Strangers and Pilgrims
Every now and then I tune into secular radio or television to find what's going on in the world of music. Oftentimes I'm interested in discovering what the current trends are as well as what message is being brought forth. Lately, I've heard a number of people talking about their cars. Many speak about how much money they've invested into their custom candy paint job, wood grain interior, stereo sound system or twenty-inch plus rims. I was amazed by how these secular rappers appear to all be in one accord concerning such materialism. I pondered over why things are the way they are.
Then, the Lord brought me back to before I was saved. He reminded me of how I focused on some of those very same things and the reasons behind my actions. You see I didn't want and desire that solely for my own benefit. Rather, alot of that was for show. Being the player I was, I soon learned that those types of things attracted a certain kind of attention that I enjoyed. There were girls out there who wanted to be associated with the owner of such things. Therefore, my aquiring them allowed me to also come in contact with people who were impressed by them. It's been over 10 years now, but the same holds true today!
The average person wants to be recognized. They want to be noticed and stand out in a crowd. They want to attract different kinds of people so they can use those things to get what they want. The devil has allowed people's eyes to be opened so they can learn similar ways of the world and catch glimpses of how the world's system operates. The same holds true for believers. The Lord gives people spiritual eyes to see and comprehend spiritual truths which are hidden from everybody else. Jesus often exhorted "those who have an ear to hear, let him hear".
The problem is that many people don't have an ear to hear the Lord. They haven't been born again. Therefore, they can't hear what the Spirit is saying. Their carnal minds can't download spiritual truths. They can only hear the voice of the devil and believe me, he's not a mute! He's preaching entire sermons to his congregation and their swallowing every word! He's teaching people how to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. He's instructing them in the art of the pride of life. I know this because I used to be one of his pupils...
I didn't become a player by coincidence or thru trial and error. Satan schooled me, similar to how he schooled Eve in the garden of Eden. The Lord told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before they ate it they were ignorant of the fact they were naked. They had no knowlegde of that at all. However, the bible says that after they ate of it, their eyes were opened. All of sudden they could see what they couldn't see before. They now recognized they lacked cloths and found fig leaves to cover themselves. The same is true today!
Satan has allowed childrens eyes to be opened up to things they should not see or experience. Nowadays, young girls "know" about having premarital sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and abortion. Today, our sons "know" all about getting high, sellings drugs, stealing and killing. Instead of being ignorant to the things of the world, they have been exposed to them and in many cases have become experts! The enemy has caused their natural eyes to be open and their spiritual eyes to remain shut. Therefore, they have learned to trust in their new found wisdom and advance in iniquity.
This is not the way God intended people to be. The apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to as children when it came to malice but to be like men whenever it came to understanding. This means that the Lord wants us to grow in the knowledge of the things of God while being ignorant of the things of the world. This doesn't mean that Christians should not be aware of what's going on around them. On the contrary, Jesus said that even though He was sending His disciples in the midst of wolves, they should be wise as serpents yet harmless as doves. This means that, as Christians, we should definately have a cursory knowledge of the things of the world, but not an intimate knowledge. The bible says that we are to be in the world but not of it.
Whenever I think of Christians becoming mixed the world, I can't help but think about Lot. Now the thing you have to understand is that Abraham and rest of the patriarchs were nomadic. Whenever God called Abram out of Ur, He told him to go to a land that He would show him. Then whenever Abram finally made it to Canaan, God told him to walk around the length and breadth of it. You see God wanted Abraham to experience the blessings associated with the promised land. But He didn't want him to become too familar with any of it because at that time, the Canannites were still living in the land. Therefore, Abraham travelled around from place to place, pitching his tent as the Lord led him. Hebrews 11 goes on to say that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived as foriegners in the land of promise, confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth.
However, whenever the bible speaks of Lot, it says that he pitched his tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Sure, the land was fertile, well watered and all of that. But the problem is Lot never left! The tent represents the lifestyle of one who isn't attached to any given location. At the drop of a dime, a tent can be broken down and moved to another area with ease. However, Lot basically transformed his tent into a single family home on a slab! The bible says that whenever the two angels came to Sodom, Lot was sitting in the city gate. This suggests that Lot had been there a while and had become a prominent person in the city, because only officials were allowed to sit at the gate.
