Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
The choice that was presented to Israel was simple — obey and be blessed or disobey and live under a curse. Which course they selected was not imposed upon them –- the choice was theirs to make. But they had to make a choice between the two; they could not be neutral on the matter and claim to be “Switzerland.” There was no “Door Number 3” or alternate selection that allowed for keeping their options open — a choice had to be made between obedience and disobedience.
I think it’s fair to say that most people are content to be average when it comes to righteousness. What I mean by that is, the average person doesn’t want to be regarded as “too bad” but they also don’t want to be regarded as a “goody two shoes.” In other words, many people tend to stay away from the extremes and end up living somewhere in the middle — not too good but not too bad. Unbeknownst to most, this posturing places people in a scenario whereby they would be described as “mixed, mingled,” or as Messiah termed it, “lukewarm.” Unfortunately for them, this is the Devil’s playground and where he does his best work. You see, he never shows up in a red jump suit carrying a pitchfork; instead he seduces people posing as an “angel of light.”
Regardless of motivation, people who avoid what they consider to be extremes can’t tell the difference between an Osama bin Ladin and the two witnesses in Revelation 11. To the mixed crowd, both would be regarded as radicals and, consequently, potential threats to their peace and well being. The reality is, however, in rejecting God’s Word and the admonition to walk in obedience to Him, they have ignorantly chosen to receive the word of the Adversary (which is a lie) and to walk in obedience to the flesh.
When Cain lured Abel into a field and murdered him, he was forever designated as being of the “wicked one.” Why? Because he rejected the LORD’s admonition and, by default, received the lie of the Adversary. In other words, try as we might, there is no 3rd option; we have to choose between life and death, blessings and curses. So the point today would be: choose wisely; choose life!
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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