Excellence Through Adversity

By Author: David Tang
Total Articles: 90
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When Mordeccai wrote to Esther that God might have placed her in a unique position perhaps "For a time like this", he declared an important Biblical principle: God 's children pass through one spiritual crisis or other in each generation (or even in each day of their lives). This might lead many of them to disappointment or even bitterness, but God desires that His children rise to the occasion, and play important roles -- exactly in times like these !

As we write these lines we are very much conscious that India as a whole, and the church of God here in particular, are passing through unparalleled crisis: social, political, and spiritual. India has repeatedly defeated its enemies in war, but they continue to be aggressive inside and outside against us. Innocent Indians are being killed every day because our enemy realizes that India is not sufficiently prepared to retaliate though India has arms an ammunition to annihilate the enemy. They keep bothering India because they know that at present we Indians just do not have the will to frighten our enemy, though we are far stronger than them, and every ...
... day we are paying dearly for our unpreparedness caused by our unwillingness to put a full stop to aggression.

On the political front also we witness the same crisis. The largest "secular party" is in total disarray. It is not able to hold itself together, and thus it is doubtful whether it can now ever hold the country. The largest opposition party has been able to take into its hands the reins of the country, and things have become difficult for Christians. Thus we just do not know who shall rule us in future generations, and how stable and peaceful our country would be in the coming
days. However we all know definitely that things are going to be difficult for Christians in the coming days, unless the Lord intervenes.

At the spiritual front we notice an increase in persecution, escalation of compromise, and the absence of strong leaders. True, there are many well-known leaders today, but one has to realize that most of them attained this so-called greatness not exactly through spiritual leadership, but rather through their earthly achievements such as education, administration, oration, propaganda, or even manipulation. Many of them are perceived as great because of their
earthly achievements and not because a great character.

Political, social, or spiritual instability have a direct impact upon the spiritual life of God's children. This results in increased stress in the church life, attempts to solve spiritual problems through earthly means, and attempts to rise to positions of prominence in the Church through earthly or even carnal strategies. We witness all of this today among the children of God in our country. All of this will have serious impact upon the atmosphere in which Christians live, and will also affect the way they are led by spiritual leaders. As people living in this generation, therefore, it is our responsibility to prepare well. The book of Nehemiah would be a good starting-plalce to study the art of rebuilding when adversity strikes. There is practically no Christian who can ignore the truths presented in this book, and there is no one who shall remain untouched if he studies this book with devotion.

Lack of Direction

The absence of strong leadership in any country, society, or institution eventually results in an overall lack of direction there. Similarly, the absence of strong spiritual leadership in the church or even in a family results in a lack of direction there. In the spiritual realm this loss of direction can be noticed in many ways. For example, there was a time when family prayer was a compulsory item in all God-fearing households. Prayer was also a time for systematic teaching
of the word of God, giving rise to a generation that was thoroughly familier with the fundamental priciples of Christian life, and willing to test everything in the light of the Scriptures. However, the decreasing number of families that are committed to regular family prayer now is one indicator of the increasing lack of direction.

The increasing strife in churches, the dicreasing of spiritual/biblical content in messages, and the increasing ifluence of false doctrines is also an indicator of the lack of direction, because a group that has a sense of direction does not accept or tolerate a doctrine (or practice ) that is contrary to the original norms of the group. But such have we now become -- a group without any sense of spiritual direction. The same influences can be seen in families where men refuse to
lead, women refuse to submit, and children refuse to heed. These are all manifestations of a malady that is far deeper than the symptoms. And the same is the reason why in increasing number of young people are now saying goodbye to sound principles of living and adopting the fatal outlook of "if it feels good, then JUST DO IT !!".

The Role of Leaders

To many Christians "Leadership" seems more to be a social or political concept than a spiritual idea. However, the Scriptures point out that leadership is basically a spiritual concept, affecting all areas of life. Further, when taken in the biblical sense, EVERY person whether king or pauper, scholar of unlearned, man or woman, is a leader of one or more groups of people. Most people do not realize that they are "Spiritual Leaders"

Right from the time of creation God has emphasized the need of good leaders as well as the need to follow them in every sphere of life. This is why He instructs children to obey parents, wives to obey husbands, people to obey God-ordained leaders, and leaders to be totally subject to God. The results of obedience can be seen during the reign of great leaders while that of disobedience can be seen during the absence of leaders -- when everyone begins to do what suits his desires. The presence and ministry of godly and strong leaders are essential for the proper functioning of the church of God.

A good leader is able to give a sense of direction to people. In addition, he is able to inspire them to follow the counsel of God even when the human flesh resists the spiritual walk. He does it in three ways: through his own life 's example, through motivation, and through implanting proper principles in their heart.

In the spiritual realm a Christian leader influences an entire generation, or even more, through his own life, through scriptural motivation, and through a systematic teaching of Biblical principles. The teaching part may not always involve an academic classroom, but it does involve some sort or other of teaching the Bible. We see examples of the above in Moses, Joshua, Mordeccai, Paul, etc. However, the one leader I wish to highlight in this study is Nahemiah, the greatest Post Exillic leader and spiritual reformer.

So committed was Nahemiah to his God-given call that he was able to mobilize the entire Jewish population ranging from the commoner to noblemen to complete the task at hand. So strong was the motivation created by him that all of them worked day and night till the end in spite of continuous threats.

However, when we speak of leaders in the past (whether from biblical records or church history), there is a natural tendency on the part of present-day believers to exclaim, ''Oh, but these men were superhuman beings''. This is a wrong response. Attributing superhuman strengths to others for the purpose of justifying one's personal failures is an excuse not proper for a child of God. Rather, each one of us should recognize that almost all the great leaders were common people. They reached unusual spiritual heights not because of their above-average abilities, but rather because of their above-average commitment. And that is exactly what God is looking for today. Thus as we study the book of Nahemiah, each one of us would do well to ask to himself, ''in what special ways does the Lord want to use me in my generation''. The question becomes all the more relevant today because the situation of the present-day church exactly parallels the situation of the Holy City at the time of Nehemiah: compromise is rampant, the walls of the church are broken in most places, and many enemies of the gospel have occupied rooms, and staked a permanent claim, inside the church of God . Let the Nahemiahs and Esthers of our generation rise up and build the wall.


Why This Compromise
No spiritually minded community or individual Believer loves compromise. They would oppose every attempt at diluting the fundamental truths. Consequently, no community falls suddenly into compromise. Spiritual compromise and eventual downfall is always a gradual phenomena.

Just as those people who revolt at the idea of consuming poison do not react at all at the consumption of slow-poisons, the spiritual community that vehemently opposes compromise often becomes silent when the same thing is done gradually. And this is the way in which Satan eventually takes over entire Christian populations or reform movements. The book of Nehemiah is a good reminder of these.
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