Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
Should There Ever Be Less Ferver...
Why does it take something like what happened on 9-11 or the likes to cause us to look with eagerness with "such open ears, such greedy attention, as if every word would be eaten which dropped from the mouths of ministers."
Why does it take such times for preachers to proclaim the Gospel with such ferver, sparing not the Truth in its entirety, liftng up their voices like trumpets as though every sermon might be their last... "no fear of man, no love of popular applause, no ever-scrupulous dread of strong expressions, no fear of excitement or enthusiasm, preventing them from pouring out the whole fervor of their hearts, that yearned with tenderness unutterable over dying souls."
And as Bonar asks, "Should there ever be less fervor in preaching or less eagerness in hearing" than there is when such things happen as on 9-11 or the flood in New Orleans, etc.?
He goes on to say that life is thought to be a whole lot shorter in those times so people get desperate. But shouldn't we always be desperate?
We do not have a clue when our last breath will be!!!
"Death and its issues are still the same. Eternity is still the same. The soul is still the same. Only one small element was thrown in then which does not always exist to such an extent; namely, (the reality of) the increased shortness of life." (Bonar was talking about plague victims)
Are we any less farther away from the "shore of eternity" when things "seem" bright and life is "good"? Aren't "everlasting issues still as momentous ... Is that a man or a corpse that is not affected with matters of this importance? ... Is that a man or a clod of clay that can rise or lie down without being deeply affected with his everlasting estate? that can follow his worldy business but make nothing of the great business of salvation or damnation; and that, when they know it is hard at hand?"
Are you concerned at all with the salvation or damnation of those around you? Or are you cold, prayerless, inconsistent, slothful, worldly and much like those who go about their day without much thought of eternity?
Are you walking in the footsteps of our beloved Lord or are you a hypocrite? Shouldn't we, if we proclaim Christ, "be more earnest if we would finish our course with joy, and obtain the crown at the Master's coming. We MUST work while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work."
Comments
I once heard someone say that if we really believed what we say we believe, we would crawl from one end of this country oto the other, on broken glass, just to share the gospel with one lost sinner. I think that for many of us, our lack of "ferver" and "eagerness" is an illustration that we do not REALLY believe what we say we believe.
Blessings, and peace.
Posted by: Kevin Stilley | July 23, 2006 09:41 PM
Mr. Stilley,
EXACTLY! And there are times in my life I do not live as though I believe or truly comprehend what the Lord has done for me... and for that, I am ashamed.
Posted by: 4ever4given | July 23, 2006 10:33 PM
Personally, I do not find it necessary to go such extremes to dispense the Gospel. I'd be quite content if those who profess to be Christians would simply act as such towards one another.
And regarding the Gospel, the opportunity abounds in my own backyard. I'm convinced the congregations of today's evangelical churches are some of the best grounds to harvest.
Posted by: Mike Young | July 24, 2006 10:11 AM
Mike Y.
"We must not suppose that if we succeeded in making everyone nice we should have saved their souls. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world."
Those who simply "profess" to be Christians are not always genuine believers. Making them nice to each other isn't the point of our existence.
“How many souls have been led to vain confidence by a man-made, evangelistic formula? How many are sent home from evangelistic services with calm, who should have gone away grieved and disturbed as the ruler? How many unsaved children have been given assurance by the teachers of Bible classes, so that they have ceased to seek God for salvation?”– Chantry
Philippians 1:27-30 says, "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."
Yes, we are called to live lives worthy of the Gospel... but that entails spreading the Gospel, too. The Gospel is veiled to some... perhaps your neighbor or your sister or your mother or the Wal-Mart check out lady... or your child. Striving for the faith of the Gospel does not just entail diligence in strengthening our own faith, but also the diligence of spreading the faith of the Gospel. That is why Paul talks about being fearless before our opponents, "shining as lights in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation."
Not striving to spread the faith of the Gospel is to treat the Gospel as worthless. Be motivated by the conviction that God is worthy of worship and Christ is worthy to receive the full reward of His suffering and the Holy Spirit is sovereign enough to use even you and me in drawing people to God.
Your backyard is a great mission field... i am not saying it is everyone's calling to go spread the Gospel in Egypt... but we are commanded by God to spread the Good News fearlessly wherever we are, in and out of season, when life is easy and abounding in trials. No excuses. Not out of a sense of duty but out of love for the Lord for what He did for you when you were still defiled by sin and far more worthy to burn in hell for eternity than to be looked upon with favor... totally unmerited favor.
May God fill us with a fervent desire to be used by Him, to strive for the faith of the Gospel for His glory wherever we are.
You wrote: "I'm convinced the congregations of today's evangelical churches are some of the best grounds to harvest."
I agree.
Posted by: lisa4given | July 24, 2006 11:19 AM
That's a lot of quoting to say you agree. Sheesh! Now my eyes hurt.
Posted by: Mike Young | July 24, 2006 05:22 PM