Twenty-one centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centre-piece of the human race, and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever matched, all the navies that were ever built, all the parliament that ever served and all the kings that ever reigned put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that one solitary life.
He was nailed upon the cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth-His cloak. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Crucified, laid behind a stone, lived just to die, rejected and alone, like a trampled rose; He took my punishment, my pain, my fears and the consequences of my sin. How much I want to live a life like His; despite the fact that many are educated, yet His widom surpasses them, born and bread in the manger, yet and fit than those who were bread and buttered with a silver-spoon. Though I am born and buttered not in a manger, educated, and never worked with a carpenter yet I want to be like Him. To be humble and influential as He is. To be blameless and spotless, I wanna be like Him.
Far away, He saw us and in compassion He acted ignoble, ran, left all His glory, dignity, and accepted the ridicule to embrace us in our guilt, dirt, and stiff-neckedness, and forgave us, and stretched reconciling hands toward us. But did we accept Him?
One of the result of His actions was the eruption/birth of Christianity. Actually, Christ begat salvation not Christianity. Christ brought light and salvation to us not Christianity, but salvation gave birth to Christianity. The traits and qualities emulated brought about the Christ-like name--Christianity.
Ever since the death of the apostles, the baton experienced a change of hands; there was a turn around. Religious practices set into the stage.
A Christian is one who belongs to the way. The journey with Jesus is an attempt to challenge all who follow Him, to set aside all they have charted for themselves in order to follow the way of Jesus.
Then, it was powerflow, wisdom in act, joy and perseverance in terms of persecution, truth and spirit-controlled living, but is that equal with what we have now?
Paul said it's not a thing to pride on, it is believed that impartation is not more paramount than memorisation, but it is the opposite now in the Christendom, The church shouldn't exist to serve its members but to serve God ultimately first. Members should therefore not see themselves as consumers but servers of the same goal, which is to worship.
Dr. G. Cambell Morgan was right when he wrote:
Generation --> Degeneration --> Regeneration.
It all began remarkable, it was spirit-filled then, fire-full and God present, but now the flesh had overcome, the evil within has been unleashed, and the demon within is now in control. The Church is degenerating, there is need for regeneration.
Alexander Franser Tytler also wrote about the spiritual decline:
BONDAGE---}SPIRITUAL REBIRTH---}GREAT COURAGE---} LIBERTY---}LIBERTY---}ABUNDANCE---}SELFISHNESS---}COMPLA CENCY---}APATHY---}DEPENDENCY---}BONDAGE
From the beginning of the time, we humans have had an unquenchable desire to experience more. Adam and Eve lived in a
beautiful garden where they could each freely of everything but the fruit of one tree, but that wasn't enough, they wanted more. David had it all; wealth, power, fame, and harem full of beautiful women, but he wanted more; he wanted Batsheba, the wife of Uriah. Judas was well chosen by Jesus to handle the finance for an elite team that would change the world, but he wanted more! Thirty pieces of silver seems to be a good start for him. There is more to Christianity than participation in a religious organisation that observes ancient rituals. The way of Jesus is much more than a collection of beliefs and practice. Christianity is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that can only be experienced by following Jesus.
If Christianity is to receive rejuvenation, it must be by other means than any of the ones being used presently. If the church is to recover from the injuries suffered in the past since the beginning of the degeneration till this time, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper ruler-of -the-synagogue would never do. Neither would the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting, Another type of religious leader must arise among us. He must of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and have heard a voice from the throne. When He comes (and I pray God that there would not be one but many), He would stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking smooth civilization holds dear. He would contradict, denounce, and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom.
The core of the great commission is discipling, and discipling is basically empowering others as God has empowered us.
There is a reason why we are chosen, to disciple, to impart, to minister, to teach, to encourage, to be humble, generous, loyal, loyal, merciful, kind, wise and continue the ambassadorial task. All He wanted from us He has said in the sermon on the mount and had summarised in the two greatest command of love. He started from what must Be-attitudes of all Christians (Beattitudes).
The church is now affected by numerousity of doctrines and believes. Yet that is not the call to salvation, rather we should extend the love of our saviour to others who have not received. All without love is useless (1 Cor. 13), and there is never love without unity.
The world's state now doesn't seek expert in bible trival but seek seek experienced teachers who have experienced biblical transformation. Biblical trival seek memorisation, but biblical transformation needs spiritual impartation.
The church needs revival. Christ hasn't given up yet. He is only looking forward to seeing us repent. He love us, He wants us love Him by loving one another.
Faith leads us to God; gives us life. Life inspires us to love the brethren, and the love of the brethren proves to us that we have passed out of death into life. Love is the evidence of faith. If faith is real there will be love. Discerning between true and false love is not by examining the faith but by examining if Love is attached to it. The church is likened to a bird, young or old, it has just one name- bird. The head (Christ) never changes His position, but the church has changed so much. As the adage goes, don't say a village is peaceful just until the hooligans are grown up. The church seems to have turned against itself. The hand no longer want to be partners with the mouth, nor the toes with the legs, but how would the body hold itself together if the skin is running away from the bones? All parts of the body must come together and unite, all must work together for the edification of the body. That was the thirst of Christ. He prayed thus:
'That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me,
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that thou has sent me.' John
17:21
The love was great then in the apostles but now has waxed cold as the scripture says it, now it is coming to pass (Matt.24:12) - the love of many shall wax cold. The Lord means what He says and says what He means. The church must be united, and then regeneration would step into the stage. 'God is Love' John noted;
1 John 4:10 'Here in is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.'
1 John 4:11 'Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.'
In the cycle of spiritual decline, 'selfishness' was the turning point. Yes, a time when the church gave up her virtues to pursue selfish ambitions and dreams. A time when we left the track and began to chase wind. A time we lost focus and became blind to that which is right. We sold our principles to mere pleasure. John C. Maxwell said 'Success is knowing a truth and accepting it. Finding a need and fulling it'. Bob Krouse also said 'when you get to power, note that there is no real power in selfish ambition but only in selfless service'. Now in our era of Christianity, we know the truth but we run (not just shy) away from it.
It's high time we trace back our foot step. High time we run back to God. When we can't figure out whether to sit at His feet , walk in a manner worthy of His call, stand in battle, or run the race with diligence. It is time to get back to Jesus alone.
When we can't remember the core principles of a follower, the characteristics of a good wife and husband, the steps of appeal to authority; the things to do when worried or the way of life; it is high time then, to get back to Jesus the source.
When life seems too soft, or too hard for us to live in, when it seems like no one is watching, none is interesting, none is loving or caring, then you got the right thing to do: get back to Jesus.
It us time to separate Christ principles and commands from Christianity rules and demands. It's time we remove the veil in our eyes or blocker in our ears and hear Him speak the Word. It is time to simplify and take it from the scratch - one step at a time. It is time to consider some lilies and birds, time for the secrete place with Him alone.
In the school of Jesus, the whole world is His classroom. He can pick up anyone, and any part as for practicals. It could be you, it could be me. But first, we have to take off all enchantment with trendy church programs, and power fall and 'what's the point' sermons. Time to take off our shoes and sit at the feet of Jesus like children humbly, patiently and gently listening to folktales. It is time to gear His voice and do His will. Time to return to Jesus... now.