16 June 2014 by Jason Law CM –
When we became Christians, it was not just a Salvation experience. It was also a calling from God and He gave all of us a New Identity. As Christians, our lives ought to be extraordinary, not so much in what we do, but in our relationship with an awesome and mighty God, in all of its meaning. The unfortunate thing is that many Christians today are struggling with their lives, not because of a ‘lack of trying’, but rather, because they may not have understood an important principle of God.
Our God communicates, and there is a purpose in everything He does. When He first created everything including the Universe, He had already thought of us and planned ahead for our lives; in the movements of the planets, the sun, and the moon, and the fact that He divided each of our 24 hours into Day and Night. This principle was something Adam understood well, and when he was living in the Garden of Eden, it was something he followed daily, and he grew and prospered. In today’s busy world, many of us have forgotten that there is a time for rest as well as a time for work. On the night of the 6th of June 2014, Pr Jeffrey Rachmat shared in LEAD 2014 about the day and night seasons of a Christian’s life and what it means for us.
The Principle of Day and Night
Pr Jeffrey Rachmat shared that the understanding of the Principle of Day and Night will help us in how we handle the ups and downs in life. The Bible says in Genesis 8:22 that as long as the Earth remains, there will be Day and Night. God has ordained the world to work that way for a reason and there is nothing that we can do about it; it is part of the cycle of life and it shapes us whether we like it or not.
There are certain things in life that we cannot change and because we cannot change these things we need to learn to understand and accept them. Our refusal to accept and adapt to the reality and the insistence on our own ways will create problems, and it becomes worse when we try to fight. Oftentimes, the way we see a problem is the problem. Instead of expecting reality to change, we should be the ones to change and anticipate the Days and Nights of our lives.
The Natural Provides Insight Into The Spiritual
In the natural, the day is a time for us to carry out our activities; to go to school or work, to do our daily chores, to go shopping, etc.. It is a time when the sun is up and everything can be seen clearly. The Night, on the other hand, is a time for us to rest, to go to sleep, to recharge ourselves so that we are able to get up energized, and with the strength and readiness for the next day, when the sun rises.
Jesus said something very important in John 11:9-10:
9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
What we understand in the natural should give us some insight into what we experience in the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:46). Just as we experience the Day and Night in the natural, we also experience Days and Nights in our spiritual life.
Spiritual Day and Night
In the daytime, we can see everything clearly; we can even see things from a great distance. It is a time when the leading of the Holy Spirit is so clear to us, and we know the answers to every decision to be made. We can see the signs very clearly and everything seems to be working to our advantage. We have the motivation and energy to work and keep the momentum going. It is a time when we experience the blessings of God and where His presence is so real to us. But the fact is if we have been in our Christian journey long enough, we will know that this will not always be the case.
The Night time is when darkness creeps in and we cannot see the light. Our vision is short, we are tired with our burdens, and the future seems shadowy and uncertain. The leading of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God seem unclear, and we cry out to God and wonder why we feel nothing. Furthermore, this Night time becomes worse if we try to fight or change it. Pr Rachmat shared that the Night-time is a reality in the spiritual life, and many Christians understandably panic when they enter it. It is the reason why it is so important for us to understand these things and what it really means to know that God is a Good God.
Overcoming the Night-time of Our Spiritual Lives
This understanding that God is a Good God is so important, because it gives us the assurance that God intends good things for those who love Him (Romans 8:28), and since He has created the Day and Night, there must be a purpose to them. There is a way to turn the Night-time into a pleasurable one, and the key to it is by surrendering ourselves to the way God meant for us to live.
In the Book of Genesis and the live of the First Man, we can learn certain things. Adam gave names to all the things that God had created, and he enjoyed God’s creation. In time, however, he grew lonely because there was not a helper that was comparable to him. From the time God had first placed Adam in Eden up to this point, all that he knew was work and God did not interfere. Adam was created in the image of God and given dominion over the other created things, and whatever he named them, God said so be it.
As long as Adam was in the daytime and walking within the will of God, He did not interfere, and the interesting thing is that God’s first interference in Adam’s life was to cause him to go into a deep sleep, and out of that deep sleep, God gave Adam what he was yearning for. The important thing to catch is that when Adam was sleeping, God was working.
When Adam was awake, God trusted in Adam’s potential and had pleasure with Adam’s creativity and enjoyment of life. He upheld Adam in his work and did not interfere. When Adam was sleeping, God worked and created Eve as an equal companion for Adam. So often, when we are supposed to carry out the work we’re supposed to do, we turn to God and ask for confirmation for everything. We’re so afraid to step out. And when it is time for us to rest, we want to work. In fact, we often fight to work.
Pr Rachmat pointed out that he can see certain things from this passage of the Bible. From the beginning of the Creation, God wants to work together with mankind. He wants to partnership with you and I. It is like God has given us a deal through Adam and the deal is this: I give you life for you to be able to do what you must do and able to do. I bring you to greater heights so that you can see further and be able to do more of what you should do. You do the possible, but when it gets dark, I want you to rest, and I will do my part. While you rest, I will do what you cannot do; I will do the impossible for you. That’s the partnership God wants with us.
God Works In Our Night-Time
God tells us this in numerous passages from the Bible. In one passage (Mark 4:26-29), Jesus tells the Parable of the Seed Growing:
Mark 4:26-29
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
This whole parable is about partnership. Man’s part is to scatter the seeds on the ground, and the rest is for God to work on. The man sleeps during the night and rises during the day, and the seeds sprouts and grows but he does not know how. When the grain is ripe, it is time again for the man to work and gather the harvest in.
As Christians, this is the principle to follow. We ought to scatter seed when it is Day, doing our utmost to build the Kingdom of God and keeping the momentum. When we’re in our Day-time, we need to uphold and support our brethren who are in their Night-time. And when we’re ourselves in our Night-time, it is time to rest in God, and He will work upon the seeds that we have planted, before it is time to wake up energized once again and gather the harvest that God has produced for us.
About Speaker: Pastor Jeffrey Rachmat is the founding and senior pastor of Jakarta Praise Community Church (JPCC). He has a passion to help people fulfill God’s vision for their lives by communicating insights from the Word of God in a practical and relevant way, and inspire people to live extraordinary lives especially in the areas of leadership, relationship, marriage, and business. Jeffrey is happily married to Angela, and has three children.
For more information, please visit http://dumc.my/
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Note: This article is written from the perspective and interpretation of the writer, to condense and accentuate the ideas of the pastor in a more understandable and readable way.
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References for pictures
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/159/6/2/night_and_day_1920x1200_by_seph_the_zeth-d3idke2.png
http://cdn.picsauce.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/night-and-day-thats-just-awesome.jpg
http://heartcoreyouth.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/reaching-hand1.jpg
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/files/2014/02/garden-of-eden.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd5/lilmissmontana/bible%20story%20pics/JesusCreator-05.jpg
http://images.christianpost.com/full/41343/image.jpg
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