All for Jesus

      Recently God has been revealing to me and challenging my motivation in regards to reaching out to others, seeing people saved, and sharing Truth with people. For so long, my motivation has been because I love the people around me and do not want them to be hurt, broken, confused, etc. any longer. I want to see them living in the life and joy that is ours in Christ Jesus. I know it for myself and desperately want them to also know it.

      However, as my eyes have been opened through the Word, I’ve come to realize that this is not supposed to be our primary motivation. As shocking as this may be, love for people isn’t to be what drives us to reach out to them. It’s not supposed to be our motivation behind reaching out to people or helping them. Our motivation is always and forever to be the glory of God.

      An incredibly impactful sermon that we listened to during my Basic semester at Ellerslie is called Ten Shekels and a Shirt by Paris Reidhead. In a loud booming voice he declares, “Christianity says, ‘The end of all being is the glory of God.’ Humanism says, ‘The end of all being is the happiness of man.’ And one was born in hell, the deification of man. And the other was born in Heaven, the glorification of God!”

     An example of this would be when we tell others that Jesus Christ can and will forgive their sins. What is our motivation behind this most of the time? To see them saved so that they don’t have to go to hell? So that they can go to heaven? So that they don’t have to feel guilty anymore? However, the problem with this line of thinking is the subject of it. Notice who’s at the motivation and center of it? Them. Who should be at the motivation and center of it? Jesus.

I John 2: 12 blew me away as I’ve been studying through the passage. “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name’s sake” (italics mine).

     Don’t misunderstand – I still greatly believe that we should have an intense love for others that drives us to spill and spend ourselves in serving them. However, what our primary motivation and fuel behind doing so is that God would get the glory due His Name because He is worthy. When you don’t feel a love for someone or when they are wrongfully treating you, you are enabled by His grace to still serve them with complete abandon because your motivation is not that person, their happiness, or their well-being but that Jesus would receive glory out of your life, their life, and your interaction with them.

“Why should a person come to the cross? Why should a person embrace death with Christ? Why should a person be willing to go, in identification, down to the cross and into the tomb and up again? I'll tell you why! BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY THAT GOD CAN GET GLORY OUT OF A HUMAN BEING!!!”

"Lord Jesus, I'm going to obey You, and love You, and serve You, and do what You want me to do, as long as I live even if I go to Hell at the end of the road, simply because YOU ARE WORTHY TO BE LOVED, AND OBEYED, AND SERVED, and I 'm not trying to make a deal with you!" Paris Reidhead

Are you compelled?

What compels you?

Compel (Webster’s 1828 dictionary) - To drive or urge with force, or irresistibly; to constrain; to oblige; to necessitate, either by physical or moral force

     Does the Bible contain just a bunch of commands that you feel that you need to try to obey (at least sometimes, when it’s convenient) since Jesus saved you from hell  or are you compelled to heed His every utterance, no matter what the cost?

I’ve been studying through I John recently, particularly the first part of chapter 2.

 “We do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments…Whosever keeps His Word in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in Him.” 2: 3, 5

     That word ‘know’ is the Greek word ‘ginosko.’ This word is the most intimate form of closeness that humans can have. In fact, it’s used to describe marriage relationships. It’s a deep, intimate knowing, the way a husband who has been married to his wife for many years would know a whole lot about her.

So, how can we be certain that we are intimate and close with Jesus? If we are keeping His commands.

     As I pondered these verses, I thought of two illustrations (though I’m certain there are more and that these both fall miserably short in describing the glorious truths of this passage):

When a godly wife is truly, madly, and deeply in love with her husband and has confidence that his sincere and deep desire is to protect, love, honor, care for, and cherish her with the utmost of his being, she will gladly obey and follow his leading. Secondly, what happens when we are so compelled out of sincere gratitude and love for someone? If we know that someone has given up a lot for us or has helped us greatly, it is a great pleasure of ours to seek to please them and bring honor to their reputation.

     Both of these translate to our relationship with Jesus. His commands are not drudgery. We submit to them and obey them out of complete joy. We are certain that only by heeding His voice can life and joy be found. His sincere desire is our good. And He cannot do us harm (Romans 8:28), so we can have absolute confidence in obeying Him that it will turn out for our good. That’s not to say it won’t be hard (it actually requires us to die to ourselves), but it’s worth it and the thought of not enduring whatever we may have to doesn’t even cross our minds. The end goal is our focus: the glory of God.

     It is essential to realize that we can try to muster up all the supposed love and gratitude we have to God, then seek to obey the commands He gives us. However, we will fail. We must become so intimate and close to Him that His life overtakes ours, and He produces His righteousness in us. You see, we know when we are close to Christ and in Him, when His commands are produced through us. His life naturally overtakes ours. Flesh no longer rules but rather is on the cross. His Spirit is at work and thus produces fruit.

