THE CRITICAL ELEMENT
Issue #3 21-February, 1990
Recently, for a period of many days, I had a chance to be
alone with myself. I was alone and isolated from all that I had
known earlier in the year. I was separated from the Christian
friends that I had made at Tech. I was alone with my own
thoughts, my own desires, and my own dreams. During this period
of time, I began to figure out who I truly was. I was not a man
"on fire" for God. I was not a man who constantly sought the
face of God. Oh, I still knew that I was a Christian and was
confident of my salvation, but I had unfortunately left my first
love.
During the past year, I was active in a Christian organiza
tion here on campus. I attended our weekly meetings and went to
a Bible study every week. I even went to a few conferences,
hosted by our organization, where I shared my faith with several
people. I had surrounded myself with Christian friends and had
drifted away from my non-believing associates. I had become part
of the Christian crowd.
I am including all this not to boast or to deface the great
value of Christian fellowship. I am including this to make one
point. Doing Christian things had become the "in" thing for me.
Just as teenagers sometimes do drugs to be popular among their
peers, I was doing Christian things to be popular with my circle
of friends. Although I did have God's interests in mind often, I
was just as often doing these things to serve my own interests.
I thought that by doing the things of God that my relationship
with Him would be improved. I was not in love with God. I was
only playing a game.
I then knew that, although I had made Jesus my savior, He
was not my Lord. I had all the characteristics that are usually
associated with the lost. I was bitter, depressed, proud, con
fused, worried, discouraged, and aimless. I had not lost God,
but I had dethroned Him from His rightful place in my life. I
began to realize that to obtain true happiness, I must allow God
to control my life.
At first I thought to give God control meant to do all the
right things and to try my best to live up to His standards. I
then realized that on my own power I would be a great failure at
doing the things of righteousness. Only a furthering of my
personal relationship with God would improve my condition. Mat
thew 7:22-23 states, "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name perform
many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew
you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." It is the
true desire of God to have a deep and loving relationship with
each of us. God truly wants to be our best friend and our con
stant companion. He doesn't want to be someone we greet at the
door of the church once or twice a week. He wants to have an
intimate relationship with each of us.
The first section (Matt 5:3-12) of Christ's "Sermon on the
Mount of Olives" is referred to as "The Beatitudes." These
describe in beautiful and encouraging detail the development of
an intimate relationship with God. In each passage, Christ gives
a characteristic of someone seeking this kind of relationship and
promises a specific blessing for each one.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven." The idea of poor in spirit can be illustrated in
Luke 18:10-14. Paraphrasing, this passage contrasts the prayer
of a prideful man with that of a humble man. Christ states that
the humble man was the greater because "he who humbles himself
shall be exalted." This idea of humility over pride can further
be seen in James 4:6. "God is opposed to the proud, but gives
grace to the humble." God desires that we humble ourselves in
His presence and acknowledge His power. He desires that we view
ourselves for who we truly are, recognizing our weaknesses, as
well as, our strengths. We cannot enter into a meaningful rela
tionship with the Lord if we pridefully take credit for the
things that He does in our lives.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
In James 4:9-10, the author associates the idea of mourning with
humility. "Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be
turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves
in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you." I believe
here that mourning means to express sorrow unto the Lord for your
sins. This would tie in with the above passage from Luke. God
cannot stomach the sight of sin. Therefore, when we approach God
to further our relationship he cannot permit it unless we mourn
over our sins. 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness." In this manner, "being comforted"
embraces the idea of being cleansed from our sins.
