“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to past, but the end is not yet.”” Matthew 24:6
The rise and fall of civilizations has always been characterized by “wars and rumors of wars.” Scripture tells us that, as we approach the second coming of the Lord, these conflicts will be magnified, and intensified. However, in great conflict, there is great grace to live in and through it. To what purpose? It is for the manifestation, the revelation, of Christ’s truth and life to the world, so that many will be saved to His glory. So then, how are we to live in such a context? What are those specific things, exercises, practices, disciplines, that the believer must always master by the grace of God, so that he or she is victorious in those circumstances?
The first and foremost need of the believer, to maintain fellowship with Christ, is worship. It is a worship, as the Lord Himself declared, “…in Spirit and in truth.” (Jn. 4:23) If Jesus Christ is to be, and remain, a reality to the believer in the face, and experience of the conflicts that surround him, then his vision of God and of Christ, must be clear, correct, and confirmed. The Spirit of God always respects the truth, working according to it. It is as the believer worships God, Christ, according to the living truth of His word, that the Spirit takes that objective truth, and makes it a conscious reality. There are two proofs that worship is the first thing. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, at the beginning of His ministry, one of the responses to him by the Lord was: “…for it is written, ‘Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'” (Luke 4:8) Worship is the first thing. An example of this fact is the testimony of Daniel, in the latter years of his life, when his enemies plotted against him, deceived the king, and caused him to be thrown into the den of lions. Even though the king had ordered otherwise, Daniel not cease to pray to God alone three times a day, kneeling and giving thanks to Him. What was Daniel doing, and why? Daniel knew the word of God, those writings by the prophets and Moses, so that he possessed the truth of God. But it was in the act of coming before God with the truth of God’s person and ways, to worship and adore Him, giving Him thanks for all that is good and holy, that God would reveal Himself to Daniel’s heart. Jesus would affirm the same reality, as recorded in John’s gospel. “…He that loveth me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.” (14:21) God, by the Holy Spirit, takes the truth of God in Christ, reveals it to the heart of the believer, and then witnesses to his spirit, not only that the believer is a child of God, but that he is near to God, present with Him. He becomes conscious that the Father indeed sees, and hears him, in secret.
The second thing that must be mastered is the study and meditation of the word of God, the Scriptures. In Psalm 1, we read that the “blessed man” is the one who walks in a certain way, not heeding the council of the ungodly, nor choosing to stand in the paths of the unbelieving. He refuses to be put in a position where those around him mock and scoff at God, or the things of God. The blessed alternative to, and overcoming, “the contradiction of sinners,” is the delightful meditation in the word of God. A serious student, he meditates in that word day and night,
Thirdly, the believer rises from his place of worship and study, to go forth in faith. On the basis of his vision, or perspective of God, and God’s faithful word, he goes forth to serve God, by the Spirit of God. He goes forth to live by faith.
Dear Father, Give us grace to worship, study, and live by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.