Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Tag: apathy
Podcast (livingtruth-com): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
In the mid nineteen seventies, I was experiencing a wonderful renewal of my faith. In fact, it was so wonderful that none of the painful circumstances of that time discouraged me. I was also greatly blessed by believing members of my family and the people of the little country church that surrounded me with love and enthusiasm for our Lord! We were mostly at the bottom of the economic ladder but on top of the world with the joy of the Lord! I felt as though nothing could stop this movement of the Holy Spirit, and had already seen great miracles in the lives of those who loved Jesus.
Little consideration was given in my mind at the time of another force that was also actively at work but against us. Subtle efforts were often made by our adversary to discourage us, and sometimes humiliate us. Even some of our fellow Christians attempted to dampen our joy with prophecies of doom and gloom. We have seen many healings and miracles, but we have also seen those we love fail in health and even die at a young age. We have seen individuals rise to heights of faith and victory but later to fall into sin, bitterness, addiction and poverty. However the presence of Christ has never left us and the vision of a brighter future has kept us alive in our faith.
If I let my thoughts drift very long from the powerful word of God that He Himself has instilled in my heart, I begin to feel as if I can hear the enemy laughing and mocking me for believing the things that I have expressed here. Recently I was reminded of the weakness of short-term thinking. In our modern world we want everything now. All of my life I have been told that the coming of Christ is very near, and only then will we see things change. For now our part is simply to wait for that day to come. What do you suppose the devil thinks about that concept? I suspect he is pleased with our inactivity and complacency. It amounts to a sort of truce between us and him that he is not obligated to honor. I am not saying that those who hold this view stop praying and serving Christ. But I do expect that their expectation is lower than the Lord would have it to be.
Think of it! Jesus declared that we could have mountain moving faith! He even said that all things were possible if we could only believe! Could it be that the limit of what God can and will do is only in our minds?
In the past few years we have seen many signs that our society is in serious trouble. Christian values are constantly under attack, which in turn affects all families. The believing community is the salt of the earth and the light of the world. When we become hopeless and disillusioned, how can we inspire hope in others? Lately I am realizing that my fight is not so much with the world but with my own despair. Defeatist attitudes among Christians do not help either. There are far too many who have given up on fulfilling the purpose of God for their lives to light up the world. Their hope is only in an escape from it. There are also those who would rather join the world in the current downward spiral and indulge in the many pleasures (and pain) it has to offer. Both These are paths that offer the least resistance to our human nature.
Jesus called His disciples to courage and sacrifice. He challenged both religious and secular leaders to face the immanent rule of God over all. He proved that none of us have what it takes to overcome sin and death but also that we can do just that by holding on to Him.
Over time a deep pessimism has crept into our hearts, our churches and especially our biblical understanding. As much as I try to dance around this issue, I am forced after all to face it head on. Yes there are dire predictions in the scripture about the fate of humanity. Yes, Jesus Himself said there would be great trouble such as the world had never known. We already know that the past 2,000 years have been filled with godlessness, apostasy, plagues wiping out large portions of the population and wars killing even more. Today technology has provided the means to wipe out every living thing on the planet. It is a major miracle that we are all still here now. But that is my point. The world and its history belongs to God. It is the miracle of faith in Him that preserves our hope.
This hope involves eternity with Him in another dimension of course. But it also involves this material creation which He created for His pleasure and His glory. We neglect the ancient passages of scripture to our detriment. The great New Testament story and those who preserved that story for us were deeply indebted to those who had gone before. Their faith could be strong because they witnessed the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies with their very own eyes. They also knew there was more to come. At this point I would like to plead with those of you who have come this far in our journey through the history of our faith. I am confident that if you can continue walking with us through this sweeping panoramic view of God’s eternal purpose, that this undying hope can stir your hearts to a fresh vision of His work in this very hour and in this very existence!
If like me, you desire to fully live in the moment as did the early Christians, you must first believe that this is even possible. These followers of Christ only had their Hebrew bible and the stories of their heroes of faith to look back upon. We have both the experiences of those who lived before Christ appeared and those who came afterward. If they could embrace the faith and miracle-working power of the older days, we might find we can embrace the lessons of both eras. Certainly those ancient believers can make us a bit uncomfortable as they were much less “civilized” than we think we are today. In some cases they seem even barbaric to us. Yet that very discomfort might be just what we need today in modern Christianity.
My hat goes off to the many pastors and teachers today who pray and exhort other believers to help fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. I am all for that! It is in fact, my belief that a greater understanding of what God has done and plans to do through us now can help empower us to find our place in that great mission! However when we only have short term thinking and look for quick fixes we can get easily discouraged and disillusioned. What God began with Adam and Eve He continued in the lives of untold millions after them. Four thousand years of preparation led up to the “fullness of time” when Jesus came preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God. God is patient and not running out of time to work out His plan. (2 Peter 3:9). My hope is to live to see the greatest turning to God that has ever happened in history. Yet, I can live and work in the expectancy of it today. Because of the Word of God that cannot fail, I can already see it, even if it is several lifetimes away!
