Right Alignment (3/21/11)

Shalom,

 

     Please begin by reading Jer 6:16-21.

 

     Yahweh gives a very clear warning and a very clear judgment based on the people of Judah's rejection of his warning.  We know that throughout Israel's history there were calls for them to repent and return to right paths.  The New Testament offers the same kind of warnings to Christians concerning the possibility of us falling away.  It's foolish when we read how the Israelite's rejected Yahweh's prophetic warnings and we look down on them with disdain.  The reason these types of warnings are in both the Old and New Testaments is because we're all vulnerable to falling away from our Lord God.  No matter which covenant we claim as the one we abide in, the warning is to stay in touch with our Lord and not wander off after false gods.

     When I read this passage during my daily reading time, I immediately thought of Robbie the Robot.  He was made famous on the TV show Lost in Space during 1966-67.  But he also appeared in about 40 other movies and TV shows beginning in 1956 with The Forbidden Planet.  What came to my mind was his warning, "Danger, Will Robinson."  He would speak this whenever some alien threat was perceived.  That's the same kind of warning Yahweh is trying to give us through the Holy Spirit when evil is discerned.

 

     Sometimes when things go wrong we ask where Yahweh was.  Well, I can plainly tell you that he was right there sounding an alarm.  He told the people of Judah to "ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it."  These old paths are the ancient, eternal paths of righteous living.  It could probably best be called the Forever Path.  This godly path is the only truly good one in existence.  Any other path follows something other than our Creator and therefore isn't truly good.

     The Church of Jesus Christ needs this very same warning today.  We have a very divided and secular church today.  We depend too much on human intellect and philosophical religion.  The creeds which helped establish our beliefs are ignored or adjusted to fit our modern sensibilities.  Just like the people of Judah, we've left the ancient path of true righteousness because we think we don't need our Father's help.  We're arrogant enough to believe that we can find better answers with our intellect than with our spirit.

     Since the first century the Body of Christ has had to fight against people trying to corrupt the Gospel.  Many have desired to simplify the path to salvation, and have therefore left many people deceived and lost due to these humanistic revisions.  Many today think we need to modernize because the "old" Gospel is irrelevant to our modern world.  The modern ideas of tolerance and exclusivity claim that what we have is no longer valid for the universalistic religion practiced in our day.

     Why, the idea of a "straight and narrow" path that leads to heaven is much too restrictive.  Don't you know that the biblical record of Yahweh's plan of salvation is merely the opinions of men who were out of touch with modern thought and sensibilities?  But any revisions we make to the Gospel of Jesus Christ are being made without the Almighty and Sovereign God's permission or approval.  He believes his plan is still perfect, no matter what our intellect or philosophies say.

     These people Jeremiah was speaking to claimed to be the chosen of Yahweh.  They proclaimed that they wouldn't pay attention to the sounding of the shofar, the sound that was meant to warn them of danger.  The shofar was used to either call assemblies or to warn of impending attacks.  These people rejected the help readily being offered by Yahweh's prophets.  It's like totally ignoring any wanring lights that show up on your car's dashboard.  We justify our continued ignorance of these warning lights by believing that we still have plenty of time before the car actually quits running.  That's the same idea as the people who believe they don't have to get saved now, they'll have plenty of time "later."

     This warning is very timely to us.  Yahweh's Word and the current prophetic warnings tell us to get into right alignment with our Lord.  There is a good path where we can find safety and security with our heavenly Father.  Our Father wants us to travel his way, obediently following his instructions and corrections.  He knows how terrible things are going to get, and he wants his children to be in a place of safety and security when the world begins to collapse in on itself due to man's greed and ignorance of his truth.

 

     Yahweh offers "rest for your souls" on his path.  The phrasing is pointing to a resting place.  When we really and truly trust our Father, we'll find ourselves on a path filled with his presence and soothing to our troubled souls.  He knows how to calm our fears and keep us securely cared for.  Anyone who tries to offer you a "new and improved" version of Yahweh's Word is lying to you.  And whether they're being outrightly deceptive or just naively wrong doesn't matter.  The path they're trying to sell you is treacherous and dangerous and deadly.  There is no eternal rest outside of Yahweh's appointed path.

     2 Pet 2:1 says, "There were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will cleverly teach their destructive heresies about God and even turn against their Master who bought them."  In case you haven't read through the whole New Testament, it clearly tells us that these types of teachers will increase in the "latter days."  We won't have less false teachers, we'll have more.  So we better be fully grounded in our Lord's Word and Gospel to be able to identify them and overcome them with his truth.

     The only way to overcome these infiltrators and saboteurs is by being in right alignment with our Lord and Master.  We must stay on track, hearing our Master's voice and doing what he's telling us.  We must stay close to Jesus or we become vulnerable to being picked off as stragglers by these predators.  These false teachers are opportunistic and look for those who don't have a solid spiritual covering.  Anyone who has issues with right spiritual authority is in danger of being snared.

     As individual Christians we should and must be able to test spirits and prove whether things are of Yahweh's Spirit, demonic spirits, or the human intellect.  Too many people inside our churches today depend on their favorite preacher, or their favorite author, or all the much too convenient experts on radio and TV.  Too many are lazy when it comes to searching the Scriptures for themselves, and are easily misled by any teacher who sounds convincing.  When we trust others to do our studying for us, we're disobeying the clear Word of our Lord to "study to show yourselves approved by God" (2 Tim 2:15).

     Much of this happens because of the loss of true biblical authority.  Those in authority are often not there because of biblical qualifications.  Too many denominational and independent structures have positions not even designated in the Bible.  Jesus warned about how "hired hands" don't have the integrity or connection to the local flock, and that they can't be counted on when real danger comes.  Yet many denominations and fellowships have a system of bringing in hired hands instead of raising up leadership from within individual congregations.  No wonder many people don't know where to go to find rest for their souls.  Their leaders have rejected Yahweh's structure and are working within corrupt systems.

     Too much of our modern day church is patterned after a business model.  The way we do things is more often secular than spiritual.  Or they're completely secular with a little spiritual thrown in to appease the more religious minded in their flocks.  With the offer of many paths to follow, people are wandering all over the place.  They can't find a place to be solidly grounded because no such place is offered to them.  Their leaders tell them to be sincere in their beliefs and actions, and yet they don't give them any real hope and security.

 

     People need to know their Creator has a clear path for them to follow.  There is only one truly "good" path.  This isn't meant to exclude anyone, it's to protect all the true seekers.  Our world is dangerous.  The Bible speaks of lions and other dangers hiding along our roads.  Yahweh promises to protect us if we follow his path.  If we choose some variation or revision or detour, we've rejected his truth just like the people of Judah.  They directly rejected Yahweh's protection and warning.  "We will not walk on your path."  We will not listen to your warning."  We don't have to blatantly reject him either.  Many passively reject their Creator by choosing to walk on other paths because they "feel" good and right to them.

     Don't compromise, trying to appease someone else's hurt feelings.  Don't give people other options through your unwillingness to stand strongly in Yahweh's truth.  Compromising Yahweh's perfect Word or path leads to denying him.  The words of Jesus are very clear and direct about this in Matt 10:32-33.  "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."  A "Yes I believe, but I choose another path" is a rejection, a disowning of the Way and the Truth and the Life.

     Choose to align yourself with Jesus.  Choose to stay by his side with all your might.  Walking with Jesus is a great blessing.  You'll have more peace and security.  You'll have more wisdom and understanding.  You won't just have a guardian angel, you'll have a guardian God.

 

     Blessinsg & Peace,  Mike