The Dangers of Disobedience

I'd like to talk to you about the dangers of disobedience.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of the very serious dangers of disobedience, in order to wake us up and get us to turn away from sin.  I'm not just talking about sins you consider serious.  Even the small sins are just as bad.  They are all serious.

So let's look at five examples in Scripture of those who disobeyed and what happened to them.

Naïve ones and Fools

Let's start with the naive ones and fools.

"How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing And fools hate knowledge? "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. "Because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel And did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, When your dread comes like a storm And your calamity comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD. "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way And be satiated with their own devices. "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil." (Pro 1:22-33)

Their sin:

• I called and you refused
• I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention
• You neglected all my counsel
• You did not want my reproof

The consequences:

• God says, "I will also laugh at your calamity."
• "I will mock when your dread comes"
• "They will call on me, but I will not answer"
• "They will seek me diligently but they will not find me"
• "They shall eat of the fruit of their own way"
• "They shall be satiated with their own devices"
• "The waywardness of the naive will kill them"
• "The complacency of fools will destroy them"

The Israelites
Now let's look at the nation of Israel.

"Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! "Let there be no strange god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god. "I, the LORD, am your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. "But My people did not listen to My voice, And Israel did not obey Me. "So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in their own devices. (Psa 81:8-12)

"Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, SAYING TO AARON, 'MAKE FOR US GODS WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT--WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.' "At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. "But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'IT WAS NOT TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL? 'YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP. I ALSO WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON.'  (Act 7:39-43)

Their sin:

• My people did not listen to My voice
• Israel did not obey Me
• Unwilling to be obedient to the Lord
• Demanded that Aaron make idols for them
• They made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol
• They worshipped a foreign god
• They were rejoicing in the works of their hands
• They offered human victims and sacrifices for forty years
• They took along the shrine of Molech and the star of the god of Rompha

The consequences:

• The Lord said, "I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices."
• The Hebrew word for "gave over" is "shalach," which means "to send away, for, or out, appoint, bring (on the way), cast (away, out), conduct, forsake, give (up), grow long, lay, leave, let depart (down, go, loose), push away, put (away, forth, in, out), reach forth, send (away, forth, out), set, shoot (forth, out), sow, spread, stretch forth (out)."
• God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven
• The Greek word for "delivered them up" is "paradidomi," meaning "to surrender, that is, yield up, intrust, transmit: - betray, bring forth, cast, commit, deliver (up), give (over, up), hazard, put in prison, recommend."

Atheists, Idolaters, and Immoral People
Next let's look at the atheists, idolaters and immoral people throughout the ages.

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." (Rom 1:20-32)

Their sin:

• For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks,
• They became futile in their speculations
• They professed to be wise
• They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures
• They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.

The consequences:

• Their foolish heart was darkened.
• They became fools
• God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
• God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
• God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, evil, etc.

Adulterous Christian Man & Corinthian Church
Next let's look at the Corinthian Church and the immoral man in their midst.

"It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."  (1Co 5:1-5)

Their sin:

• He had his father's wife (immorality)
• The Church became arrogant and did not mourn over this sin
• They did not remove this adulterer from their midst

The consequences:

• Paul said, "I have decided to deliver (give over) such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Hymenaeus and Alexander
Lastly, let's look at Hymenaeus and Alexander.

"This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme." (1Ti 1:18-20)

Their sin:

• They did not fight the good fight against evil
• They did not keep the faith
• They rejected a good conscience 
• They blasphemed

The consequences:

• They suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith
• Paul said, "Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme."

Putting it All Together
In each of these biblical examples, you can see the same pattern.  Each time people neglected God's counsel and rejected His reproof, they ate the fruit of their own ways, and became satiated with their own devices. They called on the Lord for help, but He would not answer. They sought Him diligently but they did not find Him. Their own waywardness killed them, and their own complacency destroyed them.

The Israelites did not listen to the Lord's voice.  They did not obey Him.  In fact, they were unwilling to be obedient to the Lord. They demanded that Aaron make idols for them. They worshiped a foreign god, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. They offered up human sacrifices to idols.   So God gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. God turned away and delivered them up to serve the sun, moon, and stars.

