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The New Type of Backsliding
by Vanessa Grossett This article wasn't one that I wanted to write. Mainly because I have already wrote about backsliding in my book Don't Look Back, so I really wanted to make sure this was God inspired. However every time I went into prayer Revelation 2:4 kept coming back to me, "But I have this complaint against you. You don't love me or each other as you did at first!' Though I didn't want to write this, Gods will is more important. Now backsliding is normally associated with going back to your sinful ways, the definition I found states 'to relapse into bad habits, sinful behaviour, or undesirable activities.' However what has come to light is, backsliding is not always about going back to your sinful ways. You can go to church, praise the Lord, not go back to old activities and still backslid. How? You can backslide in your heart. Though you're doing well on the outside, internally your heart desire for the Lord and to do His will can be lost, and that is the most self deceptive and dangerous backsliding of them all. Jeremiah 17:9 say, "The human heart is the deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad its?" I believe one of the ways this new type of backsliding has crept into the church is through the prosperity messages, the bless me it's all about me messages I like to call them. No I am not against prosperity, yes I do believe God wants us to prosper, but the prospering has become so focused on material success, that we are losing the value of the true gospel. Above all God wants us to prosper Spirituality. There are people on mission fields who have a lack of material resources, some of us might think they are not prospering but guest what they are. Spirituality they are doing the Lords work. Now you may think how is the prosperity messages backsliding? Well what does the word say, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19, the Lord wants us to be His witnesses, to be His Ambassadors so that we can bring others to Him. When we are so focused on ourselves, on Lord bless me here, there, and everywhere, we lose the focus on what God wants us to do in the first place. It becomes 'Lord do my will', rather than 'Lord not my will but yours be done.' Though one might not be going back to their old ways, in their heart they have backslidden because their focus is no longer about what the Lord wants them to do, but what the Lord can do for them. Their prayers become Lord do this for me, do that for me, and then when it doesn't happen how they want it, they become frustrated. They start losing their love for the Lord; they undermine others as well. I have witnessed this happen to friends, and in ministries. Yes ask the Lord to bless you, but don't let it be your constant focus, have a balance. Let your focus be to use the talents that He has given you to do His work, and purpose. Brethren it is important that we examine ourselves daily, as the enemy is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We must ask the Lord to reveal anything in our hearts that could turn us away from Him. Let us not be self deceived, but humble enough to allow the Lord to make the change that is needed within us. 'Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' Revelation 2:29. Vanessa Grossett is a Literary Agent, and contributing writer for multi award winning Keep The Faith Magazine. She is also Outstanding Business Woman Finalist of 2017, visit www.theauthorscare.co.uk Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |