LIFETIME WARRANTY Kay Keith Peebles 6/28/2019 19.22
Many products come with a warranty. Exceptional ones come with a lifetime warranty. A warranty that is issued by a manufacturing company has a list of conditions regarding the handling of the purchased product. The list describes the required use, treatment and maintenance instructions for the warranty to remain in effect. A typical warranty contains this condition: “This Warranty does not cover the product if it is used in a manner incompatible with its intended design, causing damage beyond normal wear and tear”. Misuse of the product does not guarantee its replacement even though a lifetime warranty was issued. The company issuing such a warranty has exclusions for negligence of the purchaser in properly maintaining the device. Clearly, the buyer has personal responsibility in the use, care and maintenance of the purchased item in order to redeem the lifetime warranty.
God gave the Israelites a “lifetime warranty” after they crossed the Red Sea. “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but [reverently] to fear the Lord your God, [that is] to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being. To keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth also, with all that is in it and on it…So circumcise the foreskin of your [minds and] hearts: be no longer stubborn and hardened.” Deuteronomy 10:12-16.
Throughout the history of the world the Lord has sought a people to be His people. He has longed for relationship with man from the beginning of creation but man sinned against His commandments. They rejected submitting to His Kingdom and His ways. The Lord found a faithful man in Abraham and gave His eternal promise through his descendants that all who revere, love and serve the Lord will have eternal life, a lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, many vacillated back and forth in their regard to loving and following God losing their opportunity to receive the reward.
By the time Jesus their promised Messiah came, most were so far from God they did not recognize Him, although their prophets had been preparing them by describing Him for centuries prior. Through Jesus, the Lord God reached out to the Jews first and then extended His Kingdom to the Gentiles (all non-Jews). Jesus explained and taught the Kingdom of God, demonstrated His love and power, and became the sacrifice for the sins of the world. His self-less death opened the door of access for all to know God and enter into covenant (lifetime warranty) with His Kingdom and His ways.
Today many claim the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior but very few walk in the true covenant relationship of His Kingdom. He requires that we forsake the world: its systems, beliefs and rules to follow Him. His Kingdom has a totally different set of laws, principles and truths we cannot find in the world. The two are not compatible; therefore, it is impossible to straddle the fence with one foot in the world and the other in the Kingdom of God. They are two totally diverse kingdoms and their rules and laws are diametrically opposed to the other.
The kingdom of this world is governed by the spirits of lawlessness, injustice, immorality, hatred and perversion. Its environment cannot produce or sustain true mercy and peace. The focus of the world’s kingdom is living for self. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, love, joy and living in holiness. It exemplifies self-sacrifice, obedience and a true abiding love of God. The focus is becoming Christ-like and ministering to others in His name. It is impossible for us to be like Jesus while conforming to the mental reasoning, selfishness and pride that is in the world. The world has its own religion; one that worships self: man’s wants, needs, riches, intellect, self-gratification and self-importance. It denies a Creator God, rejects truth and righteous living while it uses and destroys people to get what it wants. Currently, the world view and its immorality has infiltrated many churches. As a result, the so-called church no longer represents the true Kingdom of God!
They have become like the Israelites in the wilderness. They had accepted God’s covenant and then turned to worship idols and live immorally. Thousands experienced the Lord revoking their “lifetime warranty”! Many died because of plagues, venomous snake bites or by the earth opening up and swallowing them live into the bowels of hell. Because of the precedent God established through the Israelites, it behooves us in His church to go back and study our “warranty instructions”.
“For God achieved what the law was unable to accomplish, because the law was limited by the weakness of human nature. Yet God sent us His Son in human form to identify with human weakness. Clothed with humanity, God’s Son gave His body to be the sin-offering so that God could once and for all condemn the guilt and power of sin. So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living His life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit! Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities. For the mind- set on the flesh is death, but the mind- set on the Spirit finds life and peace. In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot. For no matter how hard they try, God finds no pleasure with those who are controlled by the flesh. But when the Spirit of Christ empowers your life, you are not dominated by the flesh but by the Spirit. And if you are not joined to the Spirit of the Anointed One, you are not of Him.” Romans 8:3-9.
There is no way to conquer the temptations of our flesh if we are not continually and consistently filled with the power of the Holy Spirit! This scripture passage gives the gospel message in a nutshell but in today’s world, there is much confusion about what are clearly the works of the flesh and the works (or fruit) of the Spirit. The Apostle Paul makes it very clear when he addresses the church in Thessalonica.
“For you know what commandments and precepts we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, that you be sanctified [separated and set apart from sin]; that you abstain and back away from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor [being available for God’s purpose and separated from things profane], not [to be used] in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God and are ignorant of His will; and that [in this matter of sexual misconduct] no man shall transgress and defraud his brother because the Lord is the avenger in all things, just as we have told you before and warned you. For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness, [to be dedicated, and set apart by behavior that pleases Him, whether in public or in private]. So whoever rejects and disregards this is not [merely] rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you [to dwell in you and empower you to overcome temptation].” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8.
The authors of the New Testament warned the church of the period of time in which we are living today. They warned of false prophets and wolves in sheep’s clothing who would come and deceive many in the church at the end of the age. It is clearly evident that we are living in those days right now! While the church is entering the time of her greatest hour, she is also being challenged with some of the greatest testing. Only those who truly KNOW the Word of God and are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit will survive the onslaught of deceiving voices.
John explains, “By this we know [without any doubt] that we love the children of God: [expressing that love] when we love God and obey His commandments. For the love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey]. For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God].” 1 John 5:2-4.
This is not accomplished by the “works” of the flesh, but by yielding to the Holy Spirit within us, who empowers us to resist the sinful lusts of the flesh and yield to the holy will of God. Anyone who preaches a gospel other than living a holy life before God is not from the Lord. Anyone who excuses our sin and entices us to continue in our sinful lifestyle is not of God. Jude explained this constant challenge between true Christianity and false teaching.
“For certain people have crept in unnoticed. They are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you are fully informed once for all, that the Lord, after saving people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe [who refused to trust and obey and rely on Him]…But these men sneer at anything which they do not understand; and whatever they do know by [mere] instinct, like unreasoning and irrational beasts—by these things they are destroyed.” Jude 4-10.
When we entered the Kingdom of God we were given a “lifetime warranty”. It was a covenant promise of God for our eternal life. Within that covenant the Lord made many promises to us. Those promises are all conditional. From the Israelites in the wilderness to the church today, His promises are “If you will, then I will.” Those who refused to obey the Lord, keep His word and walk in a sanctified life were rejected and judged. We can’t have it both ways. We are either all His or all the world’s. It is our choice.
There is good news in this for those who are struggling with sin right now. A few weeks ago I received a word from the Lord for our church. It was: “Where sin abounds, My grace abounds more.” See Romans 5:17-20. Some would interpret that to mean when I sin, God’s grace covers me more. That is not what the Lord implied to me. He told me, “When you are tempted to sin because of the increase of lawlessness in the world today, My grace will abound in power so that you can resist the temptation of the devil.” Grace has the power to cover us so that we will not sin.
The Lord God has given us a “lifetime warranty” which is our promise of eternal life, but that promise requires us to follow the “warranty” instructions on how we handle His gift of salvation. May we seek to truly know Him, His word and His commandments so that when the time to receive our promise, we will not be disqualified. His grace is truly powerful and abundantly sufficient and His warranty is not just for lifetime, it is eternal!
