Is God speaking to us?
IS GOD SPEAKING TO US?
There was a positive law given to our parents, Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden. But contained within that law was a command to abstain from partaking of a certain forbidden tree and its fruit. The violation of this command would result in death.
Physical health and well being depended upon man obeying that positive law God introduced as “the tree of life.” Partaking of this tree would guarantee man a life of unending and continuous spiritual communication with God. The book of Genesis also reveals that mankind was created in the image of God and was given a choice of obedience which results in blessings, or a choice to disobey which results in a curse! God's blessings would bring continuous health and abundant life - the curses would bring trouble, pain, and death. Within these two same avenues, God's called are given a choice - to obey God or to disobey God! If God's called are at variance with God's divine laws there can only be one result: trouble, pain, and death. When we refuse to obey and conform to the laws of God which govern this universe and neglect to observe and keep God's moral, spiritual and economic requirements - including the perfect theocratic laws of governmental administration; then we who are called, should understand why God told us long ago that He would punish us seven-fold for our iniquities, our haughtiness, and our disobedience to His commandments!
Leviticus 26: 3-13 tells us exactly what we can expect if we walk on God's path and follow His orders: “If you walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage [full maturity] shall reach unto the sowing time: And you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: And you shall chase your enemies, and five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish My covenant with you. And you shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set My tabernacle among you: and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.” Verses 14 thru 39 explains in great detail what will happen if we do not obey our Eternal God's commandments and instructions. I encourage you to read all of Lev. 26 and Deut. 28 to get the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey would say!
Most people who claim to be Christian, say they believe God, but most do not obey God! The “Christian” churches in our neighborhoods say that the 10 commandments, God's laws, have been “nailed to the cross!” But is that true? Christ said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law [the commandments], or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matt 24: 17). How can someone claim to be a Christian and not obey God's words? The term “Christian” means to be a follower of Christ - a supporter of His word - a disciple of Christ. We read and hear ministers in God's churches claim they preach the whole truth of the Bible and are the true servant of God, but read what Jesus Christ answers, “Not every one that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven.” Christ is saying, those who pretend to know God and yet disobey His words are liars and the truth is not in them. “Many will say to Me in that day, [many will argue with Me in that day when I return saying], Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached] in Your name? And in Your name have cast out devils? And in Your name done many wonderful works?” Christ's sharp answer to this statement is in the next verse, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you [never became acquainted with you] depart from Me, you that work iniquity [you that violate My laws]” (Matt 7:21-23).
Many who attend God's Sabbath churches today, believe God, but do not feel they have to obey what His Word teaches and instructs us to do! They say, “if I did I would be labeled a legalist and a literalist and that is embarrassing and God, You are not going to embarrass me into what I have to do - even if it comes directly out of the Bible, Your instruction book for eternal life!!” How can we as God's called people teach in the millennium what God commands, if we will not follow and obey what His word instructs us to do today? If we are to be kings and priests in the government of God, during the millennium and be teachers here on the earth as we are told in Exo 19:6, Isa. 61:6, Rev 1: 6, and Rev 5:10, then we must be willing to obey God's word today in this human life!
Moses was told by God to tell Israel, “You shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which you shalt speak unto the children of Israel” (Exo 19: 6). God also says, “But you shall be named the priests of the Lord: men shall call you the ministers of our God: you shall eat the riches of the gentiles, and in their glory shall you boast yourselves” (Isa 61:6). Let's look at one more verse in the New Testament where the Apostle John was told to write and remind us of our job in the millennium: “And has made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev 5:10). If these verses are to be taken seriously then we have a real challenge before us! Our training for this kind of responsibility must be practiced with all possible haste. There is no time to delay or procrastinate! Many who have been blessed to be called today don't accept this challenge.
Some have been heard saying, “times have changed,” and “we have to keep up with the changes!” God's Word does not change with the times we are living in. In the book of Malachi, the Lord said, “ For I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal 3:6). And in chapter 13 of Hebrews the writer said, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb 13:8). In Matthew 4:4, is a quotation from Deut. 8:3, a truth God had revealed to Moses fifteen centuries previously: “...it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” God never alters His attitude toward sin how ever long punishment is delayed. It will surely be carried out! If we believe God's Word is true, then we are to live by every word written within the pages of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation.
