God's Test

Exod 20:20 Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

I wish to discuss and refute all the "feel good theology" of our day. Everywhere I see pithy little quotes about how God only does things in order to bring a blessing our way. Yes, God, the great vending machine in the sky. He's like the leader of a big hippy free-love commune. God, like a benevolent grandparent, wants to give you all that you desire, and wants every wish and want to be granted to you.

Well, the scriptures predicted this, did they not?

2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

We all want to hear how sweet we are. We love for preachers to tell us how spiritual we are and how much we seek God all the time. Nothing could be further from the truth! We are actually wicked, selfish, evil creatures who do almost nothing to seek God. Now, that's a generality, but most people fit into it. If you're offended by that remark, then take a look at the above scripture reference. Remember what the Bible teaches, take this familiar passage from Romans:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. ;
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.;
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips;
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood ;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.;

This kind of thing offends many people. I'm sorry about that, but it is the truth. It applies to me too. I know I am unfaithful, and I thank God that He is faithful to me anyway. God answers my prayers sometimes when I hardly even pray. He blesses me when I murmur. The point is that it is not about YOU or what YOU DO! It is ONLY about God and his Christ and what they did for you!

Now, back to the original point of this post...

Despite what is now accepted as right and sound doctrine of the church, God cares much less about your happiness, and quite a bit more about your holiness. Check out Eph. 2:10 - "...created for good works..." not "good blessings." Also, Rom. 8:29 - "...to be conformed to the image of his Son..."

1Pet 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Here is an often misquoted verse:

Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

How many times have you heard this quoted as "... give good gifts to them that ask Him?" Am I saying that God doesn't want you to be happy? Of course not! Am I saying that God doesn't care if you are happy? No, I'm not saying that either. What I am saying, is that it is not at the top of God's priority list. Almost all teaching about happiness comes from the teacher's experiences, rather than the scripture. God's paramount concern, as taught in the scripture, is your holiness.

Happiness can be found as a doctrine in the scriptures. It is in every case gained by something you do. In each case, when God's will is done, "happy are ye" is ascribed. "Happy are ye" when you:

• Has many children ~ Ps. 127:5
• Fear the LORD ~ Ps. 128:2
• Have the LORD as your God ~ Ps. 146:5
• Trust in the LORD ~ Pr. 16:20
• Has mercy on the poor ~ Pr. 14:21
• Retain wisdom ~ Pr 3:13
• Fear the LORD always ~ Pr. 28:14
• Keep the Law ~ Pr. 29:18
• Serve others, as Jesus served the disciples ~ Jn. 13:17
• Don't cause others to stumble ~ Rom 14:22
• Endure persecution and suffering ~ James 5:11; 1Pet 3:14, 4:14
  

It's all in there. Notice the recurring theme on how to get it. Empty yourself. Serve others. Endure for Christ - which only comes by serving him boldly enough to be persecuted.

To sum all this up, I'd like to show one of my favorite passages from the scriptures:

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.;
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.;
26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.;
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. ~ Jas 1:22-27

The Bible is the true mirror of the human soul. You don't really know what kind of person you are until you pray and ask God to show you, then pay attention to what the scriptures say about you. Sometimes it really hurts! The beautiful thing is that then you can let God change you. Then comes holiness, then comes happiness! Really! I promise!