The world has a very distorted view
of religion and being acceptable in the sight of God. That is why Jesus warns His disciples of the
need to reach beyond the example of the Pharisees. “Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
(Matt.7:21) The greatest trap that
Christians can fall into is not worldliness – sin is not just the greatest
danger we face. The trap that many fall
into is to desire and seek spiritual success as the world measures
success. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to
you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”(Luke
10:20) Do you remember the story? The disciples have just returned from their missionary
journey and were amazed and bragging about all the great things they have
accomplished - “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your
name.” (Luke 10:17) Jesus tells them of the most important thing they
need to focus on and be excited about – is
your name written in heaven.
As Christians, our desire should always be to do the things that gain
the approval of God, never seek after the approval of the world’s idea of
religion. We must be willing to go “out side the camp, bearing His reproach”
(Hebrews
“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Jesus tells His disciples not to rejoice in their successful service, and yet this is the one thing that many in the world rejoice in. Religion in the world has a commercialized view – we count how many souls have been saved and set apart to God. We give thanks to God for them and think everything is all right. The fact is that our work has just begun when God’s grace has affected another soul. The world looks at numbers – how many have we converted – how many are coming to services – how large is the contribution. God is the one who gets left out when that becomes the focus of our thinking. Our desire should always be to do God’s will, and only His will, and also to help others in their lives to do God’s will. Our work, as disciples of Christ, is to put out the gospel of salvation for the world to see God and find salvation. There is no mistaking God’s words, and His desire for all mankind, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1Tim.2:4) In reality we do not save souls – God does the saving – we simply show people God, His Word, and His desire for them. But our work does not end at that point. This is when our work begins. Our service to God is to discipline souls –both our and help others discipline theirs. Salvation and sanctification are a part of God’s saving grace – They belong to Him and only God can impart these to another soul. Our part is to teach discipline and dedication to God. We do this by the life we live – by the things we say and do every day of our lives. We teach others to humble themselves and yield to God’s will.
As spiritual creatures of God, we must reproduce spiritually!! One life that is totally submissive to God and his will is worth more than a hundred, or even a hundred thousand lives that are just knowledgeable of God and are not following His will.!!! Our desire should be to live our lives in such a manner that others will see our actions and be affected by those actions to do better in their lives also. Through Christ, God brings us up to a standard of life that is acceptable and right, and we have a responsibility to reproduce that same standard in the lives of others. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16)
“If then you were raised with
Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the
right hand of God. Set your mind on
things above, not on things on the earth.
For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (
Think about it!!! Mike