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I remember
hearing about a conference
that took place during the late 1980's where a gentleman attending
stood up from his seat and asked in a loud voice; "Why does God
want and demand that we love and worship Him? Doesn't that make God
proud and arrogant?"
You can probably imagine the awkward silence following this sudden
outburst. As a family member relayed this story to me, my immediate
response was "who cares? Jesus is Awesome! and I'm not going to hell
anymore"
Well, a few years later I was in my bathtub praying. As my mind
began drifting and I started getting sleepy, suddenly I became
alert. Honestly, I had not thought or cared about this mans'
question, but for some reason the answer came. |
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In Luke 10:18 Jesus
actually mentions an event that he witnessed in heaven. He sent
seventy men out two by two and they came back to Him joyfully
proclaiming "Lord! even the demons are subject to us in Your name".
Upon hearing this, it caused the Lord to reflect for a moment and
then looking at His disciples He said these incredible words
"I
saw satan fall like lightning from heaven".
What caused Satan to be cast down to the earth so quickly
that it resembled a flash of lightning? |
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Around 63 A.D. Paul sent
a letter to Timothy his 'son in the faith'. While instructing
Timothy on the qualifications of appointed Bishops he made the
statement in 1 Timothy 3:6 "He must not be a new convert, or he may
develop a high state of mind as the result of pride and fall into
the condemnation that the devil once did". Pride is the sin
that caused satan to fall from heaven like lightning.
Pride is a deadly sin. So deadly that it banished a perfect being
from heaven. (Ezekiel 28:14-18 & Isaiah 14: 12-16)
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True and absolute
humility are part of God's nature. It is a part of His brilliance
that we may never fully understand. God is the only
being capable of receiving the praise and honor of so many without
gaining an inch of pride.
However, we are not meant to receive praise, honor and glory from
men here on earth.
Placing our focus on God frees us from the trap of self infatuation and points us towards the path of true greatness. Humility.
The kingdom of God does not know or operate in this worlds' motive
of "self". That leaves us in a place where we have to literally reverse our way of thinking. |
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So, if the World will simply fade away,
then the kingdom that it produced MUST be the upside-down kingdom.
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John was a man who
walked with Jesus. He was with Peter and James on a mountain when
Jesus' face shone like the sun and the Father's voice thundered
"this is My son, in whom I am well pleased". (Matthew 17: 1-8) He
was there!
During His life he actually laid his head on the chest of the God
who spoke this entire world into existence! (John 13:23).
In his old age, John wrote these words
"Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone loves the
world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in this
world, the lust for sensual gratification, the greed of the mind,
the pride in ones own life, these do not come from the Father but
are from the world. This world will pass away and with it the
forbidden cravings and its passionate desires; but he who does the
will of the Father will live forever". (1 John 2: 15-17)
John knew that the world is the 'upside-down' kingdom.
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I put together a small flash
movie on this subject. Make sure that your speakers are working or the
movie will not make any sense. The song ties into the images. Click the
below link to view it (710 KB -
1:30)
http://www.united4truth.com/movies/misunderstood If your computer is
slow the audio sync may be out of place with the image effects. |
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When Jesus was asked by
His disciples "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He
responded "Whoever will humble himself like this little child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven". Matthew 18: 1-4
This is the nature of God. He himself did not come to the earth with
a 'kingly image' of power and authority to restore Israel. But "He
stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity and
took on the form of a servant". Philippians 2: 5-11
"He had no beauty that we should desire Him nor royal presence that
we should esteem Him". Isaiah 53:2 |
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One thing we all have
in common is that we presently reside here.
We were born here and we will die here
(If Jesus tarries).
We are all to familiar with this place ► and we all know its
favorite message i, me, i, me, i, me, and of course
i, and me.
If satan is called the prince of this
world and we know that pride and self importance caused his fall,
than it would make sense for him to try and trap us in the same way
that he trapped himself.
† "Do nothing out of selfish ambition
or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than
yourselves. Every one of you should not only look after your own
interests but after the interest of others. Let this same humble
mind that was in Christ Jesus be within you as well". Philippians
2:3-5
Though we are here and our minds and hearts are continuously
tempted to pursue this kingdom's treasures of "self pleasure".
Jesus said "Behold, the kingdom of God is within you".
