Ignorance Is Killing Us! By Kelly Durant 5-3-15
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
2. How many of you deal with prideful ignorant people? The problem is ignorant people sell their selves in a way that they make you feel intimidated to even question their knowledge! Ignorant people know how to bluff and are proud pretenders! Today ignorance of the basics of God and life plagues many professional people. Like the doctor here in Miami that was doing plastic surgery by injecting household silicon into people’s bodies! Ignorance=destruction!
Ignorance takes on many forms concerning the basic functioning of relationships and society, but most of all ignorance of the Word of God is causing our society to implode! Ignorance is wastefully degrading our organized systems and causing undue damage and suffering. It is provoking embarrassment! The world scenario is like this, more than ever people are being placed in positions of power only because of their political affiliations and not due to their knowledge and capacity, so consequently the chaos of incompetence is overwhelming all aspects of organizations. Systems that use to be efficient are now degrading by ignorance!
Frist, I will tell you a story of how ignorance affected me on a personal level one time and I hope it convicts you to beware of ignorant people! We all must improve our own general knowledge of the world and of God and become more aware of our need for the discernment of the Holy Spirit! Here is what I suffered through one time in Atlanta. There was a person who had many community hours to do and he boasted he was a mechanic and that he could do his hours tuning up our cars replacing plugs, etc. At that time our church van needed new plugs so I bought them for him and he worked on the van for an afternoon. I only thought I was happy to save over a $100 dollars on the tune up in my ignorance at that moment!
To my surprise 4 hours later he said well, “I could only change one plug because I got a phone call and busy and I cannot do the other plugs because, come let me show you, see they are impossible to reach”. It was true they were in very hard to get to locations and I thought, okay, that is just how it goes with some people who are incapable of finishing a job correctly. Then I noticed immediately that the V-8 was lacking the original power it had and I had a doubt about the one plug he changed. I checked it with another mechanic and it turned out he had stripped the threads of the plug putting it in and he caused a piece of it to break inside and consequently the motor then needed a head job and an expensive repair! I learned an expensive lesson: never trust boastful people who are so sure of their selves who have a dubious record of wrong doings and no proof of repentance or proof of the fear of God in their lives! This is just one case that reveals ignorance but I have lived through dozens of others cases! What is your story?
3. Proverbs 1:7 ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction’. All examples in the material world compare to the spiritual realm, so now with this tune-up illustration let’s uncover other problems. Too many people claim they know things but since they are carnal beasts and not close to God, they really know nothing at all about anything! And when their ignorance gets exposed, these impostors get furious! It is evident that ignorant people always lie, contradict, and argue about things they know nothing of!
The world today, as it was in Jesus time, has too many hypocrites pretending to be smart and of a privileged elect class. They say they are the lone experts of authority but in actuality they are smoke and no fire with a convincing façade. Ignorance, in particular of the spiritual things, has further reaching consequences! Have you noticed how many start up churches there are today with ignorant self-proclaimed pastors that have never really ever studied or applied God’s word in their personal lives? How do these people get knowledge or ideas to convince others? They don’t really study or read, they just imitate from other imitators and copy like Satan does. They are like a fake counterfeit bill, imitating the light and pureness of God but denying His power. Usually these types preach strong, energetic, and fiery messages, and the ignorant congregations think they are undoubtedly intelligent, strong, and powerful!?
But by just looking at their lavish lifestyle and personal life it can be revealed that many of these people are consumed with greed, envy, and pride! And since they hardly ever personally interact with their people but live privileged and secluded, few people ever discover their embarrassing personal unholy lives that are gravely ignorant and faulty. They need exposure!
4. Ignorant people who have never spent time alone with God asking God to reveal to them their inner secret sins so they can repent and be remade into a new person (creation) can often appear normal and spiritual. They, in their ignorance, have actually deceived their own selves into thinking they are legitimate without the sacrifice! These are people who feel they do not need to study anything because they conclude that after all, all church Christian sheep followers are so ignorant (and sadly some are too naive) that they will follow whatever is said and invented. It is sad but true that many Christians are dubbed into accepting false pastors and false doctrines having itching ears desiring to hear what is convenient to inflate their pride. Many people want to be told that they are a privileged people, a special superior race, a people that should rule over others just because they are of a certain church with the anointed pastor! These deceived ones never ask, is it right I exercise authority over others while I am lacking knowledge? What is so destructive is they do not live out the Bible nor God’s holiness, and they make followers who copy their ignorance!
The hypocrite pretender pastors see other pastors shouting a phrase over and over on TV and they imitate what they see. I have seen the TV sermons where they say, (Repeat), “Claim it, claim it, claim it, claim, grab it, grab it, grab it, grab that money, and take that power God has for you!” They copy sermons off of other preachers (plagiarism) instead of doing their own work of praying to know what to preach about and researching in the Word materials related to the subject. They depend on emotions to convince and manipulate people rather than the common sense divine Word of God from the Holy Scriptures to do the work!
William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army foresaw how bad ignorance would get in our day and said, “The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.”
5. Why am I calling attention to this? It is a part of the signs of the times! When referring to Matthew 24 we often can identify the signs of the times such as the increase in earthquakes, the signs in the sun, moon, and starts, and wars but what about the false prophets who people follow due their ignorance? Matt 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. How is someone deceived? By not knowing the truth, or by rejecting the truth!
