April 19
Josh 19:1-20:9 | PS 88:1-18 | Prov 13:12-14 | Luke 19:28-48
There are times to join a conversation, times to remain quiet, and times to speak up against what is being done and said. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is the only way to navigate these encounters, since they are often unplanned, but simply come up. Once in the midst, we then make our next decision, whether we respond as the Spirit is prompting us or quench the Spirit for the sake of being accepted or liked. It is easy for us to be loud, vocal, and brave among like minded individuals, such as in church or a bible study. It is quite another thing to do so when you are the only one or one of a few. So how do you respond? Godless conversations are discussed with you outside your safe environment, godless changes are made at the workplace, etc. Do you remain silent, go along, or speak against? We are looking at a once Christian nation. Sadly, we can point all we want to the godless individuals who propagated these changes. As Isaiah said in Isaiah 5, six times "Woe to you". But sadly, these changes could not have come about without Christians remaining quiet when they should have been vocal, to which Isaiah said, when in the presence of the Holy Temple, "Woe is me". There are times to cast blame, and there are times to accept blame. But God. No matter what we have done, He will forgive, if we come to Him in acknowledgement of our wrongdoing or cowardice.
We read of the triumphal entry, as the masses were screaming for the long awaited Messiah, as Jesus entered Jerusalem, as we read in Luke 19:37-40, "Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”" The religious leaders spoke out, but the masses screamed in the opposite direction for Jesus. Sadly, in just a few days, when the masses swayed in favor of the religious leaders and away from Jesus, many of these same individuals chose to remain silent, deny Jesus, or worse than that joined the voices now screaming for His execution. Jesus knew what was to unfold over the ensuing days, as we read in 19:41-42, "Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."
It is a dangerous thing to simply follow the masses and stand for nothing. But such is the case, sadly more often than not. Pastor Chuck Smith when asked who was responsible for the death of Jesus, the Jewish establishment or the Romans, wisely stated that it was he who was responsible, as it was his sins that placed him there and held him there. Likewise, as we look around at a nation which does not at all resemble the America from long ago, we can continue to angrily point our fingers, but the truth is we are largely to blame, for when we should have been vocal, we chose to remain silent: at home, at school, at the workplace, sadly, everywhere.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: