Pebbles or Diamonds-Which For You? - The Christian Online Magazine

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Does Jesus have your whole heart today or does He share residence with the world and its glitter and glamour? Are you clasping for the pebbles that this world offers when you can have the diamonds of God's treasure house? Is your balloon laden down with the sandbags of this world's lusts, goods, and cares?

In the Encyclopedia Of Sermon Illustrations, Alexander Maclaren is quoted as saying - "If my hands are laden with pebbles, I cannot clasp the diamonds that are offered to me. Unless you fling out the sandbags, the balloon will cleave to the earth, and unless we turn the world out of our hearts, it is no use to say, 'Come Lord Jesus.' There is no room for Him anyway."

So many today are trying to serve the Lord Jesus and yet still hold onto the world and its idols. It won't work! God is calling for His people to separate themselves totally and absolutely unto Him.

In the Faith, Hope, and Love Commentary by Spiros Zodhiates, we read of one of Aesop's fables - "Aesop, probably the most renowned writer of myths, speaks in one of his fables about a time when the beasts and the fowls were engaged in war. The bat tried to belong to both parties. When the birds were victorious, he would wing around telling everyone that he was a bird; when the beasts won a fight, he would walk around assuring everyone that he was a beast. But soon his hypocrisy was discovered, and he was rejected by the beasts and the birds. He had to hide himself, and now he can appear openly only by night."

In the same sense, we cannot hold onto the hand of the world and the hand of Jesus at the same time. The Scriptures tell us that this will never work -

Matthew 6:24 says - "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Serving two masters - The Scriptures clearly tell us that no man can do it. Yet, so many are trying to do so in this day and age. So many in the Church are trying to prove that they can accomplish this impossible feat. The Lord Jesus told us that it could not be done. Our hearts can only be fixed on one object at a time. The master of our hearts will be the love that reigns in it. We serve that which we love supremely.

The question to ask ourselves today is - Whose love reigns in our hearts? Is it the love for the Lord Jesus or is it the love for this world?

What has our hearts this day? Do - worldly gain and riches, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, pride, our own appetites, ease, sleep, sports, pastimes, the praise and applause of men, self, or honors - have our hearts, or are they wholly taken up with God and His kingdom?

God deserves first place in our lives. Nothing should ever take His place. Putting Him first produces a peace of heart and abundant living. On the other hand, so many are filled with anxiety, stress, worry, and inordinate fears because they are trying to play a tug-of-war game between allegiance to God and allegiance to this world and its pleasures.

In 1 Corinthians 10:21, the Apostle Paul strictly said - "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partaker of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." Notice that he repeated "Ye cannot..." twice.

Oh! If only we would take heed to the words that we read in the Bible. We would be spared much sorrow and pain resulting from doing things our own way rather than God's way.

It is not fit, proper, nor decent to try and serve the Lord Jesus and still have any affiliation with the devil and his lusts. We will find ourselves trying to change the word of God to accommodate our sinful lifestyle like they did in the days of the Prophet Isaiah - "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

Isaiah 5:20 - We will find ourselves calling "evil good, and good evil." We will "put darkness for light, and light for darkness." We will place "bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Our sense of discernment and judgment will be way off. Sin, which is "bitter," will become "sweet." Virtue and holiness, which once were considered pleasant and right, will become legalism and extremism.

1 Kings 18:21 - The words of the Prophet Elijah ring out this day to the Body of Christ of this century - "...How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow Him..."

The Holy Spirit is calling out to the Bride of Christ this day - "How long?"

The prophets of old are crying out to the Church - "How long?"

The cloud of witnesses are wondering - "How long?"

All of God's true servants are travailing in spirit under the heavy burden of the Lord and agonizing as they cry out from the very depths of their beings - "How long...How long shall the Church halt between two opinions?"

There is a metaphor found here in the words of the Prophet Elijah. The picture presented is that of birds who are hopping from one bough to the next, not knowing on which one to settle down.

In the Church, there is a halting between Righteousness and Sin, between Holiness and Worldliness, and between Dying to Self and the Indulgence of Selfish Pleasures.

Hebrews 11:25-26 - There is a halting between the Reproach of Christ and the Treasures of Egypt. There is a halting between Suffering Affliction with the people of God and Enjoying the Pleasures of Sin for a season.

What instability there is found among us! What unsteadiness there is in our walk with God!

James 1:8 - The Apostle James told us that a "double minded man is unstable in all his ways." Like the birds hopping from one bough to the next, we cannot settle down; we cannot make up our minds who we really want to serve - Jesus or the world? Generally speaking, we, as the Church, are trying to worship the creature as well as the Creator. We are continually distracted. We have one soul for earth and one for heaven. We want to make it in heaven, but we would also like to hold on to as much of this world that we can in the meantime. We find ourselves wavering and inconstant. We are not settled in our purposes to serve the true and living God. We are oftentimes controlled by passions and influenced by popular opinions and feelings. Like dumb sheep, we follow the crowd rather than singularly follow the Lord in our convictions and beliefs.

Genesis 49:4 - Like Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, we are "unstable as water" and we surely have not been able to "excel" or have a major impact on our world as they did in the Book of Acts.

Amos 3:3 - The Prophet Amos cries out to our generation - "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"

God dwells in the midst of holiness and separation from the world and its ungodly ways. He is Holy and calls for His people to walk in holiness before Him.

Some Scriptures which confirm this fact are as follows -

Leviticus 11:44 - "For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy..."

Leviticus 11:45 - "For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy."

Leviticus 19:2 - "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy."

Leviticus 20:7 - "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God."

Leviticus 20:26 - "And ye shall be holy unto Me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be Mine."

2 Corinthians 6:17-18 - "Wherefore COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, AND BE YE SEPARATE, saith the Lord, AND TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN THING; AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU, AND WILL BE A FATHER UNTO YOU, AND YE SHALL BE MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, saith the Lord Almighty."

1 Peter 1:14-16 - "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, BE YE HOLY; FOR I AM HOLY."

We close with an illustration from the Zodhiates' Commentary on the Book of James - "A woman, enlarging upon her husband's peculiar changefulness, said, 'At a theologically Liberal meeting he's a Liberal, and at a Conservative meeting he's a Conservative.' Someone asked, 'But what is he at home?' She replied with emphasis, ' He's a perfect demon!'

What are we?

Are we consistent and always the same in our walk with the Lord, or do we change depending on where we are and who we are with?

It's time to turn the world out of our hearts and to totally sell out to Jesus.

It's time to rid our spiritual air balloons of all sandbags - heavy weights and the Sin which does so easily beset us.

It's time to give it all to Jesus.

It's time like never before to be established in our convictions and beliefs.

After all - Why should we settle for pebbles when we can have diamonds?