“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…” Romans 1:21-22
Who are the THEY’s in the verses above? It will shock you! It is those, particularly in America right now, who grew up in church, who have known the oracles of God, and may be able to quote the scriptures better than you. They came from strict denominations, never missed church, attended with their parents every Sunday, wore nice church clothes, and memorized weekly Bible verses. But something dreadful happened to them in our society.
There are two types of judgments which are from God; they are the blessings and the curses. Blessings were first given by God to people and to things in the Creation account. When God’s people are obedient, God gives them a blessing, which is an extraordinary and powerful thing. Every blessing is guaranteed to produce something obvious to other people. In Psalm 37:11 it reads, “But the humble will inherit the land and will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.” Blessings can be seen, they are designed by God to delight the receiver, and to mark him or her in public view. The same goes for curses given by God to His enemies. Both blessings and curses are a pronouncement of something that is about to come, it is a sure thing, something that we as human beings can count on.
So, in this most beautiful form of God’s love, that is the blessing, it must be hidden from our eyes, so that we cannot receive God’s best for our lives. Romans 1:18-19 also says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” For the enemy to defeat us, truth must be obscured from our eyes, so that rather than being blessed by God, we come under a curse from Him. So, wanting their freedom from all restraints, those who grew up with the truth, now resist truth in every possible way.
I’m not sure when this, “I need my freedom” thing began to take over America, but I have some speculations. Prayer was removed from public schools in 1962 by the Supreme Court. In that moment, truth became the enemy of the unrighteous, and dependence on God was no longer taught to every school aged child in America. Once you remove God from the public sector, every child that attends church on Sunday, but sees a growing antagonism of Him in society, can begin to think, “Maybe I don’t need a God of restraint.” God knows our nature is to sink into the lower nature of humanity, and without His oracles of the operation of how He thinks and acts, we by default also sink into His displeasure.
So, God gives us warnings of judgment, and rewards for obedience. They, as I have recently discovered, are called “Weals and Woes.” “Weal” comes from an old German understanding of ‘well-being.’ Today we call weals by their original names and intent, “Blessings.” The opposite of Blessings are the “Woes.” “Woes” occurs over 40 times in the New Testament, and another 60 times in the Old Testament. A woe is an oracle of God, a certainty of a curse that will come about, because of behaviors or attitudes of the heart. Note this in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Notice that those who exchange truth for lies, and make lies appear as truths, come under a curse, hence they receive the Woe. The moment you adopt a truth for a lie, even if you were innocent in your heart, you come under the displeasure of God. This is why we must hear God’s Truth at every opportunity!
Jesus used the term “Woe” many times. In Matthew 18:7 He says, “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” All lies are stumbling blocks! Why? Because they distort the truth for a concealed reason. The pro-abortion industry says, “it’s a growth, or it’s just a fetus,” and they say, “It’s my body, I can do what I want.” When all the time there is a God-given child growing there. Why? To keep their funding, and to keep their false narrative of over-population.
Our modern society has given us other distortions of the truth that are also intentional. Phrases such as, “I was born that way” or “Everyone’s doing it”, gives permission to people to continue to live in sin. That is a lie, because God in His righteousness could not judge what He made in error. Again, “I feel, therefore I am” is another lie. Our feelings do not define us, God defines us. “I believe; therefore, it is” is also another modern lie. Just because you believe a thing, does not make it so. Many claim that the world evolved, and was not made by a Superior Being, yet in Romans 1:20-21 we read,
“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.”
Whenever we conveniently believe a lie as being truth, we darken our hearts to all truth, and the result is our being displeasing to our God. God hates lies and liars so much, He condemns them to the same hell as the devil and other worldly despots, along with murderers and the scornful. Notice what John says in the Book of Revelation 21:8,
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Fortunately, this is not for you or I. We want God’s blessing, and with His direction, we can receive His blessing. In conclusion, God has instructed me help you to receive His blessings, and to tell you to do the following three things.
- Get your house in order. Do a clean sweep of things that do not belong in your house or on your property. Movies that mock God, or honor horror stories, destroy, and do not sell. Books and items that involve the occult destroy as well. Maybe the contacts of those who could lead you astray should be deleted off your phones and computers. Clean yourself of the impurities that so easily might hold you back.
- Love and pray for those that honor the truth and teach the truth. Your pastors, your bible teachers and your prophets should be held in high regard, especially if they are opposed to these modern societal teachings. Give them double-honor.
- Recognized that you are ambassadors for Christ. (II Corinthians 5:20). We represent a Holy God in heaven. As such, not only are we to walk in the truth, as He is Truth, but we are to appear as blessed and endued with God’s blessings as His beloved children. Make every effort in these last days to be an apostle for Christ through your behavior and your relationship with Him!
Get yourselves ready, this world is about to change. Make your heart and life ready for the return of our Lord Jesus.
I am praying for you daily!
Shalom
Pastor David Gonzalez
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