The Eternal Paths
The Need Of The Hour
THE GREATEST need in this very hour is for a reappraisal of true Christianity and a new apprehension of God's purposes for the Church. Much has been lost of the very nature and essence of Christianity, and there has been much distortion, resulting in confusion. I repeat, the need of our time is a re-presentation and understanding of what we have come into when we come into Christ.
Many people do not seem to know what they have come into as a result of their being born-again by the Spirit. Many born-again believers do not know what this salvation is all about. I want to tell you that if you are tuned to the heart of God, you will surely sit and weep at all that is happening around us. Much is being done in the spiritual world, but the substance of what is being said and done today, is far away from what God has purposed in His Son, in the eternity past.
Beloved, let us be honest to the Holy Spirit of God whenever we read the Old Testament and the New Testament. They are, together, our Scriptures. They are God’s Word for you and me. The scriptures tell us very clearly, that the purpose of our born again experience is much more than reserving a place in heaven for us. When we are born again, we are brought into His great purposes, which He has purposed, in and through His Son Jesus Christ, in eternity. Unfortunately, today, salvation is considered to be something narrow and restricted. To most believers, all that salvation means is the forgiveness of their sins, the undergoing of a form of doctrinal instruction in the church, leading onto some kind of evangelical endeavours, till finally, the Lord would call them home, at the end of their journey! In reality, however, the experience of salvation is something that encompasses a great and enormous design of God.
The New Testament, shows that the apostles had a real burden to declare that man had been called into something much higher in Christ Jesus. A true and deep understanding of the nature of our salvation and the essence of redemption seems to have been lost over the years. Much distortion has crept in. And this distortion has resulted in great confusion all around. There is much puzzlement and bewilderment even among God’s people today, since there are many trumpets, blowing many different sounds! There is no clarity in the house of God. Therefore, the great need of this hour is to truly understand what we are called into, when we come to Christ.
When the children of Israel deviated from God's purposes, God sent prophets, His anointed vessels, to proclaim God’s original intentions and remind the people of their calling. In other words, God opened a way to re-present the divine intentions of God, so that the people of God could be brought back in line with the divine paths. Beloved, what God would like to do in this hour, in the midst of His Church, is to re-present His purposes for salvation so that we have a clear understanding of what we have been called into, in Christ
The Philosophy Of This World
The philosophy today is to get everything as quickly as possible and as cheaply as possible. We seem to be living in an age of cheapness! The common thinking is to get as much as possible at the least cost and with the least amount of effort. This mentality seems to have engulfed the whole world. It is ruling the whole world at this time. Everything is designed to meet the ends of this philosophy. I am sure you will agree with me. This is an age of bargains and discounts, of manipulating and of influencing the minds of people, be it at home or at office. Every realm and sphere of our lives seems to be governed by this philosophy. Wherever we go, people want to give the least amount of money and get as much as possible out of it! The motto of the world is, "get it quickly, get it easily and get it cheaply." This is what seems to be governing the world system. Everything is tailored to meet the ends of this philosophy.
What is true in the secular has become very largely true in the spiritual, as well. Moral and spiritual standards have been brought as low as possible. The thinking that is ruling the world seems to have also affected the Church. The worldly spirit of getting quick, easy results with the least effort, is now affecting and even ruling the spiritual world. There are many who have begun to bargain and look for discounts in their transactions with the Lord! There are many preachers who readily hand out spiritual things, at a cost people are willing to pay !!
Spiritual Deterioration Foretold
Did you know that spiritual men, through the ages, have prophesied about this age in which we live and anticipated the conditions that are affecting the world and the house of God today? One of them was General William Booth, the founder of Salvation Army. He prophesied that the day would come when we would have -
· Religion without Holy Spirit.
· Christianity without Christ.
· Forgiveness without repentance.
· Salvation without re-generation.
· Heaven without Hell!
Several men of God have said that a time would come when the Gospel will be diluted and given to the people at no cost. The standards of the Lord and his purposes have been lowered beyond recognition. In spiritual circles, everything is available in plenty! People are made to believe that they are born-again just because they had raised their hands in a meeting. Many, who have not even repented, are proclaimed to be believers! Those who have not crucified themselves and turned to the Lord in repentance, have been buried with the Lord in baptism! The phrase , "I also am a believer." has become a glib password in spiritual circles today. Divine standards have thus been lowered and spiritually watered-down, to accommodate the carnal desires of man.
