The war of holiness

Why is it that the most obvious things always seem to take the longest to sink in?

The war of holiness is not won or lost on the battlefield of temptation, indeed defeat or victory is determined long before we reach the moment of demonic persuasion!

Sincere and well meaning Christians do not want to sin even though they do on a daily basis. The deliberate act of disobedience isn't in the sin itself but in the refusal to obey the unequivocal call to consecration that rings in the heart of every true believer. God demands certain things from us – what he demands of you may be different to what he demands of me but don't be deceived he makes demands! Usually these demands are small – almost trifling – 'spend less time playing silly games on Facebook', 'watch less TV', 'cancel your subscription to cable TV', 'don't watch sport on a Sunday' – whatever his demands may be we will know for however we try and distract ourselves these demands will track us and hunt us down and corner us and will not let us go until we either refuse them or yield.

It is here in our own personal Gethsemane that holiness will happen or stall, it is here that our future effectiveness and fruitfulness will be decided. If we are foolish enough to try and hide these 'devoted things' among our 'own possessions' then whatever we do, however hard we try, no matter how intense our prayer or sacrificial our fasting we will fail for we will have been 'made liable to destruction'.

The following quote from John Piper was sent to me by Willis Howell:

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of the triviality we drink in every night.... And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable."

Or as God himself puts it in Joshua 7 Salvationists have...

"sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why they cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction."Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, 'Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it."

God demands all; if we try and give him less than he demands then we will give him nothing.

If we can hear God's clear call to consecration then we must stop what we are doing, drop everything and pay attention for until we respond positively we will endure a life of constant defeat, unvarying vacillation, careless compromise and ineffective spiritual lethargy. The nagging and persistent call that constantly harries us at every turn is not our imagination but it is the voice of God. Let us have the knowledge that recognises who is speaking to us, the wisdom to understand his demands and the courage to surrender! If we settle this question we settle them all!

"Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' "So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." And the LORD said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle."

Father let the Salvation Army be filled with Samuels!

Grace and peace, A