Who Thinks For You?
Pastor J. R. Wilhite, author
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This study was not written with a goal to offend, although many will take offense to its content. Following the methodology of most our studies, the goal here is to reveal the truth and the lie in our lives. In our doing this, people will be offended. We are always offended when anyone points out something: (1) in us or dealing with our lives that is not of God or (2) that contains any of the lie or the world system. We all want to believe that we are more of God and less of the world than we actually are.
One of the first significant changes in us that we realize after meeting Jesus is our language or lack thereof. I am referring to our diminished use of the so-called four-letter words. Once we notice changes like this, we believe we are of God; although more changes are needed, we believe we are well on the road to God. Nothing can be further from the truth! Actually, we are being fooled into believing that we are changing for the better. We must remember that Satan is the king of liars and prince of deception.
Satan will even help us to change at least enough to deceive us into believing that we are changing, as we should. Continuing his deception, he will even help us clean up our language and, to a large degree, our life styles. Satan does not care about our life styles, as long as we are living the lie; that is all that matters to him. One of his largest and best lies is: "Yes Jesus saves; yes, you need Jesus, but not today. Wait till tomorrow and live life for today." Then you walk out, and a truck hits you; and he has won. Satan only fears the truth and nothing else.
Knowing this, we then need to learn where we have been lied to; what the lie is; and where the lie is in our lives and in the world.
Remember what Paul taught us:
2 Corinthians 10 (KJV)
4. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Now here are a few of the many verses in the Bible talking about imaginations of the heart (spirit) and mind of mankind.
Genesis 6 (KJV)
5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Genesis 8 (KJV)
21. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
1 Chronicles 28 (KJV)
9. And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
1 Chronicles 29 (KJV)
18. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
Proverbs 6 (KJV)
18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Jeremiah 7 (KJV)
24. But they heMarkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.
Romans 1 (KJV)
21. 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.
22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
{The idea is - our imagination, if not always in check, can run wild and deliver us to Hell. From our imagination we can kill, steal, destroy, and comit adultery just to name a few}
The ways of the flesh are opposite to the ways of the spirit.
Galatians 5 (KJV)
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Here are a few of the ways of the flesh:
Galatians 5 (KJV)
19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
If you realize that we are not to know how Satan manipulates us and that he even does, then you realize just how in-depth it is. If you realize and are willing to admit to yourself that he has done this to you, you have already won half the battle. Satan mostly counts on our arrogance in not admitting or realizing that anyone can manipulate us.
I have met many who will take full accountability of their actions just to avoid admitting that it could have been Satan instead. You may think that is good for someone to take full accountability for his or her actions. However, if they were not in control, then is it good? We are not trying to justify someone who drinks too much or does drugs. Instead, we are speaking of a person who is demon possessed; we all would agree this person is not in full control. For the most part, we are all possessed to some by Satan degree (or a demon); or at the least the lies sown into this world by Satan.
Example: If you go through life believing that you will go to Hell for comitting a sin of any kind, then you will also believe you have no hope; so you might as well sin.
We know that is only true if you do not know Jesus, and knowing Jesus does not give you an out to sin. However, it does give a way to repent and change.
One of the ways we are lied to, and believe it, is by whom we listen to and believe. I for one had always enjoyed talk radio; at least, I did until a few times I started noticing they were not on the same page as I was. Here some examples of what some talk show hosts (TLH) have said that really got my attention:
Unlike the world, we should not allow offense to take over due to these things. However, we should not allow this garbage into our minds and spirit either.
The idea of a politician or celebrity using Jesus to get people to vote for them or to listen to them bothers me as much as anything else. Some of the most listened to and best known, regardless of affiliation, state that they know what is best for us. Some even advertise - do not think, let us do it for you. If anything would offend me, it would be someone telling me that I am not smart enough to think for myself; or need someone to tell me how and what to think. We are inundated daily with radio and television talk shows, which tell us how we should think. In addition, they tell us how and what should or should not offend or bother us. This is further compounded by the underlying motives or ideas in television shows, movies and even music.
