by Tracy Manno In Part 1, we talked about the idea of “waking up” to a growing sense of calling, purpose, even destiny for your life. I had mentioned that I believe this must happen within the church even prior to a large scale revival, or global awakening takes place. The reason I said that was because when the eyes and hearts of thousands and millions are opened to the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s “Plan A” for them is discipleship by those that truly know relationship and fulfillment in their new life in Christ.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...” (Matthew 28:19–20) “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2) In order for this to happen in mass, the church needs to be ready, reliable and awake! God always leaves a remnant of believers. The remnant are those that have not bowed their knee to any false idol. They are God’s loyal soldiers. In a world where ideological narrative seems to rule the day, the remnant are those not getting caught up in the arguments prevalent in the world, but are instead caught up in the mind and doings of their commander, King Jesus. “No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Timothy 2:4) What we identify with will create our arguments. Just look at the polar extremes and divisions in our country and around the world today and you’ll see what I mean. Every day you turn on the TV or log into Twitter you enter a world of arguments where division exists. And the arguments invoke tremendous emotion, creating almost addictive behavior. In the arguments we lose sight of the person on the other end. In the argument we find that defeating the other side is the ultimate thrill. In the argument anyone who stands opposed to what we believe are dehumanized and labeled in our minds, giving us even more self-righteous conviction to brutalize them with our words. I am not saying Christians aren’t to engage in debate and critical reasoning. In fact we are encouraged to do so. But we are not to get caught up in the trending issues of the world, make that our identity, climb those hills and die on them. Instead, we are to be a people making our case, providing testimony and being witness to truth alone. Truth is indeed the only place that we can all unite. Jesus Christ is the Truth. He is Truth! “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32) There is no bypassing the magnitude of this verse and what it means for our lives. If we want to be free from being caught up in the arguments and ways of this world, our first and greatest allegiance must be to “know” the Truth. Truth must be our best friend. In other words, Jesus Christ is to be our greatest desire. God reveals what He’s doing to His friends. "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15) Our social media world has truly distorted what being a friend means. A friend in the traditional sense is someone you know, you trust, you spend time with. It is someone you have affection for that goes deeper than shallow common interest and convenience. True friendship is battle tested and wears the scars to prove it. True friendship truly “knows” one another, knows what they are thinking and what they are doing. If someone were to say something deceitful or untrue about your friend you would be the first to question it, stand up for them and speak on their behalf. The bible states that in the end times there will be a lie so well accepted that it would deceive even the elect of God… if it were possible. Those words “if it were possible” should give us real pause. Is it possible for Christians, those filled with the Spirit of Truth, to be deceived along with the rest of the unbelieving world? The answer is pretty profound. We will be deceived only if we allow ourselves to be. We have been given access, or more accurately, we are indwelled by truth itself, the Spirit of Truth. Yet even as Adam and Eve walked with the Lord in His presence daily, they had a choice. They had all the truth they needed available to them, walking with them, speaking tenderly and lovingly to them. Being deceived was a choice made by surrendering personal responsibility to discern, in exchange for a plausible and self serving argument. As Christians we often think that our choices each day are whether or not to sin. And while there is truth to that statement, the greater choice is to know truth or reject truth, as God sees it. Knowing truth is always a choice. Or maybe it would be better to say not surrendering to deception is the choice. Truth isn't always visible up front. The Bible says we are to seek truth, pursue it, even reason together to find it. But it has become almost a way of life for so many to simply accept what the loudest and most prolific voices are saying, without first doing due diligence to discern. How quick are we to jump on the bandwagon of our familiar and "trusted" voices? How quick are we to surrender our responsibility to discern, seek, ask questions, gather information and investigate before we start echoing the talking points we heard? We are to hold to Truth as a soldier holds his ground. God says our ground cannot be stolen by the enemy; however it can be surrendered to him. The book of 2 Corinthians says the battle for truth is fought and won in our minds. Without asking questions, without investigating on our own and looking from other perspectives, we surrender the battle ground without even a struggle. (see 2 Corinth. 10) Those that call themselves Christians, above all others, should have an insatiable appetite to know truth in all situations. When we see hate and division on mass levels like we are in today's society we should be even more driven to investigate. When we see this kind of division we must recognize it as the fruit of the enemy. It is up to us to fight each day for truth. It is up to each of us to seek God, through His Spirit, to reveal His thoughts, His ways, His heart in all that we see and experience. It is up to us to examine ourselves, and see if there are any untruthful ways within us. (see Psalm 139:23-24) We cannot leave that to others to do for us. We cannot relinquish that responsibility by listening to the loudest voices while assuming they know what’s best. When the Great Awakening occurs will you be ready to lead and point others to the place of truth, healing, unity and love? Will your life be a beacon, a light set on a hill? Are you part of the remnant that will not bow its intellectual knee to the idols and god’s of this world, but will stand on the Truth of not only who God is, but what He is doing! Let us be set apart from the narrative of this world, and be united to Truth, through the Gospel of life and freedom in Jesus Christ. Related Articles: The Greater Awakening - Part 1 Founder of His Way Worship, Tracy Manno is a Christian artist, worship pastor, life coach and author with a calling to come alongside other Christian’s to help them fulfill God’s calling on their lives.
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