Heart to heart #36 Are you thirsty? (30th Aug 2012)

Dear....

'And He said to me.....I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.'
            Revelation 21:6

"Still or sparkling?" This has increasingly become the standard question in the restaurants serving Continental fare. Difference is the waiters no longer voluntarily pour the equally delicious free water from the tap. And it is understandable given a bottled water adds $6 to the cash till.
The East is matching the West in this aspect. The trend especially in the upper end Chinese restaurants is towards an array of creatively named teas, with a mini king's ransom to match. The days of unlimited flow of cheap tea is fast becoming a relic of the past.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
                Matthew 4:8-9

Mega trends these might not be, and what has it got to do with the gospel message?
And what is the gospel message? Is it not about the forgiveness of man's sins through the crucified Christ? And the breaking of the deathly grip of sin upon man with the risen Christ? And the need for a response from us the believer, a willing and total surrender
of our worldly desires,  to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? But somewhere along the way, many professed believers  have taken a wrong turn and ended up worshipping the devil, the ruler of our sinful world, rather than Christ our Lord!!

Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
                John 6:26

Do you patronize a restaurant to drink its exorbitant water or tea, or are you there to partake in its cooking? Does one become a Christian to follow God our provider or is Christianity an easy gravy train to the worldly provisions one hanker after?

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the  eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
                  Matthew  19:23-24
               
Is prosperity gospel the very anti thesis of the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ?

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
                  Matthew 19:21

Money in itself is fine, but it is the love of money that is sinful. Is this unfettered encouragement to the flock by the proponents of the prosperity gospel that God is always at our command, and faith is about our relentless focus on asking for what we want, truly the intended relationship that Christ planned for the believer?

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
                1 Timothy 6:8-9

The purveyor of the prosperity goody bag often quotes selectively from the Bible to justify their message. But what about verses like 1 Timothy 6:8-9 and Matthew 19:21 which seems to encourage divestment rather than the garnering of wealth?

The Word of God is God, and clarity of our heart can only come from our taking time in God's presence and in the context of our willingness to seek Him with our all. To rely on my or that of any other 3rd party interpretations is to deprive oneself of the direct relationship with the Lord our God, and subject yourselves to misconceptions, especially when verses are quoted out of context. Satan quoted from the Bible when he tried to tempt Christ. But he failed because Christ know His Father very well. What about you? When was the last time you read the Bible?

They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
              1 John 4:5-6

A Christian need not have to be a pauper. But clearly he should not start as a Prince. The anointed men of God - Joseph, David, Moses.....
they underwent trials to hone their character and align their hearts to God, before they were placed in positions of power.  With wealth comes the need to respond in Christlikeness.  For without God as our rock, wealth will corrupt.

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
                Galatians 5:16

All who come to the faith will still carry with them the carnality of their old self. For all of us, including pastors,  it will be a life long journey of transformation into Christlikeness. A true shepherd of our Lord Jesus Christ will never proffer the intoxicating drug of worldly prosperity to an addict of the world, which all of us still are. And even more susceptible are  those who are new believers,  just as they literally "check into rehabilitation" to be cleansed of their carnality.

They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
          Titus 1:16

The late pastor David Wilkerson ( of Cross and Switchblade fame) in a sermon

Check out this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa_KKUj9w90&feature=youtube_gdata_player

in year 2011 used the term "counterfeit Christianity," to describe those who mouthed the name of Christ, but whose heart are very much with the world. Whose misconceived idea of faith is about Christ surrendering to our whims and fancies, and not about our surrendering our all to His will.

'Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness........'
              Galatians 5:19

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
                Galatians 5:21

But the fields are ripening, especially in our city. To some, the most expedient way to harvest is to "cross over." In pagan Rome, do like the debauch Romans do. Christ did sit down to eat with the taxpayers. He engaged in conversation with the harlot. But Christ never compromised  his God given principles. Christ was with the sinners, but he never sinned.  The end does not justify the means. God looks not for sacrifice but obedience.
Is the production of risqué dance videos in the name of evangelism not a blatant disregard of the command(see Galatians 5:19-21) from our Lord?
Christianity is not an overcoat one place  over our still very carnal self and one continues in our sinful ways. It is about a total transformation of the heart where the Spirit of God leads us, and NOT we leading Christ.

'You reject all those who stray from Your statutes. For their deceit is falsehood. You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love Your testimonies. My flesh trembles for fear of You. And I am afraid of Your judgments.
          Psalm 119:118-120

These are end times intensified. Delusions will abound. Last week I shared about the "pink tide" of lusts. And today, it is about the "green tide" of greed for monies, that blinds us to the Scriptural truths, that lead to  many who  rather believe in the purveyors of snake oil.
If our Lord so wills, we will talk about the "yellow tide." next.

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
            Galatians 4:16

As followers of Christ, we are reminded not to judge our fellow beings. But does it mean that we turn a blind eye to an obvious deviation from the Biblical truths? Correct we must, but always in truth with love. And this posture of alignment with God on our part is only possible if we are willing to put Him as our only focus every moment of our life. Bear in mind that only in the presence of the Perfect God, can we the imperfect not stray ourselves.

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
                Titus 1:10

God  by His grace has lifted the veil upon the hearts of some of us. We are to be the bulwarks of faith,  which will not just stand firm, irregardless of the relentless tide of deceit, but be the beacon of truth upon which the beleaguered will journey with, for the Spirit of God is in our midst.

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
            John 6:35-36

Do take time in the presence of our Great God and ask yourself this question. Are you coming to Christ because He is Santa Claus? Or are you coming to Christ because He is our Lord? Are you still seeking the riches of the world, encouraged by your false prophet? Or are you seeking the richness of a life lived in obedience to Christ, always thankful in all circumstances? Be convinced not by my imperfect thoughts, but be convicted by the Spirit of God by immersing your very being in His Word, and in His work.

God blesses

Eng hieang
30th Aug 2012