Luke 17:20 |
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This battle rages within
our minds. Two separate kingdoms, with two separate views of life
and its purpose. We know the words of Jesus, but we also know the
message of this world.
Right now I challenge each and every one of us to take a deep,
piercing look into our hearts and minds. Dive down into your deepest
intention. Forget about the opinions of others and even your own
opinion about yourself.
If you were to step outside of your mind and heart and take an
objective look at the following issues dealing with 'self', what
would you see on the inside of you? |
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I come in many
forms. Sometimes I have a tendency to elevate people in the spotlight and
deep inside would like to be there as well. To be honest, I lie
when I say it doesn't matter what others think about me. Deep down I seek
to impress both God and man. I prefer to be viewed as a leader. I
feel a sense of importance if others are following me or at least paying
attention to me.
Right now I don't get much attention, but my day will come when others
will see my importance. And when they do I will give all the glory to God.
The Lord is just waiting to raise me up to a place of importance and
authority. When that happens, I will talk and they will all listen. In the
eyes of my friends and family I will be viewed with much esteem. It will
all come to pass soon. |
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My future is a
definite concern even though I say its all in God's hands. I guess I can
say that I live each day for tomorrow. Like the complaining Israelites I
save Manna for the next day and do just what Jesus said not to do, I store up treasure in my barn.
It is important to have a 'secure place'. Whether it be in my finances,
industry, a position in my church, really just life in general. I am like
the piece of a puzzle that needs to fit into a picture and remain there
unmoved. Safe and secure with my position in tact. I'll rebuke satan in a
hurry if someone starts moving around the pieces in my puzzle. But first,
I need to get my life and my ministry nice and in place. It will all come
to pass soon. |
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Even though I am a
Christian, it seems like I am always searching for happiness in different
places. I say Jesus makes me happy but sometimes I wonder how true that
really is.
I search for my own satisfaction in marriage, work, activities or even in
simple things like eating out or going to the movies. Almost like a junkie
in need of a 'fix'. I indulge in different things to deliver brief moments
of joy. Though I know God is real, the alternative things are far more
tangible. I preach that Jesus will fill you with peace but in reality I
find it through other means. To be perfectly honest, I think I am on an
endless quest seeking my own satisfaction? |
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If you could
pierce into my thoughts you would find that they all center around me. My
main concerns are myself and what I am or will be doing. I love personal
prophesies just as much if not more than a lost person enjoys a psychic
reading. My mind stays centered around my life here on earth. My future,
my family, my mate or future mate, my finances, my next car, my next house, my business, my calling, my ministry.
This is my life and it is extremely important. |
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The words Isaiah used to
describe GOD'S life on earth. Isaiah 53
"He had no form or kingly presence that we should esteem Him"
"He had no beauty that we should desire Him"
"He was despised, rejected and forsaken by men"
"He was a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief and sickness"
"We did not appreciate His worth"
"He was treated like one from whom men hide their faces."
Jesus calls us to surrender our lives here on earth for the promise
of a greater and longer-lasting life. He has called us out of a life
of self and into a life of service. He calls each and every
one of us to leave our own life behind and follow Him.
Matthew 10:37-39 |
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Take a look inside
of my heart and you will see that Spotlights here on earth mean little or
nothing to me. You will find that I recognize only one name worthy of
praise, honor and glory. When it was said that at the name of Jesus every
knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God
the Father, that made every other name including mine irrelevant.
Praise and honor from men repulse me. I have come to the conclusion that
recognition on earth is simply temporary and meaningless. If this life is
only a breath, then why should it matter if the other microscopic
drops of carbon dioxide honor and respect me for a few seconds until we
all disintegrate. Take a close look at my heart and you will see that it
beats to the rhythm of e t e r n i t y. |
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I have abandoned
the idea of 'myself'. Tomorrow is of no concern to me as long as I know I
am living for God today. I try to view my time and finances through the
eyes of Jesus. What would He do with my time? What would He do with my
money?
Look inside of my heart and you will find that I am genuinely more
concerned about helping others than helping myself. I don't care about any
position, place or have the need to fit into any puzzle. Throughout life I
am willing to be left in precarious positions where only God can come and
intervene. |
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When I feel myself
getting overwhelmed I turn to Jesus, not chocolate chip cookies.
