Are we able to hold the spiritual ground we have won? Do we have the patience to wait as God prepares us to be used by Him to complete His will? Do we exhibit the endurance of Sardis by keeping God's commandments and Word? In Revelation, Jesus tells John to write these words to the church at Sardis...
Placing our relationship with Jesus above all others in our life. Is this something that we are willing, or able, to do? Could we walk away from home and family if Jesus asked us to "follow me, and I will make you fishers of men"? Peter and Andrew left far more than just their nets... they left their homes and families to follow Jesus. Have we seriously thought about how we would react if Jesus walked up to us and said, "follow me?" So I ask again… Would we, or could we, just walk away from our home and family to follow Him? Could we love Him more than our wives, and our children… could we love our families less than Him?
We don't find Jesus through an academic study of scripture nearly as much as scripture is revealed to us while walking with Him. Don’t each of us remember a time when we were mired down in our study of the Bible to the point that we couldn’t touch the living Christ there? But, once we have met Him in the gospel, doesn’t He bring the whole of scripture alive for us and set us free in it.
Salvation... We question ourselves by asking how we can achieve this and live our lives as God expects... obeying Him is just too hard and it can be difficult to believe that anyone could possibly accomplish such a thing. Satan whispers to us “You can never be saved!”, but that is a lie.
Judgement… does the uncertainty of our success in obeying or pleasing God challenge us? Does the complexity and mystery of God cause us to wonder if we will be judged worthy? Well, if we trust in His Word and the gospel of Jesus, believe in Jesus, and ask forgiveness for those things we feel we have failed at, then we can rest assured that we are indeed worthy.
And finally there is Fear… This is what we feel when we face Satan’s lie concerning our salvation, and the doubt that confronts us regarding our own worthiness. Fear causes so many of us to run away from the challenges we face in life and the greatest of these is believing and having faith in God and Jesus Christ. Until we overcome fear, as scripture tells us repeatedly to do by saying “Fear Not”, then we can never truly rest in the Lord, experience His peace, and walk eternally in His presence.
Let’s study these things.
Do we command that the promises of God be fulfilled? Is our assurance in God's Word more than humble trust and faith in it? Is our expectation that He must honor His contract with us down to every letter and term as we have come to understand them? Well, perhaps we should take a step back, and rethink how we approach God and conduct ourselves in prayer.
When we offer intercessory prayers for those around us, is our own sympathy for them getting in the way of offering effective prayer? Are we putting our own desires for their wellbeing between them and God? Scripture tells us to pray for others, and in fact I am a dedicated intercessor. I pray for others every day, and not just trivially. Although this is something we are called to do many of us have the misconceived notion that intercessory prayer is some flowing oration suitable for publication... but it is not. Intercessory prayers should be comprised of real language to a real God in the midst of real-life issues, and we are meant to ask that His real will be done. Intercessory prayer allows us to reconcile our will with God’s.
When we follow God are we walking close enough to actually see Him? When we look ahead can we see Him there with Jesus as He leads us on? Paul spoke of how Moses endured hardship by “seeing Him who is invisible", but does our own faith allow us to see God in this way, or does He remain invisible to us in our times of fear, suffering, and temptation? Have we experienced God in such a way that He is forever real to us? When we think of God are we remembering Him by what He has been and done in our lives and as being tangible and real, or is He simply imagined and invisible to us; A God that exists in our mustard seed of faith alone?
This morning, I am contemplating a rather convicting subject. I am asking myself a couple of questions regarding my ability to serve the Lord in obscurity. Can I do the work of my calling without a grand moment of inspiration from God? And, is my spiritual work dependent on His making a showing or announcement of my service?
Love is many things, but more than just these things it is spontaneous. We don't set out to love someone, it just happens, and if that spontaneity isn't present then it isn't love. How do we feel towards and approach God? Is it always in love, or out of need? Paul tells us in First Corinthians about the attributes of love. As he expounds on love he isn't telling us so much about how to love but is describing to us what love is... if you feel these things and see these things, then you are in love. But, if they must be developed or contrived, then you are experiencing something else which has no strong anchorage against the storms of life... nor safe harbor for our loving faith.
What will we become when Jesus returns? What awaits us in faith when we rise from slumber tomorrow, or for that matter, what does the next hour have in store for us? Our faith is not something that can be calculated and God awaits around every bend with a new treasure.
We live in a culture that honors self-assuredness and strength in pursuit of fame and fortune over all else, but God, on the other hand, places meekness and humility above pride and strength. When it comes to real strength, He is looking for how it relates to our faith and spiritual character alone. If we want to have what is really valuable in life, and to live our lives abundantly, then we need to hand ourselves over to God. This is a humbling thing, but not a weak one. To yield ourselves totally to the Lord requires great strength of character and faith. It requires us to trust in Him completely and without question… it redefines meekness as men are inclined to think of it.
Do we want to be great men and women of faith? Is our goal to be like Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, or Martin Luther King? Is working quietly in the trenches of faith unappealing to us? Did the first sentence of your prayer this morning contain "give me", "make me", or "let me?" Well, God sees no need for you to be great in the world unless it just so happens that by so doing it meets a necessity of His will. As a matter of fact, some of the biggest disappointments in the Bible have been great people (like Nebuchadnezzar and Delilah) but men like David became great despite themselves because God needed them for that purpose or as an example. Often (also like David) they were great without having sought greatness.
Are there things in our lives that the Lord must remove by fire? Do we hold on so tightly to them, or have they become so deeply rooted, that the only way to remove them is to burn them out? I think of a couple examples this morning of biblical purification by fire. The first involves Isaiah who spoke unclean Things among a people who commonly did the same. When he came into the presence of God he realized he was sinful and the smell of smoke caused him great fear... because he felt as though God might destroy him for his transgressions...
We are all inclined to work for the kingdom once God has called us to do something for Him, but how do we spend our time beforehand, or after God has called us out of what we have been doing? How do we spend our time after a calling is complete and we are waiting for Him to use us again? Is this simply a time of rest or retirement?
In what do we rejoice? Are we taking personal satisfaction in the number of souls we bring to God? Are we celebrating God's victories or the power He has given us? Would it surprise you that Jesus said don't do these things?