It is very sad to see my country of birth openly embrace totalitarianism.
Melbourne, in the State of Victoria, is now under a Stage 4 lockdown which means...
1. A curfew – from 8pm to 5am - The only reasons to leave home during these hours will be work, medical care and caregiving.
2. Where people slept last night is where they'll need to stay for the next six weeks (exemptions for work or partners).
3. Exercise will be limited to a maximum of one hour per day and no more than five kilometres from your home.
4. Shopping will be limited to one person per household per day. Again, the five-kilometre rule will apply.
5. Face coverings continue to be mandatory both inside and outside
(except at home). A jogger is permitted to take their mask off when
jogging.
6. Weddings and all gatherings banned. Groups limited to
a maximum of two people subject to curfew and stay-at-home and exercise
rules.
7. All schools closed.
8. Fishing and organised sports are banned.
Victoria has gone from a declared "State of Emergency" now to a
declared "State of Disaster." This means that authorities now have the
ability to suspend Acts of Parliament, take possession of property and
the Police Minister now controls and directs all government agencies.
For really the first time in Australian history, the State has declared
that they have the power to suspend ALL statute law. There is no more
"Rule of Law" in the State of Victoria and this sets a very dark
precedent for both the present and the future.
The Australian
people, whom are mostly ignorant of the concept of the "Rule of Law,"
appear to have embraced this as "necessary" and have thus just given up
any notion of the individual liberties they had previously held (and
taken for granted) under their Westminster System of Government
inherited from England under the long developments and precedents set
under Common Law.
The Magna Carter and the 1688 Bill of Rights
are now mute, not that many Australian's even know what is written in
those documents. Very sad in my opinion.
People have been
conditioned in a relatively easy time of prosperity and have forgotten
the great sacrifices that have been made throughout history which has
given them the freedoms they take for granted. It's certainly
understandable with all the modern conveniences and alluring
entertainments.
Freedom and liberty have not been the norm in
history and few really think much about that. Instead people elect
bureaucrats to "give them stuff" instead of electing representatives to
uphold the hard won principles of the Rule of Law.
The future is
quite certain in my opinion, not just in Australia but around the world.
An authoritarian surveillance state run by immoral power hungry
bureaucrats whom govern a mostly immoral people whom have abdicated
their personal responsibility both spiritual and in civics.
Thomas Jefferson wrote to Charles Yancy on January 6, 1816 saying...
<<<...if a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a
state of civilisation, it expects what never was & never will be.
The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at
will the liberty & property of their constituents. there is no safe
deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe
with them without information. where the press is free and every man
able to read, all is safe. >>>
That quote is as true
today as it was over 200 years ago. One cannot sustain any semblance of
freedom if one is ignorant. This applies both physically and
spiritually.
Jesus of Nazareth said...
<<<If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. >>> John 8:36.
Free indeed from what?
<<<Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.>>> John 8:34
Free from committing sin. "Commit" in the Greek is "Poieō" and it
literally means "to produce" or "bring forth." It is what we produce in
our life by our chosen conduct, our DEEDS or FRUIT as the Bible calls
it.
Real freedom is being established in righteousness by having
one's heart (ie. the REAL SELF) purged of evil/selfishness and being
established in the love of God by the Spirit of God. It is ONLY from
such a foundation that we can live a life of true inward peace with true
purpose because we KNOW we are aligned with our Creator and are living
for that which will not perish.
Anything less is to be merely
living from one moment to the next suppressing the conscience until one
day, when our life is over, we find ourselves standing before God
totally naked with our real self exposed. God will rip away the veil of
any self-delusion.
The Apostle Paul quoted the Prophet Isaiah in
saying that, "As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and
every tongue shall confess to God" (Rom 14:11). This is because God IS
the ultimate rule and proper function. God is the measure, not ourselves.
In order for a motor
vehicle to function properly we must use the correct oil and petrol. We
must ensure it has wheels and tires and there must be a responsible
driver. Take away any of these things and the car will eventually
malfunction or crash. It's the same with life. Upright living, honesty,
carefulness, respectfulness, sexual purity and marriage fidelity, personal
responsibility etc. is the PROPER FUNCTION of things and to reject that
breaks both individuals and society.
Most people never stop to
truly consider the depths and implications of this. True uprightness is
not a menu of "some right living" with a little compromise. Jesus spoke
about that in saying...
<<<The light of the body is the
eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of
light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.>>> Mat
6:22-24
The Apostle Paul put it like this...
<<<Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or
of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the
servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the
servants of righteousness.>>> Rom 6:16-18
Notice the
parallel between Paul's "free from sin" (Rom 6:18) in the context of
"not serving sin" (Rom 6:16) and Jesus "free from sin indeed" (Joh 8:36)
in the context of "not serving sin" (Joh 8:34). It's the same message.
John the Apostle wrote...
<<<Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the
will of God abideth for ever.>>> 1Jn 2:15-17
John is
explaining that we cannot serve two masters. We cannot have an incessant
passion for the things of this world and at the same time have the love
of God in us. It is one or the other, not both.
The lust of the
eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life is what tempts people
to compromise with upright living and do evil. It is Jesus that sets us
free from doing that. How? Via this...
<<<If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free.>>> John 8:31-32
<<<Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon
a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon
a rock.>>> Mat 7:24-25
HEARING AND DOING. In other
words putting into action and actually obey the teachings of Jesus whom
commanded us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love
our neigbour as ourselves.
The only way we can actually do that
is to come to an end of ourselves in a real repentance in order to
produce, in us, a heart TRULY yielded to God's grace (His influence).
