Tuesday, November 20, 2007

A King Pens A Psalm

It was a window of relative peace in the kingdom of Israel. Saul had met his end due to his unfaithfulness, the Philistines had been vanquished, driven back from Gibeon as far as Gezer, the fame of David had gone into all the lands, and the Lord had brought the fear of him upon all the nations.
The people had prepared spiritually to move the ark and finally the ark of the covenant had been returned to its rightful place. It was a season of rejoicing in the land of Israel, and a once unknown shepherd boy who was good with a slingshot, and played the harp in his spare time, now felt the weight of the crown upon his head. David was king of Israel, and remembering all that God had done on Israel's behalf, he pens a psalm as a reminder to all who would read it that it is God who is deserving of thanks of glory and of praise.
In this psalm David also reminds Israel that God has kept His promises to them, that even when they were but few in number, and strangers in the land of Canaan God had made a way, and given them the allotment of their inheritance.
The world's greatest psalmist, continues this psalm of praise, and revisits the times when they as a people, went from one nation to another, and from one kingdom to another, yet God had permitted no man to do them wrong.
David refreshes Israel's memory as to how God had gone as far as reproving kings for their sakes, saying, 'do not touch my anointed ones, and do my Prophets no harm.'
Today, men have taken this psalm of David, a psalm of remembrance, a psalm of praise and reminiscence of what God had done on behalf of Israel, and applied it to themselves, whenever anyone has the courage to point out their heretical and deceptive teachings. They have made themselves truth proof, by misappropriating a verse that was never meant to keep their teaching from being compared to the words of the Bible, or from their heresy being brought to light.
What they tend to overlook is the fact that when this psalm was written, sometime around 1000 B.C., there was the God of Israel, and then there were the other gods. The difference was evident, there were the idols, the gods of the people, those made by human hands, then there was the Lord who made the heavens.
When men came, they did not come with a new teaching in the name of the God of Israel, but with an entirely new deity, an idol, a god made of wood or stone.
Furthermore, when false prophets arose within Israel, claiming to be sent of the one true God, the nation was still small enough, wherein God would commission and send a true prophet to rebuke the false, once even using a donkey to open the eyes of one who had lost his way, making him accountable if he chose to pursue the deception.
When the words, 'do not touch my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm', were uttered it was in the context of God warning kings and kingdoms not to come against Israel, not warning believers against confronting false doctrine.
With the advent of Christ, the door was opened to all the nations, Jew and Gentile alike having access to the grace of God by faith in Christ. Salvation was no longer reserved for a specific nation, or people, but for all of mankind, any who would hear, repent, and be born again. All who believe in Christ, become His, and all who pursue holiness will see the Lord.
Why is this important in the context of this discussion?
Because once a soul has found Christ, once they have received Him as Lord and Savior, they know as David knew that all other Gods are merely idols, and there is but one true God.
Today Christians are no longer tempted away by strange gods made of stone and marble such as Baal, as Israel was in the days of old, but they are deceived off the narrow path of faith spiritually. Today we no longer wrestle against flesh and blood, you will not see another Elijah executing four hundred and fifty of Baal's prophets by a brook anymore, because our warfare is now of a spiritual nature, as are the attacks, and snares we endure and overcome.
The devil's greatest weapon today is deception, and he has his minions doing his bidding, attempting to draw our focus from Christ and Him crucified. Distract a man long enough to let something other than Christ take root in his heart, and eventually that man will veer off the path of righteousness. Whatever it is that has taken the place of Christ, as preeminent in a man's heart, be it prosperity, fame, a vice, or one's reputation, that thing is now his spiritual Baal, his idol, and by definition he has become an idol worshiper.
The battle that rages between light and darkness is for the heart of man, and because we are beholden to that which we allow to rule our hearts, the Bible is filled with warning upon warning, to test the spirits, and see if they are of God, if Christ is the message, or if it's some other thing meant to replace Christ.
When we see such men, who have merely a form of godliness but deny the power thereof, when we see the telltale signs of pride, love of pleasure rather than love of God, when the love of money, or of self is evident, we are not instructed to pray for them, to understand them, to find the good amid the filth and deception, we are told to turn away. We are instructed by a merciful God, to turn in the opposite direction, to have no communion or fellowship with them. Only in this way can we remain in Christ, spotless and without blemish.
2 Peter 2:1-3, "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber."
1 John 4:1, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
It is no doubt men walk about today claiming to be anointed, but lest we fall under the merciless cloud of deception that is swirling about the church, we must determine by the word of God, who has anointed them, and who has sent them.
If their message is not confirmed in the Word, if their focus is not Christ, the Son of God, then flee, for the sake of your eternal soul, turn away and do not look back.
Cherry picking a verse taken out of context, is not enough of an explanation, excuse or justification as to why heresy is being taught from the pulpit, and knowing that God does not anoint deception, be bold in standing for the truth of the gospel.
In His omniscience God knew what an epidemic false teachers and false prophets would be in the end times, that even Jesus warned against them, admonishing us to stand on the foundation of the gospel, and not give in to the beguiling voices of deceit. He who endures to the end shall be saved, and knowing that we have been warned, there remains no excuse for not enduring, persevering, and overcoming.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea Jr.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

