The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his091/king.lzh/KING.TXT

Text File | 1991-07-07 | 24KB | 481 lines

INS:The King  by Justin Long

   A young girl once wrote to a well-known evangelist and said, "I
don't want to go to heaven: I would be board with all those angels
playing harps." The evangelist wrote back at once to say, "Dear little
one, don't worry: if you don't want to go to heaven, you won't! Still,
it would be nice for you to know that in heaven, people are not playing
harps a great deal. What happens in heaven is that you get more and
more pictures of what God is like."

   The study begun in this document will never truly end. Eight billion
years from now, the Christian will still be alive, learning about
God--and he will still have new things to discover. And rightfully so,
for the King is the most amazing, astonishing personality in the
universe. The angels have been studying him for six thousand years, and
still all they can say is "Holy, holy, holy."

   We shall begin with the very first words of the Bible. In Genesis
1:1a, we read:

   "In the beginning, God..." (Genesis 1:1a)

   This astonishing verse unapologetically plunks down what is perhaps
the most amazing, most foundational, most necessary aspect of the King:
even in the beginning, he WAS. He is UNCREATED.

   What does "uncreated" mean? Quite simply, it means "without
beginning." He always existed. But what does something "uncreated" look
like? Have you ever seen anything that hasn't been created? Have you
ever seen something that didn't come from something else? No! THERE IS
NOTHING ELSE IN THE UNIVERSE LIKE HIM.

   In philosophy, there's a word we use to describe this sort of study:
it's called metaphysics. Metaphysics is the study of the nature and
substance of reality. Some people got hold of the word and used it
while describing all sorts of crazy things, but this is basically where
it originated. Still, since "metaphysical" is associated with some
strange, very non-Christian things, we'll use another word which means
basically the same thing: STUFF.

   When we deal with "stuff, " we are looking at the nature of what is
REAL. You are holding paper stuff, with ink stuff, or looking at
monitor stuff, touching key stuff with finger stuff.

   But: God's stuff is not like your stuff or my stuff. In fact, His
stuff is like NOTHING ELSE in the universe--because all else is CREATED
stuff, and He is UNCREATED stuff!

   Here's an example. When Moses was being sent to Pharaoh, he asked,
"Who shall I say sent me?" The implications were clear: "I'm going to
the most powerful person in the world--except You, of course--and I'm
going to demand he let go 'x' million of his slaves. So--ah--who shall
I say sent me?"

   Now, if you were the Lord, what would YOU tell Moses? You can't say,
"I'm like Jack, " because God isn't! Instead, you'd do exactly what God
did. The King compared himself to himself, since there wasn't anyone
else to compare to. "Tell him I Am that I Am sent you."

   There's more to uncreatedness, though, than not being like that
which is created. Think about this: what if you could live for one
hundred years? There are geriatric programs on television every once in
a while; one, on the 700 Club, had a 90-year-old man as a guest. He'd
lived to see six different Kings of England, and remembered Presidents
we only hear of in Government class. He was the first senior citizen on
a supersonic transport. Could you imagine being a century old? Can you
imagine the changes in life? The transister, for example, was invented
only 29 years ago!

   What if you could live for 200 years? What if your body remained the
same young, strong body you have now, and you knew you had not two
hundred, but FOUR hundred years to work with? So, in the first 30 years
or so, you got yourself in shape. You worked out, jogged, swam, built
yourself up--and then you would maintain a disciplined exercise
program. After that, you took fourty years and gave it to art:
painting, sculptures, music, and the like. Another fifty years for
sciences. Imagine learning to play the piano for fourty years, until
you REALLY had it down! If you studied for three hundred years, what
could you do in the remaining one hundred?

   You've seen people who've spent fifteen to thirty years in a
discipline. Can you imagine meeting a person a thousand years old? What
would be in their lives? And what if you looked down deep in their
eyes--would you see a thousand years of learning, and would it
overwhelm you?

   What if you met a thousand-year-old Hitler?

