We Are Wicked?
9/7/19
It is difficult for anyone to recognize their heart
status when they have reached the climax of their presence and place in the
world. Most of the time when people or
nations reach this place, they forget who gave them the opportunity to be in
such a position in the first place, this is not something new either for
history has dealt us with numerous examples of this, including the Church. What is so appalling to some is the blatant
disregard for those who seek our leadership in order to make their lives better
all the while blasting our Creator and establisher with our thumbed-up nose as
we unknowingly yet voluntarily take sledgehammers to our pedestal. God does have a slow anger potential but if
pushed away long enough He cannot ignore the eternal damage that will occur
without Him grabbing our attention; but for some reason, He holds out as long
as He can to show us that we are wicked- a statement not a question.
In the last article that God shared with us He did so out
of the book of Lamentations, a book that many do not know exists much less read
or study its content. So with that said,
God and His sense of humor is going to turn our attention to the Book of Nahum,
another lesser known books of the Bible but instead coming from a major prophet
as Lamentations did this is one of the “minor” prophet books. I really do not like the terms major prophets
and minor prophets because all of the books of the prophets contain a vast
amount of information concerning the heart of Israel and just how sorrowful
they had become in the eyes of God. Israel
had lost the eternal Covenant status when they chose to go it alone without God
and while they finalized their beliefs in 1 Samuel the process took time to
come full circle as they say. Israel’s
pedestal was cracking and they could not see the truth below them, so God
allowed their pedestal to fall and to scatter for a very long time.
Pride comes before a fall the old adage says. To be truthful, since pride is a
characteristic of sin we can truly say that our pride begins at the 5th
cell of our development after conception because this is when death enters into
our lives. This nation has demonstrated
such ugliness when it comes to personal and national elevated pride that we
cannot see exactly how far up we are on this pedestal of ours. This pride replicates the Tower of Babel in
height, irreverence, and selfish reputation with a heap load of anger added into
the mix. In such acts, it was believed
that if people put their heads and hearts together and work together that great
and mighty things would be accomplished, all it proved worthy of is sinful
disobedience that cost the people their homes, way of life and language. They believed their good works overruled
their wickedness, so much so that over time with this belief the people truly
believed they were not wicked at all but those who opposed them were the ones
who were wicked. It is amazing how
humanity continues to believe in the lie that their own personal ideas can
bring them long-lasting peace, prosperity, and security and that a Savior or
eternal Father and Judge is not necessary.
But, with the last sentence of the previous paragraph I
must admit that I have tried to do things on my own and build my world up and
around me so that my glory and reputation shines brighter than any other one
around. Yes, I was still nice and
friendly to those around me but what lied within my heart was a being that
would have no hesitation to rush ahead of the crowd in order to be recognized. I failed to recognize and understand, even
though I had taken a class in Embryology that taught me about my failings
before I was even born, that I was nothing until I found God and His Son in my
life. I was proud in many areas of my
life because I was good at what I did for a living and I completely missed and
bypassed my wickedness in the eyes of God.
Eventually, my physical life began to change and over the next few years
or so God began to chip away at my pedestal (wickedness) in a manner that only He
could perform. Many times I would fight
these changes that God was implementing and I found that as my fight persisted
so did my miserable manner; still not understanding what was going on inside my
heart. My pride was so intense, that I
stopped seeking the help of God and began believing that I could do things just
fine without Him, yet keeping Him in my mind most of the time because of my
upbringing. This action of mine proved
that God was patient with me and that He would not write me off because my
selfish desires ruled my life at that time.
