It is a verse which first came to my attention many many years ago when I read The Final Quest by Rick Joyner. A book which totally changed my view on life, church and being a Christian. I was so blown away by it that I gave it to my Pastor. He was so blown away by it that he told our 400+ strong congregation that they all should read it. And most did. It is a prophetic vision given to Rick Joyner several decades ago now, and it paints an allegorical picture of the state of the church, the battle which is being waged against us and the strategy of God in that battle.
In one scene Rick Joyner is climbing a mountain. He is under constant fire from the enemy and he is on precarious ledges and uneven ground. Finally he climbs up to a level where there is more space and he is able to stand firm and fight. He begins to feel confident that now he is safe. He has got a foothold. He is able to focus on the battle now because he is assured he wont slip. In the middle of this description of his confidence he hears God speak these words from 1 Cor 10. He looks around and realises that he has unconsciously been edging closer and closer to the edge of the ledge whilst he has been concentrating on the battle. Had God not warned him he would have gone over. Joyner stops and wonders what to do - then he realises he has a sword and sees that rather than use his sword to fight, if he plunges it into the ground and ties himself to it it will stop him slipping and falling off the
This evening as I was scrolling through facebook someone had posted this. ( its a ten second film clip)
Whilst it might be quite funny to watch it actually sends a pretty important message about thinking we have got it in the bag when in fact it is still all to play for.
The Pharisees 2000 years ago thought they had got it all sewn up. They knew the law, they followed God's commands, they did it by the book. They had centuries of religious tradition behind them. they prayed, they sacrificed, they tithed. They thought they were standing on solid ground. but they weren't. I have learned from experience that at the very moment we are so sure we are right, God can come from left field and show us how wrong we were. We really cannot ever afford to put our trust anywhere other than in Jesus. Not in our own efforts or understanding and most certainly not in the works of man and the ways of the world. We can't afford to slack off in the race we are running or take our eyes off the prize. And that's not easy. We can't do it all on our own. We need people cheering us on and loving us and believing in us. People who will push us back into God and keep us focused on Jesus - and who will love us enough to give us a kick when we are getting lazy, self assured and arrogant. Who is that person in your life?
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