 Sovereignty, Predestination and Fatalism by Barry Bennett<br>
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If Sickness and Suffering is God’s preordained Will, Why did Jesus Commission the Church to go into all the world and lay hands on the sick that they Might recover? If Sickness is a Blessing for God’s Children, Why does James Ask if there are “any sick among You?â€, and then Give the instructions for Receiving Healing?
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If God has already determined who Will be Saved and who Will be Lost and there is nothing that anyone can do about it, Why does He Commission the Church to go into all the world and Preach the Gospel and make Disciples of all nations? Isn’t that a waste of Time since their Eternal Destiny is already determined?
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If God has foreordained who is Saved and who is Lost, then Why does Paul Say, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not Believed? And how shall they Believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they Hear without a preacher?â€ (Rom 10:14)<br>
If it is impossible to resist the Grace of God, Why does Stephen Say: “You stiffnecked and Uncircumcised in Heart and Ears, You do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your Fathers did, so do You.â€ (Acts 7:51)
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Why are we exhorted to “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the Devil, and he Will flee from You.â€ (James 4:7) If there is no such thing as Personal Choice, and if the Devil Only does God’s Will, then resisting him would be resisting God.<br>
What is the point of Prayer if all things are predetermined and there is nothing man can do to Change anything? Why does James Say, “The effectual fervent Prayer of a Righteous man avails muchâ€ (James 5:16). What does fervent Prayer avail?
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Why did Jesus Rebuke those of little Faith and commend those of Great Faith if their Faith has nothing to do with them but has been predetermined by God? Is it Right to Rebuke the Fearful if their Fear has been programmed into them?<br>
What point is there in asking, seeking and knocking if our Prayers can Change nothing. If my condition in Life is predetermined, what point is there in trying to improve my situation through Prayer?
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If man has no Will and is not Free to Obey or disobey God, then Why does God Exhort the following: “I call Heaven and Earth to record this day against You, that I have set before You Life and Death, Blessing and Cursing: therefore Choose Life, that both thou and thy Seed may Live:â€ (Deut 30:19)
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How many who Believe that God is in control of all things are brave enough to run a search of the Word “ifâ€ in the New Testament and See how many of God’s Promises are conditional and determined by man’s Choice and response?
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Why do those who Believe that a hardened Heart is preordained, neglect the teaching of Scripture that says, “But Exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of You be hardened through the deceitfulness of Sin.â€ (Heb 3:13) This was written to Believers and shows that hardness of Heart is not Ordained by God but rather the result of the deceitfulness of Sin.<br>
If Salvation is Predestined by God, then Why does Paul lament the Fact that at one point in his travels he was forbidden from Speaking “to the Gentiles that they Might be Saved?â€ (1 Thes 2:16)
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Why is it impossible to please God without Faith if He has Predestined everything according to His Will in the first Place? If we either have Faith or don’t have Faith according to Predestination, Why would He not be pleased if we don’t have it?<br>
How can one have known the Truth and sound Doctrine and then turn away if God Never wanted them to Know the Truth in the first Place? “For the Time Will come when they Will not endure sound Doctrine; but after their own Lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their Ears from the Truth, and shall be turned unto fables.â€ (2 Tim 4:3-4)
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Why would a Predestined Believer Need to “labor to enter into that Restâ€ if he has no Choice nor Will in the matter? And Why would he be admonished to not fall into Unbelief if he hadn’t been chosen to Believe from all Eternity? “Let us labor therefore to enter into that Rest, lest any man fall after the same Example of Unbelief.â€ (Heb 4:11)
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Doesn’t God do His Will whether we Ask or not? What difference does it make if we Ask according to His Will? “And this is the Confidence that we have in him that if we Ask any thing according to his Will, he Hears us:â€ (1 Jhn 5:14)
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Why must the Just Live by Faith if their Salvation is preordained? What does it matter how they Live if there is no chance to Change their Destiny?
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Why does Jesus Exhort the man He Healed to “sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.â€ (John 5:14) Hasn’t God already predetermined all the Good or bad that Will ever happen to that man in spite of his lifestyle?<br>
If nothing can thwart the Will of God, then Why could Jesus do no Mighty Work in His own town because of their Unbelief? (Mark 6:1-5)
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If Salvation is preordained and assured, then Why was Paul concerned for his own Salvation? “But I keep under my Body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.â€ (1Cor. 9:27)<br>
Why are Life and Death in the Power of the Tongue and not the result of the “sovereign Will of God.â€ (Prov. 18:21) “That if You shall Confess with your Mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall Believe in your Heart that God has raised him from the Dead, You shall be Saved.â€ (Rom 10:9)
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Why must we run with Patience the Race that is set before us if the outcome of that Race is already Predestined by God? Why does it matter how we run the Race? (Heb. 12:1)<br>
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The Sacred Cow of Sovereignty by Barry Bennett<br>
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The biggest roadblock to the Power of the Gospel is the is the disastrous concept of the “sovereignty of God.â€ The misunderstanding of Sovereignty and the teachings that have come forth in this regard have paralyzed much of the Church and substituted Fatalism for Faith.
