Luke 9:62- "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Sobering words, aren't they? But our Savior has brought us into new life, and He intends for us to walk continuously IN that life, from the moment that He wonderfully apprehends us, to the very last breath that we take. The believer was never meant to be static in this faith that God has so graciously given us- rather, we are to constantly press forward, as the apostle Paul said- "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).Notice that I often quote Paul? It is because he realized that he was 'plucked from the fire', as it were, by the Lord- and he didn't want to waste one moment of the new life that God had given him. He was always grateful to Jesus Christ for having saved him, and it was so apparent in everythin g that he wrote, from the first of his epistles to the last. He actually desired to 'depart and be with Christ', rather than to go on living in this world (Philippians 1:23&24), thou he knew that it was more beneficial to the young body of believers in Philippi (and no doubt to the rest of the early Church) if he remained for awhile......
There is nothing more unattractive than a static believer, especially when God has given us so much to do! There are Divine appointments that God places in every believer's life, yet some of us live as though we think that we were called to sit back, relax, sing hymns, and wait for the Lord to 'rapture' us out of our Cadillac on the way to the church picnic! How sad. Where is the passion? Where is the 'fire' that seems to characterize so few of us, when it is the same Savior who calls ALL of His people from EVERY age and time to an INTIMATE relationship with Him? Well, the blame certainly d oes not fall on Christ! He has not changed (Hebrews 13:8- "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.") He still constantly woos us by His Spirit, but we must respond. Please RESPOND!.....
Now this is going to be a crude illustration, but it'll help get my point across. Back in the summer of '76, I worked in some wheat fields in eastern Washington. The farm that this man lives on had a bunch of chickens inside a short fence. One of my co-workers showed me something that amazed me- he climbed over the fence and grabbed one of the chickens, putting it's left wing over it's head (covering it's eyes), and moved that chicken in a circular, clockwise motion for just a few seconds- that's all it took. The chicken fell fast asleep, and when my friend put it back on the ground, it just lay there in a slumber. I was shown this a number of times, and even did it myself, grabbing one of the chickens, and putting it to sleep. The most fascinating about it though, was that every single time a slumbering chicken was placed back on the ground, one of the other chickens would see that it was sleeping, run over to it and 'peck' it awake! It was as if the other chickens were saying, "Hey, wake up! It's not evening- what do you think you're doing? It is daytime. You need to be awake!" ....
Well, I warned you that it would be a crude illustration, but I tell ya'- Sometimes I want to go and 'peck' certain believers awake, "Hey, wake up! It's still daytime- the night has not yet arrived...God has work for you to do! You still have breath in you- use it to pant after the Lord and to reach others while there's still time! Persue this dynamic relationship that Christ draws you to, NOW! C'mon- wake up! For the love of our Savior, WAKE UP!"
Pastor Jim Ewing
