Audio： Avoiding Cynicism - Part 2

Avoiding Cynicism, next on The Road to Reality. Hello again and welcome to The Road to Reality, a presentation of Gospel for Asia. No doubt many of you listening here today to The Road to Reality have been a Christian for quite some time, and perhaps you're quite familiar now with God's Word and His many blessings. Well, today, Brother K.P. Yohannan will heighten our awareness of a danger that oftentimes goes with familiarity. And that is taking things for granted and becoming cynical. Won't you join us? Philippians 2, as Brother K.P. helps us steer clear of cynicism. Now, how many times we read in the Bible very strong instruction that has this statement or a meaning that blessed are those who do what the Bible says, right? Why in Hebrews chapter 4 we read, why the entire people of God, they were set free from the land of Egypt. They were all destroyed, except Joshua and Caleb and of course Moses. The only people who entered in the promised land were people who were the new generation, am I right? The old generation all died out, which is a very sad thing. I mean, think about one of your family member dying. You know, we hear about accident or death, you know, okay, it's another thing newspaper. But think about you hearing today one of your family, your wife or your father or mother, or your son or somebody, you know, just got killed. I don't think you can even, even when I say this thing, I don't think you'll even take it serious because you can't even relate to that kind of thing. Think about father watching his wife die and children watching their parents die and parents watching their children die and they all die out. What a sad thing it was, you know. But those who survived of the judgment and 40 years, the children that were born, we don't want to assume and you don't want to think that they all were set apart angels and they had perfect health and everything. Forty years of, you know, constant judgment. And there are many words used in the Bible, like in Psalm 78, describing why it happened. But in the New Testament, which is culmination of the total picture, explanation of what all happened in the Old Testament, it says they heard the word but it was not mixed with faith. That is the explanation we have. When it says the Old Testament, Abraham left everything, Hebrews only tells us why he did it. He saw something that nobody could see. About Moses and so on like that. What does it mean when it says the reason for such calamity and judgment and destruction was not that they did not hear the word, they did. They did. But it was not mixed with faith. Now the simple illustration to help us understand that is look at Lord's wife. She knew theology 100%. Because angels came from heaven and God himself was a tutor. If you read the story about Lord and his family, you will see that. It was not she was reading some books and getting some help or some friends telling her or husband telling her. It was God himself. She had full extent, total information about what was going to happen. But what happened to her? Did she make it? Did she save herself? She was turned into a pillar of salt. She lost her life. Was it because she did not know? No, she knew. She knew it completely. But there was not enough faith to make what she heard real. Now what do you mean not enough faith? What does that mean? Can you think with me? What does that mean? If you are teaching somebody this passage, how would you teach it? They heard the word but it was not mixed with faith. Therefore they were destroyed. That's what it says. So illustration is Lord's wife. What does that mean? It simply means this. These people didn't have the faith or belief that God will always do what he said. That they didn't have to fight for it. That's what Psalm 27, Psalm said, If I have not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living, I would have fainted. In some translation you will see, I would have fainted. I would have given up hope. I would have given up faith altogether. Those are different translations. How? If I had not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. So see is tangible, right? If I am saying I can see my Bible, that means it's tangible. That is something I can see. It is not illusion. It is not abstract. It is real. So it is not invisible. It is touchable. It is something in my pocket. It is I got it. So he says, I came to the conclusion that I will inherit. I will have this in my life right here on earth. I can touch it. I can experience it. I can have it. It is mine. If I did not come to the place of believing like that. If I did not come to the place of absolute conviction and act on it, I would have lost everything. Do I make sense to you? So there is a big danger that we face, including myself. Because you are in Christian work. Either you are a leader or a Bible school teacher or been with our ministry for so long time and you are called upon to teach often, share often, explain Bible often, or at least you will say to yourself, I don't need anybody to teach me. I know enough. And my father was this and my grandfather was this. I read Bible all my life. So there is a thousand ways we all have our own credits and information stored up. Am I right? So the same way we all have our information stored up. But here is a danger. Familiarity breeds contempt. And I would add one more thing. Familiarity breeds contempt and carelessness and cynicism. Why I use the word cynicism or being cynical? The illustration of that is, you can get it now if you think about Solomon. David, as a young lad who was not recognized by his father, he worked hard like a slave, like a nobody, tending the sheep of his father. And here comes God and picks him and makes him the king. But did he become the king when he was anointed? The next thing after he got anointed is to be misunderstood, chased after. By who? By the king of the country. I mean if an Indian president comes after any one of you, he can go to the court and say this man is a mad case. You know, I appeal to the court to give me justice. But then, the king is the court, the law, everything. There is no reason for someone to be killed. If he just comes to the king's house and makes a bad face, you are finished. So who is after David? Anointing from God. He is a king. But what he gets? So when you say David was a king, don't just say it flippantly. He paid the heaviest price anyone can pay. But what happened to his son Solomon? Solomon, when he was born, the first thing he gets is a gold spoon and gold plate. Ten thousand servants. All the attention. So what happened? He became cynical. That which was given to him so freely, without him having to fight or bleed or hurt or suffer, it was all given to him freely. Whatever you want. He became cynical. He lost value for things that are so precious his father gave his life for. And what happened? He destroyed the kingdom. So I am not talking about money and position title now. You should think carefully with me. I am saying something much more intelligent I think. I hope because you are people who are intelligent. So you have to think with me. Don't use your emotions just. When I say familiarity breeds contempt, that is not in the Bible necessarily, but the Bible is full of that. The reason for the entire children of Israel...