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When the Nature of God is described as mysterious, controlling and directly or indirectly involved in Human Suffering, there remains no basis for True Faith. Faith must then be redefined as resignation. Resignation decides that since God is in control, there must be a Divine Purpose in Human tragedy and we must learn to let the mysterious Ways of God play out. That Belief is then packaged as Faith.
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There can be no True Faith if the Nature of God is mysterious. There can be no True Faith if God Might be the source of Sickness or tragedy. How can one Believe God for Healing if Healing Might not be His Will? How can one ever Know what they can Believe for? They can’t. Every unanswered Prayer and Promise are thrown in to the “if it be Thy Willâ€ box and forgotten.
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The only thing that pleases God has become impossible for the “sovereigntyâ€ Christian. “But without Faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must Believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently Seek Him.â€ (Heb. 11:6) This verse is almost nonsensical to those who Live by Fate. 
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God is a rewarder? Not for the fatalist. For them, God is the Master puppeteer controlling the Devil, controlling Evil, controlling Sickness, Sex trafficking, drug use, spousal abuse, Child abuse, murder and so much more. The term “God is in controlâ€ makes God the greatest criminal in History, and yet, we are to have “faithâ€ that He is doing this for our own Good.
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Can You not See the Hypocrisy of this position? God decreed that civil Government exists as a “terror to Evil worksâ€ which “bears the Sword…to execute Wrath upon him who practices Evil.â€ (See Romans 13:1-7) And yet in the Theology of “sovereigntyâ€ it is God Himself who is Responsible for Evil! He is at odds with Himself and that which He has decreed and established. Why would civil Government be Ordained to Fight the very thing that God is “allowing?â€
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Until we Understand that God gave the Earth to man (Ps. 115:16 Ps. 8:3-6) and that only through victorious, Faith-filled Christians can His Will be accomplished, we Will continue to let the Powers of Darkness run rampant and then lay the Responsibility at God’s feet.<br>
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 God is in control? by Barry Bennett<br>
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This is a typical response by many Christians to any event in the world that seems tragic or incomprehensible. It is meant to convey that while world events, tragedies, sicknesses and Death may be mysterious to us, we can take Comfort because God has everything under control.
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This is a fundamental misunderstanding that leads to Fatalism, passivity and a Wrong view of God. I would suggest that God has everything under control in Heaven/new Heaven, New Earth, because everyone and everything Will be fully submitted to Him. On this Earth, however, we See Corruption, Death, tragedy and Darkness. <br>
God is not controlling these things.
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Why do we glibly declare that God is in control, but He doesn’t even control us who claim to be Filled with His Spirit? Does God make You Obey the Law, pay your taxes, drive the speed limit and Deny the Flesh? <br>
And yet we are to Believe that God has “everything elseâ€ under control?
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God gave the Earth to man (Gen. 1:26-28 Ps. 115:16 Ps. 8:4-6). This Truth is the Foundation of Understanding the Nature of God, the Nature of man and the Purpose of Redemption. Man was Created in God’s Image and Created to have Dominion over God’s Creation. Sin separated man from God’s Life and Purpose and Left the Earth under the Dominion of Satan (2Cor. 4:4 1 Jhn. 5:19).
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To suggest that God controls all things Places full Responsibility for Sickness, Death, tragedies, wars, natural disasters, Child abuse and every other Evil in His lap. <br>
It makes God the perpetrator of Human Suffering.
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When we get the Revelation that God gave Dominion to man, we can begin to cooperate with His Purposes in the Earth. We are called to Reign in Life! (Rom. 5:17) We are called to still the storms, Heal the sick, cast out Demons and extend the Kingdom (John 14:12). 
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We aren’t called to sit back and respond with clichés to the Suffering around us or in our own lives. It is Time to Submit to the True Knowledge of God, resist Satan, Sin and Corruption and Reign in Life! (James 4:7)<br>
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Everything happens for a Reason? by Barry Bennett<br>
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A typical response to bad things happening is that they “happen for a Reason.â€ Once again, the Believer who Says such things is revealing a glaring lack of Understanding as to how the Kingdom works, and how the world works. 
