Becoming a Secure Christian
PART 3 : Personal Security (Theory & Practice)
Chapter 18: Secure in Ongoing Change
18.2 Three Scriptural Pictures
1. Daniel
Does the picture of Daniel represent where we are today? There do seem a number of things in the life of Daniel that apply to us today:
Carried into Exile
The first thing we know about Daniel was that he was carried off into exile and put into an alien environment that was out of his control (Dan 1:1-7). In a very real sense, those of us that lived as Christians through the latter half of the twentieth century have indeed found that our environment has changed, we no longer feel in control and it is definitely an alien environment.
A Decision to Remain Different
The ruler of Babylon and his followers did everything they could to make Daniel and his friends conform to the ways of Babylon. However Daniel, by the grace of God, determined to remain true to the standards God had given him (Dan 1:8-21) and in fact stood out as healthier and wiser than all those his same age.
The call for us as Christians is not to take on board the pluralistic, humanistic, godless, amoral thinking of the age but to remain true to the truth that has been conveyed to us by God through the Bible. If we will do that, we will stand out as a healthier, wiser group of people who will be seen as a refuge from the chaos all around us.
Impossible Demands Requiring Supernatural Help
Very soon afterwards Daniel is placed in a place of great threat as the ruler makes demands that cannot be met by mere human beings. When he is threatened with death he turns to God and receives revelation. We live in a world of great expectations. Governments increasingly place demands on public services, health and education, demands that seem impossible to meet. Demands will be put on the church, demands that will conflict with our moral standards, demands that would compromise our righteousness, demands that may produce persecution. In the face of that the church will have to become again a truly supernatural body, receiving revelation and power and grace from God, to survive and to triumph.
2. Jeremiah
The latter days of Jeremiah’s life have also been suggested as similarly conveying truth about our position as Christians today.
Jeremiah Carried Away
Jeremiah had been God’s man on the spot in Jerusalem through the last days of that city while it was under siege. When the city was taken, Jeremiah was released by the invading conqueror (Jer 39:11-40:6). After a period of civil strife the remaining remnant asked Jeremiah to seek the Lord’s will for them. They disregarded his counsel to remain where they were and instead took Jeremiah with them to Egypt (Jer 43:4-7). Despite this Jeremiah continued to bring the word of the Lord to them, even though they continued to reject it. The last we see of Jeremiah, this faithful prophet of God, is him still bringing the word of the Lord to these unfaithful people now in Egypt.
Our Call Today
There is, likewise, in many today in the U.K. and the U.S.A., a sense that we are part of a nation that has lost its inheritance and is now far from what it was. There is a sense that we have been carried away into a completely different alien environment from that which many of us once knew. Yet even in this alien environment we are still to be a light to the people whatever the eventual outcome of the nation. There are those who are prophesying revival, there are those who are prophesying God’s total judgement. Whatever the outcome, we are still to be God’s witness, His voice to this people. Within this there is a call to perseverance, to remain true to the One who called us from the beginning, a willingness to be a witness and a voice from God to the ungodly.
3. Elijah
The final picture is of Elijah after he has had his conflict on Mount Carmel
I Hear Rain
The prophets of Baal had been dealt with and Elijah turns to Ahab and says, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of heavy rain.” (1 Kings 18:41). Now we have to remember that there had been three years of drought and there had been no rain. The land was in a terrible state. The sky is blue and there is not a cloud in sight, and the prophet says, “I hear the sound of heavy rain”! Ahab might have paused and thought, “Well I don’t. There’s not a cloud in sight. There can’t be rain. We haven’t had rain for three years. He’s flipped!” But prophets hear things ahead of everyone else! Elijah hears it; it is as good as here.
Go and Look
As soon as Ahab has left, Elijah prays. His servant stands nearby wondering what to do. Elijah looks up and says, “Go and look toward the sea.” The servant goes and there is nothing. It is still a bright sunny day with not a cloud in the sky. He reports back to Elijah but the prophet just says, “Go back”. Seven times he told him to go back and the last time the servant sees a tiny cloud on the horizon. Soon the clouds fill the sky and a heavy rain pours down.
And Us?
For the past fifty years or more we have had people praying and prophesying about revival. In the last decade of the twentieth century in particular there were lots of prophesies that revival was soon coming…. and yet…..
But the prophets heard the rain. Why is it that so many have had this very real sense that revival is virtually upon us. What happens when we prophesy about a future event, for us who are prophesying it? It is almost as if we are actually in the thing so it seems so real and so present. We simply have to understand that the thing is still yet a way in the future.
We are in the days of the seven times. The prophets HAVE heard the rain, it IS coming. We have just got to be faithful in looking for it. While we are waiting we are to remain true to Him, we are not to loose heart, we are not to become cynical and unbelieving, we are to make ready, and keep on making ready for when He comes in sovereign revival power. There is a call to perseverance, a call to remain true in the face of a declining nation.
Becoming a Secure Christian 