Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
In my lifetime, I have managed numerous businesses, and at one such job, I told the employees that I was going to take my lunch break. Normally I was gone for a longer period of time, but on that day, I went around the corner and bought some food at the hot dog stand. After a few minutes I walked back into the store and everybody was sitting around doing nothing, except for one person, who was diligently cleaning the store.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
We live in a society where people want to do as little as possible and receive the same paycheck as everybody else, but this is one reason why they don’t last very long as an employee. The same rings true for a disciple of Christ. Your heart is either all the way in or all the way out. Trying to live the faith in a half-hearted manner means that you will settle for laziness and mediocrity, while the truth is, that attitude is highly condemned in the scriptures.
Revelation 3 ¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
To truly be a Christian in one’s heart, requires striving to be the best. We are not called to be average, but to seek excellence in our Spiritual lives. It is the Christian who is to stand out in the crowd as somebody with superior morals and unimpeachable values. Is that a high calling? You are absolutely correct. People in this world only place their eyes on the world, but people of God must rise to the level of a saint.
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
A Christian is not better than other people, it’s just that their eyes are set on higher goals. The things that might be unreachable for a neighbor are the things that a Christian will strive to surpass and achieve. When people of this Earth feel that they have gone as far as they can go, it is the Christian who presses forward, and goes above and beyond what man could ever achieve. A Christian must never settle for mediocrity, but show our precious Lord that we can be the best for Him. When you do this, you will stand out in a crowd. We are not to blend into society, but shine as a bright light for all to see.
Matthew 5 ¹⁴ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
There are many colleges on this Earth that won’t even accept people into their programs unless they first attain a certain standard. The students they consider for enrollment must be a step above the rest, far above average, while possessing a great desire for excellence. Even unbelievers can possess a great desire to achieve perfection, but the goals of a Christian are far higher than that. The goals that a Christian must attain are far greater than any human can ever achieve. This is because they are led by the spirit of man, while we strive for perfection through the power of the Spirit of God.
When you choose to become a Christian, you are submerged underneath the water, putting the old sinner and his ways to death. When you rise up out of the water, we can begin a brand new life of obedience towards the Lord Jesus Christ. Things that you once felt were acceptable, are now unacceptable in the eyes of God. He has raised the bar, and set extremely high standards that we must strive to achieve, if we intend to obtain eternal life. There are certain colleges that some students cannot get in, and that’s similar to the kingdom of heaven. Think about how many applications are turned away at colleges, but far more people are going to be turned away from the kingdom of heaven. There will be very few who enter.
Luke 13 ²³ Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, ²⁴ Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ²⁵ When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
Those who make a half-hearted attempt at the Christian Life will be spewed out of the mouth of God. Our hearts must burn in devotion for our precious Lord, and we must walk in daily perfection before Him.
“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”. — Genesis 6:9
“And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” Genesis 17:1
Many people settle to be ordinary, but Christians need to be extraordinary high achievers in their service to the Lord Jesus Christ. Before you even begin the Christian Life, you need to count the cost to see if you possess what is needed to see it all the way through. It requires a perfect heart before God.
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind:… 1 Chronicles 28:9
“I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” Psalms 101:2
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”. Matthew 5:48
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
Rather than being lukewarm, our hearts must be on fire for God, and zealous to please Him in all things.
“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14
To be transformed from a sinner into saint, requires much higher standards than those set by the world. If you want to obtain the world that is coming, then you are going to have to seek what is above. You will need to possess the highest desire to attain Spiritual perfection. It’s an extremely high calling, and it all begins by,….
…..Raising the Bar
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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