06-30-2013
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD vs MY EFFORTS
Hebraic Thought
The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good
understanding” (Psalms 111:10).
Block Logic
“For this is what
the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Houses, fields and vineyards
will again be bought in this land”
(Jer. 32:15).
In the scriptures we
discover a difference in the way the Hebrew mind viewed things compared to
the
way many Westerners
relate to God. Hebrews used something called Block Logic. That is, concepts
were expressed in
self-contained units or blocks of thought. These blocks did not necessarily
fit
together in any
obvious rational or harmonious pattern.
Simply Obey
“But Naaman went
away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and
stand
and call on the
name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my
leprosy”’
(2 Kings 5:11-12).
Paul’s
Disagreement with the Prophet
“Coming over to
us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The
Holy Spirit
says, ‘In this way
the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him
over to the
Gentiles”(Acts
21:10-11).
Are You Horizontal
or Vertical?
“Woe to those who
are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight”
(Isaiah 5:21).
Many of us have been
trained to make decisions and respond to problems in a honzontal way instead
of vertical.
What we call the
Process, God calls the End, the Goal
“As the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts
than your
thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9).
Placing Trust in
our Strength
So the Lord sent a
plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead.
— (1 Chronicles
21:14).
3 Phase Obedience
“Jesus replied:
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your
mind. This is the
first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your
neighbor as
yourself’”
(Matthew 22:37-38).
Hearing God’s
Voice
Now Samuel did not
yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.
1 Samuel 3:7
When God Speaks
...”The Lord is
with you, mighty warrior”. - Judges 6:12
Hearing the Father
Speak
“My sheep listen
to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.“-
John 10:27
You Need Power
“But you will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”
(Acts 1:8).
Quote from Bible
teacher F.B. Meyer: 3 Things
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