Sunday, March 09,
2014, 3:25 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song “Only In Him” in mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Isaiah 65 (quoting vv. 1-10 in the NIV).
Here am I
“I
revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
To
a nation that did not call on my name,
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
As I read this passage from Isaiah, this passage in Romans 5:6-8 (NIV) came to mind:
You
see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good
person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Their Own
Imaginations
All
day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,
who
walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations—
a
people who continually provoke me
to my very face,
offering
sacrifices in gardens
and burning incense on altars of brick;
who
sit among the graves
and spend their nights keeping secret
vigil;
who
eat the flesh of pigs,
and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who
say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
for I am too sacred for you!’
In the past several years I have become somewhat acquainted
with the teachings of John Eldredge. Eldredge is a counselor-teacher, primarily
focused in ministry to Christian men. Yet, there are some very disturbing
aspects of his teaching which are greatly troubling me, and which fit under
this subject of “pursuing their own imaginations,” as well as with this scripture.
He is a popular author-teacher among evangelical Christians. His teachings and
writings are being taught in many churches here in America, particularly in men’s
groups. Yet, I am just beginning to scratch the surface of this man’s heretical
teachings concerning the characters, mind and heart of mankind and of God/Jesus
Christ, and concerning God’s relationship to humankind and what our
relationships to God/Jesus should look and act like.
Here are some quotations from John Eldredge’s book “Wild at Heart” (pages 3-6), and also from
the book’s introduction:
“Man
was born from the outback, from the untamed part of creation. Only afterward is
he brought to Eden. And ever since boys have never been at home indoors, and
men have an insatiable longing to explore. We long to return; it’s when most
men come alive… The core of a man’s heart is undomesticated and that is good…
Never stop exploring… Men have an insatiable longing to explore… Deep in man’s
heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at the
kitchen table. Who am I? What am I made of? What am I destined for? It is fear
that keeps a man at home where things are neat and under his control… If a man
is ever to find out who he is and what he’s here for, he has got to take that
journey for himself. He has got to get his heart back.” (Pages 3-6)
Men
“need permission to be what we are – men made in God’s image. Permission to
live from the heart and not from a list of “should” and “ought” that has left
so many of us tired and bored…” This book is offered as a “safari of the heart
to recover a life of freedom, passion and adventure… it will help men get their
heart back.” (Intro)
Sounds good, right? On a surface read it sounds like he is
merely encouraging men to be men and to enjoy God’s creation and to, perhaps,
exercise their freedom in Christ and to not be brought underneath the bondage
of legalism. But, is that really what he is saying? Look with me carefully at
the not-so-subtle message being given to men (and women) here:
Men long to be untamed (wild, natural, unsettled,
uncontrollable, unsubmissive - sinful), undomesticated (uncomfortable,
disinterested, not devoted and/or uninvolved in the affairs of marriage, home
and family), and to NOT be in Eden (symbolic of mankind’s pure and sinless
relationship to God where he walked and talked with God in perfect fellowship).
They want to leave Eden (purity, righteousness) and go back to their natural
state of mind and heart (the heart given over to sin). In this wild and natural
state of heart and mind is when men truly come alive. The core (central,
foundational, essential and/or enduring part) of man’s heart (the emotional or
moral center of his life; the center of love, affection, and his innermost
character, feelings or inclinations) is undomesticated (unconcerned with home,
marriage and family) and that is good. Men have an insatiable (incapable of
being satisfied) longing to explore, i.e. to pursue, go on a quest for, search
out, and/or to scout out what is outside the confines of home and family and is
outside his intimate relationship with God.