All mankind has been given the opportunity to know God.  His fingerprints are all over everything in creation.  But even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks. They became futile in their speculations. They professed to be wise. They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.  Their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts.

Whenever people do this, their foolish heart are darkened, and they become fools. God gives them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.  God gives them over to degrading passions; and they receive in their own persons the due penalty of their error.  God gives them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, evil, etc.

Do you see how the Lord gives people over to their own sin?  He gives them over to evil, since they prefer that over Him.  This is what Paul did with the immoral brother in the Corinthian Church, who had his father's wife.  Since the Church became arrogant and did not mourn over this sin, and did not remove this adulterer from their midst, Paul took action.  He administered discipline, by delivering the immoral man to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Paul did the same thing with Hymenaeus and Alexander, who had professed faith in Christ at one time.  They did not fight the good fight against evil, and did not keep the faith.  Instead they rejected a good conscience, and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.  So Paul handed them over to Satan, so that they would be taught not to blaspheme. 

The pattern in the same throughout all of Scripture, both Old and New Testaments.  If you refuse to listen to the Lord's voice, look out!  He uses many means to speak, including the general revelation of Himself in His creation, as well as the specific revelation of His will in His Word -- the Holy Bible. He has revealed his love for you through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross for you.  He will use His people to speak to you, too.  He will speak to your conscience, and let you know that what you're doing is wrong.  It will bother you.

But if you refuse His voice when He speaks, and reject His counsel, He will eventually give you over to the thing you really want most.  He'll let you have it, and your mind will become darkened.  It's a type of judgment.  He'll let satan and the demons have their way with you, since you preferred their presence to the presence of the Lord. Your conscience will no longer work properly.  And you will end up shipwrecking your faith.  Eventually, if you do not turn from your sin, it will destroy you.  Those who die in this state end up in hell for eternity.

My friend, I don't want this to happen to you.  If that's what you've been doing, turn from your sin today!  The Lord does not want you to perish.  He loves you, and wants you to be with Him in heaven for eternity.  But if you continue on your way, then you forfeit that gift.  Turn back to Him today, before it's too late, and cry out with tears of repentance.  You will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart.  He will forgive you, if you sincerely repent; and sincere repentance will be evidenced by the fruits of repentance.

I hope this lesson has helped you to understand the ways of the Lord better, and especially the dangers of disobedience.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The "Your Move" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Author's Note: You may also want to see my other blogs, Sin and Consequence,  Is Obedience Optional?,Avoid Becoming a Corrupted Christian,  Demonology 101, Demonology 201 and Demonology 301. I invite you to visit the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Sin and Consequence

There was an American game show on TV years ago, called Truth or Consequence.  In this game, the contestant had to answer a trivia question that most people would not know the answer to.  If they got it wrong, as most contestants usually would, then they had to play the second part of the game, since they did not tell the "truth." In the second part of the game, the contestant was required to perform the consequence.  This was usually some stunt to entertain the audience.

Today I want to talk to you about sin and consequence. In other words, I want to try and show how sin has very serious consequences.  Unlike the silly game show, when we sow sinful seeds through our words and actions, we most certainly reap the consequences for them.  And the consequences are not to entertain you, God, or anyone else.  They are unpleasant and sometimes deadly.  This is the immutable law of sowing a reaping, just as when you plant seeds in the soil and eventually reap what you sowed.

The book of 2 Samuel is full of examples of sin and the consequences, even the domino effect it causes.  Just take a look at the examples below and observe the progression from the initial action to the final outcome:

Abner’s Actions lead to his murder

1. Abner made Ishbosheth son of Saul to be King (2:8,9)
2. Abner and Joab decided to have the young men fight hand to hand (2:14)
3. There was a fierce battle that led to Abner’s defeat (2:17)
4. Asahel chased Abner and would not heed Abner’s warning to stop (2:18-22)
5. Abner killed Asahel (2:23)
6. King Ish-Bosheth accused Abner of sleeping with his father’s concubine (3:7)
7. Abner deserted Ish-Bosheth & went over to David in retaliation (3:8-11)
8. Joab murders Abner in revenge for killing his brother Asahel (3:26,27)
9. Ish-Bosheth & all Israel became alarmed at Abner’s death (4:1)
10. Seeing King Ish-Bosheth’s imminent downfall, 2 men murder him (4:5,6)

