Anything Beyond This

Matthew 5:34-37

[34] But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;

[35] or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.

[36] And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

[37] Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

There is so much bad teaching out there it is astounding!

God wants faith. It's all over the book. Faith is trusting Him...no one else.

Satan wants you to trust in you. It has been His lie from the beginning. You can be like God.

Well, you can't. The Law shows that clearly.

It's about power and control. We have none, yet we struggle with this desire to ascend, and be in control like God. It is evil at its core. Had they trusted God in the begining, and shunned the absurd idea that they could do anything to become like God, well, we wouldn't be in this mess.

Ah, but is that trusting God? Yes, it is true, if He didn't want it to have happened...it would not have.

Trust has to be in both His power and His character. If He is good, but not in control, He is not trustworthy.

If He has all the power, but is bad, well obviously He would not be trustworthy.

My yes, is yes. My no, is no. What is the evil that is "beyond this"?

"I promise I will do it!"

"I swear I will do it!"

"Look at me, of course I can!"

"My power! My ability! My skill!"

James 4:13-16

[13] Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."

[14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

[15] Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

[16] As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

Trusting in self, is not trusting in God. How much of the Law does it take for you to see that you cannot become God, and will never be accepted because of anything you do?

You are not even saved because YOU decided to follow Jesus! You didn't choose Him. He chose you!

ALL teachings that are above or outside the grace of God, are from the evil one...and there are a lot of them in the churches.

Free Will - the concept that our choices are beyond God's control. That we are responsible for our fate. It makes us more powerful than God...even if it is just over our lives, our choices.

Spiritual Warfare - the idea that God needs us to act against the devil, demons and bad angels. That we must learn how to take authority, and boss beings bigger than us around. Satan's "so-called" secrets? We ascend to a level of "Godly" power.

Word Faith - the teaching that Faith is like a magic arbitrary force that even God taps into. We can tap into it too, and act like God. This one should be obvious! Man can alter his own reality by willing "faith". It's absurd!

We Are His Hands and Feet - the idea that our efforts to serve God are needed by Him. He made the universe by speaking. Do you really think He can't feed the poor, or help anyone without us?

Prayer is Powerful - the idea that our prayers have power, like magic spells. That, how we say it, matters at all. "...in Jesus name, Amen!" Whether by saying it many times, with the right phrases, using lots of emotion, or even by throwing it at God like a demand, prayer has NO power. The power is in who you are talking to alone.

Name it Claim it - the idea that we must claim, declare, or do anything to accept God's gifts, or we won't get them. It puts the power of the gift in our acceptance, not in the giver. He is God, if He gives you something, you get something.

All of these teachings are from the devil. Yes, they are. They all have an effort that ascends beyond grace. They make us feel, and think, we are more powerful, or important, than we are.

Anything you do, or believe that you must do, to become more than some loser, saved by grace, is a lie.

Are you ascending like Satan, or descending like Jesus Christ.

Faith in God is accepting our need for His power, His control, His grace...accepting Him, as He is.

He accepted you as you are, all we need do is return the favor.