Science fiction shows are my favorite. For over 20 years, they have tried to program me regarding evolution or aliens that the government is trying to keep quiet. Even during the time that I actually wished there was life elsewhere, I did not like others telling me it was unquestionably true. They were constantly trying to prove that there were aliens visiting our planet, and the governments of the world were hushing it up. Nowhere in the Bible does it say there is or is not life elsewhere. Nevertheless, if there were, it would be no different…Jesus saves; no matter what country, or for that matter what planet, in which you reside.
To some, that will sound very religious and typical of one of God.
The difference is - I will not impose my beliefs on anyone. That may not sound like how a man of God should be. However, if you think about Jesus, He did not go door-to-door and tell everyone to join Him. Instead, He went city-to-city, and people came to Him. His growth was based on the authority He had the word along with the miracles He performed - from feeding 4-5 thousand men using a few fish and bread to healing people. He raised the dead three times (a girl who had just died; a young man who died the day before; and a man who was dead a week). We have the idea we need to go door-to-door or stand on street corners and force our beliefs on others. Some still believe that if you do not believe as they do, you are lost and going to Hell.
However, the truth is:
Romans 10 (KJV)
9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
{Bottom line - those who confess Jesus before mankind are saved; and those who do not are not.}
Matthew 10 (KJV)
32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
What is wrong going door-to-door or on a street corner?
Nothing, but it should be done directed of God.
Why directed of God?
When we are not directed of God, we can overdo it; mislead; or say the wrong thing and put people off; or any combination of these things. It is like watering a plant that has already been watered. Even a plant that is over watered can be hurt.
However, when directed of and by God, then we will reach those He has for us to reach, and we will not put them off.
When a person seeks you to ask about God, the door is wide open, they are ready, and they will grow. Otherwise, they may do the opposite; that is why lifestyle is so important. We are not speaking of a phony lifestyle but a true loving life with God. The only way to know God, or worship Him is via the spirit because God is a Spirit.
One of the lies, that has been around the longest, is that the spirit is dead or no longer active.
John 4 (KJV)
In the late 80's and early 90's, I started learning some truths that had been hidden from many others and me. They are:
Think about this - who does it serve for the above to be a lie and not true. The primary point of most of my teaching is everything is between you and God; not you, me, and God; or the church, you, and God…but you and God. The key subset of this teaching is: you are to listen to God and not man. Who does this best serve, me, this ministry, or you? If you are honest and open, you will realize that all of this is for you and not this ministry.
Hosea 4 (KJV)
6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Revelation 1 (KJV)
6. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Satan knew early on that a lack of knowledge would harm us more than anything; so he did his best to keep us in the dark.
Let's look at what got all of us into sin.
Genesis 3 (KJV)
1. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
First God never said they could not touch the fruit. Furthermore, God never told anyone else not eat the fruit. God only said that Adam could not; and God is always very specific.
Satan did not actually lie. All he said was that she would not die based on her statement of touching. Moreover, if she did eat she would have the knowledge and be like God as far as the knowledge of good and evil. Satan was waiting for his chance to manipulate the lie of Adam or Eve. That is what he does best; he manipulates us, our half-truths, and little white lies.
Genesis 2 (KJV)
17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
If you read Genesis 3, you will notice it was not after Eve ate that things went bad but after Adam ate. So we are in this mess due to a lie told most likely by Adam to protect Eve. I can hear him now "Do not eat, no do not even touch" or something of that nature. Satan does not have to lie; all he has to do is wait until we do and then manipulate our own lies against us.
Where do all lies originate?
They originate from the mind
Where do all of our words come from?
They come from our mind
Where do our actions eventually come from?
They come from our mind
Satan does not have to interact with each of us. Just as Johnny Apple seed did, all he has to do is walk along throwing seeds everywhere he went. Some took root and grew; some did not. From there, we do the rest, by our own imaginations. Now add to that the technology of the last 100 years, radio, movies, television, etc.; now the lies are spread like the plague. For the most part, we are born into it; and since it starts at birth, we never can see the truth for all the lies that there are in the world.
So, I ask again - who thinks for you?
Is it a radio television talk show host?
Is it television, movies, and/or the world in general?
On the other hand, are you going to be an individual, think for yourself, and be independent of the world?
If you do cast down all imaginations and thoughts that do not line up with Christ, that does not mean Christ is thinking for you. It means you are free to choose and decide for yourself for the first time.
God Bless You as you hear His words and follow His leading.
2-24-04 H.O.M.E.