The Word of the Lord is Rare
I Sam.3:1 - And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. (KJV)
I Sam.3:1 - 1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. (NAS)
We live in a spiritual environment of compromise, confusion, and outright apostasy. Just because there are millions of Bibles in America does not mean that the Word of the Lord is not rare. It is. Men and women of all stripes have elevated themselves and are drawing millions away from the gospel and the Risen Christ with their vain philosophies and their works based salvation. And in a stroke of diabolical genius, they have used the very words of written Scripture to do so. They wrest Scripture to their own destruction.
And on the other end of the spectrum lives the “orthodox” camp of believers who rail against these false teachers but are blind to the depth of their own spiritual need and the rampant self righteousness they often exhibit. In fact, while we should honor the Scriptures as God’s Word, we should refrain from worshiping those Words and making them an idol, especially our own doctrines. It seems like a fine line but it is an important distinction.
The Word is not believed in the West anymore. Just the Sermon on the Mount reveals the abject unbelief in the church. Believers lay up for themselves treasures, and worry about a litany of things. Christ’s teaching on divorce, if taken literally, would revolutionize the western church. And “offer the other cheek”? That teaching is rarely addressed much less obeyed. And who fasts anymore?
Lk.14:33 - So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Who believes that in its unvarnished and undiluted form? Tell me, brethren, what indeed have we forsaken for Him? Do we live with debt? How many televisions do we own? How full are our clothes closets? How many shoes line our closet floors? Do we spend ridiculous amounts of money to eat out, and how much food do we waste? How much do we spend on our dogs and on all sorts of entertainment as compared with how much we give to the poor and to missions?
We have legions of Bibles and translations, but where is the Word of the Lord? Where are the words that present such transcendent truths and are filled with such power that they use believer’s lives as incandescent beacons that shine forth the Word of Life?
Phil.2:14-15 - Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 Holding forth the word of life
Where is that glorious light that undeniably marks the followers of Jesus? Where is the utter humility that allows a life to be abused for the sake of Jesus Christ without complaining or retaliation? Where are the lives that live in such moderation that they might appear to be eccentric? Why are the followers of Christ and His Word so blended into the darkened culture? We get “persecuted” for moral causes and stands, but rarely, if ever, for Jesus’ sake. Instead of being “epistles read of all men” we have settled for a place at the table that is one of many.
Our doctrines and systematic theologies have become museums of Scripture where we proclaim and defend theological positions and truths. But shouldn’t our lives be the canvas that exhibits those Scriptures most brilliantly? We boldly proclaim the Trinity and refuse to compromise in the slightest, but we are oh so willing to dilute and manipulate the “love your enemy” teaching. We love to doctrinally embrace the cross of Jesus Christ and its saving power, but are we willing to die there for the sake of the vilest of sinners?
The western church has become so backslidden and so hard of hearing that we do not even recognize our desperate need of a revival. In the midst of millions upon millions of Bibles in print, on Cds, and on the internet, the Word of the Lord is indeed rare.
I am in agreement on much of what you say in this article. I will say that in America, I am really unsure of who the poor are. Many consider themselves deprived becasue they cannot afford cable TV. I also feel like the poverty of many, at least in the US, is because they do not work very hard. Poverty is a natural consequence of laziness and it frustrates me that many churches want to rush in and relieve people of their dire circumstances they have created for themselves when perhaps God is using those circumstances to bring them to a place where they finally recognize their need for Him. I know that is not the case all the time, but perhaps we need to wait upon the Holy Sirit to lead us before we rush in? We have such a hard time in America understanding the role of suffering in God's kingdom.
ReplyDeleteI also hesitate to fund most missionaries because they do not preach the true Gospel, but another one. Some leaders of these "ministries" are padding their pockets with very hard-earned money of their "partners" and living extremely luxuriant lifestyles. Check out the "Wolves" page on apostasywatch.com to see what I mean.
If you note a sense of bitterness in me, I am sorry. I am trying to learn to be a child of God and rest in the fact that He loves me and also know truly what His word says after years of being duped by pastors and other church people who taught me that if I wanted to be a "real" Christian, I would do these certain things like support missionaries. What about just serving where God has placed you. I have a mission field in the neighborhood where I live, and try to help those I know who are struggling right smack dab in the middle of where God has placed me. What I sensed from church leaders was a kind of missionary worship. I felt like my offering of myself to faithfully serve my family and friends was not enough to the Lord, but those who went into the mission field...now those people were really doing the Lord's work. It seems in many churches that the Pastors can measure the success of their church by how many dollars they donate to missionaries. My husband and I donated many dollars to missionaries and regret now some of the teaching we may have been spreading.
I am still trying very hard to sort out much of what I was taught. I know there is a lot of truth to this article, and I want to be obedient to what God would have me do. I just don't think it looks like what I was taught by the Church leaders under whose teaching I have sat.