Influencers Who Refuse to be Influenced

“Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all” (I Tim. 4:15).

Over the years, our understanding of discipleship has changed — and not always in a good direction.  Discipleship has shifted — from an ongoing process over the course of one’s life to a class you sign up and hopefully complete.  Usually after some time the class that started with twenty dwindles to eight or ten.

I grew up on the tail end of the “training union” of the late 1960s and early 70s.  But even in this the shortcomings were felt.  Again, it was based upon this premise…you come and sit, I’ll teach.  You and I ought to be dissatisfied with mediocrity.  God has placed in each of us the desire to minister and develop through others.

Discipleship should not be left to chance.  The Lord Jesus was intentional and calculative from the beginning.  In fact, as Jesus discipled the twelve men who would change the world, He gradually released them into ministry through a definitive four-step process.

First, Jesus ministered while the disciples watched.
Second, Jesus allowed the disciples to assist Him in ministry.
Third, the disciples ministered with Jesus’ assistance.
Finally, Jesus observed as the disciples ministered to others.

If Jesus had a model and a plan, shouldn’t we have one?  If discipleship was then, should it not be for today?

“And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times” (Judges 20:28).

In the closing pages of Judges you find reports of wife abuse, blatant homosexuality, gang rape leading to murder, injustice, brother killing brother, and kidnapping.  When David Jeremiah said, “I never thought I’d see the day,” you and I have never encountered a day as the day we live in. It is bad. Violence, vice, immorality, idolatry, and blasphemy are rampant.

This is the daily food people enjoy. TV and film violence is habitual and routinely accepted. It has become the fodder of unredeemed America. What is happening on the screen is being duplicated in the streets. When a nation is entertained by acts of violence, is there much hope for that nation?

Brother went against brother in Israel because evil was not properly dealt with punitive action. The Word of God tells us that “brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death” (Matthew 10:21).

Sin in the city will infect those in it and around and it will lead to war. The center cannot hold with stability. The home, the ministry, and society are disintegrating before our very eyes, and it seems as if people disdain the truth! But whether people want truth or not, the world must be told that Jesus Christ died for lost sinners, and that the power of Christ can transform homes, hearts, churches, and society if people will only trust Him.

“Christ beats His drum, but He does not press men,” said English preacher and poet John Donne in 1631; “Christ is served with voluntaries.”

“There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness”–Proverbs 30:12

We are that generation! That which is wrong is now declared right. The time when right is wrong is now upon us. The avalanche of impurities have reached an all-time low. And it is reaching high into the nostrils of a holy God.

The Apostle Paul said that in the latter days there will be a form of godliness but the power of a changed life will not be evident. Many will come before the Lord saying, “And why call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom it is like” (Luke 6:47).

Rebellion will be the agenda of the day. And truly the rebellion is not against the church but against the God of creation. Man continues to sin without consciousness of a reckoning day, but that day is coming.

What shall we do in the shadow of His coming to receive us unto Himself? We are to live soberly, righteously, feverishly praying, weeping for the lost, and yearning for others to enter into the Kingdom of God. Live in high gear in public and low gear in private with Almighty God.

“Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first” (Matthew 27:64).

The Lord Jesus did rise again the third day. Three days and three nights in the tomb were accomplished just as He said. No amount of soldiers, edicts from Rome, nor religious power could tone down what would eventually take place.

Why do people not desire a God who would die for them and rise again? Do they not want their sins forgiven? Do they not want the grave to be defeated? Do we not want our homes to be healed? Don’t we want what our children need in schools and in life?

One glorious day the Lord will appear again. The stone was rolled down away for all His enemies to look into the tomb and find that He is not there. It is a reminder that He is coming again and all will see Him in that day. The child of God needs to look in for in that look we are reminded that He is not there–for in great power and provision He is seated in glory reigning from above. Child of God live in His living and find in His grace life more abundantly.

“And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for it is written by the prophet…” (Matthew 2:4-6).

Religion and flesh silences the voice of God in the soul of man. The chief priests and the scribes knew of the prophecy, birth, and location of where it would all take place, the birth of Christ, but to them God’s Word made little impact, condemning them instead of commemorating them. The signs of the Sent One were all around but not within.

Herod was ANGERED by the possibility of another King intruding into his kingdom (though he imagined it was his). The KingMakers traveled many months and miles, surrendering much money to greet Him, to ADORE Him, and to gift Him.

The religious leaders were APATHETIC. They pointed but did not pursue. They spoke but did not seek. They fantasized but did not find. Speed-reading may be good for other books but not for God’s Word.

Christmas should warn us that hearing and reading Scripture is not good enough! It’s in the doing of what we know which counts. It’s easy to know what is happening, to know what we should be doing, and then to shut down and say, “That’s good enough”. No, the blessing is in doing, not just in knowing.

Families are lost, churches are powerless, and nations are defeated because of apathy. Head belief and heart trust can be lost in the transmission of Christmas like no other season of the year. If we seek Him with our hearts we shall find Him. Religion is bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions

“…as many as I love I rebuke and chasten” (Revelation 3:19).

Daniel was a man who lived among a people that was sinful and recalcitrant.  He found that even in his own heart there reposed a sinfulness that was not according to God’s righteousness.  His sinfulness within reflected the sinfulness of others without.

What do you do when you find yourself in the midst of pride and disobedience?  You get on your knees and pray.  We are not looking within or without as we should.  We have too much of the world in our view that is blocking our AWE of God.  Can you imagine the heartbreak of God to look down upon the ones He created who do not realize how good He is?  And we continue to do what?  To take God for granted and tolerate the only One who is able!

Let’s look and fervently ask the Lord to use us today.  It is of great joy to be in Rightness with God.  May we ask for His mercy to enter into our circles of influence so that others would feel the same about our God.  We need a revival of repentance in our circles that we travel in.