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The Coming Increase of Christ in His House
As God’s people look toward the coming years, we simply cannot keep doing church as we have up to this point. Change is on the horizon. It is just not appropriate to say that we can see really quite well in the realm of the Spirit, thank you very much. Rather, we must cry out to the Lord Jesus to open the eyes of our hearts. If Paul prayed that God would open the Ephesian believers’ spiritual eyes so that they could more intimately experience the hope that comes from His call (Ephesians 1:18), then should we not also seek to be filled with an informed hope as we peer into the time ahead? Lord, open our eyes that we might see what was in your heart when you called us.
The American Church needs to be awakened—not just to the many needs around us, but to the Lord and to the priorities of His heart. Paul tells us that we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). He does not tell us that we must somehow attain to them; we simply need our eyes opened to see what is already ours.
For example, when you first hear the sound of your alarm clock from the midst of a deep sleep, it is awakening you to see your bedroom. It is not as though the furniture suddenly appears from nowhere. The dresser, the lamp, the closet, etc. were all present even though you were totally unaware of them. All the clock did was awaken you to what was already there.
Similarly, a great awakening is coming to the American Church. The Lord intends to open the eyes of His people to what He has already purchased for us. It is ours not because of our works or worth, but because in His great mercy and grace, He paid the necessary price. Everything needed to build His glorious house and to fulfill our destiny as His people is now made available to us in His Son - e.g., the grace to heal the sick, raise the dead, receive words of wisdom, bear the presence of God into our surroundings, etc.
The price has been fully paid. No one can possibly conceive of any higher price tag. To think that God himself came to the Earth to bear and wash away our sins, how amazing! But what was He purchasing at such a cost? Should we think only in terms of Heaven and spending eternity with Him? Or are there yet vast consequences to be realized on Earth before the final days of history are wrapped up? And if so, how do we get there from where we are today?
There can be only one answer. We must discover and then learn God’s road. He has poured out His Spirit in order to open the eyes of our hearts to see His path set before each of us. When Jesus stated in John 14:6 that He was the way (Greek–HODOS, a road), He was telling us that He himself is God’s road. All through the Scriptures, God’s people have cried out to learn His ways, His road.
Then when He came to the Earth and grew into manhood, He brought the ways of God into crystal clarity for all to see. And while we can learn them by reading the gospel accounts of His life, death, and resurrection, there is more. He promised not to leave us as orphans; He would come to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, He said that He would send His Spirit to us in order to convict the world (John 16:7-8). He wanted to cause a growing conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come upon the nations by pouring His Spirit upon His people.
Unbelievers would discover in their hearts a growing sense of guilt about their sins because before their very eyes are a people believing in Christ as resurrected and ruling (John 16:9). Then they would find within themselves a growing awareness that righteous living and attitudes are available to the human race because in their neighborhoods are people living not by what they see but by what they cannot see (John 16:10). And finally, there would surface within the lost a foreboding sense of coming judgment because they are aligned with someone diametrically opposed to the One being revealed through the believers.
But if the Holy Spirit has indeed come, then why are the nations not more changed? Is it because we have not yet accurately learned God’s road? Is it that too many have thought of Christ only as a door for access into Heaven instead of a road to be learned and traveled throughout their lives?
Again, a great awakening(s) lies in our future. It will not occur simply that we might see the needs of mankind, but a highway lying before us. God’s intent is to reveal His answer for what ails the human race through His people as they travel wisely on His road.
For example, when David saw his nation in trouble, he did not simply rise up as the king to fix what was wrong, he cried out to know God’s road, God’s ways (Psalm 25:22, 4). David knew that he was a man in desperate need of God’s mercy. Not only was the nation in trouble, but he was too unless the Lord was merciful to him.
How foolish it is to think that we can fix what ails our nation; we cannot even fix ourselves! How frustrating it is to be broken people trying to fix a broken Church and a broken society. We are constantly aware of how we fall short of God’s glory, and how often we misrepresent Him. And yet, as we wait upon Him and look to Him, He promises to teach us His ways.
Ah, but that is the point. We have to wait upon the Lord. Those who wait are basically saying to Him, “I need you to come and give me wisdom in this situation. I need to know your timing concerning what and when to speak or act.” Waiting on the Lord expresses the humble hearts of those who know they cannot fix what is wrong around them. But waiting is not inactivity; it is living expectantly with an ear to hear. And Jesus commanded that such people would indeed be enabled to hear Him.
