"Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard." Jeremiah 50:2


Monday, January 16, 2006

A Crying Voice

Do you ever feel alone in this evil world? Do you ever feel like you are swimming upstream against the tide of complacency? Do you ever feel like you are peddling a bike up a steep hill and you keep looking back and you are not making much progress? I often wonder if that is the way John the Baptist felt in the days just before Jesus' public ministry began. To my knowledge, the Bible never says why John was living in the desert, dressed in camel's hair, and eating locusts. Could it be that he felt this way and had to get away from the religious leaders and the apostasy of his day? I think it is a very good possibility. John the Baptist was called to prepare the way of Jesus through the calling of repentance. Even the religious establishment at the time was included in that call to repentance.


I, too, feel very alone in this world and that I am fighting a losing battle. God has called me to be an evangelist; to preach salvation to sinners and to edify and exhort true believers in Jesus Christ to a life of holiness and separation from the world. I believe with all my heart, mind, and soul that God has gifted me with the spiritual gift of prophecy. That does not mean that I have the ability to foretell the future. Rather, it means that I am a "forthteller" or one who speaks forth the mind of God and the truth contained in His written word. Sometimes it may seem that I am lacking in compassion or that I am being judgmental. However, that is not my intention. My intention is to compel people to live a life that God is very well pleased with. Believe me, any act of righteousness that I commit is only by power of Christ living in me. As Isaiah says, "all my righteousnessess are as filthy rags." There is nothing "good" about David Oates apart from Jesus Christ. I am low down, dirty, rotten sinner the same as anyone else, but I have been made righteous through the saving grace of my saviour Jesus Christ. That is what compels me to "preach" the Word of God.


God sent His beloved Son into this world in order to redeem it from the curse of sin. John 3 says that God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but to give life everlasting. We are already condemned, but God sent a way of escape from the punishment of sin. For this to be accomplished, blood had to be shed. It was the blood of God Himself that was shed at Calvary for my sins and for yours. It was not the blood of some worthless animal. It was the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. When you are able to grasp that concept, you should be willing to live a life, by the power of God, that is without spot or blemish. You should want to remove yourself from the practices, customs, traditions, ways, etc. of this world. It should be reflected in the way we dress, the music we listen to, the places we go, the things we read, and every single aspect of our lives. There is a call for personal holiness through personal sacrifice. You cannot be a follower of Jesus without denial of self and personal sacrifice. Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." To follow Christ will cost you something. It could cost you your physical life, and it should cost you your lifestyle. If your lifestyle is accpeted by the world, then there is something wrong with your commitment to Christ.


When you commit yourself to holy living, do not be surprised when others in religous circles classify you as a Pharisee or a legalist. There are other things you will be called, but these are their favorite two. I am not saying you have to live a life according to God's standards to be saved from your sins or to find acceptance from Him. That is what the Pharisees and legalists were saying in the early Church era. I am saying that righteous living is a direct result of a committed relationship with Jesus Christ. It should be our greatest desire to be as totally opposite from the world as possible. Does that mean we are to do as the Amish and form our own little community. By no means is that what I am implying. If you have a bowl of red and blue jelly beans and are told to separate the blue from the red, can you leave them in the same bowl and still separate them? Of course you can. However, you cannot keep them mixed together and still call them separated. In the same way, you cannot hold on to the ways of the world and be separated from it as well.


That brings me to why I titled this entry as "A Crying Voice". Over the last few weeks, I have been trying to think of name to call my ministry. I did not want to call it the David Oates Evangelistic Ministry. I don't want my ministry or its name to reflect on me personally. I wanted the name to show what my ministry is about. God has laid on my heart the name "A Crying Voice Ministries", because, just like John the Baptist in his day, I am a voice crying in the wilderness of sin in the 21st century. In no way do I classify myself in the same category as John the Baptist, but, in a sense, I, along with others, am preparing the way of Jesus' second coming. How? By the preaching of salvation to sinners and the edification and exhortation to holy living and separation from the world by true believers of Jesus Christ. Most of the time it is lonely and feels like a losing battle, but I will continue to cry.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just wanted anyone who reads these entries (and everyone else too) that I am very proud of my husband. While reading the things he's put on this site that come from his heart, my heart swells with pride. So now you all know.

Josh Eaton said...

David,
"A Crying Voice" is great choice. I heard a sermon once on that text that ask the question, "What is a voice concerned about?" He said a voice is not concerned with how it looks, but only with the message," which is what you mentioned by way of deny ourselves.
Thanks for tthe good read.
I feel the same way much of the time.
Josh

Doug E. said...

David,

Sounds like a great name to me.

It is unfortunate how lonely we can become in ministry. I have a friend you just stepped down out of a ministry position and is currently in the L.A. Police acadamy. The first thing he noticed was he went from being a lone voice, and working alone. To being part of a team effort.

We could learn something from that. To make sure we always try to work with others who share the vision God has given us.

The other thing we should never forget is that God cannot fail to bring His Church into being, because "those He foreknew He predestined, those he predestined he called, those he called he justified and those he justified He glorified." Rom 8

When we are on God's side we are on the the side that cannot fail. There is never one of our efforts that are in vain. God will call and save His people.

As the church marches out the gates of hell cannot prevail against us. Even our failures (as we see them) are victories. I'm thinking of John Hus who was burned at the stake. Had he not accomplished what he did Martin Luther would not have been able to make the difference he did. Though it had looked like Hus had failed, God used it to bring in His victory.

So Cry On, for the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It cannot fail. It will call all those God has foreknown to salvation. Go and find them. I will be praying for your ministry.

Doug

Tim A said...

David,
It is so good to see your heart in the place it should be. That is, upon the Lord and His Word and work.
Your friend, Bro in Christ and Uncle in law. Tim A. Blankenship

Tim A said...

David,
It does my heart good to see you have given your life and heart to the word and work of the Lord Jesus.
Keep looking to Him, trusting Him no matter what may come.
Your friend, Bro in Christ, and Uncle in law.
Tim A. Blankenship