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In the first tidbit of this series, I focused on ‘one’ aspect of the nature of God: infinite. As a reminder, the word ‘infinite’ means God is without boundaries*; or cannot be restricted. First, God’s nature is multifaceted, yet He is one. To help with this tidbit, I need to remind you of another facet of God’s nature: father**. One definition of father is provider. Because God is a father, He provides, or is the source of supply, for every living thing(Ps145:16). Second, every facet of God’s nature affects every other facet of His nature.*** Therefore, the infinite nature of God and fatherhood nature of God inform us ‘how’ God provides for His own: unlimited or abundant supply. In other words, God exists as an abundant provider! Obviously, if God is an abundant provider for every living thing the question that immediately arises is: Why is man’s past and present so filled with mind-boggling poverty, lack, destitution, and starvation? There is no simple ‘natural’ answer to this complex question. However, what I can unequivocally declare is the answer to life’s difficulties begins with God, not man. In short, man’s opinion does not work because: 1.Mankind was designed to understand how life works through Christ (Jn1:4,9) 2.Mankind’s sin-tainted nature hinders our understanding of both God and reality, so often resulting in deception at worst, or seeing (understanding) through a glass darkly (1Cor13:12) at best. Let’s continue! The earth is full(Ps24:1), which means, and I repeat, God designed the earth to supply the need/desire of every living thing(Ps145:16). But of what is the earth “full”? Simply, the earth is full of everything useful to mankind to help him produce! Therefore, because God’s ‘first’ command to man was “be fruitful” (productive-Gen1:26-28), He intended for man to use the earth for his provision. For example, after man’s fall in Genesis 4, Cain became a tiller of the ground and Abel became a keeper of sheep. Because God had already given them the mandate to take dominion (Gen1:28) over the earth—they had to ‘work’ in these areas to provide for themselves and family. Therefore, to be productive requires God’s gift of the earth as well as His mandate to work to make the earth produce. Another example is Deuteronomy 28, which reveals God’s blessing and curse of which both are contingent upon the action of obedience to God’s word. For example, Deuteronomy 28:1-3 declares obedience to God’s word is rewarded with “blessing” in the city and field. The word “blessing” does not mean a person’s obedience inspires God to drop “blessings” from heaven on mankind like an apple drops from a tree. On the contrary, “God’s blessing” requires man to work using spirit, soul, and body---the consequence is productivity, also known as increase. This is the definition of prosperity! Furthermore, Deuteronomy 28:4 declares obedience results in the blessing of God on the fruit of your body; fruit of your ground; fruit of your cattle; fruit of your herds; fruit of your flocks of sheep. First, notice everything mentioned in verse 4 is either an animal or originates in the earth. Second, notice these things are natural, which means the “blessing” is upon natural things. Third, and most importantly, the word “blessing” (barak) describes “HOW” God affects, or increases, or prospers those natural things!!! In other words, the context of Deuteronomy 28:4 describes the increase, i.e.prosperity of the word “barak” on natural things!! I repeat, when the Hebrew word “barak” (blessing) is applied to earthly things like animals, or plants, or crops, etc., those natural things increase or prosper! I repeat, this is PROSPERITY!!! Therefore, God created in His creation the ‘potential to multiply’ which is why one planted corn seed does not yield one piece of corn!!! On the contrary, one seed planted can multiply into a harvest of abundance!!! But…but…but…why is this true? Who made a seed to multiply, not only into a harvest but into a harvest that is filled with seeds…and within each seed the potential to multiply into further harvests...also filled with seeds? Genesis 1:11 & 8:22 offer the answer: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” Gen1:11 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease -Gen8:22 These simple truths affirm that the Creator God created the ‘potential to multiply’… in His creation! Therefore, as mankind uses the creation to produce, that productivity has inherent potential to multiply without limit!! The ‘potential to multiply’ inherent to God’s creation is ‘THE’ foundation for prosperity! *2Chron2:6 **Lu11:2; Eph1:3 ***Because God is infinite, His nature must also be eternal, i.e.without a beginning or end. Eternality cannot exist without the infinite, and vice versa. This is true of every facet of God’s nature. Quotebit History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid." – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Dictionary.com defines ‘economics’ as
