This is Part
1 of the teaching : "Are you presently in Heaven or Hell?"Be blessed as you allow THE TRUTH, THE WAY and THE LIGHT to set you
free from yet more preconceived ideas that you've accumulated in
today's lukewarm Christianity.
My
Friend, ARE You presently in heaven or hell??? Have you DIED and gone
to heaven or are you still experiencing hell on earth? Are you
presently living in the Kingdom of God OR Kingdom of Darkness? These
are just some of the questions we are going to discuss in this
teaching.
Part
1: Have you really DIED and gone to heaven?Or are you still very alive, and zealously trying to save your life?
Well
after reading 1 King 22:1-40 I can only say one thing... God truly
is in full control of what is happening in this world! How immature
of us to think that we can manipulate and control Him! HIS WILL, WILL
BE DONE and there is NOTHING that we can do about it. He is working
everything out according to HIS WILL. As I was reading the above
mentioned piece of scripture I was amazed to see just how God used
ordinary soldiers, prophets [today we'll call them preachers], and
angels [spiritual beings] to make sure that HIS WILL be done
regarding king Ahab's death. Take note: Because of Ahab's DISOBEDIENCE, God wanted Ahab dead, and He
made sure that HIS WILL BE DONE! Step by step GOD created a master
plan that would lead Ahab to his death, and there was NOTHING Ahab could do to save his life.
Just
how did God do it? And WHY did He want Ahab to die?
Well,
just how did God get Ahab to do what He wanted? Just listen to
this... God used 400 prophets to prophesy FALSLY! Yes, God ALMIGHTY
made sure that 400 of His own people’s leaders told King Ahab
exactly what he wanted to hear! “Ahab called about 400 prophets
together and asked them, 'Should I go to war against Ramoth in Gilead
or not?' [Take note: That was what he wanted to do.] They answered,
'Go, because the Lord will hand them over to you.'(Verse 6)" Amazing,
isn't it?
Even
when the king of Judah asked for another prophet's opinion, and he
[Michaiah] prophesied the exact opposite, Ahab [king of Israel] still
refused to listen to him. Take note: Ahab chose to believe WHAT HE
WANTED TO BELIEVE, because he wanted things to go HIS WAY/wanted to
STAY IN CONTROL over his life. So he ignored Michaiah's warning and
went ahead with his plan.
But
let's start at the beginning of the story that will definitely blow
away any pre-conceived ideas that you may have about God's character
as THE ALMIGHTY GOD!
(verses
1-5)
“For
three years there was peace between Israel and Aram.
During
the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to visit Ahab king of
Israel.
At
that time Ahab asked his officers, 'Do you remember that the king of
Aram took Ramoth in Gilead from us? Why have we done nothing to get
it back?'
So
Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat, 'Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth
in Gilead?'
'I
will go with you,' Jehoshaphat answered. 'My soldiers are yours, and
my horses are yours.'
Jehoshaphat
also said to Ahab, 'But first we should ask if this is the Lord’s
will.' [That was when Ahab called 400 Israeli prophets together and
they prophesied 'Go, because the Lord will hand them over to you.']
Now,
was it the Devil who forced the 400 prophets to lie; or were they
just corrupt??? Did they lie just to please Ahab? NO my friend, IT
WAS GOD WHO MADE SURE THAT THEY PROPHESIED EXACTLY WHAT AHAB WANTED TO HEAR!
How
dare I say that? Let’s read verse 19 and look at the vision Micaiah
saw:
“But
Micaiah said, 'Hear the message from the Lord:
I
saw the Lord sitting on His throne with His heavenly army standing
near Him on his right and his left.
The
Lord said, 'Who will trick Ahab into attacking Ramoth in Gilead
where he will be killed? [Take note: God spoke to his heavenly
army!]
Some
said one thing; some said another.
Then
one spirit [spiritual being/angel] came and stood before the Lord
and said, 'I will trick him'.
The
Lord asked, 'How will you do it?' The spirit answered, 'I will go to
Ahab's prophets and make them tell lies.'
So
the Lord said, 'You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.'
Then
Micaiah said, 'Ahab, the Lord has made your prophets lie to you, and
the Lord has decided that disaster should come to you. [because of your disobedience against Him]."
Well
Ahab chose NOT to believe Micaiah, the prophet that he hated. But WHY
did he hate him? Why was Micaiah not one of 'his' own prophets?
Well
when king Jehoshaphat asked him “isn’t there a prophet of the
Lord here?” Ahab answered... “There is ONE other prophet. We
could ask the Lord through him, but I hate him. He never prophesies
good about me [never tell me what I wanted to hear!], but something
bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” [Michaiah was always telling him
that he will lose his life if he continues to go his own way!]
