Test Everything - by Steve M.

WHO DOES GOD ESTEEM MORE: YOU OR HIMSELF?

Test Everything

Did you know two well-known ministers differ on who God loves the most? You’d probably know their names if I told you.

So what do you think? Who does God love the most: you or Himself?

You may be thinking, “God loves everybody. Who cares?” Yes, but the question of who God loves the most is of enormous importance. Huge! It says a lot about God. If we don’t get this right, then we could have a skewed view of all of life. For instance, our perspective on world missions will be changed. The more that we become like Christ, then the more that His motivation will become our motivation. In other words, what’s supremely important to Him will become supremely important to us. So again, it’s pivotal that we have a right view of God.

Just because someone claims to hear from God, does that make whatever they say true? We need to be careful of how quickly we accept what someone claims—especially when they claim to speak for God. As scripture says, “examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.” (1 Thes. 5:21) Jesus warned us of this and said that we should “beware of false prophets” (Matt. 7:15).

Paul is clear when he writes, “Do not despise prophetic utterances”. However, scripture also says, “Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things….” and again “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word“ (2 Pet. 2:2) So, God cannot contradict Himself or His Word; He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).

Moreover, it’s written that if anyone does teach contrary to the Word, “the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death” (Lev. 24:16) and “that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God” (Deut. 13:5).

Though nowhere in the New Testament does it advocate the death penalty for teaching heresy, it’s clear that God takes this very seriously!

A belief is only as good as it is true. Keep in mind, Truth is a valuable treasure; this is what Paul wrote to Titus when he exhorted: “in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified…” (Titus 2:7). It is essential that we have a pure doctrine because, inevitably, our understanding of God will affect all of our life.

So, what do you think? Which idea is scriptural? Let’s look at what they have to say.

View #1: God esteems YOU higher than He does Himself

One of the greatest revelations the Lord ever gave me came shortly after I received salvation. I was fellowshipping with Him while driving my car and seemingly out of nowhere He began speaking something that revolutionized my thinking. I heard Him whisper to my heart, “John, do you know I esteem you more important than Myself?” [i]

Now let’s look at the other view.

View #2: God esteems HIMSELF higher than He does you

God is into God. He is highest in His own thoughts, foremost in His own affections. While it is true that God loves you--really, really treasures and prizes you--God’s first and central love is Himself. God doesn’t love anybody more than Himself, will exalt nothing above His own name, and does everything He does to the end of displaying His supremacy and unrivaled glory.[ii]

*See Appendix for full contexts.

Contradiction?

Notice the clash? One writer says that God spoke to him and said, “I esteem you more important than Myself,” in other words, God sees life to be all about you, while the other writer says, “He [God] is highest in His own thoughts, foremost in His own affections”, meaning, God sees life to be all about Himself. Both writers say they’re supported by scripture. Both writers are very popular in the Church today.

But which is true? Who is God?

Could BOTH be true?

You might be thinking, “Well, why ‘either-or’? Can’t both be true?” Someone who says, “Yes, both can be true,” might say,

“It’s like this: in some dilemmas there can be two statements that seem to contradict each other yet are both true. For example:

“Suppose on Tuesday I said, ‘It’s raining,’ but on that same day I said, ‘it’s not raining’. These two statements seem to contradict one another but they aren’t necessarily contradictory—only different. It could be that today it was raining in New York while it was a sunny day at the same time in Dallas. Now if I make seemingly contradictory statements like ‘It’s raining’ and ‘It’s not raining’ at the same time, well then we’d have to learn more of what I really mean’. In other words, they must be qualified.”

Exactly.

Yet sometimes two seemingly contradictory statements can be qualified; other times, they can’t. Saying “God thinks more highly of you than Himself” can’t be qualified with the statement that “God thinks most highly of God—no one else.” To say so just doesn’t measure-up. Here’s why:

Suppose we said that both statements were, in fact, true. In that case, it would be true that God thinks more highly of Himself than of anyone else. However, God also thinks more highly of you than He does of anyone else—including Himself. This can’t be. Both can’t coexist. It would be like saying, “Pike’s Peak is taller than Mt. Everest” while also saying “Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain in the world—there is no mountain that is taller than it”.

