Those who Endure!

He who Endures to the End shall be saved! Matt10:22

Why do so Few endure fighting the Good fight of Faith? Aside from those who are supposedly saved inside the System and remain in bondage to their sin and disobedient to God. The Real question is focused on those WHO came into Christ through Genuine Repentance and Faith Proven by Deeds; and then grow complacent toward the things of God.

Truly they have been Partakers of the Holy Spirit and Tasted the Good Word of God and the Powers of the age to come.

So why do they grow weary in well doing and lose heart?

The Word had indeed taken Root in them and produced a crop. The evidence is clear in most cases. But somewhere along the line their perception of spiritual matters went askew. They become indifferent to the Word and no longer Dig Deep into the treasure trough of Truth. As a result their perception of Good and Evil is off center. Compromise is inevitable. Soon they are no longer Standing fast in One Spirit, with one Mind, Striving together for the faith of the Gospel. (Phil1:27) Instead they are Striving about words, methods and objectives. Accord is broken as their hearts refuse to yield to the Word of God.

Sin may or may not be the issue involved here. Many get themselves wrapped up in the world by degree and fail to recognize the damage it is doing to their Spiritual well-being. The enemy is ‘Rationalization’. They convince themselves that by showing love or patience to everyone, minus the contention, it will strike a balance more acceptable to the Nature of God. But lacking real discernment is the critical matter. Surly people have gone to extremes on both sides of this dilemma. We’ve all seen the over zealous miss-guided people flying in the face of everyone with stinging rebukes and mean spirited insults. And at the same time we are all aware of the common presentation of the ‘Love Gospel’, Repeat after me crowd who run around with John3:16 banners. But BOTH sides are wrong and surly NOT in the Spirit. Yet we Cannot ignore the Commands of Scripture to favor our own opinions in all this.

Contending earnestly for the Faith (Jude4) is equally as important as Faith Working by Love! We may not all be exactly the same in our approach to this, but unless we are Striving together with that One Mind in the faith we are Certainly NOT going to be on the same page in any of our endeavors. Further, complacency will make you resentful toward those who are Striving, You will see their admonishments for Unity as a demand instead of a Challenge to get back on track. Because of this flawed perception your heart will wax cold toward fellow brethren. The deeper you descend into spiritual insensitivity the more these matters will stir your ire and the closer you will be to giving up entirely.

What leads to this state of affairs? Simply LACK of Diligent Study and focus on the things of God. But the process is very subtle and you will hardly notice it unless you’re in a fervent Spiritual environment. Most easily fall prey to that ‘form of godliness with no power’ when they neglect the weighty matters of life. Study may indeed continue, but it’s shallow, only touching the surface issues. Pulling Down Strongholds and casting down arguments is out of the question because your own obedience is NOT fulfilled! (2Cor10:4-5) As a result any admonishments against complacency irritate you like someone dragging their finger nails across a chalk board. You begin to form a mental image in your mind of more ‘committed’ brethren as harsh and intolerant. Rather than their devotion to God calling you to a deeper commitment it fosters further aversion toward imitating their enthusiasm.

It’s easy to criticize someone in the arena taking the arrows and making an effort to get the Truth out. Zeal is often misconstrued as too extreme. Christ and His Disciples were habitually misunderstood because they were too Narrow for the religious System. But the naysayers are always in the majority and they incessantly have a better way of doing things in their minds. (although they are NEVER actually doing it!) They will be quick to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Perhaps this stems from an over estimation of their own spirituality. The Shallow inevitably compare themselves among themselves due to their lack of discernment. If they ever realized how far off the Path they are it could very well open their eyes again to the Truth.

This goes far beyond a weakness of faith or infirmity toward temptations. You Can’t drink Milk forever! There comes a time to Grow up. The Race is set before you. It’s your personal responsibility to Work out your Salvation and Make your calling Sure. God can’t do it for you. If you are lead by the Spirit then WALK in the Spirit! Your lack of diligence is an offense to God. Your with Him or against Him, there’s no halfway point. You fail to endure, grounded, steadfast and immovable, you lose it all. The

Narrow Way

is a difficult and solitary Walk. Truth will Never be in fashion. The Worldly will hate you, especially the religious systems. Try to win their approval with passive submission and you may as well join them. They relish acts of charity but they despise contention.  The worst thing you can do is convince yourself that their ‘good works’ have some kind of merit in God’s Kingdom. If you’re not willing to stand aloof of their Systems and endure the displeasure of family and friends, you’ll Never understand those who ARE Doing it, and you will learn to resent the Truth! Remember: ‘The Wisdom from Above is WILLING to YIELD’, will you?

He Who has Ears, Let him Hear!

Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him. Lk8:18

Why is it nearly impossible to get people to focus on anything that requires deep thought? Their minds are going a hundred miles per hour, from task to task, amusement to amusement and you’re asking them to stop, THINK and Focus. Not likely. What assaults the average mind today? ‘Sound Bites’, ‘Headlines’, ‘The Front Page!’ Who reads the story? Everything comes to them in bits and pieces designed to keep them off track and preoccupied with non-sense. Result is they are un-thinking, un-knowing, shallow, vapid, dull.