May God shake us free from our complacency and apathy! What ever it takes! There is an adventure, a quest that is already underway for you and I to join! Underneath the decay and decline of society we see all around us, there is an undercurrent of faith and hope bubbling up. It is the Holy Spirit stirring hearts to believe in the impossible for the glory of God. The Gospel of the Kingdom is going out into all the world even now. It is the Good News of Jesus Christ and His reign over all, that begins in the hearts of you and I!
Proverbs 4:17-18:
17 For they (evil men) eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
First the Kingdom 18, Building in the Kingdom
In a well-known passage of scripture Jesus said that He would build His church, and in that context He also spoke of the keys to the kingdom. It is being said today that only Jesus can build His church and His kingdom. But is that true? Are we simply passive spectators, watching the rise and fall of worldly kingdoms while we wait for that glorious day in the future when Christ finally comes to set up His Kingdom?
Maybe the ancient philosophers were right. Maybe God is like the two great powers, Fate or Fortune who control everyone’s lives. Or maybe the Eastern Guru’s could teach us how to passively accept the way things are — their path to inner peace?
The apostles of Christ and the First Century Church evidently did not have this information. They took risks every day as they carried out His directions. Some were beaten and killed. others were driven out of their homes because they were driving back the very gates of hell! All of these troubles could have been avoided if they had simply stayed to themselves and quietly meditated in private.
Of course we must always remember, Jesus said without Him we can do nothing. Absolutely nothing! I cannot take my next breath without Him! However He also said that all things are possible with God! With God. In Christ. Through Christ. These words describe the reality wherein believers in Him have power. The earliest believers were said to have God working with them! They are also described as being filled with God the Holy Spirit!
There are times to be passive as we await the Spirit’s direction. There are also times when we know what to do and that is nothing! This should not define the overall mindset or mode for those following Christ. The accounts we have of the lives of men and women in the Bible are there for a reason. It is not always that we should copy their actions precisely, but we can certainly learn from them. We can easily see that God often moved them to actions which impacted situations in the world around them. When they moved with Him, He moved with them.
Prayer to God was always the undergirding force. They were people who knew their God. Some of them were educated and intelligent. Some were simple people. Some were important figures in the world, others were virtually unknown. The important thing was that God wanted to use them, and that they responded to His call.
There are many instances in the Bible where God used people instead of His direct intervention. I am convinced that He is still working for the being He created in Genesis to reflect His image, and to care for His creation. Our participation is required in that process. One does not become responsible overnight. As a child my mother did everything for me. Gradually I learned to feed and to dress myself. Amazingly I can still remember being taught to tie my shoes. That was a rewarding experience! I was growing up, and I felt the satisfaction of that simple accomplishment!
God knows His children are not ready to command the wind and the waves, and to rule over creation under His authority. He only gives us greater responsibilities as we are able to shoulder them.
Sadly, many people are denied the privilege of growing in both their natural and spiritual responsibilities and the satisfaction this growth brings. They are being tricked by the same snake in the garden that fooled Adam and Eve into relinquishing their rightful place in the universe to him. The same desire for physical pleasure and foolish pride keeps people today from finding the greatest pleasure and fulfillment of them all, the glory of God!
Jesus proved without doubt that human beings were here for greater things. He demonstrated the dominion and power that was available to those who return to the simplicity of living in and loving the One Who designed us for that very purpose. We were never intended to be subservient to the powers of nature. Jesus revealed the future He has in mind for the creation. As God’s people grow unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, when they are finally revealed to be who they really are in Him, the groaning of the creation will end. As we fully find our place in his plan, and as we demonstrate that we are free from the results of the fall, so will creation be set free. Then will this planet be ruled and cared for by the nature of God revealed in humanity!
But we have to start now, by assuming the responsibilities God gives us little by little, day by day. He has brought those who have repented and placed their trust in Him into a special place. We are in His Kingdom now! We are learning to be faithful in small things so He can allow us to be in charge of greater things later. Having a view of the goal is important, but taking steps toward that goal is even more so.
People who believe that it is not yet the time for God’s Kingdom to come, for God’s will to be done in the earth now are constrained by false limitations. They put off important Kingdom activities to a future time when Christ Himself will do it all. They see these efforts as doomed from the start. I admit that the mission Christ has given looks more like the Mission Impossible, or the Impossible Dream of Don Quixote sometimes. And yet He often surprises us through simple people who are naive enough to believe Him! Jesus said some amazing things to those who believed in Him. He announced that from them would rivers of living water, and that they would do greater works than He had done!
Jesus also said He would build His Church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Why then do we see ourselves as weak and unable to obey Him? It was Paul who called himself a wise master builder and a fellow worker with God. I submit that the proper perspective is that we are helpless without Him, but also more than conquerors though Him! Our mission is not doomed to failure, but only because it is God’s desire and plan. He cannot fail. Next time we will look in detail to see how each of us has a different part in His plan to transform this world.
Recent Comments