Drift Away—Sluggishness

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Heb. 2:1. On the voyage of life, it is very easy to drift away from the things we have heard. Some have suffered shipwreck of their faith. Think of all the Words of God that have been spoken to liber­ate us from the spirit of the world and from our own egotism.

To drift away from the Word of God can be disastrous. It can be fatal.

“For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just re­ward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” Heb. 2:2-4. These verses speak about the salvation Jesus brought as High Priest of the new covenant. In the old covenant, the sacrifices were outside the body in the form of various animal sacrifices. Now we can draw near to God in the hope that we no longer have to sin. We can receive grace to help in our time of need. This is the new covenant.

“But He, because He continues forever, has an unchange­able priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the utter­most those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them.” Heb. 7:24-25. This is our living hope: “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, “Behold I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—to do Your will, O God.”’” Heb. 10:5-7. Jesus gave Himself to the Word of God and became a sacrifice Himself.

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may re­ceive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Heb. 9:14-15. We must offer ourselves as a sacrifice—this is well pleasing to God. It is tremendous that we are allowed to enter into the new covenant. The Word will be manifested in the flesh.

We are living in the end days. People will have a form of godliness but deny its power. We are told to turn away from such people. Have you really taken this to heart? Why would you want fellowship with such people? Many winds of doc­trine have blown through the world. These doctrines were al­ready active in the time of the apostles. All of them have their roots in the deceitfulness of sin. Usually they are associated with honor, money or fornication. This is the work of the har­lot. We must turn away from it. There is no agreement be­tween us and religious teachers. If someone like this were to rise up among us, we would have to turn away from him. If we don’t, we will never be able to complete our race in godliness.

“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, breth­ren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Rom. 8:10-13.

Obviously, where you go and what you do with your body is very significant. When you go to worldly gatherings, mov­ies, discos and places like that, are you there because your body is dead because of sin? Are you watchful to make sure sin does not get power over you? Here each person must an­swer for himself and be true before God. We are not to place people under laws and regulations. Our calling is to be set free from sin. Lust dwells in the body, and if the body gets its will, the lust will get power over the body. Then we are in the flesh, and we will die. But if we, through the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body, we will live. No one must drift away from these glorious, liberating words.

The Spirit that will make our bodies alive must be carried about in a body that is crucified with Him. “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Cor. 6:19-20. The only hope for our body is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. These people do not belong to themselves. They have given up their self-will in this world, and they live to do the will of God. No “negatively-charged” person has a body that is dead because of sin. They become extremely irritated when even the slightest details go against their will. People like this must repent if they want to be along when Jesus returns.

Can you see what a hope you have when your body is dead because of sin? Can you see that there is hope for your spirit and for your body? “But as for you, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righ­teousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim. 3:14-17.

“Which are able to make you wise unto salvation.” In other words, we need wisdom to be saved so that we can understand the way of salvation in our own personal circumstances. There should be a constant prayer in our hearts: “Dear God, what should I do? I need wisdom for my own salvation and for the church.” Wisdom is flexible. Our calling is to become compe­tent for every good work. “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” 2 Tim. 4:12.

If the Spirit of power is lacking, it is very easy for our gath­erings to become sluggish. A lukewarmness enters in. Every­thing becomes so routine and predictable. People become less interested in meeting together and less interested in saying anything. That is not edifying. We must preach the Word and be instant, in season and out of season. No one must live for himself; we must live for Him and, through that, live for others. You have a responsibility in the church, and if you don’t have anything else on your heart, it is always righteous to give thanks. How can you be along and build the church of Christ if you don’t have any spark or enthusiasm for the kingdom of heaven?

With the Spirit of power, we can drive our enemies back to their own gates. For the church to come to faith for a victorious life in Jesus footsteps, we must have the Spirit of power! The Spirit of power drives all the work in the church forward. For many years, there has been a great lack of the Spirit of power among us. There has been steadiness, calmness, sobriety and wisdom, and that is good for the sake of edification. But there must be more of the Spirit of power so that young people come to faith. Without the Spirit of power, you lose the momentum that makes it easy to steer, and if those who are responsible for steering do not steer, there is no lack of carnal people to take control.

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the suffer­ings for the gospel according to the power of God.” 2 Tim. 1:8. Through Paul’s ministry many believers had come to a life and riches, and yet when he was so intensely zealous that he ended up in prison, they were ashamed of him. They weren’t any better than that. But Paul continued to be encouraged. It is not difficult to endure hardship when it is done in the power of God. We must stand fast and endure hardship so that we, in our circumstances of life, can radiate power and joy! Stephen radiated with joy, and he looked up to heaven! Timothy lacked some of that Spirit of power. The gifts had to be stirred up in him again. Love for God makes it possible for a person to live this exalted life. We must turn our weak side to God, and our strong side to the church and to the people around us.

A zeal must come over us so that we have more power to take action and more fervency. God’s name is Zealous, and in that zealous Spirit we can carry out His Word. There is a faith that carries us through—that never grows weary, never gives up. Every morning a new fullness flows into our hearts and minds, but we must be open for it!

Our goal is to be the bride of Christ. She is clothed with the sun and rejoices like a hero ready to begin her race. We must hate sluggishness and put it to death! God’s Word must pen­etrate so that we always have a purified soul. Then we will have power, and we will be able to serve according to the grace that God gives.

Without the Spirit of power, a lot of problems arise in a church. The church doesn’t have the momentum to be steered or directed, and the meetings often become long and heavy. Long messages with no power are very tiring for the friends. Don’t just go by habits or traditions if the Spirit of God is not driving it. Be free and serve God in your spirit—then He will work in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

“Draw me away! We will run after you. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.” Song of Sol. 1:4.