Remodeling The House Of God

Day 142:  Numbers 25, Psalm 142 & 2 Kings 16

I enjoy remodeling.  I like putting a new twist on an existing room and updating the look and at times the layout.  In our last home I removed walls, took out a non-functioning brick fireplace, exposed the hardwood floors and added new cabinets, pantry and new countertops to the kitchen as well as taking the floor back to it's original hard wood.  That kind of work in my house is enjoyable and brings an increase in the look at value of a home.

In 2 Kings 16 I read about king Ahaz who began to remodel the Lord's Temple and I thought about the remodels the church has gone through over the years.

When I was a kid in church we sat in hard backed pews.  We sang 4,5 or 6 verses of the hymns that had been chosen.  I remember older people getting upset if the song leader only had us sing the first, third and fourth verses.  Back then you wore your best to church on Sunday.  You didn't talk about your failings or sins as a preacher.  For my parents, they were expected to be the model of a perfect couple and family.  The dutiful wife, the well-behaved kids.  My dad always preached from behind the large wooden pulpit.  Though he would walk out from behind on occasion he was expected to use it.

Today we sit in padded chairs.  We sing praise songs that deal with how we feel about God or expresses one of His character traits but doesn't deal with theology much.  Preachers are expected to be transparent about their lives, we let people bring drinks and food in the "auditorium."

My thought today is, what is okay to remodel in our worship and what's off limits?

Ahaz removed the sea (a small pool mounted on the backs of 12 bronze oxen in which the priests would wash before beginning their Temple rotation) and it's base and instead put it on a stone pedestal.  He also removed the alter from the Temple and placed it next to an alter he had constructed to match one that he saw in Damascus.  And he made some other changes to the Temple to suit his fancy... er, pagan idolatry.

In the Old Testament and Temple worship the items in the Temple proper were put in a specific layout to represent spiritual truths.  The alter first, then the sea then the Temple with the table of show-bread, the lamp stand and the alter of incense  and behind the curtain the Ark of the Covenant.  Everything had a purpose and reason for being there.  When Ahaz remodeled the Temple he was changing the way God had ordered worship to take place.

What is okay to remodel in worship today?

The way we sing?  What we sing?  The clothes we wear?  The seats sit in?  Food and dink or no?

Worship is about recognizing God's place in our lives and submitting ourselves to Jesus.  Worship is not what I get out of it, but what I put into it.  I don't go to worship to get filled, I go to worship to remember who fills me.  I don't worship because of where I am or who I'm with I worship because He's everywhere and He's God with us - the hope of glory.  So remodel my songs, my seat, the order of worship or the way in which I worship but don't mess with who I am worshiping.

We're Not The Only Ones

Day 141:  Numbers 24, Psalm 141 & 2 Kings 15

As a preacher I've met a lot of people who knew of God but didn't really know God.  Just like Apollos in the book of Acts whom Priscilla and Aquila taught the way of God more fully too; some still deal with a mix of God and other stuff in their worship of Him.  In Exodus and Deuteronomy we learn that the Lord your God is a jealous God.  That being said, He does honor those who are trying to seek Him, even if they don't fully understand Him or how to go about finding Him.

Balaam in the book of Numbers is a man like this.  Balak, the king of Moab, had heard of Balaam because, "those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed."  Balaam's reputation preceded him, but this was a land and a people who were polytheists - they worshiped more than one God.  That means that Balak didn't know which god Balaam was speaking to, only that he was successful in his blessings and curses.  And that is what Balak was really after anyway.

But where did Balaam come from?  He pops on the scene in Numbers 22 but he is not an Israelite.  He is asked to curse Israel and that was really his first peek at this "people of God."  But He was a God follower.  God did speak to him and send angels to deliver messages to him and perform miracles in his life.  However, Balaam had an incomplete understanding of God.  Let's look at some of the things he did.

• He pressed God to let him go with Balak's men to bring a curse on Israel
• He beat his donkey, who was trying to save his life and then continued on the same journey despite the fact that the angel of God was there to kill him.
• He prepared alters to God with a man, Balak, who did not believe in the One True God.
• Twice he tried to determine God's will through the seeking of omens, nearly divination (which God expressly forbid) in order to determine the will of God - which he already in part knew.

But he did some things right as well.

• He prepared sacrifices for God (7 of them each time) in a very similar way as that prescribed by God to Moses (which was going on about the same time as Balaam was trying to curse them).
• He spoke only what God told him even though it made Balak furious.

Balaam did some things right and some things wrong, but he got this right, he followed God the best he could and said only what God told him.  Here's the thing I find most amazing about this story.  Balaam had no part in Israel and as far as we know never met Moses or spoke with any Israelite.  He disappears after this encounter with Balak and only sees Israel from afar.  Imagine if Balaam, a God follower, would have had the opportunity to speak with Moses and hear about all that God had done through him and for Israel in leaving Egypt and after.  Balaam would have been blown away!  Perhaps he could have gone with Moses into the tent of meeting and met God, speaking to Him as Moses did - face-to-face.  All that Balaam would have learned about God - the 10 commands, the law, the method of worship and how to approach God.  But he never got that chance.  He saw God in the flame and the cloud but did not recognize Him.  

