Conclusion

Posted on 06/24/2013 by Jason Ministries

In this study, called Truth or Dare, we have been examining the various chalices that mankind may choose to drink from while searching out eternal life. We have explored seven of the more poisonous libations found in the world’s chalices, and compared them to the life giving liquid that exists in the cup of Christ.

The first three chalices were filled with three very similar toxicants:

– Physical Wealth

– Physical Power

– Physical Pleasure

These three particular vices, we discovered, are very closely linked because any one of them will aid us in acquiring any one, or all, of the others listed.

In other words, if I were to suddenly become a billionaire, and had access to more physical wealth than any one person could spend in a lifetime, then I could use my money to acquire positions of power over others and enjoy any physical pleasure my mind could conceive. Also, if I managed to gain a position of power first, then I could begin to use my influence to gain the monetary wealth I desired and consume the pleasures of my worldly heart. Then again, if one intently chased after the numerous pleasures that this world has to offer, that overwhelming desire to find satisfaction in such things could goad one along until they were wealthy enough or powerful enough to access them.

Physical wealth, power, and pleasure — all three available to humanity. All three are a part of our human condition, but all three can be very toxic and deadly if consumed from Satan’s chalice. As each of these three articles showed, it’s only when we quench our thirst for physical wealth, power, and pleasure from the “cup of Christ” that we can really be satisfied and escape their harmful side effects. Why? Well, just like with any hard drink if you don’t regulate how much you consume (either by drinking very little of it or by “watering” it down) the potency of that beverage will eventually overtake you. In Christ’s cup, all of our natural, physical desires become mixed with spiritual living water — God’s divine “fruit of the vine” — the holy, blameless blood of Jesus Christ. Consuming this recipe ensures us of life; life filled with an abundance of real joy.

In the three articles that followed physical wealth, power, and pleasure, we discovered that there were other dangerous drinks awaiting our consumption. The three additional toxicants examined were:

– Religion

– Philosophy

– Knowledge

Within these three special vices we saw traces of the first three toxins, but also examined some very dangerous ideologies specific to each of these issues.

For example, from within religion, philosophy, and knowledge you can find traces of our desire for physical power. Humanity’s lust for control will drive mankind to abuse their search for spiritual guidance, mental peace, and understanding of all things spiritual and physical. Thus the resulting concoctions reveal a variety of poisonous drinks, as false or legalistic religions appear, worldly ideologies that promote self-centeredness become our focus, and empty teachings that lack the wisdom of God ultimately destroy our lives.

Then our final article disclosed the main ingredient, the base substance, mixed into each drink served up in the chalice of Satan. What’s this staple element of potency? Selfishness. No matter what drink Satan chooses to tempt you with, it will always be heavily lined with a huge portion of selfishness.

Selfishness is the one ingredient certain to remove our gaze from God and His statutes, and place them inward towards our own desires and wants. As long as we continue to over indulge in the libation of selfishness, then Satan knows we will never successfully surrender our lives over to God (Proverbs 18:1; Romans 2:8; James 3:16). Yahweh will never be respected as our sovereign Creator, Jesus will never truly be our Lord, and the Holy Spirit will never really be our guide.

Humanity, as we stated in our introductory article, has a choice. We can embrace the dares that Satan dictates to us, and then experience eternal death, or we can choose to embrace God’s truth, and live forever.

By drinking from Satan’s chalice, our spiritual senses become dulled, forcing us to look death in the face and act as if nothing is wrong; as if all is right and normal. Those that make this choice act on the lie that truth is relevant to their own wants and desires. They accept Satan’s lie that says absolute truth is really the biggest falsehood of the ages. The one really big problem with that — you can’t make the truth go away, and escape it’s consequences, by simply choosing to not believe in it. Famed American science-fiction author Philip K. Dick acknowledged this when he said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”

Merriam-Webster defines the chalice as a: (noun) a drinking cup — goblet. Wikipedia says a chalice is “a goblet or footed cup intended to hold a drink. In general . . . it is intended for drinking during a ceremony.” Most chalices are formed from a precious metal or made of crystal, then they are lined with precious stones and jewels. The reason is they are meant to “wow” and impress people. These aren’t cups for every day use. These are special vessels meant to be used for special occasions.

The term “poisoned chalice” exists, because somewhere in human history someone figured out that the glitz and the glamour of these goblets, used during a celebration or feast, is so distracting that no one would ever consider questioning the liquid being served in it. Today this term is applied to a thing or a situation which appears to be good, at first, but when it is received or experienced it becomes, or is eventually found to be, dangerous. This is why I refer to the lies humanity receives from Satan as a “chalice filled with poison.”

Scripture also compares the truth of God and the lies of Satan as drinks to be consumed by us. Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too.” (1 Corinthians 10:21a) Real truth can only be consumed from the “cup of Christ.” Why? First, because Jesus spoke of Himself as being real truth (John 1:17, 14:6, 18:37) and second, because Christ calls us to consume His truth from His cup (John 4:1-26, 6:53, 7:37-38; 1 Corinthians 10:16).

People cannot find the way to experiencing everlasting life by partaking of any old drink from within any old vessel. Not even if the world decorates their vessels with precious metals, stones, and jewels. No matter how much gold and silver is shaped and formed; no matter how many fine and rare stones or jewels adorn the chalice, it won’t make the poison in it any safer for our consumption.

Christ’s cup appears simple. It’s not adorned with fancy jewels and other distractions. The “cup of Christ” is plain, understated, and accessible to all. Christ’s cup is absent of fancy decor, because it’s not the drink of selfish, pious, and pompous people. Christ’s cup is to be consumed by the selfless, sincere, and humble human. Men and women capable of surrendering their lives to God, in exchange for the substance that grants them eternal life — the blood of Christ. It’s only by drinking in the sufferings of Jesus — now, in this physical world — that we can be allowed access to the wondrous inheritance of God’s Son.

