Page 7 - April2015-Catalyst

Messing With god’s Message
By Tony Evans
Itestify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18)
The fact that the Bible is completely authorita- tive and cannot be broken is a wonderful doc- trine for the Christian faith. But the power of God’s Word can be nullif ied in your experience if you refuse to let the Word speak to you as it is or you start mixing it up with your human viewpoints.
The Bible itself cannot lose its power or author- ity. That will never happen because God said His Word is “forever settled in heaven.” But the Bible’s power may be blunted in your life when you do not respond to God in humility and obedience. A lot of people who try to mix their own thoughts with the Bible’s teaching have many degrees after their name. Education is fine, and the church has benefited from well- trained commentators and scholars who seek
to understand what the Word means. But if it takes us away from God’s Word, it is miseduca- tion.
This thing of truth and authority is at the core of why the Holy Spirit is not doing more in our lives. The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth who is obligated only to God’s Word. So when you start diluting the Word with your human view- points, the Spirit steps back, because He is not going to bless your speculations. The introduc- tion of human opinion nullifies the effectiveness of benefits that the Scriptures are designed to give you.
Just before the closing benediction in Revela- tion, we find a dual warning to anyone who ei- ther “adds to” or “takes away from” the words of this book (Revelation 22:18–19). God pro - nounces a curse when people start messing with His message. Aligning your perspective with God’s perspective enables you to tap into the power that comes from the authority of His Word.
April 2015
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