Examine yourselves!!

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. (2Co 13:5-6)

Examine:  peirázō = to ascertain the character of some hing, someone 

In the faith:  a true believer

Test:  dokimásō = to prove a thing worthy

Fail the test:  adókimos = prove to be spurious; unapproved

As I pray and study the Word and read the works of our Puritan fore-fathers I grow more and more convinced that somewhere along the way we have so cheapened and minimized the "Way" (Acts 19:9) that the designation "christian" is for all intents and purposes, meaningless.  

The term "christian" was originally used as a pejorative term intended to vilify followers of the Christ.  Today it most aptly commonly describes those whom can only be called false believers or hypocrites.  When someone asks you if you are a "christian" ask them what they mean by "christian."  My experience has been that what they describe bears little resemblance to the "Way" as it is taught by the Word of God.

What passes for common christianity today is but a sorrowful caricature of the true faith.  

Through what I see as the cultural compromise of the faith we have fallen into the condition of Israel at the end of the book of Judges.

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.  (Jdg 21:25)

Though it is still proclaimed as true, in almost every practical sense Christ is not held as King and everyone does what it right in their own eyes.  We have moved further into a faith that has no crosses in it.  We have moved deeper into a cheapening of grace and a rejection of God's sovereignty.

What passes for the "Way" is not the "Way" we find in the Word.  Indeed in our making Jesus our own, we have made a Jesus of our own.  In even supposing and implying that we "make Him Lord and/or Savior" we have, at the very first, denied God's sovereignty in the redemption.

To "accept" Jesus as Lord and/or Savior has come to mean that we "allow" Him to save us.  We do Him a kindness by accepting His death so He'll feel good about Himself.  It no longer means that we fall to His feet in utter recognition of our sin and our need for His salvation and His absolute right to condemn us.  No, we do Him a good turn by joining His team - by telling Him He, "did really good," so we'll let Him save us.

Let me put it plain and main - If you do not recognize the utter hopelessness of your sinful state before God and your deserving or His righteous condemnation - then regardless of what you "say" about Jesus, you are none of His.  Unless your heart has been broken by your sin and His taking it upon Himself on the cross, you are none of His.  Unless you have acknowledged that He has every sovereign right over all of your life - that he is indeed King of Kings and Lord of Lords - and you kneel before Him in surrender of your self to His authority, you are none of His.  Unless, by His gracious providence, the Holy Spirit has convicted you of the worthlessness of your every effort in redemption and sanctification apart from the provision of God and His power - you are none of His.

Unless, in relation to Him, you hate everything and everyone, you are none of a His.  Unless you live in Him, by Him, under Him and for Him - you are none of His.

Do you pray much, study the word much, examine yourself much, give much?  Then you may well be none of His.  Are you raising your children in the Lord?  if not you may be none of His.

Is your walk with God the absolute priority in your life?  If not you may be none of His.

I will say this - and I do so because have been convicted and I am convinced by the Word of God, that unless you are humbly, depending upon His promises and power, seeking to obey Him in all the duties and obligations appropriate to a citizen of His Kingdom you may well be none of His.

If you are not healthily obsessed with His glory and honor, you may well be none of His.

His Word and His Spirit must be working in His to enable them to serve Him with all their minds, hearts and strength - and we must know that our minds, heart and strength, apart from His providence and power, are never enough.  

Where is the zeal for Him and His Kingdom?  Where is the single focused commitment to be conformed to His likeness?  Where is the crushing conviction of our sinfulness and His graciousness?  

Where is that cry, "Not I but Christ!"

I do not have any pleasure is writing this for it is indeed as much about me as it is anyone else.  But it is about all of us who would claim He is our Lord - utterly.  It is not about your goodness but His.  It is not about our righteousness but His.  It is not about us but Him.

Are you a tare of a stalk of wheat?  Are you a sheep or a goat?  Are you His or are you still your own?

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 

(2Co 13:5-6)

There was only ever one hope!