"They have made themselves truth proof,...."

What an observation! Yes, that is exactly what occurs in misusing that verse. And the more it is misused like that, the more hardened one becomes, so that not even the Father can be heard through such a "shield." (Wrong kind of shield, BTW)

Anonymous said...

Thank you brother Michael. So many misuse that scripture Psalm 105:15 about not touching God's anointed to put a fear in people who sincerely want to please God, so that they don't know whether to expose and stand for truth or silently submit and wait for God to remove the leader. It can bring such confusion. No matter what we may believe about whether that scripture can apply to individuals in leadership today who are abusive or deceptive, David's example is a lesson to us, that even though he didn't raise his hand against Saul (touch God's anointed) to kill or hurt him, he didn't stick around, either, but got away from him and hid out.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mike,
I think another side to this issue is that many Christians won't even listen to somebody that has heard from the Lord like yourself. They're too afraid of being misled. It's easier to throw out the baby, the bathwater, and the tub then it is to figure out if something is the truth. For many I think it has to do with a lack of discernment, which sits atop a lack of Scriptural knowledge.

Whenever I bring up the issue of the coming judgment I will usually here; “every generation has had enough signs to declared themselves to be the last generation.” Or when I bring up you or your grandfather I hear something like; “you need to be very careful with people who say they've heard from the Lord or talk to angels.” At that point you have to go back through the scriptures to explain the signs of the times, and what a true prophet of God is and then you hear; “that's your interpretation; the guy down the street says something different about that verse, and another person up the street says something else.” And then I just give up and try to talk to the next person. I bet you've never had that problem before :o)

In both cases; whether you listen to false prophets/teachers or ignore the true ones, it always comes down to the “...people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge” God hasn't kept if from them, they just flat out ignored or rejected it.

When the Lord opened my eyes to all of this; I have to say that I found more charlatans then I did true men of God. Your grandfather was one of the first ones I looked into. God always gets it right the first time...AMEN!

Thanks again Mike for being true to the Lord. It has been encouraging to read all the posts and comments.

God Bless,
Jeff

Elm Street Chapel said...

Michael,
Good point;Quote,
(When the words, 'do not touch my anointed ones and do my prophets no harm', were uttered it was in the context of God warning kings and kingdoms not to come against Israel, not warning believers against confronting false doctrine.)

Our view as confirmed by the Spirit of God is;

1 Corinthians 2:15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

We are called to judge.

Revelation 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

And God counts it as a right thing to do.

2 Timothy 3:1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's
also was.

We will know them, now.

Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

And we will be satisfied.

L,J,P&HG
Dave

deannaslater said...

Thank You Micheal, overcomer I am, only because of him,nothing less, Blessings

Anonymous said...

Yes...we need to flee from those who speak falsely and not wait to justify what they said. Its amazing how much learning we do by simply listening. A year ago I decided to start reading the bible for myself without relying on bible study guides or books to guide me in interpreting the Word. It was amazing how much false doctrine I had picked up along the way...some of it was totally contrary to scripture yet all along, I had been going to charismatic, "Jesus loving" and "devil chasing" churches. If we discern there is poison in the pot then we should be wise enough to run for our dear souls...

