WHAT HE SAYS-- WHAT HE DOES

WHAT HE SAYS—WHAT HE DOES


I have often made the statement that we MUST accept what God DOES as well as what He SAYS.

There are many incidents where we can get bogged down in what the Word is SAYING that we miss what God DOES, because His actions do NOT line up with OUR UNDERSTANDING of His Word. One case in point:

When the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem asking where the future King of the Jews was to be born, the ready answer was "Bethlehem". And the answer was correct, but it became the foundation of a misleading doctrine in Israel.

That misleading doctrine was one thing which caused the Jewish people to reject Jesus when He appeared on the scene-- FROM NAZARETH. John 1:46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. John 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

While it was true that Jesus was to be born at Bethlehem, He was FROM NAZARETH. The FAULTY UNDERSTANDING of the Hebrew people caused their teachings to be wrong. Wrong teachings caused them to reject what God did in their midst.

The same is true today. We have myriads of doctrines, each with some foundation in the written Word of God, but interpreted by our faulty, human understanding of that Word. They can do no better than lead us astray, if we follow them.

I think often of the jolt which came to Peter and the other Apostles when Peter was commanded of the Lord to go to the house of Cornelius and preach to them about what God had done in Israel through Jesus of Nazareth. While Peter was still preaching to them, the Holy Ghost fell in their midst and they began to "speak with tongues and magnify God--". Can you imagine the consternation within the group with Peter?

When Peter returned to Jerusalem, he was "called on the carpet" by his peers for having gone to the Gentiles. Peter's answer was classic. Acts 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Acts 11:17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as [he did] unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?

Peter was forced to accept what God had done, whether it fit the standard curriculum of Jewish doctrine or not. God had done something they had not expected.

The Apostles learned from Peter's experience, and said: Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

I often wonder, also, what kind of a "jolt" we modern day Christians may be in for when the Lord does some of the things He will do in the future, which are not contained in our STANDARD CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS of today.

If we get too deeply bogged down in OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD, we may experience a phenomenon that will "throw us for a loop", as the saying goes. That is one short route to the scrap heap.

We need, desperately, to be watchful for what God DOES, as well as what He SAYS.