Part 2 (1/2)

Chapter 5, G.o.d Is Not Your Problem.

Although it's a major doctrine in the body of Christ, there are only two places in scripture where predestination is mentioned: Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5 and 11. Some people, however, believe that G.o.d has predestined everything.

Romans 8:29 says: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might he the firstborn among many brethren.

The key to understanding predestination is to understand that G.o.d only predestined those whom He foreknew. Foreknowledge refers to G.o.d's ability to know the future. Only people He already knew would accept Jesus have been predestined. n.o.body has been predestined to be saved or lost. But once you become born again, G.o.d has predetermined-predestined-that you will be conformed to the image of His Son. If you don't cooperate in this life, then it will happen when He comes.

When we see Jesus...

We shall he like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 If you will cooperate with the Lord, then you can start being like Him here in this life. You can start walking in joy, peace, victory, anointing, and power. If you've been born again, it's predetermined that you will ultimately be like Jesus. If you'll cooperate, you can experience that here in this life to the degree that you renew your mind. If you don't cooperate, you'll eventually be like Jesus anyway because you'll be like Him when He comes. You're predestined to be. That's all that verse means.

Good Plans G.o.d didn't predestinate anyone to be a mess. He didn't predetermine anybody to be a failure.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11 G.o.d has good plans for you. He has a plan and a destiny for every person. You didn't happen accidentally. Whether your parents knew you were coming or not, G.o.d knew. He has a plan for you, and He didn't plan for anyone to be mediocre or a failure. G.o.d didn't plan the hurt and heartache that you've experienced. He didn't plan the tragedy. If you had a terrible childhood, it wasn't G.o.d who caused that

to happen. It happened because people made poor choices using the free will G.o.d gave them.

People have made wrong choices and sometimes you suffer because of those choices, but G.o.d didn't determine this. He doesn't control people like chess pieces and make everything happen. If you've had terrible tragedies happen in your life, G.o.d didn't cause them.

I take great comfort in knowing that G.o.d is a good G.o.d. My dad died when I was twelve years old, but G.o.d didn't kill him. I've had a lot of negative circ.u.mstances happen in my life. I've been stolen from, lied about, kidnapped, blacklisted, spit on, and much, much more. Those things happened to me, but G.o.d didn't order them. He's not the One who caused my problems. At the very least it was the devil, and at least half the time, I was cooperating somehow to bring them to pa.s.s. It blesses me to know that G.o.d is not my problem.

G.o.d is not your problem either. It's just not all up to Him. Grace is what G.o.d does for you independent of you, but you don't experience the goodness of G.o.d's grace in your life unless you learn some things and know how to cooperate with Him. As you continue reading this book, you'll learn more truths which will help you better understand what is G.o.d's part and what is your part. Grasping these truths will help you put your faith in what G.o.d has done instead of mistakenly placing your faith in what you have done. It will help you understand the power and authority that G.o.d has given you, and will give you some answers that will really make a difference in your life.

Reach Out and Take It In my own personal life, if I hadn't corrected my understanding, I never would have seen anywhere near as much as I have. The things of G.o.d don't come to pa.s.s automatically. If you don't pursue them, you won't get them. You must pursue the things of G.o.d.

Take, for instance, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Many people have told me, ”If G.o.d wants me to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, I'm ready. It's just up to Him. If He wants to give it to me, I'll get it.” That's not how it happens. You can't just say, ”If G.o.d wants me to be saved, I'll receive. It's just up to Him.” No, you must believe!

I remember sitting in the very back of the church auditorium one day as a boy in Vacation Bible School. The man up front took something out of his wallet and announced, ”I'll give this dollar bill to the first kid who comes up here and takes it.” Instantly, there were twenty or thirty kids jumping up and down around him saying, ”I want it, I want it!” I was thinking, This is the worst time to be sitting in the back row (my family normally sat in the front). However, this guy ignored those kids, kept his hand up in the air, and repeated, ”I'll give this dollar bill to the first kid who comes up here and takes it.” All of us in the crowd were wondering, What's he saying? All of those kids up there jumping around him wanted it.

After he had said a third time, ”I'll give this dollar bill to the first kid who comes up here and takes it,” it finally hit me what he meant. I leaped off of my chair and ran all the way down to the front. Pus.h.i.+ng my way through those kids, I grabbed the man's arm, climbed up his side, and s.n.a.t.c.hed the dollar bill out of his hand. When I did, he looked at me and said, ”Now you're the first kid who came up here and took it.” Looking at the other kids, he said, ”All of you wanted it, and it was available, but you have to reach out and take it.” Then he taught us how receiving salvation is like that.

G.o.d has already provided the forgiveness of sins for every person, but it doesn't just automatically come to pa.s.s. It's not just grace alone that saves you. You must believe. You have to reach out and take hold of your salvation. You must come against the thoughts that the devil puts in your mind saying, ”G.o.d couldn't love you that way. You're too unG.o.dly,” and so on. You have to fight through those things and persevere. You must reach out and by faith declare, ”I believe what G.o.d's Word says,” and take hold of the grace G.o.d is offering. It doesn't come to pa.s.s automatically.

It's Your Choice The principle is the same with everything else in the Christian life. G.o.d has already made provision. How long will you sit there, saying, ”Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be,” all the while blaming G.o.d for the mess your life is in? It is time for you to stand up and declare, ”The Lord has provided something better for me than this. Praise G.o.d, I'm going to find out what my part is, do what G.o.d has told me to do, and receive His miraculous power.” It's your choice.

Chapter 6, The Response of Faith.

