Call on the Lord
Ever since Adam and Eve chose to act
independently of God, their descendants have been afflicted with this
most deadly of all behaviors. You know, God was present in the Garden.
All Eve and Adam had to do was to go to Him and ask if eating from the
Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would be good for them. They
chose rather to use their own judgment, based on what the serpent had
told them.
(2/7/2010) This is my first Sunday back in the pulpit since the fall
that broke my right femur. That was on Sunday, 9/13/2009. The fall was
on the stairs in my home after returning from the morning service. I am
in pretty good shape now, although I am using a cane to prevent falling
while I am mending.
Stan Josephsen and Lloyd Darlington have filled in with preaching
during those five months. From what people told me, they did an
outstanding job. Our Church Council continued with the business of the
church in my absence, including the annual business meeting. My thanks
go out to Stan, Lloyd, the Council members, and the congregation, all
who steadfastly continued with the message of righteous behavior we have
preached in Poway for over thirty years. Thanks also to John Arterberry
who fashioned a chair so I can sit behind the pulpit while I am
preaching.
The burden of the morning has to do with the historical error of
mankind. The error is that of acting independently of the wisdom and
will of Christ. It is as true of Christians as it is of non-Christians.
We simply are not aware, many of us, that Christ wants to direct our
lives. We are seeking to please Christ without knowing exactly what He
desires of us as an individual.
I am persuaded that most Christians do not realize they can conduct
all the aspects of their daily life in the Presence of the Lord Jesus.
When the Apostle Paul urged us to pray without ceasing, he did not mean
that twenty-four hours of every day we are to beseech Christ to keep our
ninety-five year-old aunt from dying. He was speaking rather of living
our life in the Presence of Christ.
How do we "pray without ceasing"? We start each morning by committing
ourselves to Jesus, asking Him to get us out of bed on time. At my age,
one needs supernatural help to get up in the morning!
Then there is the decision, for many of us, of what clothes to wear.
Then the decision of what to eat and how much to eat (if we have food).
How many cups of coffee to drink. Perhaps helping the children off to
school. During the first hour we may have made a hundred decisions.
Now, there are two ways in which we can make a decision. We can bring
our desires, experience, and knowledge into play and do what we think is
the best. Or we can look up to Jesus and ask His assistance as we bring
our desires, experience, and knowledge into play.
Did you know the Book of Proverbs advises us not to lean to our own
understanding but to acknowledge Christ in all our ways? This is what it
means to pray without ceasing.
Do you know what happens to you if you persevere in this manner of
living? Eventually you can say with Paul, "It is not I who am living but
Christ who is living in me." To live by the Life of Jesus Christ is our
very highest goal.
What kind of world would this be if every person looked to Jesus for
every decision he or she made? What would have happened in the Garden of
Eden if Adam and Eve had looked to God to see if they were supposed to
eat the forbidden fruit?
The American ideal is the self-possessed individual who is "in
control." This may be the American ideal but it is not God’s ideal. The
self-directed person is a loose cannon in the universe. This is why the
world is in such an uproar.
Having been a Christian for 65 years, I am fairly well acquainted
with the manner in which churches and denominations operate. It is very
seldom that one hears of a church or a denomination waiting to hear from
God before it embarks on a plan. The assumption is that we are to go
into all the world and build Christian churches.
You may notice, in Matthew, that Christ did not charge the multitude
of believers and disciples to "go into all the world." He spoke to
eleven chosen individuals whom He named Apostles.
And Christ did not command them to build Christian churches, but to
make disciples. There is a vast difference. One can build a church that
has few or no disciples in it. A disciple is someone who denies himself,
takes up his cross, and follows Christ at all times. How many genuine
disciples are there in your church?
I do not know how often the missionaries of today hear from the
Spirit of God as the Apostle Paul did. I think in many instances we are
working for Christ instead of obeying Christ and following His
directions.
I believe the Lord Jesus has new and surprising things for us today,
if we will get our eyes off what has been and just look to Jesus.
Maybe–just-maybe–He has some ideas that will more than conquer the
spiritual darkness into which we are sinking in America.
A corollary of the willingness of the believers to seek to work for
Christ instead of listening to what Jesus actually wants, is the
practice of looking for spiritual formulas for success. We have
arthritis, so we do this. We need money, so we do this. We want to save
our marriage, so we do this. We need healing, so we take this approach.
Believe me, we are entering the hour of darkness in which no man can
work. In order to survive and help others we absolutely must "die in the
Lord." Only the wisdom and power of Jesus Christ will be able to operate
in the coming days.
Therefore, when you are facing a need, do not try to use a formula
for success. It may have worked at one time. It will not work in the
future. Check out the eighteenth Psalm and see what King David did when
he was in trouble.
In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his
ears. (Psalms 18:6)
"I called to the Lord"! Can you hear this? David called to the Lord.
He did not attempt to wait for the sound of marching in the mulberry
trees or do anything else that had worked in time past. David called to
the Lord.
In my experience, this concept is violated continually as Christians
seek to employ some recipe for spiritual success. In fact, people travel
to locations where God has moved in time past, hoping that somehow God
will repeat what He has done before.
God does not repeat Himself, ordinarily. But people want to "work
the moves." They would rather water the plants in the sanctuary, or
organize a parade, or do whatever, in order to get God to move. They may
use a computer to find out what parts of the world need evangelism.
All of these religious efforts are attempts to find something that
will "work." Why don’t we quit doing this and call on the Lord? God is
not broke. Jesus is in control. He is not confused or impressed with the
vain boasting of today’s political leaders.
If you want to be shocked, read the rest of Psalms Eighteen and see
what took place when David called on the Lord. These kinds of results
are not obtained when we assume from reading the Bible what Christ
wants, and then set out to accomplish it with money and human talent and
effort.
rbt5@cox.net
http://www.wor.org
Church: (760) 747-8325
Fax: (760) 747-0416
Dr. Thompson has finished a book entitled Heaven—God's Wonderful World. It was written to comfort terminally ill children and their parents,
and anyone who may be afraid of death.