The Gifts Part 59
Prophecy continued...
What many who stubbornly deny the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the power thereof fail to understand is that the gifs as well as the Comforter were sent so that the children of God might be thoroughly equipped, that they might have the strength to stand against the enemy, and fight the good fight of faith.
Few things are more pitiable in this life than a weaponless soldier on a battlefield, especially one who had the opportunity to fortify himself, and arm himself, and learn the weapons of warfare, who had the allotted time to practice and become proficient, yet somehow allowed himself to be convinced that these weapons are unnecessary and unavailable.
If we find ourselves on the battlefield weaponless and defenseless, if we are subsequently vanquished by the enemy and overrun, it’s nobody’s fault but our own for refusing to adequately arm ourselves and learn how to wield the weapons we were given.
We have grown comfortable, indifferent, possessing an unrealistic sense of casualness, because although the household of faith is under siege, although the enemy encircles us on every side, for long and long our spiritual betters have not bothered to remind us that we are at war, that we face a relentless and brutal enemy, and that being a neutral third party or a spectator is not an option.
We have made a doctrine of frivolity, and in so doing we’ve checked out spiritually but our enemy has not.
As limited as I am in my ability to express myself, I keep trying as often as I can to impress upon you the seriousness of the hour we are living in, and our need to be ready when the battle commences for on that day it will be all out war wherein no quarter will be given and no prisoners will be taken. Dramatic as it might sound, it will be a life or death battle, and the household of faith is woefully unprepared.
It is the enemy’s good pleasure to see the congregation of God docile, distracted, disjointed and divided, focused on the things of this earth and fleeting trivialities, because as long as our attention is elsewhere, as long as we are not united and aware of a common enemy, as long as we squabble and bicker and keep from seeking the greater things of God it will be that much easier for the enemy to decimate us.
The enemy we face does not fear opulence, he does not fear cathedrals, he does not fear grand conventions and obscene compensation packages for preachers, what the enemy fears is what he has been trying to keep believers from doing for a very long time. The enemy fears a humble, sanctified, praying Christian endowed with the power of the Holy Spirit, who knows the authority he has in God, and stands on all of His promises.
If God warns it is for our own good, if God rebukes, corrects or chastises us, it is likewise for our own good. If God exhorts us to maturity and soberness, it is so that we might be ready to stand, and if He admonishes us to righteousness and holiness and sanctification is so that we might be welcomed into His eternal kingdom.
Once again, it is what is being taught from many a pulpit that’s to blame for the reticence of some believers to receive harsh words from God, because all they’ve heard for years on end is that God will encourage you, and tell you He’s proud of you, and be more like an endearing old coach or an overly excited cheerleader, than the omniscient, omnipotent, everlasting God, and creator of all that is seen and unseen that He is.
God chastens those He loves, God corrects those He holds near, as any parent would correct a wayward child, and chasten an offspring that is headed toward destruction.
Proverbs 3:11-12, “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
Psalm 141:5, “Let the righteous strike me; it shall be a kindness. And let him reprove me; it shall be as an excellent oil; let my head not refuse it.”
The reason I started out in this vein today is due to a comment I received wherein the ever present ‘anonymous’ wrote that another way by which he or she judges prophecy is if it isn’t positive, uplifting, and encouraging.
‘If it’s not positive, I know it’s not from God. If it’s not uplifting and encouraging I know it’s of the enemy.’
Whether or not a word is positive uplifting or encouraging is not a biblical criterion by which we can judge prophecy!
We need to stop acting like overly pampered and overly indulged adolescents who’ve always gotten their way by stomping their feet and balling their fists, and come to the realization that we are servants in service to the King of Kings, honor bound and obliged to be about His business and obey His commands.
The fact that we are special, and esteemed in the sight of God has already been established. God sent His Son to die for one such as me, and by so doing proved His love beyond doubt. The fact that God sent Jesus however, does not mean that we will never be chastened, that we will never be rebuked, that we will never be called upon to sacrifice or obey. Jesus came that we might have life everlasting in Him, and if we desire to follow after Him we must do as He commanded, and deny ourselves, daily pick up our crosses, and walk the path that He has set before us.
Hebrews 12:7-8, “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.”
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment