The Blessing Of Making An Effort
By Ken Silva
"One of the big problems we encounter in the postmodern Evangelical church here in independent-minded America is a fallacious idea so many have that once a person “accepts” Christ–he’s instantly mature in the faith and knows everything there is to know about being a Christian. For those of us who have the task of teaching, confusion over this issue can be a real source of irritation as we run in to so many who feel they don’t need to study the Bible for themselves because they are “filled” with Spirit. And this is the main reason that deceptions like the Purpose Driven Life and the Emergent Church are able to slither their way into the Body of Christ in the first place. However, the Bible still says – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
So let’s put to rest–once and for all–the false teaching that says: “I’m born again, and since I have the Holy Spirit, He’s just going to reveal everything to me.” Now as usual, Satan will season his lies with just enough truth so as to make them taste good to our selfish nature, and as a way to make his spiritual cyanide just that much easier to swallow. Here though, is the whole truth. If - you as a Christian - really want to know Jesus intimately-then you will have to make that effort. In Philippians, chapter 3, the Apostle Paul wrote - I want to know Christ…becoming like Him… I press on to take hold…one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal… And he also infomed us - I beat my body and make it my slave (1 Cor. 9:27)… I think it’s safe to say that Paul is speaking of exerting an effort here, and I think we’re also secure in saying that there do not appear to be any Paul’s on our immediate horizon here in this timid and tepid – "I want it; and I want it now" – American Evangelical Church of Laodicea.
Do you remember what Jesus says about the spiritually wishy-washy? I know your deeds – [of tolerance and compromise] – that you – [try and please everybody] – you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of My mouth – Revelation 3:15-16. Let’s think of this imagery for a moment. Have you ever been very thirsty on a hot day and come upon a drinking fountain expecting some refreshingly cold water, only to take a big gulp of warm and stale water? What is your instinctive reaction? You’d immediately spew it out of your mouth. And so it is with the Lord. This is how He feels about Christians who profess to love Him, but do not make the time and effort to show their gratitude for His saving them, by cultivating a relationship with Him. Instead, they feel their own purpose driven lives are more important than doing what Jesus asks us to do. O how foolish we are! Here we expect our own children to love us, to spend time with us, and to obey us, but we don’t give our Lord the same kind of commitment that we then demand of our own sons and daughters.
The fact is, if you truly want to have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with Jesus, it does take commitment. And it requires daily diligence–perseverance–prayer and zealous study of what God has revealed about Himself in His Word, the Bible. Because, if you chose to simply go about your daily business–not making the time to do these things–then your very life becomes like the person who spends their entire day on a beach building an intricate sculpture of sand, and the instant the tide comes in it is immediately reduced to rubble and is quickly washed away. As always, A.W. Tozer speaks to the heart of the matter when he said:
God tells us in Holy Scripture – You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). We need to see here that this Scripture cannot be speaking to unbelievers because they do not seek God–remember? As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God – Romans 3:10-11. The lost, which is all those who are not in Christ–and all of us were lost at one time–the unbeliever does not seek God, it is the Lord Who would seek them. That’s why Jesus of Nazareth came into His world in the first place – For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost – Luke 19:10. Therefore, this Scripture in Jeremiah must be speaking to believers. So God says – you – [Christian] – will find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. The Lord is trying to encourage you by telling us that as one matures in the Christian faith, you should come to understand this incredible truth! You have a chance to have an intimate and personal relationship with Almighty God Himself–Who is the all-powerful; all knowing; everywhere present at the same time–Sovereign Creator of this entire universe! Now let me run this by you again; as a Christian–His dear child–the LORD God Himself wants you to know Him! And He loves you with a love more pure than any you could ever find in this world. Are beginning to get it? That’s right; you who sometimes feel so small and inconsequential in this big ol' world – you have been specifically chosen by Jesus of Nazareth to have a relationship with God – here and now, in this life, and for all eternity!... " (read more)
"One of the big problems we encounter in the postmodern Evangelical church here in independent-minded America is a fallacious idea so many have that once a person “accepts” Christ–he’s instantly mature in the faith and knows everything there is to know about being a Christian. For those of us who have the task of teaching, confusion over this issue can be a real source of irritation as we run in to so many who feel they don’t need to study the Bible for themselves because they are “filled” with Spirit. And this is the main reason that deceptions like the Purpose Driven Life and the Emergent Church are able to slither their way into the Body of Christ in the first place. However, the Bible still says – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
So let’s put to rest–once and for all–the false teaching that says: “I’m born again, and since I have the Holy Spirit, He’s just going to reveal everything to me.” Now as usual, Satan will season his lies with just enough truth so as to make them taste good to our selfish nature, and as a way to make his spiritual cyanide just that much easier to swallow. Here though, is the whole truth. If - you as a Christian - really want to know Jesus intimately-then you will have to make that effort. In Philippians, chapter 3, the Apostle Paul wrote - I want to know Christ…becoming like Him… I press on to take hold…one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal… And he also infomed us - I beat my body and make it my slave (1 Cor. 9:27)… I think it’s safe to say that Paul is speaking of exerting an effort here, and I think we’re also secure in saying that there do not appear to be any Paul’s on our immediate horizon here in this timid and tepid – "I want it; and I want it now" – American Evangelical Church of Laodicea.