Michael’s contempt lead to her barrenness

1. David’s wife Michael despised him & spoke evil of his worship (6:16,20)
2. Michael never had any children to the day of her death (6:23)

Ammonite’s contempt for David lead to their defeat

1. David showed kindness to Hanun, son of his deceased Ammonite enemy (10:1-2)
2. Hanun King of the Ammonites responded to David’s kindness with contempt (10:3,4)
3. David and his men defeated the Ammonites (10:13-14; 11:1)

David’s Idleness leads to immorality, murder, rape, rebellion

1. Instead of going to war in the Spring, David walked on his roof (11:1-2)
2. David was tempted and fell into sexual immorality with Bathsheba (11:2-3)
3. Bathsheba got pregnant by David (11:5)
4. David tried to get Uriah to come home & sleep with his wife Bathsheba (11:6-13)
5. David murdered Uriah the Hittite, one of his mighty men (11:14-21; 23:39)
6. David took Bathsheba as his own wife (11:27)
7. After David murdered Uriah, the sword never departed from his house (12:9-10)
8. The Lord struck David’s child by Bathsheba’s and he died (12:15-18)
9. David’s son Amnon raped his step sister Tamar, Absalom’s sister (13:1,14)
10. Absalom retaliated against Amnon by killing him & going into exile (13:28,29)
11. Joab brings Absalom back from exile (14:1,21)
12. Absalom had himself appointed king while his father was still alive (15:7-14)
13. David’s son Absalom slept with his wives in broad daylight (12:11,12; 16:21,22)
14. Ahithophel advised King Absalom to attack his father David (17:1-6)
15. Since Absalom didn’t follow his advice, Ahithophel committed suicide (17:23)
16. Absalom pursued his own father in order to murder him (17:12-14)
17. Absalom’s beautiful head got caught in a tree during the battle (18:9)
18. Joab killed Absalom while he hung from a tree in midair by his head (18:14,15)
19. Absalom during his lifetime had built a monument to himself (18:18)
20. Absalom in his death was thrown into a pit and covered with a pile of rocks (18:17)
21. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel helped the King return (19:40)
22. The men of Israel complained that the men of Judah brought the King over (19:41)
23. The men of Judah defended their actions (19:42)
24. The men of Israel accused the men of Judah of treating them with contempt (19:43)
25. The men of Judah responded even more harshly than the men of Israel (19:43)
26. Sheba, a Benjamite led Israel in rebellion against David (20:1)
27. David ordered Amasa to summon the troops of Judah to battle against Sheba (20:4)
28. Amasa took longer to summon the troops than the king had set for him (20:5)
29. Amasa was killed by David’s military commander, Joab (20:9-10)
30. Wicked Sheba’s head was cut off and thrown to Joab from the city wall (20:20-22)
31. Saul put to death the Gibeonites, whom the Israelites had sworn to spare (21:1,1)
32. Israel experienced a famine for three successive years (21:1)
33. The Gibeonites were avenged by killing 7 of Saul’s male descendants (21:5,6)
34. God answered prayer in behalf of the land of Israel (21:14)

David’s prideful census resulted in a deadly plague

1. David counted all the fighting men in Israel and Judah (24:1,2,8,9)
2. The Lord sent a plague on Israel, killing 70,000 people (24:10,15,16)
3. David offered up a sacrifice to the Lord (24:24,25)
4. The Lord answered prayer in behalf of the land and the plague stopped (24:25)

Putting it All Together
This book is full of murder and revenge, sexual immorality and the resulting rape and adultery in David’s family.  It is a great illustration of how sin will always take you further than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay, it will keep you longer than you wanted to stay. 

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption..." (Gal 6:7-8a)

If you have realized one or more areas where you've been sowing to your sinful nature, there is only one solution.  Only Jesus Christ and faith in Him can set you free.  True and sincere repentance with contrition and tears will break the cycle of sin and the Lord will set you free. I'd like to encourage you to do that today.

You will still have temporary consequences to deal with, which could last the rest of your earthly life, but at least you can stop sowing to your own destruction and avoid eternal, fatal consequences.  And if you faithfully follow the Lord the rest of your life, He will give you grace and peace.  He will also enable you to sow to please the Holy Spirit, and then you can begin reaping the good consequences. "The one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Gal 6:8b).

