Quote: “It is more important to be occupied with Jesus than to be occupied for Jesus.” – J Dwight Pentecost. Amen to that! Being occupied with Jesus daily in worship, prayer, Bible reading and study makes being occupied for Jesus a glorious blessing, not a task or some kind of obligation. I’m noticing an increase of Christian ministers and workers leaving the church, publicly declaring they’ve lost their faith and belief in God. Some questions worth considering: How much faith and belief did they have to begin with? What is their concept of God? Who is Jesus Christ? What is their belief of the Bible? Is it God’s word, man’s word, or a mixture of both? What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? What is repentance?
Perhaps the answers given will reveal they have not been occupied with Jesus. How then, would one who is occupied with Jesus answer those questions? One: One’s concept of God would be in harmony with that of the late Porter L Barrington, author of Christian Life Study Outlines even though they might not be familiar with such. “The Bible reveals God as the only Infinite and Eternal Being, having no beginning and no ending. He is the creator and sustainer of all things. He is the Supreme Personal Intelligence, and Righteous Ruler of His universe. He is life, and therefore, the only source of life…… The existence of God is a fact taken for granted by the writers of both the Old and New Testaments. In the beginning God….. Genesis 1:1.”
Two: Who is Jesus Christ? He is the Son of God. Barrington declares, “Christianity differs from all religions, because it is more than a religion – it is the life of the Son of God living in man. Christ is Christianity and Christianity is Christ. He is the supreme subject of the New Testament, and fulfills all the promises of God in the Old Testament, from His incarnation to His Second coming as Lord of lords and King of kings Revelation 17:14. He is the God-man Christ Jesus in glory, exalted above all creatures, having all power…… in heaven and in earth Matthew 28:18. During His earthly ministry He claimed to be God incarnate. He is all that He claimed to be, or He is less than the least.”
Three: What is the Bible? Barrington declares, “It is so important for a young Christian to start right; therefore, the first lesson (of the Study Outlines) is designed to help establish your faith in the Bible, for it is the word of God. Keep in mind that the Bible is not a book of philosophy, although it is philosophical. Do not go to the Bible for a scientific treatise. However, there is no discrepancy between ascertained facts of science and the Bible. The Bible is not a book of history, but is found to be accurate when recording history. The Bible was given to man from God, revealing Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God the Son, the only Savior. I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me John 14:6.
Barrington continues: “He (Christ) is the center and the circumference. It is Christ from Genesis to Revelation. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me John 5:39. The Bible is as high above all other books as the heavens are above the earth. Someone has said of the Bible, “Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be right.” All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works 2 Timothy 3:16. By inspiration we mean that the Holy Spirit exerted His supernatural influence upon the writers of the Bible.”
Four: What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? It is the good news message that Jesus Christ came to earth 2000 years ago and died on the cross for the sins of all humanity 1 John 2:2. His death is sufficient to provide salvation for all who receive Him as Savior John 1:12; Acts 16:31. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you – unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures 1 Corinthians 15:1-3.
Five: What is repentance? “Repentance is turning from sin to God, as a result of a change of mind and heart about sin.” – Derek Prime. Truly these times (preceding the gospel) of ignorance God overlooked, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead Acts 17:30-31. Repentance is the requirement for forgiveness, cleansing, salvation, of entry to heaven, of eternal life, and of escaping the judgment of God upon sin. Unless people repent (turn from sin) and receive Christ they will perish Luke 13:3-5.
As mentioned above, this or similar, is how one who is occupied with Jesus would answer those questions asked in the opening paragraph here, so it would seem more than obvious that Christian ministers and workers leaving the church didn’t have much faith and belief in God to begin with. They’ve been more occupied for Jesus than with Jesus. As mentioned yet again on this blog, there are more church people involved with good ideas than there are those involved with God ideas, so it’s only a matter of time when will people walk away, when they will dry up spiritually, when churches split and when church doors close never to reopen. Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it Psalm 127:1.
A important question to consider: Could it be that it is God who is doing the removing of these people more occupied for Jesus than with Jesus? Too, perhaps in His mercy God is giving some of them time to reassess, re-evaluate and repent. It’s not unusual to hear of people testifying they had been doing ministry for years before they realized they had not been saved. They went into the church with a faulty concept of repentance; they had been taught to “make a decision” for Christ, not die in Christ. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me Galatians 2:20. The apostle Paul wrote that; no wonder he was occupied with Jesus!
Another reason Christian ministers and workers become more occupied for Jesus than with Jesus: It is an excuse not to have to look into their life. “Jesus died for my sins,” is where they leave it. They’re unwilling to allow the Lord a searching of their heart to get delivered from the roots of sin. It’s like they would say to God, “I’ll give You the fruits of my sins Lord, but not the roots.” It could be years before God finally acts; in the meantime they get extremely busy with church programs, outreach programs and all sorts of activities, all of them pretty much useless as far as the Lord is concerned. Many of these people fall into sexual immorality, adultery, financial dishonesty of some kind – roots God wanted to cut out before they grew fruits.
Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed John 8:36. The word indeed means: ‘certainly’ ‘clean’ ‘of a truth’ ‘to be sure’ ‘verily.’ That’s the reality for the one who sees the importance of being more occupied with Jesus than for Jesus. He/She tells the Lord everything, hiding nothing. What is His response to that? Does He come down on us like a ton of bricks before He forgives? No. That has never been my experience at any time since I first encountered the Lord in mid-June 1985 – never! And I firmly believe that it has never been anyone else’s experience either. But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.” Psalm 86:15.
Be more occupied with Jesus than for Jesus. If that will be our daily commitment, we will never lose consciousness of Him being with us moment by moment in everything we think, say and do. The apostle Paul told us, We have the mind of Christ 1 Corinthians 2:16; being with Jesus is how we get it. And when we know we have it, we know our doing for Jesus is, in reality, Himself doing it through us. Jesus said, without Me we can do nothing John 15:5. But with Him we can do plenty! Philippians 4:13. It might not look like plenty in our eyes and the eyes of others, but it will be so in the eyes of Christ and that’s all that matters. I pray this post will be used of God to draw back some who have walked away from Him. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you Matthew 6:33.