Strangers in God’s House!
"In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to pollute it, even my house, when ye offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant because of all your abominations. And ye have not kept the charge of mine holy things: but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves.
Ezekiel 44:7-8
There are many strangers and people with uncircumcised hearts today, who are taking the name of the Lord and polluting His pure testimony. A mixture of the soul and flesh are mistaken for the Spirit in today’s spiritual realm. Once a young rich ruler came to Jesus and asked ".....Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Then Jesus beholding him loved him and said unto him, One thing thou lackest; go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come, take up the cross and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved; for he had great possessions." (Mark 10:17, 21, 22). The Scripture says that Jesus beheld him and loved him. The Word does not make it clear how Jesus had expressed His love, but it is apparent that that His love for the rich, young ruler, did not make any allowance for the young man. Jesus allowed that young man, who had come running to meet the Saviour, to walk away disappointed and discouraged. What a love this is!
If such an incident were to take place today, there would be many preachers, who would run after the young man and say, "Listen, don’t take us so seriously! The Lord will surely consider your sincerity!" They would be prepared to water-down the Gospel so that it would suit the needs of the man! They would readily compromise the standards of the Gospel so that it could fit into the terms and conditions of man. But, Jesus let the rich, young man go! He loved the man, but He refused to lower His standards!
The generation in which we live, seems to be the most morally corrupt and self-centred one. It can even be said that the Lord’s people today, could be awarded a trophy, for being the most commercial, sophisticated, worldly-minded, materialistic, comfort-seeking and self-centred people, in the entire history of Christianity.
The present system of evangelism has made the Gospel cheap and inferior. A life of real sacrifice, a poured-out life, is looked down upon and considered visionary! The Pauline altar, to which the great apostles were called to suffer and die for their Lord, is being replaced by an invitation to come, and be relieved of all suffering! The altars of the twentieth century have become comfortable and cushy. Men and women approach this altar to receive and not to give. The present-day Gospel has become a diluted one. This is what has ruined the Church!
The Church today, has not even heard the Gospel of the Kingdom, as she ought to. The true Gospel presents Jesus as King, as the Lord, as the First One. This is the Gospel which Jesus and the early apostles preached. The Church has let humanism enter her precincts and now she has become a partaker of this humanistic gospel, which appeals to the interests of man and not God. Today’s Church plans mammoth evangelistic programmes involving a great deal of entertainment and advertising to attract large crowds. The organisers wheedle people to part with all the money they can get, then they preach a short sermon and make a long appeal! For what? To get converts, joiners, and proselytes? Volunteers go around pleading, "Won’t you please come?", " Please, think of the future.", "You do not want to spend eternity in hell, do you?". They beg, cajole, implore and beseech others to come and exchange their hatred, violence, malice, lying, stealing, and fighting for a life of peace and joy in Jesus! Beloved, the early Church did not do it !
While the Gospel of the Kingdom demands obedience, discipline, consecration and dying to self, the diluted and watered-down gospel of today pleads and coaxes men to come to Jesus and receive every blessing! That is why we see so many Christian groups that take the name of the Lord, but profane the Gospel of the Kingdom.
God’s House - A Market Place?
Today, one finds all kinds of ministries functioning in the Church, though several do not really have any idea of God’s true purposes for His Church. This has resulted in great confusion all around. Cheapness and easiness have entered spiritual circles and brought a proliferation of sham. People have sought easy ways. Depending upon the price one wants to pay, one can find admission to any one of the many churches. There are churches to suit every need. If one is content by receiving salvation and prefers not to go beyond, one could easily find a church that would cater to one’s taste. One would also hear the oft-repeated refrain, "We only preach Christ crucified", meaning they only preach salvation and nothing beyond. If someone wants to be baptised by immersion only, it would not be difficult to find a church that would meet one’s specific requirement. If, on the other hand, one would like to be saved and be baptised by the sprinkling of waters, then such a church could also be found. And if, after that, one would like to have the power of the Holy Spirit, but not the ‘speaking-of-a language-that-I-don’t-understand, because I am an educated man and it does not fit into my dignity’, then that kind of a church is also available in the spiritual market. People want the power of the Spirit of God but they do not want to pay the cost; they want the baptism of the Holy Spirit without the speaking in tongues. And if they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they begin to think that they have become postgraduates in their spiritual life! They imagine they have attained something so tremendously great! But in the first century, disciples did not have a choice! No, there was nothing optional in the Gospel or the doctrine. Brothers and sisters in the church could not choose to have some portion and not the other portion. Everything was compulsory!
