babosky2008:
The Praise of a Stone
by Rick Wynn
“And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:37-40)
Think for a moment about the comment Jesus made about the stones. He said that if the people didn’t praise Him, the very stones would. The Word says that Jesusmade all things. Outside Of Him, nothing was made, but that everything came into being through Him (John 1:3). The Scripture attests most literally, emphatically, and is absolute that no one other than God created all things and that He created all things through His Son whom was with Him in the beginning (John 1:1-3)
What do you think was God’s purpose in creating all things?
“The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Proverbs 16:4)
“For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:12).
“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1).
“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” (Romans 1:20).
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:4-6)
“This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise” (Isaiah 43:21)
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9)
Everything made was to signaturize God. No exceptions. The bottom line is that the stars, galaxies, universe, all matter, space, every cell, every visible thing and intangible thing from the angels to us humans were all made for the praise and glory of God.
In our endeavors to have a relationship with God, I believe that often we don’t truly understand who we are in Christ. This is why we seek to set aside time for God whereas we may read our Bibles for fifteen minutes a day or feel obligated to go to church Sunday morning. We make motions to do something for God. Perhaps we try to pencil Him in an available slot of time during the day or make that quick prayer before we go to bed at night. Most times, because we are so inundated by our daily activities in life He gets the least amount of our time and everything else gets the majority of our time.
Because we don’t actually praise and worship God as we should here on earth (the Bible even says that we don’t even know what we ought to pray), it’s hard to fathom an eternity where people in Heaven will actually be in a perpetual state of praise and worship to God. Trying to understand this with a carnal natured mind is very difficult to do. Naturally, most people’s idea of heaven is that there will be a mass unison of eternal praise –if you will– throughout heaven. Well . . . maybe, but I keep thinking about what Jesus said concerning the stones crying out. How does a stone praise God? It doesn’t move. It has no arms to reach out. Stones do not have mouths to speak and neither do they have knees to bow nor feet to jump. They are just stones. So how does the stone praise God?
If the stones can praise God then so must the trees, right? The grass praises God, the clouds, all plant life; every thing that was made was made to praise God. What do all these things do to praise God? How was it that before sin was birth into this world God received from everything He had made exactly what He desired—that perpetual praise to Him? Have you ever stopped to think about that? The Bible says that in the beginning everything the Lord made He saw that it was good. There is not one thing that exists that does not give God His due praise that He considers good. Have you ever read anywhere in the Bible where Adam and Eve, for instance were forever bowed or laid prostrate before God in a never-ending worship? What did they do to praise and worship God? What does it all actually mean the praise and worship of God? How does one actually praise and worship God? What satisfies Him concerning our praise and worship?
I believe the answer is as simple as the signature of the artist who signs his name to his work of art. We are God’s signature to His divine work of art. So pleased was He by His work that He placed His creation upon a pedestal for all to see. From our perspective, it may seem that we are doing the sole work of bringing people into Christianity. We tend to puff our selves up (at least a little bit) because perhaps we go to church, or read our bibles and do vast studies pertaining to God’s Word. We endeavor or motion ourselves to praise and worship God. We are, after all, born again Christians, which is exactly what God wants us to be. Therefore, I don’t believe it is an outrageous thing to say that from our perspective it may seem as though we are doing the work where we view what we do among each other and appreciate it, giving each other the congrats, thanks, and of course giving also God the glory.
I am not saying any of it is a bad thing. I am attempting to put before you a perspective. Perhaps one that we don’t necessarily consider. We may do what we do including our praise and worship exceptionally well, but I nevertheless tell you that we are like the stones that Jesus spoke of in Luke 19:40. I saw this amazing video clip about how God created the stars and it’s not that I didn’t know that God created the stars, it’s just that I had never really deeply considered that God actually made the stars. The person who presented the sermon is a Pastor by the name of Louie Giglio.
Briefly, he talked about how God made our sun and then compared the size of earth to the sun, which he said was equivalent to a golf ball measured against say a ball that is approximately 15 stories tall and 15 stories wide. Drink that in for a moment. If you happen to have a golf ball, place it up against any wall in your house and see how even that wall will dwarf the golf ball. Now go out, find a 15 story high and wide building, and hold the ball up to that.