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The photo of sowing seeds is from Christinas View - Love Like Crazy

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

When All Means Fail - Part I

As I read the book of the prophet Habakkuk in the Bible recently, the Lord spoke to me through the first chapter. Let me share this with you in hopes that it will encourage you also.

Violence in the Land
Here is what the prophet saw in the land. He saw violence (Hab 1:2), injustice (Hab 1:3), destruction, strife and conflict (Hab 1:3). He saw the wicked hemming in the righteous (Hab 1:4). This was a heavy burden for Habbakuk, so he cried out to the Lord about it.

(Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.)

God uses wicked nations to bring judgment
The Lord answered his prayer, and here is what He showed him. God uses wicked nations to punish His people. He raised up the Babylonians, who were ruthless and impetuous people (Hab 1:6). They were bent on violence (Hab 1:9). They were a law to themselves (Hab 1:7). They swept across the earth and seized homes that belonged to others (Hab 1:6), and promoted their own honor (Hab 1:7). They gathered many prisoners (Hab 1:9). They scoffed at the rulers of the nations they invaded (Hab 1:10). No matter how strong their enemies’ defenses, they just laughed at them (Hab 1:10). They destroyed nations without mercy (Hab 1:17). They were godless and guilty men, whose own strength was their god (Hab 1:11). Therefore, they were feared and dreaded (Hab 1:7). The Lord appointed them to execute judgment and ordained them to punish (Hab 1:12). He stood silent while these treacherous and wicked people swallowed up other people, who were more righteous than they (Hab 1:13). This was utterly amazing and unbelievable to the prophet (Hab 1:5).

I see much the same thing happening today. God still uses wicked nations to punish His people. He raises up a nation of people who are ruthless and impetuous. They are bent on violence and a law to themselves. They sweep across the earth and seize homes that belong to others. They promote their own honor. They gather many prisoners. They scoff at the rulers of the nations they invade. No matter how strong their enemies’ defenses, they just laugh at them. They destroy nations without mercy. They are godless and guilty men, whose own strength is their god. Therefore, they are feared and dreaded. The Lord has appointed them to execute judgment and ordained them to punish. He stands silent while these treacherous and wicked people swallow up other people, who are more righteous than they. This is utterly amazing and unbelievable to the Lord’s people, who must stand by and watch it happen.

Cry out to the Lord for mercy
All we can do is repent of any known sin in our lives, pray for mercy (Hab 3:1) and ask the Lord to intervene. When Habakkuk complained to the Lord about this, here is the answer he received. The Lord gave him a revelation of the end times and told him to write it down, so that others could run with the message and proclaim it. He said that even though it seems to take a long time to come to pass, it would surely come to pass.

Then the LORD answered me and said, "Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay." (Hab 2:2-3)

As we wait, we will continue to see these things unfold. We will see the wicked ruler, who is puffed up. It will be obvious that his desires are not right (Hab 2:4). But the righteous will live by faith (Hab 2:4). Even Paul the apostle reiterated this in his letter to the Romans (Rom 1:17). We need to trust the Lord through all this and live by faith in Jesus Christ.

Make up your mind beforehand
If you are a disciple of Christ, you need to determine in your heart not to give up or give in. You need to make up your mind beforehand that you will rejoice in the Lord and be joyful in your Savior, Jesus Christ, no matter what happens (Hab 3:18). In the day of calamity, you need to wait patiently for Him (Hab 3:16). Even if there is another Great Depression, wait for Him. Even if the trees do not bear fruit, the crops fail, the fields produce no food, and all the animals are dead, you need to determine to rejoice in the Lord (Hab 3:17). He is your strength (Hab 3:19)!

Surely the Lord will bring deliverance
The Lord Jesus surely comes to deliver and save His people (Hab 3:13). When He does, it will cause the earth to shake and the nations to tremble (Hab 3:6). He will crush the wicked leader of the land and strip him from head to toe (Hab 3:13). The tables will be turned on him (Hab 2:7). Those he plundered will plunder him (Hab 2:8).