Have you been to a church where the worship service ends in just thirty minutes? Believe me, there are such churches in our midst! One could choose to be a member of such a church if one did not have any time to spare! Then there are churches where everything…..praise, worship, prayer, sermon….. is over in one hour! And there are yet other churches where there is an emphasis upon entertainment, special numbers, puppet shows, and the testimony of people from other countries. They specialise in the ‘manifestation of the flesh’! The entertainment can be so absorbing that one would not even realise that two hours have passed! Yes, this is surely a time of great cheapness, both in the spiritual and in the natural world.
The Charismatic Chaos
One of the words that has lost its meaning in this hour, is the word, ‘fellowship’. It is sad that the standard of fellowship has been brought terribly low! It has been brought down to the level of the earth! It has become so carnal and fleshly. Fellowship has lost its inherent quality of the heavenly. It has become so earthy. The standard of righteousness is steadily being eroded by modern theology. Many are falling prey to the ecumenical spirit in the name of ‘renewal’.
Many leaders are trying to bring ‘renewal’ to unbelievers though it is totally wrong to invite people who have never been ‘born-again’, to be renewed in the Spirit. There are people who are religious, in that they go to church and abide by religious practices and rituals, but they are unregenerate. Such people need to repent like all other godless persons before they can be renewed in their spirit. There are many a Nicodemus in the pew and pulpit who get caught up with renewal, but first need be told, "You must be born again." Instead, people are taught to meet God in a highly emotional, undisciplined soul dimension, often leading to varying forms and degrees of sensuality.
Bigness has become a substitute for the true spiritual greatness that the Word of God declares. It seems that showmanship has become the slogan and refrain of the majority in the spiritual world. An increasing number of Charismatic and Pentecostal ministries have been corrupted by a ‘showmanship’ format, a spirit of entertainment, the use of mass psychology and the Babylonish element of ‘greatness’. There is increasing evidence that our present forms of evangelism and church system are out of focus. Easiness has taken over the Church. Lightness and glamour have gently fallen upon the Church. Excitement and emotion seem to be the order of the day. All these horrifying things are a part of the spiritual world, today.
Hirelings in God’s House
Ezekiel, the prophet says, "And ye have not kept the charge of my holy things; but ye have set keepers of my charge in my sanctuary for yourselves."(Ezekiel 44:8). The Living Bible renders "you have not kept the laws I gave you concerning these holy affairs, for you have hired foreigners to take charge of my sanctuary." The complaint of the Lord was that the priests of the Lord who had the charge of the Holy things of the Sanctuary had hired strangers to take care of the House of God.
In the Bible, Balaam is seen as the first ‘hired preacher’. He was hired by King Balak to curse the Israelites. Today Christendom is filled and flooded with hirelings, for whom preaching is a way of earning a wage. God is against such hirelings who pretend to be shepherds and only fleece the sheep.
At first, Balaam did not go out because God told him not to go. When Balak offered a higher wage and greater honour to him, he sought ‘God’s will again.’ So, God allowed Balaam to go after money, and honour so that he would eventually destroy himself, which he did! Today, God allows many leaders as well as saints, to go in Balaam’s way. And finally, they too will come to the same end!
"My People Love To Have It So.."
The Prophet Jeremiah cried out :
" A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy lies and the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?….
Jeremiah 5:30-31 NIV
"To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them: they find no pleasure in it….From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious; ‘Peace, peace’, they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all;"
Jeremiah 6:10,11,13-15 NIV
Beloved, this is the very condition of God’s people, at this time. There is no delight in the true Word of God. People would like to hear stories and accounts of what people have done while evangelising. But the true love for the Word is missing. And the Lord says, "to whom should I speak, behold their ears are uncircumcised? They do not delight in My Word." The Word of God has become loathsome to them. There is no delight in the Word, in the counsel by which they are to live in the earth. The Word of God says that every one, from the top to the bottom, is given to covetousness and materialism.
