Can You Be Alone With God?

"I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are DEAD. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God." Rev. 3:1a-2

Within the past year the Lord has been teaching me much about myself. Some of these teachings and truths have been both re-affirming and encouraging. However, some have been down right unnerving and difficult to accept and learn concerning myself. I know that all that the Lord is teaching and showing me is good. I know that all these things are aspects of further mercy and grace in my life as well. However, not all that I learn always feels good in the moment (Hebrews 12:11).

I am growing more and more convinced that most of what Christians today (especially in American culture) call healthy in regards to their relationship with Christ is often times surrounded more with misconceptions and deceptions rather than the truth and the power of God's word. Let me use my own life as an example and be brutally honest, even confessional with you all in explaining this issue.

Psalm 46 describes a God who is active, who is in motion, who is in control. Even when so much around us seems to scream out to us, seeks to distract us, and blind us to these truths, God is still at work in and amongst them all. Then in verse 10 something profoundly powerful and clear is written;
"BE STILL and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

I must admit... This "BE STILL" thing is not something that characterizes me often. The honest truth is that, I have often prided myself in being a doer, a goer, a man with a mission, someone who is active in his allegiance to Christ. And in many ways these can be great qualities in a servant of Christ. Truth be told we need more who are willing to risk much and do much for God and His glory today. However, in my case and within the past year the Lord is teaching me something very shocking concerning myself. All this doing, all this going and all this motion has for a large part blinded me from my true spiritual condition.

You see in America I was pastor and on staff at a church. I taught/preached the word at least four times a week. Studied the scriptures constantly in preparation for these moments of teaching/preaching. Counseled with believers constantly on the phone, at my house, or at church itself. Prayed for constant help and guidance from the Lord as to my dealing with them. I was active in sharing the gospel in evangelism and constantly sought to learn God's word in dealing with those who are lost. I attended bible studies, home group meetings and even conferences when the opportunity presented itself. I attended mission trips (leading most of them) Honduras, Kenya and Mexico. Once even taking the gospel to a remote tribe within the jungle who had never heard the message of God's grace in Jesus before. I was a man on mission, a man of action and a man who felt a since of closeness and maturity in my walk with the Lord.

However, eight months ago all this was over in one single move. In coming here (a land not my own) all these things (teaching, preaching, evangelism, bible studies, home fellowships, conferences and even counseling others) have been stripped away from me during this season of my life (still learning the language). In effect the Lord has placed me in a position and place where I have been forced to get still before our God. What I am learning concerning all this brings me much shame, yet joy in knowing that our Father is bringing such knowledge to my soul.

What am I learning? What I am learning is this....... I stink at getting still!.... I am horrible at being alone with God! When all the commotion, when all the activities and all that we call ministry even (and most of these are great things) have for a moment ceased in my life, so has ceased for a great part my communion with our great Lord. I had let all these actions, activities and doings define me as a Christian. I had simply studied, read the word and prayed because I had enough wisdom to know that apart from Christ I could do nothing. I was not studying his word and praying desperately because He simply was enough for me. Not because my soul found rest and joy in Him alone.

George Mueller has once written; "I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord. The first thing to be concerned about was not, how much I might serve the Lord, how I might glorify the Lord; but how I might get my soul into a happy state, and how my inner man may be nourished... I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God and to meditation on it."

Christian, this is my great fear for many who profess Christ today. I am not making reference to those who do so little, risk so little and have so little concern for God's glory today. My fear in this post is for all you who find yourselves at the church every time the doors are open. Those of you who read constantly books about God. Attend conference after conference. Who pride yourself in your evangelism. Those of you who handle the word in teaching/preaching. Those of you who attend mission trips.............. How well are you at being alone with God? How are you this day spending quality time with the lover of your soul? Are you drinking deeply His word? Are you reading for a chance at seeing your Christ or preparing you for some function? Are you thrusting yourself at His feet in prayer simply to thank Him and worship Him or are you constantly, if you are praying seeking more stuff (whether spiritual or physical) for yourself from Him? Have you in pride (like myself) allowed your actions and doings define you in your walk as a disciple or are you defined as His disciple because you spend much time with your master?