During this time in my life, my mindset belief was that I
was not in jail nor had I been in jail, I did not do drugs or go out partying
and raising havoc among the towns we lived in so I really did not paint a bad
picture of myself. In fact, I never
asked myself or even considered myself to be evil or wicked, a misconception
that I walked with for a considerable amount of time. Yes, I had problems like so many others but I
never thought about how opposite of life I was living through my selfish ways
and means. This concept of wickedness
goes along with sin because when you do it long enough it becomes second nature
and it is easy to complete without even thinking about what you have done. When this occurs, and we are approached by
someone who sees the evil district inside of our lives then asks us about it we
look shocked at their faces and react according to what resides within us. How can someone who is perceived as a good
person and contributes regularly to the community and maybe to church
activities or programs even be considered wicked? How dare they ask such a thing about me? We forget that anything that provokes God to
anger is the definition of wickedness, simple disobedience from a young person
who defies their parents when they say to clean their room is considered
wickedness. It may sound a tad harsh but
if a crack in the armor is available the enemy shall use it to penetrate the
heart.
One of the more deceitful events that many of us deal with
today is that it is okay to have any opinion about life that you wish to
pursue. It does not matter what you do
or how you believe for as long as you do not break any major laws you can live
as you want without any purposeful and physical harm or repercussions. The world and its ruler is just doing their
jobs when such promotions are pronounced because we all know that if everyone
is doing it, it means that everything and everyone is okay with it, right? Anyone who follows the world lives in darkness
and thus represents the ways of the world.
In turn, this type of lifestyle and belief goes against God and His
eternal Ways of Life that He established so long ago. I find it so fascinating that people who live
with the world have to continually change their stances on all subjects that
are presented before them, then angrily reject those folks around them who do
not change and stand firm on a solid foundation when ugliness arrives.
Nahum 1:2 states a very important detail about God and
how He responds to those who bring wickedness before His eyes. It states: “God is jealous, and the Lord
revengeth; the Lord revengeth and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on
his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.” Many would be quick to argue that if God was
a loving Being that He proclaims to be, why would He make a statement such as
this? It sounds to like to these folks
that God is angry and does not want to be challenged by those who have
different opinions from His. They will
even throw in the word “jealous” and use it completely out of context as
well. In all of the projected encounters
that run across our eyes each day how many would you say fizzle out or stay on
a slow burner and simmer? Right, none of
them, and why would one believe it is that way?
Humans love to exaggerate things and propagate them to enhance their
opinions and beliefs, most of the time without understanding the content or
context of these happenings.
God is a jealous God, and He has the complete authority
to be in such a state, for His prized Creations were lied to enough that they
chose to leave His perfected conditions and make their own way instead. I would be jealous too if I had created
something so precious in my eyes and then have it stolen from my possession due
to a lie from a third party. Only an
enemy would do such a thing to someone else and what we do not realize is that
our enemy is the same as God’s enemy but where God takes a stand against Satan
we allow him continual access to our hearts and it is THIS action that upsets
God enough to make such statements as He does in Nahum 1:2. Can you imagine what our lives would be like
if God did not care enough to know when to reel us in? I understand that this is a grave issue in
modern society in that many parents will go out and solicit themselves at the
same facilities as their children are at today, but that is a destructive path
that serves no one any good and provides only contempt for authority. In no manner is God such a parent, He wants
to protect His children not lead them into temptation yet at the same time
allows us to remember what He has taught us before He must act; this is where
His jealousy originates.
But there is an additional characteristic of God that
appears in the next verse and it is this, God is slow to anger and great in
power, and will not acquit the wicked.
It may be easy for others to condemn God for allowing such records to be
extended until a supernatural event needs to be perfected in order to grab our
attention. But that would not be a
complete and just God and especially not one who Created us with the ability to
choose our paths by our own accord. Completeness
and just means that all aspects of the situation and presentation at hand are
weighed equally before other acts are taken.
This process on the human level is grossly administered on selfish
manifestations and is the sole reason that many times true justice is not
achieved or on the other hand overachieved.
A selfish system cannot administer completeness if self runs the day,
for all of us have been in the arena of making our parents wait on their plans
due to our carelessness or selfish indignations on our part after the scene
unfolds. God is never rushed to anger or
to judgment He shall always weigh the human circumstances and see if His prized
Creations figure things out beforehand.