View #1 Can’t Fit With View #2

Why? Well, because as soon as it’s said that God thinks of someone else more importantly than Himself, that statement leaves no room for God to think of Himself as most important, because He has thought of something that is higher than Himself; namely, you.

Not only do these two statements seem to contradict one another; they do contradict one another. They could both be wrong, but they cannot both be right. So, what do we make of this mess?

Identify the Lie

These contradictory statements were made by two professing Christian men. The first one, View #1, was written by the well-known teacher, speaker, and author John Bevere in his book Drawing Near. The other statement, View #2, was written by Passion movement’s founder Louie Giglio in his book i am not but i know I AM.

So, which one of these two men teaches falsely on the thoughts of God? The way we can test any contrasting views—or alleged prophecy: go back to God’s Word—the Holy Bible. Scripture says that, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16, emphasis mine).

It is important to note that nowhere in the Bible is does it ever explicitly say, “God views humanity as higher than Himself” or “God views Himself highest”. But, is it really hard to tell???

The Bible is clear on this: God is the highest being in the universe.

Isaiah 46:9-10:

“For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me,

Declaring the end from the beginning

And from the ancient times things not yet done,

Saying, “My counsel shall stand,

And I will accomplish all my good pleasure.”

Psalm 103:19 says:

“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.”

• Who is He above?
  

Revelation 4:11 tells of the praise that the twenty-four elders will give God glory forever and ever:

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed and were created”.

• Who’s attributed to have the highest value? Do the elders blaspheme?
  

These are just a few of the many verses that tell us of how much greater God is than any created thing. He stands head and shoulders above anything and anyone in His own eyes.

Moreover, Isaiah 48:9-11 drives this point home. God is not only aware of His supremacy over mankind; He’s passionate about His glory and refuses to give it to another.

“For the sake of My name I delay My wrath, and for My praise I restrain it for you, In order not to cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for My own sake, I will act; for how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another” (emphasis mine).

Not only is it flat-out wrong to say that God thinks of anyone higher than Himself, it is dangerous to make such a claim. Any god that says that he thinks of you higher than he thinks of himself is clearly not the God of the Bible. With that said, we can rest-assured that God did not get confused one day and tell John Bevere that He thinks of him as better than Himself. Mr. Bevere’s teaching is gravely flawed. God is fully confident of His supremacy and will not waver.

In fact, if we were to use even some of the reasoning written in Drawing Near we would find that it reaffirms God’s rightful understanding of His greatness. If it is true that God never tells His children to do anything that He doesn’t do Himself, as Bevere writes in Drawing Near (though nowhere in the Bible does it say this), then God also obeys His commandments. The first of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). If God were to think of anything in the universe before Himself, He would commit the sin of idolatry—and this is completely contrary to the character of our God who is without sin. While it is true that God is love (1 John 4:16), and that He deeply loves us as His children (Romans 5:8), this does not mean that He is confused about His identity. He’s the Sovereign LORD, and He knows it.

Why does this matter?

With all this said, does it matter that we know this stuff? Isn’t it insignificant? While believing one of these two opposing views may not have an immediate effect on your lifestyle, it will have a profound effect on your perception of God. That, ultimately, will change everything.

Your view of this matter will affect whether you have a view of man-centeredness or God-centeredness. If man is highest in God’s thoughts and affections than God revolves around His creation (man). On the other hand, if God is highest in God’s thoughts and affections then, as Romans 11:36 says, creation revolves around God to serve His purposes.

When we discover that our lives revolve around God rather than God revolving around us, we have made an even greater discovery than (though not unlike) Nicolaus Copernicus. You may remember that Copernicus was the Polish astronomer who promoted the revolutionary view that the Earth revolved around the Sun, not the Sun around the Earth.

Though this didn’t have an immediate impact on people’s lives at the time, it dramatically changed the human understanding of the universe for generations to come. Copernicus was even accused by the Catholic Church for teaching heresy—when in fact he was teaching truth! Sometimes people cannot fathom the thought that they are not the center of all things.

