Month: April 2013

Dealing With The Desire To Be Famous Part IV


Michael-Jackson-Photoshoots-HQ-King-of-POP-michael-jackson-31018334-1000-1366

The first three articles of this series shows us the beginning of a city that became a very powerful nation; even as it was later destroyed in the natural, the spirit of Babylon has been negatively affecting humanity since. This Babylonian spirit will continue to do so until the very end.

      In the book of Daniel we see Babylon at its best as they took Judah captive. Six Hundred years before Christ and under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon became the most powerful and famous land in the world. Babylon was known for all the gold they had, for the beautiful buildings, for having the wisest men on earth during that time.

      This great glory came to an end roughly seventy years after capturing Israel. This time the Medo-Persia nations overcame Babylon and overtook Israel. But the spirit of Babylon it still alive today. We are dealing with this spirit and will do so until the end. Revelation 17:1-5 tells us:

“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her forehead a name was written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, 
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.” NKJV

  • The spirit of Babylon took over the political system of the world. (Genesis 18:9)

  • The spirit of Babylon took over the economy of the world. (Genesis 18:11)

  • The spirit of Babylon took over the music and the art of the world. (Genesis 18:22)

      This is the same spirit that started with a shameful mockery of a son to his father, a spirit that provoked the first curse to be proclaimed on the earth. This is the same spirit that we found in the Tower of Babel as Nimrod and his peoples wanted to make a name for them and wanted to rebel against God’s commandments. In Revelation 18:4-5 Jesus tells us concerning Babylon:

“4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying,  “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” NKJV

      We must desire to love God above all things, we must desire to be anointed over any record deal, we must desire to give God all the glory, all the honor and all the praise…we must come out and have nothing to do with the selfish and rebellious spirit of Babylon. Do you still want to be famous?

 

 

Dealing With The Desire To Be Famous Part III


Marilyn Portrait

 

“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:1-9 (NKJV)

      The building of the Tower of Babel was a sin for men and a problem for God. The spirit behind the Tower of Babel was the same spirit behind the revolt of Lucifer in Heaven. It was an attempt to challenge God and to be at his same level or even superior to Him. God dealt with such revolt the following way:

  1. He confused the languages to affect communication.

  2. This action caused people to begin to scatter around the earth by the languages they spoke. Therefore fulfilling God’s commands of filling the earth.

      But where did Nimrod come from? Lets take a look at Genesis 9:18-27

“Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated. 20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said:“ Cursed be Canaan;
A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren.” 26 And he said: “Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.27 May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.” NKJV

      As we review Genesis Ten we can see that Nimrod was Noah’s Great Grandson. We can also see that Nimrod was the Grandson of Ham, who saw Noah’s nakedness and earned a curse for his descendants. Nimrod is the result of a disrespectful and mocking spirit against fathers. It was not enough for Ham to look at his father’s nakedness; he also intended to mock him with his other two brothers. But his brothers refused to be a part of such sin.

TO BE CONTINUED…

 

Dealing With The Desire To Be Famous Part II


Vana Gloria 2

In this series we will discover that this desire for fame is not a Godly one; that we must desire to use all of our talents exclusively for God’s glory and not for our own. It is very important to add that this does not mean that we should become sloppy and irresponsible. This does not mean that we throw out doing things with great excellence either. We should always do our very best and we should always play to win. However, we must aggressively refuse to take any glory. As people look at us, they should see us pointing at God and not pointing at ourselves.

      In the book of Genesis we see the first of many things, but many times we ignore, or we are unable to see, what the Bible really has to say about the first famous person in the history of humanity. Genesis 10:8-10 gives us the first window to this very important Biblical character:

“8 Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” NKJV

      If we look at these verses without engaging in a deep study of the meaning we will, like many, miss their profound significance.

      Who was Nimrod? The Bible tells us that he was becoming a mighty one on the known earth at the time. The Bible also tells us that Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord and that he was the founder of several cities. Basically, Nimrod was a very famous guy! But was Nimrod a Godly man or an Evil one?