Dear brothers and sisters,

I want to wear a button that says, "Repent, the end is here!!!!"

I am hardly fit company today after the results of the election.  That my "soul is cast down within me," is an understatement.

Of this, I am forced to repent and seek forgiveness.

I never realized how much hope I had placed in this election.  I am ashamed of how much I had looked to man and away from God.

I do know and I hope you do - that God is still sovereign - He still rules His creation, nothing is out of His control.

I am ashamed of the fear I have (surprise?) of the inevitable loss we will now suffer in terms of our material security.  I am ashamed of the thoughts that run through my mind.  I am ashamed at my lack of faith at God's answer to my payers.

I am ashamed at the thoughts that America, as we know it and love it is done.  I am ashamed of a desire to leave - either the country or civilization.  I am ashamed of my strong desire to drop off the grid and become one of the "invisibles."

I am ashamed of my lack of faith directed at the whole purpose of faith - His glory and honor.

I am haunted by one and only one statement made by Mr. Obama.  "Vote, it's the best revenge."  Though perhaps a slip of the tongue, for me it reveals the very heart of what we will now have to trust God in.   Revenge - the fundamental purpose behind what will not come to pass.

I don't know of anywhere else to go to live.  I don't know how to "get off the grid."  I do not know how to disappear.  Perhaps that's a good thing for I fear it would be an act of faithlessness.

Like many of you, I have been sorely distracted by all the political tension and hope.  My mind has been distracted and my heart wounded by taking my eye and mind off the call of God.

Gun sales and ammunition sales are sky-rocketing.  Self-protection?  From who?  I sense it is not from the "bad-guys" but from the guys who now have the bigger guns.

I have only two consolations.  the first is that my God is sovereign and His will is good.  The second is - well - the prophets, John the Baptist, the Apostles all lived under the cruelest of political powers and yet remained faithful and fruitful.  They stood for God against warped and insidious powers of their day - yet without sin.

We too must stand.  Not primarily for our "liberties," nor our "rights," for, as a nation of laws we are subject to the changing of the laws.

We must stand for Him.  perhaps this is why we find ourselves where we are.  For generations we have have stood for all sorts of social and cultural - even moral "issues," but we have not stood for Him.  I believe that He has been and is disciplining us and calling us back to His purpose for us.

Our fight is against the flesh.  Yes, the world and the devil are involved BUT at the very core of it all is - well - us, our flesh.  It is the flesh that battles against the spirit.  It is the flesh - this body of death - that is our primary enemy.  We must repent - in weeping and even gnashing of teeth at the faithlessness we have shown.

I am "in" the world by His will - certainly not my choice.  We are not to be "of" the world - we are not to fight as it fights - but we have and we must repent.

I am encouraging all of you to examine your hearts.  Look to see what matter most in your life and living.  If God, His glory and His will - your being conformed to the likeness of His Son, is not at the center, repent - please, repent.

I am praying to find brothers and sisters who will join with me in a commitment - a singular commitment -to turn back to the call of God to His prime directive -.

Jesus came to redeem - that is not our job.  Our calling is to call men and women to repentance through the preaching of the Gospel.  We are NOT called to change the world - we never could - we never can.

A subtle persecution has long existed - there is no need for subtlety any more.  There is also no excuse for "stealth" or "compromised" Christianity.  It is time to rebuild the wall between the Body of Christ and the world.  For too long we have allowed them to be dismantled for the sake of acceptance and congeniality.  The wall must rise again.  The distinction between believers, imposters, posers and unbelievers must be made clear.

I am ashamed of my lack of faith and faithfulness.  I never knew its depth until today and now I feel it deeply and painfully.

We must rebuild the wall around God's gate, God's door.  This must begin with each of us.  We must repent of claiming to not be "of" the world and yet craving all it's goodies and making use of all its ways.

The Puritans are our best examples of men and women who forsook the world - perhaps we would do well to follow their lead.