Consider for yourself

Don’t believe something just because it is written in this text; investigate for yourself. Let’s pursue God as He really is, and not as our pre-conceived notions would have Him to be. Realize none of us knows everything, but we’re to “test everything and hold on to what is good”.

Appendix

Further Contexts:

Drawing Near by John Bevere
One of the greatest revelations the Lord ever gave me came shortly after I received salvation. I was fellowshipping with Him while driving my car and seemingly out of nowhere He began speaking something that revolutionized my thinking. I heard Him whisper to my heart, “John, do you know I esteem you more important than Myself?”

I remember that when I heard this statement I briefly considered it to be blasphemous and inspired by hell. I almost blurted out, “Get behind me, Satan!” Yet deep in my heart I sensed it was the Lord’s voice. So I did what I knew was the safe thing to do. I responded, “Lord, this is too extreme for me to believe. It seems blasphemous that You, Lord Jesus, who created the heavens and the earth, would consider me, the puny person I am, more important than You. The only way I will be able to accept such a thought is if You give me three New Testament Scriptures to prove it.”

After saying this, I sensed His pleasure and immediately heard in my heart, “What does Philippians 2:3 say?”

Being familiar with this verse I quoted it aloud, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

The Lord said, “You have your first Scripture.”

I countered, “Lord, that is Paul speaking to the Philippian believers telling each to esteem others better than themselves. That is not talking about Your relationship with me.”

Immediately I heard, “Son, I never tell My children to do anything I don’t do Myself!” He then showed me this as the problem in many homes. Parents expect behavior of their children they themselves do not observe. The Lord never expects anything from us that He does not model Himself.

I could see this point, but it still did not convince me He esteemed me better than Himself. I said, “Lord that is only one Scripture, I need two more.” I was not irreverent, but rather cautious.

He then spoke words in the form of a question that riveted my heart: “John, who hung on the cross, you or Me?”

Startled by what I already knew, but now became much more real, my response was sober, “You did, Jesus.”

He continued, “It should have been you hanging on that cross, but I bore your sins, judgment, sickness, disease, pain, and poverty. I did it because I esteemed you better than Myself.”

I trembled as I heard His words. All doubt was eradicated by what He spoke. I soberly thought how He did not deserve a bit of what He got. He was righteous and innocent. 1 Peter 2:24 came to me, “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness-by whose stripes you were healed.”

I knew then that He truly considered me more important than Himself. I began to tear up and worship. I already knew there would be a third verse, and sure enough He spoke it to my heart: “What does Romans 12:10 say?”

It was another familiar Scripture and again I quoted it, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor and giving preference to one another.”

I heard Him say, “Am I not the first born of many brethren (Rom. 8:29)? I prefer my brothers and sisters and esteem them better than Myself?”

I had heard often how Jesus loved us. But when He spoke these words to my heart it became so real just how special we are as individuals to Him. In fact, He calls those in His family His treasures. He tells us we are special. He tells us we’re the apple of His eye. Try to grasp this: He rejoices over us! Oh yes, listen to these true and beautiful words, “The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

i am not but i know I AM: Welcome to the Story of God by Louie Giglio
Everything God does, He does for His own glory. He approaches every decision with the question: “What will bring the most attention and honor to My name in this situation--what will most glorify Me and make Me look the very best?” And then He does whatever that is.

To put it another way, God is into God. He is highest in His own thoughts, foremost in His own affections. While it is true that God loves you--really, really treasures and prizes you--God’s first and central love is Himself. God doesn’t love anybody more than Himself, will exalt nothing above His own name, and does everything He does to the end of displaying His supremacy and unrivaled glory. That’s why everything in all of Creation is singing His song in this moment, and why the terminal confession of every human who has ever lived will be, “that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Why? The same verse tells us: “to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11. Sadly, most people think this magnificent proclamation about the Suffering Servant and His ultimate rule and reign ends with the exclamation, “every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”. But the passage actually proceeds on from there to the conclusion, “to the glory of God the Father,” underscoring that the end of the life, death, resurrection, and eternal rule of Christ has at its core the exaltation of God and His glory.)

But if God does everything He does for His glory, does that make Him an egotist? Does the fact that He is bent on having all of Creation bow down and worship Him make Him the world’s biggest megalomaniac?

