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Are You Ready?

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Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the Lord is near—near and hastening fast. Hark! the voice of the day of the Lord! The mighty man [unable to fight or to flee] will cry then bitterly.

When you read those words what was your first reaction? Was it one of joy or of fear, and dread? Amos 5:18 states, “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!…” Now in some ways I am looking forward to being with Jesus, and seeing Him face to face. But in other ways I fear His review of my life. What did I do with the deposit of His Spirit and Life He gave me? Did I invest in others? Did I become conformed to the Image of Jesus? Did I become a son of God? Will I hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant?” Did I learn to love Him with all my heart? Did I learn to love? You may say to me, “But Robert, Jesus has taken our punishment. He’s not going to judge us for our sins.” This is true. But have you not read where we will be judged for the works we have done? 1 Cor. 3:10-15 According to the grace (the special endowment for my task) of God bestowed on me, like a skillful architect and master builder I laid [the] foundation, and now another [man] is building upon it. But let each [man] be careful how he builds upon it,11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). But if anyone builds upon the Foundation, whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,13 The work of each [one] will become [plainly, openly] known (shown for what it is); for the day [of Christ] will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done.14 If the work which any person has built on this Foundation [any product of his efforts whatever] survives [this test], he will get his reward.15 But if any person’s work is burned up [under the test], he will suffer the loss [of it all, losing his reward], though he himself will be saved, but only as [one who has passed] through fire.

The Apostle Paul, through Christ and by His Spirit, have laid a foundation in you. But notice his warning, But let each [man] be careful how he builds upon it. He goes on to warn, for the DAY of Christ (Robert’s emphasis) will disclose and declare it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test and critically appraise the character and worth of the work each person has done.

In Zephaniah the warning is given that the Day of the Lord will “take away,” “make an end,””utterly consume,” and “sweep away all things from the face of the earth.” What is going to sweep away? Mankind, beast, idol worshippers (those who deem anything or anyone more important than God), those who pretend to worship Jesus. But pay close attention to Zephaniah 1:6 “And those who have drawn back from following the Lord and those who have not sought the Lord nor inquired for, inquired of, and required the Lord [as their first necessity].” “Following the Lord” is another way of saying, obeying the Lord. There are church attenders, and followers of Jesus. Church attenders aren’t necessarily following Jesus any more than walking into your garage makes you a car. (sadly, there are those who don’t even attend church) Followers submit, surrender, and follow. They recognize they have been bought with a price and their lives are lived in overflowing gratitude and obedience.

Once I heard Bobby Conner remark, “We are too familiar with an unfamiliar God.” And it’s true. How can we look forward to the Day of the Lord as if we are not going to be held accountable for what we did with the life He gave us; with the Word He gave us; with the Spirit He sent to indwell us? We have more time saving devices than our ancestors ever had and yet we exclaim we have no time – for God. We have time for everything else but God. We make time for everything else but God.

What’s the good news Robert? Zephaniah 1:7, 14 [Hush!] Be silent before the Lord God, for the day [of the vengeance] of the Lord is near; for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, and He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation...The great day of the Lord is near—near and hastening fast. Hark! the voice of the day of the Lord! 

The good news is you are taking time to listen to “the Voice of the Day of the Lord.” The good news is that you have chosen to be silent before the Lord (to have a quiet time of being centered in Jesus). The good news is that you have been set apart for His use and are learning to accept His invitation. The good news is found in Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord [inquire for Him, inquire of Him, and require Him as the foremost necessity of your life], all you humble of the land who have acted in compliance with His revealed will and have kept His commandments; seek righteousness, seek humility [inquire for them, require them as vital]. It may be you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. The good news is having the Holy Spirit convict of sin, righteousness, and judgement to come. The good news is we are not indifferent, apathetic or complacent regarding His invitation. Praise Him for all of these things knowing that there is enough Blood to cover your sin and mine; enough Holy Spirit and Grace to empower you to seek first – today – the King, His Kingdom, His righteousness, and His dominion over you. Praise Him that He is enough.