"Blessed are the gentle, (or humble, or meek) for they shall
inherit the earth." Titus 3:1-2 says, "Remind them. . .to be
ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be uncontentious,
gentle, showing every consideration for all men." I believe that
this is the result of the previous two steps. Once we have
humbled ourselves in the sight of God and asked for forgiveness,
our hearts become gentle. In a manner of speaking, our hearts
become conformed to that of Christ.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteous
ness, for they shall be satisfied." Continually seeking to do
the will of God is the idea of this verse. Matthew 6:19-34
speaks of wealth and material possessions. In verse 33 Christ
says, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all
these things shall be added to you." If the ideas of these two
verses are combined, we can see that the man who searches for
righteousness will not only find it but will find himself
wealthy. Perhaps this wealth will not be monetary or material in
form, but in the peace and confidence of a close relationship
with God. In this manner, we are to pursue our relationship with
Him, as if He were our only food and our only drink. Through
this kind of quest, we can find satisfaction.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
The whole idea of mercy incorporates compassion, forgiveness, and
lovingkindness. In Colossians 3:12 Paul urges us to put on the
new man and "put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility,
and patience." If you have this spirit of compassion and you
"forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will
also forgive you," (Matt 6:14). When we seek after God in the
manner mentioned above, our hearts become even more conformed to
that of Christ. By this I mean, we become merciful and compas
sionate towards all men. It is God's mercy that allows us to be
children in His name. It is this same spirit of mercy that
Christ is teaching us to live by. This lesson is also illustrat
ed in Matthew 18:21-35.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." We
can think of a relationship with God as a fire. Our hearts can
be thought of as gold that is full of impurities. When we move
closer to God, the flame purifies our hearts of our own will and
our own desire. This is the result of continually seeking God
and being cleansed from sin as has been described in the previous
paragraphs. Once we have achieved this, we are ready to move on
to the next step.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons
of God." 1 Peter 3:8-9 states, "let all be harmonious, sympa
thetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not return
ing evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing
instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might
inherit a blessing." A peacemaker is someone who takes a hostile
situation and turns it into one of trust. I believe here that
Christ was calling one who reaches out to others in love a peace
maker. Someone who is faithful to reach out to his fellow man
and tell him about the glory of Christ is someone who can be
called a son of God. Notice where this passage lies in respect
to the others. Does this say anything about what must preceed an
act of witnessing? I think so.
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
you when men cast insults at you, and say all kinds of evil
against you falsely, on account of Me." In 2 Cor. 11:23-27, Paul
speaks of the incredible trials and dangers he has endured for
the sake of Christ. Yet Paul is one of the most inspirational
and encouraging figures in the New Testament. God uses Paul to
write much of His word, establish churches, and to bring count
less souls into the kingdom. If we truly pursue what is laid out
for us in these passages, we can expect to be persecuted by the
world. We may never be persecuted to the extent that Paul was,
but we still will endure some of it. By the grace of God we are
blessed for this and are even promised the kingdom of heaven.
Please notice that Christ does not tell us to always be busy
with the things of God. While doing the things of God is impor
tant, I do not believe that we should over-burden ourselves with
the task. If we continually keep ourselves occupied and do not
wait patiently before the Lord, can we truly have a deep rela
tionship with Him? What God truly desires is for us to know and
love Him. We need not overly-concern ourselves with the things
of God. If God needs something to be done, don't you think it
will get done? Are any of us so vital in God's plan that He
cannot do without us? Isn't that thinking a little prideful?
God wants to be wanted by us, not for us to busy ourselves with
His work. When we are in a truly loving and longing relationship
with Him, the fruits will come.
I am not trying to tell you to give up your Christian activ
ities. I do want you to think about what you are doing now.
Determine if you are putting God's activities before God Himself.
Please do not let yourself be caught like I was. For I was doing
all the Godly things and yet I was not in love with Him. Don't
let Satan fool you into believing that you need to be continually
busy doing the things of God. God desires to know us and to be
loved by us.
I will close this message with a quotation from A.W. Tozer.
It is in the form of a prayer; I hope that it will be yours. "O
God, I have tasted Thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and
made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of
further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the
Triune God, I want to want Thee; I long to be made more thirsty
still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee
indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my
soul, 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' Then give
me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where
I have wandered so long. In Jesus' Name, Amen."
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