Afterward, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Hab 2:14). How do the waters cover the sea? The waters of the sea are deep and wide. That’s how the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will be. It will be a deep knowledge and it will be wide. All across the earth, people will know the Lord Jesus Christ in a deep, personal way.

Putting it All Together
Today the world we live in is much like the way it was in the day Habbakuk lived. We see violence in the land, bloodshed in the streets, injustice, strife, and destruction.

The economy has been terrible for years now, and in 2011 the analysts are saying that we could be going into a double dip recession. Others say that it is probably much worse than that. They say it is going to be another Great Depression that exceeds the severity of the 1929 Depression.

Maybe you are already feeling like all means have failed. Maybe you are frightened at the prospects of all this. If you are a disciple of Christ, I want to encourage you today to put your hope in God.

The place to begin is to repent of any known sin in your life. Cry out to the Lord for mercy. Then live by faith in Jesus Christ. Trust Him moment-by-moment and day-by-day. Make up your mind to rejoice in the Lord, regardless of what is happening around you. He is your strength.

Jesus is coming back soon! Wait for Him! He will surely bring deliverance. And the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, it is continued in Part Two on my next post. If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

What About Conspiracies?

I have heard people many times ridicule or criticize those who believe in conspiracies. They label them as conspiracy theorists. Believing in conspiracies is not fashionable. It’s considered foolish, narrow-minded and ignorant. I agree that not everything is a conspiracy and we need to verify our facts before we start claiming that something is a conspiracy. Those who think everything is a conspiracy can border on being a bit paranoid.

And many times, the actual conspiracies are so complex, and the diabolical plans so cloaked in darkness, that they are only seen or understood in part. This is why the theories that seek to explain the conspiracies are themselves sometimes merely partial truths at best.

With that said, the Bible has much to say about conspiracies, so we should try to understand what it says and align ourselves with God’s Word.

Conspiracy Against Jesus Christ
The most famous conspiracy of all time is the one against God’s Son, Jesus Christ. King David foretold it prophetically when he wrote: “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!" (Psa 2:1-3). When rulers counsel together against someone, that’s a conspiracy. In this case, rulers counseled together against the Lord and His Anointed Son Jesus.

We can be certain that this passage refers to Jesus, because it is confirmed in the New Testament. Peter and John had been arrested for healing lame man who was more than 40 years old. Here’s the passage:

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.'”

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Act 4:23-31).

So the first apostles and the church of their day understood that this psalm of David referred to the conspiracy against Jesus Christ by the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They said the rulers met “to conspire against your holy servant Jesus.” And the same rulers who had conspired against Jesus were conspiring against the apostles. God confirmed their prayer by shaking the placed where they were gathered and filling them with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Himself predicted this conspiracy saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again."
(Mar 10:33-34).

Later on it happened just like Jesus said it would. There was a conspiracy among the Herodians and Pharisees to destroy Jesus. “The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.” (Mar 3:6). After Jesus cleansed the temple, he said that His Father’s house would be a house a prayer. “The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.” (Mar 11:18). “So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.” (Joh 11:53)

“When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.” (Luk 11:53-54)

In fact, He told a parable about a man who planted a vineyard. The man sent one slave after another to collect some of the fruit, but the vine growers beat each of them shamefully. In the end, they even beat and killed the son of the man who planted the vineyard. Jesus concluded by declaring that He Himself was the Stone the builders rejected. “And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.” (Mar 12:12-13)

Jesus spoke openly to the conspirators about their plot to kill Him. "But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do.” (Joh 8:40).

Should We Be Naïve and Throw Caution to the Wind?
Once the conspiracy to kill Him had begun, He was cautious to stay away from the places where Jews were seeking to kill Him. “After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him.” (Joh 7:1). While He was never afraid, He did use wisdom and kept Himself out of harms way until the time came for Him to be crucified.

He predicted that the apostles and prophets He would send after Him would also be persecuted as well. “For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute.’” (Luk 11:49).

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.” (Luk 21:12). "But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all because of My name.” (Luk 21:16-17)

And knowing that this would happen, Jesus taught His disciples how to handle persecution. "So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves.”
(Luk 21:14). So we are not to defend ourselves.

But just as Jesus was cautious to stay away from cities where there were obvious threats against His life, He advised His disciples to do the same. "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next.” (Mat 10:23).