Then and only then when He sees that our ways have become so far off
course that we do not realize our own wickedness does He act to grab our
attention. I thank God every day that He
is slow to anger even in my life, for I still am a sinner saved by Grace and if
it was not for this Truth I would die in my sins and deservedly go to hell for
eternity.
One last point about verse 3 before the article comes to
a close and it is this: the characteristics and description of God in this
verse is not a curse by any means but it is a verse of promise, happiness,
blessings, and peace. The world and its
leader shall never tell you this about God he would rather you see and
experience the hand of God in an angry manner and then tell you further lies
just how bad God is. As stated in the
previous paragraph God is not a father of the world who sits and watches for
their child to mess up and to punish them every time something does not go
according to plan, but God IS a Father who comes from a perfect line of
establishment and One who knows exactly when to show His hand in order to keep
the perfected patterns of His lineage intact.
Now, whether or not we heed to such perfection depends upon if we study
His Word, know His ways, and most importantly obey them. Obedience drives God and when we live under
His Ways willingly, this verse cannot be experienced any other way than a promise,
happiness, blessings, and peaceful verse.
Many of us understand how
difficult it is to realize a belief or personal condition that for a long
period of time we have not recognized present within our lives. It is
this point that proves to be the most painful in any type of recovery or building
project, for it, places us in a vulnerable position on all levels of our
existence thus subjecting us to an infinite number of attacks from sources
around us. It is also at this point where a good portion of us turn
around and progress no further either because of the fear that we recognize
that is right in front of us, but if we conquer our fear of the fear around us
and take that step of healing our lives will never be the same. As with
any type of issue, addiction, or suffering profile they represent a condition
of complete surrender and acceptance that often work to antagonize each other
providing an added measure of insecurity that some succumb to before completing
the healing process.
As one may have already figured
out that the previous paragraph can fit into any person’s physical recovery
process when dealing with issues that they have allowed to encompass their
being, but what many do not understand is that this same addictive process
occurs in our spiritual lives as well and these issues and conditions have the
exact same consequences as the physical, for at some point they shall bleed
over into the physical also. Wickedness is a growing process that many of
us do not even know that we have allowed entering into our lives until we have
totally surrendered to its ways. The one trick Satan has on us is that he
loves to sneak concepts into our minds and then lets them fester for a while,
then at some point, he will bring up a sympathetic setting that supports this
cause and you appropriately react according to what has been planted in your
life. If allowed, this seed will do what it is supposed to, grow and
become a planted root in your life and then produce many offspring as it was
designed. When a seed has been planted and then allowed to grow it
naturally becomes a part of its soil and the soil, whether it is painful or
pushed out of the way, must contend with the presence of the seed’s growth.
So, the soil accepts this new presence and joins in together with the seed, now
root to cultivate its presence. This is how we become wicked, even though
we first recognize something is wrong we allow it to reside and grow until it
becomes a natural place setting within our lives creating a new environment
that soon will take shape enough to admit publicly.
When this process reaches the
point of non-recognition, it is then accepted as being normal and
unrecognizable as an issue that needs to be dealt with. Another problem
with this embedded root is that since it is no longer recognizable it can
freely influence other areas of our lives so that its buddies can join in our
fertile soil. As these new issues and seeds are added, their occupancy
and presence are no longer even felt and their origins go unnoticed and
consequently unabated in their invitations and growth patterns.
Eventually, our lives begin to be drained with the internal battle that we
start to feel but because of our shaded influences we bring in more bad seed to
plant simply because we do not know any better. Therefore, our lives have
fulfilled the consequential sin infestation that our enemy wants us to have and
what we have accepted as good fruit from the tree. All placement of good
has been forcibly withdrawn from our lives and a worldly environment is what
our lives can only crave; an addiction that has deadly results if not corrected
as soon as possible.
