Soul Searching Required…
Things around the globe are happening at such a rapid pace, it is hard to take it all in. People are practically falling over themselves trying to figure out how to fit the things that are transpiring into their ready-made doctrinal boxes. We have no shortage of labels ready to apply, just as soon as we can find a way to make them fit.
Is that what we were called to do? Are we really supposed to try and make people and events fit into our preconceived ideas? Is our focus supposed to be on other people… what they are doing and saying? Or is our focus supposed to be on the Lord God? Aren’t we supposed to be walking in the Spirit … hearing Him tell us where, when and how to move and speak and be in this world, or were we ‘called out’ so that we can do what seems right in our own eyes?
All of our lives, we have heard that the ‘last days’ were coming, and for many of us, great fear of how terrible they would be was planted in our hearts and minds. Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” That things will be as bad as they have ever been is a given. Along with this fear, many people were offered an alternative way of escape… the ‘rapture’ teaching. As the sands of God’s timetable sift through the hourglass, men devise new ways and means of interpreting God’s Word to make it more palatable to our ‘flesh’… and as we read the book of Revelation, hear the prophecies concerning the end-times, (both old and new), escaping does sound pretty darn good. Deceptions today are at an all time high. Universal Humanism is fast becoming the globally accepted New World Religion. The greater appeal a new doctrine holds to man’s flesh, the broader acceptance if finds in the hearts and minds of those who call themselves ‘believers.’ In our generation alone, God has given us warning after warning… to prepare our hearts to receive Him; and man has found a way to nullify and make void those warnings, primarily by way of diverting the focus of our attention away from ‘pressing in to know Him,’ and toward a variety of ‘works’ and ‘activities.’
As the ‘Apostasy’ within the ‘Church’ has grown, so has there been an increase of those who feel it is their ‘calling’ to expose these errors. However, what began with good intentions seems to have a way of taking on a life of its own as it goes along. It is sad, but many who started out sounding a warning cry against grossly false teachings, end up becoming ‘witch-hunters’… labeling everyone with a view different than their own as being ‘false’…which means that they have inadvertently set themselves up as being the ‘only one with the truth.’ They spread their message across the internet and via whatever venue is open to them, fully convinced that they are ‘called to set the record straight.’ In the process, they themselves have become part of the problem, and are in fact doing as much or more damage to the ‘Body of Christ,’ than those they are exposing. We have an over-abundance of the ‘pot calling the kettle black’ throughout the Church world.
Regardless of whether a person is in or out of organized religion… with all of the ‘labels’ we have created to define and describe the multitude of teachings and practices flourishing today, is it any wonder that confusion is rampant? How many times have you been introduced to someone, or just heard about them, and depending on the denomination that they are affiliated with, have immediately pigeon-holed them without a second thought? “O, one of ‘them,’” without any leading of the Spirit… or giving the accused a chance to be judged on their own merits. No, we fall back on our ‘knowledge’ and our own ‘prejudices,’ justifying ourselves in the process. Perhaps the reason that the ‘world’ doesn’t want any part of what we have to offer, is because we look and act just like them, only we have the audacity to be self-righteous, critical and judgmental to boot.
Whatever happened to… “They will know we are Christians by our love?”
It is amazing when passing judgment on others, how quickly we forget our Lord’s warning found in Matthew 7:2 “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Somehow, in our way of thinking we fail to make the connection… that as we find fault, criticize, and yes, pass judgment on others… we can fully expect to receive the same kind of judgment ourselves. I dare say, that thought does not cross our radar screen. In our mind, we are nobly defending the truth... at least our perception of the truth. We usually don’t give a second thought to ‘turning the other cheek,’ or praying for the deceived soul we are attacking either, as we are engaged in “fighting the good fight.” 1 Timothy 6:12 “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” Well, we got part of it right, anyway… our justification might be, “well, at least we were fighting something!”… or not.
Love one another:
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” Matthew 22:37-38.
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” Romans 13:8 .
“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another” Galatians 5:13 .
“But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another” 1 Thessalonians 4:9.
“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another” 1 John 3:11.
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” 1 John 4:7-8.
We are sadly lacking when it comes to fulfilling what our LORD decreed to be the second greatest commandment… “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
It is troubling that we show great concern for how we conduct ourselves in the world, yet when it comes to the ekklesia (called out ones, Body of Christ), we feel justified in employing whatever kind of abusive language and behavior we deem necessary in order to make our point. There seems to be almost an obsession with people… that they are RIGHT! And whoever gets hurt in the process of striving to establish their ‘rightness,’ is of little to no consequence. This widely prevalent attitude is purely carnal, of the FLESH… and no amount of white-wash will ever make it right.
We All need to be very careful of the words that we speak. Having the full knowledge that it is written, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” Matthew 12:36.
This must have been a problem for the early Church as well, for James had a good deal to say regarding our words, and how we use them on one another…
The Tongue:
“If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain” James 1:26.
“Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” James 3:5-10.
There is an insightful little Psalm of David, from which we can learn much…
“LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle?
who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly,
and worketh righteousness,
and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not with his tongue,
nor doeth evil to his neighbour,
nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned;
but he honoureth them that fear the LORD.