What are some things God's living Word talks about ? One of the first things that comes to mind is obedience to Sabbath keeping, which means that we are not to be buying and selling on the Sabbath or Holy Days. We need to broaden that obedience to include keeping God's statutes and ordinances. God has also not given man the freedom to postpone His Holy Days. Other things God says we are to do: 1). Give tithes and free will offerings; 2). Do not follow Jewish fables; 3). Take up Holy Day offerings 3 times a year - not 7; 4). God's Word teaches we are to become holy (Lev 19:2); 5). We are to have no idols; 6). We are not to eat unclean food or eat bloody meat (Lev.11 & 17:7,14); 7). We are to be obedient to all 10 commandments; 8). We are to be of a contrite spirit. These points just scratch the surface of things we are to live by.
We are instructed in the first book of Samuel that to obey is better than to make a sacrifice. “And Samuel said, “has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Sam 15: 22). Many verses in God's Word warn us to be obedient. “If you be willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land: but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it” (Isa. 1: 19-20). Do we think verses like this do not apply to us because we are in one of God's churches? Many are fooling themselves if they think they do not have to obey God's laws and commandments! Each one of us whom God the Father has called, has been given a choice! To obey or not to obey His published teachings! This choice was given also to the whole nation of Israel as we read in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The scriptures are clear, obey God's words and you receive blessings - disobey and you reap cursing! If one refuses to obey and follow what is taught in God's Word, they will be like the rest of the professing Christians of the world. They might be in God's kingdom as citizens, but not as a member of the ruling family of God! Why would we think we can be in God's family if we don't obey what our Savior teaches? Remember what Christ said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
What are a few of the things God's people have stopped obeying? Some have stopped keeping God's weekly Sabbath and annual Sabbath days holy or, in some cases, altogether! Some church groups teach that its alright to go to restaurants on God's Sabbath. They justify it by saying, “The workers will work anyway!” They also say, “Today we are at a different time period, and we must keep up with the times.” But, what does God through Nehemiah say about that? And remember, God doesn't change and He doesn't “do away” with His Law - the 10 Commandments! “And if the people of the land bring wares or any victuals [food supplies, eatables - the same word is used in chapter 13:15, meaning “lunch:” # 6718] on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the Holy Day” (Neh 10: 31). I pray none of us have trouble understanding that God inspired verse! Nehemiah said, “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, what evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, why lodge you about the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy” (Neh 13:17-22). If “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today , and forever,” then God has not changed His mind about buying and selling on His Sabbath and Holy Days! Some members today feel God's Sabbaths have become a “burden” to them and say “You are not going to tell me when and where I can eat!” I wouldn't presume to do that, but God certainly can and does!
Lets look at another area that annoys people today. The scriptures are very clear as to why people are having stressful health problems and stressful financial problems. Where do we find the solution in God's Word for these type problems? As close as the last instruction book in the Old Testament! This is one, even the Scribes and Pharisees clearly understood. God's inspired answer is supplied by Malachi - whose name means “My messenger.” I would think with that title, people would want to pay close attention to what he has to say - especially those that say you don't have to tithe anymore! I have to confess, I have been unable to find in my English Language (KJV) Bible that you don't have to tithe anymore!! But I have read in Paul's inspired letter to the Ephesians, “Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience” (Eph 2:2). That is talking about those who do not want to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” [Matt. 4:4 ]. Has God changed His mind on tithing? Did His messenger mis-speak, or did God forget to tell him and us that tithing is “done away?” We are told in this same chapter of Ephesians, that we are to build our foundation on the prophets and apostles. “Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone” (Eph 2:19-20).
Armed with that ammunition, we should listen to prophets like Malachi, whom God calls “His messenger.” “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6). Moses wrote, many years before that and said, “You shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish ought from it, that you may keep the Commandments of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deu 4:2).
We are advised further by God's messenger that we will be blessed if we tithe! “Even from the days of your fathers you are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, And I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But you said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, `Wherein have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse: for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse, that there mat be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of Hosts” (Mal 3:7-11). Tithing is revealed as a benefit from God! The principle of tithing is for our good - that we might prosper! For those who say we no longer have to tithe, listen to what Christ says, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments [laws], and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven [referring to a citizen,- not a king or a priest] but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:19). Isn't that speaking of the Bride of Christ - those who teach God's way of life now?
Jesus Christ, after teaching His apostles how to pray, said in the same breath of time, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt 6:21). Listen to where King David, a man after God's own heart, gives his financial thankfulness to when he prays: “To You O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the Heaven and in the earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of You, and You reign over all; and in Your hand is power and might; and in Your hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your Glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of you, And of your own have we given You”[in tithes and offerings] (1 Chron 29:11-14). We now know where David, a man after God's own heart, stored his treasure!