   A thousand years is a drop in the bucket compared to how you, the
Christian, are going to live. One billion years from now you will still
be alive. When the sun and the stars have burned out like a big Fourth
ofJuly, you will still be here. When the universe as you know it has
been completely recycled, you will be still be here. 15 billion years
from now your spirit will still be here, and you will still be learning.

   Have you ever talked with a heavy-duty man of God? Did you just hang
around and say things like, "Bible's great, isn't it?" Have you ever
listened to intense men and women of God talking? Yet, some of you
think when you die you're going to walk right into heaven and say, "Hi,
Pete, how's things?" You'll turn around and run into Hosea: "Oh, yeah,
you wrote a book, didn't you? I never had a chance to read it, but it
was probably great."

   Now, put aside your traditional thoughts, and imagine what it will
REALLY be like to meet these men and women who've been talking to GOD
for thousands of years. Just because you walk into Heaven doesn't mean
you instantly know everything. It only means you will know as now you
are known. Every person in the universe is a learner, and the day you
stop learning is the day you stop being a follower of Jesus.

   If you think it's neat that YOU will live forever, then consider
God: he has lived longer than any person alive! He always was. Think
how much wisdom He has! He CREATED science; the physical laws of the
universe sprang from His imagination. He was the one who ordained the
idea of gravity. He could just as easily have caused apple's to fall UP!

   There's an idea even more staggering, however.

   Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and
the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (Psalm 90:2)

   Not only was He always HERE, He always WILL BE. There'll never be a
new King on the throne. No problems of inheritance. The last civil war
was decided when God took Satan up between thumb and forefinger and
dropped him out of heaven. The King will ALWAYS be here.

   Reading the rest of Genesis 1:1, we find that:

   "...created the heavens and the Earth."

   We can compare this with Colossians 1:16, which reads, "By him were
all things created that are in heaven, and in the earth, visible and
invisible..."

   This verse tells us there are at least two creations: visible and
invisible. Next, there are levels of authority, but all were created by
Him, and for Him, to bring Him glory.

   This verse tells us something more, however: it tells us HE MADE
EVERYTHING.

   Have you ever turned a doll over and found "Made in Taiwan" stamped
on it's back? Or opened a book and read, "Printed in Chicago,
Illinois"? God doesn't need to identify His originality. Everything you
see was either made by Him, or else the raw materials for creating it
were authored by His mind. His stamp is life, and His signature can be
found in the fact that His creation is the best. It is designed for a
specific purpose, and finds its uniqueness and perfection through the
combination of its advantages and its flaws.

   Consider Genesis, chapter one: everything that exists, God SPOKE
into being! Think about your own voice. It can be recorded on tape, and
played back. It is real, but it is not solid by your definition of
solid. If "stuff" is, in essence, the resonances of God's voice, then
God is far more solid than you are!

   C.S. Lewis once put forth this astounding principle: after Jesus
rose from the dead, doors and walls didn't seem to matter to Him. He
simply walked right through them. Humans have a mistaken notion that
Christ was a ghost. This is not true. Jesus walked through the walls as
you would the morning mist: the living, risen Christ is far more solid
than anything in this universe.

   Eastern mysticism often insists you can become "like God" (note the
similiarities between this and the Original Lie). To one extent, they
are correct: MORALLY we are commanded to be as He is. However, they are
completely wrong in another aspect: METAPHYSICALLY we can -NEVER- be
like Him. It's impossible! To be like Him you would have to be
uncreated.

   We are separate from God metaphysically and morally. We are
obligated to bridge the moral gap through the shed blood of Jesus
Christ, but we can never have God's stuff. It's impossible. When he
says, "I am the Lord, and I will give my glory to none other, " it's
because He CAN'T!

   Ultimate reality can be found in God's own stuff, and all else is
spawned BY Him. Did you ever complain about your body, that you didn't
choose what God gave you? Guess what -- He didn't choose His stuff
either.

