Rev.3:17 - Because thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing...
Heb.11:6 - ...for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Phil.3:13,14 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do...I press toward the mark...
Many times in our effort to confront the growing humanistic gospel in theology and presentation we fail to fully look ourselves in the Spiritual mirror(James). Are we satisfied personally with where we are with our relationship and knowledge of our Savior? Do we "have need of nothing? Is God calling us to personal revival that carries with it a quantum leap in our prayer life? Is it enough that we are on the "right side" of the Spiritual discourse and thereby we are fed from the table of "contending for the faith" while we let a personal brokeness and searching journey for the face of Jesus Christ in our own walk remain on the back burner.
As Abram drove the birds from the sacrifice in Genesis 15, he ran the risk of leaving that sacrifice. As Nehemiah's builders also weilded a sword, they ran the risk of leaving the hammer. But as the greatest prophet of them all proclaimed "Behold the Lamb of God...", he knew that he would decrease as Christ would increase. While we stand on guard against the falling away, should we not also look to ourselves that we aren't just Scriptural but not Spiritual; searching for apostacy witout seeking Him; reporting publicly without repenting personally; perusing in cyberspace without praying in the heavenlies?
The voices that "cry aloud" against the spirits of anti-christ must continue and even increase, but never at the expense of our personal pursuit of our Master Himself. Let us not just be content with pointing out the sin of others while neglecting our own sins which are many. Why does the tidal wave of carnal Christianity continue to grow disproportionately? The allurement of the message; the cultural assimilation of the church; the "rock star" status of the preachers; the deception of Lucifer; and, maybe, the lack of Spiritual power of the "theologically correct" crowd.
It is obedient and urgent to sound the alarm to the unsuspecting sheep about the shameful and swift retreat from the cross itself in today's Christian genre, but isn't the Holy Spirit prompting our hearts to quantify and qualify our journey to the "Celestial City" so that we, personally, may "know Him, and the fellowship of His sufferings, and the power of His resurrection"? We cannot point to the poison waters of the New Evanglicals while all we have is a stagnant pond.
"Where is the Lord God of Elijah"???
"The voices that "cry aloud" against the spirits of anti-christ must continue and even increase, but never at the expense of our personal pursuit of our Master Himself."
ReplyDeleteRick, this is something I have struggled with in the past. The act of rebuke and standing for the truth is something we are called to do, but it should never take the place of our devotion to and love of the Master. I find that when being a warrior consumes me that I tend to be way too self-focused. We must never take our eyes from Jesus our Saviour as we Run the Race set before us. To take ones eyes away will result in a stumble. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Not good!
Nice post. A good thing for all of us to remember.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this thoughtful post it begs me to ask this question of myself:
ReplyDeleteAm I like Noah, "blameless" in my time? Gen 6:9
The second we take our eyes off the redemption of Jesus, we will be flooded with the blame that comes from unrepentant sin!
Let the blameless point to the source of sanctification, fully confident in Jesus' saving grace.