Lord, do you see what
the wicked have done?
They deny You are
God. They deny Your great love.
They deny that You
came, and deny that You died;
But, worst of all
Lord they deny You're alive.
They deny You're
alive!
Tell me, my child,
are you better than they?
Have you gone in my
name my truth to proclaim?
Have you stood in the
gap when no one would pray?
It is so hard to
tell; do you live what I say?
Do you live what I
say?
How often
do we as Christians look down in judgment on the actions of those we view as
“the wicked”, not realizing or caring that it is only through the grace of God
that we are any different in our actions than they? I have often wondered how
anyone could do some of the awful things I have seen on the evening news or
read about in the morning paper. This generation is not as gracious, loving and
kind as I would expect. We are not growing in the grace of God. Do you ever ask
yourself, "How has society gotten into this condition?"
I do not
want to pass myself off as an expert in psychology or philosophy but a small part
of the answer can be seen through an understanding of our human nature. Perhaps
it can be illustrated best from a Biblical example. I see a reflection of the
society of Israel during the time of Ezekiel in our society today. In his day,
as in ours, people knew about God, they even practiced to some degree the
religion of their fathers, but they did not have a pure faith. And, I must say,
in our day we do not have a pure faith. A pure faith is one that seeks the
holiness of God, not through outward appearances, but through an inward
changing of the heart. Listen to what God instructed Ezekiel to tell his
generation, and see if you can also recognize the need for this message in our
society.
"The people of the land have used oppression, and
exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed
the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them, that should make up
the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not
destroy it: but I found none." — Ezekiel 22:29-30 (KJV)
We see the
effects of evil today, as I am sure they have been seen throughout history.
Evil is a very insidious problem. I do not wish to get into all the effects or
discuss every possible manifestation of evil here because I’m sure anyone
reading this is able to cite their own examples. If we get caught up in the
discussion about evil, we take our focus away from the cure. The cure to the
problem of evil is Christ, and the question becomes a personal one. “What will my
response be to the evil of this age?”
Dr. William
Williams, Professor of Theology, during my years as a student at Southern
California College, now Vanguard University, instilled in me the understanding
that one measure of an educated person is the ability to ask the right
question. To answer the right question, in this case, “What will our individual
responses be to the evil of this age?” we should remember those great men of
faith and power from scripture. Every prophet who ever spoke the Word of the
Lord spent time alone with God to receive His message. They were called to a
place of personal relationship. If it is our desire to experience the power of
God, and to see Him answer our prayers as He answered the prayers of the
prophets of old, we must be willing to act in faith believing what God has
already spoken. This can only be done as we individually realize that God is
still looking for someone to stand in the gap. I don't think we will be held blameless
in our generation unless we seek God and speak His Word to society. As God
called Ezekiel, He is calling us today.
"Son of man, I have made thee a
watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and
give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die;
and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his
wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity;
but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he
turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his
iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”— Ezekiel 3:17-19 (KJV)
Every day
we make a choice to use the tools we have been given as master builders or use
those same tools as instruments of destruction. Again, it is not my desire to
come off as a know-it-all or to speak out of turn on any issues we are faced
with today. The plain truth is that I am not any different than you. We are
God's watchmen. We all have feet of clay. The strength is not our own; it comes
from the Word on which we stand. Are we going to abandon our posts, or are we
going to answer God's call? A hammer in the hands of a skilled carpenter can
build a beautiful house. That same hammer in untrained angry hands can be a tool
of great destruction and tear down that beautiful house. I can only answer for
myself. As for me, I will seek to do all that the Lord commands.
God Himself
has issued to each of us a call to minister. We answer the call within the
context of our lives and become part of the “Family of God”. Within His family there is a great deal of
diversity. Our modes of worship differ; our modes of baptism and other holy
ordinances differ; and our interpretations of the sacred text certainly differ,
but even with our differences we serve the same Lord. If we are going to please
God, in the hope of becoming a master builder, in these the last of the “Last
Days”, we must find the true meaning and application of the term "Family
of God”.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
— John 1:12-13 (KJV)
I am not
talking about allowing any number of unholy things in the name of spirituality.
The Church as a collective body needs to stand on what common ground it can
find in Christ, and allow the Holy Spirit to interpret Scripture through
Scripture. This is not the time to point fingers or place blame. It is time to
get serious before the Lord, seek His direction, and answer His call. Each of
us must use our gifts, talents, and abilities to serve God. Scripture clearly
teaches us we should do whatever our hands find to do.
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;
for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave,
whither thou goest.” — Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV)
Join me —
seek the Lord. He promises to revive, restore and renew us as we commit to His
cause.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then
will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
— 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
Redemption
is closer now than it has ever been before, but we must keep our eyes on the
goal. As the people of God we are subject to both individual and corporate
responsibilities. Corporately we face the weight of a fitting and proper
response to evil in the world, but it is our individual choices that will fuel
and inform our corporate response. Every church body needs a mission statement
and clearly defined scope of ministry. Without the two components, mission and
scope, no church is able to measure its effectiveness in ministry. If we accept that truth, we should be
compelled to take it to its fullest measure and apply the need for a mission
statement and scope of ministry to our individual lives.
Writing a
mission statement for my life has called for serious soul searching and
dedicated Bible study. Accountability partners have been a necessity, and the
process has not worked without complete honesty. The driving questions for me have
been: Who has God revealed Himself to be through Scripture? What gifts, talents
and interests exist within me that can be employed serving God? How can my
accountability partners and I accurately measure effectiveness in ministry?
What is the definition of MINISTRY for my life? Even now as I am discerning my
next step in a life of ministry, a very perplexing question has arisen: When is
the right time to jump off the cliff and go completely without a parachute?
“I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you
that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, …” — Ephesians 4:1
(KJV)
Each of us
is distinctively designed to fulfill needs within the community and body of
Christ. Begin to see your vocation as an honored place of ministry within that
body — not just the job that supports your physical and financial wellbeing.
See the world around you as souls in need of grace, forgiveness, and love — not
“the wicked” deserving judgment and condemnation. Answering the call to
ministry is not a matter of changing professions. It is a matter of living your
convictions.
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved.” — John 3:17 (KJV)
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