So here I am. The Lord has brought me to this place in my life and is teaching me that in my service (which was really nothing more than subtle pride), I have somehow forgotten my first love. I have been blinded to the fact that I was merely reading scripture (not always, but it was present) to have myself prepared, rather than to meet with my Savior. I was in prayer for greater power in what I was doing, rather than simply speaking to a Father who deserves my undivided attention in conversation and praise.

Before brother Paul Washer left here a few months ago, he gave me advice to calm down, meet with our Lord through the study and reading of His word, pray desperately, learn this language well and love my family and wash them in both the word and prayer as well. I am ashamed to say that it has taken me this long to recognize the importance of such issues until now. I have been running and chasing after so many other (old actions that defined me) issues, that I was forsaking these others.

Will you please, join in with me and ask the Father to renew this weak, dry and broken vessel? Will you join with me and pray that the Lord would do even now a further work of sanctification in my life? My question to you, as I have asked myself is, Can you dear brother and sister be alone with God?

"Remember that it is not hasty reading, but serious meditation on holy and heavenly truths, that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the mere touching of the flower by the bee that gathers honey, but her abiding there for a time on the flower that draws out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove to be the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest of Christian." Thomas Brooks

A Need For Discernment!

The original Video has been taken down from YouTube therefore, I have added this David Platt Video in response to the teachings that were present in the Rob Bell video.

I must admit as I watched this video, I was shocked! Not shocked because Rob Bell had taught something not keeping with scripture (he has always been known for this). However, that even he would have departed from biblical and historical Christianity as far as it seems that he just has. Is Rob Bell a Universalist? Did he truly hint that God is to loving to send anyone to hell? Did he just hint that God was not one to be feared and that we do not need salvation from His just wrath? From this video it would sound very much so. One of the great causes for concern is that this man has a huge following among many people today (mostly young) and yet they drink what he says says up like water. All while he is denying many aspects of the very gospel all together.

Charles Spurgeon has once written; "Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong, rather, it is telling the difference between right and almost right." 

I would say that this is something that I see within most of the ministry and teaching of Rob Bell. He is often found teaching some profound text of the bible, however, it is what is intermingled in with it that makes it so poisonous. With Rob Bell (along with so many others today) you really have to beware of what Spurgeon calls the "almost right" of what is taught. In the case of this video however, it is very clear and plain that Rob Bell is teaching out right heresies. 

Of false teaching J.C Ryle has written;  "That old enemy of mankind, the devil, has no more subtle device for ruining souls than that of spreading false doctrine. Outside the church he is ever persuading men to maintain destructive superstitions. Like a pirate, his object is to sink, burn and destroy. Inside the church he is ever laboring to sow heresies, to propagate errors, to bring faster departures from the faith. If he cannot prevent the waters flowing from the fountain of life, he tries hard to poison them. If he cannot destroy the medicine of the gospel, he strives to adulterate and corrupt it."

Sadly, Discernment is a word and trait that I would not say often times characterizes many confessing Christians today. So many continue to hold teachers and their words/teaching (books, videos and articles) up over scripture itself and the historical truths of the gospel. When I watched this video I was only further reminded of the fact that so many today have forsaken the Bible and are going the way of 2 Timothy 4:3-5; 

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wonder off into myths." 

Again listen to the words of J.C Ryle; "Heart-religion in too humbling to be popular. It leaves natural man no room to boast. It tells him, that he is a guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinner, and that he must flee to Christ for salvation. It tells him that he is dead, and must be made alive again, and born of the spirit (Regeneration). The pride of man rebels against such tidings as these. He hates to be told that his case is so bad." 

