"There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)
It seems that there has been an oversight. God forgot to mention, in the book of Matthew, that there is another road that people can travel. If the narrow road is too confining, but you're just not comfortable on that broad road, try the middle road. You can learn all about it in this brief video from Francis Chan.
"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:14 (NIV)
This statement scares me. Most people in this world, it seems, are not interested in finding the narrow road that leads to life--they prefer that broad, comfortable road that leads to destruction. Why is that--what's wrong with the narrow road? For one thing, it must take some work to locate it because only a few "find it". Once you get there, you have to stay on the path--there's no room for wiggling or wandering off-- God wants you to follow His directions. It can be a lonely path--there is no large crowd of travelers sharing the journey-- but you are never alone because the One who cleared the path is walking with you.
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." Matthew 7:13 (NIV)
God says we have two choices in this world--two roads that we can follow--which way do we go? Even though He tells us up front which road to choose, the wide gate is still the popular choice. Why is that? There's lots of company on that road--many have chosen to travel on the broad road. It's easy to just follow the crowd. You're not confined on the broad road--plenty of room for every belief and philosophy of life. There's lots of freedom--everyone is pursuing their own selfish desires--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
If you find yourself wandering aimlessly with a large crowd of people, you might want to check your GPS.You won't find God on the broad road--He doesn't go there and He doesn't want you to go there either, because it leads to destruction.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:8-14 (NIV)
Jesus is the only one who can bring peace on earth.
Merry Christmas and God’s blessings to you all!
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from sin and Set us free. Please
Come back and rule our nation, be number one in our nation.
Amen!'
"Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life." 2Chronicles 15:17 (NIV)
Asa's obedience to God was almost perfect, but not quite. He failed to tear down the places of idol worship that had been used by previous kings. Our obedience matters to God--it should be instant and complete. In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers put it this way:
"Beware of ever thinking, "Oh, that thing in my life doesn't matter much." The fact that it doesn't matter much to you may mean that it matters a great deal to God. Nothing should be considered a trivial matter by a child of God...You say, 'I know I am right with God--yet the "high places" still remain in your life. There is still an area of disobedience. Do you protest that your heart is right with God, and yet there is something in your life he causes you to doubt?"
"But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked person from among you." 1Corinthians 5:11-13 (NIV)
God wants his church to be holy and pure. He expects our obedience in this matter. It gives God a bad name when His people knowingly live in sin. Paul also tells the Corinthians that a little yeast will leaven the whole batch of dough--in other words, sin in the church only grows. See what Francis Chan has to say in this brief video:
"I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.' But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies—trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe." Hosea 10:12-13 (NLT)
God is speaking through the prophet Hosea to Israel--it could very easily be America. What kind of seeds are we sowing? Greed, immorality, hatred, violence, abortion--just to name a few. Our nation has believed the lie that we don't need God. We can take care of ourselves. How is that working for us?
"Now is the time to seek the LORD". We break up the hard ground of our hearts by letting God examine us, and by confessing our sin. Sin in the church is the major obstacle to revival. We can't expect anything from God until we've dealt with it!
"Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
"Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Proverbs 1:23-33 (NIV)
"Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him." Daniel 9:13-14 (NIV)
What is America's response to disaster? Relentlessly pursue and bring to justice the guilty party (this, of course, does not work in the case of natural disasters!) and vow to rebuild whatever has been torn down. No one suggests that God's judgement might be the cause and that repentance would be the proper response. More and more Christians are thinking it's true--that God's judgement has fallen on America, but very few will come right out and say it. What are we afraid of? That people who are already hostile to God won't like Him if we say that He is not only a God of love, but also a God of judgement? That those same people will think we are radical lunatics to preach such nonsense in this "enlightened" age of reason?
God has called us to be His witnesses. If the ship is sinking, shouldn't someone sound the alarm? How will people know the proper response if they don't understand what's happening?
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
This is the key to the Spirit-filled life--crucifying the flesh so that the life of Christ can live in me. Not many want to do this because it means giving up control--it means surrender. In My Utmost for His Highest (updated edition), Oswald Chambers describes it this way:
"After the decision to be identified with Jesus in His death has been made, the resurrection life of Jesus penetrates every bit of my human nature. It takes the omnipotence of God--His complete and effective divinity--to live the life of the Son of God in human flesh. The Holy Spirit cannot be accepted as a guest in merely one room of the house--He invades all of it. And once I decide that my 'old man' (that is, my heredity of sin) should be identified with the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit invades me. He takes charge of everything. My part is to walk in the light and to obey all that He reveals to me."
"On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit...But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:4,5,8 (NIV)
What is it that enables us to labor in prayer with a broken heart for God's Church? What brings about powerful conversions when men of God speak? It doesn't come naturally, but supernaturally. In revival accounts, authors continually refer to the power of the Holy Spirit. That is the missing ingredient today. How can we expect God to pour out his blessings on our fleshly efforts?
In the verses above, Jesus commanded his disciples not to do anything until they had received the promised Holy Spirit. If it was that important to Jesus, shouldn't we think twice before doing anything for Him in our own strength?
"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a den of robbers." Matthew 21:13 (NIV)
There was a time when churches met weekly for prayer. During the great revivals, people cried out to God until the wee hours of the morning, without concern for comfort or loss of sleep. What has happened? Today, it's hard to find a church that still holds a weekly prayer meeting. Yet the times are desperate. If ever our country and the church needed prayer it's now. Earthquakes, famines, floods, natural disasters of every kind are more and more frequent. Nations war against each other and the threat of nuclear war grows. Christians are persecuted, thrown into prison and even murdered--wickedness abounds. Our children are killing each other on campuses across America and there is no public place that can be considered safe. All the things described as being evidence of the end times are here--NOW--and the birth pains are growing stronger by the minute. Why are the pastors not sounding the alarm? Why are they not calling their people to prayer? The silence in the church is deafening.
"He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor... " Isaiah 59:16 (NKJV)
"Almost every night there has been a shaking among the people; and I have seen nearly 20 set at liberty. I believe I should have seen many more, but I cannot yet find one pleading man. There are many good people; but I have found no wrestlers with God."
William Bramwell, Revivalist
