When Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane most of His disciples scattered. They fled in fear for their lives. After having vowed allegiance to Him, they showed the great value that they placed on their earthly lives. However, Luke tells us that Peter "followed at a distance (22:54)." He had made the bold claim that he was willing to follow Jesus to the death, but after seeing Him arrested was only will to look on from afar. Doesn't this seem like a familiar scene?
We have people in the church today who just can't understand why they don't experience the power of God in their lives. They follow all the popular speakers and preachers, they read the most promising books, they go to the most up to date conferences and worship seminars, yet God just doesn't move. Why? I wonder if it's because so many are following at a distance.
There are thousands of professing Christians today who want to see the miraculous and the exciting, but they are not committed enough to their Savior to see it up close. They follow those who are doing God's work and hope to see God move from a distance. They're just close enough to see the fireworks, but not close enough to be scared of the bang. We function within a church today that largely embodies this mentality that was displayed by the Apostle Peter so many years ago. They want the benefits of following Jesus, but they don't want to make the sacrifice necessary to walk with Him. So they think that if they follow far enough behind they can see the exciting work of God and simply be dragged into heaven along with the wake of those who are following God. They want to see the results of a holy life without actually living one. They want to see the results of an uncompromising biblical life, but they don't want to take the ridicule that may come with it. They want to spend eternity in heaven, but they don't want to have to prepare for it during their time on earth.
As I was meditating on this scripture a couple of weeks ago it occurred to me that this is the case with many more "Christians" than we would like to admit. They'll come to church and participate in some of the activities, but it's always from a distance. They'll only come so close. Can it be that one of the reasons that we don't see God move in a mighty way in our day is because we're afraid to get to close to His work?
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DAY 873 [ One Liberty Place, Philadelphia ]
8 years ago
It seemed easy for people to follow Jesus when it was convenient for them, it fit well in their schedules when Jesus wasn't on death row. Today we see fewer and fewer willing to walk that road. Unfortunely, some of them even get beat down by fellow "christians". The world can be insanely brutal to someone trying to show them God's Love. It is because of that suffering and heartache that makes it hard to Follow CLOSE.
ReplyDeleteI I feel there has been a severe injustice within the teachings of many of our churches. Lack of emphasis in prayer and God's power to answer prayer. I believe we could see God move in a mighty way in our day, but not without prayer, and not without faith in those prayers. Prayer builds a one on one relationship with God. Without that relationship the church might as well be a local social club. God puts His power upon His ministers and His people and the Holy Spirit of God does His work in blessing His people and convicting and saving sinners. The secret of power on preaching is in prayer. The secret of power on personal soul-winning effort is prayer. The way for a Christian to have the power of God for His service is to pray, and how amazing and wonderful it is to see those prayers answered. That's when I see the awesome power and great depth of love of God.
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