   Some think it would be neat to be God: that all-knowledge would be
nice. Think about it, though: would you girls like to walk through a
busy street at night and know EVERYTHING going on in EVERY MIND that
passes by you? Or how about this: when someone hurts you, you often
don't know whether they INTENDED to hurt you, or by how much. Now, how
would you like to be hurt, quite intentionally, not by just one person,
but four billion? And not for one second, either, but minute upon
minute, hour upon hour, day upon day, year upon year, century upon
century, millenium upon millenium, for six thousand years and more?

   Only God can be God. "I am the Lord, and there is no other."

   The Lord is not an alien being, watching over his small playtoys.
The infinite God is comfortable in any setting. Not so with Satan, who
comes disguised as an angel of light, using special effects and
mystical miracles. The devil has grand imaginations of what he's like,
but he's nothing more than a strutting little jerk. Don't
misunderstand: a being six thousand years old is more cunning than
you'll be for a good long time to come, and is not to be trifled with
-- but next to God, Satan is nothing. Remember: Satan, like the rest of
us, is a created creature.

   God can put on a show if He likes, or if the situation requires it.
Remember Sinai and the Ten Commandments? A mountain lighting up with
fire, smoke, and thunder, and anyone who touches it DIES?... but God
doesn't need shows. He is who He is -- the biggest, most solid, most
wonderful being in existence. He needs no announcing blasts of
lightning, no thunder-filled trumpets. His simple presence is enough to
overwhelm even the most rebellious. EVERY knee shall bow; EVERY tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

   Consider the relationship between Satan and God: whole chunks of the
masses have this crazy idea of Good and Evil locked in eternal, cosmic
combat, neither able to wrest control from the other. This is crazy!
For Satan to challenge the King is like an ant challenging a
steam-roller: it's insanity.

   With the infinite care of his voice and the flurry of creation
rushing to its place so that its life could worship the King, God made
everything that was, is, and shall be. Then, with infinite love, He
made man. There is another common deception: God created man because He
needs him. Hogwash! He was NOT lonely--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
have been in perfect unity and fellowship forever, without the help of
little humans who love to backstab and curse. God made man because he
wanted to increase his happiness! He thought that if he created a small
being, he could love it, and it would love Him back, and happiness
would expand. Yet, man fell, and brought hurt and pain beyond belief to
God's heart.

   Do you know someone who has prayed, "If you are really God..."?
Would that same person walk into the presence of the President and say,
"If you are really the President..."? Or how about a king? Yet we are
speaking of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! In Esther's day, if
you walked into the Throne Room unannounced you'd be instantly killed.
Can you imagine God's patience and love with a stubborn race who come
into this Throne Room, insolently raising a fist and shouting, "If you
can hear, and if you care--"?

   True prayer acknowledges who God is, and respectfully makes a
request. "You who uphold the universe, you who uphold my life--" THAT
IS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THAT IS WORSHIP!

   Consider the nation of Israel. Another, larger, more war-like people
came up against Israel, and sent a message: "We have leveled the armies
of the other nations; we have reduced their gods to dust! And tomorrow,
oh Israel, tomorrow shall be your turn!"

   The king took the letter before the Lord, and prayed: "Lord, I know
who you are! I know you are the maker of the universe! You are the most
beautiful thing in all creation. But look at what these people are
saying about you!"

   Do you remember the story, and what God did? The King only smiled
and said, "That's all right -- I'll deal with it... personally."

   Isn't that a scary thing? We should tremble for our nations when we
remember God is just! How can we curse God? How can we come against
Him? He is infinite in power and majesty. Consider the lands that have
come against the nation of Israel: they were all destroyed. If you've
caused Him to not like you, then you have major problems!

   CONSIDER SOME QUESTIONS . . .

   1. Where is God?

   A: In all places, at all times.

   2. Does God have any limits?

   A: Yes and No. He has no metaphysical limits. There are some things,
which we will call 'intrinsic impossibilities, ' which He cannot do.
There are a few things in this universe which are not possible, and
putting "God can" in front of them doesn't make it so. For example: God
cannot lie. That which is living cannot promote death. He cannot be
tempted; He is infinite wisdom, sees the consequences of His actions,
and can no more yield to temptation than you can happily, righteously
blow your brains out.

