Perishing

 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.  2 Timothy 1:12....."It's not important that we understand every detail of our lives but that by faith we yield control of every detail to the Spirit." Patrick Morley

I wrote in my prayer journal this morning, "May we bring all of our unknown unto the One who is known." We can only do this if we actually know Him. Just as we can only live out the truth of 2 Timothy 1:12 if we know Him. It is a great tragedy and blemish upon our witness that so many of us who inhabit seats in multiple worship services each week, don't really know our God. We don't because we don't know His Son, which in turn means we don't have any real knowledge of His Spirit. Vance Havner once said that today's churches are filled with believers who have never been made disciples. We are believers who do not know the One we say we believe in.

There are positive signs of change though. Just in my small circle of influence I have had people say to me, "I have no real prayer life and spend little if any time in the Word.....but I want that to change." Most don't know how that can change. It's easy for us to say "just dig into His Word and set up definite times of prayer." That's what I did, but if it was all that I had done, I doubt I would have gotten far into my knowledge and relationship with Him. I was fortunate to have been surrounded with people who spoke into my life and helped nurture me in my walk. It started with a pastor who took an interest in a young man fresh out of the world and with the "aroma" of the world still upon him. It continued with professors and pastors that He brought into my life during my years of study for the ministry. The reality is that my walk has always been centered on prayer and time in His Word, but equally upon the mentors and influencers that He brought into my life. They were willing to teach, and I was willing to learn. They showed me a Jesus I wanted to know more, as well as a  Jesus who deeply wanted to be known. 

I think the problem in the church today is two-fold; the hunger of the average believer for Him is not deep. At the same time, the desire of the church, particularly those charged with seeing to the spiritual welfare of their people, is also not deep. I think the greater lack lies with church leadership. John Eldredge said, "I want to know Jesus. The real Jesus." I don't think we're presenting "the real Jesus" in much of the Body these days. We either present a Christ who is nothing but warmhearted, totally accepting love, and who requires very little of us. Or, a Jesus who is harsh, demanding, and doles out His forgiveness and mercy very slowly. Neither is real. A.W. Tozer said, "The God worshipped in many places in America today is simply a God of the imagination....not the God of the Bible." In the modern church, we are interested in drawing crowds, but not so much in presenting the "real" Jesus and the real God. In "doing discipleship." If we do, we risk some leaving our churches, because the real Jesus does make demands, does call us to a cross life, and a life of sacrifice and denial. We prefer a Jesus that allows us to seek His blessings but not His presence. A Jesus who is useful, but not a Jesus who demands total surrender.

As I said, I'm seeing signs of this changing. I'm seeing churches making real discipleship a priority. The need to do this is beyond desperate. In the OT, Scripture says that the Israelites were "perishing for lack of knowledge." I believe it is even more so today. May we see Him raise up a generation who can proclaim with Paul, "I know who I have believed." It must begin with His raising up a generation of disciple makers. Will you be one of them?

Blessings,
Pastor O