Now
listen how Ahab tried to 'save' himself after he decided to ignore
Micaiah's warning.
“(verse
29-30) King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, 'I will go into battle, but I
will wear other clothes SO NO ONE WILL RECOGNIZE ME. But you wear
your royal clothes.' So Ahab wore other clothes and went into
battle.
The
king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, 'Don't
fight with anyone – important or unimportant – EXCEPT the king
of Israel [Ahab].'
[Now
listen to this!] By chance, a soldier shot an arrow, but he hit
Ahab, king of Israel BETWEEN the pieces of his armor.”
Friend,
there is NOTHING you can do to save yourself from God's will... and
God's will for YOU [your carnal nature/SELF] and everybody else in today's Christendom is to
DIE; TO DIE to YOUR WAY/GIVE UP YOUR LIFE/come to the end of your
SELF LIFE!
AND LISTEN CAREFULLY... if you do not SURRENDER your
life/way
willingly over to God, then God will make sure that YOUR WAY will lead
to THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR SOUL/life! Just like He did with Ahab. Take
note: Ahab was one of
HIS PEOPLE! Was THE KING of God's own people, and because he was not
willing to DIE/SURRENDER his way WILLINGLY TO God's WAY, God made sure
that
Ahab's own way destroyed/killed him! THIS IS VERY SCARY!
God's
will, will be done concerning YOUR LIFE and there is NOTHING YOU CAN
do TO SAVE YOUR LIFE... except SURRENDER YOUR WILL TO HIS WILL completely! Only
then will you experience the PEACE AND JOY [ABUNDANT LIFE/LIFE OF CHRIST] He promises you in every
situation that He lead your through on planet earth!
My Friend, God will make sure that YOUR
EARTHLY LIFE, the little kingdom that you build for yourSELF... that it will NOT bring you the peace/joy/security that you long
for. On the contrary, the ONLY WAY that you'll ever experience
PEACE/JOY [abundant life] will be when you SUBMIT to God's will/way.
It's only TOTAL SURRENDER TO GOD'S WAY [giving Him total Lordship over every area of your life] that will give you PEACE
BEYOND HUMAN UNDERSTANDING during any situation that God leads you
through! He is NOT asking us to understand or agree with Him, just to SUBMIT/ACCEPT His Way!
Just
look how God used a soldier's stray arrow, 400 prophets, and an angel
to do His will concerning Ahab... made sure that he loses his
life/soul just because he was not willing to give up his way for
God's way! The God of the New Testament is still the same as The God
of the Old Testament – HIS WILL, WILL BE DONE CONCERNING YOU! If
you are not willing to surrender your life/will over to Him then He
will make sure that YOUR WAY brings you to the end of your SELF/destroys your SOUL!!!
Please
go and read the rest of the verses in 1 Kings 22:1-40 and ask the
Holy Spirit to make this Word LIFE to you. Friend, it's only when you
truly UNDERSTAND that God is indeed THE GOD ALMIGHTY, that you will
make peace with your journey here on earth... the journey that GOD
HAS PLACED YOU ON!
GOD
is the MASTERBRAIN BEHIND YOUR LIFE! Without realizing and submitting
to that truth, we actually fight God's will most of the time... and
that is why I do not know one CHRISTIAN family, where at least one of
it's family members, are not on some kind of depression pill! Because
their daily lives do not turn out the way
they believe it should turn out, they fall apart and struggle to
cope! Therefore, in order to cope with THE ROAD GOD HAS PLACED THEM
ON, they need some sort of 'comforter'... either pills, drugs,
alcohol, sex, money, whatever! Instead of SURRENDERING their will by
ACCEPTING and SUBMITTING to God's will/way, they keep on trying to
save their own lives/wills/way. They keep on trying to get their
lives and their loved-ones lives, to turn out the way they want it to
turn out.
That
will NEVER WORK, because God's will, WILL BE DONE and there is
NOTHING that you can do about it. Only God knows what His plans are
concerning YOU, and ME, and every single person and situation on
planet earth. And the only WAY that a person can ever experience
PEACE AND JOY in the midst of ANY SITUATION, is when you surrender
your will/way for God's WILL/WAY... when you ACCEPT and make peace
with the God who is directing your path!
Friend,
GOD IS GOD... and HIS WILL, WILL BE DONE! God has not changed, He is
still the same God, and therefore HIS WILL, WILL BE DONE regarding
every situation that's taking place on planet earth! Satan or man
HAVE NO POWER OVER GOD! And the only power they have OVER YOU, is the power God allows them to have! Christ is becoming ALL in ALL, and at the end
all His enemies will be defeated, and then every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess that HE IS INDEED LORD!
