His way or the Highway.

Recently I have found that many "Christians" are dropping out of the race. One thing I have found common among most of them is the notion that "someday God will intervene" or "something spectacular will happen."

They will think of things like:

The ministry will open up, some sin will be dealt its final blow or maybe they will experience complete joy and peace. Most fall by the way side because they had some expectation that was never fulfilled.

It makes me think of the phrase “What dreams may come?” I still have no idea what is really meant by it but, it’s a sentence which can make you meditate for hours.

Every single person ever created dreams of “that someday…”

When that day never arrives or seem that it will never arrive we go into a tailspin of doubt, bitterness and anger. All these emotions becomes overwhelming and saturates our very being, until it spills over into our actions and it just can’t be contained anymore. This is when harsh things are done and said.

The root of the problem is our expectations which are influenced by our misunderstanding of what Christ has promised and how we live in a relationship with Him.

We might be convinced that God has given us some promise.To us personally or to Christians in general and we cling to it for dear life, only find that it’s the Titanic and we sink into despair.

Our hope is lost our anchors rope gets cut because we have built our faith on sand and not on Christ.

We create our own dream-world where our besetting sin is defeated once and for all, where the monster of depression is given the death blow, or the day the phones rings and you land your dream job.

Christ has won the final victory on the cross against sin, by breaking the separation that it created between man and God. He gave death its final blow when He rose from the dead.

He has poured our glasses full until overflowing.

Turning against God and tossing His word aside because we have not received what we perceived to be promised is childish and rooted in pride.

God has promised and He will deliver but, only that which he promised.

That besetting sin we struggle with is like the AA guy says, is never completely killed until you are. If you are an alcoholic you will be one until you die.

If you are inclined to lie, you will fight telling a lies for the rest of your life. If you yearn for more, greed will always stalk you. If you lust has bitten you the poison will always be in your system.

While we are in this world we will always be surrounded by temptations and temptations will always be in our hearts. We are called to run the race to persevere till the very end. Christ never said it would be easy, he never said we will have complete freedom here on earth. Sin will always eyeball us and unfortunately we will fall into its trap and often set the trap ourselves.

We are called to arms we are instructed to put it on and never take it off.

Christ has given sin it death blow and it will die within us on the day of the Lord, when He returns, in the mean time we must fight unbelief, we must admit that this how it is.

We must fight daily for our faith and Christ daily gives it to us.

Our faith must not be built on our perceived ideas of how things should be but, rather on what the Bible say they are.

Importing things in our framework of faith that is not Clearly taught in scripture is folly of the highest order.

Let us say you struggle with depression and it keeps on coming back and meds does help but, it totally messes with your emotions and it does not add to your quality of life. Somehow in a prayer meeting you get convinced that Christ promises to take that depression away but, after years you still suffer from depression. Do you still hold to that conviction or do you consider that maybe you “heard” wrong? Do you allow this belief that Christ said He will cure you overshadow your whole relationship with Him?

Let us say you struggle with lustful thoughts and pray urgently to Christ and ask that he will take it away from you, you look at scripture and see that it teaches that if you pray according to His will and in His name He will answer your prayer but, after years lust still rears its ugly little head in your life. Do you start doubting Gods promises and question your faith?

We come to the topic of unanswered prayer mingled with “does God still speak to us?”

Or is our problem more basic than that?

We must go and search for our answer not in “Airy Fairy land” but, in the “Where the tyre meets the tar land.”

Our problem started and a more basic level, we came to the Bible with an “Extra-Biblical Theology”

We had been influenced with the humanist world where everything is man centred. While God is the focus and everything revolves around Him.

We have without noticing it been influenced with worlds view of how our lives on earth should work and what the purpose of life on earth is. We have come to see the physical world as the most important thing there is while the Glory given to God is the most important thing.

Some will say our spiritual lives are the most important, which in a sure way is true but, if not explained we also fall into heresy.

Our spiritual life and our physical life are to revolve around God. How we are spiritually in our relation to God is reveal in our physical life.

So if we build our relationship with Christ on the wrong doctrine we short-circuited the relationship and everything else falls out of whack.

Then if we pull the circle even smaller, on what do we base our doctrine. This is then the most important step.

If we build our doctrine on the wrong base we will ultimately expect the wrong things from God.

A false expectation from God leads to disappointment which leads to bitterness which leads to dark side.

Christians, who lose their faith, never had real faith because they clung to wrong doctrine or recognised the right doctrine but, rejected it because it did not square with what they wanted to believe.

The basis for our faith should not be our perception of what life should be like. Our faith must not be built on our own ideas on how God should be like. If we do this we end up with a man made God which is man centred instead of God centred.

God should not be understood by what we see in the nature and then try to use that as our basis on how God is. This will be total folly. Nature even if it was perfect is not God and we are also fallible so our perception is also messed up.

So we have to find a different source to find out what God is like and how we must stand in relation with Him.

This is where the Bible comes in. In this modern age the Bible has come under severe attack. Ever since it has existed someone has tried to show the Bible as false and lacking all credibility.

Mostly this attack on the Bible has come from sceptics who don’t want to believe. Some if not most attack it because they rebel against an authority over them.

So do we abandon our create expectations?
No we don't, our expectations actually underestimates God's ability. We must come in line with what He has truly revealed and stand firm on the true Biblical promises and test our preconceived ideas to what God has already revealed.

