Once, I heard someone say “Christians have to be awake to the changes in our world because God can use these changes to bring about his will”. I have reflected a lot on this and realised that this is so true! Think about some of the significant changes that we are privileged to have witnessed in our lifetime.
The internet has revolutionised the way we communicate, live and work. You no longer need to be a huge company to have a global presence; you can be in the comfort of your own home and communicate with the entire world. Also, we see various companies applying different business models, e.g. Air BnB or Uber are recent examples of companies that have turned conventional ways of doing business upside down.
For example, Uber doesn’t own the cars! People offer to use their cars for Uber’s car hire service; both seem to be mutually rewarded or else, it would not work. Since this breakthrough, business leaders are realising that empowering people is very powerful.
Unlike Uber, where the driver can determine when he or she wants to work, God wants us to hand the entire keys of our hearts and lives over to him. In this case, since he is the one who ‘manufactured’ us, why can’t we hand the keys of our hearts to him? The Holy Spirit is eager to give us direction day by day so that we can find our life back as Jesus taught in Luke 9:24
The Promise for the New Testament Believer
Sometimes, we can read our Bibles and say, “how did the children of Israel miss their opportunity? Didn’t they see the handiwork of God first-hand?” We can flippantly say this and not even realise that we are in a similar situation, if not worse!
We have the redemption of God accomplished and the resurrection of Jesus as proof, (Acts 17:31) We have the Holy Spirit as a guaranteed deposit of our inheritance (Eph 1:13-14). But even more important, we have a promise:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 31:33-34
We find through studying this passage, that this promise is for the New Israel, which is the Church in the New Testament because this same passage is quoted in Hebrews 10:16. The key emphasis at this point is for you to see the distinction between the Old Testament believer and the New Testament believer and how we, (the children of God), now communicate with him.
Going back to our Uber example, we must realise that it is our responsibility to bring our hearts to God. He has something to say to us individually and we are responsible for creating the space and time to hear his voice, receive direction from him and obey his commands for our life.
This does not downplay having discipleship partners, teachers, ministers, faithful friends etc, in our lives to encourage us along the way, but they are not called to have a relationship with God for us or on our behalf because if you are a true disciple, you have the Holy Spirit in you and you are empowered.
Therefore, our quiet time is the main time to hear and gain direction from God. I believe that if majority of Christians did this, we will see an incredible revival in families, communities and companies that would be hard to ignore.
We will be in tune with God and the clearest sign that Christians are hearing God, is that what they do will not contradict the bible nor violate the overall command of God- which is to love him and love our neighbour. These would come from each disciple’s heart.
If we strive to put these two commands into practice and with the right teaching, we will seek the lost, baptise and teach others to obey, bringing glory to His name.
Jesus did warn us!
Another reason why this is so important is because Jesus warns us. Many scholars would agree that Christianity in the Western world can be likened to what seemed to be happening in the Church in Laodicea.
Traditionally, many readers of Revelation 3:14-22 have thought that Jesus’ mention of them being neither hot nor cold potentially means that Jesus would prefer that they were either hot, meaning zealous for him or cold, meaning completely uncommitted. This has been a popular way of interpreting this passage.
However, scholars such as G.K. Beale have articulated what seems to be a more realistic interpretation that would have made sense to those who read these words at the time.
“The picture of hot, cold, lukewarm water is seen as a unique feature of Laodicea and the surrounding region in the first century. The hot waters of the Hierapolis had a medicinal effectiveness and the cold waters of Colossae were pure, drinkable, and had a life-giving effect. However, there is evidence that Laodicea had access only to warm water, which was not very palatable and caused nausea. Indeed, Laodicea had grown as a town because its position was conducive for commerce, but it was (geographically) far from good water. When the city tried to pipe water in, it could manage only to obtain tepid, emetic water. “The effect of the conduct on Christ was like the effect of their own water – Christ wanted “to spew them out of his mouth.” – (The New International Greek Testament Commentary)
The Solution
Jesus went on to advise the church to buy from him gold and white garments. Since the Laodiceans thought they were rich, Jesus challenges them to gain true riches from him- riches as defined by Jesus and not the Laodicean society! This, some scholars interpret as the idolatrous nature of the Laodiceans sin. Idolatry, meaning placing anything at the centre of our lives above Jesus.
Jesus also advised that they buy salve (eye ointment) to anoint their eyes. This is so that the Laodiceans can regain their spiritual sight. The Laodiceans seemed to lack spiritual discernment, especially their ignorance of the lethal danger that their association with idolatry posed to their faith.
This should be of much importance to us today, because it is quite obvious that the members of the Laodicean Church had become anesthetized and insensitive to their spiritual plight. Bottom line, they had become self-sufficient and we also know this from historical texts that the city was known for being quite self-sufficient. Does that sound like your city or country or heaven forbid, even our own personal lives?
The solution that Jesus gives is an invitation. Jesus invites the reader to renew his or her fellowship with him. Revelation 3:20, although used by many evangelical preachers inviting non-believers to come to Christ, the original intent of this passage is to invite disciples of Jesus to a renewed relationship with him.
It is very important to note the individualized invitation; Jesus is speaking to all Church members but then imposes a condition: “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Having Time to Hear His Voice
The reason why I believe that our Quiet Time with Jesus is a number one priority is because as you can see from scripture, Jesus wants to reign in your heart as King.
If as you are reading this, you can acknowledge that you haven’t made your time with God the ultimate priority in order to be able to hear from him, then could you be just like the Laodiceans?
Being in His Presence
Luke 10:38-42, is a great story that exemplifies the importance of priorities. Although Martha seems to be doing good things (for Jesus), Mary chose the greatest option- being still in Jesus’ presence. The ultimate aim of this book is to help you strengthen your conviction to be in God’s presence on a regular basis and then begin to have the ability to hear from his word and from his Holy Spirit that he has deposited in you.
Open the Eyes of Your Heart
Paul understood that for the Church to be alive, it had to have its spiritual eyes open. Below, is what Paul prayed for the church and this is what I pray happens to you as you go through this book.
“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” Eph 1:15-21
This post was taken from my book: How to Have Transformational Quiet Times With God – You can download the book Free here: https://lifespriority.org/qt/
