Our wondrous walk with the Lord is a mystery. God taught me this truth as He opened up the mystery of prayer the first time I went to India. After a week of high temperatures, diarrhea, and stomach upset I was extremely weak in my flesh not a bad place to see God do a miracle. It was around 10:00 at night. Earlier that day I ministered the word for 1 1/2 hours three times then prayed for the sick three times. I was hungry, drained, and just dead when Pastor S.J. Peter said Pastor Dave can you please pray for this little girl who had not walked in over two months? I turned and looked up standing in front of me was the little girl and her father. I thought, he must be kidding, does he know what time it is? Knowing I had my supper of bland chicken, curry, and rice (helping to calm my stomach down) waiting for me I said, I would. Well I just reached up and grabbed her little feet with the little strength I had in myself and simply asked God to touch this little girl. I do not remember the words but it was something like this, God please touch this little girl. There was no lightning or thunder just a simple beseeching to the Father from one with no ability or strength to make it happen. After I said Amen I turned back towards my food and out of the corner of my eye I saw the father put the little girl down on the ground and like a streak of lightning was off and running. To this day she is probably still running, well I never got to my dinner that night a line quickly formed and we had church. Prayer is a mystery of God that I cannot figure out and I like that. Who wants to serve a God you can figure out? I mean if you can figure Him out you will know what He knows, but God keeps this all a mystery from us to keep us in the dark so that He can give us His treasures. Isaiah tells us, “And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.” (Isaiah 45:3) Where do you think these treasures of darkness and riches of secret places are hidden? My friend they are hidden in the mysteries of the person of God and His ways like prayer.
You know I read and hear many people say we are on a “spiritual journey” with the Lord, well this is nonsense. We are not on a journey this is worldly thinking and some cool buzz words that have invaded the church. Oh no my friend we are learning how God operates as we head back to the heart of the Father where we all came from. Isaiah also tells us, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Where did we stray and turned everyone to his own way? From the path way back to the heart of God. Many of the Christian writers as well as many Pastors of today have sold out the truth using cool terms and expressions to be hip, well God is not cool or hip He is holy, righteous, and expects His children to be the same. Recently I have noticed the many references from popular writers and authors in most sermons. It seems the cooler the writer or author the more spiritual the sermon is. But a word from God, a message, stands alone it needs no cool or witty words. A quote from our favorite author or writer is not needed when God has birthed a word from Him in us. The disciples needed no help from other writers or authors, they just spoke out of an established heart and from a life of personal experience. It is no wonder many churches today lack the power and authority to be a witness of God to our families, neighborhoods, and to the world. They are filled with so many worldly practices that do not produce an established heart during troubled times and authority; the hallmark of God’s approval in our lives.
There are three other mysteries (I will be honest) I do not understand. No matter how long I ponder and pray for wisdom and understanding they slip through my fingers like a puff of air. The first of the three mysteries is the mystery of the God head. Now not knowing this one does not bother me that much since Paul to had a hard time getting his arms around it. Of the 22 references in the KJV for the word “mystery” Paul has uses the word (17 times) more than anyone; John four times in the Book of Revelation, and Jesus only once in Matthews when He was talking about the mystery of the kingdom of God. In Colossians Paul takes up this mystery, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3In whom (Jesus Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3) I think our Pastor Jim Kelley comes the closest to capturing this Biblical concept when he refers to the Godhead as Neapolitan ice cream, one ice cream in three flavors. All and in all I do not understand, but that is okay I like serving a God I cannot figure out, I like serving a God who is a wondrous mystery especially knowing, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul sums up and answers man’s quest to understand the Godhead when he said, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” (Acts 17:29) But knowing, “In whom (Jesus Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” and knowing Him ought to be enough for us and the rest of the mystery of the Godhead will unfold as we get to know His Father and His ways in all of eternity.
The second mystery I do not understand (I am sure you may have a different list) is why does a loving and all knowing God allow people to go to hell. This is beyond me. Knowing how horrible hell is (after all God made it) how could He stand-by and allow people to chose not to accept His free gift of salvation, from hell, in the person of His precious Son Jesus Christ? Why Jesus Himself said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) God sent His Son Jesus Christ to come and die for the sin of mankind so that man would not have to spend an eternal separation from God, yet inspite of Jesus’ precious sacrifice mankind is still lost and it appears God the Father is casually standing by allowing us to make this critical choice on our own. Well my friend God is. God loves us so much He desires we choose Him and His ways over our own. Now if I was God I would force mankind to accept His free gift, but He does not do this. He is longsuffering and daily patiently extends mercy and grace to us. His ways differently are not our ways. What an example of being a God. In the face of suffering sure loss God allows mankind to choose. All and all I do not understand why God takes a chance in losing something He loves very much. This is beyond me, but you know I like serving a God that gives us a choice. Life and death is nothing more than choosing correctly. The Solomon tells us, “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” (Proverbs 12:28) and in the fifth Book of Moses, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19) God has set (gives us a choice) life and death before us and wants us to choose life, but it is up to us to choose. Strange how He sets death before us too? But this is nothing new for God He has done this from the beginning. In the garden God told Adam, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Every tree “thou mayest freely eat.” Now we know the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life was in the garden (see verse 2:9) Alas, Adam choose the wrong tree, or did he? Was God tempting Adam, no God was giving Adam a choice to choose life as He gives us a choice today. You know God has never sent someone to hell. If one finds them self in hell (I hope and pray not) they will not be surprised, their choices ended them there. Let us choose life.