      The name Nimrod essentially means “The rebel.” Nimrod was a rebel before God. That rebelliousness is clearly seen as we look at the very first city he built… “Babel” which later became Babylon. In Genesis 11:1-4 we are able to see this powerful story:

“Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” NKJV

      In these verses we see four very important points:

  1. They went to build a city for themselves: No mention, acknowledgment or desire to honor God. No doubt that Nimrod was the leader of this movement as the Bible points out in Genesis Ten that he was the founder of this city.

  2. They wanted to be as high as God: This is in following with the spirit of Satan when he rebelled against God in heaven.

  3. They wanted to make a name for themselves: This is indeed the desire to be famous, the desire to take God’s glory.

  4. They wanted to stay in one place against God’s commandment to fill the earth: The Bible tells us that one of the motives for the building of the city was that they did not want to be “…scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” This was a direct rebellion against God’s command. God told Noah in Genesis 9:1 “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” NKJV

      So how did God react to this new movement on the earth led by Nimrod (The Rebel)?

TO BE CONTINUED…

Dealing With The Desire To Be Famous Part I


Vana Gloria

Is it wrong to desire to be famous? In our society it is commonly acceptable to be known and loved by the many. Who, in his or her right mind, wants to be unknown?

Responsible parents are taught to make sure that they react with great pride every time their children bring in an “A” from school. In the playground our children look forward for ways to impress us. Being accepted and praised for what we do is something that gives us a good feeling.

As we grow up in school we see that it is the great athlete or the one with an extraordinary popular talent who gets all the praise, who gets the most beautiful girls and the respect and admiration of others. So we crave that, we envy that fame and we want to be like them. Many will find their own ways to be famous and win the acceptance of others; many others will imitate others and do whatever it takes looking for the same fame and acceptance.

But the question still stands, is it wrong to desire to be famous?

TO BE CONTINUED…

Dejemos de Pretender Lo Que No Somos


La FE

En la vida nos pasamos el tiempo pretendiendo lo que no somos; pretendiendo tener lo que no tenemos y pretendiendo hacer lo que no hacemos. Nuestras almas gritan por aceptación y amor. Muchos, literalmente están dispuestos a hacer lo que sea para lograr dicho objetivo. Mas, por más que queramos pretender, la sociedad ha establecido tres sistemas que nos dan una mirada honesta al jardín o al basurero de nuestra realidad. Estos tres sistemas son los siguientes:

1. Nuestro reporte de Crédito: Aquí aparece todo lo que hemos comprado por crédito y nuestro historial de pago. Aquí se refleja claramente si hemos hechos esos pagos a tiempo, tarde, etc. Las cuentas ya pagadas también aparecen aquí y aún las cuentas que tenemos hoy día. “Transunion”, “Experian” y “Equifax” sirven como testigos fieles de nuestro crédito.

2. Nuestro Record Criminal: Aquí aparecen todos los crímenes que hemos cometidos. Hoy día casi todos los trabajos exigen de forma mandatoria el ver nuestro historial criminal.

3. Nuestro Resumé: Historial de educación y experiencias de trabajo.

      Se podría decir que si usted es una persona con buen crédito, con un record criminal limpio y un sólido historial educativo y de trabajo usted es considerado un buen ciudadano y una magnifica persona. El crédito puede mejorar significativamente cada siete años, con un buen abogado podemos funcionar aún si nuestro record criminal no es perfecto y nuestras experiencias de trabajo se pueden utilizar a nuestro favor.

      Mas la verdadera libertad del hombre no se encuentra en pretender ser lo que no somos. La libertad del hombre se encuentra en la sinceridad y en la transparencia. El Apóstol Pablo era un hombre libre porque el sabía que su esperanza estaba solo en Cristo. En Romanos 7:19-25 vemos la sinceridad y transparencia de Pablo cuando nos dice:

 