He went on to show our sun in measurement to other suns, which God created, that were so huge that our sun literally became like the size of the tip of a sewing needle in comparison, and eventually disappeared when measured against even greater heavenly bodies. At this point one could say that the earth in addition to the entire Milky-Way Galaxy is so small that it seems not to even exist. He compared our sun to another sun that wastwice the size of not the earth’s sun, but the earth’s “orbit” around the sun. Then, he went on to compare that particular sun to another found in space that is so huge that the sun that was twice the size of earth’s orbit disappeared completely when measured against it. Still, this particular sun was not even the largest found.
No, this article is not about astronomy. I am about to make a very important point so bear with me a bit. My intent is not to make you in awe of that which was created; I want you to be in awe of the Creator who created them. We don’t usually think in terms of how great God is from the perspective that He is Gargantuan. Our sun is ninety-three million miles away from earth, yet the intensity of the heat is such that if it were any closer to the earth, the earth would burn up. God ignited the sun by the breath of His mouth, which the temperature at the sun’s surface is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. I deep-fry my chicken at about 360 degrees and take every precaution not to get too close to the heat.
We have a known galaxy for instance, called the Whirlpool Galaxy that is 31 million light years in distance from earth. That means traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second) it would take 31 million years to reach that galaxy. In addition to that, the average star is 2 billion light years in distance from another star. Again, that’s 2 billion years of travel at the speed of light from one star to the next, yet God holds every galaxy including the stars, planets, moons, in addition to us right here on earth and everything inclusive of “all” things made, in the palm of His hand. He sees and knows about all of it right down to the very number of hairs on your head.
I believe the reason our eventual eternal lifestyle in heaven eludes our understanding while here on earth is because of our inability to see God as He truly is. If we cannot see God as He truly is the how in the world can we see ourselves in light of what He created us to be?
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen” (Romans 1:21-25).
Are we really innocent of what this scripture says? Be careful before you automatically assume that you are. If you have ever even “worried” before, you are guilty. A transgression to any part of what God says is a transgression to all of what He says.
Man became perplexed by and reverenced that which God created instead of seeking God to know Him. As a result, a dichotomy evolved whereas man expunged God and called His creation evolution. Humankind has reduced the stature of God down to the size of themselves. Thus, we “endeavor” to praise and worship Him, but also believe that we can barter and make deals with Him. We argue with Him, get angry at Him, defy him, counsel Him, inform Him, question Him, refuse to trust Him, and make demands upon Him. Some of our so-called highly credentialed world best scholars, theologians, and experts even embark upon explaining Him. The worst is that because people view God along the lines as “human” they do not fear Him. Many Christians tend to believe that the Holy Spirit is a “person.” The Holy Spirit is “personal,” but the Holy Spirit is God. We tend do all sorts of “works” hoping to gain His attention, similar to a child hoping to gain his mother’s or father’s attention. Until the child truly understands and accepts that he or she “is” loved unconditionally, the child continues to do things in order to earn that love. We know by the Word of God that in and of ourselves, we can do nothing to earn salvation. It is God’s gift to us only. I believe that we have yet to figure out “unconditional” love.
We work at being Christian, yet we’ve been given a “new spirit.” I understand however that the necessary work is because we have upon us the nature of sin. To compensate for our guilt of sin, we do works. God says that His grace of forgiveness is sufficient but we reject it. I know this is true because we can’t seem to forgive ourselves. We “work” at being what we actually are, yet believe we understand who we are. It doesn’t make sense. Jesus doesn’t work at being Jesus. Our Father doesn’t work at being God. The work should actually be fighting the good fight of faith that we have been fashioned in the likeness of God and ultimately redeemed by the blood of Christ. The work should be about our “confidence in God” and His statement about who He said we were. Who were Adam and Eve in the beginning, how did they praise and worship God? A study of their relationship with God before the fall may give us every indication of who we will be in Christ after the rapture.