1.(used with a singular verb) the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, or the material welfare of humankind. 2.(used with a plural verb) Financial considerations; economically significant aspects: What are the economics of such a project? Very simply, economics is the ‘science’ of money i.e.finances! In other words, how money is created and used. The great economist Thomas Sowell writes in his massive work ‘Basic Economics’, “The Garden of Eden was a system for the production and distribution of goods and services, but it was not an economy, because everything was available in unlimited abundance. Without scarcity, there is no need to economize—and therefore no economics. A distinguished British economist named Lionel Robbins gave a classic definition of economics: “Economics is the study of the use of scarce resources which have alternative uses. What does scarce mean? It means what everybody wants adds up to more than there is.”” Immediately, this very simple definition rejects the anti-prosperity preachers’ hook-line-and-sinker!! Why? Drs Sowell & Robbins cite two important points: 1.Abundance 2.Scarcity Regarding abundance, Dr. Sowell uses the example of the Garden of Eden. As Christians, from the Garden of Eden we understand not only the reality of its existence but its God-created purpose: to provide for all mankind--not just for Adam and Eve. Secondly, Dr. Sowell uses the phrase: “unlimited abundance” to describe its provision. Incredibly, this is an ‘absolute truth’ regardless of how Dr. Sowell intended for its use in his statement. In other words, Dr. Sowell’s statement was not simply an incidental, trivial remark, but the ‘WILL’ of God for mankind’s provision!!! I repeat, the Garden of Eden expresses God’s will for mankind’s provision as being “unlimited abundance”! The point offered by Mr. Robbins’ is: Scarcity; which perhaps ‘might’ be more appropriately used to describe the condition of mankind after the fall. For example, after Adam’s sin, God said in Genesis 3: 17.…cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18.Thorns also and thistles shall it (earth) bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread… (KJV) The clear, unmistakable teaching of these 3 verses is that for fallen man, hard work and sweat are now the reality to access God’s provision of abundance for mankind. In other words, God’s good will of ‘unlimited abundance’ remained in the earth despite man’s fallen nature. However, the curse placed on the earth now makes it necessary for man to ‘sweat and toil’ to access God’s unlimited abundance provided for mankind beginning at the creation. Allow me to further elaborate. In other words, when God brought righteous judgment upon Eve, Adam, and the earth for their sin, His wrath made it more difficult for humanity to possess His original abundance: “sweat of thy face”(Gen3:19). Yet, God’s judgment neither restricted nor hindered the potential for abundance He created in the earth from the beginning*. Therefore, there is now an ‘appearance of scarcity’ which economists recognize as the earth’s present reality!!! Yet, the ‘appearance of scarcity’ did not immediately ‘appear’ when God spoke the curse, but in His abundant mercy(Ps136), He allowed the Garden of Eden to remain until Noah’s flood destroyed it some 1500-2000 years later. I repeat, the scarcity to which economists now refer, hides God’s original abundance* requiring mankind to use hard work and sweat to retrieve it---which is why I call it an ‘appearance of scarcity’. Remember, God created the earth with abundance* and then gifted** it to mankind and, He does not take back His gifts***! Therefore, the ‘unlimited abundance’ of the Garden of Eden teaches us something very significant about God’s nature. First, Romans 1:20 declares: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”. The above passage teaches God’s marvelous creation reveals/unveils His nature--because God can only create from His nature! So, what is that aspect of God’s nature that allowed Him to create ‘unlimited abundance’? From Romans 1:20 and the Garden of Eden we learn that God created from his Infinite nature—which means without boundary. Furthermore, because God’s nature also includes Fatherhood, and fathers provide; therefore when God provides, He must do so according to His infinite nature—which means His provision for mankind must be ‘unlimited’---hence, the ‘unlimited abundance’ of Eden!**** Therefore, from the Creation---to this day---and throughout all of eternity—because God's His nature is: Constant: He cannot change (Mal3:6) Good: He can only give good in: spirit, soul, and body (Ps119:68; Jms1:17) Infinite: He can only give ‘unlimited abundance’ i.e.more than enough (Phil4:19; Lu9:14,17) …God’s provision must align with His infinite nature!!! In conclusion, because God is good and does good(Ps119:68); and because He provides not only for our survival, but also for our thriving, i.e.our unique purpose, therefore, Psalms 145:16 declares, “Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” And, Philippines 4:19 says, God provides for us from His riches in Glory. Therefore, considering that God not only provides for ‘every living thing’, but also as much as those living things desire, can either His “riches” or “riches in glory” …be limited? Impossible! Why? And I repeat, because God is infinite: 1.His provision must be abundant for every living thing 2.He provision can never run out Hence, God’s infinite nature, which directs His provision, can only result in ‘unlimited abundance’ for every living thing…especially man’s provision!! *The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof… -Ps 24:1 **… but the earth has He given to the children of men -Ps115:16 *** For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. -Rom11:29 ****Eden was part of the unlimited abundance of the earth—Ps24:1 QuoteBit “The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.” - Albert Einstein I cannot end this series without mentioning the new movie ‘The Sound of Freedom’ which brings to light the epidemic of child sex trafficking. The movie depicts actor Jim Caviezel playing Tim Ballard, a former special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, and the true story of his efforts to rescue children from this evil.