Balaam has become for me a sad story.  A story of what could have been.  He was so close and yet so far away.  

Don't let your way of worship or your personal interaction with God be so rigid that you fail to see God in all His people.  Israel was God's chosen people but they were not His ONLY people.  When we get to thinking that our way is the only way, at the exclusion of every other way, we miss God.  

Now, I'm not talking about those who would worship in a way or live in a way that is contrary to the Scriptures - God is not inconsistent, He won't tell one person something is okay an another it is not - I'm saying that you and I are not the only ones who hear from God nor are we ever His only people.  Though some may not know Him like we do, that does not mean they don't know Him.  Seek God in every situation, every person, every opportunity and you'll be much more likely not to miss Him.

You're not the only one.

Always Pushing

Day 140:  Numbers 23, Psalm 140 & 2 Kings 14

When I was growing up none of us kids were allowed to go to any dances except our senior prom.  I suppose my parents believed (and not entirely without reason) that bad things have a tendency to happen when young people are that close to one another in a dark environment without strong adult supervision.  But I don't want to speak about the spiritual evils of dancing, you can watch the movie.

What I want to talk about is how we all have a tendency to push.

For some reason my parents allowed me to go to prom my junior year.  Perhaps it was my cunning argument that the girl I was "dating" at the time was a senior and this was my only opportunity to go to prom with her.  Perhaps it was my sisters prodding that got them to trust me more than my older brother (for good reason! ha!).  I don't know what it was and I didn't really care because I was going to prom my junior year.

That summer my family moved to another town and I attended every school dance my senior year.

For the last couple days I've been reading the story of Balaam and Balak in the book of Numbers.  Balaam was a prophet of God and Balak was the king of the Moab.  Balak had summoned Balaam to curse the Israelites as they wandered in the desert.  Balak had heard and seen the destruction and power of God that was present with the Israelites and was worried for his own kingdom.  He wanted Balaam to curse Israel because, as he said, "those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed."

Balaam did go with Balak but said that he would only speak what God told him to speak.

Let me break it down.  Balaam went with Balak even though God, at first, said not to.  Why did he go?  Because he went back to God a second time and asked if he could.  Even though Balaam should have said no himself, he went back and inquired of God.  He pushed.  So the second time God said he could go, but only because He knew that it was what Balaam really wanted to do anyway.

While Balaam was on his way with Balak's men an angel with a flaming sword stood in his path to kill him, but even this did not deter Balaam.  After beating his donkey and then having a conversation with him (the donkey... read about it in chapter 22) he saw the angel but still wanted to go.  It even took three attempts by Balak to get Balaam to curse Israel (which God wouldn't do) before he gave up.

Here's the moral.  We're always pushing God.  It's like, if at first God doesn't give you what you want, ask, ask again.  God's desire is not to hem us in to His will but to guide us to Himself.  Like Balaam we may speak only what God wants but we continue to push Him until He "gives in" as if that were possible.  And like Balak when we don't get what we want we move to a different spot and try again. Perhaps God will do what I want Him to if I stand over here instead of over there...  

We're always pushing God.  We claim to be followers of Him but then often stop to ask, "are you sure that's the right way to go?"  We are total back seat drivers with God.  We treat Him more like a genie in a Bible than the all powerful God of the universe.

God, help me to follow You today.  Not to question.  Not to seek my own agenda.  But to follow.

The Voice Of Truth May Not Be The Voice Of Blessing

Day 133:  Numbers 16, Psalm 133 & 2 Kings 7

In 2 Kings 7 there is a siege on the city of Samaria and it has gotten so bad that families are killing their youngest children just to stay alive.  There is money, but there is no food and the situation is dire.  Soon the city will fall.

But Elisha the prophet of God makes a statement to one of the kings men who watches the gate of the city.  He tells the man that tomorrow a "seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."  What's important here is not what exactly a seah and a shekel are, but that there will be such an abundance of food that these two coveted items will sell for pennies.

In the middle of a siege that appears to have no end in sight it's difficult to believe that anything could ever change.  Especially when there is no possible way for it to happen.  The Syrians had everything they needed to continue their siege for the foreseeable future - Samaria was going to crumble.  It was so dire that the man Elisha was speaking with replied like this, "if the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be true?"  In the middle of the siege he was so convinced that there was no way out he could not fathom a way, even if God himself opened the doors of heaven.  What he basically said was, "Elisha, you're full of it.  There is no way for this to happen even IF God got involved."

