GOD IS A GOOD GOD!
Oral Roberts used to open his television broadcast with those five words. Those words sound so basic to us today but do you know that when he started saying that phrase he receive death threats because of it? Death threats for saying that God is a good God! Can you imagine that?
Even today, there are many born again, Spirit filled Christians who may verbally and mentally acknowledge that God is good but then they don’t take the next step.
Let’s look as several scriptures . . .
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” –
Psalms 34:8 KJV
“For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” – Psalms 100:5 KJV
“Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good:” – Psalms 135:2-3 KJV
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” – Psalms 136:1 KJV
“The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.” – Psalms 145:9 KJV
“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” – Nahum 1:7 KJV
There are 2 things I want you to notice in these scriptures.
- God IS good! “Good” is not something God has. “Good” is who God IS! God IS love and God IS good!
- The goodness of God compels Him to do good actions which yield good results!
Looking at the verses above (and there are many more), we see that the goodness of God results in people being BLESSED, experiencing everlasting mercy in their lives, living life in the house and courts of the Most High God, and having a stronghold in these days of trouble!
There are far too many Christians today who acknowledge that God is good but fail to expect that goodness to produce good results, or good things, in their lives. Even worse than that, there are many who have fallen for the old religious con that some bad things that happen are really “good” things in disguise! BULL!
Jesus made it very plain in John 10:10-11 KJV, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
If something has an element of killing, stealing or destroying, it is the devil behind it! You would think someone with half sense and one eye would be able to tell that! Allow me to make it very simple and concise . . .
GOD IS A GOOD GOD. THE DEVIL IS A BAD DEVIL.
I really like the way the Classic Amplified version of the Bible translates verse 10, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”
Have AND enjoy life! Have life in abundance! Have life to the full! Have life till it overflows! That’s our GOOD shepherd!
Notice also that it is His goodness that compelled Him to give His life for us! Indeed, it is His goodness that leads men to repentance according to Romans 2:4. It is not the bad things in life, not the tough times, not the sick times, not the poor times, not disasters, not pandemics – it is the GOODNESS of God!
I want you to see how the Word of God shows the linking together and the progression of spiritual truth to material reality. Look at 1 John 3:16-18 KJV, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
Now we see that, not only did our Shepherd (who IS good and who IS love) give His life for us BECAUSE of His love and goodness but then immediately we are shown that this love and this goodness translates into the material supply of things. We are to love in DEED and in truth! That is just exactly what Jesus did when He was on the earth.
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about DOING GOOD, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” – Acts 10:38 KJV
Having seen that the goodness of God produces good results, and having seen that it is the good Shepherd who went about DOING good and healing all that were experiencing devilish oppression in some area of their lives, I would like to ask you a question.
After you got born again, did God stop being good?
Then why did you stop expecting His goodness to produce good things in your life?!
I want to encourage you to stir yourself up where the pure, unadulterated GOODNESS of God is concerned! Trust in His goodness. Place faith in His goodness and get ready to experience good things in your life because of your good God!