Three Strategies For A Divided Multitude In Unbelief
(Wisdom, Wonders, and Signs)
by
Dr. Gale A. Ragan-Reid (9/25/2013)
“Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (St. John 4:48, King James Version, KJV [The ruler's son healed]).
“For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom” (I Corinthians 1:22, KJV [The wisdom of God]):
Greetings In The Name of Jesus,
How about that faith! Sometimes a person can imagine in their mind that someone wronged them. A wrong that he/she perceived in their heart that is far greater than any wrong received in the heart of others. This is not true. It is not truth!
However, for some reason they feel the love that they felt in their heart was a far greater love than the love felt in the heart of others. This also is not true. It is not truth! Apollos told Apostle Paul about the conflicted hearts within the church of Corinth (I Corinthians 1:11,16,17, KJV):
“For it hath been declared unto me of you,
my brethren, by them which are of the house of
Chloe, that there are contentions among you,...
And I baptized also the household of Stephanas:
besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach
the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the
cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”
Assuredly their thought process, probably explained, “My broken heart held greater significance to me than your broken heart held significance to you”. How could this be true? This is not truth! Paul expounded Christian doctrine because of the erroneous (errors) views in the church: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
Simply saying, the errors in their heart spoke volumes, “I feel more about myself than I feel for anyone else. I have difficulties when I have to think about others more than I feel I need to think about myself. I just cannot do it. I cannot consume myself with others and their desires. I am too obsessed with my needs and my desires.”
Quite naturally, “I feel I experienced; I felt a greater love and as a result I felt a greater pain, a greater hurt, a greater broken heart. If, their heart was broken, then, my heart was shattered! This is not truth! This is what we deal with everyday. How can I cope with my pain and understand your pain?”
In, The First Epistle Of Paul The Apostle To The Corinthians (1:10 – 4:21), he discussed (1) facts of division, (2) causes of division, and (3) cure for division; wherein, he defended the apostleship, which was given to him through a revelation, from Christ, by teaching them the wisdom of God, explained his manner of preaching, and his feelings that apostles, who were “set forth by God, last; appointed to death, were no more than “a spectacle to the world”. In Paul's words, his feelings also revealed pain. So, how can I cope with my pain and understand your pain? How can I do it?
2
Hypothetically speaking, in all honesty, a person must consider their human frailty:
“I am too shallow. I cannot even go there,
with you. When you speak of your pain to me, I
cannot even go there. I am so consumed with my
pain. I cannot even go there, with you, to have
compassion for you.
I cannot think past myself. I just cannot
do it. I think it is a waste of my time, to think
beyond myself. I am so consumed with myself.
And, even, if, I see that you, too, then, are
shattered, with all the criteria that I give to being
shattered: broken in spirit, broken in reflection,
broken in will, broken in love; shattered, yet, I
cannot go there, with you. I cannot get beyond
myself.
And, if you cannot understand why I
cannot understand what you are going through.
I do not care. I just cannot go that distance
with you. And, I cannot have compassion, for
your journey, for your pain, for your hurt, I am
too consumed with me. I cannot be your
neighbor.
I cannot be, who God willed me, to
be. I AM IN DENIAL. You see, right there,
right at that point, in my thought process,
when I said I could not be, who God willed
me, I am either placing myself as having,
either a greater will than God or no will at
all, and if it is no will at all, truly, death
is upon me, I am just a heap of nothing.
Something was obviously, imbalanced in
my thought process.
Was this monologue, a picture of you? Paul brought those God gave to him, back to correct doctrine and told them God gave them the opportunity to become skilled master builders, able to lay a foundation, so, others could build upon it (3:10): “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ Jesus.”
We found, in the rantings and ravings, of resistance, to do the works, God willed us to do, a person, eventually came into God's will or continued to stay by the wayside, knowing all yet resisting God. Was the picture of denial, you? Peter did not think he would become a picture of denial. When the pressures of the world, came up against you, could you withstand the temptation, to step out of the kitchen? The kitchen can get hot, indeed, when, you are building upon, the foundation, of Christ Jesus: "I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please" (The Song of Solomon 3:5, KJV [Love of Christ and his church]).
3
I remember, there was a man, who could not take pressure, of any kind but he loved to stir the pot in the kitchen and when the pot was stirred and the fire, produced a even hotter flame than he anticipated, he ran away every time, yet he loved to play with fire, until one day I prophesied, no one would listen to him because he resisted building upon the foundation he laid and ran away. However, he came back, each time, to rekindle the fire, for he loved to see the fire but he resisted working the fire to build upon the foundation of Christ Jesus. He denied God could protect him. He denied Christ Jesus could show him the way, in peace and make the enemies of his works his greatest contributors and friends, of Christ Jesus.
This man, just loved to go on and on, like the person, in the picture of denial. He wanted others to follow a man that abandoned the works, time and time, again, every time he was given leadership to his own ideas, of what was best, to build upon the foundation of Christ Jesus. According to the strong witness of Matthew, the disciples, Peter, James, and John his brother, came to the multitude and they could not cure the lunatic, “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (St. Matthew 17:19-20, KJV [The disciples' unbelief].
Aforementioned in the feeding of four thousand, the unbelief of the disciples continued, even with the wonder of the multitude, the disciples questioned the supply of bread they had, if, it was sufficient to then, fill up the multitude:
“And great multitudes came unto him, …
Insomuch that the multitudes wondered, when
they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be
whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see:
and they glorified the God of Israel...And his
disciples say unto him, whence should we
have so much bread in the wilderness, as to
fill so great a multitude?”
The Jews required a sign to believe. Was not wisdom and wonders, enough, to make them believe?:
“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees
came, and tempting desired him that he would
shew them a sign from heaven. He answered
and said unto them, When it is evening, ye
say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
And in the morning, It will be foul weather
to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye
hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky;
but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
A wicked and adulterous generation
seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign
be given unto it, but the sign of Jonas. And
he left and departed.” (St. Matthew 16:1-4,
KJV [The multitude sought a sign].
4
Truly, the generation, with Christ, unbelief was so shameful that it placed the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south, in a far greater light than the generation, which walked the earth during the time of Christ. The men of Nineveh and the queen of the south stood over them and condemned them, for they repented at the preaching of Jonas and the wisdom of Solomon because Christ, who was far greater than Jonas and Solomon, was with them and they still asked for a sign. Christ told them, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (12:40). And, this is the course of many today, in today's world of great imagination. Truly, many are in denial; sick and tormented; so, they cannot be your neighbor, they cannot be your friend, they cannot be your lover, they cannot be your husband or your wife.
In unbelief, what else, can you do but deny in spite of the wisdom of God, the wonders of Christ, and the signs of God. You can gather together in the Name of Christ Jesus but Christ said to the Pharisees:
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of
you saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with
their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but
their heart is far from me. But in vain they do
worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men. And he called the multitude,
and said unto them, Hear, and understand:” (15:7-10,
KJV [hypocrites teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men]).
Christ did not let the Pharisees get away and he answered them, further, in their feelings of being offended by him and said,
“...Every plant, which my heavenly Father
hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone:
they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind
lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (15:13-
14, KJV [hypocrites teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men]).
Pray! May God bless you.
