by Brett Jacobsen

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matt 11:28-30

 
Choose the Spirit not the struggle
 
Although we are taught to keep smiling and stand in faith, many Christians struggle a lot of the time with every day life. It is painfully obvious why some struggle as they live out blatant ungodliness, while others are sincere about their desire to live in His holiness but find themselves regularly falling short. They, or rather we, sometimes sound like Paul in Romans saying "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I" Rom 7:15 and "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do" Rom 7:19.

Many try to remedy the situation by striving to overcome sin and appetites of the flesh, only to find themselves living on a spiritual roller coaster pulsating between victory and defeat. Paul pointed out in his letter to the Galatians that the answer was not to fight sin but to simply "Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" Gal 5:16. He was telling us to stop trying to fight many daily battles against our fleshly nature, because you can only win so many. He says to concentrate your energy on the one battle that brings victory. He was showing us that we should focus on walking in the Spirit as that is the only place of true Christian victory. Any victory won by our own efforts will not only be short lived but it is actually no real victory at all as God is not glorified by man's might. 

It used to irritate me that Paul made it sound so easy to "walk in the Spirit" when clearly it was such a battle. However, that was until I realized that He was shifting the emphasis where it should be, into the proactive faith realm. Quite simply you choose to walk in the Spirit, or not to, every minute of the day but there is something at the core of our life that will either make it possible or impossible to choose the Spirit consistently.

 
Whose wagon are you pulling?
 
In our main text Jesus commands us "Take my yoke upon you" for "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light". He is revealing a way of life that produces spiritual victory which doesn't come through hard work, but rather with peaceful ease by blatant surrender.
 
To get a fuller revelation of the yoke He is referring too, picture two stage coaches both with only one horse pulling them. You are the horse that is yoked to the carriage in both instances.
 
One of the wagons is full of many heavy weights that you yourself own but the load looks tiny and useless, bearing no eternal significance. Not only are you pulling the immense weight of the wagon, but you are free to go where you please as there is no driver on the wagon to steer you right onto the narrow roads. In this instance, which is a good picture of where many Christians live, you are living your own idolatrous life and subsequently carrying the heavy burden of it. Yoked to your own carriage, you have no relief from the pressures of this world and the weight of inevitable sin that is produced by a self life. You work hard at life and Christianity with very little eternal fruit and almost no rest in Him.
 
On the other hand there is the second picture, the one that Jesus commands us to live out. You are the horse here as well, but there are some fundamental differences between this picture and the other. Jesus is the owner and operator of this rig. He is steering it in the right direction as you have taken His yoke upon your neck, giving Him the reins. In other words, it is no longer your life that you are labouring for but His.  It's not your burdens that you carry, but Jesus'. You have made Him the centre of your universe and as a token of that truth, you have Him calling the shots as He charters the course ahead. Contrary to the first picture, although this wagon is packed with a full load, it is ridiculously light and easy to pull. Even when the road gets bumpy all is well as you know that you are on the right road and in safe hands.
 
Isaiah put it this way;
 
Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth, their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. 2 They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity. 3 Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb : 4 And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you. Is 46:1-4
 
He was showing the contrasting fruit between idol worship and obedience to God. Keep in mind that the most common form of modern idolatry is the idol of self rule, putting your life in your own hands instead of Gods. Look at the vast difference between the two. When you form an idol, even if it's yourself, you must carry the weight of it on your own. However, if you serve the Lord He says "even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you"
 
Sadly, throughout the modern church there are many who preach a humanistic gospel which lures multitudes into an idolatrous version of Christianity rather than a dying to self and subsequent living in Christ. Many are spurred on to pursue a "better life" as they "believe God to supply all their needs" only interested in what benefits their own cause. They are told "ye have not, because ye ask not" Jas 4:2 without further hearing "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." Jas 4:3-4

 
He shoulders the load for His church
 
Not only has this humanistic manner worked its way into the personal lives of many saints and "leaders" alike, it has also ferociously fought for the reins of the church and in many respects won that fight.
 
History clearly records the many landmarks in Christendom that gave mankind more and more control and therefore less and less to God. I rarely hear people argue the fact that man claimed control of the church way back in history thanks to ones like Ignatius of Antioch, Emperor Constantine and many others who, sometimes through good intentions, sometimes for political progress, set the systems of this world to govern the church. The reason that there is no real argument is that we are talking historical facts, the way it actually happened.
 
Biblical leadership teams of overseers and servants that were "among" the brethren were replaced by clerical headship positions that became superior to the brethren, giving birth to the non biblical mediatory offices. The house to house style of structure which put the reins of Christians lives in the Lords hands was exchanged for a worldly, efficient, congregational gathering. For seemingly good intentions the structure, which the Lord ordained, was overhauled and man's grip was tightened. In the name of safety and security every loose end was tied up at the expense of the freedom for the Holy Spirit to lead through inspiring and positioning the brethren. The church removed the yoke of the Lord choosing rather to be yoked to the systems and organization of man.
 
