CULTISH ‘EXTREMISM’ VERSUS TEMPERATE WISDOM!

CULTISH EXTREMISM   VERSUS  TEMPERATE WISDOM

Luke 16:8     And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 

• Why is it, that many persons involved with smaller religions, tend to be unbalanced in mind, extreme in many of their views, and become generally obnoxious to greater or lesser degrees, than most of the general populace of the society in which they live?

• From the following quotes can be seen that there are a clash of moral principles in this world;  there is a struggle between wrong and right, between justice and injustice, and only One System has all the correct answers, yet God has put in every mind a conscience which hints at the answers!

Genesis  3:14           And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 

 3:15   And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

Revelation  12:9     And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 

 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 

 12:12 Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 

Matthew  5:14        Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 

John  3:19    And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

 3:20   For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

Ephesians  6:12      For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

• The Devil is trying to stop God’s people from doing their God-ordained work, or at least present them as a laughing stock to the rest of the world in which they live.

Deuteronomy 28:37          And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. 

1 Kings 9:7    Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: 

Revelation 3:9         Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 

• God, in contrast, is endeavouring to use them as a ‘Light of the World’ as far as Intelligent, Sensible, Healthy Lifestyles goes. He wants them to live to serve and educate others in order to instruct them in the principles of  Godliness. The principles of Godliness include: How to obtain power to live this way from God Himself, in order  to overcome ‘sin’ in their lives and, most of all, remove from them the guilt of past ‘sins’, whether minor deviations, or major crimes; this, in turn, will bring about  a clear conscience, free from the worry of past wrongs, and many of the present mental ‘struggles’; The End result of this process is: acceptance as sensible, obedient citizens, not just of the relatively low and fluctuating standards of ‘this present world’, but of the ‘Heavenly Universe’, along with the fellowship of all the inhabitants of the planets beyond our own solar system!

1 Corinthians  4:9   For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 

• How come, much of this world, is more sensible in many ways, than persons of many religious cults etc.?

• As we can see, there is an invisible battle going on all around us, involving the Devil, and his angels, versus God, His Holy Spirit, and His angels.  The Devil is seeking to draw us into the principles of self-centred, pleasure loving lifestyles, preferably well-adjusted, money satisfied, materialistic, educated, but which only lasts a short lifetime of around 70 odd years as His idea of the ‘best’ this world can offer, along with any other perverted lifestyle which deviates majorly or minorly from God’s pure, harmonious lifestyle pattern as highlighted in His Law (Two Great, and Ten Explanatory Commands) and the Lifestyle of the One Individual who set the Perfect Example in keeping these principles without one deviation. (and who paid the ultimate price of ‘our deviations’, with their punishments and related consequences)

• God’s Lifestyle, in contrast with the Devil’s, offers perfect harmony with His principles of Unselfish Service toward one another, codified or put in written form by His own finger as Ten Explanatory Commandments, summarized briefly in Two Great Principles of Unselfish Love.

TEN COMMANDMENTS IN TODAY’S LANGUAGE

HOW DO TODAY’S CHRISTIANS BREAK GOD’S LAW IN ‘MAJOR’ WAYS?

•   PUTTING OTHER THINGS IN LIFE BEFORE GOD

(SPENDING MOST OF SPARE TIME IN PERSUING FAVOURITE HOBBIES OR PAST-TIMES, WHETHER IT BE FOOTBALL, CRICKET, TV SHOWS SUCH AS AUSTRALIAN IDOL ETC. OR EVEN ‘WORK ADDICTION’?)

• WORSHIPING ‘THINGS’ INSTEAD OF GOD

(CONCENTRATING ALL EFFORTS IN MAKING MONEY TO BUY ‘STUFF’)

• LETTING LOOSE WITH LANGUAGE WHEN UNDER PRESSURE

(USING EXPRESSIONS SUCH AS ‘OMG’,  ‘JC’ OR SIMILAR)

• TURNING ‘GOD’S DAY’ INTO ‘MAN’S DAY’ AND VICE VERSA

( INSTEAD OF DOING GOD’S THING AND ATTENDING CHURCH ETC. GOING TO THE FOOTY, SHOPS, PUBS AND CLUBS ETC ; PLAYING SPORT, PARTYING ETC. )

• DISRESPECTING PROPER FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

(NOT ACCEPTING  WHAT GOD INTENDED AS FAMILY – IE.  FATHER, MARRIED TO MOTHER, WITH CHILDREN ,  FOR ‘LIFE’ !

  INSTEAD OF MOTHER MARRIED TO MOTHER, FATHER TO FATHER, MULTIPLE MARRIAGES INVOLVING DIVORCES AND RE-MARRIAGES ETC.)

• KILLING EACH OTHER

(CORPORATE  KILLING IN THE NAME OF ‘DEFENSE’, IT’S CALLED WAR,  ALONG WITH ABORTIONS AND EUTHENASIA) (JESUS SAID TO CHRISTIANS TO ‘PUT AWAY THE SWORD (OR GUN, OR BOMB), INSTEAD OF HATING ENEMIES, LOVE THEM; LET GOD DEAL OUT VENGEANCE IN ‘HIS’ GOOD TIME’, AT THE JUDGMENT.

