Oftentimes in the journey of faith, many believers loosen their grip, others faint, others experience hope deferred multiple times because of failing to test every prophecy by the spirit so they deem God a liar. They may not utter their disappointment openly but you may find that these and others rarely hope to the end. It is no small thing that scripture tells us that you can only please God by faith () because when this faith is established, you speak to your days as one who sees the end from the beginning and even if you do not yet see it, you trust that you have the Author of time in you Who does and cast down every prideful imagination that tries to exalt itself above that thought ().
And Jesus said unto him, “No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Modus operandi loosely translates to method of operation. If for example, a preacher has begun his ministry by singing a worship song before he gets into the Word, chances are that is the way they will continue to lead every service they preach. If a burglar has begun burglarizing homes by tearing through the roof and not getting caught, chances are they will keep that method. By definition, modus operandi means a particular way of doing something, especially one that is characteristic and well established.
Therefore, how you hear the Gospel for the first time is a very defining step in how you sustain the discipline to nurture what you have heard. If your introduction was through prophecies as a babe in the spirit (a new convert), you might always be seeking prophecies as a means to feel as though God cares about you or hears you. In His infinite grace and kindness, God can allow you to feed in this kind as a way to draw your heart nearer, what Paul calls the sincere milk of the word (), but there comes a time when necessity to grow comes, just as everything in life demands. Just as you cannot be a child forever, even in the gospel growth is necessary and oftentimes men are their own hindrance because of lack of discipline.
In our theme scripture, a story is given of a young man whom Jesus bids to follow Him and the young man asks if he could go bid farewell to his family first and Jesus responds that none who’s put his hands to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God. In the strong concordance of the Greek language, through which this passage originates from and through the ages in all agrarian societies, plowmen required a very delicate, steady and forward inclined eye to excel in their craft. Jesus alludes to this simple example to illustrate three major things that are involved in following Him: not making inconsiderate impulses (v61), not committing to conflicting duties (v59) and not having a divided mind. These three encompass the modus operandi that enables a believer to understand what their decision to follow Christ entails and demands of them.
I have always emphasized the necessity to make a willful decision at once to allow to be led and guided by another. talks about how when you are young you get yourself ready and go wherever you please, but when you are old you stretch out your hand and another dresses you and takes you where you don’t want to go. This statement is true literally and figuratively given that John means when we surrender our will to God in exchange of His own through the person of the Holy Spirit, we make way for the power that is able to sustain what we have freely received.
So if you started in the said example, it is expected of you to move from this sincere milk of the word to the strong meat which belongs to those that are full of age and who by reason of their senses are able to discern both good and evil (). The senses are fully furnished to discern this good and evil because they heard the word of God () and it stirred faith in them to surrender themselves in reckless abandon to God, for He can be trusted.
Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
The day you receive Christ is surely a joyful day in heaven, for this is the greatest miracle of all time (). But the second most important aspect of salvation is how you co-labor to grow and preserve this gift. I dare to believe that if you receive something that is priceless, timeless and which you did not buy, toil for, or could not even deserve – you would purposely keep it with jealousy. It is therefore only at the end of this race () that we hear the words ‘well done good and faithful servant’ not at the beginning.
Child of God, do not be merely content in the beginning. Run wise, run consistently, run with discipline, run with zeal, run seeking knowledge, run in obedience, run in denial to self. Against such principles there is no law! [SELAH]
If you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, and you feel that this is the perfect time, pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I thank you because you died for my sins and you were raised for my glory. Today, I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I am born again. Amen.”