Should We Be Paranoid?
People are considered paranoid who go through life peering through the curtains or looking over their shoulder, always afraid that someone is going to kill them. Usually these people are plagued by an irrational fear of something that does not exist.

There are some people who are always calling everything a conspiracy. Is that how we should act? The Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah saying, "You are not to say, 'It is a conspiracy!' In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.”(Isa 8:12). Not everything that people say is a conspiracy is really a conspiracy.

But even if there is a legitimate threat to our lives, Jesus taught us not to fear the ones who threaten us. "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mat 10:28). Ultimately those who conspire evil plots can only kill the body. They cannot destroy body and soul. Only God can do this.

Jesus was not paranoid. As I already said, He used wisdom and stayed clear of the Judean region where they were plotting to kill Him. And God protected Him. But when the time came for Him to be crucified, He headed resolutely for Jerusalem, the heart of that dangerous place. “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luk 9:51, KJV)

And on the night He was betrayed, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray as usual. He did not hide in a secret place, but went to the same spot He usually went to. And when His betrayer came to turn Him over to those who plotted to take His life, He didn’t run. Instead He said, “Then He *came to the disciples and *said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. "Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!" (Mat 26:45-46)

He did not try to escape. His disciples were prepared to defend Him with deadly force, but He refused to allow it. He could have called upon a legion of angels and the Father would have sent them to rescue Him, but He gave up that right. Instead he recognized that the time had come for his betrayal and He willingly accepted it. (Mat 26:52-56).

Like I mentioned, this conspiracy against Jesus is the most famous one of all time. Yet there are many others recorded in Scripture.

The Conspiracy Against the Apostle Paul
Just as Jesus predicted, His apostles were persecuted, too. There were conspiracies to take their lives. This happened to the apostle Paul. “While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.” (Act 21:31)

“And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging [Festus], requesting a concession against Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, setting an ambush to kill him on the way).” (Act 25:2-3).

People even tried to warn Paul not to go to Jerusalem where these threats awaited him. And coming to us, he took Paul's belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, "This is what the Holy Spirit says: 'In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Act 21:11-13).

This was no surprise to Paul. The Lord had already been telling Paul that these things were going to happen. "And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” (Act 20:22-24). He was determined to fearlessly march right into the mouth of the lion.

Conspiracy Against Daniel
Most people who have read the Bible are familiar with the conspiracy against the prophet Daniel. “Then the commissioners and satraps began trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel in regard to government affairs; but they could find no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, inasmuch as he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. Then these men said, ‘We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him with regard to the law of his God.’ Then these commissioners and satraps came by agreement to the king and spoke to him…” (Dan 6:4-6).

Conspiracy Against the Jews
In the Book of Esther, we find the plot to annihilate the Jews. "Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept and implored him to avert the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his plot, which he had devised against the Jews.” (Est 8:3). She dealt very wisely in this situation and God averted the disaster to save His people.

Conspiracy Against Rulers
There are many conspiracies against rulers recorded in Scripture. Time does not allow us to mention each one in detail. But some of the better-known ones include the conspiracy against David when his son Absalom usurped the throne (2 Sam 15:12), the conspiracy against King Joash (2 King 12:20), and the conspiracy against King Pekah (2 King 15:30).

Conspiracy Against the Lord God
In fact God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah that there was a conspiracy against the Lord Himself. “Then the LORD said to me, "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. “ (Jer 11:9). In this case, there was a conspiracy among the people to turn back to the iniquities of their ancestors and the people who refused to hear the Word of the Lord. They decided to break their covenant with God and go after other gods.

Post Biblical Conspiracies
Of course, many, well-known conspiracies have happened since the first century, and these are well documented. Many of these are recorded in Fox’s Book of Martyrs. There were the ten primitive ones against Christians under the Roman Caesars, Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and Severus.

In the fourth century, there was a great conspiracy against Christians in Persia that began under the emperor Sapores. According to John Fox, “George, the Arian bishop of Alexandria, under the authority of the emperor, began a persecution in that city and its environs, and carried it on with the most infernal severity. He was assisted in his diabolical malice by Catophonius, governor of Egypt; Sebastian, general of the Egyptian forces; Faustinus, the treasurer; and Heraclius, a Roman officer.” He goes on to write: “If a man, accused of being a Christian, made his escape, then his whole family were massacred, and his effects confiscated.”