The ministry of the priest is to stand before God on behalf of the people; the ministry of the prophet, on the other hand, is to stand before the people, on behalf of God, and declare God’s desires and God’s purposes to them. In the days of Jeremiah, the ministries had become corrupted through covetousness and the desires of the flesh. The Word of God says they preached peace in the land, while the condition was not one of peace. The ministry of the prophet was to tell the people that they had departed from God, and that they had committed iniquity in the land. Instead, they said, "It is all right. God will bless you. You are in the purposes of God. God bless you, brother, God bless you, sister!" These prophets had neglected their ministry to the people.
The priests, who represent the people before God, and the prophets who represent God before the people, are corrupt even today, beloved. Worldliness and materialism is ruling the majority of leaders and saints alike. Salaried workers have flooded the spiritual scene. The provision of a retirement fund by the nominal church system has given them a false sense of security!! There is so much buying and selling in the House of God. Leaders look upon every new move of God, every new sermon idea, every new spiritual experience, as something to get hold of and sell as a commodity, just as it happened in the days of Jeremiah. Be it tongues, casting out of demons, prophesying, end-time things or taking Bibles to Communist and Islamic countries, the leaders of churches are figuring out new ways to make a living from them.
The Popular Path
Leaders today have the same hobby as their dear cousin, the Pharisee, when it comes to investing in some money-making scheme. Their ways are so contrary to their faith, that the idea of owning nothing throughout their whole life, would strike them as cultish. They are quite unlike their forefathers, the Christians of the first century, who were natural enemies of the community, who fought for the privilege of living a life without owning anything except the clothes on their back, and who looked forward to dying a pauper and being glorified!
Have you observed that most modern Christians and believers despise the Puritans and what they stood for? There are a certain number of Puritans, even today, in the USA. The devil has made great capital out of the word ‘puritan’ by discrediting what was very vital, deep, strong and foundational. The foundations were well laid in those days. Today, people think that a puritan is one who is antiquated and conservative. That is the feeling that Satan would like to inject into Christians. The other day I read the catalogue of a particular publisher, who had decided to publish the writings of the early Puritans, through Moody Press. It seems that, people in the spiritual realm are beginning to realise that what the Puritans had is vital for Christian life and very foundational. We have come to such a stage where one would not be considered fit enough to live in this age if one truly desired to stick to the Word of God. Some of us could well be labelled ‘unfit’, for we are unfit to live in this computer and space age. The power of the Spirit is being substituted by the natural intelligence of man; spiritual men are playing with psychology. May God help us to understand the condition that prevails today. But, whatever the people may say, God wants to bring forth His eternal purposes in this hour. May we allow ourselves to be burdened with God’s eternal purposes, which He has purposed in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ
"Lovers Of Their Own Selves…"
There is another epidemic that appears to have descended upon spiritual people these days. Every one seems to be in a tearing hurry. We have become a hurrying people, a very busy lot. God's people have come to a place where they have no time for God and His purposes. Spending time in God’s House, has become a matter of great struggle . Even ministries in the House of God, are people who are in a bustle and a haste. The only time when people are not rushing around is when they spend time in the pleasure and enjoyment of their flesh. One of the signs of the end times is that men shall be lovers of pleasures. The apostle Paul says while writing to Timothy, "This know also that in the last day perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous........lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof; from such turn away." Christians have begun to spend weekends in pursuit of their own pleasure and enjoyment to the exclusion of God’s will and His purposes for their lives. What a ghastly thing is happening! And all these things have brought us to the place where we have become real paupers, as far as the things of the Spirit are concerned. O beloved, we have come to a place where we are harbouring a spirit of lightness, ease, easiness, excitement, glamour and emotion! We are living in a time when the Church has been overcome by many, many such things. The greatest problem is that too many substitutes are being lavished upon His people, today.
The Evil Of Substitution
The Lord says to His prophet, Jeremiah:
"Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness....Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase.......Hath a nation changed their gods which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. ...For my people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cistern, that can hold no water. "
Jeremiah 2:2,3,11,13
Israel was "holiness unto the Lord" and they did walk in His ways, but then, they turned away. The Lord says, "My people have committed two evils."
· Firstly, " they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters."
· Secondly, they have, " hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water."
I do not know which of the two evils is worse. To forsake God’s way was bad enough, but to replace the Fountain of Living Water for leaking cisterns seems much worse. Yes, they had forsaken the true Fountain, which was undoubtedly, a great evil. But the second evil of substitution, shows a total disregard for the God we profess to serve. Beloved, the condition today, is much worse than in the days of Jeremiah!
