Going Back

Going Back

8/20/17

This topic is one that God has dealt with us before but it is one that He wishes to re-address due to our lack of understanding about the importance of the basics of Him and His Word.  In a society where people tend to label others who do not agree with their current ideas as offensive, backward, or behind the times it is difficult to bring everyone into an agreement on any level.  Yet, we continually fail to see this reality of the sinful world around us and choose to stomp ahead destroying chance after chance for true healing.  Until we understand that God is the foundation of our existence and that His Word is the only way to complete peace and unity we will continue to wander aimlessly with blame on our foreheads and declaring the right to divide and conquer, a sad state of living that was not meant for our design.

The ideology of progressivism is one of great quality and attainable on many levels for the advancement of society is an honorable achievement; however, if this concept of living and reality is not rooted in a true and solid foundation it can only provide such destruction of unknown proportions.  As I have the opportunity to briefly study past societies that have ruled our physical world it has become clear that the majority of them had progressive ideas that should have been successful.  Today we are witnessing the same type of ideology that is trying to be pushed through not only in this nation but also in most other nations as well.  A painful realization that progressivism is not working is obvious when many of the constituents are not agreeing with those who are in charge and it is at this point that we need to understand the reasons why this state is falling apart instead of being brought together.  We must also contend that if one specific group of constituents agree on the ideology, in this case, progressivism, we must understand their requests and point everyone in the correct decision or at some point in the future a hostile takeover of that ideology shall be witnessed.

The definition of progressive is defined as the following when used as an adjective: happening or developing gradually or in stages; proceeding step by step and when being used as a noun: a progressive tense or aspect, liberal ideas.  The definition itself seems like it would be a great setting that one should take and when applied to the basics of life itself is an extraordinary place for all individuals and societies.  But when these practices are applied they need to be done so that the basics and foundation that we have already established be included in such development and not left out of the progressive equation.  It is this portion of our overall progressive knowledge that is the root of our issues for we attempt to and then apply these progressive ideas into society without recognizing and keeping the basics of our existence.  In other words, we run with our own humanistic and centrist ideas and leave our Eternal Creator out of the picture.  It is a natural process that we increase our well being but God placed His Truth as our foundation and if our progressiveness outweighs our desire to live in obedience to our Creator our existence shall always come under scrutiny and be called into question.

Currently, there is a song playing on the airwaves that describes the condition of the Church and reciprocally many of the people who make up the Church, and the song is entitled “I Wanna Go Back” by David Dunn.  When I first heard the song it broke my heart because it made me realize just how far out of touch we have become with our Lord and Savior and that we have adopted the world’s progressive methods instead of keeping the basics of our mission and existence.  The song says gives examples of life when times seemed simpler and that we didn’t care to keep up with the Joneses but we're sure glad they lived next door.  It is through this simplistic mistake that we have allowed this truth slip from our hands and thus become competitors instead of friends – the difference of having our eyes focused on the tree instead of the relationship – for when we leave the basics behind for another quest all hope is lost, the only question that remains is how long will it take for us to see this variance?

Have you ever questioned why such a song was even considered for someone to write?  Why would we need to go back when we have come so far in every physical aspect of humanity?  There lies the key, the physical aspect of our existing rules our decisions and thus thrusts us into a position of unworthiness before God, a matter in which we shove aside and ignore deeming it a non-necessity.  Our physical glory represents our livelihood and deserves the grandeur that goes along with it is our motto and creed.  Sadly, it is evident that God’s Word directly deals with this issue and what makes this truth so sad is that humanity does not get it because the Word of God contains verse after verse, chapter after chapter and book after book of humans not understanding what is going on and the importance of keeping our dominion clean before God until God finally says enough in the Book of Revelation.

God demonstrated this ability of ours when He created mankind in a specific manner and then gave mankind the directive to keep and dress his dominion.  The directive that God gave Adam and then through creative status to Eve, comes to the conclusion that mankind had to obey the procedure in order for everything to be as it was when they were placed in the Garden of Eden.  There was a vast amount of plants and animals present to occupy their time and while these objects were present they were superficial compared to the one law of obedience that God gave to them.  It is evident through their actions, that both Adam and Eve had already progressed enough in their thoughts and beliefs and placed their occurrences high enough on these personal standards that the basics that had been taught to them by God had been forgotten.  It is this process that God intended for us to be “progressive” in nature but in order for us to be completely successful in our endeavors, we must keep Him number one in our lives and the example that we have from Adam and Eve was not of such nature.

