The Man Upstairs

Acts, chapter 4, verses 7-10: 

And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Mark it down: When you hear or read a person say "The Man Upstairs," you know immediately that person either doesn't know the true and living God, or that he or she is still a babe in Christ.

You might say, "Well, of course, when someone says "the man upstairs" they are meaning God." But you are only assuming that is so. How do you know that, when they didn't mention Jesus? The term "God" can mean so many things.

Did you know that the devil, Satan, is described in the King James Bible as "the prince of the power of the air"? By human standards and perception, a supernatural being like Lucifer who travels by air is "upstairs" isn't he? In fact, to some people throughout history and in our 21st century time, Satan most certainly is the "man upstairs" and even a god.

We must pay attention to the way that people talk and the words they use. Including our own.

It's like "Jesus came downstairs" and He'll be back down here to set things straight. And God will deal with the wicked, and dwell with His rightful children.


"The Man" is a euphemism that seeks to appear spiritual, while not naming the name of Christ... in this way, you can keep deceived, carnal Christians watching the world's entertainments and claiming "He mentioned God!"... To be fair to the celebrity athlete named Steph Curry, he may have mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ in the above quote. The person making that meme (photo-plus-caption) may have cut out Christ's name from the quote, for whatever reason. But the truth is that Curry does not, and will not, and cannot, truly stand for Jesus in public. "The Man" Curry is talking about might seem to be Jesus, in context. However, we don't really know who Curry is talking about. There is power in that name "Jesus Christ", and avoiding it in favor of titles like "The Man" is at best cowardly, and at worst deceptive. 

The cartoons and Hollywood portray a Catholicized, sit on clouds and play the harps. 

"If heaven's like that, it's boring and give me the other place." You mean Hell? That other place?

You can see that we like these euphemisms to avoid being direct. We think that the world is really upfront and honest. We've got social media, and major media has ways to engage consumers so that we can even have a voice on those major platforms. But being loud and clever and reacting immediately is not the same thing as being truthful. Being honest and being truthful are not necessarily the same. 

I can honestly say that the sky is cotton candy pink, if some food or drug in my system has changed my perception. But the sky is blue to our eyes in its usual state. The world agrees on the fact that the sky appears blue. My honesty that the sky appears pink is not the truth.

I use that example because we have taken on this attitude that the more likes, shares and clicks you get, and the more people watching and listening in person or on whatever form of media, equals validity and truth. 

We can go further: Just because the world agrees on something wrong, doesn't make that thing right. The King James Bible often shows that the majority is very wrong. Jesus Christ said that the path and the gate are straight and narrow. He said that few people would find the truth. Do you believe Him or the world? 

I know who most of you are going to pick: The world. You're going to pick the scientists, who change what they believe every single day in the name of progress and evolution and improvement. You're going ot pick the celebrities who you covet and whose things and achievements you desire. You're going to pick yourself and your own heart, which the Bible says is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. 

personal anecdotes about people saying "the man upstairs."

mst3k @59m Earth/froze "G-meister" CLIP SHOW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCRCIiwZWLQ CLIP SHOW@36m 

You want to call God anything, any nickname. 

LeBron after winning the title. He and other athletes often talk about "being blessed." Which they are. They are walking around and have a chance to love the Lord. But who are they talking about? What god has blessed them?

You can talk about "God" all day. You can sound spiritual doing so. But when you don't mean Jesus Christ, you are suspect from a bible believer's point of view. It is amazing how many people are fooled by this kind of talk. 

A form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

Chubb Rock lyrics


 

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