October 2017
blessing flows from the head as we see in Psalm 133. We can
never expect a reformation in the church or society without a
transformation in our personal lives. through His Word (John 17:17).
Note how Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, “You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup
and the plate, that the outside also may be clean” (Mat
23:26). Prophet Jeremiah was a great reformer. He is usually
known as the 'weeping prophet'. God's call for Jeremiah can
be found in Jeremiah 1:10, “See, I have set you this day over
nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Jesus emphasized that the inside of the cup must be
cleansed first before proceeding to the outside. Cleaning the
outside alone will not help. The 'inside' matters to God. Jesus
addressed the Pharisee as 'blind' because sin always blinds
us. Jeremiah's ministry consisted of plucking up,
breaking down and overthrowing. What does it mean to us
today? There are several things in our organizations and
churches which have taken a deep root and which need to be
pulled out and plucked up.
Hosea too addressed the same issue, “Strangers
devour his strength, and he knows it not; gray hairs are
sprinkled upon him, and he knows it not”(7:9). Idolatry, lust for money, addictive habits,
communalism, regionalism, casteism have taken deep roots
among Christians.
Ephraim did not notice the Grey hairs he had. We also
have many Grey hairs today - Neglect of personal prayer,
Bible meditation, family prayer, not being sensitive to the
voice of the Holy Spirit, material mindedness, ego, etc. There is only one caste among Christian believers i.e.
the Holy caste. We belong to a holy community, the
fellowship of believers. There is not only casteism but also a
strong sense of regionalism among us. Social evils such as
dowry is rampant among Christians today. This is what we
need to expose, correct and teach with all boldness. They
have taken very deep roots among Christian believers. It
may not show up in public, but is manifested in private. All
these things have to be rooted out from our lives before we
can pluck it out in another's life.
Once a reporter asked the famed preacher D. L.
Moody what he considered to be his biggest problem. D. L.
Moody without any hesitation replied, “D. L. Moody is the
biggest problem.” We should never forget that 'we' are the
problem for God for not being able to manifest His glory. So
it is high time that we set our personal lives straight.
Note what the Psalmist says, “You ha ve tried my
heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and
you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not
transgress”(Ps 17:3).
I do not know how the Psalmist had such a boldness to
utter those words. In effect he says that his personal life with
God was clean; his relationship with people was also good.
In order to find out the Grey hairs in our lives, we need
to stay in front of the mirror. The Word of God is the mirror
for our spiritual lives. Let us have self-examination and
heart-searching every day. The Lord will show us what is
wrong with our attitude or heart. The Lord will sanctify us
2) Reformation In Our Ministry
God commands Jeremiah to “pull down” (Jer 1:10).
We sometimes see big machines pulling down buildings; the
authorities demolishing all the unauthorized buildings. God
wants us to pull down structures that have been built without
the approval of God's Word. Anything that is not found in
God's Word has to be pulled out. We cannot be gentle when it
comes to obeying God's Word.
God does not always wants us to root out and pull
down. Towards the end, God commanded Jeremiah “to
plant” and “to build” (Jer 1:10). We are called to build God's
Kingdom and not our own kingdom. Many servants of God
have built their own kingdoms. The tower of Babel (Genesis
11) was built by the builders' with a motive of making a name
for themselves (11:4). But God foiled their plan.
LIBERALISM HAS INVADED US. MATERIALISM
HAS MESMERIZED US. THE WORLD HAS COME
INTO THE CHURCHES AND CHRISTIAN
ORGANIZATIONS.
|PAGE 3|