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"Having Been With Jesus" - W.E. Smith
No formal seminary education. No letters after their names. No denominational degrees or honors. No standing among the religious leaders of the day. No training, workshops, seminars, correspondence courses. No high-minded vocabulary. No vaunted place among the initiated. No published works. No, none of these, but rather they had been with Jesus. For over three years they had walked with Him, and broken bread with Him, and sailed with Him, and listened to Him, and beheld all of the many miracles He performed.
Oh dear friends, how frightfully difficult it is for “religious” men to comprehend those who have truly been with the Lord Jesus. It was that way then and it remains this way today. I dare say I would rather hear three words from a man who has been with Jesus than 3 million words from the trained and educated man who only has second-hand, hearsay knowledge. Spend time with Him my friends. Walk with Him and talk to Him, and more importantly, listen to all He tells you. Sit at His feet and subject yourself to His wisdom and discipline. Do whatever He tells you to do and go wherever He tells you to go. Obey His every word and wait on His provision and blessing. Trust that He will never leave you nor abandon you. Ask for greater faith and ears to hear and eyes to see what He is doing. Watch Him at work as the Master He is, and be willing lay down everything you know about everything, for He alone is Truth and Light! Oh if only I had learned this lesson 15 years ago; if only I knew then what I do now! To be sure, we live in a world that highly esteems it’s professionals and elites, and the church of Christ is sadly, no exception. The clergy today is made up of trained, educated professionals, who largely honor themselves and have exalted themselves above the people. All that their official distinctions have served to do over the course of 2,000 years is to separate them from their brethren. Rare indeed is the servant whose service simply flows out of his life and fellowship in Christ; his merely being with Jesus. Peter and John moved the people because they had been with the Lord Jesus and all they were doing was in His name, and in His power; it flowed out of His life within them. They were lowly fishermen, untrained and unqualified in the eyes of the religious elites of their day. Yet they moved the people as the Lord moved the people. No one before or since has spoken as He did, and His disciples had seen and heard and tasted the Lord and this was all that truly mattered in the end. My sense in the spirit is that there are many Peters and Johns out there today, those who have been with the Lord and who know His heart, His plans and purposes, and what He truly feels about all those who have made His precious Church a means of gain and worldly advancement. They know that the time of judgment on the churches is at hand, and that all those who are pretenders and imposters will be exposed and removed. Perhaps this why so many are leaving the organized church and the denominations, because they are just hungry to simply hear from those who have been with the Lord, those who rise early with Him and so remain throughout each day. Consider, dear saints, these words of T. Austin-Sparks
Brethren, a mature saint should be able to discern almost immediately whether the one writing or speaking this or that has actually been with Jesus Christ. This being the case, why is it that so much of what it written and taught in His name is actually counter too all that He represents? So many books sold and web sites visited, and men exalted. Blind patronage to be sure, when so few have actually spent time with the Lord in the Spirit. There is no need to explain this further. Many of you know what I am referring to, having been with Jesus yourselves. For all the rest, just spend time with Him in the Spirit, for He is the Father’s greatest blessing.
Here is great wisdom my friends; Only those that love the Lord Jesus and know Him and have spent much time with Him can be of any real service to His sheep. Oh Lord, help us to know You most perfectly, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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