V-MAIL TO THE FRONTLINE

PART 39

ACCEPTING THE REAL JESUS

Being a student of the Bible you have already seen the outline of its message; it is all about revealing who Jesus is and how much He loves us. This will always immediately (and unfortunately) draw a line in the sand between the ones that have been born once and the redeemed that have been born twice. It does not take very long when the discussion turns to Jesus to discover just how much the world really hates Him. When Christ is introduced as the Divine Word that was made flesh, His absolute authority is what causes most people to be offended. The masses (including many in the religious world) simply do not respect who He is. For example, most people at Christmas can tolerate the baby Jesus in a manger because it is such a pitiful story of a child being poor and homeless. He seems so far away on the other side of the world and He lived so many years ago that his “distant” image gives the outsider a comfortable feeling of (false) security. It is easy to look at a painting of an infant and feel “large and in charge” because babies are so weak, helpless and non-threatening. And, of course the holidays are a time when most people are relaxed and in a festive mood of cheer and good will, as they celebrate with the delicious food, opening of gifts, decorations and the twinkling lights. Even for the unsaved that never mention or think about His Name throughout the year, Jesus is harmless as long as He is kept in His place and not allowed to be the judge of the soul. When He is presented as Lord of Lords and proclaimed as the ruler of heaven and earth, the crowd immediately begins to head to the exits. Why? Because it is very uncomfortable to be exposed as a renegade non-believer that is lost – trying to come up with an excuse why they have not accepted the One who died to save them. The rebellious heart tries to hide from the conviction of truth by building an illusion of Jesus as they try to escape the need to repent – all the while their brain is telling their feet to literally, “run for your life”! His presence will always cause a response to accept or deny. Selah.

If Jesus had grown up as only a teacher that went around doing good deeds, He would have blended in with the rest of the world’s notable movers and shakers. Society has always respected and admired those who lead positive minded, social reform and at times even select special “saints” of mercy that sacrifice their life for humanity. If Christ had just led His followers in peaceful demonstrations and cooperated with the political game playing, the historians would have been happy to categorize Him along with Socrates, Plato, Zeno of Citium or Thomas Aquinas. Then the world could have judged Him and criticized Him along with all the other educators and prophets, but what causes society to hate Him is the heart piercing reality that He is not a philosopher OF truth – He IS ABSOLUTE truth and the judge of every soul! Humans love to build and control their own destiny and will do everything they can to dull the thought of a deity “King of Kings” that will hold every human accountable for their thoughts, motives, words and deeds.

Another picture of Jesus that is mildly accepted is when He graciously fed and healed people. The mind registers this view of Him as a provider and supplier of everyone’s needs. Who doesn’t like the idea of someone presenting us a delicious buffet or relieving our pain? This is a positive image that is tolerated among those who do not acknowledge Him as Lord until they desperately need something. These simple-minded thoughts about Christ are easy to deal with and are about as much of God as most people want because – it is all about receiving the blessings without paying a price! They will take His fishes and loaves without a thought, but will not consider His authority or truth because they are too busy avoiding Him. “No one can serve two masters: for either they will hate the one, and love the other; or else they will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve (give reverence to) God (divine reality) and mammon (default system)”. (Mathew 6:24) In this life the love, worship and devotion of the heart cannot be divided. “A double-minded man is unstable (unreliable) in all his ways”. (James 1:8) The Lord presents the individual with a choice of submitting to His way or following their own way! This is the spiritual meaning of “not my will, but Thy will be done”.

To most individuals life is an amusement ride built for their enjoyment as human nature wants to stimulate every nerve and indulge in every pleasure with constant gratification and to consume it in as much lust as possible. The world does not want to be told what to do in their personal thoughts and actions and they certainly hate to develop self-discipline (and unfortunately many will have the last say or die trying). It is the ever present attitude of resistance to obey and conform to God’s Word and the age old battle of control between the spirit and the flesh. In fact the more people understand that Jesus desires to sit on the throne of their heart as Lord – the more they realize it is just too high of a price to pay. The rich young ruler walked away because He would not let go of worldly pleasure, as religion lives in denial and has always compromised, distorted, and watered down the Word of God. In today’s world of modern spirituality we see that, weeping, prayer alters and uncomfortable preaching about sacrifice is being replaced with psychology, politics and entertainment. Jesus and his teachings are being pushed farther back into shadows while the “happy church” programs are being offered as the “new idea”. His “real gospel” is an offence to the rebellious and the churches that are deep in debt and have huge salaries to pay out, certainly do not want to “spook” those who contribute. In fact they are constantly trying to “market” the bible as painless as possible, as they twist and mold it into a lifestyle that is politically correct and socially acceptable. It is not an exaggeration that the masses are being deceived with cupcake philosophy and dangerous moral relativism which disables and disconnects the potential of God’s power. The remnant church must draw the line and not be afraid of being labeled as narrow-minded and dogmatic about crucial, absolute, foundational truths. While the arrogant religious system follows the path of a tolerant, compromising, self-improvement program, it is slowly and subtly establishing itself as an enabler of secular humanism.

Do you personally believe the religious masses are becoming closer to God or do you feel they are drifting farther away? I sense the dividing line of sensitivity is growing wider everyday. For one reason, the less “genuine” gospel that is being preached, the weaker the people become. Many of the visible churches that meet openly every week are NOT necessarily growing more anointed or seeing more miracle manifestations. As a matter of fact it is prophesied that in the end of this dispensation the traditional religious programs will represent the mustard plant that became abnormally large and grew into a tree. The birds that roosted in its branches represent the demons of carnality that influence its direction leaving nothing but the coldness and formality of a public service organization. This same false church that cried out for His execution is still hindering the advancement of God’s Kingdom today! The haughty spirit of pride and arrogance wants to control the people as they glory in their own ability. The bottom line is simple; they love their flesh and hate His Word. “Jesus wept”.