I’ll close with this thought concerning mankind’s endless search for truth and eternal life. It will require us to return to the chamber of the Holy Grail, that we spoke of in our introductory article. As we all stand there, contemplating the various chalices we could drink from, remember this phrase — low probability verses high impact.

No matter how many religions, doctrines, philosophies, ideologies, and studies perk your interests and pleasure your spirit, consider the probability of their being true verses God’s Word being true. Consider the impact these religions, doctrines, philosophies, ideologies, and studies will have on your eternal soul verses the impact that God will have on your soul. If you believe there is at least a one percent probability that, when you die, you will be judged by this holy God spoken of in the Holy Bible, and in this series, then you had better seriously consider the cup of Christ. It only requires that you look past the glitz and the glamour of all the other chalices in the chamber, and (as the guardian said) choosing your cup wisely.

Truth or Dare by J. Scott Harden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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If your church or organization would like to talk with J. Scott Harden about a speaking engagement, or a writing project, please get in touch with Mr. Harden through Jason Ministries‘ Twitter account or Facebook page.

Article VI, part 1

Posted on 04/15/2013 by Jason Ministries

Imagine with me that medical science has figured out how to manifest academic knowledge into a pill. A college student, needing help with their course work, goes to the pharmacy and asks the pharmacist what kind of “knowledge pills” are available. The pharmacist lifts up a case filled with samples of these modern marvels and opens it up in front of the student.

“We have pills for English literature,” the pharmacist stated as he held out a sample. The student quickly takes the pill, swallowing it and almost immediately gains new knowledge concerning English literature. “Wow! What else do you have?” asks the student.

“Well, I have some pills for several studies. Such as art history, biology, and world history,” replies the pharmacist. The student urgently asks for samples of these, and gulps them down. Again, almost in an instant, the student has acquired new knowledge relating to those subjects. Then the student asks, “Do you have a pill for mathematics?” The pharmacist says, “Yes, but you must pay for this one.” The student agrees, and waits as the pharmacist walks away to the storeroom.

Moments later the pharmacist returns with a humongous pill, and after hoisting it onto the counter, with great effort, the student gasps and says, “I have to take that huge pill for math?” To which the pharmacist replies, “Well, yes — math always has been a ‘hard pill’ to swallow.”

Knowledge. Unlike wisdom, knowledge can be a little easier to acquire, though not as easy as simply swallowing a pill. It requires from us, just as wisdom does, our pursuit of it. Educational facilities can’t force people to learn. Just ask any teacher who’s worked with public school kids for any number of years. They can attest to how hard it is to teach children that refuse to learn, or suffer from a learning disability, but teachers from all grade levels will also tell you how rewarding the job can be when students — hungry for knowledge — grow and grow academically.

Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, and author (who served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England), is credited with having said, “Knowledge is power.” It is true that knowledge can empower us to obtain many opportunities in life, but apart from understanding it can become a dangerous weapon. A weapon capable of destroying countless lives. You see, knowledge apart from understanding leaves us empty of wisdom, and a person without wisdom is capable of committing horrific acts against all life forms; especially against human life.

There are many ways to obtain knowledge these days, as computers are accessible in almost every area of the globe. There are also plenty of books, and in some areas microfilm is still available. Some television programs are used to educate us, as well as some radio programs, movies, CDs, and DVDs. Smart phones are basically a portable computer which can access the internet, pod-casts, other sound files, and even some movie files. All of these tools grant us nearly instant access to some type of knowledge, but none of these tools are better used than when employed within the academic system, be that system public, private, or home.

Academia opens us up to all types of knowledge, such as basic reading skills, writing skills, and mathematical skills. From there, mankind can be introduced to countless course studies, for example history, a variety of language skills, the various arts, general business and financial skills, and the many varieties of science, just to name a few. Knowledge really is powerful, but again it must be coupled with understanding to be beneficial to us. Academia may give us access to knowledge, but we must remember that only God can correctly couple our knowledge with understanding. When we allow this to transpire in our lives, then God will grant us access to His wisdom (Proverbs 2:6).

We also need to realize the role that faith plays in our attaining real knowledge. People have incorrectly believed that faith is for superstitious people, and not for the person who seeks intelligence. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, we all exercise faith on a daily basis. We rarely consider the artistry, mathematics, and science involved in the production of a chair, staircase, skyscraper, car, plane, boat, etc., yet without knowing how these various items happened we day in, and day out, use these tools and believe they will function as expected. That is faith.

The faith you exhibited when you sat in your chair today did not in anyway lesson the significance of the artistry, mathematics, and science placed into it, nor did it make you a superstitious fool. As the writer of Hebrews stated in the first verse of chapter eleven: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” We don’t see the creative process of the artist, the mathematical formulas and laws of physics used by the builder of the chair, but we are certain they are properly applied as we hope to sit comfortably and not fall to the ground. This also applies to our faith in the divine Creator. We don’t see God, Himself, but we see and even experience Him on a daily basis through creation and our faith.

As our faith grows, so too will our understanding of the knowledge God has made available to us. This knowledge, whether acquired through academia or through simply living life, will eventually give way to God’s wisdom, but only if we grow in our faith and seek to know the truth. This is the premise for which academia began; to teach concerning what is true. Yet despite this lofty goal, and all the educational tools at our disposal, people today are getting less truth, because God’s wisdom — God’s knowledge and understanding — has been removed from academia. One subject where this is most prevalent is the subject of biological science.

Linus Pauling, a chemist and pacifist, once said, “Science is the search for truth.” Yet today, in biology classes all around the globe a lie is being taught repeatedly, in spite of the evidence being massed against it. The lie began as a simple scientific theory. A scientific theory that was presented because a certain scientist began to have doubts regarding how life and all of creation happened. The lie? Darwinism, or the study of macro-evolution.

