Vian Baptist Church
I am re-reading a book by Watchman Nee. Beginning in the sixteenth century, Protestant missionaries went to China to preach the gospel, but in the opening years of the twentieth century, following years of faithful labor and prayer, the Lords move in China began to advance dramatically after the martyrdom of many Christians in the Boxer Rebellion. In the 1920s, many believers, who were raised up by the Lord from among high-school and college students throughout China, became instrumental in the spread of the gospel. From among these students, Nee Shu-tsu (Watchman Nee) was called and equipped by the Lord for His work.
Watchman stepped in to fill a void of needed pastor/teachers in China and was some wonderful insight into the scriptures. His first book was, Love Not the World followed by many others. One of them is Sit, Walk, Stand and is a great devotion on Ephesians.
Sit is found in Ephesians 2:5-6 “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” This gives us our position in Christ Jesus. We need not fear, we need not doubt, for we are secure in our position in Christ Jesus.
Walk is found in Ephesians 4:1 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,” Walking worthy of our vocation surpasses what we do for a living, although that is an important part of Christian living. Our true vocation isn’t our secular job, but it is a spiritual vocation. What is our spiritual vocation, you might ask? This chapter tries to instruct us on our walk. It talks of walking in unity(Ephesians 4:1-16) and it talks of walking in purity (Ephesians 4:17-32). Again you ask, what has this to do with our vocation in this life? Ok, we need to look at the last of the verse… our calling. When we call the plumber, we need plumbing done. When we call an electrician, we need electrical work done. The word calling means to call to the performance of a certain thing.
Ok, God is calling us to do a certain thing. We are to spread of gospel of Jesus Christ where in we ourselves are saved. Walking the walk and talking the talk is an old saying from yesteryear, but it describes what our vocation is. Cambridge dictionary puts it like this, “If you say that someone talks the talk but does not walk the walk, you mean that they do not act in a way that agrees with the things they say:” When Watchman Nee said we need to Walk Worthy of your vocation, it means that we must live and talk like a Christian all day every day. Paul expands this principle in IThessalonians 4:2-3 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” He was addressing the impurity of the day ie: fornication, yet it applies to all of our life… “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.” Santification is a word that means being set apart. Our walk should not mimic the world, but should set us apart from the world.
Stand is about our attitude toward the enemy. Ephesians 6:10-11 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Standing is without movement. Standing is the opposite of following. This verse clearly tells us not to be swayed by the wiles of the devil. Acts 13:10 “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?”
In this verse Paul was speaking to a man named Elymas the sorcerer. As Paul desired to speak to the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, Elymas tried to keep them from that meeting. Paul addressed him directly and bluntly. “Thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness!”
The word wiles as it is applied to the devil is simple to understand. The Cambridge dictionary puts it simply: “ways of persuading someone that trick them into doing something:” We know beyond doubt that the devil will lie, cheat and steal to keep people from spreading devine truth about salvation. Jesus was just as blunt as Paul was: John 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
We know of his rage against Christians and their message, but we forget just how subtile he is. His wickedness is manefested by small simple things like telling us there is not need to tell anyone about Jesus or telling us that religion is a private matter between someone and God and we shouldn’t interfere. He also has this generation convinced that they are to wait until the child is old enough to make up his own mind whether he goes to church or now. Stand against the lies of the devil!
Sit in perfect peace, walk worthy of your calling and stand against the wiles of the devil. Watchman Nee saw these things as problematic in a Christian’s life. Life hasn’t changed a bit between the 1957 when it was published and now. The wiles of the devil are still working and people are still falling for the lies, yet we who know the truth are silent. Which is worse, sinning openly or putting truth in the closet and never speaking of it? I’ll leave that for you to decide.