We are thankful for all the ‘hi-tech’ facilities that are available today, but when advances in technology begin to impinge upon spiritual things, it is time to sit up and ask some questions. Today, in the West, one can be a part of an electronic or satellite church! One can have the best of preachers, while enjoying the comfort of one’s drawing room! Technology has developed to such an extent that, watching a Sunday service upon a TV screen; one would get the feeling of sitting in the very midst of a live congregation. When one can get the best of the preachers to preach in one’s living room, what is the point of driving for an hour to reach the church? Drive-in churches have become a reality in the West. All one has to do is to drive in, keep sitting in the car, enjoy the worship, and return home!
It is true that all kinds of electronic developments are influencing the Church, today. I want to tell you that all this hi-tech business is no substitute for the old paths that God has set before us. Bless the Lord! In this hour, our heavenly Father wants us to be people who follow the eternal paths and fulfil all that He has purposed in His Son in eternity. It is good to have message and worship on video and audio cassettes ; we are thankful that many books are available, but all these facilities and aids can not replace the eternal paths that God has set for us.
When the Lord Jesus was about to leave this earth He told His disciples, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:..." (Matthew 28:19-20) Beloved, that is an old path that can never be changed by ‘hi-tech’. The disciples of the Lord did not choose to publish all the teachings of the Lord Jesus concerning the kingdom of God in the New Jerusalem Times (newspapers) so that masses could be reached! When God wanted to reveal Himself, He did not print something and give it to us. He humbled Himself, and took the form of human flesh and manifested God in the flesh.
We thank God for the written Word, but God did not stop at that. The greatest love of God is that the Word became flesh and dwelt among men and we beheld His glory. He called men unto Himself and said, "Come, see where I live!" He demonstrated a life and shared the eternal purposes of God with men. And then, after He had fulfilled the will of the Father, by offering Himself as a sacrifice on the cross , the Father raised Him from the dead and gave Him a Throne and a Name. In other words, just before he ascended to that place, prepared of the Father, He told the disciples, "Now I am leaving the earth and I send you to this world so that the things which the eternal Father has done in you may be declared and taught to other people".
The apostle John says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us , That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you.." ( I John 1: 1-3). However today, truth and the old path, is being substituted by large crusades, with a great deal of showmanship, and an abundance of cassettes, books and literature. We thank God these things are available to us, but these things cannot replace God’s eternal paths. We may be living in any age, in any time, but God’s principles are eternal.
There is a superficial Christianity that is flourishing these days. It is very shallow, beloved. And we need the grace of God to check and examine our own lives, day by day. There are very few people who have a strong spiritual foundation.
The Depth Of The Shallowness!
There are two kinds of builders mentioned in Chapter Seven of the book of Matthew. The two builders do not refer to an unbeliever and a believer, as is often thought. They talk about two types of people who know the Lord. They represent two categories of people--- those who do the will of God and those who do their own will. Jesus said " Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ;but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day , Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." ( Matthew 7:21-23). Jesus said these referring to two builders, one who built on the rock and one who built on mere sand. The two kinds of builders are present everywhere. One man heard the Word and obeyed it in his heart. The other one heard the voice of God but did not bring it into practice, in his life. He built his house (life) on sand. The houses they built looked alike though their foundations were so different.
Both types of believers are found in the church. Both are found clapping and raising their hands. Both attend all the camp meetings. But the Scripture says, "And the rain descended" and not if the rains descended. The rains shall surely come despite every favourable forecast by "blessing" preachers. One house fell and the other stood for the Lord. One house was superficial. This superficial life is what we see in such abundance, nowadays.
The lives of many believers are very shallow, without any depth, worth the mention. I need to be very honest in sharing the truth with us. The spiritual foundation in many believers is only as deep as a short worship service on Sunday or a weekly Bible study or the meditation of God’s Word for a few minutes daily! Many others measure the depth of their zeal for doing many things for the Lord, but not in their obedience. Their lives are superficial and lack real depth in God today. Many people do not have any spiritual stamina. They cannot stand any spiritual strain. They cannot stand even one spiritual storm or wind in their lives. As soon as things become difficult, today’s believers are ready to give up and say, "Thank you, Pastor." When things do not go the way they expect, they get discouraged quickly and stop attending the meetings. Many say, "I am not feeling too well in my spirit." " This is too difficult for me!" Surely, they lack spiritual stamina. This is not expected of a people who want to go on with the Lord. People get tired with God’s Word and refuse to go the second mile. Beloved, today, much of the Christianity we see is shallow and lacks depth.
