“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).
This is a YouTube video clip of movie director Paul Verhoeven, producer of a film that purports Jesus Christ is the product of a brutal rape of His mother, Mary by a Roman soldier.
Immediately after watching this video, a rage filled me that I've never felt before; a level of anger ignited within me greater than any other in reference to the multitude of indignities belched out by this increasingly godless society. I am well aware that untold billions of people do not share my faith, but I know that hundreds of millions do. And I felt in my every bone and sinew all of their righteous indignation over the sullying of the blessed Name of the One who purchased us for Himself with His own red blood.
I am not ashamed to say that I have been born again by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, nor does it shame me to say that I love Him and long to see His shining, beautiful face, but to have Mr. Verhoeven (or anyone, for that matter) to rail so viciously against a loved One of mine is infuriating beyond language to express. To me, and millions more who belong to the Way, this cannot go unaddressed. Sure, curse and blashpeme Jesus—but don't even dare say a word against Mohammed and Islam; spread lies about Christ—but endorse Buddhism and Hinduism as noble religions of peace!
But as I prayed concerning this burning issue, the Holy Spirit began to minister to me. Anyone born again can also attest to when the Holy Spirit deals with us during prayer—and He always deals with is according to Truth, not fleeting emotion. The ministering of the Spirit put my “high-faluting” holy zeal in its place and directed me to examine myself. I know this seems a terrible detour, especially since a reader of this may have gotten as “worked up” as I originally was. But the Spirit of Truth showed me 3 things during and after prayer:
I am not ashamed to say that I have been born again by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ, nor does it shame me to say that I love Him and long to see His shining, beautiful face, but to have Mr. Verhoeven (or anyone, for that matter) to rail so viciously against a loved One of mine is infuriating beyond language to express. To me, and millions more who belong to the Way, this cannot go unaddressed. Sure, curse and blashpeme Jesus—but don't even dare say a word against Mohammed and Islam; spread lies about Christ—but endorse Buddhism and Hinduism as noble religions of peace!
But as I prayed concerning this burning issue, the Holy Spirit began to minister to me. Anyone born again can also attest to when the Holy Spirit deals with us during prayer—and He always deals with is according to Truth, not fleeting emotion. The ministering of the Spirit put my “high-faluting” holy zeal in its place and directed me to examine myself. I know this seems a terrible detour, especially since a reader of this may have gotten as “worked up” as I originally was. But the Spirit of Truth showed me 3 things during and after prayer:
- He reinforced from my own study of the Word that this is the last hour, the set time for apostasy and increased hostility to the Name and things of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- My personal weaknesses and areas of compromise.
- True spiritual warfare is waged not by railing against demons or "chasing demons", or exorcising them or "binding" Satan—but is done with Scripture, through the preaching of the glorious Gospel, by using Scripture to cast down every philosophy, argument, methodology that snares the minds of men, thereby their souls.
He (the Spirit) really made particular emphasis on my weaknesses. I had to agree with Him as I made my confessions and sought mercy and forgiveness. This society says such things against Christ because I, and the Church at large (in America), are living such defeated, compromised lives in the nation's sight. The Spirit showed me that I would be more effective in my ministry to my family, friends, associates, and to the lost, if I didn't resemble the lost in so many ways. (I'm not saying that I have "one foot in the world" and just "living saved" on Sundays. I'm just saying that I have some improvements to make and must shed the spiritual lethargy and addiction to comfort and ease that has seduced me, and so many like me.)
We are supposed to be salt and light but so many of us look just like the world—!
Of course the Lord always, always, always has a remnant (I Kings 19:18) who are blameless and uncompromised before Him. This remnant does not shy away from standing up to oppose those who blaspheme and spread lies against their Lord (Peter and the Apostles, Acts 5:17-42; Stephen, Acts 7:51-8:1-3; James, Acts 12:1-2).
The Holy Spirit showed me the areas of my own compromise, where I have made concessions to the my flesh and the world. Why isn't the Holy Spirit more powerful in my life?—because of compromise; why aren't I more influential for Him?—because of the sins I am holding on to, those things I'm willingly not sacrificing.
The Spirit of Truth was brutally honest with me, holding before my eyes the mirror of Scripture in which I could see that I was an unprofitable servant (Matt. 25:26), and not because I'm not involved in service in my church, but because in the late hours of the night and wee hours of the morning as I lay on my bed, I've had the audacity to tell the Spirit when He speaks in that still voice to my soul what I wasn't ready to do. Sure, my Lord is using me (the flawed, unworthy tool that I am) but when He ministers to me in order to take me to where He wants me to go next—I resist, out of fear, unbelief, addiction to comfort, etc. God's measuring stick is the only valid one.
