PRODIGAL SUN

                                                  APRIL 2022

 

Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

 

Sometime ago I had a dream of a man sitting inside a jail cell with the door wide open. He was just sitting on a cot looking at the open door as if afraid to come out. I believe what the Holy Spirit was showing me was that many of us are not truly free. Our sentence has been commuted, our offenses against a truly Holy God erased, but we have not learned to enter and pursue our new life in Christ.

 

John 8:31-32 reads “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Then a few verses later we read. (36) Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

 

It is worth noting that Jesus was speaking to those who already believed in Him. Then He tells them they must abide in His Word for truth to come which would then truly liberate them. A number of times people have said to me they don’t understand the Bible. I believe two of the main reasons that is so can be found in 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him. Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

 

It would appear from these passages that two central truths can be found. One is that because of a neglect of His Word true freedom has never been realized and the second is because they have not received the Spirit of God they cannot comprehend it. In another more direct term, they are not even saved. Romans 8:9 expressly says, “Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not His.” Can anything be stated clearer than that?

 

Want to pass on a thought I’ve had several times of late. It has a touch of humor in it, but is truly frightening in it’s implications. Lets start with a passage from 2 Peter 10-12; But the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of person ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. When anything is repeated in scripture there is an attached emphasis to heed the message. The fire will most certainly come and my ‘humorous’ thought is that church membership books will be the kindling (starter wood) for it. For admission to heaven they are all worthless, absolutely worthless! This is in no way meant for a stand against ‘belonging’ to a particular church here on earth. There is nothing wrong with aligning yourself with a local church body.  Just keep it in mind that the journal will not clear customs, but will be burned with the rest of the contraband. Some may even classify membership in a particular denomination with 1 Corinthians 3:21, “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours.” You could easily and accurately in the context of this scripture passage substitute ‘church denominations.’ There will be absolutely no ‘denomination’ found in heaven. It will be a church of the redeemed, His bride. All sectarianism of all forms will also perish in the holocaust. (No Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Independents, or others!)

 

The interwoven theme in this article concerns the true freedom found only in Christ, yet man has found a multitude of ways to keep us sitting on that cot in a prison cell looking at freedom’s gate but too fearful to stand up to join those outside. There are also those who step through the cell door but fear when they get to the outside gate and stop there. We have all heard of prisoners that find outside life overwhelming and do something to go back as the dog returning to it’s vomit (Proverbs 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:22) or the pig to its wallow found in Peter 2:22.

 

This reminds me of a time when Peter was in prison (Acts 12: 5-10) He was chained between two guards in prison and had to pass through through two guarded checkpoints to reach the final gate. God had to send an angel to remove Peter’s shackles then guide him through the immediate danger to a safer place. Sometimes we need a spark plug entering into our lives that stirs us to step out, step up, or to otherwise get going.

 

Years ago I went to a service during which the speaker challenged us to sit down and write a list of all those people we could see God had placed along our path on our journey to where we were with Him. I don’t believe any two of them were alike in their way of interacting with me, but looking back I could see how they influenced me in positive ways. On the flip side when viewing the effects of those I chose according to my immediate needs or emotions, ignoring what I now see as Biblical admonitions against, brought varying degrees of grief, even disaster.

 

Peter needed a miracle or his fate seemed to be headed for that of James who had recently been martyred, but God… Peter had not fulfilled his mission and neither have we. It is unfortunate that fear of one thing or another holds us in our cells with the door wide open. We all need a spark plug in our lives from time to time to get us moving. Thankfully, if our hearts are right, and in His perfect timing, God will send someone.

 

There is one last response I see possible for the prisoner in the cell. That is to just stretch out, go to sleep, and do nothing to extend the Kingdom of God or to bring Him glory. That unfortunately is what I see most church attendees doing. A free man wants others free also.

 

Ask God to save you if you’re not, then immerse you in His Holy Spirit as proof of that salvation as promised in His Word. Finally, ask to be a spark plug in the lives of others.

 

                                                                                              Blessings.

kenhayesfleming9@gmail.com                                            Ken Fleming

www.wbcis.com                                                                    502 Market Street

(814) 687-3707                                                                     Fallentimber, Pa. 16639