These days, believers attempt to be happy by seeking an easy way. Many are not prepared to face unhappy situations. So often people ask, "Brother, are you happy? Are you happy in the Lord?" Beloved people of God, listen to God’s counsel. If you are a true child of God, walking in the true paths of God, you are going to have a lot of unhappy days. You will come across a lot of unhappy situations. Being ‘happy’ depends upon happenings in our lives. That is why there is no mention of ‘happiness’ as a "fruit of the Spirit". The fruit of the Spirit is joy not happiness. Happiness goes with happenings. But the real joy, which is a fruit of the Spirit, will be with you despite the happenings. It is not the ‘happiness’ of the Lord, which is my strength, but the ‘joy’ of the Lord, which is my strength. People of the world want to be happy because they want the happenings to be favorable. But, there shall be a people who will be joyful in the Lord, regardless of the happenings, the situations and the circumstances. This is the mark of one’s spirituality. In today’s Christianity we see a departure from what God had intended, and instead, there is superficiality and a shallowness that marks everything.
Dear saints, the ways and devices of man cannot retain the refreshing streams of the water of life. Man’s cisterns can hold no water. We need to repent of both evils so that the streams of life that once flowed from His Church might once again, be released from the throne. Over the years, men have been building reservoirs and the cisterns, hoping to maintain a clean supply of pure, refreshing water, but the reservoirs soon became muddy and stagnant. God is asking His people to forsake the building of cisterns and go back to the Fountain. Man’s efforts to get things ‘moving’ in the Church are inexhaustible and all that we are getting from their activities are merely ‘broken cisterns that can hold no water.’
Ask For The Ancient Paths
"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken."
Jeremiah 6:16, 17
The ministry of Jeremiah was a difficult one because God's people had turned away from the Living God. They had turned their backs to the Living God. The people had departed from God's appointed ways. They had deviated from God's intentions and purposes. There was great mixture in the land of Judah. God's judgements had come upon the land in those times, and the Lord counselled them saying, "....stand at the cross roads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your soul. I appointed watchmen over you and... listen to the sound of the trumpet."(NIV).
The good way lay in the old paths. The Lord said that if they would walk therein they would find rest for their souls. However they said, "We shall not walk therein." The Word says, "hearken to the sound of the trumpet.", but they said, "We will not hearken." The same mentality and attitude is governing the majority of believers today. Brothers and sisters, let us seek for the old paths where our fathers walked by faith at one time. We may be living in a modern age, but God’s voice, in this hour to His true people, is to '‘walk in the old paths wherein our fathers walked’. This is the way we too can fulfil the purposes of God and glorify the name of the Lord. Hallelujah! The way that Abraham walked, the way that Moses took, the way that even David went, after the mind of God, is the way for us. In this time of easiness and cheapness, glamour and emotion, God is telling His people to search the old paths and walk in the purposes of God in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord's counsel is "Walk therein and ye shall find rest for your souls." The Christianity that we have today is troubled and confused. We know that a great amount of labour has been put into work of the Lord during this century. And yet, it seems that as far as Christianity is concerned this has been the most restless century. In the Amplified Bible, this verse appropriately reads as, "Thus says the Lord,....And ask for the eternal paths, where the good old way is ; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." There can be no rest until God's people return to the Lord and to His paths.
The Rugged Old Path
Throughout the Bible, womanhood is seen as something precious and admirable. In the Old Testament, we read about the mothers of Israel. O surely, "woman is the glory of man." ( I Corinthians 11:7). However, today, she has lost her rightful place. Woman, who is the glory of man, is no longer in the place of her glory. She has lost her place of womanhood because she claims she is equal to man. There are women who will take the Bible and preach "there is neither male or female" but all are equal. There are certain women who teach that because men have failed, God has appointed them as apostles and prophets! Womanhood, in the Bible, is very precious, but it has lost it’s glory and charm today, because of the philosophies of men. People have ceased to believe that, what God has declared in His eternal word is the truth. They have substituted God’s word by their own ideas and precepts. When will we learn that we cannot do things out of convenience? We have to do things from the convictions of our hearts, things that have been wrought by the Spirit of God, as laid down by Him. In His economy, God has a wonderful calling for the sisters. Dear sisters, be careful not to pay any attention to your ungodly neighbours, friends and relatives, who do not know God’s eternal purposes and paths.
