There is a feeling, an emotional state that comes with serving the Lord, that arrives with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It might be described best as a closeness, more than just a feeling, it is assurance that we are watched over, protected and loved, and that those things will never end.
A sin, one that we will not repent of, one that perhaps is reoccurring, will cause that closeness to dissipate, and if left untreated by us, even after the chastisement sent by the Lord to correct us, we will lose that closeness altogether. This does not infer that our salvation will be lost, that is not possible, we are held by Christ, and nothing can remove the grace that saved us, but that closeness, that feeling will not return until we do.
Many, if not most people who serve Christ are satisfied with just a very small sliver of this closeness, a pinprick of that light, if you will, drawing too close to it is painful, for it shows them who they should be, what is available to them, and what they would need to give up in this world and within themselves to stay in that place, the place of continuing closeness.
The draw of the world is perhaps the greatest hindrance of being filled with the Spirit of God, it is one of the reasons that you do not hear the word “revival” much anymore, people have become content with that sliver of light, they do not want to be used mightily by the Lord. They will lose, and they know this, all of the desires of the world, its call will lessen, all their hopes and dreams that they have of it will diminish, it will lose its importance to them, and there is a part of this world, and themselves, that they are not willing to give up for Him. Whether it be the items they hope to accumulate as life goes on, the accolades and rewards of what people and their praise can give them, or simply the fact that this is what they can see, and faith cannot be seen, heaven cannot be seen.
I have often thought that if we had just one glimpse of our eternal home, even just a small part of it as Paul did in 2 Corinthians 12:2, our entire lives would be changed, everything that this world has to offer would not only grow dim, but we would learn to hate it, for we would see it as it truly is, vile, corrupted and evil. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15)
There are many people who do not like this verse, for inside they do not see the harm in being friends with this world, at least not in the simplest parts of it, after all didn’t God create it, and the people in it, are we not all made in the image of God, (Gen. 1:27) are we not to go into the world to reach the lost. (Mark 16:15) The enticement of a better vehicle, a larger house, a finer meal and the financial wherewithal to obtain these things of the world, is not near as great for these individuals as their desire to be liked and accepted by the people in the world. They want to be friends with those who deny the Sovereignty of Almighty God, they want to be acquainted with those who deny Jesus Christ is Lord, they don’t want to be left out.
My friends, if this is you, it’s time to figure out who it is you truly serve, for this verse, in context indeed speaks of money, but the implications go much deeper than that, and you must make a decision, a daily decision, just who it is you serve. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matt. 6:24)