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There is a default Belief System in many that Rests in the Idea of a cosmic, Divine influence over the Earth that mysteriously is bringing about God’s Divine Will through the catastrophes that happen in the world.
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The Bible declares that things happen according to the Spiritual Law of Sowing and Reaping. If we Sow to the Flesh we Will Reap Corruption. If we Sow to the Spirit, we Will Reap Life (Gal. 6:8). Coupled with the Understanding that the Whole world Lies in Wickedness and that the Earth is reeling from the Corruption of Sin (1 Jhn. 5:19 Rom. 8:21-22), we must Add the Reality of men separated from God, chasing after their own Flesh.
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The Works of the Flesh described in Gal. 5:19-21 are the Reasons that many things happen. Adultery, Fornication murders, drunkenness, hatred, etc., are inherently Evil and almost always are the root of more bad things. One Reason so many bad things happen is the Lust of the Flesh. God is not involved.
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Another Reason is that His people are destroyed for lack of Knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Ignorance of God’s Ways is a major Reason as to Why bad things happen.
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Simply Believing that there is a Divine Purpose in anything that happens in the Earth is basically Fatalism, which allows those who Believe that Way to Place all Responsibility and Guilt on God while ignoring their own possible role (or the actions of others) in the chain of events that brought forth disaster.<br>
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 God allows Evil? by Barry Bennett<br>
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One of the most horrible answers to Evil and Suffering in the world is that “God allows it.â€ Once again, God is the perpetrator or an accessory to crimes against Humanity. Such a Belief System effectively challenges the Justice System of any civilized Society. 
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If God allows Evil, what Right do we have to punish Evil doers? That which God allows for His own Divine Purposes should be celebrated, not criminalized. For some Reason, nonsense makes sense to some Religious minds.
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The Truth is that God did <b>not</b> allow Sin and Evil into the Earth. Man allowed it. God Created man in His own Image and gave man the Power to make choices. Everything God Created was Good. There was no Sin, no Death, no Wickedness, no War, no natural disasters and no Suffering in God’s Creation. 
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 God specifically told Adam and Eve to <b>not</b> eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He did not allow Evil.
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We must Understand that the Nature of God is Good. Good has one Source - God. Evil is the absence of Good. Evil is the Consequence of Independence from God. It was Never God’s Will that His Creation Live independently from Him. 
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 Jesus declared that He could do nothing except what He Received from His Father (John 5:19). He is our pattern. If we don’t Abide in the Vine, we are cooperating with the Consequences of Independence, I.e., Corruption.
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 Sin entered the world through man, not through God (Rom. 5:12). What God allows is for man to Choose dependence upon Him and Live. If man Chooses Darkness and Death, God Will Respect that decision, but He is not Responsible for the heartache and Suffering that Will come from such decisions.
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 God does not allow Evil. He allows man to Choose dependence or Independence and He Will Respect those decisions. Evil is man’s fault, not God’s.<br>
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 God moves in mysterious ways?<br>
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The Mother of all clichés Might be this one. The Idea is that God is mysterious and we are simple pawns in His celestial game. What Right do we have to Understand anything? He has it all under control. 
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Everything happens for a Reason. He allows Evil. He Gives and takes away, and, Just to make sure that we wash our hands of all Responsibility we declare, “He moves in mysterious ways.â€
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Nevertheless, Jesus made it clear that if You have seen Him, You have seen the Father (Jn. 14:9). Jesus is God in the Flesh. His Words and actions perfectly reveal the Father. There is no more Mystery! 
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If You want to Know what God is like, look at Jesus. He went about doing Good and Healing all because God was with Him (Acts 10:38). Where God is, Goodness and Healing exist.
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The Mystery actually resides in the Hearts of those who have chosen Ignorance and Fatalism. They have refused to be Transformed by the renewing of their Minds (Rom. 12:2). 
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They have not sought out Wisdom and Spiritual Understanding (Eph. 1:17-18). The Thought of accepting the Responsibility for reigning in Life overwhelms them. Living by clichés is much easier.
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Your Expectations in Life Will Follow your core beliefs. If You Believe that God is schizophrenic and mysterious, You should expect a Life of questions and loss. Clichés Will be your only solution. 
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When You Understand that God has given You His Name, His Blood, His Spirit, His Word, His better Covenant, His promises, His armor, His Faith and the Keys to His Kingdom, You Will begin to cooperate with Him and enforce His Will in your Life.
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It is Time to expect God’s Blessings in your Life. It is Time to expect to do God’s works. It is Time to resist the Enemy. It is Time to Walk in your Divine Authority over the Enemy, Sickness and loss. Drop the clichés and get to Know God. He has given You Dominion. Don’t Give it to the Devil!<br>
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