   3. Why doesn't God MAKE us obey?

   A: God created us to love, and love must be freely given.

   4. Why can't people discover God by reason alone?

   A: A finite being cannot discover something infinite as a course of
its own logic. God is infinitely above creation. He created science and
logic. Creation cannot define the creator, any more than a pie could
define a baker. Truth cannot be found logically, since you can never be
sure the premise you start with is true. Truth cannot be found by
searching, since you never know if you've explored every possibility.
Truth must be REVEALED.

   Of course, once a truth is revealed, then the individual to whom it
is revealed is responsible to act upon it. When you accept
responsibility and act, God will give you more information. An old
adage says that "The more you learn, the less you know." This is true
because the King wishes you to act on what you know, and not just
absorb more information. Why doesn't God show people things, and why
does He often hide? Because He is kind, and He loves you, and He
doesn't want you to carry more guilt and condemnation than you already
have!

   If one rejects responsibility, God will quit teaching, and
eventually withdraw what little light the person has ("To him who has
not, even that which he has is taken from him.")

   If a person obeys the responsibility laid upon him, God will always
find a way to bring more. The Ethiopian eunuch and the Roman Centurion
are prime examples.

   Question: If you are held responsible for what you know, then who is
under the greater condemnation -- the nation with a vast amount of
religious truth and information, or a nation with almost none? Another
way of phrasing it might be, who's shoes would you rather be in come
Judgement Day: Judas Iscariot or one never witnessed to?

   Truth is centered in a person -- Jesus Christ. Anytime truth is
followed honestly, it will ALWAYS point to Christ. The problem is that
people reject moral change.

   5. If God is everywhere, why aren't sinners Christians?

   A: Because man's separation is moral, not metaphysical. Example:
here is a husband and wife who've spent the greater day arguing.
They're sleeping in the same bed, perhaps even touching, but they're a
thousand miles apart inside. Here's another husband and wife,
physically thousands of miles apart while ministering the Gospel, but
when they call each other, they are spiritually together. So it is --
God is near us metaphysically, but we can still be eternally separated
from Him.

   6. Why doesn't God stop the wars?

   A1: For the same reason He didn't stop you from sinning.

   A2: As C.S. Lewis put it, God will stop the war -- He will stop all
wars. He could stop them all in the next sixty seconds. He would do it
by annihilating every selfish person on the face of the Earth. Next
question: at the end of sixty seconds, would you still be here?

   If two people are fighting and you step in to stop them, what
happens? they turn on you. If God were to step in, and arguing nations
were to turn on HIM, it would be a two-hit fight: He hits them, they
hit the ground. If God has to step in personally, you can kiss goodbye
to the future of humanity. It'd be all over: the curtain would descend.
So don't ask God to stop the war; ask Him to give us one more chance.

   The more you think of God, and the more you grow to understand His
infinite wonder, the more willing you'll be to surrender completely to
His rule. Finally, you will ask, "Why does God have a right to rule my
life?"

   Some answer, "He's bigger us," but that's not the true answer.
Suppose a 9' monster was in love with a young seventeen-year-old girl:
does that give the monster a right to marry the girl?

   Some answer, "He loves us," and the 9' monster might love the girl
very dearly, but does that give him a right to her?

   Some answer, "He paid for us," and suppose the monster gave her
father three million dollars -- does that give him a right to her?

   Let us change the illustration to arrive at the truth. What if (this
is crazy and impossible, but let's take it anyhow) God were to somehow
backslide, and Satan would begin being loving and nice? Would God still
have a right to rule your life, just because he's bigger and stronger
than you?

   A right to rule is based upon two things. To understand these, let's
look at still a third allegory.

   How do you choose which brain surgeon you go to? First of all, you
choose him based on his knowledge. Would you go to a surgeon that had
cheated on his exams? Of course not! The first qualification is wisdom:
the surgeon must know more than you, and he must know enough to do the
job. But is that enough? God is the only one with the wisdom to rule
the universe, but there's something more to consider.

