{"id":1613,"date":"2019-06-10T17:02:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T15:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/?p=1613"},"modified":"2019-06-10T17:08:52","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T15:08:52","slug":"dieu-a-t-il-reellement-dit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/2019\/06\/10\/dieu-a-t-il-reellement-dit\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201eDid God really say?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gen. 3:1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

This\ncunning and perfidious question of Satan began mankind\u2019s fall. Mistrust was\nsown and an enticing reward promised. The seed sprang up and its fruits are\neffective until today: The rupture of a unique and wonderful loving\nrelationship between God and man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must\nrealize that this question is still Satan\u2019s most important weapon and strategy\nwith which to cloud resp. destroy our relationship with Jesus\/the Father. And\nthat this question is not asked of unbelievers who do not even believe in God\u2019s\nexistence. With these Satan has no problem. He asks the question of us \u2013\nbelieving Christians and disciples of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will\nbriefly depict the way in which this question then and now is intended to lead\nus astray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The life of\nAbraham and Sarah is a perfect example. They were promised several times that\nthey would have a son born of Sarah, who was 90 years old and barren. Her\nhusband Abraham was 100 years old. I can well imagine that they asked\nthemselves more than once, \u201cDid God really say that and did he really mean it\nthat way?\u201d All, really all humanly imaginable circumstances spoke absolutely\nagainst it! Without God\u2019s involvement it was a clearly hopeless situation.\n(However, with him: \u201cIs anything too hard for me?\u201d (Jer. 32:27)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact\nthat the two of them took it upon themselves to solve this apparently\nimpossible situation, because they had neither sufficient trust nor\nperseverance, has problematical consequences which cannot be overlooked, even\ntoday. Their decision to conceive a son Ishmael \u201cin the flesh\u201d had consequences\nnot only for their own lives. All our decisions always have an influence on and\nconsequences for the lives of many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

