Psalm 111:1-10
John 6:51-71
Worldly people ignore God and as a result they corrupt creation and cause
millions of human beings and billions of other animals to suffer and die
every year.
The unfortunate problem is that many of these people also go to church and
say that they are Christians and believe in God, but at the same time they
also continue to live in the ways of the world and further corrupt creation
with their ungodly way of life.
The most obvious way we can observe how worldly people ignore God is by
looking at what they eat.
God gave us only plant foods to eat (Genesis 1:29), but most people want to
kill animals or have other people raise and kill them, so that they can eat
them and/or their by-products.
Not only does this cause immense pain and suffering for the animals, and is
the major cause of most human chronic diseases, it is also the major cause
of air and water pollution.
If we say we are Christians, then we should be truly following Jesus’
teachings, and the heavenly will of God, where there is no pain or suffering
or death, and living that way here on earth as a witness to the rest of the
world around us.
Psalm 111:1-10 is a praise psalm to God, and anyone can say the words, but
the only thing that really counts is if they truly believe what it says, and
live like they truly believe; their actions do speak louder than their
words.
1. Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart,
In the company of the upright and in the assembly.
2. Great are the works of the LORD;
They are studied by all who delight in them.
“All who delight in them?”
In a way we believe that the psalmist knew that not everyone would truly
delight in them after they say the words, and they would just ignore what
they said and return to their worldly ways.
3. Splendid and majestic is His work;
And His righteousness endures forever.
4. He has made His wonders to be remembered;
The LORD is gracious and compassionate.
The problem is that worldly people ignore God and don’t even acknowledge His wonders, but if we are attuned to God and His heavenly will, we will easily see the shortcomings of these worldly people, and hopefully we can learn so that we can find peaceful ways of leading them away from their worldly ways.
5. He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will remember His covenant forever.
Those who truly reverence God also eat only the plant foods that He created
for us to eat.
They do not resort to following the violent ways of this world.
6. He has made known to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
7. The works of His hands are truth and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
In other words, anything that is not based upon truth and justice is not from God, and we need to avoid them while concentrating on the things of God.
8. They are upheld forever and ever;
They are performed in truth and uprightness.
9. He has sent redemption to His people;
He has ordained His covenant forever;
Holy and awesome is His name.
10. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.
NASB
Unfortunately, since most people don’t reverence the Lord, which is evident
in the ways they live, which is proof that they don’t possess heavenly
wisdom.
This is also an example of how worldly people ignore God and why we have so
much violence and bloodshed in the world.
Let’s go on and look at another Bible passage.
In John 6:51-71, we hear the account of people with limited faith, which we
believe is because they are so full of their former worldly ways that they
cannot hear spiritual things, or we could say that worldly people ignore
God.
51. [Jesus said] "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."
Jesus is speaking spiritually about who He is, but most people don’t seem to be able to understand spiritual things, because they only think in worldly terms.
52. The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"
People say things like this, because they don’t understand spiritual things, which we believe is the same reason that most people continue to eat animal byproducts; they also lack empathy.
53. Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in
yourselves.
54. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day.
The people in those days, and we today, should know that what Jesus is
saying is against the Jewish laws, so that what He is saying cannot be in
the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm.
And, Jesus goes on…
55. "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
56. "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
57. "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he
who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.
58. "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers
ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."
In other words, those who truly believe and live in God’s heavenly will here on earth as it is in heaven will live forever, because they are doing exactly what Jesus taught them.
59. These things He said in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.
We often think that Jesus says things like this just to separate the worldly
people from the spiritually minded people.
When we talk about having empathy for the whole of God’s creation, and
feeling its pain and suffering, we also don’t believe that most people are
capable of truly understanding.
So what happened to the people that Jesus was talking to?
60. Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"
The disciples that are mentioned here are the mass of people who were
following Jesus.
This is the kind of reaction we see from people until this very day; most
people seem incapable of understanding spiritual things because they are so
engrossed in living in the ways of this corrupt and evil world with all its
violence that causes millions of human beings and billions of animals to
suffer and die every year.
61. But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them,
"Does this cause you to stumble?
62. "What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was
before?
We believe that Jesus is trying to get people to look beyond this physical
realm and into the spiritual realm, and perhaps at the same time He is
separating the believers from the non-believers.
So He goes on…
63. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
Even with Jesus telling them the truth, most of them most likely are not internalizing what He is saying.
64. "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the
beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would
betray Him.
65. And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can
come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."
But, we believe that God has given each and every person the ability to understand spiritual things, and to have empathy for the whole of His creation, which includes feeling its pain and suffering, and it is we who block these God-given gifts when we seek to live in the corrupt ways of this world.
66. As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.
Because these worldly people ignore God we have all the violence and
corruption in the world, which in turn causes millions of human beings and
billions of other animals to suffer and die every year.
We are not to be like these people.
We are to be the peacemaking children of God who live in His heavenly will
and do everything we can to help free creation from its present corruption.
67. Jesus said therefore to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do
you?"
68. Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of
eternal life.
We should all be willing and able to answer the Lord just as Peter did.
69. "And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of
God."
70. Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet
one of you is a devil?"
71. Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve,
was going to betray Him.
NASB
All we have to do is truly look around any of our churches and our neighbors
with spiritual eyes, and we will see the worldly people; do not follow their
actions.
Follow the Lord and the other children of God.
Listen to the Holy Spirit.
We can free creation from its present corruption, and free the animals.
We can!
Amen.
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