God Is Not Hiding From You

"When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only:" (Job 34:29)

Today, consider this verse in light of the New Covenant, which Jesus our Lord and Savior has cut for us.

God is not hiding from us, never has and never will.

When we consider the first mention of hide, it was Adam and Even who hid, because of shame, because of their nakedness after eating from the forbidden fruit.

"8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3: 8-10)

God was not hiding, but man was hiding because of his sin.

God solved the sin problem temporarily with the blood and skin of the lamb:

"21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3: 21)

God our Daddy would later set up a better covenant, and provide better clothing for our nakedness, both inward as well as outward:

"1And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

 

"2Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." (Isaiah 12: 1-2)

 

and also

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." (Isaiah 61: 3)

and then

 

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." (Isaiah 61: 10)

Adam and Eve, and all mankind afterward, have hid from God because of sin, because we owed God a sin debt which we could never pay.

Today, we do not have to hide, because the sin debt is overpaid, and instead of death we have His life:

"In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer." (Isaiah 54: 8)

and

"For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." (Romans 6: 10)

and also

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

When we know that all our sins are forgiven, that in Christ there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1), then we have no fear to come boldly before Him (Hebrews 4: 16), and we can trust that He hears our prayers:

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:" (1 John 5: 14)

We have no reason to hide from God, and we can know that He is not hiding from us, for in Christ all our sins have been paid for, and we are before Him as Jesus (1 John 4: 17)

We Believe Jesus, Then We See Him

"Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him." (Mark 15: 32)

The Pharisees, religious leaders, and scribes wanted Jesus to prove His royalty by coming down from the Cross.

He could not come down from the Cross, because if He did, then we would all still be dead in our sins:

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;" (1 Corinthians 15: 3)

If He had not died on the Cross, then He would not be our propitiation now and forever:

"1My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2: 1-2)

He was King at His birth, anyway:

"Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him." (Matthew 2: 2)

and also

"11And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest." (Matthew 27: 11)

Yet when He came bearing the Good News, the religious leaders of His day rejected Him. Not because they doubted His power, but rather because they feared losing their power:

"22Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. 23And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." (Matthew 12: 22-24)

and then

"31Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. 32And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come." (Matthew 12: 31-32)

The Gospel of John affirms the envy of the religious leaders:

"47Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. 49And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 50Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 51And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; " (John  11:47-51)

Even though Jesus fulfilled every prophesy, and even after Jesus rose from the dead, there were those who doubted:

"And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted." (Matthew 28: 17)

Jesus related this sad development earlier in His earthly ministry:

"And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." (Luke 16: 31)

During His ministry on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus revealed Himself in His Word, and only when the two traveling with Him believed what He said, then they saw Him.

With Jesus, believing is seeing, because if we do not believe that He has taken care of all things, al our sins paid for all prophesies fulfilled in Himself, then we will not able to see Him as He is, or His blessings.

What Makes God Angry: Not Believing Him

"21Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;

 

"22Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:" (Psalm 78: 21-22)

 

What makes God angry?

 

For many people, they will respond: "Sin!"

 

Yes, but what sin is it today, under the New Covenant which makes God angry?

 

We read in Isaiah, how under this New Covenant:

 

"8In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

 

9For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." (Isaiah 54: 8-9)

 

Because of Jesus, and that in Him all our sins have been forgiven (Colossians 2: 13-15)

 

We are left with Jesus' new command:

 

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)

 

and

 

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13: 34)

 

John reminds us of the New Commandments in his First Epistle:

 

"And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. (1 John 3: 23)

 

So, if God commands us to believe on Him, then not believing Him will upset Him:

 

"And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm." (Matthew 8: 26)

 

and

 

"And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" (Matthew 14: 31)

 

and

 

"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." (Matthew 17: 20)

 

Today, we do not even live by our faith, but rather Jesus' faith! (Galatians 2: 20-21)

 

We are without excuse today not to believe Him. Keeping in mind that there is no condemnation (Romans 8: 1) and at times we will resort to our works or our fears, let us today stop not believing God our Daddy. Let us believe on His Salvation: Jesus!

A Living Sacrifice Because of His Sacrifice

"1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12: 1-2)

Before we render our bodies as living sacrifices to God, we have to be alive in Christ. Before we are alive in Christ Jesus, we have to understand that He died for us, all our sins, and now lives for us, lives in us.

First, we recognize that He has justified us:

"16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1: 16-17)

We have to acknowledge that this righteousness cannot be earned, but is received:

"21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3: 21-23)

We receive this righteousness through Jesus:

"15But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5: 15-17)

Notice that we "reign in life" because of the gift of righteousness. Because of that gift, we are then dead to sin:

"11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6: 11-14)

 

When we realize that we are alive because of His righteousness, then we can start being of service.