!! Make 2 sentences here in German, also, if\nit\u2019s not too late!!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We remain\nwith Abraham but go to the year 1996 when I read Gen. 13:17, \u201cGo, walk through\nthe length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.\u201d As I read it, I\nhad the definite impression that God was saying these words to me personally at\nthis moment, regarding Switzerland.  I\nwas to walk through the length and breadth of Switzerland and to invite other\nbrothers and sisters to join me. As if that weren\u2019t enough: Without my asking,\nthe Lord immediately gave me the dates to begin and end the walk. We should\nbegin on August 1 (Independence Day) and end on September 21, 1997 (national\nday of thanksgiving, repentance and prayer) at the Parliament Plaza in Bern. At\nthat time I didn\u2018t have the slightest idea whether this was even possible. I\nknew nothing of the number of kilometers, whether we would cross mountains and\npasses, let alone whether it could be done in the time frame given.  Quite apart from all this, we had nothing to\nsupport us. No organization or ministry, no congregation, no one knew us, no\nteam, no finances, no know-how and we felt incapable of doing such a thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a\nsituation pre-destined for Satan to confront us with just this question, \u201cDid\nGod really say?\u201d With this question, problems, doubt and lack of faith can\nprevent us from accepting God\u2019s promises, from waiting for the right time and\nfulfilling our part. We didn\u2019t allow ourselves to be side-tracked but believed\nand trusted God\u2019s voice. We put ourselves wholly at his disposal. How often has\nyour heavenly father already spoken to you \u2013 through the Bible, directly\nthrough the Holy Spirit, through words or prophetic impressions from brothers\nand sisters, through news, media, situations etc.? And how often did the\nquestion come to your mind, \u201cDid God really say?\u201d It doesn\u2019t even have to be\nheard so clearly, but your life <\/strong>answers.\nYou don\u2019t believe it. You don\u2019t trust him. You would rather attempt it\nyourself. Repent! Turn around! You can still do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is\nanother way in which this question can mislead. Satan knows the Word exactly,\nas demonstrated in Jesus\u2019 temptation in the desert (Matt. 4:1-11).  God\u2019s word is perverted and misused in order\nto justify godless living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this\ntime, for example, we see that the church is increasingly divided over the\nquestion of homosexuality. The proponents of same-sex marriage and blessing,\nhomosexual pastors usw. have God\u2019s word on their banners. To put it bluntly:\nGod is love, we should love our neighbor and when one loves it doesn\u2019t matter\nif it\u2019s two men, two women or man and woman. Love over all! Yes, the love of\nGod to each person is over everything. But that doesn\u2019t mean approval of\neverything we do. He has told us clearly what is good and right or bad and\nwrong in his eyes. Homosexuality is bad and wrong in God\u2019s eyes and should be\nin ours, as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWoe to those who call evil good and good evil,\nwho put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and\nsweet for bitter\u201d (Is. 5:20). <\/strong>When God\u2019s people entered the promised land he absolutely forbade them\nto participate in the heathens\u2019 godless customs, e.g. homosexuality, which in\nmany cultures (including Roman and Greek) was practiced as if it were normal.\nBut in and through God\u2019s people this was different. In addition, Paul later\npreached and people believed in the living God, were born of God and filled\nwith the Holy Spirit. Then they changed their lives and turned from such\npractices. Wherever the Gospel was victorious people, whole societies and\ncountries changed. Laws were made on the basis of the Gospel and God\u2019s\ncommands. Therefore homosexuality was neither tolerated nor allowed in our\ncountries; it was prosecuted and condemned. Then there was a breathtaking\nchange of attitude and it seems to interest no one (from among those us who\nfollow Jesus). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid God\nreally say, \u2018Because of this, God gave\nthem over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for\nunnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with\nwomen and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts\nwith other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their\nperversions\u201d (Rom. 1:16-17). <\/strong>Yes, he really did say that and also meant it!\nWe should love these persons <\/strong>but not\ntheir way of life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to\nbriefly comment on a further example from Jesus\u2019 prayer for unity in John 1:21.\nDid God really say, \u201cthat all of them\nmay be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in\nus so that the world may believe that you sent me.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This verse\nis often sweepingly misused in order to pray for the unity of different\nreligions, Christian creeds and for ecumenism (all Christians and churches).\nUnity as Jesus prays here is based on the relationship between him and his\nFather. Those who personally enter this kind of relationship with Jesus and the\nFather (possible only through repentance, turning around, accepting Jesus\u2019\nsacrificial death, re-birth and filling with the Holy Spirit, life dedication\nand loving discipleship) are called to this unity. Without this personal unity\nwith Jesus Christ and the Father there can be no collective unity. But those\nwho are bound with him in this sense will also become one because Jesus asked\nthe Father for this. There is no simply unity (in the flesh\u201d (\u201cWe\u2019re all God\u2019s\nchildren!\u201d), as we often wish and pray. There is unity only from and in the\nSpirit. \u201cDid God really say and mean this in such a narrow way?\u201d Yes, I believe\nHe did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

W.W.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gen. 3:1 This cunning and perfidious question of Satan began mankind\u2019s fall. Mistrust was sown and an enticing reward promised. The seed sprang up and its fruits are effective until today: The rupture of a unique and wonderful loving relationship between God and man. We must realize that this question\u2026<\/p>\n

Read more<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/schlange-DW-Wissenschaft-Loboc-Town-8.jpg?fit=408%2C170&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7dYdD-q1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/2014\/12\/01\/dont-be-afraid-just-believe-mark-536\/","url_meta":{"origin":1613,"position":0},"title":"“Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:36)","date":"1. December 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"December 2014 With good reason the words \"Don't be afraid\" appear 365 times in God's word. Just as there are precautionary examinations, so God also wanted to take precautions. He wanted to be certain that before his children start worrying, they hear, read and believe his contrasting words, \"Don't be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Input"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/02\/JesuamKreuz.jpg?fit=360%2C283&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1633,"url":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/2019\/09\/01\/jona-mission\/","url_meta":{"origin":1613,"position":1},"title":"JONA MISSION","date":"1. 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Come out to meet him!\u201c Matt. 25:5-6 We all know the parable of the two virgins. It has top relevance for our day.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Input"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/06\/cache_23388002-Godfried-Schalcken-1643-1706.jpg?fit=330%2C255&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1542,"url":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/2018\/06\/23\/here-i-am\/","url_meta":{"origin":1613,"position":3},"title":"“Here I am!”","date":"23. June 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"During our last visit to Jerusalem we went to the new \u201cFriends of Zion\u201d museum, among other things. 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It is a hot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Input"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1617,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions\/1617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verein-abraham.ch\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}