He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
He that putteth not out his money to usury,
nor taketh reward against the innocent.
He that doeth these things shall never be moved”
Psalms 15:1-5.
Speak the Truth In Love…
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” Ephesians 4:14-16. If we are truly ‘born again,’ we are all parts of the same body.
When we open our mouths, we cannot help but to expose our hearts. All too often, the attitude our words project comes across in a way that we never intended. We are very capable of being completely blind to the attitude that we project to others. If any of ‘self’ rises up in us, we need to learn to recognize it and lay it down. Self-righteousness, self-justification, self-defense, self-preservation…and all the other ‘self’ motivated reactions are deadly to our spiritual walk. Every one of us seriously need to learn to wait on the Spirit… before shooting off our mouth. We cannot foresee the damage our words can do, not only to others, but to our own walk as well. It should also be noted that people who are operating in pride, arrogance, and from an attitude of spiritual superiority, never see it in themselves. They will usually see themselves as being someone who is very humble, that just happens to be ‘right.’
We are called to Build one another up… not Tear each other down:
“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 3:10-11.
“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.
We seldom consider that we also are going to be judged:… by our words, our actions, our heart attitude, all these things are open and evident to God. How we treat others is of great importance. Our responsibility is this…
“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love” Ephesians 4:15-16.
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” Ephesians 4:12-13.
We are not capable of meeting the requirement to “all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ”… in our own strength or from our own understanding.
KNOWLEDGE is what the mind of man seeks after; but knowledge alone can be a dangerous thing. “…Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth” 1 Corinthians 8:1. We need to “…know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” Ephesians 3:19. Otherwise, we are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” 2 Timothy 3:7. Which is… “Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians 1:27. “God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles” …by HIS SPIRIT!
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” Colossians 2:6-10.
It is all of God, “not of works, lest any man should boast.” No where in His Word, does God ask us to ‘figure it all out.’ In fact, He requires the exact opposite from us… “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” Mark 10:15. “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:4. Child-like faith and trust are absolutely required, along with obedience.
If we are basing our righteousness on what we know, we are in deep trouble. Until we come to the place where we can lay down all of our knowledge, all of our desires, laying everything at the Master’s feet, and be willing to ‘suffer the loss of all things,’ we are our own worst enemy. ‘We’ are what stands in the way of our walking in the fullness of God in this world. Our ‘flesh’ has only been modified, it has not been crucified. Until we come to the end of our ‘self’… we cannot enter into the Kingdom of God… at least not in the capacity that we are being called to. We may yet be saved, ‘so as by fire,’ but will miss out on the best that God has prepared for us. Jesus is the ‘pattern Son,’ we are called to follow Him, all the way to the death of self, that we might live by the power of His Spirit within. Talk about mysteries, they don’t get any bigger than this!
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” John 1:1-4.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” John 10:10.
We only have two options, life or death. If you don’t think that any of this applies to you, that there is no need for you to search your heart, then chances are very good that you are already deceived.
Choice 1: “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” Ephesians 4:15.
Choice 2: “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” 2 Thessalonians 2:10.
How we treat others does matter…. “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” 1 Peter 1:22. “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” 1 John 3:18. Did you notice how John addressed them… “My little children”?
There are many ‘truths’ being propagated in the world today, but none that can compare with God’s Truth… and after all, His Truth is the only Truth that matters. If we would know God’s Truth, it will only be because He reveals it in our hearts by His Holy Spirit. Thanks to the ‘man-centered’ Beast that religion has grown into, God’s Truth has long been cast aside… while our focus has been redirected away from ‘taking up our cross,’ and jumped ahead to ‘ruling and reigning,’ attempting to make ourselves the ‘head and not the tail,’ (see Deut. 28), without any consideration for keeping the requirements to be the head. The flesh of man wants all of the glory, and none of the pain, which is why it must be crucified. “That no flesh should glory in his presence” 1 Corinthians 1:29.
Our hearts cry in this hour should be… “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” Psalms 139:23. Fully realizing … “And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know” 1 Corinthians 8:2.
In the hour in which we are living, we should take God’s admonition to “Prepare” very seriously. Our survival, spiritually and physically, depends on it.
“For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” Hebrews 10:30-39.
Are we prepared to face the fiery judgment of the Living God? Are we prepared to be made a spectacle, to be railed at, persecuted, suffer anguish, and watch as those we love are attacked? Are we prepared to joyfully accept it when our property is pillaged, spoiled, taken away? Is our faith based on God’s faithfulness, or will we draw back at the first sign of trouble?
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” John 1:12.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” Romans 8:14.
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 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 ” Philippians 2:12-15.
We are even now being confronted with the gross darkness Isaiah prophesied of… Isaiah 60:2 “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.” Now is the time to check our lamps, to guard our hearts, to seek the Lord while He may be found. Tomorrow may be too late.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” Luke 21:34-36.
May we come into agreement with God in all things….till from a pure heart we can truly say… ‘Not my will, but thine be done.’
Amen & Amen
Cathy Morris
2/10/2008
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