I believe the finished work in us by the Holy Spirit is the finality of our understanding of who we are in Christ Jesus. Finally, God will impart to us the revelation of our true identity. In our arrogance, we already think we know but I am willing to bet we don’t have a clue. When God imparts this revelation to us, it will consume and annihilate the entire flesh of our being. Change always accompanies revelation from God. In other words, at the arrival of Christ to snatch up His church, we will all be changed whereas we will be glorified in our bodies. Not a one person will be glorified ignorant. I believe from that moment, we will begin to embark upon something new, that being the depth of God whereas eternity is needed. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). We will venture into a realm beyond that which God spoke in the Bible, for the Bible was written for the Age of Man, not eternity.
What I could have said outright, but wanted to give you something interesting to think about, is that I don’t necessarily believe that once we get to heaven we will all be in a perpetual state of laying prostrate before God or in some continuous worship service before God. I do believe however that we will definitely be in an eternal phase of praise and worship to God. So what will our praise and worship look like? I believe our praise and worship will look like the praise and worship of a simple stone. Does that sound ridiculous to you? I believe it will look like the praise and worship the grass, trees, the stars and galaxies give even now. I believe that we won’t be inundated by the idea that we must make some sort of effort or motion to praise and worship God. Instead, we will have the full understanding and revelation that what we are is exactly what we are even now, and have always been, yet have not understood.
If I summed up all the scriptures listed at the top of this article in addition to the many others that are related to God’s purpose for creation, it would equal this: We “are” the manifested praise and worship to God. It is not a matter of what we do concerning our praise and worship; it is a matter of what we are. Like a stone being only a stone, we praise and worship God by being exactly who and what He made us to be. If I seek to worship God, I will fail every time because you cannot worship God leaving out the most vital aspect that you actually are the thing you are trying to do. If one does not know who he is, how can he properly worship God from the fullness of who he is? What then is the root of his praise and worship? His root will be that which he was taught perhaps in church concerning whom God is.
Now, if I accept and love God for who He truly is without “me” even being in that picture, thereby acknowledging and understanding who I am “in” Him, then I can understand that “because” of my very existence I am forever worshiping and praising Him in my every breath. As I live, I am the praise and worship to God. My worship and praise becomes as automatic as the worship and praise of a stone. The very essence of my existence then becomes all about the worship, praise, and glory of God. It is no longer about setting quality time aside to spend with God, but a full inseparable connection that I am joined in spirit with God. Is this not what Jesus demonstrated to His disciples on earth? He said, “I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.” Does the scripture not say that when we see Him we will be just like Him (1 John 3:2)?
I speak it now folks, but in all honesty, I don’t have the full revelation yet, though I see it. As I see it, Jesus will permeate my every breath, my every thought, my every will, choice, and reason. He will receive His glory by way of everything I do without fail by the virtue of my very existence because He created me. I finally understood it and got out of His way by dropping my every inclination about me so that He could shine forth His light (John 1:4-5). If I had the revelation, I would already be out of here. I’m willing to bet that Enoch got the revelation and perhaps that is why God took him. This world could no longer sustain Him anymore than it could ever sustain God. Don’t miss understand, Jesus who is God will rule and reign for a thousand years on earth, but this planet cannot sustain Him in His entirety. He is still the God of the heavens, universe, dimensions, and all things made.
Understand also that revelation is different from simply knowing. Revelation provokes a change. Many people for instance are excited that Jesus is coming to rapture His people in a few days, but they lack the revelation. Their lives have not changed. Their dialect has not changed. Their future plans have not changed. Their worries and insecurities have not changed. Their perspective of life and ideas pertaining to their future has not changed.
The only way that God’s glory can be seen via the stone is for the stone to be exactly what God created it to be—a stone. We are forever it seems trying to change who and what we are. We spend our entire lives searching trying to figure out who we are and why we are here. The answer is and has always been right in front of us. We have always rejected the answer because we have always desired to be the god of our own lives. The stone cannot give glory unto itself or increase God’s glory. It can do nothing in and of itself because it did not create itself. Those of us whom are truly born again in Christ, meaning saved, are like the stone. Our lives in heaven will be amplified by the umpteenth power in such capacities that one cannot even conceive. Our praise and worship to God will not be according to what we do there, but by the virtue of our very existence there. Now we are free to be what God created us to be—the everlasting praise and worship to Him!
Glory be to God forever!
We’re going home within days! I am so excited, folks!
Your brother in Christ forever,
Rick Wynn. Yeah, courage Bro courage. |
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