Today the internet is overtaken by many false prophets! It was reported that many of the sites that have leaked nude pictures of some famous actress link you to an English speaking Islamist site trying to convince you of your guilt for not obeying God Alla hoping to recruit you to Islam! How many millions of our young people have been exposed to this propaganda and no one reports it or stops it!? My wife and I even watched one of these Islamic recruitment videos and they could be convincing to the unsaved. These recruiters would be very convincing if one did not already have the truth of Jesus Christ in your life! And the discernment of the Holy Spirit!
People get hooked in their ignorance to false teachings and lifestyles because many false leaders know how to appear powerful appealing to their feelings of weakness because they have a demon of an Unholy Spirit! How sad it is in the U.S. people have tried to rid God from their schools, workplace, and even churches to the point there is a darkness and spiritual vacuum out there for just anything that comes along! The ignorance of God is killing us!
6. Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
The verse of today was prophetic for that time period, and as with all prophecies, it is fulfilling itself again in this end-time era! How sad that people have access to 30 versions of the Bible 24/7 with two finger strikes on Google to Biblegateway and they will not even read it! People today are remaining ignorant of the Word of God on purpose mainly because they do not want God interfering with their consciences and mind concerning the sins they are choosing to participate in! A thief never seems to find a policeman, right?
Identify ignorance! We must bring to the light people that are willfully choosing ignorance spiritually, educationally, and financially! Instead of choosing the good and eschewing the evil ignorant people are killing our peace and progress by choosing the evil and shunning the good!
People in ignorance choose the trash over the truth! With an ignorant spiritual life, if you are an introvert, you can read worthless novels, or you can play computer games until your fingers drop off! If you are an extroverted frustrated young man, mad at the world and wanting to take revenge, you can hook up others online and become a travelling protester, or even a Jihadist! The possibility of being overwhelmed with materials to read on any subject is limitless! Sadly many people have no family, no father or mother, no church friends or anyone to consult with about what they choose! The entire country is suffering because too many choose poorly!
7. Ecclesiastes 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Isn’t this the truth! The other day I was watching an anti-bullying campaign on C-Span and on that subject, or any subject for that matter, all guidance is refined to a science and it is contained in hundreds of books! I would never have time to read all the hundreds of books written on that subject, but I need to be educated on that matter and on the hundreds of other things affecting our world to know how to save, help, and serve others appropriately.
I beg you to read more read more and be informed or you will fall into some new trap due to your ignorance! Ignorance will cost you money! Do you remember the hundreds of millions of dollars that were lost by ignorant people who when they got an email from a Nigerian prince that said all they needed to do to get millions of dollars from an inheritance was to open a new bank account with yours the prince’s name on it? The prince wanted to share his millions and all you had to do was to open an account with $5,000 for him to deposit in. What happened? He didn’t deposit but instead he withdrew your $5,000 and you never heard from him again! He was no prince but a thief and being abroad, no prosecutions could take place. A fool and his money are quickly departed! Ignorance is not bliss, but rather a curse that will cost you dearly!
8. So today many assume we are surrounded by intelligent people running complicated systems in our society but instead these people are more than likely dangerous and ignorant on many basic matters, in particular ignorant in the knowledge of the Word of God! We see what is happening to people as in 2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. This explains why everything in society is degrading into ignorance, lawlessness and chaos! Many professionals today are amoral, carnal, prideful, and ignorant!
The knowledge of the truth only comes from the Word of God! Intelligent people may read a few thousands of books to be a lawyer or doctor, but what good is it if their soul is corrupted and they gain the world and lose their soul? The ones in high places in the world, no matter the intelligence, are actually ignorant and on the bottom morally & spiritually without God!
Jude18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
9. So how do you and I as dedicated Christians help those who live in ignorance? As the saying goes, ‘You can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!’ We can share with others the Good News of the gospel’s truth to help them out of their sinful destructive path, but if they don’t want it, it is not our fault. Consider Ezekiel 3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand:19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
We live in a world that is a twisted paradox; the truth of the Bible and Jesus and excellent good teachings are out there for anyone contrasted by how few discover it due to the shroud of the sheer volume of the mega million writings of dark deceivers! Never forget, it is our job to educate ourselves others on the things of God; ‘to preach the gospel to every creature!’
10. Ignorance is killing us because the people in the community at large practice ignorant habits from their carnality and false teachings! People have a free will to believe what they want, but people never calculate the consequences that that belief brings! The worst ignorance is the spiritual ignorance! People who are shallow, who have practically no understanding of the Bible, suffer dearly for mistakes and their mistakes affect all and make others suffer as well.
We must face the fact there are billions of truth rejecters! Some of these may also be lazy people who are ignorant by choice! They are like this Proverbs 26:13 The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. They know the consequences, that they will die for doing what they do, but they do not care! Sin keeps people in ignorance!
We must drive away ignorance! Daniel 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. Let’s pray to hunger more to learn from the Word of God! Others may lack in knowledge of the basics of life but for a Christian, we should never be ignorant of anything!
Learn and obey the Word of God and you will be prepared to live wise and avoid the consequences ignorance! Let’s pray to desire more knowledge and wisdom from God!