I want to be ready. Are you ready? Sounds like an old Larry Norman song, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.“

The Pain-Pleasure Worldview

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2 Chronicles 1:5-7 Moreover, the bronze altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was there before the tabernacle of the Lord, and Solomon and the assembly sought [the Lord].6 Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord at the Tent of Meeting and offered 1,000 burnt offerings on it.7 That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, Ask what I shall give you.

I searched the internet attempting to attach a modern day, monetary equivalent to Solomon’s sacrifice. One article suggested that the animals used for sacrifice would cost roughly one month wages of an average worker. Thus, Solomon sacrificed roughly 84 months of wages to seek God. That’s approximately seven years wages – in one day.

A western Christian would look at the cost of Solomon’s sacrifice and be highly offended. Offended at the sacrifice being an animal, and offended at the pain to see it through. Why is sacrifice offensive to Modern Christians?

Matthew Pickering, in his online article titled, THE CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITIES OF THE PAIN-PLEASURE WORLDVIEW, addresses this issue writing: Missiologist David Williams writes, “We are seeing the demise of guilt-innocence as the dominant worldview in Western cultures. I suggest that guilt-innocence is a fading paradigm. I think we are moving from being a guilt-innocence culture to becoming a pain-pleasure culture.” Our culture has changed. The new way of being in the world means all the following propositions and more. ‘I exist to pursue pleasure by becoming my true uninhibited self which can be anything I want it to be. Pleasure is good and therefore anything that limits or threatens my pleasure is bad. Pain is bad and anything that causes it is therefore also bad and should be avoided or even punished. If my pursuit is challenged, if it causes anxiety, if it is not working, I need therapy not correction.’

Pain and Pleasure participants, and adherents judge and dismiss Solomon’s Sacrifice as “over the top.” Interestingly, the person who wrote the book of 2 Chronicles took the time to count the number of animals sacrificed and record it. What’s sad is that the Pain-Pleasure Worldview has crept into the Church. Its’ members now count the number of songs sung, calculate the time spent traveling to and from church, and the number of minutes it takes for the sermon to be delivered. We’ve gone from picking up crosses, dying to ourselves, to wearing fashionable, miniature facsimiles.

Regarding this issue the writer of Hebrews states: Heb. 13:15 Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. AMPC Pain and Pleasure adherents moan and groan over such a thought: let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise??? Pain and Pleasure participants challenge this thinking disregarding its truths exposing who and what is the center of their worldview. (And it’s not Jesus). Psalm 50:23 states: He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; and he who orders his way aright [who prepares the way that I may show him], to him I will demonstrate the salvation of God. The real Jesus, not the velvet Jesus, or the hip, and cool, reimagined Jesus – points you to Someone and Something bigger than your pleasure-seeking, pain-avoiding SELF. Psalm 50 above compares sacrificial offerings of praise and thanksgiving as the means to order your way aright. The greater indictment is implied, Those who don’t order their lives around sacrificial thanksgiving and praise, aren’t glorifying Jesus. If we are not glorifying Jesus then who has taken His place? Glorifying something implies making something larger than anything else in comparison. Is our Western Culture making the Temple of Pleasure bigger than Jesus? Bigger than His crucifixion? Bigger than His Resurrection? Bigger than His Ascension? Bigger than His offer of salvation from an eternity of suffering in hell?

I’m reminded of the 2012 Marvel Movie, The Avengers, in which a character by the name of Loki – half brother to Thor states: ENOUGH! You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I shall not be bullied by–[Hulk grabs Loki by the legs and slams him around like a rag doll, then leaves him face-up on the floor in a crater]. Hulk: Puny god. [Walks off]

Maybe our culture needs to trade places with Jesus and restore to Him the only attribute that sums up Who He is: God Alone! But as Bobby Conner has stated, We have become too familiar with an unfamiliar God. Solomon wisely stated: Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. Guess Who Wisdom is in the Proverbs? That’s where we begin knowing Him.