I had two very different emotional experiences as I watched the movie twice. My sister who had seen the movie earlier on July 3rd, warned me to take lots of tissue and be prepared to cry, but instead, I found myself red-hot mad, angered at the wickedness of adults directed at innocent children. On my second viewing, however, unlike the first time, I found myself saddened and spent much of the nearly two hours weeping. I have listened to at least 15 hours of interviews with Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel, and the movie’s producer Eduardo Verástegui, and once again found myself emotionally ripped apart. But the question is why did a true story about two children being sexually abused cause such emotional upheaval…not only in me but in the vast majority of those who saw the movie? The answer is simple. The natural act of sex which God created good, wholesome, holy, and even beautiful is being corrupted by man’s sin nature! In other words, sex is not just a natural feel-good between two consenting humans that evolved over millions of years! On the contrary, it is a sacred act, created by a holy God with sovereign specific purposes!!! So…what was in the mind of God when creating the beauty of human sexuality? At least three things: 1.One flesh (Gen2:24). To provide the highest form of union between a man and a woman (Eph5:20-31)…called marriage! 2.To form the family, the foundation of all human interaction(Gen2:18; Gen4:1,2,17-22) 3.To perpetuate Godly offspring (Gen1:26; Mal2:15) in the earth I would like to highlight one more place of the violence of sexual perversion: the sexualization of children. While the horror of trafficking children is beyond our wildest imagination of evil, we have willfully allowed Satan to blind us to the future consequences of the present sexualization of children! For example, it is not hard to see the monstrous evil of children being enslaved by adult sexual perverts. However, all too often, those who are horrified at this evil--for both political purposes and self-preservation--ignore two critical questions: 1.How did these adults become sexual perverts? 2.What is the future of the kids who have been sexually abused? 1.First, were these adult sex perverts simply born sexual monsters? The answer is absolutely not! The contemporary adult sexual perverts were warped by past adult sexual perverts who abused them in their childhood!!! However, it is critical to note that sexual abuse does not ‘only’ occur through adult sexual contact with a child, but most often begins with broken marriages and families!!! Furthermore, it all too often begins and matures with pornography!! What liberalism misunderstands is the nature of sin, which the Bible compares to leaven(Gal5:9; 1Cor5:6-8). In other words, when sin is conceived it grows and matures and fills a human life!!! Moreover, when I hear people make the asinine argument that when you become an adult you can do what you want, by which they mean adults can look at pornography, commit adultery, fornication, live as homosexuals and transgenders…simply because they are adults—I cringe!!! Why? It’s really very simple! Children are not abusing children---adults are abusing children!!! How is it rational for an adult to view pornography, including child pornography---simply because he is free—while assuming because he is an adult---he can ‘handle’ it?!?! This demonic logic (1Tim4:1) literally assumes ‘age’ empowers one to handle his sexual urges!!! But…but…but…the very existence of sex trafficking (child or adult) refutes this preposterous notion!! I repeat it is not children who are abusing children….BUT the adults who are abusing children!!! Obviously, an adult cannot handle his own sexual urges—which have been ignited by participating in sexual sins!! When God’s word is either ignored or rejected—all evil becomes possible!! “Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness.” -Lu11:35 NAS “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. -1Cor6:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing…” -Rom7:18 2.Second, what is the future of the tens of millions of kids who are now being sexually abused by adults? Sadly, children who have been violated by adult sexual perverts just don’t walk away unscathed upon their freedom!! The one thing the Sound of Freedom could not capture is the experiences/images in the minds of the children who survived their sexual abuse!!! Horrifically, the images of any kind of sexual abuse can last a lifetime in the minds of the victims… especially the sexual abuse of pornography!!! To think that either the images or experiences will not affect the behavior of the victims later in life…is totally naïve! In short, because of the violence inherent to sexual perversion, only repentance and forgiveness through the cross of Christ can deliver both the guilty perverted adults, as well as the millions of children who have been so tragically sexually assaulted!! The Church must lead the way prayerfully, politically, and individually in both stopping the evil of human trafficking and in healing those whose lives have been physically and emotionally devastated!!!! Through the promises of God: i.to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18) ii….to heal our land (2 Chron 7:14) iii.And to take this gospel to the world (Mk16:15) We must possess the victory!!!! For…“the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church” (Mat16:18)!!!! Quotebit One customer, well taken care of, could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising. -Jim Rohn Over the past 6 tidbits, I wrote of the violence that sexual perversion perpetrates upon the physical body. However, because the wages of sin is death (Rom3:23), sin not only devastates the body but also wreaks havoc upon the soul. One part of the soul where sin works its horrors is the emotions which today is more popularly referred as mental health.
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Derrick JacksonPastor, Author Archives
April 2024
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