We are examining the way forward to the final days of human history. God has set before us His highway, even His Son. The problem is that as we move forward in Him, resistance against us will arise not only from unbelievers, but also from those within Christianity who do not trust Him alone for their righteousness (i.e., trusting in their own success in ministry or in holding a certain ministerial position), or who find their identity in past tasks He has given them rather than in an ongoing intimacy with Him. Sadly, many have been sidetracked from God’s road.
As a result, shaking is coming to Christ’s Church. Many will rediscover their calling to walk in a close love relationship with Him. But others will see their positions in the Church as turf to defend when God unexpectedly reveals himself through simple and sometimes theologically untrained believers who just want more of Him.
What will be our response when He speaks? And what if His instruction is that we quietly serve others who do not agree with us? Our confidence must be in Him and His unstoppable agenda. God alone knows where He wants to take us and how we will get there. It is only as we live in close communion with Him that we will know His will for our lives. He has given us everything we need for this life in Jesus Christ, the words to speak, actions to take, and the power to resist the temptations that cause us to veer off the road He has set for us.
But the minute we step off that road by reverting to our own thinking, and then begin speaking and acting with critical and unforgiving attitudes, we will lose our way. We will stumble badly even though our reasoning seems logical and our theology correct. Right reasoning and sound doctrine are necessary, but God is after more than right reasoning and sound doctrine; He must have a bride whose heart is only for Him. That means God, our Creator, and our Father must be obeyed, His will must be our will without exception.
And if His agenda is that we sit quietly while others speak, will we obey? What if our place of service in the Church is such that many expect us to speak? If we do so simply because of others’ expectations rather than because the Lord has given us words of wisdom and life, how have we in any way furthered His agenda? We will have simply muddied the waters. And are they not muddy enough already?
But as we learn Christ, and keep turning to Him no matter the cost, there shall arise in the coming days and generations a people through whom will increasingly flow a crystal clear river of life.
Here is the hope for the nations. They do not need more religious rules thrown at them; they need Christ. To the degree that we walk in harmony with Him, we will be useful in His plan of bringing redemption to the world. On the other hand, if we consider with pride our theology, our finances, our numbers, our training, etc. compared with others in God’s house, we will have disqualified ourselves from the outset.
The truth is that there is far more pride in our hearts than we are aware of. And God hates pride probably as much or more than any other sin. But the good news is that while He resists those who are proud, He will give grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Here is our way forward. Here is His plan for increasing His grace among us. We must humble ourselves. Today there is no lack of grace in Heaven to heal the sick on Earth. At the same time, there is a distinct lack of such grace in much of Christ’s Church. But God intends for such spiritual wealth to increase among His people not only for His sake but also for the sake of countless desperate lost souls who simply have no answers to their physical as well as their spiritual dilemmas.
So let me make a clear promise to you. In coming days the Lord will give each of us opportunities to humble ourselves. When He does so, it will seem too costly at first. But don’t buy the lie; rather, embrace your cross. Our first tendency will be to justify ourselves, or to prove someone wrong and ourselves right, or to make sure that we get our say in, or to make sure that others notice our involvement in a particularly successful ministry, etc. But let’s humble ourselves instead. As we do so, His grace will increase in our lives. While it may be imperceptible at first, it will surely grow; His promise is sure.
To confirm this strategy, consider the Lord’s prayer. I always thought that Jesus’ priority concerning God’s will was that one day it would be done on Earth as perfectly as it is in Heaven. But that is not exactly what He said. While it is true that in the new heavens and on the new Earth, our obedience will be perfect, there is a present application. At least in Matthew’s gospel, His clear reference is to doing His will with no self-promotion. We are to give, pray, and fast in secret (Matthew 6:1-18). In Heaven there is no promotion of self. One angel tried it once, got kicked out, and took some others with him. Clearly, God will not allow such grievous and offensive attitudes in His eternal abode. Yet, these very sins are prevalent in His house on Earth. Therefore, the power and glory that fills Heaven is limited in its expression among us.
But God has promised that as surely as He is eternal, the glory filling Heaven will also fill the Earth. We cannot produce it; we cannot speak it into existence. But we can humble ourselves before Him and before others so that the grace filling Heaven might increase in our lives.
The one perfect example that we have in Scripture is Jesus himself, who, because He was full of grace, revealed God’s glory on Earth. (John 1:14)
We have no other option; we must learn of Him, for Jesus is God’s way set before us to The Coming Increase of Christ in His House.
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