Believer, beware, such subtle and in some cases like these represented in this video non-subtle teachings are present everywhere we turn. I am often surprised at much of what has been (false teaching/thinking) transferred even to this country from the States. These days you must hold scripture close to your heart/soul and pray continually for true biblical discernment. We are not living in a day where you can be so half hearted in knowing the scriptures.

I could spend all day in this post and speak of so many things that cause me concern today. However, today I simply do not have the time. I want close this post with a good recommendation for a book on the subject of Discernment.

In "The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment" Tim Challies digs into the practical theology of how to see growth in the area of spiritual discipline within the believers life. He strongly admonishes the follower of Christ in this age of easy believism, man centered-ness, and worldly approaches to discern well truth from error and right from wrong. Or, as he puts it, this book "is written for all those who believe that it is the duty of every Christian to think biblically about all areas of life so that they might act biblically in all areas of life."

Finding Joy In Our Duty

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I greet you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the glory that is due His name. I want to take this time and express my deepest thanks and gratitude for you all. These past eight months have been some of the most difficult, trying, and lonely moments of our lives. However, in and through it all our Lord's mighty hand has never been short in saving His children. Both Misty and I have experienced so many emotions, feelings, thoughts and longings since we first arrived here. It is during the course of this e-mail that I seek to give you a picture into one of these issues, speak of what our Lord is teaching us through it and express our love and gratitude for you all.

In recent days I have been wrestling with this issue of duty over happiness. There is a lie out there taught by our culture (one in which I too fall victim to at times and sadly has found its way into our churches), that teaches we should only find ourselves involved in actions and endeavors that make us happy, rather than being consumed with doing aspects out of duty as well. If we get to caught up into this lie, far to often we miss out on the life and the calling the Lord has for us. Meaning, we as Christ followers are called to arms. We are at war constantly with the world, the flesh and the devil (Eph 6:11-12, 1 John 2:16, 1 Peter 5:8) and with indwelling sin. The scripture has even likened the call of a disciple of Jesus Christ as being a “Good Soldier”. We see this in the encouragement of the apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 2:3-4;

“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.”

However, far to often believers do not truly approach the Christian life and walk with such a conviction and thinking. They simply do not approach the Christian life as a life paved with hardship, warfare and struggle. These are not popular terms today to describe the Christian life. Unfortunately, this has served to only hamper and hinder our understanding of our high calling and privilege as God's adopted children. It has been once stated by J.C Ryle;

“What does it cost to be a true Christian? It will cost a man the favor of the world. He must be content to be thought ill of man if he pleases God. He must count it no strange thing to be mocked, ridiculed, slandered, persecuted and even hated. He must not be surprised to find his opinions and practices in religion despised and held up to scorn. He must submit to be thought by many a fool, an enthusiast and a fanatic – to have his words perverted and his actions misrepresented. In fact, he must not marvel that some even call him mad.”

He (J.C Ryle) has also gone on to say concerning this war time mentality;

"There are thousands of men and women who go to church and chapels every Sunday and call themselves Christians. Their names are in baptismal registers. They are reckoned Christians while they live. They are married with a Christian marriage service. They mean to be buried as Christians when they die. But, you never see and fight about their religion! Of spiritual strife, and exertion, and conflict, and self denial, and watching and warring, they know literally nothing at all. Such Christianity may satisfy man, and those who say anything against it may be thought very hard and uncharitable, but it certainly is not the Christianity of the Bible."

 
Christian, does this above quote describe you? How have you made war with indwelling sin? Is your life one characterized as one with a war time mentality? Are you living your life as one merely passing through or have you made your self at home here? With love I beg for you not to get drowned in the American dream and entangled in the affairs of this world, rather than the glory of our Father and living the life found only in being a disciple of Jesus Christ.I am also reminded in the scriptures of our Savior; 