 

Battle Lines are drawn.

The field of battle has been chosen. The men have dug themselfs in. We have been assigned our posts. All is quiet, the birds are singing as if nothing is wrong but, this is war. The war that will end all wars.

The enemy out number us, we know some of our own are traitors; the one in the foxhole with me might stab me in the back.

I will watch my line of fire, all I can do is my job.

The men on the other side are merciless, vengeful killers ready to charge at us at any minute. Armed to the teeth and totally committed.

My first aid kitt is fully supplied; maybe I will get too save someone life today. Many of my enemies will die today but, not by my hands, not by any of us. We are here to try and save those who would kill us in an instant.

The games afoot, they are coming, yelling DIE, DIE, DIE. We jump up yelling LIVE, LIVE, LIVE.   

Our biggest problem is the lack of faith.

If we just know the elementary components of the Gospel/Good News essential for our salvation that is a dare say more than enough to get us through any situation. That knowledge alone is enough.

Here, is where we come into some really rough terrain, here is where the tyre hits the road. We doubt, GASP. Yes we doubt it is present even amongst Christians.

Doubt, I for one think it is most evident in the lack of evangelism, for if I believed without a doubt, If I was utterly confident about the fate of the world. Would I pass one person on the street without telling him about the way to salvation? Will I leave any opportunity to share the Gospel at the way side.

Our deeds show what we believe, the intensity of our deeds display the depth of our faith. We read about hell, we cry about the multitudes of people rushing towards their eternal punishment but, we ask for another cup of “Jo”.

Just as our inaction displays our unbelief it is evident in our actions we do take but, that is a totally different topic.

We believe in the sovereignty of God. We believe He loves us so much that He offered up his Son for us. He saved us, He chose us in eternity past and destined us to spend eternity with Him in the future but, we doubt that His plan for our life now is not all that spectacular.

We look at our current situation and dream silly childish dreams, sometimes of lives filled with gospel witnessing and opportunities, lives that we think would be Christ centred and glorifying. We forget how deceitful our hearts can be.

We forget that he has held the universe in His hands for countless years and will do so in the future. Those are the most capable hands, most loving hands and He is Holy, righteous and transcendent.

His plan is better even though we are not totally convinced.

Cling to Him, He surely knows best and He is in control.   

Becoming what you are.

Many believe they are saved. They remember a date which they converted. They believe that Jesus is the son of God, send to earth to pay for our penalty. They even believe that they have given their lives to him. A few can even explain a few more complex doctrines but, they are not saved.

Being saved comprises of more than just knowing some facts. The proof of saving faith is found in the deeds.

Our deeds do not save us but proclaims that which we know as our beliefs.

True repentance is a change of direction, our centre changes. Our heart is changed by God. We are quickened like the older church men used to say.

We are completely changed and our way of life changes. Let me try and summarize it in one sentence.

Sanctification is the proof of a work already completed.

Sanctification is the gradual change of a person’s deeds towards what honours God. Already if you truly have come to Christ and are saved you are given a new heart by God, a heart that longs for God and the things that pleases Him.

You die to self and to your worldly and selfish dreams and come into line with what God wants.

A person who claims he is a Christian but, does not lead a Christ-honouring life is a fraud. James 2:17, 26

Remember that frightful passages; Mathew 7:21.

Think of Nicodumos coming to Jesus in the dead of night asking Christ what he should do to be saved. John 3:2-3

Jesus then answers him look especially at John 3: 31-32. “If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine…”

A life that continually careens of the road set by Christ is the life of a false disciple.

We will not lead perfect lives but, our inclination will change we would desire neither good nor evil and we will fight the good fight. “It will not be perfect obedience and repentance, but good works will be present” J MacArthur.

Eph 2:8-10 “created in Christ Jesus for good works,”

Good work does not save us but, it shouts to the world that we are different and that we are saved.

The demons are most probably more orthodox in their believes than most believers but, they are not saved. You can know everything but, if your heart is not changed you are not saved.

By examining your works you will be able to determine if you faith is authentic. Remember that all of us will fall, sometimes even jump and swim with the pigs, but what you do after that is what counts.

Do not think in a moment that I’m saying “sin all the more so that grace can increase” oh, no if you say that, if we would think that for a instant it proofs our faith is dead and not a iota of love for Christ lives in us.

Sinning, is like walking past the Cross of Christ and spitting in His face, striking the nails with a hammer. Sinning is rebelling against our saviour and if we do it “all up in His face” you can be assured we are not saved.

What I’m saying, times of weakness come, situations present themselves and we resurrect the dead monster in ourselves and do what is not pleasing to our saviour.

In these times we forget what he has done for us and how much He cares for us. On the other side of such a horrendous detour Christ is waiting to reconcile with us but, if these detours are frequent and extended re-examine yourself, do not lie, are you a Christian, do you really love Him above all else?

Return quickly to Christ; do not give sin a foothold in your life, run, hide, and fight.

In times of severe sin (is there any other kind) your assurance of salvation will waiver, this sometimes becomes a vessel to extend the period away from Christ.

The best remedy is to not fall into sin but, we are not in heaven yet so we will sin. This dark cold fact must not be an excuse; it must be a call to arms, to knees, fight.

Sin mostly comes when we give our imagination free reign in our lives. Curb it. We only sin after we have played with that set sin in our minds, guard your eyes and ears. That temptations will come is a given, what we do with them we can determine.