Diligence out of Desperation

At our last Worship Team Fellowship we were discussing Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever comes to God must believe that He is AND that He IS a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". After looking a little further into the meaning of the word diligent, we found that it means constant in effort, attentive, persistent, something done with painstaking effort. There is absolutely nothing casual about the word diligent. And then, my husband, who rarely says anything serious makes the most profound statement and says, "desperation makes us diligent".

I've been rolling that statement over and over in my head for several days. How very true. So often, we haphazardly take a few casual stabs at different things in our lives like losing weight, developing regular time with God, being a better husband/wife/parent, spending more time with loved ones, giving more, helping others, learning an instrument, etc. But our efforts totally change into something more direct and focused when we see things in our lives circling the drain. There is something about complete failure and desperation that leaves a person open to suggestions and most of all to God. Sadly, when our emotions settle somewhere between anger and despair, we get serious about things we should have gotten serious about a long time ago.

Recently, I lost a very special ring my husband gave me several years ago. I have turned closets and drawers upside down and clothes inside out. I have dumped out purses, shaken out rugs, looked in drains and anywhere else I could think of. I still haven't found that ring but I won't stop looking until I find it. I want to be that diligent in my search to know God. I don't just want to know ABOUT Him. I want to KNOW HIM! The Lord promises that those who seek Him with all of their hearts WILL find Him. God rewards those who make a SERIOUS SEARCH for Him.

Counterculture vs. Subculture Part II

The early church was counterculture. Today, much of the church is a subculture. What is the difference? A counterculture is a group of people whose lifestyle rejects or opposes the dominant values and behavioral patterns of society. A completely different set of guidelines governs their lives. The early church depicted this. Peter said to the first converts, "Be saved from this perverse generation" (Acts 2:40) The Message heightens the meaning by quoting Peter as saying "Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!"

A subculture, on the other hand, is a distinctive group of people that is still part of the overall existing culture. Though some trait about people in the group distinguishes them, they are connected with society overall. The church today fits this description. We have labels of "born again" and "saved". We affiliate with groups or circles: evangelical, Full Gospel, charismatic, denominational, and so on. But we are very much tied in with society.

Our society encompasses people with vastly different lifestyles. On one end are extreme liberals and on the other end, conservatives, with many variations between the two ends. On the extreme end you may find people living exceptionally abnormal lives, performing lewd acts both privately and publicly. They may live perverted lifestyles, etc. We consider them an extreme segment of society that most of the church would never seek to emulate.

On the other end, we find the conservative Americans. These men and women live what many call normal lives. Although this segment of society sees itself as "good", it is linked with the overall culture living under the influence of the prince of the power of the air. Sometimes "good" is the greatest enemy of God. Remember, Eve's choice of what seemed good was very much against God's ways.

Instead of believers living totally separate lives today based on the governing authority of the kingdom of God, many of us live our lives no differently from conservative unbelievers. We say we are not of this world, but for many of us this is a theory instead of reality. Because we are connected, as the boundary lines of society shift, we shift with them.

The Word of God tells us to avoid every form of evil (1Thess 5:22) and says that it is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do so why do we line up or subscribe and pay money to see attitudes, mannerisms and patterns that have been shaped by the perverted generation we live in? I can just hear the Lord asking, "why do My people entertain themselves with the very things that drove the nails through My hands?"

Why do we rely on the ratings of the industry instead of the discernment of the Holy Spirit? Has God changed in the past twenty years to accommodate the trends of this generation? Absolutely NOT! If God's standards have not changed, why have the average American believer's standards changed? This pattern is evident in all areas of life - clothing, views of politics, the way we handle money and business and more. Why do we want to feed off of what the world feeds off of?

The early church was hungry and desired to know their Redeemer more than they desired comfort or pleasure. The enticements of their culture had no power over the majority of them because of their passion for the Lord. The cost of forsaking all was nothing compared to the reward of knowing HIM.

A truly changed heart will produce a Godly lifestyle. Outward mannerisms are useless if they don't reveal what has happened within the heart of a person. We need to arouse a zeal for the presence of God in our lives. We have a responsibility to separate from the world. Let us not allow the desire for the good life to be stronger in us than passion for God. We must remember the promise of His presence awaiting those who separate themselves and draw near.

Counterculter or Subculture Part I

In their hearts, the children of Israel had not separated themselves from Egypt; they had not forsaken their desire for it's ways. But when "God" was offered in a package similar to the mannerisms and patterns of Egypt, it was wonderful, they thought, because they could have God and their true desire - Egypt. They could remain conformed to Egypt and have God too!

Numerous patterns and mannerisms of lifestyles are shaped by the spirit of the world. If we choose not to forsake them for the reward of drawing near God's presence, we will constantly gravitate back toward the influences of the spirit that runs the world. But God commands, "Do not act like the people in Egypt, where you USED TO LIVE......you must not imitate their way of life. Leviticus 18:3

We are not to imitate the world's patterns or mannerisms or to act like the people of this world. Paul reinforces this point: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind". (Romans 12:2)

The kingdom of God and the course of this world are running in two opposite directions. There is no harmony between the two, as Jesus indicates, "When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don't. I chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you" (John 15:18-19)

Jesus chose us to come out of the world's pattern of living, and He explains, that's why it hates us. But does it really hate us? It is almost as if the church has spent the past few decades trying to prove Jesus' words to be inaccurate. We have tried our best to fit in. We have consciously believed we could have the world's approval and Jesus' approval too. But Jesus said the world will love us only if we belong to it. So why have we strived to belong where we shouldn't fit in?

The most outstanding characteristic between the early church and the church today was their separated lifestyle. No one could find the mannerisms, methods and ways of the world in them. They were completely different from their surrounding society because they lived under a totally different set of principles and values. The Word of God truly shaped their lives.

The reports of these early believers were that they dwelt in their communities as sojourners and that even though the lived IN the flesh, they did not live AFTER the flesh. They had little interest in respectable pleasures, public sporting events and amusements. They were persecuted, dishonored and hated. And those who hated them were unable to give any reason for their hatred.

Presently, those who hate us don't have to search too hard to give valid reasons for their dislike. This report of the early church could only apply to a small segment of today's church. We have numerous scandals at all levels of ministry. These tragic incidents have occurred because of our self-seeking desires. Not only leaders but many in the church live materialistic lives in the pursuit of pleasure and treasures of this world. We think nothing of lining up for the same movies, entertainment and amusements that the world pursues.

The early Christians believed that this world and the next were enemiesand that you cannot be the friends of both. James bluntly states, "You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with this world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again, that if your aim is to enjoy this world, you cannot be friend of God". (James 4:4)

Why does he call believers adulterers who seek to enjoy the world? An adulterer has a covenant with one but seeks a relationship with another. We as believers have covenant with God, so why should we desire to pursue the patterns, mannerisms, and ways of the world? Could it be that we are no different from Israel of old, who would not give up the desires of Egypt for the privilege of coming to God?

(to be continued)