Let
me give you a simple example: What I'm about to tell you, may shock
you... but believe me, even though I understand/know deep down that
it is God's will for my 20year old son to live all alone in China, IT
IS NOT MY WILL! Even though I know He is following God's will, and
that it is AWESOME and WONDERFUL and BRAVE; my mother's heart would
prefer to have him 'safely' home! Now you will tell me 'but that is
only HUMAN'... and you are hundred percent correct!
You
see my Friend, THAT IS MY CARNAL NATURE SPEAKING, and that is MY REAL
PROBLEM! My carnal nature [SELF] will ALWAYS be against God's will!My CARNAL NATURE is my worst enemy, the enemy of MY SOUL!
Oh
believe me... it will be so much easier for me [my carnal nature] if
God would just allow my son to do WHAT I WANT HIM TO DO! If God will
allow all the earthly situations TO GO MY WAY... but that is NOT THE
WAY OF THE CROSS! The way of the cross is ME [my carnal self] HAVING
TO lay down MY WILL/WAY/LIFE for God's WAY/WILL/LIFE every single
minute of every day!!!
So
my dear Friend, there's actually only ONE prayer that you can pray
that will be answered... “Lord LET YOUR WILL BE DONE! I do not know
what Your will is regarding this situation God, but I know that Your
will, will be done because You are The Almighty God. Lord and I know
You have defeated all my enemies, and that You can do ANYTHING, so I
put my trust and faith in You to help me to get my WILL in line with
YOUR WILL regarding this situation! Help me to surrender MY WILL/WAY
and SUBMIT TO YOUR WAY/WILL!”
So
my dear Friend, what should I do concerning the situation with my
son? I have only two choices: either SURRENDER my will by SUBMITTING
to God's will, and that will bring me the peace and joy God promises
in every situation; or I can 'fight against God'! Believe you me,
fighting against God's way will destroy my PEACE AND JOY... will
destroy THE LIFE OF CHRIST in me, and will therefore place me 'in
hell on earth' so to speak. NOT SUBMITTING to God's way/will WILL
destroy my soul. GOD'S WILL, WILL BE DONE concerning my son, no
matter WHAT I [my carnal nature] WANTS!
Jesus
said (Mark 9:34-36);
“If
any of you wants to be my disciple [follower]
you
MUST put aside your selfish ambition [in my case that's the 'dreams'
I have concerning my son],
shoulder
your cross [accept the difficult situation of having a child living
so far away from home... in China of all places],
and
follow me. [How do I follow God? By daily... minute by minute,
submitting to and accepting HIS WILL!
[NOW
LISTEN what will happen when I DO NOT SUBMIT!]
If
you try to keep your life for yourself [have things go my way] you
will lose it.”
My
Friend, I will lose my peace and joy IF I insist that earthly things
go my way! Fear, anger, resentment, rebellion, DEPRESSION, etcetera
WILL replace all peace and joy! My LIFE [soul] will fall apart! My
relationship with God will be destroyed, plus my relationship with my
son will most probably be destroyed as well... and I will become a
very DISSATISFIED/scared/angry human being. That is what happens when
we REBEL against God's way!
Listen,
I am just using this situation as an example to show you how HARD it
is to surrender your way/will for God's will concerning every
situation you are facing. NOTHING could make me prouder and more
blessed than knowing that my son is living his life the crucified way
[By daily laying down his will, picking up his cross and following
Christ.]... But it is still hard on a mother. THE WAY OF THE CROSS
IS A VERY HARD AND NARROW ROAD. Well now, after a 6 weeks trip to
China that stretched into him staying for a whole year, he is
finally coming home for a short holiday... because God has lead him
to make China his home.
Well,
once again, my will is for him to come for at least 6 weeks, but once
again it is NOT GOD'S WILL! He can only come for 3 short weeks. As he
was discussing it with me, I could feel how
ANGER/resentment/self-pity etcetera started to rise up in me. So
once again I was left with only 2 choices... submit to God's will, or
REBEL against God's will and make it very difficult for all of us.
Praise God I chose to SUBMIT ['put aside my selfish ambition'
/crucify the flesh] and pick up my cross [to only have him here for 3
week instead of 6]! The minute I did that, my peace and joy returned
as God gave me THE STRENGTH to keep on walking this crucified road
[follow Him by accepting His will].
You
see my dear Friend, whether I agree with God of not, HIS WILL, WILL
BE DONE, but... agreeing/surrendering my will to His will, will give
me the PEACE AND JOY He promises all those who love Him... will give
me ABUNDANT LIFE [heaven on earth]! LOVING HIM actually means BOWING TO HIS LORDSHIP as
you choose to SUBMIT TO HIS WAY instead of your way! There is only
ONE WAY to live the life Christ demonstrated... and that is by
crucifying your life/way every minute of every day!
By
not submitting to God's WILL, there is the potential to DESTROY YOUR
LIFE [soul]... and that is exactly what's happening to most of the
Christian people I know. They are doing everything in their power to make sure
their LIFE [and their loved-ones lives] will turn out as they believe
it should turn out. AND WHEN IT DOES NOT turn out according to their
way [but according to God's way] they freak out/fall apart. They
blame other people, the Devil, THEMSELVES for not having enough FAITH
so that God will answer their prayers, AND EVEN GOD for being cruel!
That's when the spirit of fear, WORRY, anger, unbelief, etcetera
creeps in and slowly but surely they strangle THE LIFE out of them [that my friend sound like hell on earth]!
God
is NOT asking of us to UNDERSTAND His way, just to SUBMIT TO HIS WAY!
Just to surrender OUR WAY for HIS WAY! Just to start living our
daily lives by having FAITH in HIS ABILITY to lead us to where He
wants us to go. TO MAKE PEACE WITH OUR JOURNEYS...to start believing
that He is truly our LOVING FATHER who has the ability and POWER to
do what's BEST for us!
Faith
is not you trusting in God to make situations turn out as you want
them to turn out, or believe they should turn out. FAITH is you
trusting that God would give you THE STRENGTH/LIFE/POWER/whatever you
need to keep doing HIS WILL daily! And His will is for you to DIE TO YOUR WAY... daily! Jesus, there in Gethsemane, prayed
until He found the PEACE/POWER/STRENGTH He needed in order to go to
Jerusalem to DIE ON THAT CROSS!
That was NOT His will, but His
Fathers will for Him. All He had to do was 'BUILD THE FAITH' He
needed in order to 'cope' with the situation God had Him in, and that
He did by spending TIME ALONE with His Father!
A
friend of mine had cancer, and for 10 long years he and his family
went through severe hell! Until the cancer [tough
situation/storm/furnace] brought him to 'the place' where he could
honestly say; “God I had it! Now I surrender my life to You! Do
whatever You want to do... let me die or let me live, I am NOT going
to try and save my life any longer!” That was when God healed him!
Friend, God used the cancer to get him to 'the place' of TOTAL
SURRENDER TO GOD'S LORDSHIP... to the end of his SELF/WAY! Where he
could honestly say; “Let your will be done Lord, NOT MY WILL but
Your will. I submit before Your Lordship. I know you can heal me...
that you have overcome cancer... but if you choose NOT to heal me,
then I will still serve You.” God brought him to 'the place' where
he was ready to DIE [give up HIS LIFE/WAY]!!!
Friend,
we've got to come to 'the place in our walk with God' where we
realize that HE IS GOD and that HE HAS A SPECIFIC PLAN for our
lives... and that HIS WIL, WILL BE DONE no matter whether we agree
with Him or not. God's WILL concerning Jesus was that He dies at the
age of 33 on a wooden cross. His will for John the Baptist was that
he dies after only 6 months of ministry! One time an elder pleaded
with Paul NOT to go to Jerusalem after God showed him a vision of the
serious persecution Paul will have to endure there. But all Paul told
them was not to worry, because it was God's will that he should go!
And that no matter what he will have to endure; he knew that HIS
FATHER WOULD BE WITH HIM IN HIS STORM! Friend, Paul made PEACE WITH
HIS JOURNEY... even though it meant severe hardships and
persecutions! In his walk with Christ he grew up into understanding
THE CRUCIFIED LIFE God demanded from him, that's why he could say;
“I
was put to death on the cross with Christ, and I do not live anymore
– it is Christ who lives in me. I still live in my body, but live
by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself to save me.
(Galatians 2:20-21)”
WOW,
WOW, WOW... “God please!!! My heart cry is that You would open our
spiritual hearts to truly UNDERSTAND and embrace the CRUCIFIED
LIFESTYLE you demand of us! Please help us so that we can truly
surrender our way and submit to YOUR WAY! Amen”
My
Friend, are you still trying to SAVE YOUR LIFE/way/will... or have
you also DIED WITH CHRIST??? If you are still trying to save your
life/stay in control of what's happening in your life, then you WILL
LOSE YOUR SOUL in the process. But more about that in part 2!
Have
blessed day as you allow Christ to draw you closer!
Your
sister In Christ Jesus
Ezette
The Mercy Gate family welcomes you to this online fellowship where we, as spiritual brothers and sisters, learn how to WALK WITH JESUS CHRIST day by day!