It Bowed To Jesus Big-time!

A Government Senator, on a questions and answers TV program was asked if he believed in God. He didn’t. He doesn’t think it matters. He believes people ought to live their lives according to their own values and treat others, “the way you want to be treated and live by those values and if there’s a God then they will work it out if it’s a problem for me (whatever that means). But some people need spirituality. Some people need belief. That’s fine. It comforts people. That’s their decision. Mine is I don’t feel I need it and I try and live my life according to my own values and I think that’s all that matters.” No originality expressed there; that answer confirms God’s existence. 

It also confirms the authenticity of Genesis and the existence of Satan. First to be dazzled by his “brilliance” was the woman in the Garden, ……you will be like God, knowing good and evil Genesis 3:5. ‘Now that’s appealing, I am my own god!’ Had the Senator been astute enough to understand that his answer is as old as human history itself, expressed by billions before him, he may have responded with nothing more than a simple, “No.” The more he justified his position the more he showed up as one not wanting to believe in the existence of God. On the other hand, I’ve never yet heard a politician respond with a simple “yes” or “no” on anything, let alone a belief in the existence of God!

A journalist and fiction writer on the same program was asked the same question. Her response, “I’m pretty happy with a mystery. I think people who belong to a certain religion desire certainty and I don’t sort of disagree with that desire. People do want to have they want to know – you know, want to know some of the rules and they want to have an idea of what’s going to happen to them after and what’s going to happen to them before and I think that’s fine but I’m quite pleasantly happy with uncertainty and a mystery.” It sounds like a sophisticated intellectual response but it’s simply a long winded answer for, “I’m pleasantly happy being a fence-sitter; I don’t want to be disturbed with facts!” In any case, she was not convincing.

Both people’s responses brought back memories of my years as a street minister in my local community. To my knowledge there were no politicians or journalists among them, but there were students, academics, intellectuals, business men and women, the odd soldier, policeman and lawyer – as well as drunks, junkies, whores and thieves. “High class” or “low class” it made no difference with their answers to the question, “Do you believe in God?” There were some who gave a simple, “Yes” but there were none able to give a simple, “No” and leave it at that. The “no’s” always added some kind of reason or justification without fail. The truth I learned back then; it was not me they were trying to convince, it was themselves! It’s no different today.

I recall one lady’s response when I knocked on her door, “No, I don’t. My husband and I are very happy. We have a wonderful marriage, wonderful children, a wonderful home and life style. Life could never be better.” The overuse of “wonderful” was the ringing alarm bell, so I said, “Lady, I don’t believe a word you say.” Needless to say, things were not “wonderful” after that statement … red faced, angry with gritted teeth, she said, “How dare you!” That was the end of that. But I made no apologies then; and I would make none today under those same circumstances. The Holy Spirit of God is the Holy Spirit of Truth and He always knows who He’s talking to even when I don’t. Who knows what He’s challenged her with in the middle of sleepless nights since?

Then there were those who told me they believed in the existence of God, “but not the Christian God.” And just like the “no” crowd, their reasoning and justifications were expressed more to convince them than me. I often smiled as I listened; I knew their sneaky little game, I played it myself for years! I didn’t believe it, but I played it, ‘God helps those who help themselves’  ‘God works in mysterious ways’  ‘God loves everybody and judges nobody’  ‘Whoever you believe God to be, that’s who He is to you.’ With such people, I have found that the less truth they know, the more they’re likely to talk. Their imaginations run riot if you give them a listening ear … “I feel” “I think” “I believe” – none of it based on facts, but plenty of opinions.

This type of “believer” reasons and justifies their belief just like the nonbeliever does his or hers. That is, they really don’t want to know about any God of truth because they know they are accountable to that God should they come into such knowledge. They will deny that, but it’s undeniable; God has put that knowledge within them Psalm 19:1; Psalm 97:6; Romans 1:19-20. No, they don’t know those Scriptures, but they know the truth of them. God has not left Himself without witness Acts 14:17. I’m glad about that in this day and age of increasing truth-denial and Christ-rejection; there was a loud, insecure, caustic, vile-mannered woman on that program also, demanding to know, “if God exists why doesn’t he show himself?”