And the last mystery is rather strong and I have a hard time articulating it. But it revolves around an unwillingness to come to some level of spiritual maturity in God pitted against the unending grace and forgiveness message that empowers Believers not to be accountable for their words and actions. God’s intention is for His children to, “therefore grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) I see a great desire for the grace, but not much of a desire for the knowledge. Now please do not misunderstand me, I need grace and forgiveness as much as the next man, who does not want God’s and our fellow man’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness? We all do, but it seems the message of God wanting us to be righteous, full of integrity, to do the right thing (the first time), and consequences for our actions seems to be lost in our desire to be forgiven time and time again. It is not God’s intention to keep forgiving us again and again. If He has to He will for His grace is unending, but God’s intention is to forgive us once when we miss the mark and for us to learn from our mistakes. But what we find is learning and seldom or never learning from our mistakes. Spiritual growth and maturity is just as much a central theme as grace is in the New Testament yet we find this topic rarely discussed and almost never preached from the pulpit. We again and again keep counting on God’s and our fellow man’s grace and forgiveness to get us over our immaturity and lack of spiritual development. It is a mystery to me why God allows this to go on in the Body of Christ. For us to grow in God we will need to be chastened and disciplined as a father corrects and disciplines his son. Now this we all (especially me) do not like, but for growth and maturity to develop in the son he must endure the father’s correction and chastisement. Remember we are saved by grace, but kept by our obedience to God. Our obedience to God we often think is seen when we do what He wants us to do, true to a degree, but God can get a donkey to be obedient. God is looking for us to endure His correction and to learn from it. No correction no maturity. Paul sets this truth before us, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:11-13) We do not want to be chastened and disciplined, “the present seemeth to be joyous” but in the end “grievous” because of no chastening of the Lord. Yet after the chastening, “the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” is produced in us. Righteousness is not produced in us by grace that is a free gift of God less any should boast. Righteousness is worked in us when we see our wrongness out from God’s dealings and judgments in our lives. Only those exercised by the chastening of the Lord will produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Oh my friend we side step God’s work in our lives by counting on His grace time and time again. Why should I grow up the bottle tastes good. Why should I be accountable for my actions and words, God will forgive me. Maybe true, but this thinking and preaching always keeps us a baby not able to handle the weighty things of God. God does not need babies, oh no God needs men and woman of full age mature to handle things on earth as they are handled in heaven.
Well I am sure you can probably come up with your own list of mysteries. But in time as I walk with the Lord and keep these mysteries before Him maybe 10, 20, or 40 years He will be able to open up these mysteries and more. Time, faithfulness, and obedience are the keys to the mysteries and hidden treasures of God. And He opens them only to those children He can trust, only those children that have been approved and have qualified through correction, discipline, and yes chastisement.
You know I read and hear many people say we are on a “spiritual journey” with the Lord, well this is nonsense. We are not on a journey this is worldly thinking and some cool buzz words that have invaded the church. Oh no my friend we are learning how God operates as we head back to the heart of the Father where we all came from. Isaiah also tells us, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Where did we stray and turned everyone to his own way? From the path way back to the heart of God. Many of the Christian writers as well as many Pastors of today have sold out the truth using cool terms and expressions to be hip, well God is not cool or hip He is holy, righteous, and expects His children to be the same. Recently I have noticed the many references from popular writers and authors in most sermons. It seems the cooler the writer or author the more spiritual the sermon is. But a word from God, a message, stands alone it needs no cool or witty words. A quote from our favorite author or writer is not needed when God has birthed a word from Him in us. The disciples needed no help from other writers or authors, they just spoke out of an established heart and from a life of personal experience. It is no wonder many churches today lack the power and authority to be a witness of God to our families, neighborhoods, and to the world. They are filled with so many worldly practices that do not produce an established heart during troubled times and authority; the hallmark of God’s approval in our lives.
There are three other mysteries (I will be honest) I do not understand. No matter how long I ponder and pray for wisdom and understanding they slip through my fingers like a puff of air. The first of the three mysteries is the mystery of the God head. Now not knowing this one does not bother me that much since Paul to had a hard time getting his arms around it. Of the 22 references in the KJV for the word “mystery” Paul has uses the word (17 times) more than anyone; John four times in the Book of Revelation, and Jesus only once in Matthews when He was talking about the mystery of the kingdom of God. In Colossians Paul takes up this mystery, “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; 3In whom (Jesus Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3) I think our Pastor Jim Kelley comes the closest to capturing this Biblical concept when he refers to the Godhead as Neapolitan ice cream, one ice cream in three flavors. All and in all I do not understand, but that is okay I like serving a God I cannot figure out, I like serving a God who is a wondrous mystery especially knowing, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul sums up and answers man’s quest to understand the Godhead when he said, “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” (Acts 17:29) But knowing, “In whom (Jesus Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” and knowing Him ought to be enough for us and the rest of the mystery of the Godhead will unfold as we get to know His Father and His ways in all of eternity.
