“…..my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Numbers 14:24.
Are you a visible or an invisible Christian? Francis Shaefer made this statement: “Here is the great evangelical disaster—the failure of the evangelical world to stand for truth as truth.” A survey by a respected Christian pollster found that only 9% of “born again” Christians had a biblical world view.
- They questioned the fact that there is such a thing as absolute truth.
- That Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
- That God is the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe and still rules it today!
- That salvation is a gift of God and cannot be earned
- Satan is real
- Christians have a responsibility to share their faith
- The Bible is accurate in all its teaching.
Instead, by and large the attitudes toward morality, divorce and the raising of children was indistinguishable from the culture. Only 30% of parents who identified themselves as “born again” included the salvation of their children in the list of critical parental emphasis.
Christians are to be salt and light—salt is a preservative (the holiness of our lives) and light is to be visible (it must be seen). There are two types of Christians who are invisible:
- Those who have totally blended into the culture. There is no difference in attitude, life-style, goals, speech, dress or values. They can talk about popular news items, but not the Bible with their neighbors. They are not training their children to be different either by example or by the Word of God.
- The other kind, which convicts me, is so isolated from the world that they cannot see us. We’re satisfied to live in our little Christian subculture because we’re too timid or comfortable to take a stand for truth; satisfied to have a “ticket to heaven” and complacent—and invisible!
George Liddell, Chaplain to Queen Victoria said: “Give me a man of God—one man, one mighty prophet of the Lord, and I will give you peace on earth, bought with a prayer and not a sword.” When God finds a person totally committed to Him, that person is used to the limit. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2. How do we develop a biblical worldview? By reading, studying and applying the Word of God to our lives! Dear friends, we need to wake up! Are we visible or invisible?
Caleb stood out from the crowd because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord. He was an average man whom God empowered to do extraordinary things. He was a leader. “Spiritual leaders are not elected, appointed, or created by synods or church assemblies. God alone makes them. One does not become a leader by merely filling an office, taking a course, or resolving to do the task.” J. Oswald Sanders. A leader is a person who seeks first the kingdom of God and it is attained through prayer, tears, self-surrender and sacrifice in embracing the Cross.
Your friend, Jean (taken from a sermon by Pastor Terry)