The year of 2020 was extremely trying for everyone. Regardless of your political, denominational, or social affiliation, we can all come to a consensus that the Covid-19 Pandemic hit us with a tsunami-like intensity that forced us to make significant changes to our daily routines. We are dealing with a tremendous amount of unrest and upheaval in our nation. We have all witnessed countless events of destructive rioting and collective groups of agitators that are ready to take matters into their own hands. As I transition into 2021, my primary objective is to navigate this course of life with a renewed sense of humility. In my time of recent reflection, I asked the Lord to clarify why there is so much unrelenting oppression that is sweeping across our world. It has been confirmed that we are in the midst of a spirit of rebellion that is attempting to undermine the authority and majesty of God's Word. The spirit of rebellion knows absolutely no boundaries. The spirit of rebellion hates leadership, it hates authority, and most importantly, it hates the covenant between God and His people. This spirit of rebellion comes in many shades and forms and thrives when there is chaos and confusion in the atmosphere. I'm particularly reminded of a season in my life where a form of rebellion infiltrated my life and poisoned my spiritual walk. In the hope of promoting a spirit of reconciliation, I think it's crucial to identify how this form of rebellion has limited the effectiveness of the church.
I spent a significant amount of time involved in church related fellowship as a young adult. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have attended places that allowed me to lift up the name of the Lord in a corporate setting and meet some amazing, dedicated people. I prided myself on always being early to a church service and wearing my Sunday's best. I was extremely dutiful in fulfilling any request to preach a sermon or minister a song when called upon. I started to ride a wave of comfort and shift my faith into SPIRITUAL CRUISE CONTROL. I figured that I was doing enough for the Kingdom of God and He was pleased with my service, but I was sadly mistaken. God through the power of the Holy Spirit was provoking me to intensify my daily prayer life, as there was something much greater in store for me to accomplish. Instead of heeding His voice, I chose to navigate on the highway of convenience rather than conviction. I wanted accessibility to the benefits of Christianity on my own terms, assuming that I fulfilled my quota of what I deemed to be 'Godly' activity for that given week.
In 2nd Timothy 2:19, we are reminded that we must flee from any form of iniquity if we elect to represent the name of Christ. In the absence of fervent prayer, I started to incorporate a steady diet of carnality in my daily life. I replaced worship music with streams of secular music, and I started to indulge in watching movies that didn't glorify God. I made up in my mind that it was time for me to explore a broader social avenue in my life, so I started to participate in a lot of idle discourse throughout the week. In the course of playing basketball, my conversation became very hostile and inflammatory; I enjoyed the attention and affirmation from those in the world, so this became habitual for me. I wanted to recognized as a Christian, but I was developing an appetite for the spirit of the world. I had mastered the 'forms of godliness', such as regularly attending chapel service during the week and church on Sunday. I was quick to point out the flaws in someone's life, while I had a massive reservoir of iniquity forming in my own life. I was operating under a form of rebellion known as a RELIGIOUS SPIRIT. This religious spirit hindered my ability to relate to people in spirit and truth, causing me to become overly critical and oppressive. The most alarming deficit in my life was reflected in the fact that I started to lose my desire to enter into the presence of God with a pure form of worship. I abandoned opportunities to witness the love of Christ to others because I was so wrapped up in satisfying my own desires.
Through the love and grace of accountability, God placed me in the ranks of praying saints that helped to identify the spiritual deficiencies in my life. It was time for me to shift out of the cruise control of justification and return to a focused life of fervent prayer. When we elect to surrender to the Spirit of God, it will help us overcome the spirit of rebellion that seeks to destroy our momentum in what the Lord has called us to do in this hour.
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