Sermon: The god of My Understanding -
First of all I just wanted to let you know that I did spell god right. That was not a typo. It is like a Sunday where I intentionally spelled church – chruch on the overhead in big letters. I found it humorous to watch people’s faces as they thought I had spelled church wrong. I had spelled church, chruch for a reason, just as I have spelled god for a reason. The problem in both cases is us or “ur” When we get it backwards, church then becomes a crutch for people instead of a powerhouse. Church became a place to socialize and feel good about our sin but not a place to repent and go into the world in power. Think about a sprinter on crutches; all the power is gone. But unlike a sprinter chomping at the bit to get back to sprinting, the church has become content limping along because the church has become about us and what our power can accomplish so we limp along 2 Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Because this has happened, the God we are supposed to understand has become the god of my understanding, hence the little “g.” It also becomes the god of our understanding when we join a group of likeminded believers. Since God’s word has either been set aside or explained away, there is little understanding left.
First of all I just wanted to let you know that I did spell god right. That was not a typo. It is like a Sunday where I intentionally spelled church – chruch on the overhead in big letters. I found it humorous to watch people’s faces as they thought I had spelled church wrong. I had spelled church, chruch for a reason, just as I have spelled god for a reason. The problem in both cases is us or “ur” When we get it backwards, church then becomes a crutch for people instead of a powerhouse. Church became a place to socialize and feel good about our sin but not a place to repent and go into the world in power. Think about a sprinter on crutches; all the power is gone. But unlike a sprinter chomping at the bit to get back to sprinting, the church has become content limping along because the church has become about us and what our power can accomplish so we limp along 2 Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” Because this has happened, the God we are supposed to understand has become the god of my understanding, hence the little “g.” It also becomes the god of our understanding when we join a group of likeminded believers. Since God’s word has either been set aside or explained away, there is little understanding left.
The god of my understanding comes from AA. One person wrote, “There are many ways to practice spirituality. Some believe it is a faith in the God of their understanding; some use a Higher Power that is an altogether different perspective than God. In my recovery and in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous, I separate spirituality and faith. I pray to a god of my understanding and I meditate to gain spirituality. This is my personal belief in how Step Eleven is working in my life.” One addictions site said, “If you have little to no experience with spiritual matters or it’s been a long time since you connected to your Higher Power, then this step may present a challenge for you. Here are a few tips to assist you in applying the principle of Step 11 in your life. Don’t get hung up on the term – When people are presented with the term “God”, many immediately associate it with the deity of the dominant religion in their society. In Northern America, this would be the Judeo-Christian god. However, “God” is a neutral term, and it is best not to get caught up in how other people choose to define it. Focus on connecting to what you understand to be God, whether that is Vishnu, Yahweh, Allah, the Great Spirit, or something else.” One atheist said people became his higher power. He said, “Once God is removed, many aspects of AA’s program in the Big Book and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions can be seen to be focused on stress-management: building a realistic self-image, boosting self-esteem and avoiding guilt.” These people think that neutralizing god is actually going to help. But the church has done the same thing. Mark 7:6 “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” I will give an example of this in a moment.
So when you spell God with a little g, there is a reason. When you take away the capital G, your higher power becomes what you can understand or for that matter choose to understand. Many in the church today are little c’s and little g’s; christians who serve a god of their understanding. The God we serve, the God of the bible, is as Jehoshaphat describes. 2 Chronicles 20:5 “Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” Yet men and woman think they can set God’s power aside and do it themselves. They now have created their own understanding of who god is. Romans 1:28 “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” So while I was talking about the AA when talking about the lack of understanding, I am referring to the church. The church has changed the G to a little g and thus remain powerless and as Paul said in Romans 2:5 “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”
We were supposed to be a people that understood. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Unfortunately we have lost our understanding of God because His word has been set aside. Hebrews 5:11 “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” We find ourselves in a time just like the people who followed Joshua. Judges 2:10 “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them.” Paul went on to say in Ephesians 4:17 “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” We are not supposed to continue living this way yet most have been deceived into thinking what they understand from what they have been taught is Christianity.
The problem lies with those who went before us no longer understood the way, the truth and life and followed other gospels; therefore we remain in captivity and desolation. Remember these verses refer to “my people” which is also the church of today. Josiah said 2 Kings 22:13 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” Hezekiah said 2 Chronicles 29:6 “Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity.” Loosing our understanding has cost us severely. As each generation passes, our desolation gets worse and worse and people fall further and further away. Again we were warned about this. Isaiah 5:12 “they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord, no respect for the work of his hands. 13 Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding.”
As we talked about last week, Isaiah was told in Isaiah 6:9 “He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. 13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.” Isaiah 56:10 “Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. 11 They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain. Psalm 49:20:20 “People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.” Jeremiah 4:22 “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
Hosea describes this spirit of prostitution concerning God’s people. Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away. 4 “But let no one bring a charge, let no one accuse another, for your people are like those who bring charges against a priest. 5 You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother— 6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. 7 The more priests there were, the more they sinned against me; they exchanged their glorious God for something disgraceful. 8 They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. 9 And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. 10 “They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not flourish, because they have deserted the LORD to give themselves 11 to prostitution; old wine and new wine take away their understanding. 12 My people consult a wooden idol, and a diviner’s rod speaks to them. A spirit of prostitution leads them astray; they are unfaithful to their God.”
