You Can Lead a Horse to Water…
The Lord has been dealing with me a lot on relinquishing control and not getting upset when people will not choose to follow Him despite constant efforts. When we are saved, we have this zeal to get everyone else saved, not balancing that with the fact that everyone has free will. As Saints, it is our job to share the Gospel and the Good News of Jesus Christ with them and let them decide the next steps, not us deciding for them.
The Apostle Paul said, “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV). He and Apollos were co-laborers, leading the people in Corinth to Jesus.
In this passage, he was encouraging the people not to quarrel about whose teachings to follow, but to understand that he and Apollos were on the same team. I believe he was also pointing out that it was not their job to persuade them or make a choice for them, but it was God who would seal the deal and open their eyes to the faith but here’s the catch; if they allow Him to.
When Paul was praying for the people of Ephesus, he prayed: “ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:18)
You see, Paul knew that their eyes of understanding had to be enlightened so they could even receive the gospel and stand firm in their salvation. This is how the Amplified Bible states Ephesians 1:18 (with emphasis added):
And [I pray] that the eyes of your heart [the very center and core of your being] may be enlightened [flooded with light by the Holy Spirit], so that you will know and cherish the hope [the divine guarantee, the confident expectation] to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints (God’s people),
The enlightenment needed to understand must come from Holy Spirit by flooding your heart (which was full of darkness, Jeremiah 17:9) with light. Once we are enlightened, we can see things, including His calling for us and His glorious inheritance in us. This enlightenment does not come from you and me or by anything we do in and of ourselves, but it comes from God through His Spirit.
Let’s look at John 16:7-8.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Nowhere did it say that you will convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, but it says He, referring to the Helper, which we know is Holy Spirit. Yes, The Lord moves through us and uses us, but it is His work (Ephesians 2:10).
Even Jesus knew this truth, so He indicated five times in His prayer that those who believed were given to Him by The Father (John 17). To believe in Jesus Christ, God enlightened our eyes of understanding to His call and His inheritance that includes us. He gave us to Jesus so that we would follow Him and adhere to His Word. But another truth Jesus knew, was that everyone He died for wouldn’t end up belonging to Him (John 17:9).
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
“Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; Their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.” – Isaiah 5:14 NKJV
Side note; I noticed something about these two scriptures. Matthew 7:13-14 implies that there are MANY (broad) ways to end up in hell, but only ONE, SINGULAR (narrow) way to eternal life. And Isaiah 5:14 follows behind it that those who descend to hell, to eternal damnation do so happily, and feel good about themselves and I am reminded of what Apostle Connor always says “good does not mean God”.
Let’s stay on the fact that not everyone makes it in.
Romans 1:28 (NLT) says “Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.”
Did you catch it? The Lord doesn’t even force people to adhere to His standards. If people choose to not acknowledge God through their actions, He gives them up to their own evil devices. So, this begs the question; if God does not force people, then why should you?
In this case, we have to get our flesh under subjection and just do what The Lord called us to do. Nothing less. Nothing more. Like Jesus told the disciples, “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.” (Matthew 10:14 NKJV). We are called to move on and stay the course, examining our own work to get a job well done (Galatians 6:4). We press forward with an understanding that we are His servants with a job to do and souls to win, on God’s terms.
Romans 1:20 tells us that we should be able to look around and see that there is God, so people are without excuse for not developing a relationship with The Lord. We have to work out our own salvation with The Lord with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Remember, He is the same God that saved you and just like you had to decide to follow Him, so do those around you have to decide so as well.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you for being just who You are. I thank You that You are faithful when we are faithless and You can’t deny Yourself. I thank You for the unconditional love You give us each and every day. I ask for forgiveness for trying to control others and getting off track with the calling You have set out for me. I ask that You help me to continue to crucify my flesh and allow Jesus to take residency within me so I can learn the balance in ministry. I thank You for those You have placed in my path and pray that You continue to do the good work that You have started in me until it is finished on the day of Christ Jesus’ return.
Amen