It is now - to what ever responsible degree we can and in God's truth and wisdom - that we must, "Come out from among them,"  Do we have the faith to do that?  Do we trust God enough to seek and follow His path in this?

The world hates Him - the world hates us - what part of that do we not want to understand?

Michael "sheepdog" Sanders
ms@tc2v1.com
336-549-2081

This and That Who spoke? 092412

A comment.  A simple statement.  I don’t think it was ill-meant.  I assume it was chiding or jokingly made.  And yet how deep and broad the wound.

But, the question I wrestle with is, “Who spoke?”  Was it a dart from Satan or a goad from God?  Was it indeed a message to wound or a message to convict?  Who spoke?  Why the wound?  Is it my frailty that was hit or my falseness, my fantasy?

Have you ever experienced this type of wound? 

Perhaps, when we are being refined by God, He allows such to happen to keep us humble.  Perhaps He allows one of Satan’s darts to get through so we might think on the issue raised.  Perhaps He wants us to understand the power even innocent words have and pray for the power to tame our own tongues.

Who spoke?

What purpose for the message?

The comment certainly “pushed my buttons,” but who was doing the pushing and for what end?

When we are low in our spirits Satan sees it and it is his nature to take advantage of it.  But God too will use our lowness to get His message through.  Who spoke?  How does one discern the answer?

Am I as false as I feel?  Am I the sham and deception I feel like?  Am I, contrary to assurances of those most closely affected, wasting my time and serving myself and not Him?

Just the other day I was reading in a Puritan work about how when we are low we can rejoice if we do what we have to do and do it faithfully.  I was encouraged in my trust of Him and that which He has given me time and ability to do.  Yet it only took a moment to turn that light into darkness.  It only took a simple comment to raise doubt and crate confusion.  It only took a comment to resurrect a sense of shame and hypocrisy.

I don’t know where this event will take me.  I have no idea what the conclusion of the matter will be in my life.  I only know that right now it is all I can feel and it has called much into question that I had believed I had worked through.

It has re-enforced the point that James makes about the tongue but I hesitate to take that high ground and stop at that.  Yes, there is a point there and a good one but, who spoke and what was the meaning of the message?

The sense of melancholy, which is my nature, is increased fourfold.  But this is my flesh – I think, I hope.

We live, hopefully, by certain well examined conclusions.  When they are challenged we should consult the Word, the Spirit and wise brothers and sisters.  When our conclusions have been repeatedly affirmed, when no alternative is clear, no other opportunity offered how we respond when the challenge is offered from an unexpected direction.

Indeed the sense of falseness and hypocrisy, the sense of being wrong and having been wrong for some time is crushing.

Yes, we must be oh so careful in what we say but what about our hearing?  How does one determine who is speaking? 

I don’t believe God allows such things to happen capriciously.  He does not taunt us.  So, when things like this happen, what is the point, the lesson the purpose?  Right now I don’t know or at least I don’t want to know and yet I am compelled to question and seek the answer.  Who spoke?  To what end?

Oh how I want to see this as a prodding of some thorn in my flesh – for it certainly touched what I believe God has given me to keep me humble.  How I want to know this is Him keeping me from rushing to some great endeavor He has not called me to.   But the fear is that I am being told that I have been wrong and wrong for a long time.

All I am able to do right now is to trust that he will show me who spoke.  All I am able to do right now is to turn inward, prayerfully, and wait His answer.

To answer, “Why art thou cast down,” all I have is, “I don’t really know – and I am afraid to know.”

Am I alone in this?  Do any of you have those times when someone speaks and you are confounded and confused?  Have you had someone speak and sweep you into despair?  

Have you had someone speak and turn what you thought were evidences into indictments?

All I can pray now is that He will guide me through this to the truth and while He does so He will sustain me to be about that which He has given me to do.  Because if I am and have been wrong – if it was indeed Him telling me to move on then what I am about will have to stop or at least be radically changed.  That’s OK if it is His will and I pray that I am not obstinately clinging to past conclusions – but I still ask, “Who spoke?”

anti-Christs

Anti-Christs    060212 B

Mmmmmmm?

