Responsibility

A new kind of normal will bring more responsibility. It will raise the bar for us in our works and extension of the kingdom of God here on earth. Our works will need to speak louder of how we have been with Jesus. When we are tempted to do wrong, we need to be stronger so we can be people of power. Business as usual will need to change.

The healing of the lame man as Peter and John went to the temple brought amazing publicity. They were questioned by the authorities and eventually spent some nights in jail…. but not before 5,000 more people were saved. The amazing conclusion that the authorities came to was that these men had been with Jesus. Upon returning to their team for a report of what had happened, the disciples were again filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word with even greater boldness and power. The result of persecution was their being of one heart and one soul. With great power they gave testimony of the Resurrection of Christ. After the incident with Ananias and Sapphira the church experienced great fear (see Acts 5:11) However the people held them in high esteem (see Acts 5:13). They were changing their society.

When the early disciples experienced these things, it changed their lives. As their society held them in higher esteem their responsibility changed. They couldn’t just have a good day and then a bad day. Any normal day they might be called upon to minister to a sick person. Any day they might have to answer the authorities and they needed the Holy Spirit to give them the appropriate answer. Any day they might need the power of God to do the works they knew they couldn’t do themselves. They needed daily manna from the Lord. Yesterdays experience weren’t enough. They needed the mercies of God new and fresh each morning. They had to be more intense in their pursuit of God and stronger in times of temptation. They had to be instant in season and out of season. They had to rise above their feelings and emotions. Each day they needed to be faithful to the anointing upon their lives.

It wasn’t about them being watched by the people but that they were on a momentum with God. When we get on a momentum with God, who wants it to stop? We want to go from glory to glory. Once we have tasted of the heavenly gifts we want to stay at the table eternally. Once we have waded into the Rivers of God we want to swim. Our works aren’t obligation based but hunger based.

When I am tempted to sin or tempted to become lax in my pursuit of God, I think about who may need me to minister to them. If I am walking in error how can I expect the power of God to be upon me in its fullest measure? I know that all believers have been used by God even when in error or after major failures, but we cannot continue to knowingly abuse the grace of God. We must keep a good balance between grace offered and grace abused. We must not allow guilt and condemnation to hinder us (see Romans 8:1). However, we need to lay aside every weight and sin that does so easily beset us so we can run the race and do the works of God (see Hebrews 12:1). By the grace of God given in Christ we need to do the works of God with confidence having a clear conscience before God. With this confidence we can readily meet the responsibilities that come each day.

In times of God’s visitation and times of outpouring more is required. When truth is flowing without measure there is more required. For the believer who sits and hears a nice homily on Sunday morning, there may be no inward urge to go out on the streets and pray for the sick. For multitudes of believers that hear the same sermons over and over as they are lulled asleep week after week, there may be no inward passion awakened to take a lame man by the hand and tell him to walk in Jesus’ name. However, for those who have ears to hear that Jesus has said that we would do “greater works“, something awakens in us and we can’t see things the same anymore (see John 14:12). This causes a new normal of responsibility. It’s dangerous to listen to truth if we aren’t willing to walk in it.

One of the most dangerous heresies (here in the Appalachian mountains) is teachers who teach people to hold on to what they label as the “old time religion”. Their ideas about “old time religion” aren’t really old enough. If they would only go back to the teachings of the early disciples they would not be denying the power of God for our times. The true “old time” way has its foundation and roots in the ways of the early disciples who walked with God and people were laid in the streets to be healed as their shadow passed by. If we are not careful, “old time religion” can become nothing more than a watered down version of powerless teachings passed down by teachers unwilling to pursue God for deeper truths found in the scriptures. These teachings often become flavored with escapism offering little hope for solutions in life now. There is almost no challenge to have faith in God for the greater things He so desperately wants to do among us. Often, escapism makes a mockery of the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray (see Matthew 6:12). Our prayer, proclamation, and desire must be for the ways of Heaven to come to earth instead of us only wanting to go to heaven for the better life. A new normal will require us to bring the agenda of Heaven to earth on a daily basis.

Jesus spoke often about responsibility. He said that when we are given much, there is much required. When we are entrusted with much, more will be asked of us (see Luke 12:48). Our generation is responsible for more than the last because of the knowledge and wisdom it has been given. It seems we have advanced in every arena of life and it calls for more responsibility. For example, we see how technology advances with powerful acceleration and we stand in amazement. Likewise, the kingdom of God advances forcefully as a new normal is set. God has never been and never will be outdated. He is the Ancient of Days and He makes all things new. We are not to become a people of compromise, but we are to invade and make a difference in our culture and society. Revelation portrays Babylon as a system that controls the earth in the end times. It is a political, commercial, and religious system. Instead of fearing Babylon, we must invade Babylon. It is our responsibility to make a difference.