“19 Porque no hago el bien que quiero, sino el mal que no quiero. 20 Y si hago lo que no quiero, ya no soy yo quien lo hace, sino el pecado que habita en mí. 21 Entonces, aunque quiero hacer el bien, descubro esta ley: que el mal está en mí. 22 Porque, según el hombre interior, me deleito en la ley de Dios; 23 pero encuentro que hay otra ley en mis miembros, la cual se rebela contra la ley de mi mente y me tiene cautivo a la ley del pecado que está en mis miembros. 24 ¡Miserable de mí! ¿quién me librará de este cuerpo de muerte? 25 Doy gracias a Dios, por medio de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Así que yo mismo, con la mente, sirvo a la ley de Dios, pero con la naturaleza humana sirvo a la ley del pecado.” (RVC)

Estos pasajes Bíblicos nos llevan a una realidad que muchos en el Cuerpo de Cristo, o no entiende, o no quieren entender. Es la realidad de nuestra naturaleza pecaminosa. Aún después de ser salvos esta naturaleza sigue existiendo en nosotros. Esta no es una realidad que nos da rienda suelta para pecar, mas es una realidad que nos lleva a Cristo, solo Cristo tuvo victoria sobre el pecado. Lo que quiere decir que nuestra batalla no es en contra del pecado que habita en nosotros. La Biblia nos dice en Gálatas 5:16-18

“16 Digo, pues: Vivan según el Espíritu, y no satisfagan los deseos de la carne. 17 Porque el deseo de la carne se opone al Espíritu, y el del Espíritu se opone a la carne; y éstos se oponen entre sí para que ustedes no hagan lo que quisieran hacer. 18 Pero si ustedes son guiados por el Espíritu, no están ya sujetos a la ley.” (RVC)

      En estos versos vemos que quien hace la batalla en contra de los deseos de la carne es el Espíritu de Dios. Nuestra responsabilidad es vivir según el Espíritu, es vivir una vida de obediencia a Dios sin ignorar que hay una parte de nosotros que es completamente contraria a las formas de Dios.

      Lamentablemente, muchos de nosotros hemos gastado mucha energía luchando en contra del pecado en nosotros. Mas la batalla a la cual Dios nos ha mandado a pelear es completamente diferente. Segunda de Timoteo 4:6-7 nos dice:

“6 Yo estoy ya a punto de ser sacrificado, y el tiempo de mi partida está cercano. 7 He peleado la buena batalla, he acabado la carrera, he guardado la fe.” (RVC)

      Aquí vemos que la batalla que estamos llamado a pelear es la batalla de la fe; esta es la buena batalla. Es buena porque es la batalla que tenemos oportunidad de ganar.

      La batalla es mantener nuestra confianza en Dios no importa lo que pase. Estamos llamados a mantener nuestra fe en Dios en las buenas, en las malas, cuando todo nos sale bien, cuando todo nos sale mal, cuando estamos fuertes, cuando caímos, al levantarnos, cuando nos azotan, ante las desgracias, ante la muerte, divorcios, tragedias, etc. La vida se va a encargar de darnos muchas buenas razones para que perdamos la fe; mas en la fe es en donde tenemos que perseverar hasta el final.

      El mismo Pablo que declaró que hacía lo malo que no quería hacer en Romanos siete, aquí, en Segunda de Timoteo, en su último libro escrito por él un poco antes de su asesinato, nos declara que terminó exitosamente la carrera de su vida. Pablo entró a la tierra prometida de su destino y como él, también tú y yo tenemos la oportunidad real de entrar también. En Segunda de Timoteo 4:8 Pablo nos dice:

8 Por lo demás, me está reservada la corona de justicia, que en aquel día me dará el Señor, el juez justo; y no sólo a mí, sino también a todos los que aman su venida.” (RVC)

      Queridos hermanos, dejemos las pretensiones. Seamos honestos y transparentes y alimentemos nuestra fe a través de la lectura de la Palabra de Dios. Alimentemos nuestra fe rodeándonos de hombres y mujeres de Dios, atendiendo y participando activamente en una Iglesia local que predique la sana doctrina. Alimentemos nuestra fe orando siempre y cortando de nuestras vidas todo lo que sea diseñado para devorar nuestra confianza en Dios. ¡La batalla es sangrienta y dolorosa, mas la victoria es segura!