I want to share the lyrics of a song that had a major impact on my life thirty-five years ago. At the time, I was attending a mega-church in Phoenix, AZ, and my spirit longed for the living water that Christ talked about.
It was during that time that I started crying out to God to know Christ in the now and not just to know him as a shadowy figure from the past. The song goes like this:
Echo of History
A light so many strain to see
The one we talk so much about
But rarely ever live it out
Could you tell me why
Was it for this you came and died
A once-a-week observance
When we coldly mouth your words
Lord, I long to see your presence in reality
But I don’t know how
Let me know you in the now
We should confess
We lose you in our busyness
We’ve made you in our image
So, our faith’s idolatry
Lord delivery me
Break my heart so I can see
All the ways you dwell in us
That you’re alive in me
Lord, I long to see your presence in reality
But I don’t know how
Let me know you in the now
Michael Card’s song, Present Reality, really spoke to me, and over the next three decades, I would find that it is truly possible to experience Christ in the now and drink the living water today.
Yeshua told his disciples that when he was gone, he would send the Comforter to lead them into all truth and bring to their recollection all that he had taught them.
This also applies for disciples today who are diligently seeking the kingdom of God. They can hear what the Spirit is saying.
The dilemma for God’s people who are enmeshed in modern-day Christianity, which is built upon the teachings of Paul, is that they are deafened to the voice of the Spirit.
There are many voices out there that claim to be God, but there is only ONE God—the ONE who spoke to Abraham, the ONE who spoke to the prophets, and the ONE who sent Yeshua.
Every week congregations are gathering to listen to pastors boast about what they have heard from God, and the people stand in awe of such a human that supposedly hears so clearly from God.
This is nothing different than what went on in Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago—the very culture that the true and living God called Abram out of.
In Mesopotamia, people flocked to the temples to hear what the Gods were saying through the mouths of the priests.
You do not need to hear God’s voice through a priest or pastor.
The first three chapters of Revelation give us a good look at this.
In those passages, Christ is saying to every one of the seven churches, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying.
These words are for individual members. They are not for the congregation as a whole as Christ either commended or admonished each church.
If you believe that you are a disciple, you have the responsibility to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. So, why would you stay in a place that is polluted with false teachings?
The modern-day Christian Church deafens its members because they feast on the free gift doctrine of Paul, and it has led many down the wrong path. Paul teaches that it is not of “works” lest you should boast.
Christ says the exact opposite to every one of the seven churches in Revelation. He says, “I know your works…”
Christ was commending them or reproving them based upon their works, and these were not religious acts that he was referencing, such as tithing, fasting, etc.
These are the works of God which come from hearing His voice and following directions.
Philadelphia is a great example of a church whose works were pleasing to the Lord. Christ commended them for having kept his word (his teachings) and for not denying his name to those who were persecuting them.
To the contrary, Christ was very upset with the works of the Church of Laodicea, who was exceedingly wealthy. Christ wanted to spew them out of his mouth.
I guess they had forgotten that Yeshua taught that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Several of the churches were way off and had adapted teachings that were contrary to the teachings of Christ. Like, that it was ok to eat the meat sacrificed to an idol or have sex with a temple prostitute.
Those churches had adopted the teaching that Jesus had freed them from the Laws of Moses, so now they could do anything that was prohibited by the law before.
They didn’t keep in mind that Christ taught that even if you look at a woman to lust, you are committing adultery. They ignored the teaching of Christ that demanded upmost integrity from his disciples.
Several churches like Ephesus had mixed reviews by Christ, and I find it interesting that the strength that he commended Ephesus for, was that they were trying the Apostles.
How would they try an Apostle?
They would compare the teachings of the Apostle to the teachings of Christ, and if they did not line up perfectly, the Apostle would be deemed a liar.
This is where Paul fits in. His teachings do not line up with the teachings of Christ.
God is in the process of calling his people out of the Christian Church, so they can wash their robes and truly know Christ in the now.