Chapter Fifteen - Spectacle

Chapter Fifteen - Spectacle

“For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.”

When Diana and I were living in Memphis Tennessee in the late 1970s, a big tent revival came to town and so we visited it.

I knew some of the people and we were talking with some of them. Then I left Diana talking with them so I could pass out some tracts and put some on chairs around the tent that said “The Bible is an Idol” and when I came back looking for Diana (Punkin), I will never forget seeing her after all these years standing alone because she had embroidered on the back of her jacket “The Bible is an Idol” and no one would stand near her.

I was thinking how that the Father made this world and that Jesus His Son spoke these words “The Bible Is an Idol” but you are not allowed to speak them. A Living Word that comes from the throne of God.

The Holy Spirit is not allowed to speak to a world that He created. They only allow words that are recorded from history in a book they compiled into an idol they say is the word of God.

Words that must be interpreted by carnal minds from a book that was compiled and authorized by sinful men for ungodly purposes.

The bible is the only word this world will receive because they make it say what they want it to say to justify their ungodliness living after the flesh and resisting the Holy Spirit.

When I tear up a bible to show that it has no power or authority from God over us, not to denigrate the people and stories recorded there, but to show that it is but a dead letter, people tell me that I am tearing up the Word of God.

Gideon’s father Joash said something very remarkable when the people told him to bring your son that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal.

Judges 6:31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.

I say, if the bible is the holy inspired infallible inerrant living word of God, then let it plead for itself.

And since I can tear it up, then I have power over your idol god.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold but Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow down so they brought them before the king who was so enraged that he had them thrown into a fiery furnace.

They had made a declaration of their faith by telling the king that their God was able to deliver them, but even if He did not deliver them, they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol.

Daniel 3:16-20 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore, he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

20 And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

It seems inspiring to read about those in history who would not bow to idols, but when you are faced with it yourself it does not seem so easy when your life is endangered and threatened.

But when this earthly life is over, your stand for God against idolatry or your submission to idolatry will be there before your face in front of your Creator for everyone to see.

This paper idol that Lucifer made through Constantine and king James to usurp God’s authority for himself over the people and deceive and rule the nations with and has caused all men both small and great to bow down to him and worship Lucifer who has transformed himself into an image of Christ using the bible for his authority.

Will you stand for the Most High God against this idol of all idols in spite of all it will cost you in this world, or will you bow down to Lucifer and his idol and be cast away from God forever for a few years of pleasure in the flesh?

Be it known to you o` Lucifer, we will not bow down to this cunning device that you have set up to deceive the world into thinking they serve God when in reality they are bowing to the devil.

We may be a spectacle, ridiculed, hated, mocked and despised but we will not bow down to the devil with his idol the bible.

We will not give 10% of our money to build the temples of the idol and to enrich the priests of Lucifer.

We will not go into all the world preaching a false gospel spreading their lies and being controlled by Satan through a book.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and Him only will we serve.

We bow our knees only to our Creator and His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not die so we could have a book to guide us. HE died so that we could receive the gift and promise of God which the Holy Spirit.

God will guide us by His Spirit, no book can do that.

No one can truly say that Jesus Christ is their Lord except by the Holy Spirit, not by the bible.

And claiming scriptures does not give you the Holy Spirit.

Romans 2:14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

The bible is a law book, if you are trying to serve God through the bible then you are under the curse of the law which no one can keep because of the weakness of the flesh.

There is no power in the bible, the power is in the Holy Spirit.

God is not under subjection to the bible, he is sovereign.

So, we are proud to be spectacles for Jesus, He makes intercessions for us and delivers us. Our faith is not based on promises from a book that was given to others.

Our faith is based on what the Living Jesus Christ speaks to us by the Spirit.

And our faith will not fail unlike people that have faith in a book that was not written to them.