We are being given all this information and training in order to be teachers in the millennium and we are advised to follow in the footsteps of Christ. If we are followers of the Father and Christ, then we are to be doers of His words and not just hearers only! Plenty of people can talk the talk, but few can really truly walk the walk! “But be you doers [obeyers] of the word, and not hearers only [believers only], deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer [believer] of the word, and not a doer [obeyer], he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror [this is alluding to the “one day a week” Christian], for he beholds himself, and goes his way, and straightway forgets what manner of man he was” (James 1:22). James is in perfect agreement with the teachings of Paul. “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom 2:13). Its easy to say, I believe God! But, to do and obey what God commands is not as easy, while living with Satan's influences. It's the doers [obeyers] of the word that will be in God's kingdom - as kings and priests! Will you be able to teach tithing along with God's laws on buying and selling on the Sabbath and Holy Days in the 1000 year reign with Christ, if you don't practice doing it today?
God's word is also clear about those who mock Him. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal 6:7-9). We must remember to keep the commandments, statutes and judgments that were given by God's servants of old. Those who make a mockery of that which is pure and holy, will be brought face to face with the certainty of divine judgment! This world is filled with men and women who look down on those who believe God and practice and obey His Word. They find fault with everything God has done and all He proposes to do. It is men of this type who today are bringing woe upon themselves and the world about them. What these men need to do, is heed the inspired words of the psalmist, “ Be still and know that I am God” (Psa. 46:10). A special “woe” is pronounced upon all those who substitute error for truth! “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent [all knowing] in their own sight! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Isa. 5:20-21, 24).
A third area we need to think about today is keeping God's fall Holy Days and the Feast of Tabernacles. For some reason, a growing number of people have come to the conclusion it is not important to go to God's Feast of Tabernacles any longer! My question is, when did God water down or change this divine law ? It sounds like those who think this way did not “count the cost” of being a true Christian. Here is a parable we all know well: “For which of you, intending to build a tower [or, we could say, intending to be a Christian], sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost [time and effort involved], whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation [groundwork], and is not able to finish it [the building of God's spiritual temple], [then] all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, `this man began to build, and was not able to finish.' So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple [My spiritual temple]” (Luke 14:28-30,33). True repentance means we turn our back on our old way of life, make a “U turn,” and live God's way! I pray you will take that thought to heart and pray and fast about what your decision will be!
God tells us when we are to go to His Feast of Tabernacles: “Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month” (Lev. 23:39, 41). If we are to be teachers with Christ in the millennium, then we must be practicing now what we are to be teaching others then. In Zechariah 14, we read where God is going to bless Israel for coming up to His Feast of Tabernacles. He also singles out Egypt in these verses as an example because of their long history of rebellion against God. We do not want to be numbered in that category! “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zechariah 14: 16-19). I suppose many will rationalize these clear scriptures away by saying God is somehow going to “re-institute” the keeping of the Feast of Tabernacles. We, at the Church of God, In Truth believe God has never changed or done away with any of His appointed times! They are still very much required of His called out people today - and, I might add, at God's appointed time, not some altered, postponed time that is for the physical convenience of man! Truly brethren, if we don't obey God in this physical life, how can we expect God to use us and crown us as kings or priests in the millennium? We are given a chance to be taught today so we can teach others in the 1000 year reign with Christ!
Now is not the time to play “Russian roulette” with obeying God! “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin separates us from our God! Read with me the tragic nature of sin that's found in the book of Isaiah. “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear [in other words, sin erects a barrier between man and God]. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perverseness ” (Isa. 59:1- 3). Why is that? Because mankind has made their paths crooked by deliberate choice! Verse 4: “None calls for justice [literally, `righteousness'], nor do any plead for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” Those choosing to follow this course will not know peace of mind, but those that want to follow and obey God's Word are encouraged by Jesus Christ in Luke 9. “And He said to them all, `if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His Own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God'” (Luke 9:23-27).
Some may feel that I quote too much from the Old Testament in this article, but what did Paul tell Timothy about the holy scriptures available to them at that time (strictly what we today call the “Old” Testament? “And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:15-17).
I pray that this article will produce a question in all of our minds: How will the Father and Christ judge our spiritual maturity? 1. Having a little obedience? 2. Partial obedience? 3. Or full obedience?
James Russell