The
enemy has already lost the battle for your soul. His schemes are designed now
to make you ineffectual in the
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:14-16
As each part does its work. There is a work that God has for each one of us and we cannot allow ourselves to be tossed back and forth by the waves of life. We cannot allow ourselves to be led astray deceitful scheming, whether it is from the world or the enemy. We need to grow up into Christ; what a beautiful word picture.
The next truth from this verse is that God expects us to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord. When does he expect us to give ourselves fully? Always! There is no Labor Day from God's work. What is Paul warning against here? Half-hearted effort. We should not approach the work of God without a full commitment. The world may mock commitment but God does not. We may get confused about commitment or have a fear of commitment from a human perspective but God is not vague in this verse. In employment terms, God does not have any part-time job openings beloved. He is not in the temporary staffing industry. Our work for God is a full time and thank God, permanent position!
God takes this very seriously too. When Jesus is addressing
the Church at
To
the angel of the church in
It is a sad reality that we have many lukewarm churches in our society today. Lukewarm preaching to lukewarm congregations. The word of God transformed into a self-help seminar or a get rich scheme. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul describes the times to come; the times we find ourselves in:
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2Timothy 4:1-5
