CHAPTER 22
SERENDIPITY = THE BLESSING OF GOD
After sin and the fall, the fear of judgment took the place of the perfect confidence Adam had in God before he sinned. When Jesus Christ forsook the glory of heaven to become a man and then meekly took the place of man on the cross for the sins of the world, there could be no mistake or doubt, God loved mankind despite our sins. God still desired to be intimate with mankind. God did not just love us when we were perfectly obedient, God loved us when we were disobedient, God will always love us and He will always want the best for us. However, the blessing is not available to those who walk in disobedience and do not believe God’s Word. Walking in obedience and trusting in God’s Word is the same as Walking in the Spirit.
Serendipity, n.; [coined by Horace Walpole (c. 1754) after his tale The Three Princes of Serendip (i.e. Ceylon), who made such discoveries.] an apparent aptitude for making fortunate discoveries accidently. (Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Simon and Schuster, 1979.)
Some of the most famous and fortuitous discoveries ever made were made by sheer dumb luck, as even the discoverers will admit. Many of these types of discoveries made the discoverer rich and famous. Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin after he failed to disinfect cultures of bacteria when leaving on his vacation. When he returned from vacation he found the cultures contaminated with Penicillium molds, which had killed the bacteria.
Carl Ludwig Reichenback discovered the first synthetic dyes when he noticed that posts painted with creosote to drive dogs away turned dark blue when the dogs urinated on them.
Charles Goodyear accidently left a piece of rubber and some sulfur on a hot plate and discovered vulcanization of rubber.
Art Fry wanted a way to keep his bookmarks in his hymn book at church, he attended a college seminar on a new adhesive and invented Post-It Notes. Perhaps Art Fry knew something most other people don’t! See Serendipity at Wikipedia.org.
O LET THE NATIONS BE GLAD AND SING FOR JOY; FOR THOU SHALT JUDGE THE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUSLY, AND GOVERN THE NATIONS UPON EARTH, SELAH.
LET THE PEOPLE PRAISE THEE, O GOD; LET ALL THE PEOPLE PRAISE THEE.
THEN SHALL THE EARTH YIELD HER INCREASE; AND GOD, EVEN OUR OWN GOD, SHALL BLESS US.
GOD SHALL BLESS US; AND ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH SHALL FEAR HIM.
PSALM 67:4-7
A whole book could be written about serendipity, and I believe all these accidents were not accidents at all. I believe God can and does make people and events come together according to His good purposes. I believe serendipity is just another word for the blessing of God. See James 2:23. One of God’s great pleasures is to bless the righteous.
FOR THOU, LORD, WILT BLESS THE RIGHTEOUS; WITH FAVOUR WILT THOU COMPASS HIM AS WITH A SHIELD.
PSALMS 5:12
Remember being righteous to God simply means believing His Word!
BLESSING – 1293. Ber-aw-kaw’; benediction by implication prosperity: - blessing, liberal, pool, present. (The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984.)
The blessing of God comes from being intimate with God. When you Walk in the Spirit good things will begin to happen. Good things will start to happen to you and to everyone and everything around you. Joseph is a good example of how God blesses those with whom He is intimate. If you know the story of Joseph, you probably noticed how he always ended up being in charge and running things no matter what his circumstances.
AND THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH, AND HE WAS A “PROSPEROUS” MAN; AND HE WAS IN THE HOUSE OF HIS MASTER THE EGYPTIAN.
AND HIS MASTER SAW THAT THE LORD WAS WITH HIM, AND THAT THE LORD MADE ALL THAT HE DID TO “PROSPER” IN HIS HAND.
AND JOSEPH FOUND GRACE IN HIS SIGHT, AND HE SERVED HIM: AND HE MADE HIM OVERSEER OVER HIS HOUSE, AND ALL THAT HE HAD HE PUT INTO HIS HAND.
AND IT CAME TO PASS FROM THE TIME THAT HE HAD MADE HIM OVERSEER IN HIS HOUSE, AND OVER ALL THAT HE HAD, THAT THE LORD “BLESSED” THE EGYPTIAN’S HOUSE FOR JOSEPH’S SAKE; AND THE “BLESSING” OF THE LORD WAS UPON ALL THAT HE HAD IN THE HOUSE, AND IN THE FIELD.
GENESIS 39:2-5
It was obvious to Potiphar, that whenever he made Joseph responsible for something, it prospered. What did Abraham and Joseph and Moses and King David have in common? They were all intimate with God and believed His Word!