Both grace and faith need to be combined to be able to see the power of G.o.d released in your life. The body of Christ as a whole is divided between those who emphasize grace alone at the exclusion of faith and those who emphasize faith alone at the exclusion of grace. Emphasizing either one-grace or faith-is wrong if you take them independent of the other.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of G.o.d. Ephesians 2:8 It's the combination of grace and faith together that releases the power of G.o.d. Grace or faith taken by themselves at the exclusion of the other is actually disastrous and will destroy you.

Many people have emphasized that everything is just up to G.o.d to the exclusion of the truth that we have a part to play in what He does. This extreme teaching of the sovereignty of G.o.d-where people blame Him for every single thing that happens to us-is the worst doctrine in the body of Christ today. It just renders people pa.s.sive. If G.o.d is controlling everything, what's the point of seeking Him, praying, studying the Word, or doing anything, because after all, it's just up to G.o.d. A large segment of the body of Christ is stuck in this thinking and it is keeping us from taking our authority.

Resist the Devil James 4:7 says: Submit yourselves therefore to G.o.d. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

You must recognize that some things are from G.o.d and some things are from the devil. Satan is not G.o.d's messenger boy. This mental image that the devil is on a leash and G.o.d only lets him go so far, isn't true. You are the one who allows Satan to come in.

Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8 Satan cannot devour everybody. He can't do things to you without your consent and cooperation. One of the things that turns the devil loose in your life is the att.i.tude that things can't happen unless it is G.o.d's will. This thinking leads you to believe that you can't really fight against it. James 4:7 tells us to ”resist the devil.” Resist means to actively fight against. You cannot actively fight against something if you think G.o.d has ordained or permitted it. He's not the One who permits these things.

Unbelief Limits G.o.d Consider when the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt. There are many, many instances where the Lord made it clear that He wanted them to enter directly into the Promised Land and receive the promises He had for them. But because of their disobedience and unbelief, they spent forty years in the wilderness. That wasn't G.o.d's will or plan for them.

Yea, they turned hack and tempted G.o.d, and limited the Holy One of Israel. Psalm78:41 In their hearts, they turned back to Egypt, tempted G.o.d, and limited the Holy One of Israel. Many people can't even conceive of this. They think, There's nothing we can do to limit G.o.d. But keep in mind, the Lord is not forcing His will upon us individually or collectively as a nation or group of people. You have to cooperate with G.o.d to see His will come to pa.s.s in your life.

Deuteronomy 7:15-18 talks about how the Israelites would have absolute victory. n.o.body would stand before them. The Lord would deliver all of their enemies into their hands-this is a promise of complete victory. Verse 17 says: If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I [G.o.d] dispossess them?

G.o.d had just promised them absolute victory. He told them that n.o.body would be able to stand before Israel. They would win every battle. Everything is going to work. But G.o.d then tells the Israelites that if they refuse to believe that victory is theirs, if they get into unbelief, He would be unable to dispossess the enemy nations.

G.o.d cannot bring deliverance in your life if you yield to fear and doubt through unbelief. That stops the power of G.o.d from operating. This is a very important truth, but to those who emphasize the extreme sovereignty of G.o.d-that He controls everything-what I've just shared is terrible. These people hate me for teaching this. I've been branded a cult and all kinds of things because I preach that G.o.d's will doesn't just automatically come to pa.s.s. You have to choose G.o.d's will. Personally, I think this is obvious if you are a student of the Word.

Not in Vain Paul said: For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to he called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of G.o.d. 1 Corinthians 15:9 That's a strong statement coming from a man who wrote half of the New Testament and saw people raised from the dead. Paul was a powerful man of G.o.d, yet he knew that wasn't because of who he was in the natural. It was because of the grace and mercy of G.o.d. So he said, ”I'm the least, not even fit to be called an apostle, because of the things I did.”

But verse 10 goes on to say: But by the grace of G.o.d I am what l am...

He gave all of the credit to G.o.d and said, ”It's the grace, the unmerited favor and ability of G.o.d, that was given to me that made me who I am.” Then he continued saying: ... and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:10 In Galatians 2:16, Paul said that if you are trying to be justified by the works of the law, then Christ profits you nothing. Your faith is vain and you make void the grace of G.o.d.

Grace is what G.o.d does for us, independent of us. It has nothing to do with our performance. By grace, G.o.d has already provided forgiveness of sins, healing, deliverance, joy, and peace. Everything has already been accomplished by the grace of G.o.d. But grace alone does not transform us unless there is the response of faith on our part. This is what the apostle Paul was saying.

I Labored More Abundantly His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of G.o.d which was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 This verse serves as a great example of grace and faith working together. G.o.d, by grace, extended a call to Paul. He was on his way to murder Christians in Damascus, yet Jesus appeared to him in a blinding flash of light and gave him an opportunity to respond. That was grace. Paul didn't deserve that. When the Lord spoke to him, He said: I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the p.r.i.c.ks. Acts9:5 The Lord had already been convicting Paul and p.r.i.c.king his heart. There are several scriptures that recount where people were p.r.i.c.ked in their hearts (Acts 2:37, for example). This is speaking of the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

G.o.d had been convicting Paul ever since he saw Stephen stoned to death. Saul, who became Paul, was the one at whose feet everybody laid their coats down. He kept their garments as he watched them stone Stephen to death. (Acts 7:58.) Saul saw Stephen as he was dying, kneel down and pray: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Acts 7:60 Stephen saw the heavens open up and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of G.o.d. (Acts 7:55-56.) Saul heard Stephen testify of this moments before he was killed, and G.o.d had been p.r.i.c.king Saul's heart ever since. The Lord extended grace toward the man who was killing His own people. That's the grace of G.o.d!