Now before we address the lie of macro-evolution in detail, I want you to understand that doubting is certainly a human characteristic. Doubts drive us to question. We question things like who, or what, caused life and all of creation to exist. Doubt moves mankind to ask when and where did such things transpire. Our doubt leads us to ask why things are as they are; to want to understand how things came about. Doubt is a part of the imperfect human spirit, but it is not a virtue.

Doubt might push us toward knowing the truth, and it might help us become certain that what we have discovered is the truth, but it can also cause us to miss the truth, altogether. Greg Laurie, an author and pastor, once said, “Sometimes doubt is the foyer to enter the sanctuary of certainty. Doubt is an act of the mind. Unbelief is an act of the will.” You see, though we doubt, and though that doubt can lead to understanding what is true, it will not lead us to believe the truth. That is our choice. If we are determined to ignore the evidences of God and live within our doubts simply because we do not want to believe in God, or simply because we are mad at God and religion, then no amount of seeking answers to our questions — no amount of study — no amount of knowledge will lead us to see, and know God.

King Solomon penned in the book of Proverbs, “There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) This “way that seems right to a man” is the way of knowledge without understanding. It’s choosing to believe in something because we do not want to deal with God’s truth; to foolishly refuse to believe God’s truth thinking that if we refuse it then we will somehow be exempt from it. Unfortunately, choosing to be ignorant of God’s truth does not result in bliss. Recall with me the Warner Brothers’ cartoon characters, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner.

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are two of the classic cartoon characters from the Warner Brothers’ animated series known as Looney Tunes. The coyote was always trying to make a dinner out of the roadrunner, but he could never catch him. Wile E. Coyote would even make ridiculous inventions, or make outlandish purchases, to help him catch Road Runner, but it was always to no avail.

One of the classic gags that took place in nearly every “Coyote/Road Runner” animated short, was the bit where the coyote would be chasing the roadrunner up through the desert mountains and inadvertently both would go running off of a cliff into the open air. Road Runner would stop (in midair, mind you) and stand there staring at the coyote. Wile E. Coyote would give a big sinister grin, thinking that he had finally caught his fast, feathery foe, but quickly he would realize that he and the roadrunner were defying the laws of gravity.

Before making his infamous fall to the ground, a sign would emerge from the coyote asking Road Runner how he was ignoring the law of gravity. The roadrunner would respond with a sign of his own stating that, unlike the coyote, he never studied law. A quick, and hearty, “Beep-Beep” would emerge from the happy-go-lucky bird and off he would go; running across the open sky and back onto the mountain road. Meanwhile, the poor ol’ coyote would drop like a “lead balloon.” Wile E. Coyote would fall into the screen, until all you see is a brief cloud of smoke puffing up from the ground below.

We are not living in a world of “Wile E. Coyotes” and “Road Runners.” God’s truth exists whether we know of it, and understand it, or not. We cannot ignore God’s truth, or remain uneducated of God’s truth, and expect to escape the results of it. As the Apostle Paul said in the first chapter of the book of Romans:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — His eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1: 18-22)

In our next two posts we will begin to disclose the foolishness of macro-evolution. We will show you, in as much detail as we can, how scientific knowledge is dangerous when God’s truth and understanding is not applied to it. We will also expose the sinister agenda behind American Darwinists.

Article II, part 2

Posted on 12/17/2012 by Jason Ministries

In Article II, part one, we began looking into the choice we have in life to embrace the chalice of power or the cup of Christ. In this introductory article we saw how power, apart from God’s intent, is raw, roguish, and destructive; very much like a cancer cell is to a healthy cell. We also ended the article by naming the cure for this cancerous force, and that cure is God’s grace. But, what is grace, really?

The word “grace” holds a variety of meanings. Sometimes grace is an attitude of refinement, politeness, and other times it’s a reference to ones apparent flawless muscular coordination. From a financial perspective it’s a time in which a delinquent payment can be paid without penalties being accrued; politically it can become a title. From a perspective of spirituality the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines grace as both a noun and a verb:

(noun) the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings//a divinely given talent or blessing: the graces of the Holy Spirit//the condition or fact of being favored by someone: he fell from grace because of drug use at the Olympics.

(verb) do honor or credit to (someone or something) by one’s presence: she bowed out from the sport she has graced for two decades.

In the book entitled Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine, by Max Lucado, the word “grace” get’s this description:

Grace is simply another word for God’s reservoir of strength and protection. Not occasionally or miserly but constantly and aggressively, wave upon wave. We barely regain our balance from one breaker, and then, bam, here comes another!”

Grace, real godly grace, is strength. God’s grace is power! That is why grace is both a noun (person, place, or thing) and a verb (being and doing). Grace is free, and can only be acquired from God. Grace is a divine blessing from God and mankind can honor Him, and others, with godly grace just as He has honored us with it. Grace truly is God’s chemotherapy for Satan’s cancerous perversion of power.

I have discovered that humanity will meet with three types of power, while living here on earth. These three types of power are very closely connected, and are as follows:

– Physical: anything involving the human body, its senses, and its sexuality.
– Mental: anything involving the human mind.
– Spiritual: anything involving the human spirit/soul; things of a religious nature.

Physical power can be manifested in several ways, but these three particular forms are most prevalent. First, it can appear to us as political power (governmental affairs of a given country), second is monetary power (financial affairs involving currency), and third is emotional or sexual power (affairs relating to the most basic of human instincts, physiological processes, and activities connected with physical attraction or intimate physical contact).

Mental power is exhibited when someone manages to gain influence or control over someone else’s thought processes. Advertisers use mental influences to sell products. Politicians use aspects of mental control to gain your support. Men and women, alike, use this type of sway to connect with one another and mate. Psychologists utilize this type of power to help heal their patients. Hypnotherapists do the same, all be it in a more invasive way.

