Introduction
Oswald Chambers was a man unbridled by the world and its
desires. Some say he was one of the
greatest Christian thinkers of our time. He would say if any credit is given, let it go
to Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior. Much like the apostle Paul, life for Oswald
Chambers was but an open opportunity to glorify God.
He was born on July 24, 1874 in Aberdeen Scotland, where he became a Christian during his teen years under the ministry of Charles Spurgeon. God used many things to shape and mold Chambers. One of which was his acceptance into the University of Edinburgh. Rapid spiritual development followed as Chambers became intently interested in the things of God. After answering God's call into the ministry, he studied theology at Dunoon College. From 1906-10, he conducted itinerant Bible-teaching ministries in the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. Upon his return home, he married Gertrude Hobbs. In 1911, he founded and was named principal of the Bible Training College in Clapham, London. The school closed in 1915 due to World War I. Chambers was then commissioned by YMCA to go to Zeitoun, Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops.
His Impact
Many of Chambers' devotional lectures make up a large
portion of his posthumously produced book, ‘My Utmost For His Highest’ – a
collection of notes made by his wife at his lectures and devotions. His death, the result of a ruptured appendix
in 1917, came as a shock to all who knew him. He had often told friends: "I feel I
shall be buried for a time, hidden away in obscurity; then suddenly I shall
flame out, do my work, and be gone."
The Surrendered
Life
There arose within Oswald Chambers' life a deep desire to
abandon all for Christ's sake. He writes, "A sanctified soul may be an
artist, or a musician [anyone]; but he is not a sanctified artist or musician:
he is one who expresses the message of God through a particular medium. As long as the artist or musician imagines he
can consecrate his artistic gifts to God, he is deluded. Abandonment of ourselves is the kernel of
consecration, not presenting our gifts, but presenting ourselves without
reserve [to Christ]."
Sooner or later God makes each of us aware of the areas in
our lives where "self interest" abides. These are the areas He comes to touch and
demand complete surrender. It is where
we "give up our right to ourselves" and die to self.
Out of this death comes life and the opportunity to live a
Spirit-filled existence. (John 12:24) As
we respond in obedience to God, He promises to lead and guide us through life
with a sense of victory and hope. The
times of trial, distress, and isolation are times God accomplishes His greatest
work, when He molds us into the likeness of Christ.
"The one great need for the missionary (Chambers uses
this term for those who have given their lives completely to Christ) is to be
ready for Jesus Christ, and we cannot be ready unless we have seen Him." The way we come to see Jesus is through
surrender. The blessing of living life
abandoned to Him is to witness His daily power and grace alive and flowing
through our lives into the lives of others.
In abandonment and surrender we find the unbridled soul—one
not tempted by the treasures of the world, but bound to the grace and glory of
the Savior. Oswald Chambers' message is
one that still calls to us today. It is
a call to leave behind everything outside of Jesus Christ:
"The battle is lost or won in
the secret places of the will before God, never first in the external world. .
. . Every now and again, not often, but sometimes, God brings us to a point of
climax. That is the Great Divide in the
life; from that point we either go towards a more and more dilatory and useless
type of Christian life, or we become more and more ablaze for the glory of God
- [Our] Utmost for His Highest."
Comment on Modern Christianity
The “world” system/culture, which
has surrounded every Christian, has everything to do with man's greedy,
power-hungry human nature - which seeks its own way rather than God's. This ungodly expression of our human nature changes
from culture to culture, yet the result is the same: those within that culture
will imagine a god which will fit their new cultural values and desires, and
they learn to see this distortion of Christianity as the true church.
Biblical
Christianity means being joined to Christ, through faith in what He did for us
at the cross, then allowing Him to live His life through us, so that others
might know Him and see His love. That
love may include sharing His warnings as well as His promises with those in
need. The established Church, like Old
Testament Israel,
has always tended to drift away from its devotion to God and become just another
institution, subject to the same human impulses and painful consequences as the
rest of the world.
Consider
some of the differences between Biblical faith and today's cultural deviations
based on the observations of Oswald Chambers and G. K. Chesterton:
Biblical versus Cultural Christianity
Biblical Christianity
Only understood by those
joined to Christ through the cross
|
Cultural Christianity
Accepted by the world to
represent genuine Christianity
|
|
It is...
|
A
relationship with Jesus Christ.