   Suppose you know a dentist that understands everything there is to
know about teeth -- and your teeth in particular. He has studied your
teeth until he knows every bone, ever nerve ending, and every blood
vessel in your mouth... and he hates you. WOULD YOU GO TO THAT DENTIST?

   The second qualification is MORALITY! God has a right to rule your
life because HE KNOWS EVERYTHING and HE IS GOOD. There is no one better
than Him. He does everything for your good.

   And, finally, if there is a heart attack on the plane, they call for
a doctor--but what if the doctor refuses to come? He can't! He is
OBLIGED to come, because he can save the life. In the same way, God is
OBLIGED to rule your life. There is no one who knows enough and is good
enough to do it better. Certainly not you -- you've made messes before,
and will keep on messing up.

   God rules you according to the standard of His Glory, not according
to who you are. His standard never changes. Laws are based on a system
of right and wrong, and all decisions are made on the basis of values.
The value of something is determined by six aspects:

   1. Beauty. Paintings. Jewels.

   2. Permanence. Gold.

   3. Luminosity. Diamonds.

   4. Uniqueness. Chemicals and precious metals.

   5. Rarity. Stamps and old coins.

   6. Power. Nuclear energy.

   But can you imagine the most beautiful person in all the universe?
Who has been around forever? Who created light? The only one of His
kind? So rare that there's nothing else like Him? From whom all energy
comes? God is THE VALUE. All else is relative to Him. There is nothing
more valuable than His being.

   Consider the story of Jack, who came home one day raving about a
field. "Sell the car!" he shouts to his wife. "Sell the house! Sell it
all!" Jane looks at him askance, and asks, "Whatever for?" Jack, with a
glint of what seems near madness in his eyes, announces: "I'm going to
buy a field."

   And the neighbors flock to see. "Did you hear about ol' Jack?" they
ask. "He finally cracked." As they watched, sure enough, the purchasers
carted up the materials and headed down the field, while Jack concluded
the purchase of the land. Some of the neighbors laughed: "He's crazy!"
they exclaimed.

   And then, three days later, after the newly built fence was in
place, with neighbors watching, Jack began to dig. For a week and a
half he dug. And in carts, and boxes, and barrels, and pails, up and up
came jewels: rubies, diamonds, gold, sapphires, silver, and on and on.
Oh, he's crazy!

   Do you think he sat up at night, whining, "I lost so much" ? Do you
think he worried about his twenty thousand dollar house, when each gem
was worth half a million? "Oh, " did he complain, "I wish I still had
my boat" ? He didn't go to prayer meetings to announce: "My brothers
and sisters, I want to tell you how much I've suffered."

   We have the honor and privelege to be made worthy by Jesus to become
sons of God -- sons of the most valuable, the most unique, the most
incredible Person in the universe -- and still we whine about the cost.

   The Roman cross was a cruel instrument of torturous death. When
someone put that piece of wood on their shoulders and started down the
road, they knew they weren't coming back. They'd already said goodbye
to family, friends, neighbors, career, future--all of it. And with
perfect knowledge of that Jesus said, "If any man wishes to come after
me, let him pick up his cross and follow..." He that saves his life
SHALL LOSE IT -- He that loses his life for Christ's sake and the sake
of the Gospel, the same SHALL SAVE IT!

   The pressures of our every day world can be like a cross for us.
They can be torturous, and often we reach the point of worrying about
broken bones, mortgage payments, car repairs...

   We forget that God is All, and our little jobs and tasks are only
meant to sustain us while we reach our principle objective: that of
witnessing for our Lord.

   Do you go in the supermarket, and neglect to tell the cashier you
know the most beautiful person in the universe? Do you worry about a
test, when your father knows everything? Do you whine about the money
you make at your job, when your father owns the cattle on a thousand
hills?

   It's all relative.

   You just have to get to know God.

   Copyright (c) 1988, All Rights Reserved

   This file may be reproduced and transferred, so long as no charge
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service. No portion of this work may be reproduced in a published work
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