Few and Evil, What Of It?

Few And Evil

What Of It?

He has too much talent just to live a happy life.

Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed, focused and always turned toward Him.  On the other hand Psalm 44:22 and Romans 8:36 says that we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter and for God’s sake we are killed all the day long.  Talk about a strange dichotomy of bliss and death.  This is why Christ was considered to be a stumbling block for the Jews and foolishness to … well … us, the Greeks. 

Consider our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.  He was everything we’re supposed to be and never achieve.  He was holy, unblameable, unreprovable and totally without sin.  He always did everything right.  Jesus was caring and compassionate and He served God down to the letter of the Torah, God’s law.  For that He had to die.  1 John 3:13 says we should not be amazed if the world hates us.  We are Christians, the Christ like ones.  It is required by the devil that all his children hate us.  We need to get used to it.

I heard the statement above on a television show and the Lord reminded me of it.  We are not called to go out and do good works and live happy lives.  We are called to live like Christ lived and lead the lost to an Eternal God who will guide us in whatever direction he wants us to go.  He might want you to be like John the Baptist and make straight the paths of one who will follow behind you and reveal the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in more depth.  The problem is John was beheaded to finish HIS race.

Genesis 47:9 And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. 10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

Jacob lived his entire life for the Lord.  He had a shaky start with Esau and all the skullduggery which God chastened him for with his uncle, serving for his wife (wives, extra wives).  Jacob worked for decades and when his uncle went too far cheating him after God had finished correcting him, God drained all his uncle’s bank accounts and left him behind … broke.  He wound up with four wives (don’t get me started there.)  His sons barely got along with one another and went through more years of deception, jealousy and assaults against one another with one son winding up as a slave.  In the end though that worked out okay.

In all his trials and tribulations Jacob never forgot God’s promises to Abraham his grandfather or to his father Isaac.  He couldn’t understand how God’s visions to Joseph could have been so wrong after wild animals presumably killed him.  Jacob lived in grief over his dead son Joseph, his favorite wife Rachel, and all the difficult times he was forced to endure.  He was almost certain Esau would kill him on sight when he returned home and went through many difficult times. 

One could easily be discouraged or surrender but Jacob kept plodding along serving God.  One day near the end of his life he learned that it all had been worthwhile.  God had not forsaken them or the dreams of young Joseph.  Near the end of his life Jacob was reunited with his son and was called upon to bless the most powerful man on Earth, Pharaoh.  His son had become prime minster of the greatest power on the planet and God would see his chosen people through the greatest drought in history.

Isaiah 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

I have said this before … you … are … a … POT, a dish, and a utensil in the hands of God.  Whatever use He has in store for you is for your ultimate good.  If you happen to be a chamber pot and your neighbor is the expensive vase at the museum remember one thing…both are priceless in their own way.  Don’t stress out over being molded in a direction you didn’t choose.  God calls those who insist on doing things their own way dumb beasts who do not know their maker. 

I am a clay pot.  God has called me to do a work for Him.  It is enough.

Luke 9:57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. 58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Why did you come to the Lord?  Think back over the years and consider that question.  Some of you got saved to miss Hell; others fell in love with the God who loved them.  I personally came to the Lord because I was bored and wanted a change in my life…not very spiritual I know.  Whatever reason God used to call you (and all are valid), God Himself was the architect of your salvation.  He was the one who drew you with bands of love; who appealed to your needs in a special way that brought you to that moment of surrender. 

While all that is wonderful and poignant it is only the beginning of the journey.  Scripture says, “Many are called but few are chosen.”  Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If any man open the door I will come and share a meal with him.”  My point here is that this dinner is not a candlelit dinner but a business meeting.  He is bringing you into the kingdom and showing you what He expects of His subject / brethren.  There will be a candlelit dinner but it will come later; after the work is complete.

God wants you to know in advance that this walk is not an easy one.  The birds have nests and the foxes have holes but the Messiah has no real home to lay his head.  Jesus is inviting you to join Him in that life. 

Luke 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60-- Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Once He has asked you to join Him life is not generally easy.  You will be tried and tested.  You will have a crises of faith…perhaps several.  A crises of faith is that moment that makes you wonder if you should continue.  I can tell you it is worth it but I cannot tell you it won’t hurt.  Family members will expect certain things of you and your answer may not please them.  Abraham was told to leave his nation and father and others like the young man above are told to let their spiritually dead family handle their own problems while he handles God’s.  It’s not that Christians aren’t supposed to care about family but our eyes are on a greater prize.  Your duty to God is greater than any other.

Genesis 19:24 Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 26 But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

Lot had been half dragged out of Sodom and when the angels led them out they warned them not to look back.  Take care that when God begins you on a path you don’t keep looking over your shoulder at what you’ve left behind.  I have certain concerns about my own future but I have embarked upon a new adventure and I cannot forge ahead by staring longingly behind me.  Israel did that.  They wandered about in the wilderness being kept alive miraculously.  Their shoes never wore out, their clothing either.  In spite of this supernatural provision they never stopped looking back at Egypt and the tasty foods they had there.  They had taken everything they could carry from the Egyptians and were wealthy beyond description but they longed for the old days … of slavery.

Beginning a life of faith is always hard but never forget that many are called but few are chosen.  This is a walk where you REALLY want to be in the chosen category.  Give God your all and eventually you will have all.

Luke 9:61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.

But I was just going to say goodbye?  Exactly.  There comes a time when you need to step out and do what God has called you to do.  I once read that you could tell the well-trained professional soldiers from the scared want to go home kids.  The soldiers would jump off the helicopter at the landing zone and walk straight into the jungle without so much as a glance back.  The frightened kids would stand there and watch the copter fly away.  It can be frightening and difficult to serve God at times but faith will keep you walking forward in spite of your personal doubts and fears.  The battle is ahead of you; not in the life you have left behind.

