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.
Sometimes after dinner, I will realize that I forgot something in the shed, and begin putting on my boots to go outside and get it. The shed is really close to the house but occasionally I will forget my flashlight and must slowly find my way through the pitch black night. After finding what I need, I will begin creeping back to the house, when all of a sudden, our house cat will run by my feet as fast as he can, leaping and bounding high up into the air. He seems completely unaffected by the blackness of the night because his eyes have adjusted to the darkness. If you ever look at the eyes of a cat, they have pupils that look like slits, but in the dark, they will dilate and open up, adjusting their eyes to the conditions around them.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Many animals can adjust their eyes in order to get used to their dark surroundings, but as a Christian we must never become used to the dark. We are supposed to be a shining light to the world and rather than adjusting to the darkness, we need to expose the darkness to the light.
Ephesians 5 ⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: ⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) ¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. ¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. ¹² For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. ¹³ But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
When you adjust something, you will modify, adapt, or change it slightly. For example, you might adjust a chair that is too tall for you. You might adjust the timing on an automobile engine. A tailor might even adjust some of the clothes that you wear. Certain things in this world can be adjusted, but the teachings of our faith are non-adjustable. This is because they are founded on a rock that cannot be moved. A Christian doesn’t adjust to the world, the world must adjust to the teachings of scripture. We are called out of the world, not to fit in with the world.
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” 1 Peter 2:9
Those who are truly serving Christ are going to be different from the world. They will look different, they will behave differently, and will live their lives in a manner which at times, is extremely different from the world around them. You can tell the difference between somebody who claims to be Christian with their lips, and someone who serves the Lord from the heart. These are perilous times that we are passing through, because many people who confess Christ really don’t love Him at all. They want to live in the world and act as the world, but yet maintain some type of connection with God. They want to believe that they’re on their way to heaven, but do nothing that is required to obtain that world. Simply put, it is a religion without repentance, and a profession without obedience, the same type of faithlessness that was rebuked 2,000 years ago.
Matthew 3 ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Like a cat going outside for the evening, many people who profess Christ have become accustomed to living in the dark. They have become so used to it, that rather than repenting of sin, they will adjust their attitude, behavior and lifestyles to fit the world. Rather than coming out of the darkness, they have allowed themselves to succumb to the world and its ways. I find it incredible that things that were condemned by the public as recently as 200 years ago are now found acceptable in many false churches. Certain behaviors that were punished in courtrooms are now embraced as the norm. Why is this going on? Because of false prophets, false apostles, false brethren, false teachings, delinquent servants, Jezebel teaching scripture, women usurping over men,…. and the list goes on, and on and on. These people have been ordained by men, but they were not ordained by God. All they are is disobedient wolves dressed up in fancy robes, and their open rebellion against the will of God is the proof of it.
Will there be faith on Earth when the Lord returns? Wake up and look at what’s going on around you!! There is no longer a differentiation between light and dark, a skewed form of false Christianity that has slid off the foundation of biblical teachings. It is a worldly church, an unfaithful bride, one from which we must come out, in order to be faithful to Christ.
2 Corinthians 6 ¹⁴ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ¹⁵ And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? ¹⁶ And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ¹⁷ Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, ¹⁸ And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
This false form of Christianity is likened unto a harlot, and God shall punish it with great tribulation and plagues.
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:4
We live in an age where this false form of Christianity is permissive and tolerant of all kinds of wickedness. The Apostle Paul had a fornicator removed from the church and didn’t put up with that type of behavior. He even told the church that if he needed to come again, he wasn’t going to spare those who were involved.
“I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare:” 2 Corinthians 13:2
These same people have perverted the truth of the Gospel in an attempt to make it fit society. They are trying to take a square peg and round off the edges so it fits in the hole. Some of their gatherings grow really large, but a little yeast leaveneth the whole lump. They have become people pleasers, telling people exactly what they want to hear in order to keep them seated firmly in the pews. Rather than addressing sin issues just as the Apostle Paul did, they will turn a blind eye and allow their eyes to adjust to the dark. There might be thousands of people in their groups, but if someone stood up for the truth, they might find 90% of them get up and leave. Many of them refuse to do this because their groups are mortgaged to the hilt and they have to keep shaking the plates to keep the income flowing in.
To those who would hear, hear me now. Success in the Christian Life is not about how many people that are sitting in the pews, it is about how many people that you have told the truth! Many people are not going to accept the will of God because it is far too conservative for them. Men of God are responsible to plant the seed of Truth, and if it reaches a faithful and obedient heart (God willing), it will grow. Those who are filled with the light will stand up for the truth and reprove darkness. After all, if the salt has lost its flavor, wherewith shall it be salted?
Some animals can get very accustomed to living in the blackness of night, but we must never allow ourselves to begin……..
..……Adjusting to the Dark
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 all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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