The Wind Blows Where It Wishes

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John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Exodus 1:8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

Regarding the manifestations of the Spirit, from Genesis to our present age, we are in many ways like the new king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. Often we behave as children scooping up the oceans sand in a pail hoping to bring an ocean home, or as Bobby Conner once stated, “We are too familiar with an unfamiliar God” – (“God in a box” theology void of experiential reality). We become champions of our intelligence missing the glaring fact that it was this very “mountain” that Jesus chose to drive His Cross through.

Jeff Oliver, in Pentecost To The Present, Book One: Early Prophetic and Spiritual Gifts Movements states: So this question begs an answer: If these supernatural gifts never left the Church and if the Holy Spirit has been active throughout Church history, working through each generation to build Christ’s Church since the day of Pentecost, why haven’t we heard more about such activity?

Certainly, nothing in the Gospels or Acts indicated that signs and wonders would cease or that the Spirit of God would become passive or dormant. Indeed, the very notion of an inactive Holy Spirit contradicts everything the Bible teaches about His nature and character. This is like saying the wind hasn’t blown in over two thousand years!….The reasons for the relative historical silence are many, but a few are cited below:

  1. Sometimes historical records can be sketchy at best. Objects close in proximity – whether of space or time – are more easily discerned than objects far off….Today modern archaeology and the Information Age are rewriting history every day. Have you ever heard the term “Dark Ages”? This term was once used to describe a period of alleged intellectual and cultural darkness between the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Renaissance (AD 500 – 1300), but starting in the nineteenth century an increased recognition of the accomplishments of that period led to a more restrictive use of the term. By the twentieth century, the term had been further narrowed until most modern scholars finally stopped using it altogether, finding the term false and misleading. In other words, there never really was a “Dark Ages.”
  2. It is not possible to record every miracle or event as it occurs, especially in times of spiritual fervor. Journalists are familiar with the inverted pyramid. Essentially, all important information is placed at the top of a story to capture readers’ interest while all remaining information, for the sake of time and space, is reported in descending order of importance. Likewise when the Spirit of God moved throughout history, it was not always practical or even possible to record every event as it happened.
  3. Until the twentieth century, many of the firsthand participants in spiritual revivals were largely illiterate….Even most early accounts of the twentieth-century Pentecostal movement were written by non-Pentecostals since many early Pentecostals could neither read nor write. Similarly, most information coming from Early and Middle Ages came from church fathers who were among the relatively few who could read and write….Likewise, many early accounts of the Spirit’s activities in the Church are secondhand and often from hostile witnesses. Consider this expose’ written about an historical Christian sect from a previous century: Devotees of the weird doctrine practice the most fanatical rites, preach the wildest theories and work themselves into a state of mad excitement in their peculiar zeal….Night is made hideous in the neighborhood by the howling of worshippers, who spend hours swaying back and forth in a nerve-racking attitude of prayer and supplication. They claim to have the gift of tongues and to be able to comprehend the babel. – This excerpt was printed in the Los Angeles Times on April 18, 1906, regarding a “tumble-down shack on Azusa Street” – essentially, the foundation of modern Pentecostalism. 
  4. It is simply human nature to take what we hear at face value, relying on conventional wisdom and prevailing thought for correctness. Few follow the Berean practice of searching the Scriptures daily to verify whether what is said is so….Horace Bushnell, a graduate of Yale during America’s Second Great Awakening, in one of the earliest known works on Continuationism (1858), provided an impetus for this series: It is very commonly assumed and has been since the days of Chrysostom, that miracles and all similar externalities of divine power have been discontinued….The Christian world has been gravitating, visibly, more and more, toward this vanishing point of faith, for whole centuries, and especially since the modern era of science began to shape the thoughts of men by only scientific methods. Religion has fallen into the domain of the mere understanding, and so it has become a kind of wisdom not to believe much, therefore to expect little.