The second mystery I do not understand (I am sure you may have a different list) is why does a loving and all knowing God allow people to go to hell. This is beyond me. Knowing how horrible hell is (after all God made it) how could He stand-by and allow people to chose not to accept His free gift of salvation, from hell, in the person of His precious Son Jesus Christ? Why Jesus Himself said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) God sent His Son Jesus Christ to come and die for the sin of mankind so that man would not have to spend an eternal separation from God, yet inspite of Jesus’ precious sacrifice mankind is still lost and it appears God the Father is casually standing by allowing us to make this critical choice on our own. Well my friend God is. God loves us so much He desires we choose Him and His ways over our own. Now if I was God I would force mankind to accept His free gift, but He does not do this. He is longsuffering and daily patiently extends mercy and grace to us. His ways differently are not our ways. What an example of being a God. In the face of suffering sure loss God allows mankind to choose. All and all I do not understand why God takes a chance in losing something He loves very much. This is beyond me, but you know I like serving a God that gives us a choice. Life and death is nothing more than choosing correctly. The Solomon tells us, “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” (Proverbs 12:28) and in the fifth Book of Moses, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19) God has set (gives us a choice) life and death before us and wants us to choose life, but it is up to us to choose. Strange how He sets death before us too? But this is nothing new for God He has done this from the beginning. In the garden God told Adam, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Every tree “thou mayest freely eat.” Now we know the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life was in the garden (see verse 2:9) Alas, Adam choose the wrong tree, or did he? Was God tempting Adam, no God was giving Adam a choice to choose life as He gives us a choice today. You know God has never sent someone to hell. If one finds them self in hell (I hope and pray not) they will not be surprised, their choices ended them there. Let us choose life.
And the last mystery is rather strong and I have a hard time articulating it. But it revolves around an unwillingness to come to some level of spiritual maturity in God pitted against the unending grace and forgiveness message that empowers Believers not to be accountable for their words and actions. God’s intention is for His children to, “therefore grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18) I see a great desire for the grace, but not much of a desire for the knowledge. Now please do not misunderstand me, I need grace and forgiveness as much as the next man, who does not want God’s and our fellow man’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness? We all do, but it seems the message of God wanting us to be righteous, full of integrity, to do the right thing (the first time), and consequences for our actions seems to be lost in our desire to be forgiven time and time again. It is not God’s intention to keep forgiving us again and again. If He has to He will for His grace is unending, but God’s intention is to forgive us once when we miss the mark and for us to learn from our mistakes. But what we find is learning and seldom or never learning from our mistakes. Spiritual growth and maturity is just as much a central theme as grace is in the New Testament yet we find this topic rarely discussed and almost never preached from the pulpit. We again and again keep counting on God’s and our fellow man’s grace and forgiveness to get us over our immaturity and lack of spiritual development. It is a mystery to me why God allows this to go on in the Body of Christ. For us to grow in God we will need to be chastened and disciplined as a father corrects and disciplines his son. Now this we all (especially me) do not like, but for growth and maturity to develop in the son he must endure the father’s correction and chastisement. Remember we are saved by grace, but kept by our obedience to God. Our obedience to God we often think is seen when we do what He wants us to do, true to a degree, but God can get a donkey to be obedient. God is looking for us to endure His correction and to learn from it. No correction no maturity. Paul sets this truth before us, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 12Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:11-13) We do not want to be chastened and disciplined, “the present seemeth to be joyous” but in the end “grievous” because of no chastening of the Lord. Yet after the chastening, “the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” is produced in us. Righteousness is not produced in us by grace that is a free gift of God less any should boast. Righteousness is worked in us when we see our wrongness out from God’s dealings and judgments in our lives. Only those exercised by the chastening of the Lord will produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Oh my friend we side step God’s work in our lives by counting on His grace time and time again. Why should I grow up the bottle tastes good. Why should I be accountable for my actions and words, God will forgive me. Maybe true, but this thinking and preaching always keeps us a baby not able to handle the weighty things of God. God does not need babies, oh no God needs men and woman of full age mature to handle things on earth as they are handled in heaven.
Well I am sure you can probably come up with your own list of mysteries. But in time as I walk with the Lord and keep these mysteries before Him maybe 10, 20, or 40 years He will be able to open up these mysteries and more. Time, faithfulness, and obedience are the keys to the mysteries and hidden treasures of God. And He opens them only to those children He can trust, only those children that have been approved and have qualified through correction, discipline, and yes chastisement.
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