 “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. “ Galatians 2: 20

So, I ask again: What compels you?

You know that He commands us to love our neighbor. Do you just try to put up with that annoying co-worker or are you so filled with love for him and desire to see him saved and set free for the glory of God that you cannot but help pour Jesus into him?

You know that He commands us to reach out to the “least of these.” Do you get involved with a few “ministry” activities just to fulfill a command or are you so broken for them that it breaks your heart to not be involved in their lives, living with them, and pouring Truth into them?

You know that Jesus commands us to be pure, to abstain from sexual immorality (I Thessalonians 4:3). Is this some “line” that you have drawn, the whole “So I can do everything up to this point, but I probably shouldn’t go all the way?” Or is purity truly beautiful to you because He is pure? Are you irresistibly desirous to go all the way in being pure because it’s all about His glory and not your own personal pleasure (though I have found the greatest pleasure and delight in seeking purity and set-apartness!)?

     So, instead of stoically following His commands because we have to have slightly higher morals in order to be “good Christians,” let us seek Him in prayer and on our faces until we are driven or urged with irresistible force, constrained, obliged, and necessitated to obey Jesus because we are so madly and deeply in love with Him. 

Let us not sleep...

Recently, I spent two weeks as a counselor at an amazing camp in Tennessee for inner city children/teenagers. It was an incredible time, and the Lord taught or impressed further upon me so many lessons. One of these lessons was the concept of “watchfulness.”

Matthew 26: 41 says, “Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

This word “watch” literally means vigilant, expectant, and active. As defined by the Webster’s dictionary (of 1828), “forbearance (shunning, omitting, avoiding) of sleep; attendance without sleep; Guard; vigilance for keeping or protecting against danger; to observe in order to detect or prevent; unable to sleep.”

Do you see how important this word is in the spiritual sense? What happens when we let down our guard, when we “fall to sleep” spiritually? Temptation is able to take hold of us and gain ground. The enemy is able to ransack our own souls and the souls of those around us.

What would have happened if, even though we were all very tired, the rest of the counselors and I decided to “fall asleep” spiritually? What if we decided that we all needed some “veg out” time, and the campers could just talk about whatever they felt like talking about, do whatever they felt like doing, etc.? The work that the Lord was seeking to do in their souls would have been hindered, and temptation could have taken root within us, since we weren't on our guard against it.

“But know this, that if the good-man (or strong man) of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken into.” Matthew 24: 43

If we are not watchful, the enemy can gain access to our souls and the souls of those entrusted to our care.

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4: 2. 

One of the main excuses we can give for not praying is that we don’t have time or that we are too tired. If we don’t pray, we are not on guard against the enemy. One of our greatest weapons is prayer. If we “don’t have time” for prayer, what are we doing instead? Watching TV? Facebook? Movies? Idle talk with friends? Texting? We aren't being watchful. We are giving the enemy ground.

Or maybe we’re too tired for prayer and to keep watch with Jesus?

“You are the children of light, and the children of the day. We are not of the night, nor of the darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.” I Thessalonians 5:6.

The word “sober” implies clearness, clarity of mind, no fogginess. We are not to be asleep or foggy-minded spiritually. We are to be constantly engaged, constantly watchful. The enemy will take every opportunity to plant a seed of temptation in our hearts if we are not watchful. Let us not allow one iota of darkness within our souls.

“Be sober; be vigilant because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I Peter 5: 8

How would all this apply practically?

                *We don’t “disengage” from the battle by “vegging out” in front of movies, television, Facebook, etc. Even if we do participate in these things, we are still alert spiritually with a focused mind. We are extremely watchful about what we partake in. Darkness gains ground in our souls subtly.

                *Tiredness does not rule us. If we are in Christ, we have the authority of Jesus. Therefore, our bodies are not our masters. They are subservient. And when we feel tired or like we just need a nap, we command our bodies to be subservient to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and call upon Him for His enabling grace. He will supply all we need for what He has called us to.

                *We don’t seek to “preserve” our energy for a later time. We pour out ourselves and all we are constantly, trusting that He will fill us back up.

                *Pray. No matter what we must sacrifice, no matter how much sleep we must give up, we seek Jesus in prayer. This is where true refreshment and renewal comes from. This is the only way we will be able to pour into others.

This probably seems impossible. It is. However, since He has called us to it, He has also given us the means to live it out. We can’t live this out. I knew very clearly last week that I had no human strength to live out this impossible calling. His grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 9: 8; 12:9; Philippians 2: 13; Romans 6-8). Let us lean upon Him, pick up our swords, and fully engage in this battle to see souls rescued for the glory of King Jesus!