, women preachers, Black Lives Matter, trans-genders, cancel culture, et cetera). Political correctness is destroying America!
God is not to blame for the mess that our world is in today! If professed Christians in the churches cannot even get their act together, then how can we expect the unbelieving world to do so? God has placed the responsibility upon every Christian to share the Gospel with the lost (2nd Corinthians 5:20; Mark 16:15), to let our light shine before men that they may glorify God (Matthew 5:16), to abide in Jesus (John 15:1-5), to depart from iniquity (2nd Timothy 2:19), et cetera. It is not our place to question our Creator. I am just a vessel of clay. Humans are so frail, easily offended, peculiar creatures and prone to foolishness, aren't we.
I was just thinking about how trust takes years to earn and only seconds to lose. The Bible says that a good name is rather to be “CHOSEN” than great riches, and loving favor “CHOSEN” rather than silver and gold (Proverbs 22:1). We all make our CHOICES! I choose to earn people's trust and loving favor. I choose to have a good name. I have excellent credit. I worked hard to build it up over the past 30 years. I have a safe driving record, which I have been careful to maintain. I choose to be honest, tell the truth, give away rather than squabble over money, and to live in such a manner that I can always have a clear conscience with nothing to hide. I love what Pastor Jack Hyles said: “If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” Yes Sir!
I sometimes don't feel like praying, because I feel like I am wasting my time, but then I am reminded that a Christian walks BY FAITH and not BY SIGHT. If I believe the Bible (and I 100% do), then I must pray, because prayer is one of the believer's seven pieces of weaponry and armor (Ephesians 6:12-18). My constant chronic neck pain afflicts me all the time. It is hard to be spiritual when you are in pain. God knows that I do pray regularly, but I do it out of duty, and not because I feel that God answers my prayers. I have prayed for God to bless my web visitors over the years. But Google has censored my websites, reducing my web traffic by 85% over the past 5 years. That discourages me. So I had to leave it in the Lord's hands and trust Him, believing that quality is more important than quantity.
I just received a precious email this week, from a young Christian girl in Indiana who has decided to attend Crown College in Powell Tennessee, where I suggested she go. I am very proud of her. Another young man's parents contacted me last year, to let me know that I and Pastor Jack Hyles are his heroes. They asked if I would send him a letter. So I prepared a gift package and mailed it to him, with a “Jesus” cap, a Christian CD, a hand written letter, and I think I included a hard copy of “I Never Knew You” by Michael P. Bowen. I cannot remember all the contents. I cherish these testimonies from web visitors. I am just a humble broken sinner, serving God with the broken pieces of my life (Acts 27:44). I give Jesus the praise, credit and glory for anything good accomplished through my internet labors.
I like to be open and transparent with my web visitors, not pretend that I am some great warrior of the faith. I get tired and discouraged like everyone else. One of the things that amazed me about Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) is how he kept going over the decades, hanging in there and not changing. Whereas other pastors were resigning, he was re-signing. Whereas other pastors were quitting, he was always building. Whereas other preachers were no longer standing, Brother Hyles kept standing for the BOOK (the inspired King James Bible), the BLOOD (Jesus' liquid blood sprinkled on the heavenly Mercy Seat), and the BODY (the importance of local New Testament churches). I admit that at times I feel like throwing in the towel. I don't get paid anything for my labors and don't want anything. I do what I do because there is a cause! Hell is still burning with fire, and a new generation needs to hear the Gospel, and God is still using my voice to help people for Christ. How can I quit? There is a call from Heaven, a call from earth, and a call from beneath in Hell.
As believers we are taught in the Bible to walk BY FAITH and not BY SIGHT. Oftentimes we won't be able to understand God or the reasons why things happen, but God is always good and faithful. When we cannot see the HAND of God, we ought to trust the great HEART of God. Our Lord knows the way through the Wilderness, all we have to do is follow. I do not claim to be a gifted writer. I do not claim to be a good Christian. But I do spend time walking with God. I said that I stopped praying for a time in my life, but I have never stopped walking with my God. I talk to God all the time. So when I say “prayer,” I mean that for a time I stopped asking God for things. Prayer is asking, as Dr. John R. Rice rightly preached. It is a sin not to pray. Worrying is a sin. I am committed to praying from now on, regardless of how I feel, because I trust in God. Jesus said in Mark 11:22b, “Have faith in God.” Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The Christian life is lived by faith, not by sight.
I am just clay formed from the earth, but God is the Potter. Isaiah 64:8, “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” It is not my place, nor anybody else's rightful place, to put God on trial or question Him.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