• PRACTICING  FREE SEX, FORGETTING THAT IT’S SUPPOSE TO BE FOR MARRIAGE ONLY

(ACTING AS IF  IT’S OK BEFORE MARRIAGE, SO LONG AS IT’S CONSENSUAL, AND DOESN’T MATTER WHO OR WHAT YOU HAVE SEX WITH, SO LONG AS BOTH PARTIES ARE HAPPY WITH IT)

• STEALING

(COPYING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IS A COMMON FORM OF STEALING ) (STEALING AFFECTIONS OF ANOTHER PERSON’S PARTNER IS ANOTHER FORM)

• LIE – ING

(FOR EXAMPLE, YOU MAY SAY YOU ARE A LAW KEEPER  YET YOU BREAK THE SPEED LIMIT CONSTANTLY, OR YOU PUT TIMES ON YOUR TIMESHEET THAT ‘BEND’ THE TRUTH JUST A BIT)

• REFUSING TO BE  CONTENT WITH WHO WE ARE,  AND WHAT WE HAVE,  AT EACH STAGE IN OUR LIFE

(COMPETING WITH ‘OTHERS’, EG. WISHING WE COULD WIN THE LOTTERY OR RECEIVE A ROLLS ROYCE OR LAMBORGHINI FOR CHRISTMAS, OR THAT ‘OUR’ TEAM ‘THRASHES’ THE OPPOSITION IN OUR PARTICULAR FAVOURITE VERSION OF COMPETITIVE SPORT; INSTEAD OF BEING CONTENT TO DO OUR OWN THING JUST FOR THE SHEER JOY OF DOING IT  BECAUSE WE LOVE IT!)

TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS (OR PRINCIPLES) =

1. LOVING GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, MIND, SOUL, STRENGTH, BODY, IN OTHER WORDS, BEING ‘IN TUNE WITH HIM’ ALL THE TIME, ENJOYING EVERYTHING IN IT’S PROPER PERSPECTIVE, PUTTING ‘HIM’ AS YOUR CREATOR, SAVIOUR, CLOSEST COMPANION, ORCHESTRATOR OF YOUR LIFE AND IT’S INDIVIDUAL UNIQUENESS, TALENTS AND ABILITIES!
2. LOVING EVERY OTHER BEING AS MUCH AS YOU RESPECT AND LOVE YOURSELF, WITH COURTESY, CAREFULNESS AND APPROPRIATENESS OF BEHAVIOUR AND THOUGHTFULNESS, WILLING TO SERVE AND BE SERVED GRACIOUSLY

• The Devil knows the Beauty and Attractiveness of this ‘Godly Way of Life’ God offers us, and is therefore trying to make those who profess to follow this lifestyle  ‘hypocrites’ or ‘extremists’, ie.  ‘Not’ following what they know they should be doing; or, taking normally ‘sensible’ guidelines to ‘stupid’ or ‘ridiculous’ extremes, whether it be in the realms of avoiding society in order to remain ‘pure’, or mixing with society, ‘dropping sensible’ standards, whether it be joining in with all types of highly competitive sport, watching violent or sex oriented movies, constant world travel in order to sight-see and spend money for the sake of simple pleasure and enjoyment, with the premise of becoming friends with the ‘world’ in order to ‘win’ some!?

• God offers us the wisdom of ‘taking stock of our ‘life’’ before we make the grievous mistake of ending our short probationary period with choices that lead to ‘eternal death’.

• He wants us to be ‘Sensible Representatives’ of ‘HIS” Lifestyle, so that we may Draw souls to HIM in the most Wonderful way, instead of ‘Putting them off’ by being ‘False Representatives’.

John  12:32  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me. 

• He warns us in His Word that there will be Mixed classes of persons in ‘All Groups’ whether they be ‘Professed Believers’ or ‘Atheistic Worldlings’, or anything in-between.

Matthew 13:36       Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 

 13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 

 13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; 

 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 

 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 

 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 

 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

• Is there a stark contrast between ‘God’s people’ and the ‘Devil’s own’?

Luke 16:8     And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 

• There should be, ‘ideally’, but, there is not!

Matthew 13:44       Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 

 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 

 13:46 Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 

 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 

 13:48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 

 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 

• Every person out there in the world, is either an honest seeker for truth, or, finally, a refuser of God’s invisible invitation of the Holy Spirit, speaking to his/her conscience, loving the temporary pleasures of this polluted world, or infatuated with it’s moral sickness in some way or another.  God’s professed people (Christians or Spiritual Israel) are but tools in this direction which God’ is attempting to use as part of His Salvation Process!

Romans 2:11           For there is no respect of persons with God. 

 2:12   For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 

 2:13   (For not the hearers of the law [are] just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 

 2:14   For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 

 2:15   Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and [their] thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  

 2:16   In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. 

• What extremes will be seen amongst those who profess to be Christians towards the End of Time?

Acts 20:30    Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.  

Matthew 24:23       Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here [is] Christ, or there; believe [it] not. 

 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

• What Sensible, Balanced, Wise, Temperate and Understanding people does God want His people to be?

Deuteronomy

4:5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
4:6 Keep therefore and do [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.

1 Thessalonians 5:21         Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 

2 Timothy 3:13       But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 

 3:14   But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned [them]; 

 3:15   And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

 3:16   All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 

 3:17   That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. 

Proverbs 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 

 1:3     To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 

 1:4     To give subtlety to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. 

 1:5     A wise [man] will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: 

 1:6     To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. 

 1:7     The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction. 

 1:8     My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 

Luke 16:8      And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.  

 16:9   And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 

 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.  

 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches]? 

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 

 9:25   And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 

Titus 1:6        If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. 

 1:7     For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; 

 1:8     But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; 

 1:9     Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. 

Philippians 4:4        Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice. 

 4:5     Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand. 

 4:6     Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

 4:7     And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

 4:8     Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. 

• Many receive this information second-hand, from the World and it’s Wise men, but why not gain it First-hand, from God’s Word?

• Don’t look at ‘members’ of God’s ‘Professed’ Group and turn away because you see hypocrisy and extremism.  It’s like throwing out the Baby with the Bathwater after you’ve just cleaned Him/Her!

• Join and show by God’s grace what ‘true, balanced, wise and understanding’ Believer-ship is ‘all about’!

AMEN

Gary Southwell

25/4/2021

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.