1Jn 2:18-19  Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.  (19)  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Antichrist; The great booger-bear of the faith?  Maybe not!

Sure, we see THE antichrist in the Revelation to John and we get all clammy and scared.  BUT come on guys – we've got to accept that though there may well be a biggy – there are lots and lots of smaller antichrists – and there have always been!

What do we do about them?

First, we let them go. John says they do and will go out from us – they will not continue with us.  Why would that be?  He doesn't say we kick them out, rather they leave.

I wonder if what is happening is that things get just too uncomfortable for “them.” 

Today, in a lot of “churches,” there are no boundaries and no expectations.  Doctrine is fuzzy at best and an undefined state of  “loving Jesus,” seems to be the be all and end all.  Or, in some cases just an unqualified “believing (on or in) Jesus,” is enough.

However we must first ask whether or not this Jesus that is loved and/or believed in is the Jesus of scripture.  As David Smith once said to me, “There are a lot of guys named Jesus but just one Lord and Redeemer.”

To believe in the Jesus who is the Lord, one must believe in what He believed in.  One cannot claim to be His while at the same time contradicting not only what He taught but what He believed as well.

He believed in God, the Spirit and God's right to demand obedience and service from His creation.  He also believed that God's requirement for righteousness/holiness was legitimate.  He believed in the God of judgment, wrath, justice, mercy and grace.  He believed in a God who says what He means and means what He says.  He believed in a God who is sovereign, omnipresent, omnipotent, holy and righteous.

He believed that there was truth and only one truth.  He believed that right and wrong were never relative.  He believed that God deserved our submission and service right up to and including death.

Now, is that the Jesus we hear of and read about in popular “christian” literature?  I don't think so – not much at least.  Actually, most contemporary “christian” literature is more about us that it is about Him.  It is more about what we can expect from Him than what He demands of us.  It's more about our place in the grand scheme instead of our place at His feet.  It's six easy steps, one fantastic formula, a process, disciplines – but very little discipleship.  It's not about serving Him as much as it is about sucking as much out of Him as we can.

Whoa be it to the teacher who demands a slave attitude towards God.  And yet, Jesus not only believed in that, but lived it.

The God in whom Jesus believed is great and awesome and frightening.  The God we believe in is a great co-pilot, helper, designated runner, etc.  He's just not God anymore.

John and his folks were fortunate.  Their antichrists left.  Unfortunately, it seems that we will go to any length to keep ours.  We will soft-pedal, obfuscate, dally, waiver, waffle, concerning the biblical doctrines so that as few people as possible are offended and as little as possible is expected.

The cry, “You need a relationship with God,” is just dumb.  There has never been and never will be anyone or anything that does not have a relationship with God.  Whether it a relationship whose nature you want, is entirely another matter.  Redeemed or damned, everyone has a relationship with God.

Then there is, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”  That's probably one of the favorite taunts thrown out to those in hell.  Yes, God loves His creation and He has plans for every speck of it.  Some of those plans are great, some, not so much. 

Then again, His plans for me may parallel those He had for Job or Stephen or Peter.  Ooops!  Not such an exciting prospect. 

Let's face it, maybe we ought to want to see the antichrists leave.  Maybe we ought to pray that they are either converted or that they just go away.  Of course, as long as they're warm and safe and comfortable, they'll stay.  As long as the expectations are not too great and the boundaries aren't too clear, they'll stay. 

I have to wonder what it was that was getting those antichrists to leave in John's day.  What were they experiencing as the church that provoked the antichrists to hit the road? 

Was it sound doctrine?  Was it an expectation that they would mortify the flesh?  Was it a demand that they not compromise with culture?  Was a refusal to meet the desires of the flesh? 

Somehow they had a situation that was repellant to the antichrists.  Why can't we?  Why don’t we?