The modern church has inherited this same structure, albeit a prettier version, and added contemporary business and success principles all in the name of results. The sad thing about this is that God never asked for results, He called us to "bear fruit". In our hyperactive frenzy to get results in the form of attendees, dollars and possessions we have taken even more of the load on our backs. We are told to get a business plan and time management schedule so as to perform at our highest level of efficiency despite the fact that the Bible says "when I am weak, then am I strong." 2 Cor 12:10. Putting our best foot forward has surely caused the Lord to pull His best foot back.
 
God's servants are falling, quitting and even dying out of ministry at an alarming rate. Divorce is rife in the church and not a whole lot better among the modern church leaders. Most of the world thinks the church is a joke because they have scarcely seen a representation from the real church, Christ's spiritual body. Many have been exposed to the Christian religion, but have not glimpsed the glorious life of God through an "earthen vessel" of His.
 
In taking the responsibility and subsequent weight of the church on our backs we have not only reaped the fruit of our idolatrous pragmatism, but have also turned many people from true Christianity.
 
It was said of Jesus the Messiah, "the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever." Is 9:6-7.
 
Is it any wonder that times are tough throughout Christendom when man has put the government upon his own shoulder? A good part of the church has mans yoke upon it, being steered and driven by human presumption instead of being led by the Spirit.

 
Except the Lord builds
 
One of the most misguided attributes of the unbiblical structure of church is that Pastors and leaders have taken it upon themselves to build churches in order to build the church. They say, "I will do what builds my church and the kingdom of God will grow", completely disregarding the biblical truths that there is only "one body" Eph 4:4 which belongs to Jesus and that He said, "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt 16:18. What man has built is surely being prevailed against by the gates of hell, sometimes blatantly, often times in sheep's clothing.
 
Man has led the institutional church into a dilapidated mess compared to where it could be in the hands of God. Churches and denominations are as unified as an army of enemies as they compete for the preeminence of being at the top of the pile. Flashing lights with flashy music and entertainers are testimony to the compromise of choosing excitement and atmosphere over the true presence of God. The majority of God's army sits dormant on plushy pews while the professional preacher leads the odd person to Christ. The spiritually powerful army of God has largely been reduced to the ragged ranks of human initiative.
 
With modern technology and thousands of years of human wisdom at hand, man is reveling at his own task to build a successful church. Many Christians have been hypnotized by the flare of mans brilliance, forgetting that his very breathe is but a gift from God. This humanistic epidemic is rooted so deep that key biblical truths are usually forgotten such as this one from the Psalms, " Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it" Ps 127:1. In other words, the so called "church houses" that man has built are a labour of vanity, whereas the lives that God has built are eternal fruit. There is but one house and one body that belongs to God and that is the body of Christ, the Spiritual superstructure that exists outside of mans architecture, spanning the globe, drawing the lost into its glorious abode.  
 
When are we going to open our eyes to see the vanity of our ways and commit ourselves to the reviving, reforming power of God and give ear and action to His prophetic plans?

 
Does the church really need a full renovation?
 
There is hope for the wider body of Christ but it comes at a cost which many seem not able to bear, especially leaders. It appears that we will try any new idea to make the church grow and succeed as long as it doesn't mess with what we have already got in place. We have built a large structure in our own strength, on our own human foundation and we want God to start building His thing on top of it. The Lord will not build one story on top of the man made building, but will gladly build a beautiful temple on top of the foundation of Christ that will be manifest only when we are willing to let Him flatten our man made mess.
 
The church is quite happy to preach repentance to the world, to let go of ones own ways and be yoked to Jesus, but are we open to practice what we preach? As is the case with every person on the planet that wishes to be free from the grip of sin and death, so it goes for the wayward church that has ruled its own roost. REPENT, turn away from self rule and self sufficiency to the living God that has abundance of grace for all who will.
 
When will we have the intestinal fortitude to confess the error of our ways rather than pushing on in open eyed ignorance as we keep up appearances? When will we be ready to don the cloak of a fool for Christ and suffer with Him outside the camp bearing His reproach? When will we allow Christ to get His hands firmly on the reins of His church both with individual lives and the corporate body world wide? When will we be so hungry for God's power to set the world free that we are willing to drop our ego's and look the fool so that Christ is manifest in glory?
 
I hope it's soon!

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 6th, 2006 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Biblical Leadership, Brett Jacobsen's teaching, Church Structure, Living Christianity, Reformation/ Revival. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.