Let's Have Church #5
Spiritual Dryness
In the deep jungles of Africa, a traveler was making a long trek. Laborers had been engaged from a tribe to carry the loads. The first day they marched rapidly and went far. The traveler had high hopes of a speedy journey. But the second morning these jungle tribesmen refused to move. For some strange reason they just sat and rested. On inquiry as to the reason for this strange behavior, the traveler was informed that they had gone too fast the first day and that they were now waiting for their souls to catch up with their bodies.
Spiritual dryness is the subject of Psalm 42. In it we hear the heartfelt cry of the psalmist for God to restore the life and passion he once knew. At the time, the writer was dry, spiritually. He had grown indifferent toward the sacred events that once thrilled him; he was now needing time for his "soul to catch up with his body," and to gain perspective again. Notice he says in v.1-2 that his soul pants for God like a deer pants for water when it is running. He can't seem to find God, where he once did (v.2-3). In v.4, he recalls that he once led a throng of people in procession to the Lord ... and now he can't even find God for himself! These are the thoughts of a dry man. We've all had this feeling at some point, for a variety of reasons. He finally closes the psalm by posing some key questions to himself: Why are you in despair, 0 my soul? Why have you become disturbed within me? Then, he ultimately tells himself the truth: I must hope in God. I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance (v.5, I 1).
Three Observations About Spiritual Dryness
1) Every Christian experiences it, at some time.
2) If you are heavily involved in ministry, it's an
occupational hazard.
3) There are causes and cures for it.
God's Purposes
Feeling dry, and sensing God's absence may only be...
I . God demanding new growth and maturity from us.
2. An introduction into who He really is; deeper revelation
of Him.
3. We're on the edge of wanting Him for who His is, not
what He gives.
Eight Causes for Spiritual Dryness in our Lives
1. Physical exhaustion
2. A "cool" spiritual environment
3. Extensive spiritual output
4. Opposition
5. Cycles of life
6. T.V. and media
7. Extended temptation
8. Disobedience
Psalm 42:1-5
As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, 0 God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" These things I remember, and I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, with the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you in despair-, 0 my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of' His presence.
by John Maxwell
"Fellowship of the Unashamed"
I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.
I have Holy Spirit Power.
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees,
colorless dreams, tame visions, mundate talking, chintzy giving and dwarfed
goals!
I no longer need preminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits
or popularity.
I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded.
I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power.
My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, back up, let up or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, stored up
and stayed up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He
comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing
me.
My colors will be clear.
Redemption -- Creating the Need it Satisfies
"The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him . . ." (1 Corinthians 2:14).
The gospel of God creates the sense of need for the gospel. Is the gospel hidden to those who are servants already? No, Paul said, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe . . ." (2 Corinthians 4:3–4). The majority of people think of themselves as being completely moral, and have no sense of need for the gospel. It is God who creates this sense of need in a human being, but that person remains totally unaware of his need until God makes Himself evident.
Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given to you . . ." (Matthew 7:7). But God cannot give until a man asks. It is not that He wants to withhold something from us, but that is the plan He has established for the way of redemption. Through our asking, God puts His process in motion, creating something in us that was nonexistent until we asked. The inner reality of redemption is that it creates all the time. And as redemption creates the life of God in us, it also creates the things which belong to that life. The only thing that can possibly satisfy the need is what created the need. This is the meaning of redemption -- it creates and it satisfies.
Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:32). When we preach our own experiences, people may be interested, but it awakens no real sense of need. But once Jesus Christ is "lifted up," the Spirit of God creates an awareness of the need for Him. The creative power of the redemption of God works in the souls of men only through the preaching of the gospel. It is never the sharing of personal experiences that saves people, but the truth of redemption. "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).
How Are You Running?
Read: Hebrews 12:1-4
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. --Hebrews 12:1
Millions of people came to know Eric Liddell through the prize-winning film Chariots of Fire. It depicted this Scottish athlete's devotion to Jesus Christ and his refusal under severe pressure to violate his spiritual convictions--even at the expense of Olympic glory.
Ian Charleston, who played the role of Eric Liddell in the film, had to learn to run with his head tilted back in the style of that Olympic champion. On the sixth day of filming, Charleston concluded that Eric's unconventional running style was inspired by trust. He "trusted to get there," said Charleston. "He ran with faith. He didn't even look where he was going."
That trust carried over into Eric's spiritual life. It was trust that took him to China as a missionary. Head up, trusting his Savior, he died young in a Japanese concentration camp, still faithfully serving God.
"Let us run," Hebrews 12:1 exhorts us. Run as Paul did as he copied his example Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1). Run head up, trusting our Coach to get us to the goal He has set before us. Run not to gain the approval and applause of people nor to win any of this world's trophies. Run so as to win "an imperishable crown" (9:25). How are you running?
Run the straight race through God's good grace,
Lift up your eyes and seek His face;
Life with its way before us lies,
Christ is the path and Christ the prize. --Monsell
Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.
© 1997 mcpumpkin@geocities.com
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