Today's blog is not just something to quickly read and
then forget about. It also comes with a
warning. In writing this blog, I have felt
a deep heart conviction that I have fallen far short of being "hot" when
it comes to zealously loving God and the things of God. I needed to be reminded and I needed to
repent. It all began as I was reading a
blog written by a pastor and the blog seemed to be so dry and religious, the
words could have blown away with the slightest breeze. I wondered, where is the power? Where is the
zeal? Where is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that brings about repentance
and change? He scarcely used Scripture,
which seems so common in many blogs and posts today. There seems to be so much intellectual
opinion as people would rather share their own clever thoughts and those of
others, or so called learned theologians.
Have we even bothered to test the truth of these men to see if they are
correctly and reverentially using the Word of God? Has God truly revealed His Word to them, and
is this what they are sharing with us?
As Christians, we have been entrusted with tremendous power from the
Holy Spirit, but power without the love of the truth is not effective. The
power is in the Word but it must be delivered with grace and conviction and
faith!
After reading the blog, Jesus' message to the churches in
the Book of Revelation came to mind immediately. I quote the message to the church of Ephesus:
Rev 2:1 Unto the
angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the
seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden
candlesticks;
Rev 2:2 I know
thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them
which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are
not, and hast found them liars:
Rev 2:3 And hast
borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not
fainted.
Rev 2:4 Nevertheless
I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember
therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or
else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent.
Notice verse 4: Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,
because thou hast left thy first love.
After we become saved, we may become too busy and caught
up with the things of the world, or even with "churchy" things and we
start to neglect the treasured time with the Lord where He builds us up,
teaches us, and gently rebukes us when we've strayed. As we feed on the Word, and obey what He
says, our hearts remain pliable and tender towards Him and the things that
matter most to Him. Perhaps we have
become cold from too many trials and tribulations, and we feel we can't go on
any longer. Maybe we have allowed
bitterness towards God and others to harden our heart and we have become
careless (we could care less). If so,
this is a dangerous place to be as a Christian.
For one thing, Rev. 2:5 says that there are consequences to failing to
love God first. For the church of
Ephesus they were to love Him first or they would be removed out of their
place!
In every situation and in everything we do, God always
looks on the heart. The greatest
commandment is this:
Mat 22:36
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This
is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And
the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
We need to be constantly reminded that Jesus wants us to
love Him first and foremost and to demonstrate it also by "zealously"
loving the truth. We are to do the good
works out of that zeal, otherwise it becomes dead works. He wants us to stand up for the truth and not
be silent and indifferent. Let's
seriously think about what the Lord is saying here and what He requires of us!
If we read in the Old Testament, God dealt with the
children of Israel when they merely put on a show, but their hearts were far
from Him:
Isa 29:13
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their
mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from
me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isa 29:14
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people,
even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isa 29:15 Woe
unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works
are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16 Surely
your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for
shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing
framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
Notice in verse 13 it says, their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. This is what happens when we read too much
"about" religious ideas, and neglect the unadulterated Word of
God. Doctrines of men deaden our hearts,
but the Spirit and the Truth of God's Word quicken us and give us life. Think of how many times Jesus rebuked the
Pharisees in the New Testament for neglecting the things of God, and merely
putting on a prideful show to their own benefit. In Matthew 7 Jesus declares seven woes
against the Pharisees for their prideful and evil ways.
Clearly, God does not look favorably upon prideful
hearts. Most people are familiar with
the passage in Revelation where Jesus warns the Laodiceans:
Rev 3:14 And
unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the
Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my
mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked:
This passage is one of the most graphic portrayals of how
God feels about a lukewarm heart towards Him.
It turns His stomach and makes Him sick.
If we are prosperous, we must always be very careful that we don't allow
our hearts to become callous and lukewarm towards God! Materially,
we may be right up there with the world, but spiritually we can and will
become impoverished when we neglect to passionately love God and the things of
God first and foremost.
In case we have forgotten the kind of love God is looking
for, agape love, or unconditional love, is described in I Corinthians 13:
1Co 13:1 Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am
become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And
though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all
knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and
have not charity, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 And
though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be
burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
1Co 13:4 Charity
suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself,
is not puffed up,1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her
own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7 Beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Co 13:8a Charity
never faileth:
Every verse here speaks of a "selfless"
love. Even though we may do many good
works, without love, it is a waste of time.
It "profiteth nothing," and we are "nothing." These are not suggestions. This kind of love has been commanded by
God. I hope that you have felt something
in your heart stirring today that will be the beginning or the continuance of a
heart that is "hot" for Christ and the precious things of God. I know I sure have! Let's put aside our own busy schedule, and
concentrate on time well spent with God.
Time is ticking and we need to get this right. Let's begin today.