I recognize the large number of temporal distractions I could so easily
fill myself with every day. But now, instead of indulging I find myself
fasting. |
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| I seem to be
continually stirred by a spirit of prayer. Whether it be for friends,
family, nations, political leaders or people who I just know need Jesus. I
can feel a deep and genuine love inside of me for others. Sometimes I
almost forget about myself. Almost like I don't even exist.
If you were to look inside of my heart I think
you would find that this love for others is sincere and genuine. Its not
simply to please God or other Christians. Put simply, I just love others
more than myself. |
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Do we mix
these cups?
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1 Corinthians 10:21 "You
cannot drink the Lord's cup and the demons' cup. You cannot partake of the
Lord's table and the demons' table.
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Reading the below story, imagine that
the cup on the left is filled with water and the cup on the right filled
with vodka..
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Sehran grew up in a
village named Teliah near the northern tip of Africa. He lived most
of his life with his mother, father, and five sisters. As a boy he
would race through open fields with his friends pretending to be a
lion chasing down antelope for dinner. He quickly gained a
reputation for his speed and long distance running after beating
boys twice his age in the annual 20 mile race in Teliah. |
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As he grew older his
father found a job for him with a local land owner herding sheep.
This pleased Sehran, though his mother was insistent that he make it
home each day before dark. Sehran usually had about 30 minutes to
make the 10 mile journey from his work back to his home each day
before nightfall. So every day after work he would run home to honor
his mothers request.
During this time his home town of Teliah began to experience
tremendous economic difficulty. Sandflies had spread a disease
killing over 90% of their local cattle herd. The town elders met to
discuss the disaster and any plans that might keep their community
alive. One of the elders had recently read an article in a sports
magazine about a 10 mile race that would take place in the United
States and the winner was set to receive $250,000. This elder was
the local land owner who employeed Sehran to herd his sheep. When he
told the other elders that the last winner of this race ran the 10
mile run in 28:36 and his employee Sehran probably ran 10 miles in
that time every day just to get home before dark; they all became
overwhelmed with excitement. Plans were made to purchase a plane
ticket for Sehran to get him to the U.S and enter him in this race. |
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When Serhan heard the
news his heart lept. He thought to himself, "this is what I was born
for! I will save the town!" Sehran made it to the U.S. and entered
into the 10 mile race. The race started and after only one mile he
was already in first place. He looked over to his left and noticed
two men. One held out a plain wooden cup and yelled "here, quench
your thirst!" The other held out an attractive golden cup and yelled
"here, quench your thirst!". His mouth felt a little dry and he was
intrigued by the pretty gold cup. So he grabbed the golden cup and
drank. It looked just like water but went down really strong.
However, it did provide a temporary relief to his dry mouth and he
enjoyed holding this beautiful cup in his hand, so on the next mile
when he noticed two more men holding two different cups yelling
"here, quench your thirst!" he went with the golden cup again. Two
miles down, eight to go... |
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Would drinking Vodka each
mile in a ten mile race have an affect on the outcome? Serhan may have
stumbled to the finish line, but he needed to win the race. The gold cup
was pretty, but his body needed water. He drank from the wrong cup. He
drank from the cup that instantly appealed to his senses. The cup that was
immediately gratifying.
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This is exactly what many of
us do with these two cups.
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Two cups that we drink from
together. The cup on the left is the message of God and eternity
while the cup on the right is preached by satan and this world.
"You cannot drink the Lord's cup and the demons' cup. You cannot partake
of the Lord's table and the demons' table. 1 Corinthians 10:21
When we drink from both cups it leaves us crippled in our lives as
Christians and in the lives of those who are affected by our witness. We
drink from the cup on the right because it is temporal and immediately
gratifying. It can be hard to see the value in the cup on the left. But,
deep down we know that it is the right cup to drink from.
What would happen if we were to drink from both cups? What would it look
like? |
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It would be an odd
blend.