Personal note:  As someone who used to watch the helicopter fly off, please understand that we’re not all at the same place spiritually, emotionally or socially.  A few of you get it right away.  For some it takes time to trust God in all circumstances and to embrace the life.  Some will NEVER get it.

Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Don’t beat yourself down if you don’t get it right away.  I suppose my answer to the question, “When will the church trust God implicitly,” is…when mountains fly.  Jesus said, “If you say to this mountain, “Be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea,” and doubt not in your heart then you shall have what you say.  Have you seen any mountains fly away into the sea?  Me either.  We all have doubts.  We all fall short.  That said, we are all pressing toward that mark.

Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. 2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. 3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee? 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?  Not one.

This verse is not a dig against women.  Adam wasn’t born of a woman and his life wasn’t all rose petals and ice cream sundaes either.  We are a fallen people.  You have committed enough sins in your life to miss God completely.  You don’t have the right to judge someone else and you certainly can’t save someone and bring cleansing and clarity to him or her.  No one on earth can make you or anyone else clean; only Christ can.  It takes time to learn to serve God properly.  He will complete the work He has begun in you…unless you quit.  You’re not going to quit are you?  Please don’t quit; this life is over so quickly and THEN things get really interesting.

Hebrews 11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for.  God hoped for a universe and it was.  What do we hope for?  Rahab believed that Israel would overcome Jericho through God and hoped for a better future than her people would have.  She didn’t give any valuable military information and nothing the two spies saw made any difference to the future of the city.  She saw herself in a dangerous, even fatal situation and reached out to the only ones with answers, the two Jewish spies.  Because of her importunity she purchased the lives of her entire family.  Yes she abandoned her people.  The whole point is that you will no longer be the earthborn; you will be the children of the Most High.  If everyone around you is about to die and spend an eternity alone in Hell why would you want to join them?  Do you really think God has designed Hell so there are mutual admiration societies in operation?  I can almost picture Hell as an enormous group of soundproof boxes where you get to spend eternity, alone, with no water or light or hope. 

Please don’t tell me how mean God is for sending you there.  If you are reading this you have been given another opportunity to call on Him and miss Hell.  Nope, if you want to go there with your family fine, but I’m not going.  I’ll take the door with the cross on it please.

Hebrews 11:32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

These people endured the worst privations and assaults against them for the sake of the kingdom of God.  Tradition holds that Isaiah was stuffed into a hollow log and sawed in half.  Jeremiah spent more than a little time buried to his neck in mud and we already know Joseph was a slave for decades.  The three Hebrew boys were tossed into a furnace and though they lived unscathed it had to be one of the worst – and most glorious – days of their lives. 

If you wonder how much people have suffered for Christ’s sake just read Foxes Book of Martyrs.  In that book you will truly see how depraved mankind can become without the grace and love of God.  If you live in the United States you already see our freedoms eroding daily.  If you live elsewhere you may never have had those freedoms.  In either case, things are pressing toward the final conflict and Satan will not go quietly into that good night.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Those who have gone before us are our examples and those who watch us now are our witnesses. Whether those who have passed on before see us or not is irrelevant.  I personally wonder if they do because why would God force them to grieve our foolish choices when they have already made it in.  I think they witness to our consciences and help our decisions.  They give us an example of patience and faithful endurance.  Even Jesus is this sort of example though He indeed watches us every moment of every day. 

Hebrews 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Have you ever been lied on?  Just me I suppose.  Has anyone ever changed the story just enough to sound plausible and get you into trouble?  Yep, me too.  The truth is if they hated Jesus you won’t be on their Christmas Card list.  Your life and dedication to it is just too extreme (or should be) for you to live comfortably in polite company in this world.  The truth is beloved, you can’t ALWAYS remain silent because after a while your lack of input makes you look afraid and not wise.  Eventually you will have to speak on behalf of your God and I hope you find it in you to do so.

Hebrews 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

I grieve for those who have never known a loving mother or father.  How difficult it must be to develop a warm loving relationship to God when you don’t have the basics down, however imperfectly, with your parents?  I have seen the results of this on society when a child who has lost mother and father is just trying to make it and thugs and gang bangers in school make his or her life a living hell.  This is not God.  This is not a healthy way to live.  When you add to this an inability to actually raise your children without being accused of abuse or neglect or any other crime by hyper vigilant Nazis currently working in some social service organizations you have a society on the ropes.

Jehovah is not a brutal and violent God.  His desire for mankind is love and grace but too often we ourselves refuse to bow to His will.  Of all the faiths out there only Judeo / Christianity have the comfort of accurate and long established prophecy to show the reality of a God outside of time.  What a wonder for those who examine the scripture in depth and hand in there as God molds you.

Hebrews 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; 13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

I wrote a book called “Lighten Up!”  It was all about being a light in a dark and dreary world.  How can we expect men and women to follow us as we follow Christ if we look like someone stole our puppy?  It’s hard to make others want to serve God when your normal daily outlook is from Revelation 8:13, “Woe, Woe, Woe!”   On one hand Paul says that if all we have is this life in Christ then we are the most miserable people on earth but on the other he calls it this incomparable Gospel.  Which is it?  Should we be depressed by things that happen, or excited to see God moving in our lives no matter the cost?  What do you think?  What does that verse up there say?

Beloved, serving God is not for the faint of faith.  The faint of heart can apply but you must exercise your faith and it will strengthen your heart.  Ezekiel is demanding a lot of us and so is Jeremiah.  The time to show those around us we’re not a bunch of freaks and losers is now, “for I am not ashamed of the Gospel of peace for it is the power of God unto salvation for the Jew first and also to me.

Get out there and be noticed beloved.

Bishop J