Have You Ever Fired God??? You'd Be Surprised (Jehovah, churches, believe)

[seeking manna]

If the announcement was publicly made over the 6 O’clock news that God had just been fired, would you be camping out over night to be 1st in line to fill HIS position? Would you find yourself staring at your feet, wiggling your toes, saying to yourself “Yup, I’ve got what it takes to fill GOD’S SHOES. I sure do”. Would you know how to get the job done (if so, please refer to the book of Job).

Well, believe it or not, this is the real life scenario that a young man from Israel found himself in. And not just any man. You see, this young man had held no high positions. He had had no special training, nor had he won any great military conquests that we are told of. He described himself as coming from the least of all the clans of his tribe. And from a tribe that was least among the tribes of his people. Though a head taller than others around him, he thought himself as small in his own eyes.
A concern for the ways of this world and the outward appearance of man had been cultivated in him leaving him insecure and unsure of himself or who he was, even though his potential was great. He was a young man, raised up by a nation and people who had in fact let go of God. Who had many times rejected God and His position over them, and who would willingly accept this young man, a product of their own unbelief to fill the vacancy they had created by “firing” the Lord God of Israel. A position, which Israel should have been terrified to fill. And a position, which should have been terrifying to accept.

This is the tragic story of a young Benjamite named Saul. But it is also a personal story for each one of us as well. For though it is hard to imagine, each of us has this same choice before us each and every day. To allow Jehovah God to reign sovereign in each of our lives or to reject HIM, and remove HIM from HIS rightful position over us as the Israelites did. You see, Christ says that the Kingdom of God is inward. And we should be terrified at the idea of ruling that kingdom (our lives, which are and never were our own) apart from God. Even Jesus Himself submitted to God’s rule in His life. Can any of us say that we are greater than Him?
In actuality, there is no way that Saul could have ever accomplished the task he’d been given. He was never intended to. It is only God Himself living and ruling through Saul’s life and ours that is able to accomplish His will. Apart from that, we will only accomplish our own will. God chose Saul not because of who he was, but because of who he wasn’t. Because of his “undeveloped” potential (Saul considered himself small in his own eyes). But that undeveloped potential was not Saul’s height, nor his own strength. It was Jehovah God. HIS HEIGHT and HIS STRENGTH. In the end, being a head taller than everyone else in Israel left Saul with two ways to go. Pursuing his own potential (I call it Goliath potential – the strength of our flesh apart from God) or the Lords. Sadly like many of us, Saul decided to pursue his own.
To have succeeded as king over Israel, Saul should have clung to Samuel’s robe from the very beginning (sought the Lord) with all his might instead of attempting to grasp it when it was already too late - Something that Saul would have done if he and others had recognized the position he was actually stepping into. He should have used the position God placed him in to do what Israel failed to do. He should have known that it was only the Lord through him (Saul) who could have established his own personal kingdom, and more importantly, the Kingdom of God.


Some Notes:
Like Israel, and ourselves, Saul’s true potential lied in the Lord. Not in himself.
It’s not that David as king was any better than Saul. It is that David understood that he was nothing apart from God, and he allowed God to reign within him (the inward Kingdom of God) and through him (into the outer Kingdom of God).
Without God ruling in the kingdom, which is most immediate (ourselves), He will not rule through us in what is less immediate (our families, relationships, jobs, churches and so forth). The Kingdom of God spoken of in the Lord’s Prayer must come 1st inwardly. Only after His Kingdom has come inwardly (in the form of truth within us by feeding upon His word) will His will be done in our lives as it is in heaven.

[noland123]

If we were in line to fill God's position we would be there for all of the wrong reasons because we would be saying that man was better than God and as Christians we know there is none greater than He nor His equal.

[look3467]

seeking manna

Interesting question.

You see, everything mankind is, is that mankind is in the image of God.(Upper case G)

What that means is that mankind is..... it's own god. (Lower case g)

We are in effect gods of our own lives. (To an extent) There are things we can't control.

What we can control is----- the matter of choice.

That makes us separate (Entities) from God, meaning death to us.

Qualifying all that with your question is: Job.

Job is a picture of having everything except ownership of his own life, since he has no power to avert death.

Jesus is also a picture of Job who was offered the world if He, but would only accept it (by will) and reject the will of God.

But instead, Jesus as Job did, relented to the will of God over their own, and the blessings were multiplied many fold.

Jesus' offspring are the redeemed by virtue of rebirth through Him, as the old man dies, and the new man lives.

Jesus, like Job lost everything including His friends who abandoned Him at His arrest and alone suffered for the whole world.

Therefore, seeking manna, your question opens up a whole new view, that is, if you can come to understand it, of the workings of God in Jesus in behalf of all mankind.

Blessings, AJ

[seeking manna]

AJ,
Thanks for your comment here. Could you clarify a little further what you mean by "new view". I just want to have a little more info to go on as I think about what you're saying.
Thanks

[look3467]

Originally Posted by seeking manna

AJ,
Thanks for your comment here. Could you clarify a little further what you mean by "new view". I just want to have a little more info to go on as I think about what you're saying.
Thanks

What I mean by a new view, is to see a picture of Gods works through the eyes of God.

The traditional view for the Christian is just simply, this verse:

Jhn 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
To see it the same but differently, is to see how God worked it out to save mankind.
"firing God" is by human nature rebellion, where only the spirit of God in us can overcome it.
As gods, lower case g, we were made subject to this worlds lusts, not willingly, yet by the same, we were also made subject in hope.

Since God is doing all the work here, we are but as pons in His hands, yet, given the ability to exercise will.

To see Gods works is to see the bible in a new light with respect to what God did.

Job is a such character of Christ to where one can see what Christ was going through Himself.
Similarities of Christ can be seen in many of the stories and characters in the bible.

Examples:Job 1:1 ¶ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Is that not a picture of Christ, perfect, upright, feared God and eschewed evil?"

Verses 1 thru 5 have to do with seven sons ans three daughters.

To see something other than sons and daughters is to see God using the story to show us a picture of the 7 day creation, divided by 3 separate pictures of the same, giving us to know that Jesus was to save the whole creation.

The whole creation had to be included in the salvation plan of God, thus you read in the 5th verse: ..."Thus did Job continually".

Is that not the same as Jesus?

Ref: Hbr 7:3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
There is no call to change the way you believe, only to view Gods works in a different light.

Blessings, AJ