The gospel of destiny??

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BrokenOne Aug 5, 2007

We had a visiting preacher at our church today. The man’s text was from Numbers 17. The story of Aaron’s rod that blossomed. The message ended with those Scriptures, but the content of the message was the story of the tree (which of course is not in the Bible and I'm assuming he was just using dramatic license to make his point - kinda have issues with that, but I guess that would be another thread). How the tree desired to produce almonds for its Master; the process of pruning and stripping and being shaped for the purpose God intended for it – being a rod. And of course, in the end, the rod produced almonds. On my way home from church, I was troubled and I began to ponder the message. As I was thinking about it I realized that the main point of the message wasn’t so much the pruning by the Master as it was about the destiny of the tree.

And it seems that so many people are preaching about destiny and writing books about destiny and it all seems so VERY man centered.

So I came home and did a search for the word destiny in the Bible and here is what I came up with:

But you who forsake the Lord, who forget and ignore My holy Mount [Zion], who prepare a table for Gad [the Babylonian god of fortune] and who furnish mixed drinks for Meni [the god of destiny] I will destine you [says the Lord] for the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter, because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen or obey. But you did what was evil in My eyes, and you chose that in which I did not delight. Isaiah 65:11-12 Amplified Bible

I am still trying to process through all of this and would like to hear from anyone who may have studied this out more thoroughly.

Danielle

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sojourner7 Aug 5, 2007

When God reveals Himself through His Word,
God manifests Himself. When we are called
by name to serve God, it is God's calling
and choosing. God has a divine purpose in
mind for us, which is being conformed to
the image of His dearly beloved Son. Read
Romans Ch 8 for more about God's destiny
and purpose for us! :-D

B

bereangirl Aug 6, 2007

Hi Danielle,

I saw that verse about a year ago with that very word "destiny" popping out. There is definitely a thread of false doctrine running through the church called "Finding Your Destiny". It usually revolves around all your dreams, desires, etc. etc. being fulfilled by God. I guess they didn't read "take up your cross and follow Me" or Paul saying " I am crucified with Christ and I no longer live...".

It's definitely a man-centred, flesh-pleasing message.

It's interesting also in that verse that Gad is a god of fortune...could we take a step and say prosperity?

I was under prosperity teaching and destiny type of teaching for at least 8 years. When I came out of all of that, I ripped apart everything that I was taught and held it up against Scripture and it didn't float. Isaiah 65:11-12 was the final nail in the coffin. My jaw dropped when I saw it.

Hope that helps.

Blessings,

Sonja

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BrokenOne Aug 6, 2007

Sonja wrote:
It's interesting also in that verse that Gad is a god of fortune...could we take a step and say prosperity?

Hi Sonja,
I found that interesting as well. Prosperity and destiny seem to be two of the prevalent other gospels that are being preached. And the error of the destiny message can be more subtle, because it seems spiritual, but it leads you into a frustrated searching after calling and purpose, etc instead of seeking Jesus.

Just a bit of trivia for you - I actually live about an hour away from the home of the “Money Cometh” heresy.

Danielle

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Talkn2u Aug 7, 2007

I did a study on Aaron's Rod, a couple of months ago...and it was so exciting!... but my take away from that was not about money....

How sad that people who are not surrendered to Christ and willing to "die" to self; can distort things to such a degree and tag on that this is God's view. It is not only sad, it is dangerous...

I would encourage you to do a study of Aaron's Rod, allowing the Holy Spirit to illumine Truth. You will be delighted with your discovery. And it will lead you to a deeper more intense walk of selfless dedication and faithfulness to the Lord.

The other day as I was praying for someone, fervently I asked the Lord to Bless them..and then I said, "Lord, when I ask you to Bless someone, the greatest blessing I can think of is for you to Confront them with the Truth of YOU...Let them know Truth...there is no greater Blessing to pray for anyone..."

So altho prosperity teachers and preachers and leaders talk about Blessings as Money...that is not truth...

Spiritual Blessings far outweigh any earthly gain...

Blessed,
Bonnie

sermonindex Aug 7, 2007

Call it "destiny", call it "purpose driven"... the fact is, you're right on the money when you say it is very "man centered".

When we are born into this world our destiny is hell. Hyper Calvinists will argue this point, but scripture contradicts them. The fact is we are born into sin, and our destiny is hell.

When God saves us He does have a will for our life, but our reason for finding it is not so that we can fulfill our destiny (or purpose) so that we can feel fulfilled and satisfied... but to serve God. Period.

Look at it this way... we're purchased with a price. Paul called himself a bond-servent, and y'all will indulge me for a minute, I'd like to use the analogy of slavery... as much as I despise the institution, it is an analogy that scripture often uses.

Say a man is a slave, owned by an evil man who beat him and abused him. A benevolent man purchases the slave for a price (like God paid for us thru the shedding of His Son's blood). The slave is a good man, has a good heart. He recognizes that his new owner is a good man, and will treat him as a son. He works hard to serve his master. Why? So he can be fulfilled? No... because he recognizes that his master has saved him from the evil one, and now his desire is to do everything he can to please his new master.

It's not about us. It's not about me feeling fulfilled. God does have a plan for our lives, but our purpose should not be about finding out what it is in order to be "whole", or "satisfied" etc. Thats the evil behind "purpose driven" doctrine... it's about us feeling good about us.

We're nothing. We need to have a correct understanding of our place in this life. Without Jesus we're nothing.

Preachers today give us pep talks and try and make us feel comfortable. Yet, when I read the Word, authored by the Author of Life... I feel extremely ~~[b]~~uncomfortable[/b]. It makes me realize that even tho I am saved, even tho I am Spirit filled... on my own I am a wretch worthy of nothing less than hell fire.

Any good that I do is filthy rags when compared to the Holiness and Righteousness of God.

Jesus does redeem the good that I do, and thru the Blood of Christ, God does accept me and is pleased when I obey Him. But it's not because of me... it's because of Christ.

It's very hard today to find a church that is not humanistic.

Krispy

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enid Aug 7, 2007

Numbers 17 follows the complaints and destruction of those who questioned whether Moses and Aaron really spoke on God's behalf.

In Numbers 16v48 it says Aaron stood between the dead and the living.

Concerning Aaron's rod, it was to show that he met with God's approval, whether or not he and Moses met with man's approval.

That is how I understand it.

Destiny? Prosperity? All I know is this.

Eccles 12v13 ... fear God and keep His commandments for this is man's all.

vs 14, For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

God bless.