Acts 28:27: Are you plugging your ears and closing your eyes?
(Acts 28:27) For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
This passage from Acts makes me think of the Old Testament. The books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, & Ezekiel are pretty intense and sometimes difficult to read because of all the horrible things that are precited to come to the rebellious people to which the prophets are speaking (as well as prophesies for our own time). I am not going to dwell on those prophesies today; my focus is on those who willingly approached the prophets and asked for signs. There are multiple instances, and I am not going to list one specific one but group them together in general because they all follow the same pattern.
Men of the city, usually the leaders, would seek out one of the prophets and beg for a prophecy from God. They would promise to obey to do whatever the Lord asked of them. They claim they will not be rebellious or angry but promise to do the Lord's will. What they do not consider is that God knows their hearts and if one asks for a word from the Lord, he had better be prepared for an honest answer. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). The prophets of God were willing vessels and bravely obeyed the Lord in saying all they were instructed to say. Therefore, when asked for a prophecy, the answers were usually along the same lines (and rings true for us as well): repent of your sins, give up your idols, your false theologies, your immoral lifestyles, and God will bless you. Just as the verse in Acts above tells us God wants to heal those who repent. Did the seekers get on their knees and obey? No! They got angry and found another "religious" man to give them a new prophecy that tickled their ears and made them happy. Sometimes they even imprisoned, tortured, and/or murdered the prophets that spoke the Truth. They stubbornly held onto their wicked ways until the Lord did as He promised and punished them. You see, God always, always, always, gives us a chance to surrender our will and give up our sins. God does not desire any of us to be punished now or in death but wants all to live for Him so we can have a joyful life now and spend forever with Him in heaven.
The Lord... is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
Aren't we just like the men of old? We beg God to speak to us and promise we will obey. Yet when we read the Bible and see that God commands us to be separate from the world and the Lord says to "come out from among them, and be ye separate... and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. " (2 Corinthians 6:17:18-7:1), we shut the Bible and put it back on the shelf. We do not want to be told to give up alcohol, drugs, sex outside of marriage, the occult/witchcraft, lying, cheating, pornography, etc. We plug our ears and shut our eyes to the Truth and go to a happy little church that will willingly tell us there is grace for all our sins, so we do not need to repent because God loves us no matter what we do.
Men of the city, usually the leaders, would seek out one of the prophets and beg for a prophecy from God. They would promise to obey to do whatever the Lord asked of them. They claim they will not be rebellious or angry but promise to do the Lord's will. What they do not consider is that God knows their hearts and if one asks for a word from the Lord, he had better be prepared for an honest answer. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). The prophets of God were willing vessels and bravely obeyed the Lord in saying all they were instructed to say. Therefore, when asked for a prophecy, the answers were usually along the same lines (and rings true for us as well): repent of your sins, give up your idols, your false theologies, your immoral lifestyles, and God will bless you. Just as the verse in Acts above tells us God wants to heal those who repent. Did the seekers get on their knees and obey? No! They got angry and found another "religious" man to give them a new prophecy that tickled their ears and made them happy. Sometimes they even imprisoned, tortured, and/or murdered the prophets that spoke the Truth. They stubbornly held onto their wicked ways until the Lord did as He promised and punished them. You see, God always, always, always, gives us a chance to surrender our will and give up our sins. God does not desire any of us to be punished now or in death but wants all to live for Him so we can have a joyful life now and spend forever with Him in heaven.
The Lord... is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
Aren't we just like the men of old? We beg God to speak to us and promise we will obey. Yet when we read the Bible and see that God commands us to be separate from the world and the Lord says to "come out from among them, and be ye separate... and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. " (2 Corinthians 6:17:18-7:1), we shut the Bible and put it back on the shelf. We do not want to be told to give up alcohol, drugs, sex outside of marriage, the occult/witchcraft, lying, cheating, pornography, etc. We plug our ears and shut our eyes to the Truth and go to a happy little church that will willingly tell us there is grace for all our sins, so we do not need to repent because God loves us no matter what we do.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. II Timothy 4:3-4
Today's pastors are not ignorant of what the Bible really says about holiness, they choose to scripture pick the verses that make it seem as if God winks at sin. They know if they were honest to their listeners like the prophets of old were, their offering plates would be empty. They are counting on you to be lazy and just take them at face value and not read the Bible on your own. Most are just like those men that sought out Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and don't want to be told to change their rebellious ways.
People who preach holiness are called judgmental because we refuse to lie to you. The truth is, we are not judging you; we care about you and want you to have an abundant, joyful life in Christ. What we say is out of a heart of love, not criticism. If we hated you, we would not care where you spent eternity.
My writings are not from a critical heart, but a compassionate one. I am not judging any person; I am merely pointing out what the Bible has to say about sin. Those of us who preach holiness love you more than those that lie to you just so you will put money in the offering to help them buy a new car. We don't want your money; we want you to be set free from sin so you can live in peace and have eternal joy in heaven. Freedom in Christ is repenting of and not repeating habitual sins. God's grace does not mean you are free to sin.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Romans 6:1-2 & 6
My point is, do not turn away from the Truths of the Bible just because you don't like what it asks you to give up. If you are seeking answers from the Lord, that is an excellent place to start. But don't just say you love the Lord, follow it up with action. You need to choose to love the Lord more than you love the world. Are you willing to listen to the Truths in the Bible? Will you give up what God asks you to? Will you unplug your eyes, open your eyes, repent and obey?
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