Do you remember what Jesus says about the spiritually wishy-washy? I know your deeds – [of tolerance and compromise] – that you – [try and please everybody] – you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of My mouth – Revelation 3:15-16. Let’s think of this imagery for a moment. Have you ever been very thirsty on a hot day and come upon a drinking fountain expecting some refreshingly cold water, only to take a big gulp of warm and stale water? What is your instinctive reaction? You’d immediately spew it out of your mouth. And so it is with the Lord. This is how He feels about Christians who profess to love Him, but do not make the time and effort to show their gratitude for His saving them, by cultivating a relationship with Him. Instead, they feel their own purpose driven lives are more important than doing what Jesus asks us to do. O how foolish we are! Here we expect our own children to love us, to spend time with us, and to obey us, but we don’t give our Lord the same kind of commitment that we then demand of our own sons and daughters.
The fact is, if you truly want to have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with Jesus, it does take commitment. And it requires daily diligence–perseverance–prayer and zealous study of what God has revealed about Himself in His Word, the Bible. Because, if you chose to simply go about your daily business–not making the time to do these things–then your very life becomes like the person who spends their entire day on a beach building an intricate sculpture of sand, and the instant the tide comes in it is immediately reduced to rubble and is quickly washed away. As always, A.W. Tozer speaks to the heart of the matter when he said:
"It is doubtful whether we can be Christian in anything unless we are Christian in everything. To obey Christ [sometimes] and then in fear of consequences to back away and refuse to obey in another is to cloud our life with suspicion that we are only fair-weather followers and not true believers at all. To obey when it costs us nothing and [then] refuse when the results are costly is to convict ourselves of [making Christ’s commands unimportant] and [to reveal our] gross insincerity."
God tells us in Holy Scripture – You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). We need to see here that this Scripture cannot be speaking to unbelievers because they do not seek God–remember? As it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God – Romans 3:10-11. The lost, which is all those who are not in Christ–and all of us were lost at one time–the unbeliever does not seek God, it is the Lord Who would seek them. That’s why Jesus of Nazareth came into His world in the first place – For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost – Luke 19:10. Therefore, this Scripture in Jeremiah must be speaking to believers. So God says – you – [Christian] – will find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. The Lord is trying to encourage you by telling us that as one matures in the Christian faith, you should come to understand this incredible truth! You have a chance to have an intimate and personal relationship with Almighty God Himself–Who is the all-powerful; all knowing; everywhere present at the same time–Sovereign Creator of this entire universe! Now let me run this by you again; as a Christian–His dear child–the LORD God Himself wants you to know Him! And He loves you with a love more pure than any you could ever find in this world. Are beginning to get it? That’s right; you who sometimes feel so small and inconsequential in this big ol' world – you have been specifically chosen by Jesus of Nazareth to have a relationship with God – here and now, in this life, and for all eternity!... " (read more)
posted by Clarissa Ramos at 11:02 AM
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