Dealing with an unclean spirit, part 6: For and against

He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. (Luke 11:23 NASB)

For he who is not against us is for us. (Mark 9:40 NASB)

I gained an insight this morning into a question that has long plagued me. Why doesn't the church behave like the church? It shocks me when people tell me that they are content to be "members" without becoming "servants", planning to "make it into heaven" because their name is on a church roll. This misconception is heartbreaking to me because Jesus did not call us to membership, but to relationship. 

If I choose not to have a relationship with Christ in this world, why do I expect to have an eternal relationship with him in the next?

The verse from Mark 9 may be part of the confusion. There are more than enough jihadi's, eagerly opposing the cause of Christ. Most of us, however, do not actively oppose Christ. We could say, like in Mark 9:40, that we are "not against" Him. If we consider ourselves "not against" Him, we may mistakenly think that we are, therefore, for Him. 

Even a cursory examination of the passage, however, will reveal our misconceptions. The disciples had asked Jesus about someone who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus. "We tried to stop Him because he was not following us," they told Jesus. They didn't try to stop the man because of his lack of faith, but because he wasn't in their group. "He wasn't following us." (Not because he wasn't following Jesus.) 

The Master told them that the one who wasn't against Him was for Him, but this only applied to the person who was working in the name of Jesus, because of his faith in our Lord, but was not a part of the inner circle. It was a little like our denominational squabbles. It was foolish. With which group he ate his meals and traveled was not the important part of this man's service. Whether his faith was in Christ was what mattered. The man was clearly serving Jesus.

The passage in Luke reminds us of the verse in Mark 9, but there is a definite difference. "He who does not gather with me, scatters." This could have been a word about the church today. If we are not "gathering" the harvest, serving Christ, we are scattering the harvest. To put it simply, when we say we follow Christ but do nothing to help gather in the harvest of lost souls, do nothing to serve Him as He called us to serve, we are "scattering". 

This principle is why we see such an uproar against "those Christians" and why Christians are considered narrow-minded bigots by many today. If the world only sees us speaking and acting in judgment and condemnation, rather than as servants of Christ, it is no wonder that they are repelled. We become nothing more than "scatterers".

If, then, we are "scattering", we are not FOR Christ. Instead, we are AGAINST Christ, and that is a terrible place to be. I learned the words to a hymn as a child and they still resonate today. 

"I am satisfied with Jesus, but the question comes to me as I think of Calvary, 

'Is my Master satisfied with me?'" 

If we choose not to have a relationship with Christ in this world, we cannot expect to have a relationship with Him in the next. Let us consider our lives and our service today. Are we harvesting or scattering? Are we staking our eternal destiny on membership or relationship? Christ came that we might have life, and have it abundantly, and that life begins with relationship to Him.

Teach us to pray, part 62: Faith

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" (Luke 11:13 NASB)

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12:7- 9 NASB 

For the last few days, we have been studying the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believer. As I've written, I've fretted that the information might not be something that we could use in our daily lives. This morning, I've seen it a little differently. When I understand the manifestations of the Spirit in the body of Christ, I can better understand the body of Christ and the ways that we serve each other. That understanding can also help me understand where I can best serve. 

For example, if the Spirit manifests (or works) in me with the word of wisdom, I will most effectively serve the body of Christ by living my faith in practical ways that others can see, as well as by teaching the truth of Scripture in simple language that all can understand using practical applications that all can follow. When (if) serving with the word of wisdom is what I will do best, I will be most content serving in that way, and most effective, no matter what my other abilities include. Understanding the way in which God intended me to serve for the common good, then, is important for the body of Christ but also for my own contentment in service.

Over the next few days, we should all be able to recognize our area of service. If the current area doesn't fit, it probably fits someone we know and can help us to encourage each other to greater service in our area of equipping.

With that said, let's look at another manifestation of the Spirit of God, faith. The word translated as faith is pistis, and is a word we've studied before. The woman with the issue of blood was healed because of her pistis, her faith, and the woman with the alabaster vial was saved because of her pistis, her faith. (You may want to read both of those posts, and you can follow the links to open in a new window.)

This pistis, or faith, is a rock-solid certainty that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and the One through whom we receive salvation in the Kingdom of God. The one with this kind of faith lives their life on the understanding that "God said it, and that settles it." It is an unwavering conviction that God is not only able to do what He says He can do, but also willing to do what He says He can do. 

The one with faith can look at a situation, no matter how grim, consider ways in which God could work in mighty and miraculous ways, then pray with the boldness to ask for those miraculous ways and the faith to expect God to move. This kind of faith is given "for the common good", and the one with this faith will lead the body of Christ in greater leaps of faith. 

If the Spirit works through me by the gift of faith, when someone asks for "a little prayer", my response is likely to be, "Why ask for something little, when we can pray a big prayer?" When serving with the gift of faith, I will always expect a mighty move of God, always see the possibility of His miraculous intervention, and pray with the omnipotence of God in mind. This pistis is the kind of faith we all should have, in which we grasp, at least in part, that there is nothing our God cannot do, no power greater than He. At the same time, this faith understands that, despite that omnipotence, our God is still intimately involved in the details of our lives.

Some will be equipped to serve with exceptional faith, but all of us must follow with that same kind of pistis faith, knowing with certainty that our hope is in Christ alone, and that He makes all the difference.

Vist at Martha's House, part 5: When the service is too much

But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." (Luke 10:40 NASB)

Jesus had invited Himself and his disciples to visit at Martha's home. She and Mary were delighted to see them, and Martha immediately began to prepare a meal for them. The word here translated as "preparations" is diakonia and indicates the "work of service". Martha began by serving the Savior. It was when the work of service became more important than the Savior she intended to serve that the trouble started. Anger and resentment quickly bubbled over. 

This is an important principle and one we would do well to understand. When our service becomes more important than our Savior, nothing good can come of it. That shift in priority will immediately bring a weariness in the work, and a resentment for the lack of assistance. There is a great need for works of service, but the greatest need of all is for those who do the work of service to spend time at the feet of Jesus, learning from Him. 

As we begin our day and the service we will give, let's pause to consider which takes priority for us, our service or our Savior. Let's be sure our first work of service is at His feet, seeking Him first, and doing our work of service simply as a gift to our Lord.