Hashkama: Does God ask anything of us?

“He has told you, mortal one, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

I am using the same verse as in the previous article, and some of the same comments, but I encourage you to persevere and read what follows.

Some claim that God has done it all and so we don’t have to do anything.  God has done it all in regards to redemption.  He has saved us out from the garbage heap and given us a new purpose and direction.  However, to continue the process of salvation in our personal lives, we are called to walk the walk, as well as to talk the talk.  He provides all that we need to obey His calling, so we have no excuse for longingly looking back at the garbage heap that we have been delivered from, but can still have power to pull us back if we are not walking in the power and Spirit of God.  That was a problem for the Israelites after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt.  They longed to go back! (Exodus 16:3; Numbers 11:5, 14:4).  Because of their disobedience, even though they had come out from slavery, only two of them went into the freedom and abundance of the Promised Land.[i]  The rest fell by the wayside. Because of unbelief they could not enter Canaan (Hebrews 3:19).  It is a sound lesson for us.  “Behold, to obey is better than a sacrifice, and to pay attention is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).  Korah and those who were in open rebellion against God were swallowed up by the earth (Numbers 16:1-22, 16:32, 26:10; Deuteronomy 11:6; Isaiah 11:12).  The reason – “For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you…”  in Egypt they had partaken of the lamb, and having applied its blood, they were under God’s covering.  They were baptised into the Red Sea/Reed Sea, yet their faith failed and they turned to rebellion.  Rebellion is taking place amongst the people of God today as they disobey and reject God’s word.  We see this in all manner of ways.

Our opening verse is often quoted but is perhaps less acted upon.  It is a succinct and beautiful expression of the view Micah shares with Isaiah, that ethical behaviour is far more important than the mechanics of sacrificial rites.  We might add, for the sake of those who believe in once saved always saved, that it is more important than repeating a prayer that is claimed to provide eternal salvation.  God calls us to a life of faith.  We are saved by grace through faith.  If personal faith dries up, saving grace cannot operate.  We are to walk in the Spirit, not the flesh.  It doesn’t mean we will never fall, but we can be in danger of losing our salvation as is made clear in Hebrews 3:18-19 – “And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.”  Who is it that God speaks of?  It is His people.       “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off” (Romans 11:22).  Nothing can separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:39), but we can separate ourselves from the love of God.  We ourselves are the ones that can stop the process of salvation.

Repentance is God’s gift.  Keep short accounts with God; If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  God is a God of righteousness and justice, and that is how we are to walk and conduct ourselves in this world.  Paul dumped the righteousness of the Pharisees after he found true righteousness in Christ.  That moved him on to wanting to know Christ more, and the power of His resurrection as well as the fellowship of His sufferings.  He didn’t sit back saying “God has done it all, so I’ve got it all.”  His desire was “somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 3:11).  That is, Paul desired to be part of the first resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23).  We are not taught to think like that today.  We are taught that no matter how we live, we have confessed Christ so we are saved for eternity.  Study the Scriptures for yourself – and to use what is a horrible word for those who sing ‘Do not strive…’, “Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10-11).  For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.  The apostles preached that – not once saved always saved.  Salvation is generally a future event, not a present status – “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

Because we have lost a healthy fear of the Lord, we don’t bother, we view salvation as though it is completed in us individually; but look at the earlier verses of 2 Peter 1.  “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But whoever does not have them is near-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins” (2 Peter 1:5-9).

As we gathered from the verse at the beginning of this article, God’s people are to demonstrate the reality of their faith.  For the Israelites that meant offering sacred ritual and love for their fellow men.  God required them to manifest three characteristics: (1) Justice (Mishphat), the moral rectitude of God that is also available to His people (Psalm 106:3), should be seen in one’s dealings with other human beings (James 1:27-2:13; Galatians 6:9-10).  (2) Kindness (“loyal love,” chesed, absolute faithfulness to covenantal relationships) for the community of believers that God had called to Himself.  (3) Humility (Hebrew: ‘sane’, modest reserve before God) contrition in their relationship with Him.  We must return to a true and proper understanding of God, that He is righteous.  To walk with the righteous God of the Bible we need sound doctrine, and concern for the social implications of biblical faith.  “For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life” (Ephesians 2:10).  “Works” equivalent to Hebrew “mitzvot” and are a product of one’s salvation, not the cause.  “Our way of life” is literally “in them we should walk;” as in Hebrew “halakah,” “the path one is to walk.”  Salvation is a process which takes time.  Creation in Genesis was a process over time, so is the new creation.  The three stages of salvation are when we are set free from the penalty of sin (Justification); when we are set free from the power of sin (Sanctification); when we are set free from the possibility of sin (Glorification).  All three of those comprise salvation.  You are not once saved until all three are completed.  You began to be saved when you first believed.