John 17:20-26
Rom. 8:37-39
|
A
religion based on group consensus and popular interpretations of Scriptures.
|
Come to God through…
|
Faith
in Jesus Christ, Who has revealed Himself in His Word. John 14:6
|
Faith
that “God” will judge our good works and intentions as far out weighing all
of the bad ones.
|
View the Bible as:
|
The inspired,
absolute, and unchanging Word of God. Even to reports of evil by His chosen.
2 Tim. 3:16
1 Pet 1:25
|
A
collection of guidelines, allegories, myths, and stories useful for good
living. Offensive matter and unscientific sections of verses must be ignored.
|
Our goal is...
|
God’s
approval. To know and do His will and live each moment in fellowship with
Him. Gal.1:10
|
People
and/or cultural approval. To please and not offend the world community.
To distance those whom would.
|
Source of Strength
|
God’s
unlimited grace and power.
Gal. 2:20
Phil. 4:19
|
Our “God”
given human talents and abilities, then to seek God’s help as needed. Pragmatism.
|
See our human self
as…
|
Weak
and inadequate apart from Christ.
2 Cor. 12:9-10
|
Strong
and capable if we have confidence in what we have or can do.
|
See sin as...
|
Leading
to spiritual death and separation from God.
Rom. 6:23
|
A
normal part of everyone’s life. Ignore it, or you might offend someone.
|
Deal with sin
through...
|
Confession
and faith: trusting Jesus as the "Lamb" who bore ALL of our sins on
cross.
Rom. 6:1-6
|
Try
to do better next time, or just tolerate it. Do not offend anyone by making them feel
guilty or by admitting your guilt.
|
Caring for people...
|
Goal
is to bring people to Christ. Demonstrate God’s love. Trust God to meet all needs
through our lives surrendered to Him. Rom. 12:9-18
|
Bring
people to the church or small group. Provide for their needs through
Community compassion. Do to others as
you would have others do to you.
|
Response to
suffering:
|
Trust
God to use it to strengthen our faith, prepare us for ministry, and
demonstrate His love and power.
2 Cor. 1:3-11
|
Pray
for deliverance, endure, and trust that God will help it end quickly. Questioning of God’s love for us, power over evil, and
purpose in our lives.
|
Commitment:
|
Trust
and follow God. No compromise. Better to die, as He did for us, than betray
our Lord.
Rom. 12:1-2
|
Trust
and follow our feelings. Compromise essential in dealing with the world in
order to avoid offending cultural diversity.
|
Expect to...
|
Face
rejection and persecution. John 15:20-21
|
Get
along with everyone, influencing the by our example.
|
Outreach:
|
To bring
God's message of love to the world, then to bring those willing to listen to
Jesus.
Matt 25:31-46
Matt 28:19-20
|
Adapt
the church to fit the diverse "community" where everyone will feel
at home, comfortable, unchallenged, “just have a good experience”.
|
Daily hope:
|
Eternity
with Jesus.
1 Peter 1:3-9
|
Success
in this life, progressing towards a world of peace.
|
______________________________________________________________________________
Did you find where your spiritual life lay on this
chart? I can easily see how I exist more
times than I would like on the cultural side of the chart, when it is
convenient. I think that all of us find
themselves there at times. The natural
man is still on the inside, and it can be a real war to remain focused on where
we should be. But that is the nature of our
battle, and being willing to fight it in the right direction, is how we learn. If God had simply taken the natural man away,
there would be no basis by which we could truly learn the differences between
right and wrong -- between God's way and the ways of the world, or saying it more
simply: the way of Satan - which is separation from God. We would not be equipped to fight on the side
of the Lord. We need to go through the trials
of life in order to overcome them.
______________________________________________________________________________
If you practice
Biblical Christianity, you will offend the masses which have embraced cultural
Christianity or any of today's blended, Americanized religions. This past
Christmas season has shown the world the growing hostility toward those who
choose to follow God (even by those call themselves Christian in the name of
cultural tolerance!). The path through
the Christian life is just too narrow and impossible to those whom will not be
lead by the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ direction.
In a world of
religious alternatives, where “blessings” are offered without any accountability,
God’s absolute truth simply does not fit in. Biblical values have become a source of
offense to those whom have chosen the wide, popular way.
Yet, our God reigns
-- and we are on the winning side! I
know, I read the end of the book………..
And isn’t
interesting to note that the table is the result of observations made almost
100 years ago, in a culture many think was closer to God than our own?
Sources:
Oswald Chambers Society, UK
Oswald Chambers: My
Utmost for His Highest, 1923
The American Chesterton Society
G.K. Chesterton: Common Sense for the World’s Uncommon
Nonsense
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