This means a very sober and real reflection of whom we really are, being
plainly honest about our real self, the self that will stand naked
before God one day when we are no longer able to deceive ourselves by
suppressing the things we don't want to think about. This is why the
Apostle Paul wrote...
<<<For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the
world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed
after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what
clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what
vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye
have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.>>> 2 Cor
7:10-11
If this never happens then there can be no true love of
God established in us and this there can be no true upright living.
Without this it is all form with no real substance.
This world is
full of form without substance. So many people are "nice." So many
people are "friendly." So many people "take care of their families." So
many people "volunteer in their communities." Yet they still serve two
masters because they compromise due to the "lust of the eyes, lust of
the flesh, and the pride of life."
The Apostle Peter wrote...
<<<...ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust>>> 2Pe
1:4
The corruption that is in the world is through lust because it is lust that entices people to sin.
<<<But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin:
and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.>>> Jam
1:14-15
It is through godly sorrow working a real change of mind
(repentance) that we turn away from that temptation once and for all in
putting our old self, who did that stuff, to death. We still all
experience temptation but instead of the temptation and lust ruling over
us, we rule over it, thus we mortify the deeds of the body by being
led/submitted to the Spirit by which life is brought forth (Rom 8:13)
instead of death.
<<<Knowing this, that our old man is
crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from
sin.>>> Rom 6:6-7
<<<And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. >>> Gal 5:24
That is the Cross of Jesus Christ. That is REAL Christianity.
Real Christianity involves the old "selfish us" dying in repentance
through godly sorrow/reflection which produces a heart TRULY yielded to
the upright living revealed to the human conscience through the Spirit
of God. Thus the light established in us is the Light of God, not a
deceptive self established "dark light" which Jesus warned about (Mat
6:23). A deceptive "light" that is actually "darkness" is GREAT DARKNESS
according to Jesus (Mat 6:23). This is because such darkness disguised
as light immunises an individual against the real truth and thus lures
an individual into a state of spiritual complacency. MANY people are
under this deception in the world right now. MULTITUDES meaning BILLIONS
or MOST PEOPLE.
<<<Enter ye in at the strait gate: for
wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find
it.>>> Mat 7:13-14
<<<Then said one unto him,
Lord, ARE THERE FEW THAT BE SAVED? And he said unto them, Strive to
enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to
enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is
risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and
to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall
answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye
begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast
taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not
whence ye are; depart from me, all YE WORKERS OF INIQUITY.>>>
Luk 13:23-27
Genuine Christianity is the antidote to
working/bringing forth/producing iniquity in our lives. The Spirit of
God truly established in us is the literal power of God energising us to
walk a self-controlled and circumspect life as true ambassadors of
Jesus Christ.
The Cross is something the Christian participates
in by following the EXAMPLE of Jesus. If we partake in the Cross by
dying to our old life of sin then God raises us up with His power, just
like He raised Jesus up, and establishes us in His love whereby we live a
new righteous upright life in the Spirit. We also have the hope of
being resurrected from the dead due to Jesus overcoming physical death.
That is real Christianity and it is seldom if ever taught in any of the
denominational churches. I've been in many throughout my life and spoken
to hundreds of pastors/priests whom are all pretty much held in bondage
to various traditions. Many are nice enough people but are they
bringing people to a real freedom?
The Australian people are
losing their freedom generally due to a lack of historical perspective
and understanding of the principles of the Rule of Law. If one doesn't
understand how it ought be then those things are very easily lost. They
have no concept that they walking headlong into bondage.
It's the
same spiritually when it comes to being in bondage to sin/evil. People,
lacking understanding of their true self and lacking an understanding
of the true nature of God, have no concept that they are actually
enslaved. The Bible calls this state "darkness" throughout. People have
eyes but cannot see.
Anyone trying to serve two masters, in the
sense of having a heart still in rebellion to a pure and godly life, are
in the worst form of bondage of all. This is well worth considering
because whilst the injustices in this world are only temporal, the
righteousness and justice of God is not.
Solomon, Son of King David, once wrote...
<<<If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon
the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north,
in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.>>> Ecc
11:3
When we leave this life, the way we are is the way we are
and it is how we will stand before God.
The Apostle John in the Book of
Revelation put it this way...
<<<He that is unjust, let
him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:
and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is
holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward
is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last.>>> Rev 22:11-13
What we do matters. The choices we
make in this life matter. Not only as it pertains to our example and
leading of others but also as to whether we have chosen or rejected the
ways of God. God is going to destroy those souls that have rejected Him
because those souls are like dangerous viruses or sickly refuse. Love is
a choice and God cannot impose righteousness on people, God can only
show people the way of righteousness and people have to choose it for
themselves.
God would be reckless to grant eternal life to those
whom reject righteousness. A truly loving and righteous God could not do
that anyway as it would go against His very nature.
We ought
fear God for it is the very beginning of wisdom (Pro 9:10). It is only
through a healthy respect of God and a deep examination of our true self
that we might come to Him and thus yield to righteousness. When we do
that we find true peace and purpose because we find ourselves no longer a
part of the problem but united spiritually with the solution. God
writes His nature into our minds and into our hearts. Sure we are not
perfect, we still have much to learn as we continue to address our
flaws, but in no longer living for ourselves (that us being dead) we now
live for God and righteousness with an urgency to be an example and
aide to others. Do that and live. Do that and be truly free.
Thanks for reading.
Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews
https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/statement-changes-melbournes-restrictions
Victoria Health Minister - Jenny Mikakos
https://twitter.com/JennyMikakos/status/1289834211105320960
Emergency Management Act 1986
http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/vic/consol_act/ema1986190/s23.html
Thomas Jefferson Quotes and Family Letters
http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/327