As the exodus story unfolds it becomes obvious that God sent the deliverer, Moses, to a suffering but as it turned out, an undeserving people – Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” (Numbers 14:1-4).  14:3 will be a similar mentality with those who will fall away in the last days (Matthew 24:10 speaks of the people of God, and is the antithesis of our opening verse).  So they plotted against the Lord and His anointed (in this case Moses).  They were sent a leader that they did not deserve.  The world was sent a Deliverer and Leader that it did not deserve, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17). This is the Leader that the leaders of the earth are plotting against – God and His anointed – “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the Lord and against His Anointed One: “Let us break their chains and cast away their cords” (Psalm2:2-3).  They are rejecting the Leader God has sent.

Earlier this year, Europe took a whole week to celebrate Gay Pride[ii].  London[iii], and Israel as well as other nations celebrate Gay Pride.  There is a Gay Pride month as well.  Not one nation gives a minute or a day let alone a week to celebrate and give thanks to the Creator God.  We are now in an era when God is sending leaders that we do deserve and they, like Korah, will lead the nations, and those Christians who have fallen under the spell of the fake rainbow, to destruction.  The world doesn’t only have the leaders it deserves, also developing is the world conditions it deserves.  Church denominations that are deserting the Word of God will also get the leaders they deserve.  They will be those who look back with longing and who want to re-join the garbage heap that the world enjoys so much.  Finally, the world leader the earth-dwellers all deserve and long for will arrive on the scene.  Antichrist will give the people the [ungodly] desires of their hearts…for a short time.

Satan’s Useful Idiots

To make certain that the world doesn’t slip from the grip of those shaping the political and cultural future, certain education centres for leadership have been formed.  World leaders in every sphere of politics, health, business, finance, media…you name it, are being educated and shaped on the potter’s wheel of the likes of Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, and the megalomaniac Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum, who, it is claimed, perhaps falsely[iv], had Vladimir Putin as one of his students[v].

There is the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change[vi].  They are “equipping leaders and making change.”  “Our global team works in more than 20 countries across four continents to support leaders with strategy, policy and delivery. From Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, the tech revolution to the net-zero transition, our experts and thought leaders provide fresh analysis, practical policy solutions and embedded support in response to the world’s biggest challenges – all driven by the progressive vision and insights of our Executive Chairman Tony Blair.”  There are no ‘danger’ signs on the wall, or ‘enter at your own peril.’  The devil finds work for idle hands, and during Lockdown Blair’s focus on British politics was re-envisioned.  Through his organization, Blair has plans for Britain’s centre left politics; plans which I expect to become obvious during the coming months.  Democracy in the world is being airbrushed out of existence.  Dictatorship crouches at the door.

The Clinton Global Initiative[vii]  They say: “Save the date: At the CGI 2022 meeting, leaders from business, government, and philanthropy will convene to tackle the refugee crises in Ukraine and around the world; global health; climate change; and inclusive economic growth.”  Also, the Clinton Global University Initiative[viii].

The World Economic Forum.[ix] Klaus Schwab is Founder and Executive Chairman of the world economic forum.  He founded the forum in 1971.  He established a new foundation the Forum of Young Global Leaders, and in 2011 he created the Global Shapers Community.  His students, Schwab claims, penetrate (infiltrate?) cabinets[x], influencing world affairs.  More on this at the link below[xi]  All three men operate “Global” organisations, and all, I suggest, along with others, are puppet leaders of the god of this world.  National and global politics have become very messy.  The church is moving into the same groove of unbelief.

God is giving the world over to a depraved mind (Romans 1:28), and world leaders are of that ilk.  They don’t want to know God.  What of us Christians?[xii]  Do we honour the Leader and Deliverer that we do not deserve, by striving to make our calling and election sure?

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the Cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness. (1 Peter 2:22-24 Emphasis mine).

Blessings and shalom

Malcolm [06.07.2022]

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[i] There by the grace of God – http://saltshakers.com/?p=2304

[ii] https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=Europe%27s+Gay+Pride+Week&qpvt=Europe%27s+gay+pride+week&FORM=EWRE

[iii] https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1634524/phillip-schofield-kelly-holmes-pride-coming-out-gay-instagram-latest-news-update

[iv] https://rebelmoon.podbean.com/e/putin-was-a-wef-student/

[v] https://youtu.be/Vq6YaQNG05c  See also: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/world_economic_forum_11

[vi] https://institute.global/

[vii] https://www.clintonfoundation.org/programs/leadership-public-service/clinton-global-initiative/

[viii] https://www.clintonfoundation.org/programs/leadership-public-service/clinton-global-initiative-university/

[ix] https://www.weforum.org/

[x] https://theamericanreport.org/2022/01/30/klaus-schwab-brags-that-trudeau-merkel-putin-are-former-world-economic-forum-young-global-leaders-we-penetrate-the-cabinets/

[xi] https://leohohmann.com/2022/02/10/klaus-schwabs-puppet-young-global-leaders-revealed-trudeau-in-canada-buttigieg-in-u-s-macron-in-france-and-many-more/

[xii] https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/john-wesley-s-first-methodist-chapel-to-allow-same-sex-marriage?_psrc=personyzePoppularArticles