Consumed What you are consumed with on earth, just might be what consumes you in eternity, while putting you there sooner! I had a teacher who would pray the same prayer everytime we opened or closed classes, in addition to all the other petitioned requests. That portion of the prayer went like this; “and may the Holy Spirit teach you truth and no lie”. At first, to me it was just prayers, but after a while it totally intrigued me and I had to look it up and sure enough; 1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. This teacher was praying scripture into our lives, and his continued repetition was to our benefit if we took it to heart, in this we learned to walk with and even in the Spirit. Do you remember the story of Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man? Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich mans table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. Luk 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abrahams bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luk 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Luk 16:26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Luk 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my fathers house: Luk 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Luk 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. Luk 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. Luk 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. There is joyous predestination for those who choose to do things God’ ways, and by the looks of this story, there is also a predestination for the sinners who choose to oppose God’s grace, love, and way. At the end of the course, as is usual with most Bible college classes, there was a final examination. This teacher, for three solid weeks before the finals, asked the same question over and over, with a short discussion period that followed his question. This teachers question went like this; why did the rich man ask Abraham to; “send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” The rich man would have known, the best that Lazarus would be able to carry, would be what was left from cupping his hands together full of water, so why did the rich man not ask for more water? Over and over, class after class, day by day, the entire class came up with the same solution, and conclusion, and here is that thought pattern. The rich man knew that no matter how much water Lazarus could carry, there would never be enough to satisfy the rich man’s thirst. The odd thing that struck me was the fact that our teacher kept asking the same question, over and over and over, never changing his words, in my mind I began to go down through my memory of everything the teacher spoke in his classes and it finally got me; “and may the Holy Spirit teach you truth and no lie”. Like the proverbial light bulb over the head of cartoon characters long gone by the wayside, it finally dawned on me to ask the Holy Spirit, and this is the conversation. The Holy Spirit said; “what trait stands out the most in the rich man’s story”? So I sat and read and read and read, it’s odd, but these words from the scriptures, kept getting bolder, at each reading; “Luk 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, Luk 16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich mans table:” This is what dawned on me; the rich man had ample food and drink to share, but Lazarus was hoping for bread crumbs, just for something to eat. In otherwords, the rich man was greedy and in hell the rich man’s greed was accentuated, he knew he couldn’t share one drop of water with anyone, as it was near impossible in those days to split one drop. In life, the rich man was consumed by greed and in death the rich man was tormented by the same greed. If our lives are consumed with other things and we become enemy of those who love God, then we become enemies of God and God will see to it we’re consumed another way. Psa 21:7 For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved. Psa 21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. Psa 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them. Psa 21:10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. Psa 21:11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform. If our lives are consumed by God with God and doing things God’s way, then our reward should be as stated in God’s Word for those who choose Him. This note was written with a specific purpose, and the Word of God has made it clear; 2Ti 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 2Ti 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. God wants us aware and repentant, what father on earth who really loves his child wants to lose his child to death, never able to spend time together again? That being said; before it’s too late, shouldn’t we repent of our ways and get right with God, doing things His way, showing Him how much we love Him? It is God’s foreknowledge and my hope that this message will reach those who are slowly going astray, and they will turn and seek God, and His kingdom, before it’s too late, Amen!!!
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 12:58:16 +0000
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