I do not believe that I am far from the truth when I say that the Lord cannot use a man unless that man has first left this world and all that it has to offer. We were not made for this planet, and so we should be set apart from it, by our own free will, we should need no prompting from the Holy Spirit to do so, once we have learned the truth of who saved us, why He did so, and from what, every thought should be upon either the right here and now, or upon the eternal.
Everything in this world stands against us, we represent the Holy God of all creation, a creation that is now cursed, a planet of individuals who will accept no Lord over them save for those they have chosen. We, my brothers and sisters, are the last and only enemy this planet has left. We are commanded to hate this world and all that it stands for, and the one it stands against, (1 John 2:15) those that do not know Christ as Lord are our enemy, we are to pray for them, (Matt. 5:44) to be witness’ of the truth to them, but we are never to consider them as anything more than what they are, and will remain as for all eternity unless they heed His call, the wicked.
This is how we must leave this world and all it offers behind, there is no virtue in the unrepentant sinner, there is only the wrath of God that abides on them, (John 3:36) they are not your friends, and they should not be treated as thus. They live by sight, reason, and their senses, they are carnal. We live by faith, trust, and confidence, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, they understand absolutely nothing about these truths, it is impossible for them to do so. (1 Cor. 2:14) The only thing that you should have in this world is a burden for them, the love that you have for them can only be shown by your actions, remember “For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Mark 9:41) This is what sets us apart, what we do, all that we do, is for the glory of God, because of the price that was paid for us by the Son of God, and we can in no way attempt to even begin the tasks before us unless we submit to the will of the Holy Spirit of God.
Any and every part of the world that still has a grip upon you must be purged from you, every desire, every longing, every deed must focus on Christ. There is no halfway point here, there is no such thing as a continuing carnal Christian, no one who calls Jesus Lord can leave one foot in this world and expect the other one to be planted firmly in the kingdom of God. This is not your home, it is not even a temporary rental, we are no more than pilgrims and sojourners here, (1 Chron. 29:15) there is no place for us to rest our heads, we will never find peace or security on this planet.
Somewhere, at every time of the day or night, one of us is being persecuted for the name of Christ, that means that we are being persecuted, “Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.” (Heb. 13:3) As long as even one of us is suffering, we can never find true peace here. Until you come to all of these realizations, you will never be used completely by the Lord, and I do not believe that anyone of us ever has, save for Jesus, though it should be our one desire.
Our bodies were made from the very elements of this planet, we are in a sense symbiotic with it, it is why the “whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” (Romans 8:22) Every single place on this earth is under the curse, (Gen. 3:17) every single person who refuses Christ as Lord is wicked, (1 John 5:19) and every born-again believer who will not leave all behind on this planet, and in their own lives must question the sincerity of their faith and trust in Him. Those who have been chosen wait, and not always so patiently, on the Lord, for the day when we are truly freed from that which has polluted each and every day of our lives, for the rebellious sinful nature within all of His children to finally be cast far from us, never to return.
Until that time, persevere, find no rest here, call no man brother who is not of the Lord’s flock, stay at your post. The more you submit, the more you release to Him, the more useful you will become.