So we see that Lot became comfortable in that city. Nevermind the fact that we get the word "sodomy" from that city! Nevermind the city had become so wicked that God Himself had to come down to see if things were really as bad as they seemed! In all of the filth and degradation of Sodom, Lot relaxed, kicked up his feet and made himself at home! Where was the Holy Ghost conviction? Why wasn't Lot disturbed by the environment that he was in? Why didn't he decide to break down his tent and move before he heard that the Lord was going to destroy the city?
I guess the pleasures and benefits of Sodom outweighed the moral and spiritual consequences. I assume that fertility of the land overshadowed the barreness of his spiritual life. No, Lot probably didn't participate in all the sin. But he did allow himself to become attached to the city which housed all of that demonic activity! In fact, his family became inflenced by it as well. For instance, his wife was so attached to the city that whenever they were fleeing the destruction, she looked back as if she was sorry to have to leave! Then, whenever he and his daughters had found refuge, they devised a plan to where they would get their father drunk and lay with him so they could have children by him! Where did they get that from? It wasn't Lot. They certainly didn't learn that from Abraham! No! They doubtlessly gained that evil and wicked knowledge from their Sodomite neighbors!
That's why I get nervous whenever I see Christians become too attached to the world. Slowly but surely, they will lose sight of the voice of the Lord and begin to follow another sheperd! Satan offers to give them whatever it is they desire, just like he offered to give Christ all the kingdoms of the world with their glory. Instead of walking the length and breadth of the land, Satan encourages them to sit in the city gate. Just like a spider catches its victims in its web, the enemy catches people in the world. He even allows them to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. That's why, like Lot's wife, they regret leaving when it's time to go!
But it's my prayer today, that in Jesus' name, the Lord would break any of those strongholds the enemy has placed in your life. I pray that you wouldn't get consumed with the things of the world and that you maintain the spiritual freedom of pitching your tent from place to place. It's my prayer that you would become wise enough to recognize the wiles of the devil without becoming too familar with them. I pray that you would be as strangers and pilgrims in this world, knowing that your true citizenship lies in heaven!
Then, the Lord brought me back to before I was saved. He reminded me of how I focused on some of those very same things and the reasons behind my actions. You see I didn't want and desire that solely for my own benefit. Rather, alot of that was for show. Being the player I was, I soon learned that those types of things attracted a certain kind of attention that I enjoyed. There were girls out there who wanted to be associated with the owner of such things. Therefore, my aquiring them allowed me to also come in contact with people who were impressed by them. It's been over 10 years now, but the same holds true today!
The average person wants to be recognized. They want to be noticed and stand out in a crowd. They want to attract different kinds of people so they can use those things to get what they want. The devil has allowed people's eyes to be opened so they can learn similar ways of the world and catch glimpses of how the world's system operates. The same holds true for believers. The Lord gives people spiritual eyes to see and comprehend spiritual truths which are hidden from everybody else. Jesus often exhorted "those who have an ear to hear, let him hear".
The problem is that many people don't have an ear to hear the Lord. They haven't been born again. Therefore, they can't hear what the Spirit is saying. Their carnal minds can't download spiritual truths. They can only hear the voice of the devil and believe me, he's not a mute! He's preaching entire sermons to his congregation and their swallowing every word! He's teaching people how to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. He's instructing them in the art of the pride of life. I know this because I used to be one of his pupils...
I didn't become a player by coincidence or thru trial and error. Satan schooled me, similar to how he schooled Eve in the garden of Eden. The Lord told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before they ate it they were ignorant of the fact they were naked. They had no knowlegde of that at all. However, the bible says that after they ate of it, their eyes were opened. All of sudden they could see what they couldn't see before. They now recognized they lacked cloths and found fig leaves to cover themselves. The same is true today!
