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Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Election Day 2022 - Exegeting Psalm 95 to Remember What God We Serve - By Anthony Wade

Found here. Our comments in bold

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Rev. Wade comes out with guns a-blazing again, this time disguised as an exegesis. If only he could set aside his leftist political agenda long enough to actually deliver a teaching, he might turn out to be good at it.

This has yet to happen, however. Today's article nothing more than a grenade toss at the NAR.
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Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." - Psalm 95:6-11 (ESV)

COVID has knocked me out of commission for a few weeks (We're glad he recovered, but his absence has been a nice respite for all of us.)

and the fact that it was right during the runup to the election is not lost on me. God always has a reason for everything and does not waste any situation. We spend so much time debunking the false theology of the NAR dominionist (Gratuitous and irrelevant. The reason Rev. Wade spends so much time on the NAR is because he's obsessed.)

because it is the last idol of the church age (Really? What does this mean? There are no more idols in the church? What?)

and shipwrecks the faith of untold numbers of people. The danger in doing so is in committing the same sin the NAR commits daily regarding this idolatry. Yes, they put it before God, the very definition of idolatry but they infer far worse. They recreate God in their own image. A weak god who needs their help. A puny god cannot conquer imaginary cultural mountains without enlisting the aide of his very creation. A political god that lines up perfectly with one party while the other is consigned to hell. If this is the pathetic god you serve then I can understand why you believe this might be the most important election in our lifetime, well until 2024, right? If your buddy god is on the throne but he cannot make anything come to pass without your assistance that you can keep right on believing this election is for all the marbles. (Finally he's done with the NAR...)

As for the rest of us, I am here to remind you who it is that we actually serve. Because you see, I have checked in with the Lord today and He assures me that He is still on the throne and will be throughout the night. He assures me that He already knows who will win and that none come to power except thorough His permissive will. Donald Trump did not surprise Him. Barack Obama did not surprise Him. Joe Biden most certainly did not surprise Him. Alexander the Great once allegedly wept because by a very young age there were no more earthly lands to conquer. Alexander would be dead by age 32. A mere footnote in history compared to Almighty God. So, indulge me a little if you will today and let us all remember who it is that we claim to serve. Then we can sleep easy tonight and wake up tomorrow unfazed by the mere political wrangling of men.

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! - Psalm 95:8(ESV)

Without apologies let us all start by bowing down before the Creator of the entire universe! This opening reminds us of what our true position should be before our God. The NAR fancies itself on the same level of the god they serve. (...or not. So this isn't really about exegeting Psalm 95 at all, it's another blast at the NAR disguised as a teaching.)

They are commissioned in their false beliefs to prepare the earth for His return and conquer the culture and make it obedient to Christ. What an insult! When pressed before His crucifixion Christ reminds us that He could summon an entire army of angels if He wished. Do you honestly think God needs Bill Johnson's help? That He needs Mario Murillo or Greg Locke for anything? I love the second point from this verse and that is the reminder that He is our Maker. He is the Creator, and we are the creation. How arrogant have we become! Someone once asked me if I am afraid that God will strike me dead with a lightning bolt and my answer was, I am afraid of forgetting He can if He wants. Lord let us never lose the perspective of who you are and who we are.

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. - Psalm 95:7 (ESV)

Just in case the reference to Maker was lost on you, God gives specifics. He is God! I know that sounds almost trite but when you see what theologies have made it to popularity in modern Christendom it makes you wonder. Creflo Dollar and the late Myles Munroe taught that God needs our permission to do anything on this earth. (He just can't let it go.)

Can you imagine? Bethel teaches that God has left us in charge of the earth. The aforementioned Locke and Murillo teach that if you do not vote as they do then you are beyond redemption and hell bound. There is no shortage of crazy in the church today and most of it stems from forgetting who we are and who He is. We are the people of His pasture. God loves shepherd/sheep analogies. The pasture is a place of rest, and comfort, and sustenance. It is a place where we are safe, secure and cared for. The sheep of His hand are in the hands of God! Lord let us stop wriggling to try and leave Your care, the very palms of Your Hands.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. - Psalm 95:8-9 (ESV)

Meribah and Massah are two locations during the Exodus. We are reminded here to not put the Lord our God to the test. We all have seen and tasted that the Lord is good yet so many are actively usurping His power. So many commit the sin of Lucifer daily, striving to be God. I do not need any more proof of who God is. Creation alone speaks to His majesty and we ask Him for ID? We think He needs our help with some electioneering? (No one thinks this. Rev. Wade is bloviating.)

You think God Almighty cares one whit about your Senate race? Your governor? The president? (Yes, He concerns Himself with these things, indeed.)

No beloved, He remains God throughout. He withstood Nebuchadnezzar and yet we think He couldn't handle Kathy Hochul. (No one thinks this.)

He brought His remnant into and out of captivity in Babylon, as He foretold He would in Deuteronomy, and yet we think the world might stop spinning on its axis if we do not make sure Herschel Walker is elected to the Senate. (No one thinks this.)

It would merely be embarrassing if it were not so egregiously wicked.

For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways." Therefore I swore in my wrath, "They shall not enter my rest." - Psalm 95:10-11 (ESV)


Let me conclude with the fact that there is a price to be paid. This is not a game beloved. What NAR dominionists and America idol worshipers traffic in is the shipwrecking of your faith. (He just keeps going on and on about the NAR. This is what we mean by obsessed. He can't even deliver a Bible teaching without constant references to his theological enemies.)

They reduce God down to nothing and deal strictly in the utter carnality of this world. They sprinkle in enough references to Jesus but they have gone astray in their hearts. They take the most divisive issues of man, bigoted, mean-spirited and in all ways unbiblical and they attribute them to God. They prop up failed, sinful men to be righteous beacons for you to follow in the darkness of this world. Yet the wickedness they want to sell you is no more or less wicked than the wickedness they rail against. (He just keeps going on and on.)

God is wrath beloved (Whaaaat? The quoted verse says "in my wrath." That is, wrath is an attribute, not His identity.)

and He will only tolerate for so long. Those that refuse to repent will not enter His rest. They have chosen the pasture of this world that offers no comfort and no protection.

Beloved, the politics of man declares that one side is always right and the other is always wrong. (It seems God is the same way, isn't he?)

They try to sell you the other side to blame for all that you perceive as being wrong in your life. They sell you hate, anger, and division and then try to wrap scripture around it. (The politics of man does this?)

Their god is their belly and destruction is their end. Do not follow men pretending to be servants of Christ who sell you earthly politics as the end all for your faith. The absolute best argument you can EVER make is trying to discern the lesser of two evil choices. That is politics. The thing is, God does not care about your opinion about who might be "less" evil. So, vote, don't vote, the choice is always up to you. Just do not think for one second that your vote carries any righteousness. Do not cheapen the God you claim to serve by lowering Him to level of any carnal man or political party. We are the creation, not the Creator. He lays us down in green pastures and there is always a price to pay for our wickedness. So, before you get any more stressed about this Election Day 2022 or the next one in 2024 just remember Nebuchadnezzar. Remember Alexander the Great. Then read Psalm 95 and rest in who He is and who He always will be.

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