I now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions
of Christ… —Colossians 1:24
{CHAMBERS} “[A] Christian […] has to be a sacred “go-between.” He
must be so closely identified with his Lord and the reality of His redemption
that Christ can continually bring His creating life through him. I am not
referring to the strength of one individual’s personality being superimposed on
another, but the real presence of Christ coming through every aspect of the
worker’s life. […] If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human
life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result
is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious
lifestyle, and the Spirit of God cannot witness to it because such preaching is
in a realm other than His. […] When we say, “What a wonderful personality, what
a fascinating person, and what wonderful insight!” then what opportunity does
the gospel of God have through all of that? It cannot get through, because the
attraction is to the messenger and not the message. If a person attracts
through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified
with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The
danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John
12:32).”
{ELGIN} I was talking with a
painter and his son yesterday. The conversation
drifted from what had to be done in the house, to more personal matters … who we
are, why we are what we are. I feel
strongly that God has these men helping for His purpose. But as I shared a little about my past and why
I was in Texas, the young man smiled and said that what I was doing was a great
thing. And so back to Mr. Chambers. If all I do is impress those men with my
service and fail to communicate whom it is that I serve and why, I have failed
in my mission. Testimonies are good, but
are hollow and vain without the Gospel at their center. You can impress people with the “whats” in
your life but fail in your mission if you do not tell people “why” you do what
you do. (Matthew 22:37-39) Love God and Love People. Paul said, (1 Corinthians 2:1-5) “And I, when I
came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God
with lofty speech or wisdom. For I
decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And
I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in
plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so
that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
If people are not drawn to
Jesus, but to you, then you have missed the point of your encounter with
them. Be careful that you don’t neglect
the Gospel, your primary mission in your new life, in favor of people being
impressed with who you are or what you do.
Every bit of that is for the glory of God, not your personal glory. Don’t be like the some of the Pharisees. (John
12:42-43) “Nevertheless, many even
of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not
confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved
the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
No comments:
Post a Comment