Watch and Strengthen |
|
Elder
Philip N. Conley |
Revelation 3:2, "Be
watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are
ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before
God."
This morning, what commands
our minds? One of the main components of the devil's devices
is to capture our main attention. Any attention he can
divert to his desire is attention that we do not pay to
truly important matters. His devices prey upon fear,
torment, sorrow, and discouragement. For the worldly-minded
child of God today, there is much to fear, and for the
good-hearted child of God today, there is much to
discourage. However, what should command our foremost
attention is the fact that nothing that happens to us or
around us changes one single promise that God has made unto
us. Nothing happens to make Him leave or forsake us, and no
event of human history is great enough to separate us from
His love.
Most of our writings in
segments like these speak in general tones with a few
specific illustrations, but from time to time, our mind is
impressed to speak more pointedly and plainly than is usual.
This morning is such a time. Please kind reader, cast a
mantle of charity over these thoughts if you feel they are
too plain. Hopefully this writing will show that our
intention is to encourage rather than discourage God's dear
children as we soldier together in the desert of life. Many
of my observations about spirituality among the family of
God and particularly the household of faith are shared by
ministers across the land. As I converse with other
ministers about what we see, things seem almost identical no
matter the geographical locality. Worldliness is way up,
spirituality is way down, and dependence upon God is lacking
in so many minds across this country. This should not come
as a surprise as prosperity has always hampered an elect's
spirituality, while persecution and hard times serve to draw
us closer to God than before.
Our study verse is part of the
address to the church at Sardis. Sardis' situation is very
reminiscent of today's culture. It was the capital city of
Lydia, and was considered perhaps one of the most luxurious
cities of that day. They did not lack for creature comforts,
and today, the only thing that remains of that once great
and luxurious place is a heap of ruins. Our culture today is
perhaps the most luxurious it has ever been. Indeed, the
poor are still with us, but by and large, this time is one
of the most - if not the most - luxurious times history has
ever seen. Just as Christ said it was hard for a rich man to
enter into the kingdom of God, so is it hard for comfortable
people to find comfort in the gospel of God's kingdom. Man's
riches can prevent him from pressing into the kingdom as he
should, and man's comforts can prevent him from experiencing
the kingdom as he should. Truly, I must confess that I have
been hampered and hindered repeatedly in my spiritual walk
due to the "good life" that we have in a natural way.
On the other hand, great care
should be taken to prevent ideas and messages like this from
becoming all "doom and gloom." There have been well-meaning
and not-so-well-meaning people down through the years that
took ideas like this and brow beat people into a "do this or
die" mindset. Brow beating is not the answer. Softness is
not the answer either. So what is? John's statement to the
angel at the church in Sardis is the answer. Be watchful and
strengthen. When a caretaker, gardener, etc. is engaged in
nurturing greenery, there are times when things wilt over.
They are ready to die, but they are not dead. Big
difference. When someone has died - whether naturally or to
the fellowship of spiritual things - they are beyond man's
reach to encourage. If someone has drifted away into the
form of death from Hebrews 6:4-6, we cannot reach them.
However, if someone is wilted over spiritually from the
luxury of life, we need to watch for these things and
strengthen them as we can.
Currently, there is nothing
living in my garden. What had been planted there for the
winter got drowned by excessive rainfall, thereby preventing
me from trying to nurture it. However, in the next few
months, more things will be planted that hopefully will be
strengthened and not die. There are things we have lost in
our lives that cannot be salvaged. Time - once lost - is
never regained. Youth - once faded - is never replaced.
However, there are many things in our lives and churches
that can be strengthened as they have not died. Some may be
ready to die, but they are not dead.
Strengthening wilting
spirituality comes through diligent prayer, studious
execution of God's word, and faithful declaration of God's
goodness. For the good-hearted but discouraged lamb, they
need to be reminded that God is still on the throne and
still perfect in all His doings. For the worldly minded and
fearful sheep, they need to be reminded that God still loves
them in spite of all that we see. There is not a situation
in life that is not a good opportunity to extoll the
greatness of a mighty God to weak and wretched sinners.
There is not a situation in life that cannot be improved
from its current state as we can always do better than we
are doing right now. A message of God's perfect care coupled
with what should be our improving walk is how we strengthen
the wilting.
I freely admit that there are
times that "throwing up our hands" in a form of dismay,
discouragement, and/or disgust may seem preferable. However,
I have to be reminded again that God still loves me in spite
of all this. I have to be reminded that God will have us
without fail. I have to remind myself that He is in control.
Praise the Lord! My simple charge is to watch and
strengthen. Now, when plants are wilted, they may have to go
through some pain and distress before they "get well." We
may have to experience some hard times before growing as we
should. A retired vinedresser told me years ago that grapes
do not really get sweet unless they struggle through the
growing process. Sometimes we have to struggle through our
growing process to produce the truly sweet fruit that is
pleasing in our Master's sight.
The message today is not doom
and gloom. The message today is not fire and brimstone. The
message today is "Look up friends!" Our help is not of this
world. Our strength does not come from this world. We
ourselves are not of this world, as He has made us something
this world is not worthy of. Is it discouraging to see lambs
and sheep hurting themselves through repeated periods of
spiritual waning? Yes indeed. Is it fearful sometimes to
consider what we will likely see before our lives end and
what our children will have to experience? Surely it is.
However, things are not dead. They may be ready to die, but
let us watch and strengthen if so be that we may see the
miraculous hand of God with us. Revival is still possible,
and we should be availing ourselves of every effort that we
can to keep death away from the things we love. |