Man’s deep need to know who he is, what he is made of and
what he is destined for cannot be discovered at home where things are neat and
orderly. It is fear that keeps man at home. He has to adventure outside the
confines of marriage, home and family and Eden – his intimate and pure
relationship with God - and take his own self-journey to get back his sinful
unbelieving heart. He needs to give himself permission to be what men are…
permission to live from his wild, untamed and undomesticated (and sinful) heart
and to not live in Eden – in pure, unadulterated relationship with Almighty God;
not from a list of “should” and “ought”, i.e. not in submission, surrender and
obedience (in the Spirit of God) to Christ’s commandments for holy and godly
living, because that just makes him tired and bored. He needs to venture
outside of these confines of home and “Eden” to find his true self and to discover
life, love and true happiness. It is outside these confines of home and “Eden”
where man will find a life of freedom, passion and adventure, and it is there
men will get their (wild, untamed, undomesticated, natural and out-of-Eden)
hearts back. Wow!
It gets much worse the more one reads of his writings, but I
am just beginning to do the homework on John Eldredge and his heretical
teachings – teachings which continue to support the central ideas presented in
just these few quotes at the beginning of his book. And, the sad reality is
that so many people are buying into this type of teaching which, by the way, is
not just peculiar to him. There are many, many teachers in today’s evangelical
church who are teaching out of their own imaginations rather than from God’s
word, and whose teachings are in direct contradiction to the teachings of
scripture. The result is that many people are abandoning the faith, i.e. they
are abandoning the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and they are, instead,
following after teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear – feel-good
messages that give them permission to keep on in sin.
Yet, God continues to hold his hands out to his obstinate,
rebellious church, and he continues to make calls to his adulterous and idolatrous
church to return to him (to “Eden”).
God Will Judge
Such
people are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.
“See,
it stands written before me:
I will not keep silent but will pay back in
full;
I will pay it back into their laps—
both
your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”
says
the Lord.
“Because
they burned sacrifices on the mountains
and defied me on the hills,
I
will measure into their laps
the full payment for their former deeds.”
God will judge, not just the world of sin, but his own
people (see Rev. 2-3) for their idolatry and spiritual adultery. The prophets
of old, most especially Isaiah, prophesied of the final days before the return
of Christ when the church will have largely abandoned the true faith, and the
people will have run after other “gods” of men to satisfy what their sinful
hearts desire. These prophecies of scripture describe how God loves his people
so much that he pursues them (chases or runs after them out of mercy), calling
on them to repent of their sins and to return to their pure and unadulterated
relationships with Jesus Christ. And, he is calling out to his church today, yet
many are not listening. Many of those who are listening are calling out to God
in prayer for revival of the church and the salvation of souls from sin.
On Behalf of the Lord’s
Servants
This
is what the Lord says:
“As
when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes
and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
there is still a blessing in it,’
so
will I do in behalf of my servants;
I will not destroy them all.
I
will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will possess my
mountains;
my
chosen people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.
Sharon
will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a resting place for
herds,
for my people who seek me.
In the past several days, especially, God has been
encouraging me through the reading of Isaiah that his judgments (divine
discipline and correction) will result in the revival of his church and the
salvation of many human lives. God will answer the prayers of his servants for
God to intervene on behalf of the people and to deliver them out of the grasp
of these false teachers who lead the people astray, and to draw the people of
God back into pure (unadulterated) fellowship with their Lord and Savior once
again. And, in that hope I rest.
ONLY IN HIM / An
Original Work / February 19, 2014
Based off Isaiah 30
Woe to those who look
to man’s help;
Who turn away from Jesus
Christ;
Forming an alliance
not in step with God;
Making their own
plans, and praying not.
Willing not to listen
to truth,
They close their ears
to what is right.
Pleasing words are all
that they’ll hear;
Feel good messages
that bring cheer.
Trust in your Lord;
turn from your sin.
Put your faith now ONLY
IN HIM.
Do not turn to idols.
They’ll not satisfy.
Jesus will save you.
That’s why He died.
Your Lord will be
gracious to you.
He cares all about
you, ‘tis true.
He forgives you all of
your sin
When you give your
life up to Him.
Oh, how truly gracious
He’ll be
When you bow to Him on
your knees;
Turning now from your sin;
walking in his ways.
He’ll lead and guide
you all of your days.
Now you will sing
praises to Him.
He delivered you from
your sin.
You’ll tell others now
of His grace,
So they may see Christ
face-to-face.
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