There are differences between the doctrines of men and sound doctrine from God. In Paul’s epistles to Timothy we are exhorted to follow “sound doctrine,” and we are warned in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables.” That prophecy has certainly come to pass and is prevalent in today’s church. Modern day travel and access to the world wide web provides access to a great variety of teaching – but it is not all sound.
How often, as men, we mess in the realm of the Spirit and produce doctrines of men, as opposed to sound doctrine which is “hot from heaven.” A man can alter what God says when he lacks understanding and revelation and in his zeal, moves ahead of God endeavouring to reproduce what God is showing him before he has the full revelation and has worked it out in daily living.
Consider this: A mother asks her son to run to the corner shop to buy some carrots for dinner. In his eagerness, the little boy snatches the money and runs off to make the purchase. In his haste he did not hear his mother calling after him, “Wait! I’ve not finished, I also need onions and bread!” Thus, on his return, he had to make another trip to obtain the additional groceries. Is this a picture of us? We need to wait on the Lord to receive the full counsel of the Holy Ghost when he is revealing things to us, which He does incrementally – “line upon line, precept upon precept.” This is God’s method in our lives. He is “great in counsel, and mighty in work,” Jeremiah 32:19. The counsel AND the work go together, but we often run with the first flash of revelation before the Holy Spirit has finished with us or allowed Him to work it through in our life.
Only when we submit to the truth God reveals to us and allow Him to work it into our lives, does He give divine understanding and gold is produced as we become a vessel for His glory and a trophy of His grace.
Acts 13:48 refers to an ordination of men that is from the Lord – “….as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Many in today’s Church are ordained by man. Man does not have the authority to ordain people, only God can do that, in line with where we humble ourselves. Throughout Christendom men ordain people, trying to fulfil what only God can do in a person’s life.
Settle it in your heart, if God chooses you, man cannot “un-choose” (disqualify) you!
Any titled man is esteemed by certain men, and in some cases, even by themselves! Any authority has to be borne/carried to the glory of God. Even the book of “The Acts of the Apostles” is incorrectly titled. The “Acts” are the Acts of the Holy Spirit.” The Apostles were just vessels used in the purposes of God to demonstrate His divine life and love to us.
The Holy Spirit is re-defining and refining us to what really is the call of God on our lives. We have to overcome what people think of us. Where I seek the favour of men, as opposed to the favour of God, shipwreck results. If I think I am something special, my pride is being fed and I am heading in the wrong direction. “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall,” 1 Corinthians 10:12
If God puts me in, no man can put me out! …..nor is there a place for a bombastic, “don’t care” attitude. There must be Holy Ghost fruit in my life – but the revelation of the Body takes care of that in accountability to one another. There is safety in the Body.
When I see the favour of God on my life, it should humble me and not have the opposite effect of my taking credit for Jesus’ character in me. Paul addresses this in 1Corinthians 4:7 “For who makes you to differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it.”
When we apply our natural understanding to something the Holy Spirit starts, we can misunderstand what God is doing, become confused, extreme and fall. If we do not learn from history then we repeat it.
Lying dormant and embedded in all men is a “celebrity seed.” It only needs the right environment and conditions and up it pops! Pride breeds. Man loves to be the centre of attention. Only when we come into contact with the true presence of God, do we see and understand this.
Romans 8:35 Paul asks “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” and he continues in the following beautiful and profound verses, reassuring us of God’s eternal love towards us. Indeed!…nothing can separate us from that love, but I can cause God to resist me if I am operating in pride. “God resists the proud,” 1Peter 5:5 Do I want God to resist me? The hymn writer so aptly put it,”Oh! What needless pain we bear.” The pain of God resisting me. My pride will stay the hand of God, but the remedy is so simple – “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God,” 1Peter:5:6 When I take His counsel, His peace is restored and life becomes sweeter each day I walk with Him, bowing in humility. Amen opens!
