NO EXPIRATION DATE
By W. G. Guy
We are all familiar with the expiration date that appears on many of our food products. The purpose of the expiration date is to notify the purchaser that the product is good at least until the “use by” date; or that the product is no longer usable after the expiration date. Milk is a good example as it usually goes bad after the expiration date.
Unfortunately, there is a presumed expiration date on the most important item pertaining to human life; and that alleged expiration date does not even exist. I am referring to the assumed expiration date that many churches put on the Word of God. Too many churches and denominations say that many valued things in the Word of God are not for today, as though they passed their expiration date.
1 Corinthians 1:7 – so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
They preach that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is not for today; that divine healing is not for today; that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are not for today; that prophecy, tongues and interpretation are not for today; that miraculous signs and wonders are not for today; that the five Gift Ministries are not for today. Let it be known to such churches that THERE IS NO EXIRATION DATE on what God says in His Word. None of His words expire or pass away!
Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Thus no expiration date on the Word and promises of God.)
Why do such churches deny the power and working of what God has promised in His Word. It is because of UNBELIEF; they refuse to accept the supernatural power of God’s Word and promises to us. This is because what God has promised to us is accepted through faith, belief and trust, in what God promised in His Word.
Consider what Jesus gave to those of us who truly believe in Him, and the authority of His name, as we are commissioned to represent Him throughout the whole world:
Mark 16:15-18 – And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
None of these things will happen in churches that deny any of these things. As a result they have no power to the change the world as the early church did. Why; because they put an expiration date on what Jesus said! They fail to understand that unbelief greatly offends God, and is actually a sin that is to be judged. Failing to believe the words of the Lord God means you do not enter into what God has provided.
Hebrews 3:12, 14, 19 – Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. …. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; ….So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Unbelief prevented the residents of Jesus own hometown from receiving what Jesus came to provide.
Matthew 13:58 – And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Casting out demons is one of the powers that Jesus gives to us, but such miraculous works are done by believing in the authority of His name. Doubt and unbelief negate such ability.
Matthew 17:19-20 – Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Mark 9:23 – Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mark 11:22-24 – And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Note that we are to have faith in God and His Word. Doubt is unbelief:
James 1:6-7 – But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Those who can’t believe in the supernatural things that God has ordained for us are actually relying on their own intellect and understanding.
1 Corinthians 2:14 – But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Human understanding and reasoning is obviously insufficient to obtain what God has promised and provided for us. God wants us to walk in His provision, but it is only done by faith and belief in Him and His Word!
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Matthew 21:21-22 – Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Hebrews 10:38 – Now the just shall live by faith….
Accepting that the Word of God, and of Jesus, has an expiration date is a cause of unbelief, and is the reason why so many Christians fail to receive what God has provided through His Son, Jesus Christ, as promised in His Word.
GOD’S WORD DOES NOT HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE!
