Heedfulness or Hypocrisy in Ourselves?
By Oswald Chambers
If
we are not heedful and pay no attention to the way the Spirit of God
works in us, we will become spiritual hypocrites. We see where other
people are failing, and then we take our discernment and turn it into
comments of ridicule and criticism, instead of turning it into
intercession on their behalf. God reveals this truth about others to us
not through the sharpness of our minds but through the direct
penetration of His Spirit. If we are not attentive, we will be
completely unaware of the source of the discernment God has given us,
becoming critical of others and forgetting that God says, “…he will ask,
and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to
death.” Be careful that you don’t become a hypocrite by spending all
your time trying to get others right with God before you worship Him
yourself.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.
One of the most subtle and illusive burdens God ever places on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning others. He gives us discernment so that we may accept the responsibility for those souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them (see Philippians 2:5). We should intercede in accordance with what God says He will give us, namely, “life for those who commit sin not leading to death.” It is not that we are able to bring God into contact with our minds, but that we awaken ourselves to the point where God is able to convey His mind to us regarding the people for whom we intercede.
Can Jesus Christ see the agony of His soul in us? He can’t unless we are so closely identified with Him that we have His view concerning the people for whom we pray. May we learn to intercede so wholeheartedly that Jesus Christ will be completely and overwhelmingly satisfied with us as intercessors.
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Wisdom From Oswald Chambers
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