For some reason, some Christians read about the Old Testament saints and say, “They were under the Old Covenant, long life, great riches, and wisdom ain’t for us. Christians are supposed to be sickly, poor, and stupid, it builds character.”
In that case, maybe we should forget the new covenant and get back under the old covenant. How come the Old Testament saints seem to be a lot better off than many modern day Christians? People quote the Book of James out of context:
GO TO NOW; YE RICH MEN, WEEP AND HOWL FOR YOUR MISERIES THAT SHALL COME UPON YOU.
YOUR RICHES ARE CORRUPTED, AND YOUR GARMENTS ARE MOTHEATEN.
YOUR GOLD AND SILVER IS CANKERED; AND THE RUST OF THEM SHALL BE A WITNESS AGAINST YOU, AND SHALL EAT YOUR FLESH AS IT WERE FIRE. YE HAVE HEAPED TREASURE TOGETHER FOR THE LAST DAYS.
JAMES 5:1-3
Wow! Who would want to be rich after hearing this condemnation? However, let’s read some more verses from the Book of James:
BEHOLD, THE HIRE OF THE LABOURERES WHO HAVE REAPED DOWN YOUR FIELDS, WHICH IS OF YOU KEPT BACK BY “FRAUD”, CRIETH: AND THE CRIES OF THEM WHICH HAVE REAPED ARE ENTERED INTO THE EARS OF THE LORD OF SABAOTH.
YE HAVE LIVED IN PLEASURE ON THE EARTH, AND BEEN “WANTON”; YE HAVE NOURISHED YOUR HEARTS, AS IN A DAY OF SLAUGHTER.
YE HAVE CONDEMNED AND “KILLED” THE JUST; AND HE DOTH NOT RESIST YOU.
JAMES 5:4-6
There is more than one way to become prosperous, or to skin a cat, so to speak. You can become prosperous God’s way, by Walking in the Spirit. You can also become rich and prosperous the world’s way. The world’s way to riches is to scratch and claw your way to the top. It is the survival of the fittest model of prosperity. You take advantage of people whenever you can and you step on whoever gets in your way. You lie, cheat, steal, kill, and destroy, and it doesn’t matter if it’s your mother, your brother, or your best friend.
The world’s method is surely a road to wealth and/or prison, but you can probably see why God has problems with that particular method. God’s road to riches is simply to believe His Word. All riches belong to God and come from God, so you either have to receive wealth directly from God, or you have to receive wealth from somebody who has received riches from God, or you have to steal riches from somebody who has received wealth from God. Why do you think God condemns stealing? Thieves are trying to accumulate wealth apart from God’s correct way, which is intimacy with God.
Many Christians fail to realize that might does not make right. Just because somebody is rich and famous does not mean they are a good person. Just because somebody is the mayor, or congressman, or minister of the biggest church in town does not mean they are automatically a good Christian. Conversely, just because somebody is well off, does not automatically make them a bad person. There is a right way to attain spiritual, mental, and physical prosperity. We are required to comprehend and apprehend the character of Jesus Christ. We must memorize and speak God’s Word both to ourselves and to those around us. We must become intimate with God! Learning and speaking God’s Word is not meant only for ministers, preachers, and priests. Learning and speaking God’s Word is a requirement for all believers.
THIS I SAY THEN, WALK IN THE SPIRIT, AND YE SHALL NOT FULFIL THE LUST OF THE FLESH.
FOR THE FLESH LUSTETH AGAINST THE SPIRIT, AND THE SPIRIT AGAINST THE FLESH: AND THESE ARE CONTRARY THE ONE TO THE OTHER: SO THAT YE CANNOT DO THE THINGS THAT YE WOULD.
BUT IF YE BE LED OF THE SPIRIT, YE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW.
GALATIANS 5:16-18
Paul is trying to explain that the carnal man, the old man, desires to fulfill the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh always lead to death and destruction. The old man wants to trust in his own strength and his own wisdom. The old man wants to be under the law and receive all the glory. The old man likes to say, “I picked myself up by my own bootstraps.” The old man likes to say, “I did it all myself, I deserve all the credit.”
The mature Christian is exactly the opposite. The mature Christian realizes that under the law, he is condemned and cursed. The mature Christian is totally reliant on God and totally trusts God’s promises. The mature Christian realizes that he only has dominion over his flesh as long as he Walks in the Spirit. The mature Christian gives God all the glory. The mature Christian will not have to struggle to read and memorize God’s Word. Reading and memorizing God’s Word will be the chief joy of his/her life.