This unfaithfulness to God is because most in the church today refuse to repent from going their own way. They live by their own words and understanding and refuse to live by God’s word. But as Moses said, Deuteronomy 32:47 “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Instead these people as Job describes Job 24:13 “are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.” There is still a resistance to the light. John 1:9 “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Yet most refuse to believe and turn from their wicked ways. Paul tell us Romans 13:11 “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”
If people would only understand the disaster that’s coming to those who refuse to turn away from going their own way. Hezekiah said 2 Chronicles 30:6 “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.” 1 John 5:18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.” Because we have turned to false gospels, we have turned to following idols just as Israel did. Because we have turned away, God also has turned His face from shining on us and we have no power to defeat satan. Deuteronomy 32:20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. 28 They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. 29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! “ Jeremiah 5:30 “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” 2 Corinthians 11:12 “And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
Last week I shared about the two men who turned their backs on God and His word thus crucifying Christ all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace (Hebrews 6) As always I like to take a quick peek at the news. That is how I saw the story of these men last week and this time I saw a different story that seemed like an amazing event until you look a little closer. This event was a crusade put on by Greg Laurie and the Harvest Church. This was the 30th year this Harvest Crusade has taken place. They said, “Our 30th annual SoCal Harvest was three wonderful nights of lives changed by the gospel. Over the weekend we had 100,000 people attend and 8,677 decisions for Christ.” The crusade has a running counter that gives their stats. It states “Reaching millions with the gospel message throughout the world since 1990. 6,298,408 ATTENDANCE, 2,842,299 LIVE WEBCAST VIEWS, 517,045 DECISIONS, 18,691 ONLINE DECISIONS” Last week I talked about the effect the testimony of these two men had. There was much being talked about online concerning the journey of these two. But stop for a moment and think about the numbers here. This 6 million, plus all the people they contact, think they have heard the gospel. The half a million decisions think they are saved. The question is what have they been saved into. I am sure others will do what I did and listen to messages and read about what they believe but because of the lack of understanding many will miss the deception. People would ask how could there be deception when the event was so amazing? Yes these people believe with all their heart what they teach but they are leading people astray. 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.” If someone is teaching a false gospel then they are false teachers yet most don’t even know it. Here is a case of very subtle deception. Actually it is very easy to see and they believe it with all their heart. When you get past the fancy website and slick crusades, it is very easy to see and hear this is a false gospel called dispensationalism, a doctrine of demons. Remember this is talking about a different Jesus and a different gospel. Deuteronomy 32:17 “They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear.” There is only one Jesus who is King and reigning and there is only one gospel.
I say subtle because as I was listening to Greg Laurie speak, he subtly takes away the power of what scripture is actually saying. Yes he will sound convincing when talking about the signs, wonders, gifts, the rapture and tribulation and millennial kingdom but this is another gospel he is talking about. When talking about the gifts of the Spirit, he wants everyone to know it is not basically charismatic or emotion. He basically says even if you don’t see the power described, that's okay. This is how subtle it is. He says “I understand why some people are, to some degree, averse to the gifts of the Spirit, because there has been so much abuse in this area. So let’s look at the gifts of the Spirit in a biblical and balanced way. I believe in the power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But I also believe that it is a practical power that God wants us to have — the same practical power that caused the early church to turn their world upside down.” His idea of biblical, balanced and practical is deceitful because it is so unbalanced because he leaves out crucial parts of the bible. He makes the bible say what balances his theology. By the way the power that the early church had was not what he is talking about. The power the early church had is described by Paul when he says in Ephesians 1:19 “That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” As I listened, his descriptions of the power are not the same as scripture tells us it should be. You don’t turn the world upside down with practical power but with the authority and power Jesus gives. This is an example of a form of godliness yet sadly millions are drawn to it only to worship in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:2 “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
Generations of people have perished because of a lack of understanding because most refuse to fear God and obey his word. They refuse to submit to God’s word. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” Revelation 16:9 “They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.” Millions around the world have fallen to the teachings of the false apostles, prophets and teachers, evangelists and pastors. Instead of being built up they have been led astray. Jesus said to stand firm but most have only stood firm on the things their hands have made. They refuse to turn from their wicked ways. Jesus said Matthew 24:10 “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” So don’t worry, the gospel will be preached, as God’s promise to David will never fail. What you need to worry about is whether or not the gospel you are standing firm on is the right one.
Right now there is no fear of God in the land. Romans 3:10 “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” As we wait on God we must learn to fear Him once again. Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” Psalm 119:130 “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” Isaiah 11:1 “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 37:31 “Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. 32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” So we have great hope that our desolation will soon be over if we will wait for God’s plan to unfold. Psalm 106:13 “But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.” If we wait, then we will be able to say with Paul. Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” If we wait, we will also have the understanding of who God really is.
Do you know the difference between the God of Understanding and the god of your understanding? There is only one way, one truth and one life. There are not many ways to God. There are not many gospels. There is only one Jesus. We do not choose one understanding as presented by one group over the understanding of another group. We choose life. So today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts! Continue to pray as Daniel prayed. Daniel 9:17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Luke 24:45 “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Mark 16:9 “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” We then will do as Jesus did and continue to destroy the work of the devil and then the end will come.