 

This righteousness is from Jesus:

 

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5: 21)

 

Jesus is our sacrifice, and because of Him, we can be a living sacrifice and allow Him to live in us!

Your Labor: Believe!

"27Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 27-29)

Notice that Jesus did say there is a labor for all of us, but it is a labor of not laboring.

Are you confused? Don't be.

Consider the pleas of the Israelites of Jesus' day:

"What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"

Notice the insistence on work, works, and what we do for God. Notice that the Israelites spoke of works (plural), while Jesus reduced it to one work: "Believe on me!"

In the beginning, God created all things, not man, and God commanded man to enjoy all things:

"15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat" (Genesis 2: 15-16)

Notice how God placed man in the garden to enjoy it. Man provided nothing.

The Psalmist affirms that He creates, we enjoy:

"3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (Psalm 100: 3)

David the Great King knew better, that we can give God nothing:

"But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee." (1 Chronicles 29: 14)

Jesus later reminded his disciples, at that point elevated to friends:

"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15: 5)

We need to believe this in its fullest. Apart from Him, we can do no thing, because all things comes from him:

"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:" (Colossians 1: 16)

If there is a labor, it is to believe on Him for all things:

"28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)

and also

"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4: 11)


Notice that the opposite of the labor is unbelief. Do we believe that Jesus has taken care of everything for us? Paul has to gently rebuke this unbelief in us:

"31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)

This is the labor, beloved: Believe on Jesus!

The Pressure is Gone: No More Condemnation

Do the problems of the world weigh on your shoulders?

What does the Bible say about the world?

"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." (Job 26: 7)

and yet

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16: 33)

and also

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." (1 John 5: 4)

We are more than conquerors today in Christ Jesus, who loved us, and gave Himself for us (Romans 8: 37; Galatians 2: 20-21)

If there is pressure in your lives

The proof of God's love of caring is the Cross, and that all that Jesus did at the Cross was far more than anything we can understand just by one cursory reading of the Bible.

When Peter writes that we are to "Grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord" (2 Peter 3: 18), this includes an expanded awareness of all that happened at the Cross. What Jesus did when He died, and when He rose again, and now that He his seated at the right hand of God the Father, requires us to read the Word and learn more about our inheritance in Christ Jesus!

This is not about our doing something about feelings of fear and tumult. Paul meant when he said: "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)

We do not bring him into our lives. The pressure is not on us, but on Jesus, for He wants to take care of everything:

"6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Peter 5: 6-7)

He isalready here and there and everywhere taking care of us. The pressure is off.

The Cross was the proof then and now of God's undying, unending love for me.

As for the pressure, let us realize today that all of this pressure is mere condemnation, pure and simple, as though everything depended on us. What does the Bible say?

"1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you^a free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8: 1-2, NIV)

There is no condemnation, because all the condemnation was paid for (Colossians 2: 13-15)

Today, we have His life in us (Colossians 3: 1-4), and thus we have nothing to be afraid of.

This is not our life, and all things do not depend on us. They depend on Him who has been from the beginning! (1 John 2: 12-14)

I kept thinking that I had to resolve the fears and upsets in my head. The truth is that all of these matters have been taken care of, regardless of our feelings.

We believe in the testimony of God our Father and His Son, not because of some leap of fancy, but because of the written word and the evidence in science and history which affirms these accounts.

The pressure is gone because of the Cross, where all the condemnation was eaten away forever.

God's True Nature: Grace

"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." (Malachi 3: 6)

The last prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi presented the true picture of God our Loving Father. In the Old Testament, he was seeking honor, yet found none among the disobedient Israelites.

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?" (Malachi 1: 6)

The fact is that he would not find honor among any of us:

"Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalm 53: 3)

The problem was never that God was an angry deity looking to punish us for any one slip-up. Looking back at the verse above, because God does not change, therefore Jacob, Israel, the Israelites were not wiped out.

Many people have a tendency to say "God doesn't change; therefore, you are going to get hammered for every sin you have ever committed!"

Wrong.

God does not change, and therefore, He is gracious to us. All we have to do is believe:

"And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth," (Exodus 34: 6)

and

"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." (Psalm 103: 8)

and also

"The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy." (Psalm 145: 8)


God does not change, therefore you and I can rest assured that He will not punish us for our  sins, because He punished our sins, all of them, in His Son:

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2: 1-2)

and

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4: 10)