Following Judah's Lion: Beware...Beware...Beware

Following Judah's Lion: Beware...Beware...Beware

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Beware...Beware...Beware

BEWARE…BEWARE…BEWARE

Matt.7: 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Lk.12: 13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Lk.20: 45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,
46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.

Beware of false prophets; beware of covetousness; beware of the scribes. Perhaps the word of warning to the western church today should be “Beware”. There are all kinds of ravenous wolves and all kinds of temptations and all kinds of deceptions that swirl around us. We can no longer rely on the voice of ordained men to guide and protect us. The shepherds have become blind guides and their voice is little more than wind. But the Spirit warns us to beware.

We live in a day where the faith itself has been altered and changed in order to appeal to the fallen flesh of man. There is little appetite for prayer and fasting. The Word of God is treated like cotton candy. The gathering of saints is for activity and fellowship and not for a sacred convocation to worship the Risen Christ. The entire ecclesiastical construct is a cultural phenomenon and an affront to Almighty God. Nothing is sacred, nothing is holy, nothing is free from the dictates of the culture and the country.

It is important to beware of what is not of Christ, but it is equally important to allow the Holy Spirit to make our hearts a more holy place. Little is said about holiness and many times holiness is defined as not doing certain things. If you do not smoke or drink or go to the theatre you are holy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Holiness is not just a force or an adherence to some set of do’s and don’ts. Holiness is walking in a person. God does not just exhibit holiness, God is holy. His essence, His person, His everlasting presence is holy.

Man knows almost nothing about holiness so he sets about to invent some caricature and calls it holiness. But God has given us an inward place with our bodies that we call our hearts. It is a place where God can dwell by faith in Jesus Christ. In a mystery the Holy Spirit dwells inside of every true believer. Who can know the length and depth of such a mystery? Who can plumb the depths of that power? And how can we walk and live with such little recognition of that Spirit of Holiness within us? This is an amazing truth which should confound the wise and break us into little children who joyfully serve the Most High God!

When was the last time you searched your own heart and invited the precious Holy Spirit to do a complete inventory of all that remains inside your heart? I realize that may be a painful enterprise but there is also a great amount of glory as well. How many pew dwellers live as if there is no God and embrace all kinds of things that are not only foreign to Christ, but they are against everything the Spirit desires to do in us?

So many treat the Christian faith as some sort of Lord of the Rings fairy tale. While they give lip service to Scriptural truth their lives are pulled by the insatiable desires of this life. And the love of this world becomes the driving force behind most of how they think and live. And the local church at which they are members presents no spiritual challenges. They love the pastor and his family and their church provides them with all that they deem necessary to meet the needs of their family. Very little is spoken about meeting the commandments of God and serving Christ through sacrifice and self denial. Most churches advertise themselves as a place where you can get what you want and not a place which will challenge and exhort believers to live and die for Jesus.

I challenge all of us to break up the fallow ground within our hearts and cultivate that place as a sacred place of worship and service. We must resurrect a spirit of prayer which will seem almost fanatical in these days of ambivalence and carelessness. Somewhere along the line the church has lost any semblance of the spirit of prayer and intercession. Unless we return to that altar all our efforts will be of the flesh. If you desire church growth and excitement and crowds then you must be content and even pleased with the American church. But if you desire Christ alone and all other things residual and to His glory then the Spirit will guide you into all truth.

The Lamb of God has triumphed over sin and death and has provided the eternal victory for all who will believe. This is no game and it is not an alternative to the culture. This has eternity riding upon its wings. Awake, awake all you who are asleep! The Creator is ready to return in clouds of glory and in flaming vengeance which will shake the entire planet. Hyperbole? Sensationalism? Overly dramatic? Oh please do not allow your flesh and the deceiver to blind you to the truth. There is coming an event which will strike fear in every heart and will divide all humanity into two distinct and separate flocks.

One flock will be assigned to the evil shepherd who has never cared about the sheep, or should we say the goats. But the other flock will be led into the presence of that Great Shepherd forever. Has the word “forever” lost its sparkle to those who cling to the scraps of the temporal? Or has the church lost not only an eternal perspective, but does she even believe in forever anymore? What a colossal tragedy that a question like that can even be asked.

So what do we do? We must beware of the allurements of this world, and we must look deep into our hearts and lengthen the cords and deepen the stakes of the place where the Spirit resides and seeks to control and guide. God has created the entire universe, and He owns it all. But He seeks those who diligently seek Him and to those He saves His reward. And just what is that reward? Houses and cars? Money and power? Success and influence? Never, a thousand times never!! His reward for those who seek Him is HIM! What on earth can compare with the glory of the Risen Christ and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah??!!

The church has traded a deeper revelation for Him for a deeper revelation of the things of this world. Professing believers have allowed their hearts to be imprisoned by the temporal and in so doing they have surrendered the unspeakable glory of His majesty and the glory of His presence. I do not speak like some intangible mystic who seeks altered mental states, but I do speak about the reality of His endless glory shared to earthlings who have set their hearts upon Him fully and without compromise.

Beware of false teachers. Beware of covetousness. Beware of the modern Pharisees. Beware of settling for a copycat faith that rejects the true. Beware of being content with where you are. Beware of loving anything about this world. Beware of giving your allegiance to anything but the Lord Jesus. Beware of abandoning the prayer closet. Beware of removing the ancient landmarks. Beware of listening to the voices of the flesh. Beware of allowing evil spirits to gain access to your thoughts. Beware of being lethargic in your journey to seek His face. Beware of desiring things. Beware of treating God’s Word as part of a perfunctory daily devotion. Beware of following systems and not Jesus. Beware of having a divided heart.

Beware of taking you eyes off of Jesus even for a moment.