Well, if by the question we mean, “Is God full of Himself?” the answer is a resounding “Yes.” (Then again, if you are God, who else are you going to be full of?) But before we ask if God is an egotistic, we need to back up and ask two more basic questions.

The first is simply, “Is God God?” By that I mean, is God the truest, purest, most potent, most beautiful being in existence? Is He the sole proprietor of the universe, the originator of all that is, unchanging, eternal, and all consuming?

If the answer is yes, that leads us to the second question: “Does God know who He is?” Does God know that He is supreme in every way-unmatched in glory, might, rule, and reign?

Well, if God doesn’t know who He is then He, by default, is not God, because one of the prerequisites of being God is knowing all things, one of which would be that You are God. So to be God, and not know that You are God, would be the proof that You were not who You claim to be.

When God says, “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8). He is passing the test of being God, declaring that He knows full well who He is. God knows who He is and knows that He is God alone. He knows that He is supreme in eternity--something that we know, by the way, only because he told us--and is fully aware of the fact that nothing, and no one, holds any value greater than His. God knows that He is intrinsically more valuable that all the worth in the world combined, and then some. (Actually… and then a lot. God is not just a little more valuable than the combined value of everything else in the universe that has value. He is infinitely more valuable!)

In the end, all of this doesn’t make God self-centered as much as it makes Him God-centered, something that He has to be, and honestly, I want Him to be.

Are you with me?

Okay. So if God is God, and He knows who He is, God must perpetually exalt Himself in all things. For if God failed to exalt Himself in every possibly way, He would exalt something or someone else as central, someone or something that was not central at all. This would make God both unwise and unloving--unwise, because it would demonstrate that He didn’t know what was best; unloving, because He would be allowing our attention and affection to be aimed toward something that was less that the very best. But, since God encompasses all wisdom and is the source of pure love, He has no choice but to exalt Himself above all things.

If that approach sounds a little arrogant or egocentric, we have to remember who we’re talking about. We’re not talking about little finite creatures like you or me, but about the God of gods who is before all things. If I make myself out to be central, or seek to exalt myself above all things, claiming that I am first or best, in that moment I become an egotist because I am neither of those things. I am not God, and I know it. But when God orchestrates life in such a way as to spotlight His fame, He is being anything but arrogant. He is doing the most loving thing He can do. When He calls us to glorify Him--when He demands our complete and unadulterated worship-He is not being egotistical at all, rather He is simply being God. And He is doing the very best thing he could possibly do for us in that He is causing us to stake our claim on the most beautiful and glorious One in all Creation. When God makes His glory the center of all things and the center of our affections, He gives us Himself--the very best gift He could give us, and the ultimate expression of love.

God is committed to Himself more than anything. And is determined that the story will remain about Him, concluding with the unending applause of heaven. His purposed preoccupation with His glory is a river that no man can tame, a sovereign tide that makes the pride-filled current of Eden, destructively massive as it is, seem like a desert trickle after a brief shower. As He did with Pharaoh, God will even use the greatest pride in man to amplify His glory, insuring in the end that every life and every tongue affirms His fame. (Notice Exodus 14:17-18. “I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in [the sea] after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”)

To joyfully choose to make our lives count for His renown is to join his cause and to get on board with what He is already doing with or without us. In so doing, we make sure our lives count for what matters most while enjoying for all time the very best God has to offer.

Which is Himself.

---

ENDNOTES:

[i] Bevere, John. Drawing Near. Thomas Nelson Publishers: 2004. pgs: 19-21.

[ii] Giglio, Louie. i am not but i know I AM. Oregon: Multnomah, 2005. pgs: 162-166.

Come By And Visit

For the rest of February Jerry Shetti will be at the ABS Student Center. He is a church planter for the BMAA in India. He is here visiting churches around the East Texas Area raising funds and sharing about what God is doing in India. If you would like to talk with him come by and visit.


A TRIP TO CRAFT
Craft Baptist Church in Jacksonville, TX invited the ABS o share during with their WMA. We had a total of 5 to make the trip. It was good to get out and visit a church that helps support the ministry here in Tyler. After hearing a good exposition of the Bible from their pastor Bro. Ross we went to Chili's and had a good supper and caught the end of the Superbowl game. GO COLTS!