Spiritual power, just as these other two-forms of power, are used for the soul purpose of controlling the unseen. Satan attempts to stay in power over mankind by influencing our spirits to rebel against following God’s statutes. Religious leaders make use of this power to attract people to their churches, mosques, temples, and synagogues, and to promote their belief systems. God uses His powers over the unseen to restore humanity to Himself, through the gift of His divine grace, and to make us the true worshipers that He originally created us to be.

Power, both perverse and pure, exists all around us. No one form of power is ever initiated without the use of the other forms. Though we see ourselves as physical beings we still use mental and spiritual powers, either for good or for bad. Though we conceive ourselves as mentally superior, we still tap into the body and soul to achieve virtue or malice. Whether you believe in the power of the spirit of mankind, or not, the mind and body play a part in the power of the righteous spirit or the evil spirit. Power is everywhere, but apart from God’s purpose it becomes rogue — out of control — cancerous.

The world received yet another horrible display of this rogue power, all too recently, in Newtown, Connecticut, USA. For what ever reason, a deranged young man decided to go on a killing spree and attempt to destroy countless lives. This wasn’t just physical brutality on display, or mental issues too long undealt with. This was a cold reminder of what can happen when God’s power is removed from the spirit of humanity.

All too often, when a tragedy like the Sandy Hook massacre occurs, people want to analyze the symptoms they think are at the core of the incident without really diagnosing the problem. They want to attack the tools used during the offense, and help promote some political agenda, while yet again avoiding to understand the real issue involved. It’s only when we open ourselves up to understanding why power has become so corrupt that we can hope to overcome such tragedies as this one in Connecticut, USA.

Mankind has to embrace an understanding of its fallen nature, and in turn give its corrupt nature to its Creator to correct. Only through God’s grace can we ever hope in a brighter tomorrow. Without embracing God’s grace in our lives, we can never overcome Satan and his demonic power. Only by returning our lives to God’s holy influence can humanity escape being nothing more than puppets in the hand of an evil puppet master.

Even Jesus, the very begotten Son of God, had to overcome the powers of Satan before He could become our pure and holy sacrifice. Look with me at Matthew, chapter 4, verses 1-11: “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’ Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’’ Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’’ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’’ Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.”

Did you pay attention to the process that Satan followed to draw God the Son away from God the Father? The Devil first attacks Jesus’ humanity. This is an attempt to split the flesh away from the spirit. Mental power is being used by Satan to get Jesus to focus on the fleshly things (namely Christ’s physical need for nourishment) in order to remove His focus from His purpose. Christ quotes a Scripture verse (Deuteronomy 8:3) and Satan loses this first attempt to dethrone the Prince of heaven.

The next temptation confronts Christ’s spirituality. Satan couldn’t get Jesus to focus on the flesh, so he tries to use Christ’s deity against Himself, even quoting Scripture (Psalm 91:11-12) to the incarnate Word of God. In doing this, the devil is wanting Jesus to use His godly powers for His own personal gain. After all, Jesus is God’s only begotten Son, and the Father would never let anything bad happen to His own child. This attack didn’t work either, and after Jesus completes another Scripture quote (Deuteronomy 6:16), Satan has to attempt a third attack.

The final temptation, was a last ditch effort to lure Christ from His Father’s purpose. Satan offers Jesus all of creation. Yes — all of creation! The Devil couldn’t get Jesus to focus on His physical needs. Satan couldn’t get Jesus to abuse His spiritual powers, so now he offers Christ the only thing he had left to bargain with — the very thing he stole from humanity — the rule of creation.

Oh, the audacity of this demon king. Satan lost out on being God’s most cherished cherub just because he thought he could rule over God and the heavens. Losing at that, the silly serpent then steals the dominion of earth from mankind and turns around and offers it up to Jesus, but only if Christ will bow down and worship him. Satan was willing to give up his last chance at ruling something God created for the chance at having God’s own Son worship him — it was all about the power he longed for from the beginning. If Satan couldn’t be over the entire triune God, then at least he could rule over the second of the three — Immanuel.

You see, Lucifer couldn’t defeat the triune God, all at once, for the rule of the heavens. Maybe though, Satan could defeat God the Son, alone, and get Him to worship him. Are you following this? Satan was still sulking over his loss of station and power. Sure he was ruler here, but he knew (and knows) that rule was (and still is) temporal, and only because the triune God had allowed it. Satan also knew he was offering up stolen goods to the very one who created it and who technically still owned it, and yet that did not detour him from trying. “Oh to have at the very least, Jesus — the Son of God — worship me,” the Devil must have thought. Satan thought wrong, for with a final quote of Scripture (Deuteronomy 6:13) the battle was lost, and upon Christ’s final rejection of the Devil, Satan left Him and angels came to attend to His needs. Righteous power will always win over the forces of unrighteousness.

Did you happen to notice how Satan was so quickly defeated? Scripture. God’s Word really is a mighty two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and even though Satan knows of God’s Word he cannot wield it as a weapon against us, or God, because he doesn’t know God’s Word personally. Only we can, because God’s grace has allowed us to have a personal relationship with His very Word made into flesh. That godly Word, come to life, is Jesus. Jesus is the weapon we can wield against Satan. Jesus is the power of God’s grace, come to life.

I will leave you with a simple lyric about great power. It’s from a simple children’s song, that most of you will know. The words are as follows:

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong; they are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me; yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible tells me so.

Selah (Pause/Reflect).

All rights reserved. The brief information quoted from this book appears in this article with the permission granted per the copyright statement which appears in the first edition publication, September 2012.

Published by Thomas Nelson, 501 Nelson Place, Nashville, TN 37214 — (615) 889-9000; www.thomasnelson.com/.

