In this series of articles I’ve been addressing the
question of why the outpouring of God’s Spirit in the Free Methodist Church in
2006 did not have a lasting impact on more people. Previously, I’ve I discussed
how “the
worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other
things” (Mark 4:19) can choke out the work of God in our lives. In
this, my final blog on revival, I want to look at how to conquer that kind of
worldliness.
What is the key to winning the battle against this
world as it bombards us with distractions and tries to convince us to make
entertainment our pursuit? It is the knowledge that in Christ, we have
something far superior. Peter writes that we “are filled with inexpressible
and glorious joy for we are receiving the goal of our faith, the salvation or
our souls” (1 Peter 1:9).
If we have Jesus, we have the best! We need to look
no further than him to find joy and satisfaction. Direct access to the Creator
of the universe and the Lord of all is ours and He promises that His grace is
sufficient for anything we face. No form of entertainment can match that, not
ESPN, not shopping or anything else.
What has the world to offer that can compare with
the streams of living water (the Holy Spirit) that flow from within those who
believe? Or the fruitfulness that produces 30, 60 and 100 times what was sown
in us, which is the Word of God? The best defense against the lures of this
world is an understanding and appreciation of what we have in Christ.
But this world is filled with distractions that can
draw us away from our first love. My wife Char and I celebrated our 25th
anniversary by taking a cruise to the Baja Peninsula. The atmosphere on the
cruise was one of total self-indulgence and the pursuit of pleasure. It seemed
the theme was: eat all you can, party all you can, enjoy yourself-you deserve
it!
So I could wake up on the cruise and say to myself:
today I am serving me. I am going to put aside the notion that I have been
bought at a price by Jesus, that I belong to him and that he has a right to
rule in my life. Instead, I am going to chase after happiness by doing what I
want supposing that I can improve on God’s ways by living life my way.
Sometimes we kid ourselves into thinking that we
need a break from God, as though serving Him is a burden that we need a respite
from. We get fooled into believing that to be really rested or refreshed we
need to be self-centered. But can we really improve upon the life and peace that are a result of a mind
controlled by the Spirit (Rom. 8:6).
How much better to focus our thoughts and affections
on Jesus in whom we have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms? (Eph.
1:3).
When my obituary is written and people stand and at
my memorial service and say how they remember me, I hope that I am not
remembered primarily as an Oregon Duck fan. That has no eternal value. I hope I
am not remembered primarily as a person who worked out and was physically fit.
Although I want to be a good steward of this body, it will pass away. I hope that I am not remembered primarily as someone
who loved nature or the beach. As beautiful as nature is, it is the Creator of that
nature that I want to be most obsessed with.
Wouldn’t it be better to be remembered as one who delighted
in the Lord, built his life on Jesus, loved people, lived with eternity in mind
and spread the gospel of grace?
Copyright
Ed Skipper 2013
Please watch for my new series of articles on what
I’ve learned from sharing my faith beginning in early September.
For more information about Ed’s ministry, to listen
to him speak or to contact him about speaking to your group, visit
heartofrevival.net.