It is this type of infestation
of sin that we become the wickedness that God cannot stand to see and will
destroy if things are not corrected. God understands exactly what sin
does to our lives if we do not allow His presence to influence then rid
ourselves from. Satan shall continually say to you that it is okay and
that you can handle such eradication and sadly, many people believe this lie
and instead of being healed find themselves falling deeper into their selfish
(flesh) schemes that sink them further away from God. Satan shall never
tell you that Jesus is the only way for this process to be solved for he will
always have an alternative path for you to take to “complete” this “healing”
completely. By the time the wickedness has reached this almost full
capacity level, many will not believe in a single pathway, much less one that
involves God. Any blatant manifestation of wickedness that presents
itself as the result of an uninhibited growth pattern God likens to an
abomination which places our lives in a different category, one marked for
destruction, both on the physical aspect and spiritual one as well. It is
this condition that we see and read about in Nahum, where God cannot allow sin
to rule the day for if He did that would mean that He allows sin to continue
and shall tolerate it without any repercussions, a state of His existence that
cannot alter.
We see what many people would
consider being an angry and evil ridden Creator with a vengeful lust for
destruction but it is actually the condition of sin and level of sinful
acceptance that provokes God in making such statements against His
people. Remember God is a consistent God, one that when He does something
once He must follow that standard at all times, and most importantly, the state
we are in is due to our choices, not God's. We first see this when Adam
and Eve fell from the Garden of Eden, we see it here in this passage with the
same type of purposeful rebellion from Israel and we shall see it again if this
nation does not turn its heart back to God right now. No one ever knows
how long God has plans for something supernatural to occur and if one stops and
thinks about it this plan of God’s is beautiful for it sticks with His
unconditional love for His people and the desire for us to choose His Ways
instead of being forced to do so. God eternally despises sin and the one
who brought it into our lives yet at the same time even though sin rules our
lives we do not have to abide by its laws, we have an escape plan that has been
provided.
It is this plan that hate
separates us from, hate does not come from God but from the ruler of this
world, Satan. He has done a fabulous job in tricking us to believe that
we can live our lives with the blessings of God and still superficially
understand the Bible. Satan has also convinced us that we are sinners and
since we are it is okay to accept God but stay living in the ways that make us
purposeful sinners and God will accept us in this capacity because He loves
us. The TRUTH is that if we allow God into our hearts there is no way
possible that we shall stay in the same manner as we were when we allowed God into
our lives. God changes our hearts because of who He is and what His Son
did for us on the cross. Living in sin and believing that it is okay to
do so is provoking God through the growth of our acceptance of voluntary
wickedness and when we live in this state we are living superficially and
selfishly because we refuse to hear our hearts and spirits cry out for eternal
help just as they were Created to act.
What is your response to this
Truth from God Church? Are you condoning such worldly standards and wickedness
or are you standing up for Christ and teaching that we need to follow God and
His Ways, present Jesus Christ as the Savior of all who shall listen, and walk
in a manner of Covenant responsibility all tied in together? There cannot
be any self when it comes to the fact of eternity, everything should point to
Jesus and the things He did for us before He walked on this earth, while He
walked on this earth and what is He still provides for us today.
Repentance is the first step in the acknowledgment that we are sinners and that
we have a problem or problems that need taking care of by someone greater than
what we can provide ourselves. Repent Church! Times are about to
change if we do not break through our own lies and begin to preach the Gospel
to the dying world, and YES we shall be included in the supernatural wakeup
call God has for this nation. God is not One who sits on His throne with
a big pencil and eraser watching for us to mess up so that He can erase our
existence from His records. God is a loving God who cannot stand to see
His children suffer through the voluntary acceptance of sin and disobedience
and at some point, He must grab our attention as only He can do. We can
avoid this issue, if we only do what Jesus commanded us to do but first we need
to turn our hearts around and dig our hearts back into the Word of God so that
we know how to defend our faith but to correctly promote it as well.
DLB
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