Thus the Modern Version of the Gospel is perfect for them! ‘Repeat after me!’ Trust, No one is Perfect, you Can’t Judge! What could be better? It’s empty and void of any saving content, but they don’t have a clue. Why? Because they can’t focus long enough on any deeper aspect of Spiritual matters to connect the dots and come to a valid conclusion. They can accept orthodoxy but not a Person! (didn’t Jesus tell them, you search the scriptures for in them you THINK you have eternal life, and these are they which Testify of ME, but you are unwilling to Come to Me that you may have life! Jh5:39)

This is the exact same reason people cannot focus on the importance of world events and how it is all affected by past history. So history repeats itself again and again. People are enslaved and then wonder why it happened so quickly. But they NEVER paid attention to what their leaders were doing behind the scenes, just as they will NOT STOP and HEAR Jesus. How is a person who doesn’t know the basic fundamental principles of Salvation and Faith, according to the Bible, going to focus on anything that requires deep thought? Eternity cannot be seen. Of what value is thinking about it, other than we all face death one day and HOPE there is a heavenly rest in store. No need to think beyond the Present.

Everything that matters to them is connected with the material world. Their success, wealth, entertainments, pleasures of life, all part of the things around them. How is anyone going to Count The Cost for something they Cannot see? Something that has no intrinsic value. That you cannot touch, feel, or take to the bank! First they would have to Hear and then Focus on the Value of Repenting, following and Obeying the Truth. This would actually require them also to put forth an EFFORT! Ask, Seek and Knock to find. The Modern Gospel requires NO EFFORT whatsoever! Just Trust in some nebulous scheme that covers your sin and excuses all your short comings. Change nothing you are now doing. In fact, Pursue it with greater confidence that God has now placed His seal of approval on it!

So it’s: God Bless America! Do your own thing! Enjoy life. Don’t worry about digging out the truth, examining the facts, comparing spiritual matters. Ignore those things, they require too much time and energy to sort through. Let the PhD’s sort it all out and write the books. You’re here to enjoy yourself.

You can laugh it all off and leave it to the lunatics to harsh over. Same goes with World affairs. Why bother yourself with things you don’t understand. Life goes on. Eat, Drink, Party on! While the world goes to hell in a hand basket and they rob you of everything your fathers fought to preserve, text yourself into oblivion!

Who are the Strange ones today? Not the superficial that care only about the present. No. It’s the Deep thinkers. People who Dig and Examine the facts. Sort out the Truth, connect them and disseminate the facts. The analytical, intuitive, people well informed in all matters of Religion, Science, Politics. They are the Weirdoes! Accordingly what happens? The Gospel Peddlers ensnare them with catch phrases, cute little sayings, jokes and stories. They speak to them like children and keep them in their ignorance. Why not! The Politicians do it, the News Media, Entertainment industry and advertisers. All play to this lack of focus in people to sell their products or philosophies. It Works like a Charm!

Think about if. When you’re speaking with someone out of their realm of understanding, you must repeat yourself at least three or four times before they can begin to grasp what you are saying. Then if something interrupts their train of thought, it all evaporates instantly. You’re heard that the average attention span is about one minute or less. Couple that with the addictive nature of our sociality and how that affects the cognitive reasoning of the brain and its no wonder people can’t connect the dots. 

 

Therefore you begin introducing Words and Phrases foreign to their intellect, it’s like speaking another language to them. Who are their heroes? People who love God and Contend earnestly for the truth? NEVER! But if you can swing a bat, shot a hoop, score a touchdown they worship you. It’s of no consequence that these are the drunks, adulterers and vile of the world. Our children are taught to admire and emulate them. Values of importance require depth of thought and logical reasoning. Ethics as well originate in a Sound Mind with Truth, Justice and human decency! No wonder these are tossed to the wind in our society today.  

Consequently when Jesus says (which they will NEVER hear in a church!) ‘He who has ears, let him hear!’ This is what He meant, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION! The Manner in which you are hearing and perceiving something makes ALL the Difference in the World! Note what the Bible says about the average person: 

They are in a Daze, Under Strong Delusion. Veiled, Blind, a Curtain over their eyes, Callous, Dull of hearing. This is the COMMON condition of the human Mind and it is what Sin has done to their sense of reason. The Power of Deep thought is lost to them. Only a Real Repentance, according to the Scriptures, will return them to a Sound Mind, focused on God. Then kept so by Deep, Diligent Study of the Word. BUT if they Never put forth the effort, and keep exerting themselves (Strive!) down the Narrow Path to life, there is no hope of ever finding it. That’s why FEW will Endure and FEWER Still will make it.

Where then will you find these important and vital truths? In daily life? Perhaps in a Church? Maybe someone has stopped you this week and brought them to your attention! All this is highly doubtful I would have to conclude by years of observation. As anyone who wishes to convey the truth to this world, I find it nearly impossible to obtain and keep anyone’s attention long enough to make any kind of impact. They just won’t be quiet! It must be the sound of their own voice that impels them to drone on, I don’t know. But I do know God is only going to be found in that still small voice from within, as you Seek and Desire to Know His truth. He will Never force anyone to Obey Him. It’s a Choice each person has to make individually to DO what is Right. (and going into a church is not the way!)

In this World of Lies piled on top of more lies and Deception at every turn, the odds are NOT in your favor from the get go. MOST are NOT going to make it. You can believe in the lies you choose, no one will stop you, but the consequences are yours to bare, alone. STOP Now, put down you IPods, turn off the TV, get to a quiet place of absolute solitude, turn off your cell phone and TRY to engage your Mind in eternal matters. THINK! You may find that you really do have a Brain capable of getting in touch with God!