Hebrews 1: Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. ...
As we watch our country almost self destruct every day, we begin to realize that all is not as it seems. We see one person who seems to be making decisions for what is right do an interview and then a week, or even a day later, another person who is deeper in the state of things comes out and reveals that he or she has been behind the scenes all along. We begin to think ‘I can’t trust anything I hear anymore.” That is probably true to a certain extent and the amount of distrust in our leaders begins to invade other areas of our life. A leading and early writer of many of the Hillsong Church in Australia’s worship songs gave up his faith about 6 months ago. His denial of his faith rocked the worship music world. Here is some of his quotes from a story that was on CBN news.
Marty Sampson, a worship music writer, singer, and active member of Hillsong has publicly denounced his faith on social media. His announcement comes just weeks after well-known Christian author Joshua Harris announced his departure from Christianity, both sharing their news over Instagram. Sampson, who has notably written songs for Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United, Delirious and Young & Free, shared a now-deleted post to Instagram, explaining how he is “losing” his faith. Sampson was quoted in an interview in Relevant Magazine as saying “Time for some real talk. I’m genuinely losing my faith, and it doesn’t bother me. Like, what bothers me now is nothing. I am so happy now, so at peace with the world. It’s crazy. So who’s in the shadows, in the background of all of this? I don’t believe it is God causing this to happen. We all go through times of testing and get assaulted by Satan and if he can cause another believer to fall it will be a great victory for him. You may notice that Sampson said “I am so happy now, so at peace with the world.”
Jesus prayed for his disciples in John 17, knowing that they would have to deal with Satan at almost every step. The following scripture is part of that prayer. John 17: 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. This young man from Hillsong possibly had some doubts about what he sees on a daily basis. You can bet that this prayer Jesus voiced to God surely applied to the doubts and straying of disciples then and now.
The Hebrews scripture above speaks to where we get our power and just who Jesus was and is and we need to keep in mind that everything about us is all about Jesus, the Son of God. The following verse from that scripture explains a lot about who is behind the scenes for us. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. ...
Further in John 17 in Jesus’ prayer He says verse 22 “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!
We have the glory of God in our lives and we have this relationship with God and it is found through Jesus. If you have received Christ by faith let that relationship grow you closer to God through Jesus. That way in the doubting times and when the world has tempted you to believe in its teachings, you can look at it and see that Satan is in the shadows trying to make another disciple fall. But God is in the mix and causes us to be at one with Him and with each other and that fellowship is very powerful. We must continue to develop it. Our relationship with God is meant to be a super close relationship and the Holy Spirit helpis us develop it so we won’t fall away like some do. Paul wrote this to his “son in the faith” Timothy in 1 Timothy 4: Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. Paul knew from experience the powerful spiritual battle Timothy was going to face. Be aware that we are all fighting that battle and we need to keep close to God through Jesus so we can continue to keep the faith.
It comes down to this. Who is on the throne room of your heart? If it is not God then you are compromised and you are at a time of crisis. You need to run to God and experience the strength to handle the things the devil throws at you. Turn to God and do not turn to the world. Jesus was offered many things by the devil when he was in the wilderness and Satan used lies, pride, and position to try and trip up Jesus, but Jesus did not fall for it. Praise God. When the world turns on you, turn to God!! We are God’s children and Paul wrote this in Romans 8: 15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.[a] Now we call him, “Abba, Father
The Pilgrimage continues……
David Warren
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