Satan has allowed childrens eyes to be opened up to things they should not see or experience. Nowadays, young girls "know" about having premarital sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and abortion. Today, our sons "know" all about getting high, sellings drugs, stealing and killing. Instead of being ignorant to the things of the world, they have been exposed to them and in many cases have become experts! The enemy has caused their natural eyes to be open and their spiritual eyes to remain shut. Therefore, they have learned to trust in their new found wisdom and advance in iniquity.
This is not the way God intended people to be. The apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to as children when it came to malice but to be like men whenever it came to understanding. This means that the Lord wants us to grow in the knowledge of the things of God while being ignorant of the things of the world. This doesn't mean that Christians should not be aware of what's going on around them. On the contrary, Jesus said that even though He was sending His disciples in the midst of wolves, they should be wise as serpents yet harmless as doves. This means that, as Christians, we should definately have a cursory knowledge of the things of the world, but not an intimate knowledge. The bible says that we are to be in the world but not of it.
Whenever I think of Christians becoming mixed the world, I can't help but think about Lot. Now the thing you have to understand is that Abraham and rest of the patriarchs were nomadic. Whenever God called Abram out of Ur, He told him to go to a land that He would show him. Then whenever Abram finally made it to Canaan, God told him to walk around the length and breadth of it. You see God wanted Abraham to experience the blessings associated with the promised land. But He didn't want him to become too familar with any of it because at that time, the Canannites were still living in the land. Therefore, Abraham travelled around from place to place, pitching his tent as the Lord led him. Hebrews 11 goes on to say that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived as foriegners in the land of promise, confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth.
However, whenever the bible speaks of Lot, it says that he pitched his tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah. Sure, the land was fertile, well watered and all of that. But the problem is Lot never left! The tent represents the lifestyle of one who isn't attached to any given location. At the drop of a dime, a tent can be broken down and moved to another area with ease. However, Lot basically transformed his tent into a single family home on a slab! The bible says that whenever the two angels came to Sodom, Lot was sitting in the city gate. This suggests that Lot had been there a while and had become a prominent person in the city, because only officials were allowed to sit at the gate.
So we see that Lot became comfortable in that city. Nevermind the fact that we get the word "sodomy" from that city! Nevermind the city had become so wicked that God Himself had to come down to see if things were really as bad as they seemed! In all of the filth and degradation of Sodom, Lot relaxed, kicked up his feet and made himself at home! Where was the Holy Ghost conviction? Why wasn't Lot disturbed by the environment that he was in? Why didn't he decide to break down his tent and move before he heard that the Lord was going to destroy the city?
I guess the pleasures and benefits of Sodom outweighed the moral and spiritual consequences. I assume that fertility of the land overshadowed the barreness of his spiritual life. No, Lot probably didn't participate in all the sin. But he did allow himself to become attached to the city which housed all of that demonic activity! In fact, his family became inflenced by it as well. For instance, his wife was so attached to the city that whenever they were fleeing the destruction, she looked back as if she was sorry to have to leave! Then, whenever he and his daughters had found refuge, they devised a plan to where they would get their father drunk and lay with him so they could have children by him! Where did they get that from? It wasn't Lot. They certainly didn't learn that from Abraham! No! They doubtlessly gained that evil and wicked knowledge from their Sodomite neighbors!
That's why I get nervous whenever I see Christians become too attached to the world. Slowly but surely, they will lose sight of the voice of the Lord and begin to follow another sheperd! Satan offers to give them whatever it is they desire, just like he offered to give Christ all the kingdoms of the world with their glory. Instead of walking the length and breadth of the land, Satan encourages them to sit in the city gate. Just like a spider catches its victims in its web, the enemy catches people in the world. He even allows them to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. That's why, like Lot's wife, they regret leaving when it's time to go!
But it's my prayer today, that in Jesus' name, the Lord would break any of those strongholds the enemy has placed in your life. I pray that you wouldn't get consumed with the things of the world and that you maintain the spiritual freedom of pitching your tent from place to place. It's my prayer that you would become wise enough to recognize the wiles of the devil without becoming too familar with them. I pray that you would be as strangers and pilgrims in this world, knowing that your true citizenship lies in heaven!
posted by Son of Man at 8:01 AM
0 comments
