A GIFT FOR CHRIST

By on Dec 24, 2012 in Current Issues, Features

Prayer

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23)

The Clarion Call To Prayer

In earlier Apprising Ministries articles like Where Are Christ’s Soldiers? and the semi-satirical Recipe For Spiritual Disaster I’ve been trying to bring to your attention how a Rodney King theology of, “Can’t we all just get along” is serving to cripple the witness of the church visible.

The Christian church world-around today is in the throes of a deadly spiritual lethargy having been busy constructing The Idol Of Evangelicalism. It’s gotten so bad that now we see Ravi Zacharias” God Inspired Nicky Gumbel In His Work With The Alpha Course.

And there is only one antidote. Leonard Ravenhill in his day was England’s foremost outdoor evangelist, leaving aside our differnces, he tells us what it is:

People often ask me, “Why do you insist on prayer so much?” The answer is very simple, because Jesus did… Jesus went on a mount and He was transfigured. There’s nothing more transfiguring than prayer. The Scriptures say that the disciples went to bed, but Jesus went to pray as was His custom. It was His custom to pray. Now Jesus was the Son of God, He was definitely anointed for His ministry.

If Jesus needed all that time in prayer, then don’t you and I need time in prayer? If Jesus needed it in every crisis, don’t you and I need it in every crisis?… People say, “I’m filled with the Holy Spirit.” If the coming of the Spirit didn’t revolutionize your prayer life, you’d better check on it. Cause I’m not so sure you got what God wanted you to get… Jesus the anointed of God, made prayer His custom.

Therefore, so should you and I. As our Master says in our text — “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” But be of good cheer fellow Christian, the effort to get to know God will be more than worth the time as you come to:

 “know the God of [the Bible] and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you… “(1 Chronicles 28:9)

If the Body of Christ is to be God’s Lighthouse to shine the light of His glorious Gospel into the putrid darkness of the spiritual wasteland. which is our world wallowing in postmodernism, then it is vital for us to understand this truth. The Christian is required by the Lord to make the effort to cultivate his relationship with his God; and frankly, if you don’t have this desire then you do have good reason to doubt whether you are even a Christian in the first place.

Keep in mind that Jesus has done this for us and He’ll strengthen us with His Holy Spirit. For this is what Jesus means when He says:

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross [daily] and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37-38).

Let’s Return To Our Lord And Join Him In Battle

This is the genuine Jesus of the Bible. The question I would ask The Ecumenical Church Of Deceit (ECoD): “Is it Him you love, or is it rather the caricature of Christ that you spiritual slackers have created.” Some say: “Well, I witness by my lifestyle of Christian ideals; and that speaks for me. I’m a silent witness.” Well, I would counter with, “Yeah, you’re so silent, no one even knows that you are a witness.”

Don’t you know that there are all kinds of atheists, skeptics, and non-Christian cultists who live ethical lives; that really proves nothing. Our word “witness” comes from the Greek word martyr and no one would have lost their lives for Christ if they had kept their mouths shut. To hear most “Christians” today talk you’d think it’s actually our duty to live as comfortably as we can, with the least possible conflict, and then to enter heaven for our “eternal rest.” I ask you; what exactly is it these people will be resting from? Yet even more rest?

Or just maybe true Christians are rewarded with eternal bliss as a recompense for our life in this world of constantly striving for Jesus against the warfare of satanic forces. Now just think about most people’s concept of God for a moment. This mystic mush god of love that creates a mankind, who then pays him/her/it virtually no mind lest he/she/it “intrude” into their lives. So, after after enjoying all the creature comforts in this life, they then get to live in an Edenic paradise?

Seriously, anyone who believes that really needs to have their spiritual head examined. You see, the Bible tells us to — Fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12). What the genuine Christian Church needs today are men and women of courage and with character to accept our God’s exhortation to — Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him (2 Timothy 2:3-4).

Then further — I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed… (Romans 12:1-2). And finally, we are to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3, NKJV).

Let me encourage you dear Christian, this would be the greatest gift we might give our Savior, and it is really the only thing Christ Jesus our Lord and King may truly want on the day we celebrate His birth:

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

And as we survey the battlefield we are even witnessing the Seeker Driven attractional megachurches, the neo-liberal cult within the Emerging Church, and the spiritually whacked Word Faith wingnuts, merging right back into the apostate Church of Rome. So, let me ask you a question: Do you remember those “Christian soldiers” who marched out “as to war?” My O my, they were really quite impressive once; weren’t they…

Further reading