…And
You Would Not…
11/1/2006
By Trevor Davis
It is recorded in Matthew 23 how Jesus utterly rebuked the religious system for their gross hypocrisy. Most of the leaders and the people in Jerusalem had their own selfish intents for their faith in God and their Messiah. At the end of this serious chapter Jesus decries Jerusalem by telling them how His intents for blessing and nurturing them would go unfulfilled because they “would” not. That is, they did not desire or want what God wanted. They wanted something else entirely. The result—Jesus declared that their house would be desolate. Jesus also prophesied that they would not see Him until they said, “Blessed is He that comes in the name of the LORD”. In other words, they could have their empty house without the will of God until the religious people acknowledged Christ’s lordship in truth. Bottom line is that those Jesus was rebuking were those who did not truly want what God wanted. They had their own selfish desires that were separate from God’s desires.
This is a serious paradox that reflects the same dynamics
that is present in today’s forms of the christian faith. For the most part, the people proclaim they
believe in God, in the Messiah, and even the scripture, yet, they refuse to
submit to the authority and will of God.
They have let their hearts grow cold in their passion for such a loving
and giving God. But the form of
religion goes on with all of its trappings and dealings. It is good business they think.
I want you to see the dilemma that Jesus was in at this
point. In verse 37 of Matthew 23 Jesus
says unto those in Jerusalem, “O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which
are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Clearly Jesus was limited by the fact that the religious
people in that day were not interested in what He wanted to do for them. He wanted to bless them but it was not
possible because they weren’t really interested. Jesus was restrained by their foolish lusts and self-willed
illusions. All of this at a great
cost! Desolation and Christ’s
withdrawal…
I am concerned today for those who have separated themselves from the erring religious world and yet do not truly want what God wants just as those described in Matthew 23. I speak of the ones that have come out of an apostate christian “church world” but yet do not really desire to fulfill His will either. This is dangerous. God has given them His light to see but many of those ‘outside the camp’ are not going forth into the Kingdom of God. To the erring ‘church world’ they are blind and cannot see because God has closed their eyes. But the remnant that has come out of the false religious system too often is not being faithful with the light that God has given them. God holds us accountable for the light He has given us. It is hypocritical to find fault with the erring religious world and sin in the same way as them by not truly subjecting ourselves to the will of God.
I write this message today for those on the outside. If you have heard the Lord calling you
outside the camp to bear His reproach then you must do that. However, I exhort you today to follow on to
know the LORD and do His will. It is
not enough to know the LORD, believe in His Messiah and quote the Word as seen
in the religious of Jerusalem. I must
ask you, “Do you desire His will? What
do you really want? Are
you truly submitting to the Lordship of Christ? If not, you will certainly experience the same demise as those of
the religious world in the 1st century in Jerusalem…desolation and
the lack of the presence of Christ…until you truly proclaim “Yes Lord, blessed
are you who comes in the name of the LORD.
You are Lord and I submit to you and what You want!”
The servants of the LORD who are on the altar of surrender
to serve God are in the same dilemma as Jesus Himself in Matthew 23. There is so much that these servants desire
to see for the people that proclaim faith in Christ, yet, their hands are tied
as well to what can and will be accomplished in these days. The determining factor in seeing the glory
of God manifested among the people of God are these two things:
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One—What is it they desire and want? Do they really want the will of God? Do they really want to submit to all it
entails?
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Two—Is there a true-authentic submission to Christ? Or, is it only in appearance and empty
words?
My heart is pained for the sincere servants of the LORD
that truly love God and people. You
desire to see the LORD magnified in the earth.
You cry to see the beauty of the LORD upon His people…but, they would
not…