Jesus Loves Me, words by Anna Bartlett Warner and William Batchelder Bradbury and music by William Batchelder Bradbury, pub.: Unknown, Copyright: Public Domain

Article II, part 1

Posted on 12/03/2012 by Jason Ministries

Power. That ever elusive ability to absolutely direct, or wholly influence, life’s course of events or, more importantly, the behavior of others. Deep in our soul’s, we know that we can never really have it. We don’t understand why such power eludes us, but the truth of our inability to rule our destinies, and the destinies of others, does not detour us from chasing after it. Power — one of humanity’s most addictive vices.

So, why is power so attractive to us? What is it about the human spirit that makes mankind pursue it so vigorously? I honestly believe it’s because God has placed that desire in each person, but because of mankind’s being disconnected from Him that desire has gone amuck and causes us to act in a cancerous manner. Cancerous? Yes, cancerous — allow me to explain.

The human body is made up of trillions of cells, all of them growing and dividing in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they simply die off and are replaced with new cells. Scientists have tried to confirm an exact number, regarding just how many cells make up the human body, but to date they cannot confirm an exact count.

Now, each cell has a specific coding programed into them, known as DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid). A cell’s DNA defines what it will do, or accomplish. However, if any of our cells DNA becomes damaged or mutates, then the result is a cancerous cell. Cancerous cells do not die when they should and do not allow new cells to form when the body needs them. Essentially these cancerous cells are rogue cells behaving in a faulty, or unpredictable way. A cancerous cell, is really a cell gone mad.

As these cancerous cells group together, they form tumors. Some of these tumors are malignant and some are not, but all are a result of cells acting outside of their normal coding. By the way, there are approximately one-hundred different types of cancerous diseases, each named for the organ for which they originated (ex.: colon cancer begins in the colon, lymphoma begins in the lymph nodes, etc.), but all cancerous diseases begin at the cellular level.

So, what does a cancerous cell have to do with our addiction to, and the pursuit of, power? To answer I must first explain one other statement made earlier. I must explain why I said God has placed into humanity a desire for power.

Read with me from the first chapter of Genesis, verse twenty-six, which states: “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’” According to Scripture humanity was created to rule, to have power over, to dominate all the earth and its inhabitants, but we were to do so corporately, together, and do so under the perfect guidance of our Creator.

So, what happened? What went wrong? Two things. First, sin entered into an angel’s heart. Lucifer (a.k.a. Satan, or the Devil), God’s most wise and most beautiful cherub (Ezekiel 28:12b), decided he could rule over all of creation better than the great I AM (Isaiah 14:13-14). The result was a revolt, led by Lucifer, and when that short lived rebellion was done he, and one-third of heaven’s angelic hosts, was hurled to earth (Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:3-4 & 7-9). Lucifer was no longer a cherished guardian cherub (Ezekiel 28:14a), he was now Satan, the chief demon of demons.

Satan, who no longer had any authority in heaven, now saw the chance to gain authority in another kingdom. Sure, it wasn’t as grand as heaven, nor did it have the breadth of all of God’s creation, but it was convenient. This kingdom was where Satan was forced to begin his punishment, apart from God, and it was home to one of Yahweh’s most cherished creatures — humanity. This kingdom was earth, and Satan could only take over if mankind (Adam and Eve) relented their authority. So Satan devised a plan.

The Devil decided that he would trick humanity into abdicating their rule of earth to him. Satan, having the power to make himself appear as anything he wished, decided to become as a serpent. Serpents were common on earth and humanity would not question its being there with them. So, making himself as a serpent, Satan began working out this diabolical scheme.

This master demon chose to work his scam on the female of the species, known as Eve. I would guess that Satan did so, because the female was created by God, from a rib of the male of the species (a.k.a. Adam or “Man”), and learned most of what she knew from Adam concerning their purpose — sort of secondhand knowledge, if you will. Not to mention the fact that Eve’s name meant “Life,” and by attacking humanity through her Satan would bring death to her, and mankind’s future generations. Also, if the Devil tried to deceive the male (who was created by God, Himself, and directly taught concerning His statutes), he might have been met with more complications. These complications could have resulted in failure. Satan, knowing this, goes to work on Eve and begins to get her to reexamine the powers she, and Adam, were told they had, by God.

Mankind’s powers, to recap, were to rule over the earth and its living creatures, but another inferred power was that humanity had been given power over death. This ability to avoid death was only available to them as long as they refused to eat from a particular tree; a tree that existed in the very center of the garden that God had placed them in. This plot of land was known as the Garden of Eden, and that became the stage for Satan’s attack and the tree at its center would be his bait.

While Adam and Eve were in the garden, foraging from tree-to-tree, enjoying all the fruits that God had given them. Satan, now disguised as a serpent, awaited his chance to confront Eve. Patiently the serpent hid and watched for Eve to walk far enough away from Adam to begin his con. With all the skills of a master predator, Satan finally gets his opportunity and he launched his sneak attack. Before Eve even knows what hit her, Satan has her eating from the forbidden tree; the tree which gives humanity the ability to be “like God.” The tree of knowledge; the knowledge of what is good and evil. Eve soon has Adam eating from it too, and the result is the second thing that went wrong — sin entered into mankind. (You can read the entire story in the third chapter of Genesis.)

You see, sin is what disconnects us from God. Sin keeps us from fulfilling God’s original intention. Sin causes our spiritual “DNA” to get recoded and go mad. Sin is why Satan, and a third of the angels, thought they could conquer God. Really!? Talk about somebody going mad! But less we forget, sin is what caused us to doubt God’s promises and abdicate our rule of earth to Satan and his minions, once they came after our home. Sin is the reason power has become the addictive vice that it is, for both demons and humanity. Sin reprogrammed Lucifer’s, a third of the angel’s, and mankind’s purpose from God’s original design.

