How Close Do You Want To Be?

"Then Peter answered and said to him, 'Explain this parable to us.'" Matthew 15:15 Many people know that Jesus often spoke in parables. But what many miss is that the truths contained in the parables were not for public consumption. After dismissing the crowds, the disciples of the Lord would gather around him and ask him to show them the truths contained in his stories. "And the disciples came and said to him, 'Why do you speak to them in parables?' He answered and said to them, 'Because it has been given to YOU to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.'" Matthew 13:10-11 Is Jesus partial? Yes. He is partial to those who desire to walk closely with him. For the masses these truths are hidden. But that's just fine even for many believers - when they read the Word of God, they will learn the basics of the faith and that is sufficient for them. Jesus drew the multitudes by the miracles he did. Who wouldn't run after someone who was able to heal sick bodies and set people free from demonic oppression? And so they flocked to him. He didn't deny them, he healed them. But Jesus is not looking for people who will flock to him to get what they can out of him. He is looking for those who are willing to surrender their lives to him. These are the ones that he treasures. These are the ones he will explain the deep meanings of his parables to. In the days of these stories, he chose twelve disciples to follow him. They were the inner circle, they walked with him exclusively for the three and a half years of his ministry. And they would be the ones who would later take the Gospel to the world. But then, there was an even smaller group who wanted to be as close to him as possible regardless of what it might cost them. Peter, James, and John were the three who loved him in such depth that he was willing to receive them more intimately and teach them on a far more personal level than the others. These three you will often see going alone with Jesus whenever he went aside, or whenever something special was happening. He favored them and kept them close to him in all that he did. Friends, you can choose how close you want to be to the Lord. If all you want is to take whatever he's willing to give, then it's ok, he will allow that. But if you want to walk more closely than most, first you must count the cost. There is a cost to discipleship, and it can be severe at times. You don't have to make this depth of commitment if you don't want to, salvation is a free gift with no strings attached. But if you desire to walk intimately with the Lord, that will demand total surrender, and that can be very painful at times. However once you have walked in this depth with the Lord, you will wonder why anyone would even dream of not wanting this. He turns every hard and painful thing to the good for those who love him, (Romans 8:28), but few, having counted the cost, are willing to go that way. Some, however, understand the VALUE in discipleship and desire it at any cost. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Matthew 13:44 That treasure is hidden. It is available to all, but not all will be willing to surrender all in order to have it. Few have that kind of heart, but for those who do, the joy of walking with the Master can be compared to nothing else in life - and then, in eternity. There are people who spend their lives wisely choosing how to invest in such a way as to ensure their comfort in retirement. Following that same principle, why wouldn't anyone who understands the importance of that, be interested in investing this short 70-80 year life on earth for great gain in eternity? On a yardstick, 1/16th of an inch is spent here, and the rest is eternity. Choose wisely.

Are You Too Accomplished For God To Use?

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty..." 1st Corinthians 1:26-27 It used to embarrass me when I was in traffic and sitting behind a dilapidated car with Christian decals on it. It seemed to me a poor witness for Christ. You rarely if ever, will see such decals on the bumpers of new and expensive cars ...and that speaks volumes. Then I happened on this Scripture one day and the light went on. In this world, believers are mocked and the rich and "successful" are esteemed. But in the world to come, in many cases it will be the very opposite. When Jesus walked this earth he chose twelve men to follow him, and these men would eventually go on to change the world. Two thousand years later the fruit of their ministries remains; in these two thousand years later, multiplied millions have been saved, redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb to live in heaven with Christ forever - as a result of the ministry of these men. It is very noteworthy that when Jesus chose his disciples, he deliberately bypassed the leaders and intellectuals of the day, the learned and honored Pharisees and Saducees who were the religious representatives and teachers of the people. Not only did he bypass them in his selection of followers, he gave them scathing rebuke and called them painted and decorated tombs, (Matthew 23:27). God doesn't need our greatness. He needs our humility. ANY work that succeeds in the Kingdom is going to be HIS doing, not ours. The great apostle Paul who WAS an accomplished and educated man, had to be humbled before God could use him. Because of Paul's greatness, a messenger of Satan was assigned to buffet him in order to keep him humble. Three times he pleaded with God to set him free of it, but the Lord said "No." God could not use Paul in his strength, he could only use him in weakness: "And he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2nd Corinthians 12:9 If you are not wise, or mighty, or noble, you are a perfect candidate for God to do great things through you. People of this sort willingly surrender to the Lord and allow him to have his way in their lives. They willingly follow his lead. These are they who are close to the heart of God. They care only about him. They will endure whatever they have to endure in order to be the channel through which God will work his mighty works in reaching out to a lost and dying world. On the other hand, if you are great - take some time and seek the Lord in surrender. Ask him to make you usable to him, no matter what that will mean - and be willing to let him humble you if necessary. Surrender all of yourself before him, and let him come in and deal with what needs to be eliminated. Let him remake you according to his will. When you are fully surrendered, then and only then will you be usable to him. Then and only then can your calling and election be made sure. Then and only then will you find success in all that you do, because it will not be you, it will be HIM. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you." 1st Peter 5:5-6

Evil Can Only Go As Far As It's ALLOWED To

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that a man has his father’s wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you." 1st Corinthians 5:1-2 Has there ever been an age in which there has been more sexual immorality not only in the world, but also in the church? One could say to Paul, "You think that's bad, Paul? They're ordaining homosexual women pastors in the churches now!" Paul would roll over in his grave. How has it come to this? How could it possibly come to this? And the answer is because it has been allowed to. A fact of life is that evil can only go as far as it is allowed to. The Scripture shows how sexual immorality in the church MUST be dealt with: vs 5: "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Does that seem unmerciful? But it isn't. If that man is left to himself, he will be lost. Here, Paul says that the way this kind of thing must be treated is severe or the man is lost, but if it's dealt with correctly there is hope for the man. First, he has to be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. When a man in authority delivers someone over to Satan, the one delivered is going to learn what it is to be destroyed. Only then, only when he's been brought down low and lost everything, only when Satan is through with him, only then is there hope of repentance. Left to himself, there is no hope for him. If we read further in Corinthians we find that indeed, the man did come to repentance in the end and Paul urged the church to receive him back and love him. Friends, God's ways are deadly serious. But they're not taken seriously anymore. We live in an age in which it's all about tolerance. Anything goes, don't judge anyone or anything, you do your thing and I'll do mine. Evil is so pervasive that we've become desensitized to it. If a man and a woman are "living together," it just doesn't carry the same stigma anymore that it once did. Even in the church, it might be frowned upon but it's rarely condemned. People look the other way. It's just not so bad, is it? Yes, it is. Not because anyone says so, but because God says so and we need to take him seriously, and that's what's lacking in the churches today. Because of desensitizing, we look away, we don't take it seriously anymore, we get used to sin, so we overlook it. God doesn't. Pray for the pastors in your area. They are under tremendous stress and public opinion is often against them. If according to the Word of God, your pastor needed to take a stand on someone in the church as in the passage above, would he have the courage to do so? Few would, these days. And that's why sin is running rampant in the churches. Because it's allowed to.