AN ANGRY GOD
02/02/2010 9:14 amI am not an apologist for God, nor His written record the Bible. I am always amazed at “supposed” Bible believers and preachers who constantly feel the need to correct God. They treat Him like some child who is a wonderful idiot savant that can amaze with certain abilities: however, because of their peculiar mind they have many rough edges; which causes their caretakers to constantly feel the need to make apologies for rude behavior.
I have an idea for all of you who treat God and His Book in that manner. Stop playing god! Try letting God be God, you will find it quite liberating. If He said something, proclaim it from the housetops and stop acting like you know better than He, and though He said it (in His Word) that is not really what He meant and you alone are ready to run to His rescue... just in case there are some nasty people out there who might get a bad idea about Him. PLEASE!!!
Keep in mind the following truth for all of you preachers who pervert the Bible by changing it so that it does not offend your girlish sensibilities... change any one verse... and you can change all of them! It is not up to you to pick and choose what you like and (or) dislike about His Book: this is not a buffet meal and you can pick-or-choose: the Bible is a finished meal prepared by God that He has set before you and you will partake of all of it... or none of it! You are not god... He is! If God does not mean every word of Romans 9:13, (for example) perhaps He doesn't mean every word of Romans 10:13 either?
I am not speaking against someone clarifying the Word of God and using analogies to better explain verses... I am against men who pretend to be God's servants, yet they constantly delete or change words to make them more acceptable to the general public.
Let God be God without further explanations or apologies from any man! ...”let God be true, but every man a liar...”
“GOD IS ANGRY WITH THE WICKED EVERY DAY”
(PSALMS 7:11b)
PART ONE
For this message I am going to do something I've never done before: that is my title is part of a verse; verbatim. In fact, the title is the last eight words of Psalms 7:11: “God is angry with the wicked every day.”
Over the years I have prepared hundreds of outlines: of course many of them I have used, but I have a lot which have never been preached and I even have a few that I have no intention of ever using; those are the ones for my eyes only...it just helps me sometimes to write them out. The reason I am telling you that is because I have several outlines for messages that (I think) would be well received. In other words, I believe that most Christians would either read them or listen to them as they were being preached and like what they read or heard. Today's message will not be one of those, it is not intended for anyone to finish this and then begin to feel good about themselves... and that is on purpose, and by design.
I will also try to make sure that we are all understanding the same truth as it relates to three key-words which I will be using. In giving their definitions it has absolutely nothing to do with trying to “talk down” to anyone. In fact, I would like to imagine that most Bible believers would not need it, but (just in case) there might be some person reading this who does not know, I will define them.
At first we will be looking at four different passages and verses, but our main text verse will not be used until farther along into the message. II Peter 1:20-21: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”
Malachi 3:5-6: “And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Please read again: “For I am the Lord, I change not...” (I CHANGE NOT.)
Now, to the words I want to make sure that we all have the same understanding. The words are theophany, incarnation, and advent. Whenever Christ appeared in human form to men in the Old Testament that is referred to as a theophany. Jesus appeared to Abraham in the 17th chapter with the words... “I AM GOD ALMIGHTY.” In Genesis 32 Jesus appeared to Jacob. In Exodus chapter three, Jesus spake to Moses from the midst of a burning bush. Jesus appeared to Joshua in the 5th chapter of the Book that bears his name: and, of course, it was Christ who walked with the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace.
Keep in mind: every time that Jesus appeared to His people in the Old testament it is called a theophany. There are several more examples of this type of manifestation, but I only recorded five of them.
Incarnation is a term that is used to help us understand Christ being conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of Mary.
For the final word... advent, there are two advents which are spoken of in relation to Christ, and the first one was accomplished at His birth. The Second Advent will be when He returns to judge the end of the world at the battle of Armageddon. (The Rapture of the church is not His second advent, which is more commonly called His Second Coming: as, at that time, He only returns in the air to call away His church. Of course what immediately follows for those who are raptured is the Judgment Seat of Christ. Then, His Second Coming (advent) is where He brings the redeemed church with Him and this will be seen by everyone, according to Revelation 1:7.)
