“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;” – 2 Peter 1:5
One
experience with God, no matter how earth shattering, how magnificent, how
powerful, is not enough to coast on all the way to a home in heaven. You
cannot approach God today expecting to get a blessing that will carry you for
the next 30 years. There is no spiritual elixir of invincibility.
Jesus came so that God and man could once again be one. Sanctification is
simply the reunion of God and man; here on this earth. It is a spiritual
experience, obtained through grace, by faith; accomplished by the Holy
Ghost. It can and will bring you back into perfect fellowship with God,
but it is not designed to be obtained, admired, and then put on a shelf like a
piece of fine china. No, this is a misconception that (in my opinion) is
costing many their salvation, confusing countless others, and inhibiting the
wonderful work of God.
Think
of your spiritual life, if you will, as a fire. When you are a sinner
(one who intentionally disobeys a personally known law of God) you are nothing
but logs, a pile of raw material; but don’t be discourage everyone is, unless
they give their life to God. When you repent (that means you make a
U-turn, away from sin and to God), God forgives you and you feel
wonderful! Now you’re a stack of logs, the lattice and tepee looking
kind. You are a ready vessel, waiting, for the flame. When you have
totally consecrated everything and “reckon ye also yourself to be dead
indeed unto sin”; you then pray to God to send his blessed Holy Ghost to
set fire to your ready vessel; he will not terry, he will pour out his
Spirit. Now you are sanctified, now you are alive, now you are burning……….now
what do you do?
The
experience describe above is a powerful wonderful experience, but again, the
initial explosion is not enough to carry you through your whole life; remember
you are a fire, and fires must be fed. You need to begin to add to your
new found faith. God is consistent and he will consume whatever sacrifice
you continually give, but you must continually and diligently give. What
to give? Your all, day after day, you give your all; each morning rising
with the prayer of our Savior “thy will be done.” As you
diligently add to your faith, to your fire; like a fire it grows and dispels
the darkness around it. Furthermore, it attracts those who are cold and
travel wearier, to the warmth of the flame of God. It all is to the glory
of God. The fire of God is fed for God and burns brighter and brighter to
bring in those who know not the light of God. We all must come to see
that when we believe the debilitating misconception that the initial flame is
to be obtained, felt, and then ignored; we cease to burn long enough and bright
enough to draw many others, and we certainly decrease the power of God in our
lives. Moreover, the flame soon goes out and we are left in utter
confusion with no sure testimony. The devil would have us believe that
“surely a flame this great and a awaking this powerful is enough to burn all my
life.” No friend, you must feed your fire with the kindling that God
requires or you will soon burn out; and then all those who would see your fire,
will not.
This
is the reality of today, the reality that daily God is setting ablaze many
willing souls who are not feeding the flame and shortly burning out.
Their neglect is not solely, but certainly one of refusal to sacrifice.
This kindling is needed to sustain, and can only be added with our
consent. If you have not been set ablaze, then please, at all cost, seek
the flame of God. If you have, then feed the flame, and burn for him who
hath brought you light.
