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For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful to even speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:8-16

Friday, January 14, 2011

Who Am I?


I figured for my first blog post I would introduce my self and share with you the purpose of my writing this blog. 
So, who am I?

My name is Darryl Fitzwater, and I am first of all, a lover of God. I try to spend a good deal of time with Him and learning about Him. This was not always so, though I believed I was, and proudly claimed to be a “Christian”. For 13 years I was a Christian in name only, because I continued in the same habitual sin that I lived with prior to my so called conversion. I blame myself for this, but there is no mistaking the fact that the nature of the modern church gave me a comfortable environment in which to live an unregenerate life. 

Yet I want to be careful here when I refer to the modern church, because there are many churches that don’t fit this description. And more importantly, there are many within the church who are searching for a way back to the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ and all that it implies. But by and large, the modern church in America has lost its first love. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus, “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.” Sounds pretty good so far doesn’t it. It might even describe our modern American church. But then Jesus continues, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Revelation 2:2-4).

That is why it is possible in our day to have a Christless Christian. That was me, and I was quite content thinking I was saved and that grace would cover my continued sin. While God had been convicting my heart of my sin for so many years, the church taught me that my behavior was normal. Well it was normal if normal is defined as common. But the “Normal Christian Life” According to Watchman Nee is:

“What is the normal Christian life? We do well at the outset to ponder this question. The object of these studies is to show that it is something very different from the life of the average Christian” – Watchan Nee, The Normal Christian Life.

Normal in this sense means well, as in not sick. Paul tells us of the normal Christian life that it is “No longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). This normal Christian life needs the Great Physician living in us and through us. I was, like so many “Christians” I knew, sick. And as this sickness continued, it finally culminated in my being found out in a most embarrassing and painful way. I was exposed for the wretch that I was and it destroyed life as I knew it, which was right where God needed me to be for Him to begin His healing work. It was “invasive surgery” you might say.

This blog is a result of His work within me. Shortly after my exposure I began to write, as God would reveal areas in my life that needed work for true change to take place. He began by giving me a Scripture as the foundation of my new ministry: “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as a child of light…finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them…All things that are exposed are made obvious by the light, for whatever makes obvious is light” (Paraphrased from Eph. 5:8-13). The first fruit of God’s healing was my book, “Exposing The Darkness, Lighting the Way To Life In Christ”, in which I put to pen the insights that God had shown me about myself that laid fertile soil for the seeds of corruption. This blog is the next phase of my ministry, in which I will make myself available to any of you who can identify with my former condition and who might need encouragement, and solid Biblical, Gospel honoring advise.

My entire purpose is to light the way to Christ by exposing the darkness that has descended like a fog over Christ’s beloved church in America. This is multi faceted and will be exposed in many forms, but that is the slippery nature of deceit. It is really all the same lie, from the same author of lies, but deceit is a chameleon that changes form when it is in danger of discovery. So in the months and years to come, I hope to meet many of you as we walk together the narrow road which leads to life.  

1 comment:

phil said...

I am concerned with the lukewarmness that is seen in much of christianity, and desire to see the church brought back to Biblical christianity once again. I praise God for those who are sold out and on fire for God, and pray that they will be a voice for the truth!