Joyce

James Kinsman said...

It is honestly the Holy Spirit who would bring this up in a time like this.

Just last week, I was telling a pastor that he was wrong about the tribulation and that he was denying the words "immediately after the tribulation" which was God himself.

He responded with that verse "touch not mine anointed"

I knew his heart and told him that any drunkard or sinner who is freshly born again is anointed by the Holy Spirit.

Anonymous said...

"They have made themselves truth proof"

what an awful place to hang your hat,and what amazing insight you have for one so young.

having been bruised and bloodied by this "new" breed of wolf, it has taken much from the Lord to restore what has been ravaged.

many are they in our area that have been "touched" by this new breed of truthsayers, and it is with a sad heart i watch many jump from local fellowship to fellowship, trying to glean a true word from the Lord. what has happened to the pastoral call? my heart breaks at what is called a pastor today! please forgive me for this rant but my pain is real in this matter.

--p.g.--

Elm Street Chapel said...

True words, Michael.

It is written in God's word that we will know them by their fruit. If any man professes that he is anointed by God to do this or that, rest assured He is most likely lifted up with pride and is not led by the Spirit of Truth.

Our Lord said to seek meekness and righteousness, to put on humility, to make ourselves servants of others. Jesus always pointed to the Father and when called good master said that there is only one good and that it is the Father.

It has been quoted many times, my sheep know my voice and another's they will not follow. This is true of all that are called and chosen by God and we should be at peace knowing that God has given us His Spirit to judge all things (true sheep know the difference between other sheep and wolves. It is He who will bring low and exalt. It is He who will be glorified. God will share His glory with no other.

Godliness with contentment is great gain...everything that is included in what it is to be godly including the fruit of the Spirit and obedience to the Father is GREAT gain. What could be better than to know God and to be known by Him?

A true man or woman of God does not need to proclaim themselves because they know whole heartedly that the words they speak are God's alone and that He will see to it that His word does not return unto Him void.

God bless,
Ryan

Anonymous said...

Dear brothers and sisters,
I would appreciate your prayers over the next few days for our Father to make Himself real to me as my shield and comfort so that I can host my Thanksgiving guests with an open spirit and not go into a shell. I am going through a very painful time of cleansing and healing and I feel out of control, vulnerable, weird and alone.
Thank you so much.
Your sister in Messiah,
Amy

Elm Street Chapel said...

Amy,

As you know, in the Lord, you are never alone.

Jesus and the Father live in us and our Lord is always ready to answer every man or woman that comes before Him with a pure heart, according to truth. Trust that He is who He says He is in your life. Trust that He will never leave or forsake you.

Put on the garment of praise, for the spirit of heaviness. When God ministers to us as a son or daughter, we must be thankful that those He loves, He chastens. All we need to do is obey His voice and submit to the leading of His Spirit.

God be with you and give you strength,
Ryan

Anonymous said...

I will remember to pray for you Amy.

Anonymous said...

From my youth our pastor taught from the pulpit to always examine the context of a verse; and to this day I will pay attention to the context of a verse as it is quoted. I have also learned that any preacher/pastor/evangelist worth listening to and heeding will tell you to examine his words against scripture, to question what they say. Needless to say, since the early 90's when I first heard of Dumitru Dudaman, I listened to his story and his words and examined what he stated in light of scripture. There have been too many who have come in the past claiming to hear from God, only later to be revealed as frauds, not to do this. It is disheartening to know that so many Christians will take in whatever is thrown out to them as spiritual food.

A Seed Sower said...

To repeat, just because I need to hear it again: "We are not instructed to pray for them, to understand them, to find the good amid the filth and deception, we are told to turn away. We are instructed by a merciful God, to turn in the opposite direction, to have no communion or fellowship with them. Only in this way can we remain in Christ, spotless and without blemish." Well praise God brother I thought I'd never hear another child of God say those words, let alone a preacher of the gospel...gold pure gold absolute Truth, something we need to hear more of...but won't because that kinda talk is considered "Un-loving"
God Bless you brother Michael