Could the Church possibly be the biggest sleeping
giant the world has ever ‘not known’? As the representative of Almighty God on Earth,
does it appear to us and to the un-churched that we are fully awake and up to
or capable of significantly impacting for good the rampant challenges, moral
decay and disillusionment facing mankind? Could the steady deterioration in
moral and civil life on Earth simply be preparatory to world events foretold in
the Book of Revelation -- the unstoppable winding down of this age, in
preparation for the next millennium? Or might it be more related to our
collective need to accomplish what God outlined to King Solomon in 2 Chronicles
7:14, ‘..if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from
heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.’ Lord knows
our land -- the whole planet, needs healing!
Perhaps such questions have been posed ever since
Christ ascended to Heaven. Either way, it is beneficial to review the four
pivotal personal and corporate disciplines that will ensure we are playing our
God-intended roles in the Earth. Though they are all familiar, they warrant a
succinct review.
Repentance and Forgiveness.
These two Christian disciplines are fundamental and should be practiced daily
or even more often, as needed. Have you ever noticed the so-called Lord’s
Prayer is perfectly balanced on the two center petitions:
‘Give us this day …and
forgive us …as we forgive.’
(Matthew 6:11 – 12)
The
perceptive reader will see and understand how closely Jesus associated the
practice of forgiveness to the frequency of our eating. Repentance signals our
recognition that, though beneficiaries of salvation, our life in the flesh
remains prone to sin and falling short of God’s requirements. It ensures the
continued flow of God’s Grace of forgiveness to us, and it demands our onward
forgiveness of those who offend and sin against us. ‘Grace received’ thus
becomes ‘Grace extended’.
Thanksgiving. Regularly practicing
this discipline radically shifts our magnifying focus away from our problems,
to a laser-like focus on our Problem Solver. The highest expression of
thanksgiving and love is giving – giving of our substance and ourselves to God
and others. Only as we ‘see’ (perceive) our problems safely in the hands of our
Chief Problem Solver, are we able to give ourselves more to God, and to help
meet somebody else’s needs. In seeing our own problems like the faint mirror
reflection of somebody else’s more intense, more immediate problems, we are
enabled to respond selflessly.
Obedience. This is likely the
most challenging and comprehensive of all Christian disciplines. It is the
quintessential test of denial of self, faith-led trust in God, and
Christ-motivated love for others. Much of what to obey is very clearly
specified in The Bible for the ‘black and white’ areas of our walk. This is not
so clear in the gray areas of life, where The Bible provides no clear, black
and white guidance or instructions. Only by daily feeding (not just nibbling)
on The Word, and being continually filled with The Spirit can we accumulate an
adequate ‘stock’ of knowledge, understanding and wisdom of Kingdom laws and
principles to cultivate the skill of hearing God’s still quiet voice saying,
‘This is the way. Walk in it.’ This is like being on the edge of a
still, quiet and deep lake, where the whisper of someone on one side is easily
echoed and heard by someone on the other side of the lake. Like me, have you
learned how impossible it is to hear this voice clearly in the din of life’s
challenges? These challenges are magnified by innumerable ungodly cultural
choices that consume our time and energy, and that saturate our gluttonous,
fleshy (carnal) desires. We can hear more easily in quiet, meditative solitude
where we can muse the daily Word content downloaded into our spirit, and
perceive the messages, guidance and instructions cloaked therein.
Jesus did this regularly. In John 5:19, He gave us
insight into the results He received. As He practiced this discipline, He ‘saw
and heard’, in the imaginations of His heart, exactly what The Father was
doing en avance, in the world of
spirit, which things would soon manifest physically as Jesus spoke and acted on
what He saw and heard. Read that again. This is because everything that
happens physically is but the manifestation or after-birth of that which has already occurred (been born) spiritually.
(For example, Ezekiel 9 occurred prior to 2 Chronicles 36:15-21! Check it out.)
With this insight, it was easy for Him simply to step into the pictures (or
videos) He saw, and to do what He saw/heard The Father doing.
Then Jesus said to
them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you,
the Son can do nothing
of Himself, but what He sees the Father do;
for whatever He does, the
Son also does in like manner.’
(John
5:19)
May this
review be helpful in checking yourself against these pivotal disciplines, and
in playing your personal role in awakening the corporate Church. Without a
doubt, the world needs us to play our God-assigned role in this day and age. What awaits the many of us who will refuse to ‘step-up’, is very likely the same, exact fate of the Church at Laodicea, that The Lord promised in Revelation 3:14-22. (See: Laodicean Lackadaisicalness (Series) and Audacious Christians (Series))
