Sunday 13 March 2016

The Prostitutes Distracting God's Soldiers (Part Two)

Girl one

The desire to satisfy the flesh. How much time and energy go into this purpose. Jesus said: "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well," (Matthew 6:31-33).

An unfortunate thing that happened to Christians, especially those in Western countries, is that we got merged strongly with materialism, entertainment, and sport. In the above reference Jesus distinguished between pagans and Christians. This distinction is something that only a few Christians through the ages were able to make, and because of it many were rendered powerless.         
                        
Jesus said to the rich young ruler, after he declared that he does live a good life and obeys all the rules: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me," (Matthew 19:21"), and also to his disciples when he sent them out: "Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; Take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff;  for the worker is worth his keep," (Matthew 10:9-10).  

We learned in the previous message that Jesus was completely content with the presence of the Holy Spirit in Him. This is the distinction between the Christian and the pagan. Both need something to bring contentment. Jesus said:  "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head," (Matthew 8:20). 
        
I’m sure Jesus could have had a wife and a home if he wanted to. He could have had cattle and other belongings too. It was within His power to decide. But He had the Holy Spirit as his companion and much too much to do in order for carnal satisfaction to get in the way.

The pagans do not have a Holy Spirit to fulfill their needs. So, as Jesus said, they must find something to bring fulfillment and therefore run after material things. In Matthew 6:32-33 Jesus’ words can be rephrased as follows and one can almost sense contempt: “Listen, if you want to ‘lower’ yourselves to the level of the pagans by seeking carnal satisfaction in order to get fulfillment, suit yourselves. But you, being kings, have a Father who will fulfill your every need as long as you just busy yourselves with making known His kingdom and building a relationship with Him.”

Our problem, however, is that our standards concerning carnal needs are much higher than those of God. We think we need much more than God thinks we need because we are influenced by the pagans. And, like the rich young man, we have difficulty to let go of our carnal contentment in exchange for Holy Spirit contentment.  “Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth," (Matthew 19:21, 22).

I have focused on materialism in the above discussion, but satisfying the flesh includes any excess interest in entertainment of any form at the cost of obedience to the Lord and serving Him actively with your gifting. How much precious time is wasted on self indulgence in any form? Having and doing too much of anything that is not of God puts us in the shoes of the rich young man.
"When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth." Lets put your name in this sentence: When YOUR NAME heard this, he went away sad, because he had to sacrifice watching television, OR When YOUR NAME heard this, he went away sad, because he had to let go of a certain sport addiction, OR When YOUR NAME heard this, he went away sad, because he had to sacrifice a social lifestyle. As you can see there are many things that satisfy your flesh, standing in the way of an adventurous relationship with the Holy Spirit in obeying His continuous instruction.

There is, however, a much subtler deception when it comes to satisfying the flesh and entertainment. We have mentioned in the previous message that Christianity outside a personal relationship with God is boring. Some churches therefore make their services fun to attend. How entertaining can mass worship, led by a dynamic music band and worship leader be? How entertaining can a charismatic preacher be? You feel so good when you leave the church service. You feel better about yourself.

But what difference has it made to your relationship with the Lord? Are you serving and obeying Him, according to His plan for your life, during the week as a result of attending such a church? Do you use your gift to make a difference in the lives of those the Lord loves so much? Or do you live for the kick you're going to receive next Sunday. The same applies to Christian television and radio.


Can you see the danger? Is your life really about the Lord and His desires? Is your two-way radio switched on, or is church just one of the prostitutes to satisfy you? (To be continued)

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