“He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3

The truth is sometimes the loneliness here is almost unbearable and often Misty and I find ourselves longing for your company and fellowship like never before. Oh, how we miss you all! We are strangers in a land not our own, among a people not of our own and often times we feel more a stranger even among our very own (missionaries) than even among the indigenous Indonesian themselves. On top of all this we have the constant voice of the enemy in our ears speaking lies and whispering seeds of doubt into our resolve. I constantly wrestle with my own insignificance and weakness in this place. Voices of: "your not worthy", "your not capable", "your not qualified" and "you should just go home" are meant to destroy, tear up and kill. But, thanks be to God that in His love and through the power of His Spirit, truth prevails. The deceiver is slick and often mixes truth in along with falsehoods. The real truth is he is right I am not worthy, I am not capable, I am weak... But, that is not the end of the matter. The scriptures are not silent and do not leave the issue on this note. There are truths that make the saving grace of God and his calling us into his army so powerfully humbling and so powerfully effective within our lives.

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one boast, boast in the Lord."  (1 Corinthians 1:26-31) (Ephesians 2:8-9, Rom.5: 1-11, 8:12-17)

There are days of hope and joy and then there are also those days of sorrow, loneliness and sadness. If I am to be completely honest with you, there have been several moments in the course of our stay here when, both Misty and I have both have been ready to throw in the towel and come on home. The loneliness, stresses, hardship, sicknesses, hard work, unknowns and the spiritual attacks of the enemy are ever present among us and the enemy is constantly relentless in his resolve to see us fail in this place. 

If it is/was always merely an issue of happiness in our willingness to be here, we would have already come home along time ago. The truth (recently learning) is that we also have a duty in being here as well. Like any good soldier, sometimes we must push through and trudge through the difficult circumstances to do what our commanding officer has called us to do (and He is deserving and worthy). Our duty here is firstly and primarily for the Glory of God who is worthy to receive the glory and full reward of His sacrifice. Secondly, we have a duty to you all who have confirmed, sent and support us in this work. And thirdly, we have a duty to these people who apart from hearing and believing the Gospel of grace will spend an eternity in hell.

Brother and sister, what is your duty? What is the Lord calling and leading you to do (biblically) for the glory of His name both here and in your own back yards? Do not believe the lie that something is only worth doing if it makes you happy. This is not the Cristian life and walk described for us in the scriptures. Be reminded what Luke 9:23 speaks to us all concerning those who wish to follow Christ;

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (1 Peter 2:21, Matthew 5:12, John 15:20, 2 Timothy 3:12)

In the end for the heart of the true disciple (never easy but somehow understood and experienced through the strength and leading of the Spirit that lies within us) we come to know and experience a joy in being used of our Father in such ways...... Happiness may not always describe the Christian life (it can) but, Joy can be experienced by all those of us who long to see Christ worshiped as he deserves. Remember we are men and women of grace, mercy and salvation. We are all entrusted with the gospel. We are people of promise. D.L Moody has once written concerning the issue of Joy;

"I think there is a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is caused by things which happen around me, and circumstances will mar it, but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecutions and opposition; it flows right along, for it is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart, a secret spring which the world can't see and doesn't know anything about, but the Lord gives His people perpetual joy when they walk in obedience to Him."

I am also reminded by a quote written by Nate Saint;

"If God would grant us the vision, the word "sacrifice" would disappear from our lips and thoughts, we would hate things that seem now do dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short; we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ. Lord God, speak to my own heart and give me to know Thy holy will and the JOY of walking in it." 

Also, please remember as I often need to as well what the scriptures say of our present struggles;

"Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinner, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses His sons." Hebrews 12:3-4

Misty and I love you all and thank God for you. We are testimonies of God answering prayer. We are still here today (we are both convinced of this) because, you have all been so faithful in your prayers on our behalf. Many of you truly are and in desperation praying for us.... and we both have felt our Fathers movement upon them. We sooooo miss you all and are very humbled to represent you all here. Our hope is that you all would continue to remember us in those prayers daily... they are desperately needed. Pray for deeper commitment on our behalf, pray for wisdom, protection from the enemy, boldness, perseverance and clarity in His leading. 

With Love and fond memories,
Kyle Blaze