This is why I related mankind’s seeking after power to that of a cancerous cell. Just as a cancerous cell is out of control, devouring healthy cells and preventing itself from fulfilling its purpose, so too are we out of control when power becomes our god. When we, the human race, care more about power than we do our own planet, our own food and water resources, even ourselves, then madness has indeed set in.

When we can devour our earth and its creatures with a veracious appetite of death and destruction, when we can allow humanity to do the same to its self, then insanity has become our motivation. God never intended such perversions from our rule. Mankind was to be responsible stewards of earth and its creatures. A perverse appetite cannot be satisfied. A perverse appetite, fed by death and destruction, is an appetite that must be contented no matter the cost, but never can be. We, just like Satan and his demons, have become cancerous cells willing to destroy ourselves to obtain this ever elusive thing known as power, and only God has the cure — grace!

In our next post we will look more deeply at God’s grace, and at varied forms of this madness known as power.

Article 4

Posted on 05/14/2012 by Jason Ministries

The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, and John Derek, is a 1956 epic film that tells the story of the Hebrew’s exodus from Egypt.

The Ten Commandments, which was the last film that famed director Cecil B. DeMille presided over, is one of the most financially successful films ever made, grossing over $65 million at the US box office. If you adjust for inflation, this makes it the sixth highest-grossing movie domestically, with an adjusted total of $1,025,730,000 in 2012.

The film received seven Academy Award nominations including “Best Picture,” and won the award for “Best Visual Effects.” The American Film Institute (a.k.a. AFI) later voted The Ten Commandments as the tenth best film in the epic genre.

As epic as this film is in cinematic history, so too is this story’s monumental affect on man’s history and future. For it’s in this saga of the Hebrew’s exodus from Egypt that we see the formal beginning of God’s salvation and redemption of humanity on display, and where we see a subtle visual of one of God’s earliest of names — El Shaddai.

I realize that for most the name “El Shaddai” is more closely connected in our thoughts and minds to the very popular song written by Michael Card and more famously performed by Amy Grant, rather than the story of the Exodus, but grant (no pun intended) me just a moment and I’ll explain the association.

“God of the mountains” or “el shaddai,” was a Mesopotamian term that was used in reference of a divine mountain. This name was but one of the patriarchal names for the tribal god of the Mesopotamians. Now in Exodus 6:3, “El Shaddai” is seen identified solely with the Creator — the God of Abraham — and with His name, Yahweh, which is why this particular name of God (El Shaddai) could be derived from the Hebrews experience of seeing God’s fire atop Mount Sinai and from hearing God’s thunder from the Israelite camp at the base of the mountain. It could also explain, in part, the more popular interpretation of the name “El Shaddai” as meaning “God Almighty,” but linguistically this interpretation comes many years later from the English translators of the Septuagint (i.e. the Greek translators of the Old Testament).

These English translators determined that “Shaddai” came from “shad-ad,” a root verb that means “to over power” or “to destroy.” It’s also seen translated in the Latin Vulgate as “omnipotens,” which is where our English word “omnipotent” comes from. Yes, God is everywhere. Yes, God is all-knowing, and all-powerful, therefore God is Almighty. But while this is very true of God, I don’t think this quite reveals the essence of what this name really means. Also, long before Moses and the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, God makes use of this very name when introducing Himself to the Hebrew patriarch, Abram.

In Genesis 17:1, our Creator used the name “El Shaddai” when He confirmed His covenant with Abram, and his descendants, and renames Abram to Abraham. The more popular name of “God Almighty” certainly could apply here, as God is mighty enough to make this promise and fulfill it, but there appears to be more implied here. Especially if “Shaddai” is seen as a compound word within a compound name.

“El Shaddai” is one of 27 compound names known as “El constructs.” The names are formed by combining a shortened form of the name “Elohim,” meaning “Deity,” with some other name or title, in this case the name “Shaddai.” Split apart “Shaddai” and we get two smaller words: “sha,” which means “who,” and “dai,” which means “enough.” So, a closer look at the Hebraic practice of shortening a name of God (El from Elohim), and combining that shortened name with a descriptive attribute (i.e. Shaddai), and we begin to see that “El Shaddai” could translate as “God who IS Enough.” Pause and ponder that name for a moment (selah) — God who IS Enough!

What an amazing revelation of God to Abraham, and to us. Yahweh wasn’t just making us aware of His might in this covenant. God was saying He was, is, and always will be sufficient to fulfill His promises to us, in us, and through us. Yahweh, is mighty! Yahweh, is enough!

We see another example of El Shaddai as being all sufficient in Genesis 49:22-26, as Jacob (Israel) is blessing his son Joseph. In this verse Israel says:

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One [El Shaddai] of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s [Israel’s] God, who helps you, because of the Almighty [El Shaddai], who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.”

See how God is described by Israel to be the mighty provider of Joseph’s blessings? God is shown to be Joseph’s strength to endure hardships. God is shown to be Joseph’s strong moral and spiritual foundation. God is shown to be Joseph’s sustenance and nourishment; not just to him, but to his children too. All in all, El Shaddai is Joseph’s “God who IS enough.”

So, how about you? Is God your strength in hard times, your foundation of truth, your sustainer in all you need, both physically as well as spiritually? Is God enough?

Do you allow God access to all areas of your life? Do you really have a deep enough relationship with God; one in which you can call upon El Shaddai in confidence? Do you really know “God who IS enough”?

Selah (Pause/Reflect).

I’ll leave you with this word from God to the Apostle Paul. It comes as a response to a painful plea that Paul made to our Creator to have a “thorn” removed from his life. God’s answer to Paul was not to remove the torment from his life, but to reveal Himself to Paul through the affliction. In this answer came an understanding; Paul came to know El Shaddai even more upon hearing and accepting these divine words:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

His Name Is . . . by J. Scott Harden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://jasonmin.wordpress.com/.

