Pastoral Concerns
15th November 2019
In John 10:10 Jesus tells us that he came to give us abundant life and in Ephesians Paul tells us that God has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. But are we really living life to the full and are we really blessed with every spiritual blessing? We should be.
Sadly, I see far too many Christians who are missing out on so much of what God wants for them. And I see two reasons in particular for this happening. The first reason is that so many Christians put up barriers to receiving what God wants for them. This can be for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s down to a lack of faith, sometimes it’s because of ignorance, sometimes it’s because they have accepted some form of false teaching, sometimes it’s because of fear, sometimes it’s because of bad experiences, sometimes it’s because of stubbornness, sometimes it’s because of laziness, sometimes it’s because of worldliness, sometimes it’s because of a poor spiritual life and sometimes it’s because of sin. And this is so unnecessary because through the Word of God and through prayer God can deal all of these barriers and set us free to receive what He has for us.
The second reason is because too many Christians are victims of the devil’s schemes and don’t even realise it. It is tragic to see so many Christians being robbed of God’s blessings because they have so easily succumbed to one of the devil’s schemes. The reality for all of us is that we are involved in a constant struggle against the devil and all of his evil forces. Yet there are many Christians who deny his existence or play down his significance in the spiritual life. And as soon as they do that they become vulnerable to his schemes because they are not looking out for them. Then there are those who do acknowledge his existence but who are ignorant about his schemes. The kinds of barriers I have described above are also the weaknesses that the devil exploits. Evangelicals are meant to be Christians whose faith and life is based on the scriptures, the Word of God. But all too often they are selective about which truths they accept from the bible. And that is another weakness that the devil can exploit. One of the devil’s most cunning schemes, however, is to get Christians to put the teachings of men before the teachings of scripture. Too many Christians do not test what they are told. They do not test the teaching against the scriptures. And before they know it they have been robbed of God’s blessings because of false teachings that they have accepted. This is so tragic.
So I would urge you to pray diligently at all times and know the scriptures for yourselves. And I would urge you to come humbly before the Lord and let Him teach and guide you in all things.