If we look at what occurred in the Garden of Eden we can see a pattern here that is very disturbing because it follows an ideology that we are seeing for ourselves today and when understood correctly can see such practices in previous societies as well.  We are supposed to be a progressive creation one that finds new ideas to make our lives better, but when technology and casual rules infiltrate our dressing and up-keeping standards the obedience aspect of our lives becomes in question.  It is this loss of the basics that brings us to our knees in one way or the other, and as we look back and study the behaviors of mankind it is readily recognized that those occurrences on our knees are in front of another ruler that has conquered our dominion.

There is a telling pattern that many of us that have been raised in the church or in a church environment do not see and that is the need to return to the basics of why we began our lives clinging on to God from our beginnings.  Many people I knew as a kid went to church and at the same time respecting those who did not go to church and vice versa.  However, we must contend that the lack of modern communication skills of today the sins of the people stayed relatively quiet and obscure whereas today every slight detail of a person’s life seems like can be accessed with a few clicks of a mouse.  Whatever the case may be, these practices of vice and other tempting settings were in place and were acted upon when wanted.  I know that this portion of the message may be a bit uncomfortable but it is a vital issue that we need to address before we proceed because the one great detail that needs to be addressed about returning to the basics is repentance of all sins, quiet ones, and public ones.

Israel demonstrated this progressive essence all throughout the Old Testament and did not make any bones about it while their times of existence were on a high level.  Prophet after prophet gave warnings to Israel about their lives, what they were allowing into their hearts, and what the consequences of such actions would be yet each time the children of God found the time to ignore every word from the people that God chose to proclaim the truth.  These prophetic words from these men and the examples that both men and women gave about the coming Messiah were ignored as well and interpreted as a physical king instead of one who was interested in relationship instead.  No wonder the prophets screamed and cried daily to the people because they were acting out a prime example of Israel not understanding their basics yet having the makings and markings of a “progressive” society written into their history.

It is this life of Jesus on earth that Israel continues to reject Jesus as their Messiah for He did not come in the physical glory and realm that they believe He should and it also means that they cannot accept the spiritual aspects of Covenant and the true relationship that God wants with His people instead of the limitations of the physical aspect of our lives. The spiritual aspect is their basic foundation and since their definition is Covenant that comes from God this means that Christ is the physical representation of that Covenant, not only to the Jew but to the Gentile as well.  The Jews wanted pomp and circumstance to present itself as their leader and king but God sent the perfect sacrifice to represent His relationship goals with His people.  The human aspect of image and what it should look like was in full bloom when Jesus walked the earth so it is not too difficult to understand how and why this view of God and Jesus continues to exist in our minds and hearts today, we still portray our physical first and refuse to “get it” that this is not a physical fantasy world but a spiritual battleground that all of us are engaged.

We as a modern society now proudly portray God and Jesus as a figure that we can mold into our own images and thus acquire salvation in this selfish manner, I find this so difficult to ascertain for our opinions of our neighbor could vary by 1 million voices if warranted.  There is no need to repent of the wrongs that we have committed against God or to change from our current status in the world, for all is good and I am good enough to pass through judgment without blemish.  This is the message that many pastors and churches are delivering to its congregations and that when a person is willing to change themselves according to their guidelines that this type of procedure is indeed well enough.  I just finished reading an article about one of the more popular pop singers of our era, a preacher’s daughter and one who has since liberated her body, mind, and soul according to what she wanted and how she wanted.  It is this type of lie that she believes that will not sit well with her when judgment day arrives for her for Jesus is the only way to salvation and it is through His blood that we are saved not our own.  This is a prime example of how progressivism has overtaken the truth about our existence and has left the most important Being out of the progression; the basics are gone and we have not intentions of returning to them either.