Article 3

Posted on 04/23/2012 by Jason Ministries

Robert “Bob” Hartman, is possibly one of the greatest songwriters to have graced Contemporary Christian Music over the last 40 + years. His ability to take a passage of Scripture from the Bible, or to take a strong lyrical story based on biblical content, and apply that to a melody that is both enjoyable and awe inspiring is uncanny.

Robert’s songs are rarely so simple that you can disconnect your mind from what your ears are hearing, as a parent would be able to do with their child’s nursery music. No, Bob’s music commands your ears to take heed and listen. If music can make human ears stand at attention, then that is what takes place when one hears a Bob Hartman song. If you are unfamiliar with Bob Hartman’s name, you will most likely recognize his band’s — Petra!

Hartman originally was a member of the Christian rock band known as Rapture, but after the band’s break up in the early ‘70s and a move to Fort Wayne, IN, to attend classes at the Christian Training Center, Robert began to form the Christian rock band we know today as Petra.

Of all the songs that Hartman has penned, I think it is Adonai that stands as my all time favorite. It’s from Petra’s 1985 album Beat the System, and it helped to make that project one of the biggest Christian rock albums recorded at that time and the third-biggest Christian album of the 1980s (trailing only Amy Grant’s Age to Age and Sandi Patti’s Songs From the Heart). Allow me to share the lyrics of this Christian rock masterpiece with you:

Verse 1:
This thirsting within my soul
Won’t cease ‘till I’ve been made whole.
To know You; to walk with You.
To please You in all I do.
You uphold the righteous,
And Your faithfulness shall endure.
Chorus:
Adonai, Master of the earth and sky.
You, alone, are worthy — Adonai!
Adonai, let creation testify;
Let Your majesty be magnified in me.
Adonai, You are an endless mystery — Adonai!
Verse 2:
Unchanging, consuming fire;
Lift me up from mud and mire.
Set my feet upon Your rock;
Let me dwell in Your righteousness (repeat chorus).
Bridge:
When the storms surround me,
Speak the word and they will be still.
And, this thirst and hunger
Is a longing only You can fill — Adonai (repeat chorus).

Words escape me, as I try to describe how these lyrics call my soul to worship the Creator of heaven and earth. Hear them sung, and you will be hard pressed to deny your spirit’s desire to leap for joy and shout, “Praise Adonai!” But, why? What is it about this song — this lyric — that makes it so special? I believe it’s power to move the human spirit lays in the name “Adonai.”

“Adonai” is a Hebraic name for God (Elohim/Deity), and is the emphatic plural of the title “Adon.” Adon, which means “Lord” or “Master,” is generally the title given to men of authority or angels but at times was also used when referring to Yahweh. So, since Adonai is the plural form of Adon, its meaning is interpreted as “Lords” or “Masters.” When the emphatic plural is formed in Hebrew using a singular possessive ending (example: “my Lords” or “my Masters”), it always refers to God. Our Creator, the triune God, was recognized by the Hebrews as the “Lord of Lords” (Adonei ha’adonim) or Lord Yahweh — Adonai Adonai!

I personally get emotional — spiritually moved — over this particular name of God, but I also realize that most Americans, really most contemporaries of the western hemisphere, don’t quite grasp just how powerful a title like “Lord” or “Master” is, due to our democratic societies. So very quickly, I want to help you grasp just what this truly means. We’ll begin by defining “Lord.”

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a “Lord” as:

(noun) someone or something having power, authority, or influence: lord of the sea | lords of the jungle. A master or ruler: our lord the king.

(verb) act in a superior and domineering manner toward someone (lord it over).

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a “Master” as:

(noun) 1 – a man who has people working for him, esp. servants or slaves: he acceded to his master’s wishes. A person who has dominance or control of something: he was master of the situation. 2 – a skilled practitioner of a particular art or activity: I’m a master of disguise. A great artist, esp. one belonging to the accepted canon: the work of the great masters is spread around the art galleries of the world.

(adjective) 1 – having or showing very great skill or proficiency: a master painter. Denoting a person skilled in a particular trade and able to teach others: a master bricklayer. 2 – main; principal: the master bedroom.

Here, in these two definitions for “Lord” and “Master,” we see four key attributes to understanding why God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is Adonai.

First, our Lords, our Creator has power (Deuteronomy 8:17-18), authority (Matthew 28:18), and influence (Psalm 2:7-9; Jeremiah 28:14) over all of His/Their creation (Psalm 89:7-11). Yahweh is the ruler over all of it. Whether we accept His authority, or not, doesn’t matter — God is our Lord — Adoneinu!

Second, God is sovereign, superior, and does dominate over all (2 Chronicles 20:5-6; Psalm 89; Proverbs 8:15-17). Just because we are in a time of grace, and are not seeing God’s righteous wrath displayed in the way mankind saw it displayed in the Old Testament, does not mean that Jehovah isn’t in control. It doesn’t mean He is inferior, or weak — God is the Lord of Lords — Adonei ha’adonim! Which brings us to our third attribute, we are called by the triune God to serve Him.

Almighty God’s mercy allows us to choose to serve Him (Joshua 24:14-15; 1 Peter 4:1-11), for now, but make no mistake — there is coming a day — Yahweh will reveal the truth of His dominance, His control, and all of His majesty will be revealed (Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 20:11-15) to all of His creation! It’s on that day that every man, woman, and child will bow before their Creator and proclaim Him/Them as Lords, Masters — Adonai!

Lastly, our fourth attribute, God has great skill and proficiency over all people, places, and things. Creation is our Creator’s testimony of this fact (Genesis 1-2; Psalms 19, 40:7-11, 139:13), as is man’s ability to learn and improve his physical state (Exodus 4:10-12; Leviticus 1-27). For it is by Jehovah’s skill in creating and His ability to teach that empowers the creativity and ingenuity of humanity — God is the Lord Yahweh — Adonai Adonai!