Now, everything to this point has been the introduction trying to set up this message. What I am going to talk about is a central theme running through every single Book of the Bible and was often taught from the early church until about the middle part of the last century... then a dramatic change began to take place.
A lot of the fault with our nation and the deplorable condition of the church (at large) today has to do with men who fail to preach the whole council of God. I think, at least in part, it is because they don't understand the true purpose of the different advents and (or) theophanie's of Christ in the Bible. It seems they are forever hung up on a three word description of God, which is found only twice in the Bible and both times it is in the same Book. We will look at that phrase in just a little while.
Now to our main text. Psalms 111:10a: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...” THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM. THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM. THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM.
Christ, as a sacrifice is first taught in Gen. 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Following this is the first picture of how this sacrifice will be implemented: Genesis 3:21: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Of course this is a picture of an innocent sacrifice needing to shed blood and die for a guilty sinner.
This is pictured in Christ's words to Abraham... “And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” (Genesis 22:12) The reason Abraham had such faith is found in verse eight of the same chapter as Abraham was talking to Isaac: “...My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering...” GOD WILL PROVIDE HIMSELF!
Jesus' future sacrifice is again pictured... as a lamb without blemish was killed and the blood was applied to the door-posts and the lintel (12:22) of the house: of course this is found in Exodus chapter twelve: 12:7a: “And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses...” If you picture how the blood would drip from the top post and down both sides of the door frame you will better understand Psalms 22 and you will see its fulfilment at Calvary: as Christ, with a bloodied head from the crown of thorns and two outstretched and pierced hands would form the same image as what is taking place in ancient Egypt.
When the sacrifice was complete and the blood was properly applied, then verses 12 and 13 would be fulfilled. Exodus 12:12-13: “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU!
Once each year there was a Day of Atonement in the seventh month and the tenth day of the month (Leviticus 16:29) and a sacrificial lamb was offered for the sins of Israel: and, of course, this pictured Christ's future sacrifice. In Numbers chapter 21 God sent fiery serpents into the camp of the Israelites and the Bible states: “... much people of Israel died...” (Numbers 21:6) As the people cried to God for deliverance Moses was commanded by God to fashion an image of what was killing the people in the camp, in this case it was a serpent, and to raise it up on a pole. Verse nine tells us that for everyone who was bitten and dying who beheld the raised up image of the serpent... lived.
Naturally, this was a picture of the time when Christ would be suspended between Heaven and Earth, raised up on a pole, and all who will (spiritually speaking) behold what is killing them, in this case it is sin, will live. The Bible states that He (Jesus) was made sin for us. II Corinthians 5:21a: “For he hath made him to be sin for us...”
It is worth noting also that the Israelites kept this image of the serpent and called it, “Nehushtan” and it became a snare and sin to them. Hezekiah, (a good king) comes into power and he breaks this image into pieces and causes the children of Israel to stop their sinning in burning incense to this man-made idol. Of course, today in Christianity we still have the “Nehushtan” worshipers who continue their idol worship as they wear around their necks and hang on their walls, man-made images of a crucified Christ... raised up on a pole. Will someone please show me in Holy Scripture why this is not sin? Of course it is! If you want to use, wear, or display a cross to remind you of His sacrifice... fine... but, remove His image from that symbol... HE IS NOT THERE... BUT IS RISEN!!!
The culmination of the symbols and images of Christ's predicted sacrifice from the Old Testament came into its own with the words of John as he beheld Jesus in the New Testament: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29
To this part in the message I have been speaking about the need for a sacrifice, something innocent dying for something guilty. I will begin the next segment of God Is Angry With The Wicked Every Day by making certain we understand that He was only a “Lamb” once, and that for a brief time: 33 years.
You can always email me at clarkmatthews1@aol.com
posted by Robin Johnson @ 9:12 AM
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