In Subjection to Him

“Is there not one father to us all? Has not one Mighty God created us?”  Malachi 2:10a

 

“For I am a great King, says Jehovah of Hosts, and My name is feared among the nations.”  Malachi 1:14b

 

“And it shall be, that whoever will not go up from the families of the earth to Jerusalem to bow down before the King, Jehovah of Hosts, even upon them there shall be no rain.”  Zechariah 14:17

 

The distractions of this world are never ending.  Constantly we are bombarded with news about the latest trendy thing to do, some shooting somewhere, scenes of ill dressed women, sports clips, advertising to buy this and that.  The American Dream, the focus of many not just in America, but across the world is a HUGE distraction.  All too often we focus on what we can see, not what we cannot see with our eyes.

 

“For now we see through a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall fully know just as I also am fully known.”  1st Corinthians 13:12

 

Yet there are certain things that people do out of reverence and respect, social norms of society.  While there are some who refuse they partake in what is deemed acceptable, those people are considered social outcasts, misfits and evil people.

 

When it a courtroom is it acceptable to have an outburst causing the judge to warn that any further commotion will result in immediate removal from the courtroom and jail time?

 

While sitting in church, is it respectable, decent or acceptable to see people throughout the service using their cell phones to communicate to those who are not in attendance?

 

When waiting in line to purchase something, is it considered acceptable to holler to the cashier to hurry up?

 

If one notices someone carrying a bunch of packages and heading towards an entrance door, is it respectful to simply amuse oneself by watching to see how that person is able to open the door?

 

If an elderly person is heading towards a door, using a walking aid, is it decent to cut in front of them, not holding the door, simply because one is in a hurry?

 

Yet in each and every case the above happens commonly.  People are too busy with self, too consumed with self, without self control and simply without respect.

 

“For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, unyielding, slanderers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.  And from such people turn away.”  2nd Timothy 3:2-5

 

A few years ago I had heard a sheriff talking about the prisoners he had in the county jail.  He was discussing how years ago people were of the attitude ‘you caught me’ and knew they would have to serve time for their crime compared to the current where everyone was talking about their rights.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that there are rights of those who are arrested and accused of committing some crime, I understand that often police are abusive, liars and breaking their own rules regarding conduct.  Yet the point is that those who did something wrong would know that they were deserving of punishment.

 

Our society is largely without respect.  Even if you are one of those who are respectful, understand that if we leave our home we all see examples of these things on a daily basis.  Now as Christians there is a VERY BIG problem with this.  As the lines of decency are slowly erased, that which is now consider acceptable was once considered disrespectful.

 

A pastor had talked about how other pastors should set rules in the beginning of the Church service regarding the use of cell phones.  How those who had a legitimate need (EMS worker/etc. [Though I would wonder if there were not others on duty on Sunday morning.]) should sit in the back of the Church.  Understand that these rules are for an ultra-conservative, bible-believing, fundamental Baptist Church.  Now if those who claim to be the most conservative can hardly keep their congregation under control, then what about the other so-called churches!

 

When a Believer enters the building to have church service, is not that building supposed to be separated unto God for doing His work?  How is it then that men can not even control themselves in the house they have created for the King of kings?!

 

“You offer defiled food on My altar, and say, In what way have we defiled You?  By saying, The table of Jehovah is to be held in contempt.”  Malachi 1:7

 

“And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord Jehovah fell upon me there.  Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire; from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber.  And He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and the heavens, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.  And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.  Then He said to me, Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.  So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, toward the north at the gate of the altar, was this image of jealousy at the entrance.  Furthermore He said to me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary?  Now turn again, you will see greater abominations.  So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall.  Then He said to me, Son of man, dig into the wall; and when I dug into the wall, there was an opening.  And He said to me, Go in, and see the evil abominations which they do there.  So I went in and saw; and behold, every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, carved all around on the wall.  And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan.  Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.  Then He said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols?  For they say, Jehovah does not see us, Jehovah has forsaken the land.  And He said to me, Turn again, and you will see greater abominations that they are doing.  So He brought me to the door of the north gate of the house of Jehovah; and behold, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz.  Then He said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man?  Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.  So He brought me into the inner court of the house of Jehovah; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing down to the sun toward the east.  And He said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man?  Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here?  For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger.  Indeed they put the branch to their nose.  Therefore I also will act in fury.  My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”  Ezekiel 8

 

Never forget just who God is!  Do not forget to pay reverence to Him, to respect Him, to fear Him, and if we claim to be in Christ, to be in subjection to Him!

 

“The burden of the Word of Jehovah for Israel, says Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.”  Zechariah 12:1

 

“There is none like You, O Jehovah; You are great, and Your name is great in might.  Who would not fear You, O King of nations? For fear is befitting to You, because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.”  Jeremiah 10:6-7

 

“For Jehovah is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.”  Psalms 96:4

 

“And I said, I beseech You, O Jehovah the God of Heaven, O great and awesome Mighty God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and keep Your commandments:”  Nehemiah 1:5

 

“And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, says the Lord Jehovah, when I am sanctified in you before their eyes.”  Ezekiel 36:23

 

“For Jehovah Most High is awesome, a great King over all the earth.”  Psalms 47:2

 

“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by Heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.”  Matthew 5:34-35

 

Believer, are you in subjection to Him?

 

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity unto the obedience of Christ, and being ready to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”  2nd Corinthians 10:4-6

 

“Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ”… Ephesians 5:24a

 

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the full true knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing into the full true knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who has delivered us from the authority of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.”  Colossians 1:9-14

 

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,”  Romans 6:8

 

“For He has subjected everything under His feet.  But when He says everything is subjected, it is evident that He who subjected everything under Him is exempt.  Now when everything is subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who subjected everything under Him, that God may be everything in all things.”

 

If a man receives a terminal medical diagnosis, yet a doctor intervenes and is able to save his life despite all odds, will that man not have MUCH respect for that doctor to whom he owes his life?  Yet Jesus Christ died on the Cross for your sins and where is the respect due to Him?

 

Though this world is indeed full of distractions, do not the let the vain things overtake the realities of this world.  Do not be nearsighted only living in the now, focusing on the things of this world, but focus on the things of God. Seek His Salvation while it may be found.

 

“Ah, Lord Jehovah!  You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too difficult for You.”  Jeremiah 32:17

 

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has been released from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh in the lusts of men, but in the will of God.”  1st Peter 4:1-2