There can be no question that this nation was founded on godly principles and designed as a haven for those who wished to live within the guidelines of God’s Word, the only problem with this is the fact that human intentions slowly and methodically took over these desires and we have the corrupt church that we have today.  Jesus dealt with the same issues back when He walked this earth which proves that we really have not strayed away from our sinful mannerisms only inherited and expanded spiritual ties that we now do not understand or recognize are there.  When Jesus argued with the Pharisees and Sadducees about issues of God they were not directed at the social acceptance of their status but the basics of why God created humanity and the direct relationship that God wanted with mankind and NOT the religious symbolism that ruled their lives and separated them from God.  No wonder it is easy for us to lose our way when we allow the world to infiltrate our ideologies for this allowance blinds us through pride and therefore we walk around in life believing that our ideas about God and how to live in Him through selfish and worldly ways is acceptable all the while not realizing that we are fulfilling the progressive nature that God ordained but living a lie due to the fact that we have left the basics (God and His Word) out of this progressive nature; a sure death sentence that will end in an eternal separation from our Creator.

In the last few years, there has been a great influx of people into this area and while this growth should be considered a good thing some things are not adding up physically.  But for those who understand the spiritual realm of life know that there is a reason that small business people in every part of the business world are moving into the area, something is about to occur that will be of an epic proportion.  There have been couples and families move into this area that has begun churches and at the same time see the many other denominational buildings standing in the area.  These wonderful people of God cannot help but wonder and ask God the question “why?” but there is a plan and a divine reason why.  I have a wonderful colleague that she and her husband moved here because God showed them the exact place to start a church. 

The repetitive question is why does this area need another church, for we have so many already?  But when God told them to come here He also stated that He had a reason and that they would soon understand why He placed them here.  They NEVER questioned God’s intentions or the plan that He had for their lives for they saw and continue to see what the world is doing to people and how it has affected the beliefs of the Church.  It did not take them long to realize that even in a community that was once famous for having the most churches per capita in the world that the basics of each one of those denominational buildings were gone and lost to the world, which means that the people who make up those divided buildings were in the same shape.  In this example, denominationalism proved its worth in the downfall of the Church that Jesus established for it’s NEVER His intention to have so many “choices” to spread the gospel of His salvation and Covenant covering.  This beautiful couple has their hands and works cut out for them but they have listened to the voice of God and are teaching the people the heart of God which is what we are supposed to be doing. 

What does it actually mean to go back to a beginning point and is this journey backward even safe and worth it's revisiting?  Why should the one nation who is most famous for sending missionaries to the world now require missionaries to enter this country just to keep some of the doors open?  Why are churches closing or being shut down for a long period of time?  Who is actually winning the battle for our lives?  From the looks of it, the world is winning all because we have failed to realize that through our “progressive” stances we have lost the basics of the only foundation that can warrant our eternal survival.  There is a reason why the world screams that we cannot return to our past for if we did we would be able to understand the fundamentals of the Bible again and begin to live it like it was meant to be lived and not just a symbol of falsities that we have allowed it to become.  A question to ponder for a good moment and that is this: have you really understood why the world refuses to allow its followers to return to something in the past or to back up for another look at things?

God is real and He wants us to understand the importance of His Word and what it means to our lives.  All who have been in church understand that Genesis is the first book of the Bible and how much the stories of that single book mean to our lives and defense of our beliefs but even I thought that I knew enough about Genesis to cover my questions that ran through my head.  But as many of you know, for the last three years or so I cannot get out of the book of Genesis because of the further and more detailed information God has given me to share with His people.  God shattered my beliefs about Genesis and the amount I knew concerning that book, and for the most part, I have only been shown things about the first three chapters and I have 47 more to go.  Genesis is our basics and our foundation and God has broken my heart concerning my arrogance over what I believed I knew and what is really the in-depth truth about my existence.  It is this return to the basics of His Word that has allowed me to grow, it has shocked me, sent chills down my spine and even dropped me to my knees, but through it all I have learned so much more about God and His Word for my life which is what He wants to do in your life. 

What matters to God is that we return our hearts to Him and to give up the falsities and fallacies of the world.  The world cannot bring life only God can and if life cannot be provided that means the opposite can only be given.  Think about this for a moment, and wait on God to explain His answer to you.  Church, we have played “house” for too long and it is time that we leave our denominational pews and go out and change the world with the Gospel of Jesus.  Jesus does not care about denominations and which “one” is correct!!!!!  He cares about those who are dying without knowing Him and who shall spend eternity in hell and separated from Him without any hope of reconciliation or restoration.  I call against the world and ask you to separate yourselves from the world and accept the ways of God, for it is only His Word and His Ways that will save this nation and your heart from utter separation and destruction.  God is not against you, He is for you, for all of eternity and it is He who is asking you to return and to go back to His basics so that we may live, truly live.

DLB