Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heav’n, to earth come down, fix in us Thy humble dwelling; all Thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, Thou art all compassion;
pure, unbounded love Thou art; visit us with Thy salvation; enter ev’ry trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit into ev’ry troubled breast! Let us all in Thee inherit; let us find the promised rest. Take away the love of sinning; Alpha and Omega be; end of faith, as its beginning, set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty, to deliver; let us all Thy life receive; suddenly return and never, nevermore Thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, serve Thee as Thy hosts above, pray and praise Thee without ceasing, glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish then Thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be. Let us see Thy great salvation perfectly restored in Thee. Changed from glory into glory, till in heav’n we take our place, till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.
“Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” by Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
What is a tipping point? It’s a time during an activity or process when an important decision has to be made or when a situation changes completely. (Cambridge Dictionary).
Like in hockey where the team hasn’t met it’s potential. The tipping point is to
Or when a dam bursts. The tipping point of a dam bursting could be from earthquakes, floods, extreme weather and landslides.
But what about God? Does He have a “tipping point”? Has there been a point where God has said “enough” and “that does it”! The answer is “Yes” on several occasions. And why?
I think God’s major purpose of us, the human race, is to have a relationship with Him. That’s what He’s always wanted. And when He did reach a tipping point, it was to bring humanity back to Him. Through history we have seen God’s tipping point on several occasions. The first wasn’t as severe as other times but it was when Adam and Eve and the serpent, none other than Satan himself, broke God’s heart because they disobeyed. They were given everything and all they could ever want, but by taking from God, what God said not to, created a divide with God and so He banished them from the Garden to fend for themselves (Genesis 3:23-24). So sin and evil was what future generations had to look forward to. So they went from having all they needed or wanted to having to toil and work the earth for their living. So you say, well that wasn’t so bad. But just think if they hadn’t disobeyed, we would be enjoying a work free and paradise to live in.
However, humanity continued on in their merry way for 10 generations after Adam. God saw that the earth was corrupt and filled with violence and decided to destroy what He had created. Which brings us to the flood. (Genesis 5:32-10:1).
There was a man of God, Noah, who God favoured and before God’s next tipping point, He instructed Noah to build an ark, in order to save his family and two of every living creature. God said it was time to purge the earth with a flood, to begin again.
Now Abraham was born shortly after Noah, who lived 950 years, had died, but still sin and corruption prevailed. Abraham was also a man of God and God sent him on a journey to another land where he also took his nephew Lot and his family. They were doing very well, but the land was not sufficient for them to live together. So Abraham said to Lot, you go one way and he would go the other. (Genesis 13:3-18) This is how Lot came to be in Sodom. Lot was also a righteous man. Now Abraham knew that God had reached another tipping point, once again because of the violent and corrupt ways of Sodom, Gomorrah and other towns around them. Abraham asked God that if He could find 50 righteous men within the wicked would He (God) save the city. God said He would, but there wasn’t 50, or 30, or 10, but there was Lot and his family. So God sent help to Lot to get him and his family out. Then God sent fire and destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah. The only thing God asked of Lot and his family was not to look back from where they were coming from. Unfortunately Lot’s wife did look back and was turned to a pillar of salt. Her punishment for looking back deemed her unworthy to be saved. Looking back meant regretting the loss of the cities. The righteous man Lot understood this, but unfortunately (Genesis 19: 1–38) his wife did not.
God’s lesson to us is that those who are obsessed with evil and meditating on sin only are refusing to turn to God for forgiveness, despite warnings is a prophetic image of what will happen one day when Jesus returns and God’s judgement is poured out. Luke 17: 28-30. No good can come from a believer’s failure to flee from sin and temptation.
Which brings us to today. In a neighbourhood near you, we have, violence, evil, hate, corruption and perversion – everything there was in the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah. From corrupt world politics to global pandemics to an unprecedented rebellion against God and His word, humanity has reached a critical stage. Is God going to reach another tipping point? Yes. God is going to allow the destruction to prevail and His final tipping point will be the judgements of the Revelation of Jesus Christ [See post “It Reads Like a Sci Fi Novel]. Right now He is holding back His wrath, that we deserve, in order to bring more people to Himself.
Satan is having a field day. The world is sick. It’s filled with anger, brutality, crime and doubt. Despair, suffering, sin and death stalk every country. Tragedy and sorrow are on every doorstep.
But all does not have to be lost. Jesus can forgive your past sin, lift your present burdens and give you hope for the future. Before God’s next tipping point, which will be the ultimate tipping point, Jesus is giving you a way of escape, to be with Him, with joy and peace and a love like you’ve never know. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” Will you be with the other Christians who will be taken up before the days of wrath to come, or will you remain here through the tribulation?
By asking Jesus into your heart, by repeating this little prayer with an open heart and desire to know and have a relationship with Him, He can keep you from God’s final tipping point. He loves you so! (If you’ve said this prayer, there are more resources to help you on your journey with Jesus under Spiritual Support.)
Just so you know…
everything that was lost in the garden…
can be found in Jesus!