How can we fight against the enemies of the Lord if we are holding on to this world? How can we stand tall, full of the Holy Spirit and of His power if there are areas of our lives that we aren't willing to completely relinquish to His control? JEHOVAH told Joshua in no uncertain terms that He would no longer go out in battle with Israel unless their secret sin was expunged from their midst (Josh. 7:9-13). Since our God is immutable (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8), He demands that we, the blood-bought Church of Jesus Christ walk blamelessly and righteously in His sight, in every area of life (Lev. 20:24, 26; Deut. 18:13; 23:13; Matt. 5:20, 48; I Pet. 1:13-16). Joshua, the mighty man of battle, would be defeated by his enemies as long as sin was in their midst, and since God does not change, we must also walk holy before Him. Joshua fought with swords and shields—as we do—but not swords of iron and steel, or shields of wood and bronze, but with the Sword of the Spirit and the shields of our faith!
Only when we get our own lives right with God, and align our motives and agendas according to His own perfect will, will we resemble those mighty armies of old that valiantly fought in the Name of the Lord. Of those armies, I include the Apostles, who waged war against the spiritual darkness of this age with the unstoppable, irresistible Gospel of Jesus Christ, at which the kingdom of darkness has no lasting defense.
Only then can our zeal be directed at those issues that we are required to war against. (A Christian who's knowingly in sin is a most miserable person.) It would be great hypocrisy to step forth in Jesus' Name, knowing that we are not in total obedience to Him especially where men's eyes cannot see; it's very easy to maintain a facade, and quite frankly, we've gotten far too adept at it. I would think that quite a few Christians depict themselves as holy, at peace, and under self-control but inwardly are overcome with sin, anxiety and worry, burning with lasciviousness. These are not fit to fight the good fight of faith, but by all means, these should fervently seek the mercy of God, for He stands ready to receive and restore His own, just as a loving father longs to do for his own children.
Christ, who reigns with all power in Heaven and on earth at the right hand of the Father doesn't need us to fight for Him. However, we who love Him, because He loved us and gave Himself for us (Eph. 5:25) should want His Name to be only praised and honored and proclaimed as the only means to deliverance from the penalty of sin.
Some time ago, there was a skit on a popular American show called Saturday Night Live, whereupon our blessed Lord and God was reduced to the role of a bumbling buffoon, concerned more with Tim Tebow winning football games, rather than the salvation of the lost. I heard an excerpt of the show on a sports radio station and my mouth was agape! I'm not expecting mainstream culture to really honor Christ, but I've been hoping that there was still something left in America that would restrain her from mocking Him as this skit did. A clip is embedded below.
Only when we get our own lives right with God, and align our motives and agendas according to His own perfect will, will we resemble those mighty armies of old that valiantly fought in the Name of the Lord. Of those armies, I include the Apostles, who waged war against the spiritual darkness of this age with the unstoppable, irresistible Gospel of Jesus Christ, at which the kingdom of darkness has no lasting defense.
Only then can our zeal be directed at those issues that we are required to war against. (A Christian who's knowingly in sin is a most miserable person.) It would be great hypocrisy to step forth in Jesus' Name, knowing that we are not in total obedience to Him especially where men's eyes cannot see; it's very easy to maintain a facade, and quite frankly, we've gotten far too adept at it. I would think that quite a few Christians depict themselves as holy, at peace, and under self-control but inwardly are overcome with sin, anxiety and worry, burning with lasciviousness. These are not fit to fight the good fight of faith, but by all means, these should fervently seek the mercy of God, for He stands ready to receive and restore His own, just as a loving father longs to do for his own children.
Christ, who reigns with all power in Heaven and on earth at the right hand of the Father doesn't need us to fight for Him. However, we who love Him, because He loved us and gave Himself for us (Eph. 5:25) should want His Name to be only praised and honored and proclaimed as the only means to deliverance from the penalty of sin.
Some time ago, there was a skit on a popular American show called Saturday Night Live, whereupon our blessed Lord and God was reduced to the role of a bumbling buffoon, concerned more with Tim Tebow winning football games, rather than the salvation of the lost. I heard an excerpt of the show on a sports radio station and my mouth was agape! I'm not expecting mainstream culture to really honor Christ, but I've been hoping that there was still something left in America that would restrain her from mocking Him as this skit did. A clip is embedded below.
Anyone who is born again would never be entertained by this egregious slander of our Lord! Yet we must be honest with ourselves about the Jesus we are displaying before the world. If we were constantly throughout each day through our lives showing Christ as merciful, loving, holy, and powerful then the culture would think twice before blaspheming the Lord of Glory.
We should be filled with righteous indignation when our Lord is so terribly dishonored, but if we are to war against the philosophies of this world and be successful, we can't be entrenched in sin ourselves (Deut. 23:9; Josh. 7:12-13), we must be devoted to regular, fervent prayer (Mark 1:35; Luke 6:12; Jam. 5:16-17)), and we must prepare ourselves with the Word of God (Deut. 6:6-9; Josh. 1:8; Psa. 119:11, 97-104).
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