Hold Fast to What You Have
Revelation 3:11: "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."
Is Jesus teaching us that, if we’re not careful, other men can end up with the crown that we should have obtained? Exactly! There is a crown for our taking, but we must run in order to obtain (1 Cor. 9:24). One of the tendencies of human nature is to sit idle while we should be moving. Often is the case that the Christian is stifled both in his progress and in his spiritual growth by this natural tendency. What’s worse is we can convince ourselves that we’re doing the right thing when we sit around and pretend like we’re “waiting on the Lord.”
Don’t get me wrong; there are times in our walk with the Lord that we should just “stand still,” but I have discovered both through experience and in my studies that this is the exception rather than the rule. More often, God would have us MOVING in faith to what He has already promised and commanded. Sometimes we wait on the Lord to speak to us in that still small voice, when He’s already given us a steady, strong verse of scripture for our direction.
Jesus’ voice is not just for us to fall in love with hearing, but also for us to fall in love with obeying; for if we begin not to obey, He may choose not to speak. Have you heard the voice of God lately? If not, could it be because you did not heed His voice the last time He spoke? Let us not forget what we are taught in 1 Sam. 15:22b, “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” What this means is, it is better to simply do what the Word says, than to go through all of the outward motions of religious ceremony and ritual, and yet be void of any real commitment to the voice of the Lord.
Sometimes we can get so addicted to religious activity that we mistake that activity for obedience. The true test of our faith in what God has spoken to us is this: will we still be striving to trust and obey His voice, even after the initial experience of Him speaking to us has long passed? Think of Noah, for example; God spoke to him about building the ark, and so he trusted what he heard God speak for the next 120 years. I am not saying that God never spoke to him again during that time, but it sure makes you wonder how dedicated we would be, and how long we would remain committed to what God wants us to do.
What about you?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Is Jesus teaching us that, if we’re not careful, other men can end up with the crown that we should have obtained? Exactly! There is a crown for our taking, but we must run in order to obtain (1 Cor. 9:24). One of the tendencies of human nature is to sit idle while we should be moving. Often is the case that the Christian is stifled both in his progress and in his spiritual growth by this natural tendency. What’s worse is we can convince ourselves that we’re doing the right thing when we sit around and pretend like we’re “waiting on the Lord.”
Don’t get me wrong; there are times in our walk with the Lord that we should just “stand still,” but I have discovered both through experience and in my studies that this is the exception rather than the rule. More often, God would have us MOVING in faith to what He has already promised and commanded. Sometimes we wait on the Lord to speak to us in that still small voice, when He’s already given us a steady, strong verse of scripture for our direction.
Jesus’ voice is not just for us to fall in love with hearing, but also for us to fall in love with obeying; for if we begin not to obey, He may choose not to speak. Have you heard the voice of God lately? If not, could it be because you did not heed His voice the last time He spoke? Let us not forget what we are taught in 1 Sam. 15:22b, “…Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” What this means is, it is better to simply do what the Word says, than to go through all of the outward motions of religious ceremony and ritual, and yet be void of any real commitment to the voice of the Lord.
Sometimes we can get so addicted to religious activity that we mistake that activity for obedience. The true test of our faith in what God has spoken to us is this: will we still be striving to trust and obey His voice, even after the initial experience of Him speaking to us has long passed? Think of Noah, for example; God spoke to him about building the ark, and so he trusted what he heard God speak for the next 120 years. I am not saying that God never spoke to him again during that time, but it sure makes you wonder how dedicated we would be, and how long we would remain committed to what God wants us to do.
What about you?
~ Pastor Gary Caudill