More information coming soon on our Mexico Mission Trip!

Spring 07 Has Began!

We have started up a new semester and things are looking good. Here is a brief update on a couple of things going on at the ABS.

High Noon Lunch

Our weekly free lunch on Mondays started with many students returning ready for school. The break did not hurt their appetite. We had around thirty to thirty five students for our first high noon lunch. Our devotional was on the subject of "The Importance of Godly Wisdom".

Bible Study

In our Bible Study this semester we are covering the beatitudes. We had ten students. They are from different backgrounds and levels of maturity. We meet every Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at the ABS Student Center.

Mission Trip Planned

Pine Brook Baptist Church here in Tyler is currently working with our students to plan a trip to Mexico. Bro. David "Took" Martin has a good working relationship with BMAA missionary Grady Johnson. We are looking at going down for a visit at the end of the semester.

Fall Finals and Christmas Break

Finals

It is that time! Time to see how much playing around can cause you so much agony. Final Exams. Just the word brings to mind stress and regret, or to some few relief. The reactions of most students have been one of two, "oh no" or "oh yeah".

The "oh no" students are now looking at long nights of making up for lost time. Taking on several tasks at once: Papers, Projects and Exams. They are the procrastinators which I can identify with so easily. You can really pick them out this time of year.

Then you have another group (not as easy for me to identify with) the "oh yeah" group. They have been diligent all year. Never turning in a late paper or missing a class. They are exempt from some tests because they have a high grade point average. They are nervous no doubt but they live for this time of year.

What is so amazing is how the final tests slip up on the "oh no" students. One day everything is great and then after the realization of what is facing them sinks in, life could not be any worse.

It is my hope that the students at TJC and UT Tyler will not one day wake to the reality of a wasted life. A life given to chasing false hopes and dreams to make them happy. Good grades can bring a small and fleeing happiness, but it cannot bring eternal happiness. Because only those things that are founded in God (the source of happiness) will last.

Over the Break

During Christmas break the ABS Center will be open at least three to four days a week.
We are planning a get together as soon as we can get our work schedules together.

After the Break

After the break during the Spring 07' long semester we will start a Bible study on The Beatitudes. Make plans to join us on Monday nights a 7:00 pm. The Beatitudes focuses on how to build our happiness in the Lord.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

New Library

James and Kofi Working Hard on the Library

We have added a library to the ABS. We have around four to five hundred books. They range from Biblical Studies to Christian Living. We are going to focus more on the areas biblical manhood and womanhood. Also missions is a particular interest of the students. Kofi has worked hard on helping the ABS with getting the library cleaned up and organized. New Harmony Baptist Church (Tyler) along with a member of Myrtle Springs Baptist Church (Quitman) have donated many volumes and we want to say THANKS. We also have added a computer with Internet access so the students can do homework and e-mail.

Mid Semester Update

The Fall of 2006 has been a great time for the ABS! We have had a good start with our ministries. Each Monday we have from 50 to 60 students come in for HIGH NOON LUNCH. Then later that night we have our BIBLE STUDY on the Song of Songs by Tommy Nelson. We have adopted Friday night as a FUN NIGHT - a time to just hang out and have fun! We are gearing up for Homecoming. We plan to beat the drum next Monday night and decorate the center to the theme of "the beat goes on."
We have updated our building and would like for the students to drop by anytime. It is good place for commuters to stop by between classes and take advantage of the facilities. We will post more on the building up date and other ministries in our next post!

We are planning a fun trip to Dallas Ft. Worth in July. We will leave on the 11th and return on the 12th. More on this later. This week was the first of two orientation weeks at Tyler Junior College. We had the opportunity to speak to many of the incoming students. Basically we told them about the free lunch on Mondays along with our Bible study on that same evening at 7:00 p.m. Also, the students were welcomed to take a Bible course, "Understanding Your Bible", an introduction to hermeneutics for college 3hr credit.

This has been a busy month. We have finished our Video series "Our Journey". We will start a series on the Lord's Prayer or the Beatitudes. I am starting to run long so more later.