Fresh Encounter: God's Pattern for Spiritual Awakening
By: Henry & Richard Blackaby with Cluade King
Chapter 4 Review
Chapter 4 explores the reality that believers are prone to wonder. We will explore this subject through varies subheadings.
Loss of Focus leads to Self-centeredness
The authors begin by sharing a brief overview of the life and story of Jonathan Edwards. God used Edwards in a mighty way during the First Great Awakening and the church he was pastoring. And even after the great awakening had passed God was generous to send revival once again to their church. Yet the people loss focus of what really matters and fired Edwards as pastor soon after.
Quoted from page 42: "Here was a congregation at the epicenter of a great awakening. Yet some people in the church were disoriented to God to the point of ousting their pastor and quenching the Holy Spirit's work."
We can quickly become discontent with God when we take our eyes off of His glory and will and place our focus on ourselves. Our personal desires are not naturally in alignment with God's desires. Sin has caused us to become disobedient, self-centered creatures constantly challenging and rebelling against the Creator. Throughout Scripture we are called to have our hearts and desires changed through the gospel and conformed to God's desires. Romans 12:1-2. "Be transformed."
The Temptation of Good Works
Through His word God has clearly given us guidelines for life: commands, rules, tasks, missions...for example. In Deuteronomy 30 we are asked to do three things: (1) love Him; (2) walk in His ways; and (3) keep His commands (page 43). Often we desire a list of dos and don'ts. We have convinced ourselves that we are naturally good and, therefore, can be good in our deeds under our own power. The authors remind us that this is not the case on page 43: His ways are contrary to our own self-destructive inclinations and foreign to the world's dangerous temptations.
Our good works are ONLY as a result of a life submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the source of good works is always God alone. That is why we are called to die to self (Luke 9:23, Galatians 2:20). When we begin taking credit for the work of God in our own lives and in the life of the church...pride has taken us into a place of self-exaltation. Which will lead us to believe that we can accomplish the work of God on our own terms void of His guidance or will. This is when our heart begins the shift from being submitting to God to becoming self-focused. When we are self-focused we begin looking to the world for answers and wisdom. We begin placing our hope in programs and plans devised by man. And we will find ourselves stepping out in action and then praying for God to bless "our" work...rather than first praying and asking God to bless "His" work.
The authors explain the dangerous shift from God-focused living to self-focused living on page 45.
Apostasy does not begin with wrong activity. It originates from a change of heart. Alienation from God follows a downward course. It commences as a distraction. Your focus is diverted from God to your circumstances, to people, or to worldly enticements. People seldom realize what is happening until they have drifted far from Him. They begin struggling to obey Him. They make ungodly choices, rationalizing their neglect to follow what God says. They grow comfortable in their worldly living so their hearts are impervious to the Holy Spirit's call to return. Eventually they turn to substitutes for God. Idols do not condemn their sin or convict them of their ungodly behavior. Substitutes do not hold them accountable or ask them to do things they do not want to do. Eventually, like the Israelites of old, they "worship other gods and serve them" (Deut. 30:17). This is how a person, a family, a church, a denomination, or even a nation departs from God.
Backsliding
The process known as "backsliding" is gradual. It is much like a marriage that degenerates from devotion, to inattention, to apathy, to neglect, to enmity, and finally to rejection. Forsaking a loved one does not normally occur instantly or with a solitary act. It is a process that, if left unchecked, leads to enormous pain. (page 46)
As odd as it may sound I believe the Christian that is backsliding rarely notices their backsliding until something devastating has happened in their lives. In John 14 Jesus clearly teaches that our love for Him should cause us to keep His commands. Therefore, I believe our number one weapon against backsliding is developing and strengthening our love for Christ. How do we do this? We seek Him with our whole being. Not a portion of our life, thoughts or actions...with all of ourselves. We read the Bible, pray and by faith follow all His commands in Scripture. You cannot love someone you never spend time with. We must find time to have a personal relationship with our heavenly Father. There is no substitute for spending time alone with your heavenly Father.
I understand this is a lot easier said than done. But it doesn't change the reality of the situation. We must desperately seek to love God. And out of that love obedience will be produced. Too often we reverse the formula. We somehow think that our obedience will produce love. In Galatians 5 we are told to walk in the Spirit and when we do this we will produce the fruit of the Spirit. We are not told to produce the fruit leading to walking in the Spirit. The relationship comes first...then the fruit.
On page 47 the authors put it this way...
Jesus announced that it is spiritually impossible to love Him and not to obey Him. The symptom is disobedience; the malady is lovelessness. Love will obey. We may strongly protest and say, "Lord, it's not that I don't love You; it's just that I'm having trouble obeying You." God would say, "If you are struggling to follow Me, it is because you do not love Me." If you misunderstand this truth, you will always be frustrated in your attempts to get right with God. You will vainly attempt to reform your behavior, and you will inevitably fail. Do you know how to solve a disobedience problem? Return to your love relationship with God. Then you will resolve the obedience problems in your life. "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16).
God Alone Satisfies
Today large numbers of people are turning to sexual relationships or to other forms of human relationship to satisfy needs only God can meet. No human can fulfill the spiritual longing that is present in every person. God reserves the right to that deep, personal place in our hearts. Yet we seek to comfort ourselves in relationships, passions, pleasure, academia, sports, or various other pursuits. None of these satisfies our spiritual thirst for living water. That is a need only Jesus can meet. (Page 50)
I have no doubt that the average Christian would boldly proclaim that God alone satisfies, but their actions rarely support this proclamation. Despite saying we believe that God is all satisfying...whenever we find ourselves "feeling" discontent with our lives or an aspect of our life we quickly turn to the things of the world. Whether it's jobs, sports, family, drugs, alcohol, hobbies, relationships, marriages, kids, school...these things are not all satisfying in themselves, yet too often our actions tell a different story. Yes, these things may temporarily satisfy...but that is a false satisfaction meant to deceive you. True satisfaction is everlasting. Jesus explains this to the woman at the well. She was seeking temporary satisfaction in water from a well...but Jesus was offering eternal satisfaction through Himself (the living water). Don't be fooled...there is nothing that can satisfy your soul outside of Christ Himself.
Why is it so dangerous to seek satisfaction in the world? Because those things in which we believe satisfy our soul will become objects of worship. Developing idols of the heart is a constant, dangerous temptation for the believer. On page 50 the authors put it this way:
The Bible is filled with examples of people who chose alternates for God. Throughout history God's people have continually rejected God to pursue the favored idols of their day. We are as vulnerable to this temptation as any generation before us. Anytime we turn to anyone or anything when we should be turning to God, we reveal the idol in our lives.
Substitutes for God
A major tragedy of the Christian community is that individuals and churches often exchange work, ritual, religious activity, advertising, buildings, and programs for a love relationship with God. Where we once turned to Him, we now look to someone or something else. (page 52)
The authors close out chapter 4 by outlining substitutes for God on pages 53-54 as shown in the outlines below:
Conclusion
The Bible teaches that God is jealous of our love. He created us and deserves our devotion. As a result God is the relentless enemy of any thing that challenges His rightful place in our lives. (page 54)
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