Again, no originality expressed in the question; it too is as old as human history itself, simply confirming God’s existence. People like her love to criticize, ridicule and insult us for our stand on the Bible – ‘outdated’ ‘old-fashioned’ ‘antiquated’ ‘archaic’ they say. If only they had the wisdom, common sense and humility to consider their statements and questions as fitting exactly the same labels! I am yet to hear a God-denier of any “intelligent” level come up with anything even remotely original in their responses against. Yet, when they’re expressing themselves, one gets the strong impression that they believe were it not for them the world would be much less enlightened … ‘how ignorant you’d all be if it were not for me.’

Years ago I was in a demonic deliverance session and the spirit of pride manifested itself in a person. Head held abnormally high, haughty, strutting itself back & forth across the room, “I’m a PROUD spirit!” it said. I was fascinated and reluctant to send it on its way quickly; I wanted to take in all I was observing. I’m ever grateful to the Holy Spirit for that experience because what He allowed me to see I have never forgotten. Today I see that proud spirit expressing itself on people such as I’m writing about here. Whether the denier be famous, not famous or infamous, I see that spirit in or upon them. And were it not for the fact that people love to cover their real selves that spirit would manifest itself most certainly!

God has no intention of showing Himself to the proud – never has, never will. Believing or not, they need to know God has set Himself against them; they are an abomination to Him. Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD Proverbs 16:5. Though they admire themselves and intellectually caress one another, our great and holy God despises them; He detests them. Strong words, but true. Pride can be described as ‘a conceited sense of superiority’ and, I see it written over just about all who hold the very highest offices of our land, not just the intellectually elite, so called. No wonder our nation is going to the dogs, spiritually, socially and morally. We are on a fast-track to hell!

Foolish people. They gather together, they socialize together, they work together, they consult together, they conspire together … but they will die alone. Then what? Well, one thing for sure, they will become believers in God. It’ll all be too late, but they’ll become believers, nevertheless Philippians 2:10-11. I get no satisfaction in saying it like this … I too was once fast-tracking it to hell; I missed it by less than three seconds! I can still feel the swishhhhh of the car as I was pulled from its path. That was the beginnings of my heart-change. A proud heart hardens the mind which then issues in self-deception; but sadly, that’s not where it stops. If a person persists in denying God, then God will cement that denial 2 Thessalonians 2:11.

A common accusation made against us by the “no” and the “yes, but not the Christian God” crowd is, we don’t think for ourselves. Neither do they! They lump us in with the religious traditionalists, the indoctrinated, the controlled and the spiritually abused. Many of them do so because that was their experience, so they think that’s the way it is. The Pope’s men and women poisoned them, the cult leader poisoned them, the legalist leader poisoned them, the usurper in the pulpit poisoned them, the money-fleecer poisoned them … and those not poisoned by these have been poisoned by accusers like themselves! The truth is we are the only ones who do think for ourselves. Too, we are the only ones who can rightly interpret how Satan’s people work.

How do they work? By judging, by accusing, by guilt-tripping, by condemning, by putting -down, by mocking, by denying, by lying, by deceiving, by half-truthing, by misinforming, by intimidating, by manipulating, by dominating, by abusing, by vilifying … by snaring, snarling, screaming, ranting, raving and by any other ‘ing’ you can think of. But yet once again, none of it original! There’s not an original thinker among them; they’re all followers regardless of any PhD’s they may have hanging on the wall. The PROUD spirit loves to think of itself as unique. I just want to say this: if you were in the room with me that day you would have seen it as uniquely stupid! There was nothing unique about it when it got sent on its way. It bowed to Jesus big-time!

So, is there any hope for the proud person? No. What to do then? Become a humble person. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble James 4:6. God will only show Himself to the person who takes him or herself off the throne of their life and puts Jesus there not only as Savior, but also LORD. In fact, no LORD no Savior. That’s the deal. There are only two choices: bow to yourself, be admired by the crowd but die alone for all eternity, or bow to Jesus, be admired by few but live with Him for all eternity. Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last. Jesus is the original Thinker; and with His own He turns them into honest, creative and productive thinkers. “….but we have the mind of Christ” 1 Corinthians 2:16. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5.