I am really glad, to see a longing in the hearts of some young people, in this city and other places, for the truth and reality in their lives. I want to tell you that I have enjoyed the company of these brethren. It is heartening to know that some young people who are tired of the present path that is convenient, but long for the path, which is eternal. Let there be a cry from each one of us, "Lord we want to be in that eternal path wherein our fathers walked and pleased your heart."
Many spiritual substitutes are being lavished upon believers, today. Believers, whose foundations are shaky, are being deceived. The substitutes are not real, but merely stories and expressions of men. It is all a grand mirage. Believers who have known the old paths and really stuck to the realities, will never adhere to the poor substitutes that are being offered by spiritually bereft leaders. A true believer who sticks to the old paths with diligence will never go the way of the substitutes despite pressures from others. O may God help us to stick to the ways of reality and of life, in these days.
The Views Of A Modern Day Prophet
A W Tozer is a man of God in this century, whose life and ministry has been a challenge to many and also to me. I wish to quote a selection of his writings to challenge and quicken each one of you.
"It is time for us to seek again the leadership of the Holy Ghost. Man’s lordship has cost us too much. Man’s intrusive will has introduced such a multiplicity of un-spiritual ways and un-scriptural activities as positively to threaten the life of the Church."
"Between the scribe who has read and the prophet who has seen there is a difference as wide as the sea. We are today over run with the orthodox scribes, but the prophets, where are they? The hard voice of the scribe sounds over evangelicalism, but the Church waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God.
"If the church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne"
"Unless we intend to reform we may as well not pray. To beg for a flood of blessing to come upon a backslidden and disobedient Church is to waste time and effort. We must return to New Testament Christianity, not in creed only but in complete manner of life as well. Separation, obedience, humility, simplicity, gravity, self control, modesty, cross-bearing; these all must again be made a living part of the total Christian concept and be carried out in every day conduct. We must cleanse the temple of the hucksters and the money changers and come fully under the authority of our risen Lord once more".
"Have you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late-and how little revival has resulted? I believe our problem is that we have been trying to substitute praying for obeying; and it simply will not work. To pray for revival while ignoring or actually flouting the plain precept laid down in the Scriptures is to waste a lot of words and get nothing for our trouble. Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience."
The Need For Recovery
Beloved, as in the days of Jeremiah, there is a great need of recovery. There is no stamina, no depth, and no reality among God’s people. Cheapness and easiness are ruling the lives of many people. But in this hour God is looking for a people who will seek Him and join with Him in His eternal purposes in the earth.
What is the depth of your life in the Lord?
How much stamina have you got?
Do you have the same philosophy as the people of the world?
Do you want to receive blessings as cheaply as possible from the Lord?
Is your life shallow?
Do you have enough spiritual stamina to walk in the paths of life that have been set before you?
When things become hot and tiresome, does the love for God become cold, similar to what Jesus prophesied "In the last days the love of many shall wax cold" ( Matthew 24:12)?
Have you found that you have no depths to withstand allegations, to tolerate those who oppose you because you are ascending unto Zion, in your life?
Why do people lack stamina and the power of endurance these days ? The apostle Paul says, "Exercise thyself unto godliness" Exercise thyself unto godliness" ( I Timothy 4:7). We need to build-up our stamina by obedience and by walking in the eternal paths set before us. If our spiritual life is marked by mere outward adjustments of religious engagements, then there will be little stamina left for the spiritual man to overcome the flesh and the world. Just being associated with the fellowship of saints will not inject any stamina into us. We can develop spiritual stamina when we give ourselves to godliness, obeying the word that God has given us. We must be willing to pay a price!
There needs to be a fresh recovery or a reappraisal of all that the Lord has intended for us in Jesus Christ His Son. It is my prayer that through these meditations the Holy Spirit will put a desire within your hearts to come to a new understanding of His purposes in Christ Jesus. God is faithful, who has called us into the fellowship of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a fresh trumpet call of the Holy Spirit that is being heard today. I feel I am hearing a trumpet call loud and clear. Remnant of God, listen to His calls and move on.