04/07/2024
Today let’s talk about our faith and churches, and how they both should be "on fire" for God. As I read my devotional this morning the author portrayed God as glowing in white heat, but we should be cautious when we attempt to build the fire, and ignite the zeal, within our own selves, and churches. Pastor E.M. Bounds cautions us that the only things that we and our churches can afford to be on fire about are the great eternal interests of God-given faith. In making this point regarding zealousness, Bounds uses a scripture from Romans 12.
“in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;”
Romans 12:11 ASV
We need to exhibit the same cautious call to action that is spoken of in Romans 12:11 and apply it to our personal lives and faith. We too should be careful to direct this fervor towards "the great, eternal interests of God-given faith" as well.
Our God is not an irrational God, nor is He prone to action that is not well ordered and considered. He is inclined towards fewer words but words of great meaning. When Jesus was teaching His apostles to pray He gave them the Lord’s Prayer that is direct and precisely focused on the many points it contains…
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Matthew 6:9-15 KJV
Growing up in a military family I was taught a heavy dose of honor. I heard things like "a man's word is his bond", and "say exactly what you mean, and mean exactly what you say". There were too many such sayings related to our words and actions to recount all of them, but you catch the drift... What we say and do is important and defines us, and should be to the point and easily understood. I spoke of meaning what we say because there have been many times in my personal, professional, and church life, when I have watched as good ideas or thoughts were taken to such an extreme that they lost all worth and could even defeat the truth, or purpose, that they were originally intended to encourage. There is another very true saying that people repeat quite often, and was a particular favorite of my mother... "Enough is enough, and too much is nasty." You might know a similar saying that goes like this “Keep it short and sweet.”
So we need to be careful in exercising the zeal with which we approach our faith and church; be zealous about the things that are of God but don't carry them beyond what He intends. In church this becomes things like dogma and unfounded ritual... In our personal lives it takes on an air of being holier than thou, or leaning towards extremism. In both cases our added zeal can drive more people away from God than we are ever able to save otherwise. God wants us to be "fired up" or excited about what we do in His name, but we need to remember that it is in HIS NAME and we are not to besmirch it by adding our overzealous efforts to it. Our goal is to spread the gospel but not to use it as a tool to control or use against people, nor should we use it to flaunt our own piety.
Pray to the point. Speak what is true. Act in grace, kindness, and goodness. The instructions of Jesus in Matthew 6 are well worth reading, and following, but I warn you it won't be easy, and will take a large dose of God's assistance as we do His will and do not add our own stipulations and attempts at furthering our own selves through it. Jesus was on fire for the Lord, but he was never over the top with His instruction and preaching. He often completed a miracle, or lesson by saying “Go and sin no more.”, but he didn’t say “Go and sin no more, and… and… and…” Listen to these condensed portions of His teaching in Matthew 6 as he instructs us in how to give, pray, fast, gather up possessions, and keep from feeling anxious about our lives. Let’s pay close attention to how they are to the point but not overzealous in their expression or application…
”“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 6:1 CSB
“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
Matthew 6:5 CSB
“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.
Matthew 6:16 CSB
“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
Matthew 6:19 CSB
“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?“
Matthew 6: 25 CSB
So, when we look inward at how we personally practice our faith, or outward at how we behave as a church, are we on fire for God, and is that fire a blazing inferno or are we in control of that blaze? If we compare ourselves to the burning bush that Moses encountered are we a fire that puts off heat and attracts people to us, or one that consumes the bush with its intense flame?
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Holy Word, your Son Jesus Christ, and your Holy Spirit, as they each lead and teach us of you. We thank you for making your tenets simple, understandable, and to the point, so that we can live by them, and hope to be righteous in our lives. We thank you for giving us the gift of eternity if we will only believe, and for not adding stipulation upon stipulation to this expectation to limit those who seek their salvation, and you. Help us Holy Father to live and spread the gospel in a way that will bring many souls, tribes, and nations to you. Help us to keep your expectations of us simple and to the point, as we describe them to those who don’t know you, so that one day we can say as Jesus did that we haven’t lost a single one that you have given us. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come. Holy are you who ignites fires in us, and by us, yet doesn’t consume what you set aflame. Hear our words, and correct us through your Spirit when we attempt to make them other than what you intend them to be. Take our intolerance, and bitterness against others away, and replace it with your love and desire for them to be saved, and made righteous. Give us bare feet Father as we walk with you on Holy Ground, and make them tender so that we feel every little pebble beneath them. In this way we will worship you, praise you, and stand righteous in Christ before you… having believed in Him, and been given the gift of eternity through your mercy and grace.
Amen, Amen, Amen.
Rich Forbes