Jesus would be proclaimed and exalted, but so would we. Priority
would be placed on pleasing the Lord as well as ourselves. We
would put money into missions and spreading the gospel, but would
also have a tendency to finance our own plans and kingdoms here on
earth. We would learn to love both the Lord and the things of this
world. We would preach eternity and pursue the temporary. It would
look almost bizarre to those on the outside. We would appear to be a
people who put on a show to sell something. Our words would not
match up with our actions leaving others confused as to who we are
and what our motivation really is. |
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take on a peculiar twist. Our homes could turn into status symbols
and objects of comfort, rather than need. We would dream of life in
heaven and a big house on earth. We could listen to a missionary who
works in Sudan talk about the Christian slaves in his country, some
of whom are being nailed to trees. Our hearts moved with compassion,
we would write a check for $500 to the missionary which would free
as many as 10 slaves in Sudan. The next day we could find ourselves
at a furniture store and spend over $2,000 on a leather couch to go
in our dining room. |
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The words in our music
would glorify God, but drinking from both cups would produce an
interesting mixture. 'Self' would creep in to produce an out
of balance show of performance and praise. We would praise God with
our lips but our minds and hearts would stray towards ourselves and
those around us. We would add a new dimension to the scripture
"These people come near Me with their lips but their hearts are far
from me." Matthew 15:8
'Image' could become increasingly important. We could find ourselves
falling into 1 Corinthians 1:29 "No flesh shall glory in My
presence". We would recite the scripture that God chose what the
world calls foolish to confound the wise, but would act like
He chose what the world calls wise to confound the wise. We could
easily end up seduced by the worlds golden cup version of "musical
success" and adopt it as our own as well. |
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Our ministries would
almost resemble corporations. Where CEO's are paid high salaries and
drive luxury cars. This mentality would creep into our ministries
and leaders of those ministries. Credit and recognition would be
displayed with our own name in big bold letters. We would forget the
words of Jesus by dismissing the possibility that they might
actually apply to us.
"I tell you, they have their reward in full already". Matt 6:5
Any brother or sister in the spotlight would immediately gain
respect and praise from fellow believers. Without harmful intent we
would elevate God and certain Christians. Like the world we would
end up producing our own idols amongst ourselves.
The irony in all of this is that the world would look at us and
laugh because they know that we're drinking from the same cup that
they are. |
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"After this I heard what
sounded like a mighty shout in heaven, proclaiming, praise the Lord!
salvation, glory, splendor, majesty, power, dominion, and
authority belong to our God!". Revelation 19:1
"God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all". 1 John 1:5
Our perfect creator who can measure this entire universe in between
his thumb and index finger, who loves us enough to "strip Himself of
all dignity (phil 2:7)" and die for us, gave us this instruction.
"Do not store and gather for yourself treasure on earth, where moth,
rust and worm can destroy, and where a thief can break in and steal.
But store and gather for yourself treasure in heaven, where nothing
can destroy, nor thief steal;
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Matthew 6:19-21
Our Heavenly Father wants us to get our eyes off of what we see in
front of us and turn our focus towards the unseen, eternity.
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Can we even begin to
realize how much God has given each of us?
Regardless of our circumstances here on earth, look at our
undeserving inheritance.
"While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us". We were all heading
here The darkness in our hearts would soon become an everlasting
physical reality when we die.
But we were met by a God who has such a deep love for each and every
one of us. So, instead of turning His back and leaving us to our
immorality, He "stripped Himself of all rightful
dignity" and died for us. |
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Now look at what we have
in front of us. And we did nothing but make the decision to follow
Jesus, where the burden is lighter than following the world anyway!
Peter said we are in search for new heavens and a new earth where
righteousness dwells. In this world where chaos and confusion
surround us, can we even imagine a place called paradise where
righteousness dwells.
In the same way that oxygen dwells here, righteousness will
dwell there.
Paul specially emphasized that this saying is true "If we have died
with Him, we will live with Him. And if we endure with Him we will
also reign with Him (2 Timothy 2:
11-12). Paul also tells us that
as God's adopted children, we are fellow heirs with Christ and "we
must share His suffering if we are to share His Glory".
(Romans 8:17) |
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What an incredibly loving and generous
God! What did any of us do to deserve this?
But, what an absolute tragedy it is when we compete with Him for the
praise and honor of His people here on earth... Can you imagine? It must
break His heart. He has unconditionally poured Himself out for all of us,
why do we feel the need to to take a little of His glory here? Especially,
when He wants to share it with us in heaven. Something we can all count
on. death.
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bought@united4truth.com
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In Isaiah 40 it states
that God can measure the entire universe in the span between His
thumb and index finger. The closest star to earth is over 25
trillion miles away... He can measure it all in His hand...
