Growing Closer to God PT17

John Bevere told of a Pastor friend’s prayer experience. He stated that his friend, the Pastor, was praying for someone alone in his office during his usual prayer time. This Pastor had been praying for his friend for some time that he would simply surrender to God. The Pastor did what I have been encouraging you all to do. He prayed and fasted, but not all stories have a happy ending. During his time in prayer the Pastor told John Bevere that he heard God tell him to stop praying for this particular friend. Confused he asked God as to why and God stated this way: Because he made his mind up already; you’re wasting your time you have to let him go.

The man in question was still alive. The question I ask you is: How would you feel if you were in this Pastor’s shoes? Would you believe God would say something like that or would you continue to hit your knees in vein? Paul addresses this question in our next few verses. Some use these verse to explain predestination, which is a large word for God saves who he pre-chose and no one else. I caution you in that as we move forward because with that assumption we move into the removal of free will and into dictatorship and while there is no love in a dictatorship there isn’t any power there either. We believe that God has the power to keep us unto himself, but like a gun left in the safe if it’s not weilded it is of no use to you.

Last week we dealt with the Jewish believers and their position in Christ. Paul goes onto defend the rightouness of God because some were asking why would God turn his back on His nation.

Romans

Romans 9:14–18 ESV

What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

What does this have to do with John Bevere’s words. First lets take a look into Pharaoh’s heart. We see two people with with the same past and different futures when we look at Moses and Pharoah. Moses and Pharoah were both murders. They were both sinners in the eyes of God. Moses grew up as one of Pharaoh’s children although he was adopted. They had access to the same education. They ate the same foods and sat in some of the same places. Yet when confronted with their sin both had differing reactions. We know that sin inevitably hardens our hearts towards the way of God. When you walk in purposeful willed sin you begin the process of callocing your heart. When God rebuked Moses Moses humbled himself before God and sought forgiveness. When God rebuked Herod Herod dug his heals in deeper.

When one of my kids gets angry I know how to calm their anger, but I also know how to add fuel into the fire making them more resistant to what I want them to do.

There is a great theological battle over these verses: But this is what I believe to be true. You may believe different and that is ok, however, I believe through studying of the scriptures that when God was hardened Pharaoh’s heart it wasn’t God causing Pharaoh to sin, but rather if you read through the Greek and the Hebrew in this case you will find that God gave Pharoah over to his own will. Meaning God allowed Pharoah’s own demons to tourture his mind. We see this in Solomon when he was greatly perplexed and called upon David to to play the harp. This settled the demons in Solomon’s mind.

If it’s still fuzzy let me put it another way: The reason we have Atheists today is because there are Christians. Even if you reject the idea of God you cannot escape Him. The bible says he is everywhere all the time.

That’s why you won’t find Atheists in hell. Hell is the complete removal of the presence of God. When you remove all forms of goodness on evil remains. We know that through the sin of Adam God removed his presence from the Earth except through Israel and though Christ his presence is extended to us.

God retracted his presence from Pharoah in such a way that he was overtaken by evil. Notice: Once the plagues came and Moses, representing the presence of God, came Pharoah’s heart bent toward doing right, but as soon as Moses left his heart changed the demons could continue their torture.

I believe there are times when God gives people over to their own desires. They have callosed their hearts to the point that they no longer sense God anywhere. I have seen this in both backslidden Christians and non-Christians alike. There is a point where we seem to make a decision and no one will change your mind.

In Earthly terms: It’s like when we get into an argument. You argue your point so passionately and so forcefully because you know you are right, until you find out your not. Most people at this point realizing they are too deep in the argument to turn back continue arguing even though you are wrong. This is just to save face because our pride won’t let us say sorry. I was wrong. Many people think this cut off comes at the death of a person, but there are cases where people made up their minds and hardened their hearts to the point for all intents and purposes they are dead even though they walk, talk, and breath.

Today’s modern Christian may have a problem with this because God is love. However we have discussed before that because of God’s love he is also judgement.

So what do we do with

Romans 9:16 ESV

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Understand everything depends on God. If anything depended on us we would be God. Because God decided there would be grace we are allowed to walk in grace. God had to descide to be gracious and he determined the parameters in which to receive his grace.

He could have given grace to everyone—even those who didn’t want it. But as someone once said: If you didn’t want God on Earth why would you want him in eternity. Where is the love of God without the discipline and judgement of God. If everything was acceptable to God how many more people would be walking around with STD’s, bruises, missing parts. If there was no line between good and evil and all was accepted we would have torn each other apart years ago.

So God in his infinite wisdom set perimeters knowing full well not everyone would accept those parameters. Knowing this would cause eternal seperation between the creator and some of his creation.

Does this make God bad? No, it increases his goodness. There are times I would love nothing more than to take my wife on a date but can’t because we couldn’t find a babysitter. I could leave my kids to their own devises knowing they would either tear eachother apart destroy the house or both, but because I love them I sacrifice my desires for their well being.

God does the same thing.

1 Timothy 2:3–4 ESV

This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

All people. In order for all people to be saved all boundaries would have to be ignored. So God has to be equal parts love and equal parts judgement. He has to sacrifice his desires for all people to be saved in order to have people left to save.

That’s why a decision has to be made.

Joshua 24:15 ESV

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Choose this day whom you will serve. There is a line. It can be crossed. But with that line comes hope.

The hopeless when crossing that line can find hope. The lost can be found. The one that left the 99 can be brought back. The prodigal is allowed to return. This is amazing grace. This is love. a God who doesn’t have to love you gave you the ability to feel his love. How awesome is that? We shouldn’t be questioning the rightousness of God we should be basking in it, soaking it up. Allowing it to overtake us.