Selah (Pause/Reflect).

Praise, Almighty God — Adoneinu — You are the master of the earth and sky. Only You, Lord God, are worthy of being called “Master.” Devine Creator — Adonei ha’adonim — let all of creation testify, and let Your majesty be magnified in the spirit of humanity; be magnified, especially, in me. Lords, Masters — Adonai — You are an awesome, majestic, endless mystery. Adonai Adonai!

If you want to use these lyrics, please contact the authors, artists or labs.

Article II, part 2

Posted on 03/21/2010 by Jason Ministries

In part one of Article 2, we defined worship and began to look closer at two of three key attributes of God (His faithfulness and His hope) that produce the actions that equal worship, if we will choose to acknowledge them in our lives.

In this article we’ll begin with the third attribute — God is love.

Love can be defined in many ways, as worship can be, but for the sake of this blog let’s keep it simple. Let’s focus on the core definition of love and also its attributes. Love can be simply defined as a strong affection, a strong desire, or a strong devotion. Its attributes, listed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-10, are: patience, kindness, without envy, without pride, without rudeness, isn’t selfish, isn’t easily angered, forgets offenses, is righteous, truthful, protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres and is always faithful. These sound similar to the attributes ascribed to God in Galations 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control . . .” No wonder Paul revealed to us, in 1 Corinthians 13:13, that above all of God’s attributes the greatest is love. In fact, Scripture reveals that God, more than anything else ascribed to Him, is entirely, 100 percent love (1 John 4:16). So we could easily apply the definitions of love directly to God’s character and say God is a strong affection toward us, God is a strong desire toward us, God is a strong devotion to us, and this was revealed to mankind through the incarnate Lord, Jesus Christ. If we can truly grasp this truth and trust it (have faith in it), if we can truly have confidence in the fulfillment of God’s love through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection (have hope in it), if we can truly live a life of love (have a strong affection, strong desire, strong devotion to God) then we can truly worship God in our daily lives.

(God’s love + acknowledging and applying God’s love = worship)

Joshua understood God’s love for the people of Israel and also grasped the concept of living a life of love for God Himself. Joshua spoke in Joshua 22:5, “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.” Christ also taught this very same principle of worship in Matthew 22:37-38 when He said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Christ didn’t stop there either; Jesus followed up His statement on love by saying in verse 39, “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” To truly live a life of worship, a life filled with God’s love, we must also love mankind as God loves mankind. Think on that. Caring for people is yet another act of worship, but we will look further into this attribute in Article 4.

So, how can we take these equations of worship and apply them to our lives? How can we grasp these truths and let them rule our hearts on a daily basis? Just as the Hebrews used special words to describe their heart for worship, we too can ascribe three key words or principles to help us focus on what is at the heart of being a true worshiper of God.

First, we must have a Christ-like attitude (Philippians 2:5-8), an overall attitude of worship. You see, an attitude of worship will both prepare us for worshiping God and set the stage for our response to God after we have begun worshiping Him. How can we have a right attitude? I’ll go into more detail in the third article, but basically we can create an attitude of worship in our daily lives by applying these five positive attitude principles:

– Rejoice in the Lord — always! (Psalm 118:24; Philippians 4:4)

– Have a gentle spirit (Proverbs 15:1, 25:15; Ephesians 4:2-3)

– Replace worry with prayer (Psalm 4:1; Philippians 4:6-7)

– Keep a proper perspective/outlook on life (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

– Apply what you have learned and live it (Ephesians 4:22-25; Philippians 4:8-9)

Second, we must have joy in our lives, and I mean real joy which must dominate our hearts (Psalm 51:10-12; Isaiah 12:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; James 1:2-4). Real joy can be defined as a celebration of faith (Psalm 16:11), a rejoicing in service, and being at peace. In the fourth article we will delve deeper into what joy really means to us and how we can achieve it in our lives, but we must now begin to understand the importance this principle will have in our daily worship experience (Psalm 19:8; Proverbs 10:28).

Our third principle: we must understand God’s purpose for our lives (Job 36:5; Psalm 138:8; Proverbs 19:21). Why are we here? Why did God create us? We were created to be covered by God’s glory (Psalm 8:4-5), to reflect His righteousness (Proverbs 4:18; Romans 1:14-17), and to be in fellowship with our Creator (1 John 1:3-4). In other words, God purposed us to be holy (set apart) and to worship Him. Article 5 will explore God’s purpose for us in more detail, but we must realize now that God has revealed in His word a very definite purpose for mankind; a purpose of consecration and worship.

In closing, let’s realize that worship is more than just a song sung on Sunday morning. Let’s choose today to recall the three key attributes of God:

– Faith

– Hope

– Love

Let’s choose to also remember to acknowledge these attributes of God in our lives so that we can begin the process of becoming true worshipers in all things. Let’s choose today to recall the three words or principles that will bring into light for each of us what should be at the heart of our daily worship:

– Attitude

– Joy

– Purpose

Pastor and teacher Graham Truscott was absolutely correct when he said, “When God’s people begin to praise and worship Him using the biblical methods He gives, the power of His presence comes among His people in an even greater measure.” The biblical methods discussed above are together the cornerstone now set upon the foundation we laid in Article 1. Let’s move forward then, as we continue with building the temple of worship God desires in us.

The Joshua Project by J.Scott Harden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at jasonmin.wordpress.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://jasonmin.wordpress.com/.

Jason Ministries ®

Teaching the Church its Purpose – True Worship

Tag Archives: power

Conclusion

Article VI, part 1

Article II, part 2

Article II, part 1

Article 4

Article 3

Article II, part 2