Then there was the conspiracy under Julian the Apostate. Many people suffered from this conspiracy. Persecutions continued from the early part of the eighth, to near the conclusion of the tenth century. This was followed by the Papal conspiracies. Fox states that it was “a period when persecution, under the guise of Christianity, committed more enormities than ever disgraced the annals of paganism. Disregarding the maxims and the spirit of the Gospel, the papal Church, arming herself with the power of the sword, vexed the Church of God and wasted it for several centuries, a period most appropriately termed in history, the ‘dark ages.’”

We learn from Fox that “In the twelfth century, the first persecutions under the papacy began in Italy.” These were followed by the inquisitions of the thirteenth century. According to Fox, “Courts of Inquisition were now erected in several countries; but the Spanish Inquisition became the most powerful, and the most dreaded of any. Even the kings of Spain themselves, though arbitrary in all other respects, were taught to dread the power of the lords of the Inquisition; and the horrid cruelties they exercised compelled multitudes, who differed in opinion from the Roman Catholics, carefully to conceal their sentiments.”

Following the persecution of Martin Luther in the sixteenth century, the pope was so enraged at the reformer’s success that he conspired with the emperor of Germany against all Protestants. According to Fox, “The emperor undertook the extirpation of the Protestants, against whom, indeed, he was particularly enraged himself; and, for this purpose, a formidable army was raised in Germany, Spain, and Italy.” This was a very successful conspiracy. In fact, in the year 1732, over 30,000 Protestants were driven from Salzburg by the campaign. This conspiracy even spread to the Netherlands.

This conspiracy spread even to Great Britain and Ireland prior to the reign of Queen Mary I. Fox recounts: “For, in the said parliament, the king made this most blasphemous and cruel act, to be a law forever: that whatsoever they were that should read the Scriptures in the mother-tongue (which was then called ‘Wickliffe's learning’), they should forfeit land, cattle, body, life, and goods, from their heirs for ever, and so be condemned for heretics to God, enemies to the crown, and most arrant traitors to the land.” There were also terrible persecutions in Scotland during the reign of King Henry VIII. This continued in England during the reign of Queen Mary.

And we are all familiar with the conspiracy against Jews under the Nazi regime of Germany in the twentieth century, as well as the conspiracy again Christians and Jews during the communist era of the twentieth century in Eastern Europe, Russia, and China. In fact, the conspiracy against Christians continues to this day in places like China, India, Algeria, Uzbekistan, and North Korea.

Conspiracy of the Final World Ruler
A simple reading of the only prophetic book of the New Testament, the Apocalypse shows that the final world ruler will organize a conspiracy against the people of God. “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” (Rev 13:5-7).

He will make war against the saints and overcome them. He will deceive the masses, he will perform signs and wonders, and he will demand worship from everyone. He will also make laws and establish an economic system that makes it possible to kill those who don’t conform to his system. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.” (Rev 13:16-17)

Putting it All Together
Let’s face it – the Bible is full of examples of conspiracies. It’s quite obvious from the Bible that there have been conspiracies for thousands of years, and that they will continue until the end. We know that not everything people call a conspiracy is really a conspiracy, and we should be careful not to simply believe every theory that’s circulated, especially since some may only be partial truths. But if we have a biblical worldview, we will not deny or reject the possibility of a conspiracy, until we have done the research ourselves to verify the facts.

Even when we have verified there is, in fact, a conspiracy going on, we don’t need to fear those who can only kill the body. We should fear the One who can destroy both the body and the soul in hell. As Martin Luther wrote in his lyrics to his famous hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:

Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still;
his kingdom is forever.

While we don’t need to fear what man can do to us, we do need to be wise as serpents yet gentle as doves. Jesus taught His own disciples that they should flee from any city where they were persecuted, rather than remain in harms way. But then they were to continue the Lord’s work in the next place.

Finally, based on the example and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should not focus on conspiracies or possible ones, but rather upon Jesus. We should simply decide ahead of time not to defend ourselves and know that God will be glorified by whatever happens to us.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Home page for this blog, and you can also find my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

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