 |
| Break up your fallow ground.. it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. |
This is a major reason why when calamity struck, he reached the end of his rope, consulted a medium, lost the kingdom and eventually his own life.
While in Gilgal, surrounded by enemy forces and a scattering army, he gave in to temptation and offered a sacrifice in the place of Samuel who had delayed in coming. His true condition of heart had been tested over time, and in a phase of crisis, was revealed for what it was.
If we only depend on our own mind and resources, we too are bound to suffer great loss. We are not called to build our lives around those who are more spiritual than ourselves. Our praying needs to be such that it prepares our hearts for the presence of God to guide us like David did.
When the temple was originally constructed, the facilities in the Most Holy Place had to be overlaid with gold which is the most valuable material on earth. This signifies that the most precious thing man can ever have in his life is the presence of God.
When the temple was originally constructed, the facilities in the Most Holy Place had to be overlaid with gold which is the most valuable material on earth. This signifies that the most precious thing man can ever have in his life is the presence of God.
It is true that David also had his failures as a king, but God is not looking for perfectionists. He is looking for those who like the prodigal son, will come back to themselves and return fully to Him and to His purposes. The perfectionist tendency is to depend on one's own resources and abilities to produce what God has desired. However, spiritual results cannot come about by fleshly effort, for only that which is born of Spirit is spirit.
Both Saul and David were divinely appointed, ruled for approximately the same number of years, and had their individual share of mistakes. But consider the manner in which these faults were handled by each king. Saul would turn to Samuel and beseech him to honor him before the elders. He was more concerned by how he stood with men than how he stood with God. David however, had a different heart. He was ever conscious of how he stood with God even in his shortcomings, and realized how they affected his relationship with the Lord, who desires truth in the inward parts.
Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:4)
Fast forward to the New Testament. As disciples of Christ, both Peter and Judas had received the same three years of revelation, teaching and demonstration from the Son of God. By the time of the crucifixion, both had fallen into serious errors. The shifting nature of Peter culminated in his denying the Lord three times. He did so to an extent of making oaths and calling down curses on himself. Judas’ greed for money persisted to the point of selling the Master Himself for a mere 30 pieces of silver. The difference was that David came back to himself but Saul did not. The difference was that Peter came back to himself but Judas did not.
Prayer as Priority
Christ came to the earth and lived a simple life in a turbulent world rocked with all manner of needs and desperate situations. In the human way of reasoning, He ought to have emphasized more earthly time in ministry seeing the horrible state the earth was in.
Considering the 4,000 year-old plight of mankind that was there before He came, we would naturally have expected Him to set aside more time while here, in order to attend to the universal corruption that had set in. Probably an ‘Earth Relief Program’ that would have catered for the diseases, abortions, world wars, divorces, crime waves, suicides and other social vices that would escalate in the centuries to follow. But His call went far beyond a humanitarian mission.
Considering the 4,000 year-old plight of mankind that was there before He came, we would naturally have expected Him to set aside more time while here, in order to attend to the universal corruption that had set in. Probably an ‘Earth Relief Program’ that would have catered for the diseases, abortions, world wars, divorces, crime waves, suicides and other social vices that would escalate in the centuries to follow. But His call went far beyond a humanitarian mission.
In the ancient world, Methuselah was given the grace to live for 969 years. However, not only did His Creator choose 33 for the number of years He Himself would live on earth, He spent less than a tenth of that time in public ministry! Compared to the entire human population present at the time, the fraction that knew He was here was almost negligible. Even among those in that percentage who knew and recognized who He really was, faith really began to take root during Pentecost after He had already left. Clearly, Christ was not following emergencies, but the desire and purpose of His Father.
What work does He do today? Since His ascension, the scriptures declare that He ever lives to make intercession. Therefore, altogether, these are 3 years of public ministry and over 2,000 years of continuous prayer! What does this mean for us? We do not just need a change. We need to change. This paradigm shift calls for much more than simply reciting the sinner's prayer and joining ourselves to a regular set of weekly programs. It is time to return to the true foundation and the true message.
Real Change
We must recall that however urgent or pressing the need is, however gifted or fervent we may be, the ultimate goal of the Gospel is not ministering gifts, working miracles, or having religious activity. It is transformation. It is about true change from the heart. This is why the inner life requires to be guarded and carefully protected (Proverbs 4:23). Genuine progress involves a change from the very heart. It is impossible to truncate what we do over who we really are. On the contrary, it is possible to be so bent and spent in life making changes that we are hardly changing at all!
There is always the lurking danger for a leader to cover up a deterioration or bankruptcy of his inner man with a multitude of duties and activities in the name of a noble task or ministry. The drive to mindlessly perform must also be denied, for we are not just after broader lengths and greater heights. we are after true depth.
Until we have had a real revelation concerning the greatness of God, there will be a tendency to try and impress Him and others with our own greatness. Under the Old Testament, Israel was being called away from the worship of carved images and the false gods other nations were worshipping. Likewise, we are today being called away from all modern forms of idolatry including self-worship, back to the true spiritual worship of God. Modern idolatry does not simply mean being mesmerized with the world. Those who will inhabit the New Jerusalem are also finding themselves called away from a “charismatic idolatry”. Among other things, this involves the worship of gifts, eloquence, miracles, buildings, talented leaders and a consumer, seeker-sensitive mentality.
Worship is not simply inspiring music with notes and lyrics. It is possible to sing songs without worship ever being an integral part of who we are. At the end of the day, what we have become is what will count for eternity. If all our worship and devotion is reflective of that, then its impact will be deep, both for us and for those around us. True worshipers worship in spirit and truth.
There is a personal investment that comes before the breaking of fallow ground. This is a sowing in righteousness. Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12). Revival rain must meet with the seeds that have been already planted in order that these may germinate to produce a harvest. It is important to keep in mind that the investment that God desires you to make is not in what you do as much as in what you are becoming.
There is a personal investment that comes before the breaking of fallow ground. This is a sowing in righteousness. Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12). Revival rain must meet with the seeds that have been already planted in order that these may germinate to produce a harvest. It is important to keep in mind that the investment that God desires you to make is not in what you do as much as in what you are becoming.
There is a right devotion and dependence to the level that you draw from His presence the life for each day you have on the earth to perform not what you want, but what He desires of you. Keeping close to Him in this way becomes the framework upon which your days on earth are construed. Here, like the patriarch, you know that the Spirit of God has created you, and the breath of the Almighty is imparting to you the life you now have (Job 33:4).