Elisha's response was somewhat cryptic, "you shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it."

I wonder if Elisha knew every detail of a prophecy when it was revealed to him?  Or maybe God just gave him that one sentence and that was it.  I wonder if Elisha even knew exactly what his prophecy meant.  It was the voice of God.  It was the voice of Truth.  But I don't know if either of them knew exactly what it meant.

Turns out, Elisha's prophecy comes true - but while it's a blessing for the people of Samaria and they are saved, it is not a blessing for the man who was in charge of the gate for the king.  God had moved during the night and and made the Syrian army hear the sound of a great army advancing on them.  They were so scared that they fled with only the clothes on their backs.  They left tents, food, horses, donkeys, clothes, weapons, everything.

Once it was discovered and word got out the starving people of Samaria rushed out of the city gate to plunder the empty Syrian camp and in the process trampled the gate keeper.  He heard the news - the city was saved and there was plenty of food to fill their bellies but he never tasted a morsel.

The voice of God is heard by people, but my question is, how do we distinguish the voice of truth from that of blessing or curse?  From prophecy that will benefit and prophecy that will destroy?  They may both be truth but one is certainly more desired than the other!

I know people who claim to have heard the voice of God, the truth about something in their future, so they move forward expecting it to happen.  We would call that faith.  But it appears that they force the prophecy to come true by means that God would not approve of.  They may see the prophecy fulfilled in their lives but it doesn't turn out as they had planned.  In the end it ends in pain and heartbreak instead of joy.

I guess as I think through this story in 2 Kings 7 I come to these conclusion about God's voice and what He chooses to reveal to us.

• God's Truth is not always blessing, even if it appears as such because it's what we want to hear.
• God may reveal parts of the story but rarely reveals the whole thing.  It is possible to misinterpret the outcome of the prophecy based on a single detail you may be privy to.
• God is never wrong.  If it doesn't work out just like we thought it's because we misinterpreted, not because He made a mistake.
• You may have heard His voice but missed His point.
• Prophecy may be for our benefit but it is ALWAYS for God's glory.

God reveals enough so that when it comes true He is recognized as God.  But He seldom gives us every detail because first, every details isn't important or necessary to Him receiving glory and second, He is constantly trying to expand our measure for faith.

So keep this in mind the next time you hear God's voice and begin to move toward what you think is His plan... He will always accomplish His will through His means.  Let me explain it this way.  If you know you have a test coming up and have a vision that you receive an "A" on the test, but then you cheat to fulfill that prophecy you are NOT bringing glory to God or honoring His Word.  You may have received a vision of Truth - you got an "A" but there will be consequences you didn't see because you tried to bring it about by your own hand.

When you receive a vision let God be God.  He will always bring about what He intends and He will always do so in accordance with His Word and His character.  If you have to sin to bring about your vision, it may not have been from God and I would be worried about the final outcome.  

Is It Easier To Listen To Or Speak Truth?

Day 126:  Number 9, Psalm 126 & 1 Kings 22

In today's reading in 1 Kings Ahab the king of Israel want to go to war with Syria and take back the city of Ramoth-gilead along with the help of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah.  But before Jehoshaphat will go to war with Ahab he wants to hear from the Lord - not a bad idea.  So Ahab calls all these prophets who encourage him to go to war and say that God will give Ramoth-gilead into his hands.  That's good news, right?!  Well, Jehoshaphat wasn't convinced so another prophet was called, Micaiah.  Micaiah was warned to give the king a favorable word, like the other prophets had done but Micaiah would only speak what he heard from the Lord.  Here's what he told the king, "if you go up to Ramoth-gilead you will die and the people of Israel will be scattered."

It's not easy to hear things that we don't want to hear.  Nobody likes to be told they are in the wrong or that something they want to do is not wise or what God would want for them.  But is it easier to listen to the truth or to speak it?

I was once in a situation where I felt compelled to do whatever I could to keep an individual from making, what I believed, was a terrible mistake.  It was not easy.  This individual had their heart set on something that I could see would end poorly for them and everyone involved.  So I tried to speak the truth into their situation, but they wouldn't listen.  They heard what I said and I think they could even see that what I was saying was probably the truth, but they so wanted what they they wanted and had a few others telling them what they wanted to hear so my advice was disregarded.

It's not easy to speak the truth to those you love, especially when you know they do not want to hear it.  And I'm not in any way comparing myself to the prophet Micaiah, I'm only comparing situations.

It is much easier to tell those you love what they want to hear, but I don't think that is the loving thing to do.  While it might make them feel better in the short-term who will they come to when it all comes crashing down?  You'll either be the bad guy up front or the bad guy on the back end of the devastation.

As a pastor, I want to tell the truth even if it is painful.  I don't want to say "I told you so" as someone is picking up the pieces of their lives, I want to be able to help them avoid breaking in the first place.

So here's my encouragement.  I think that we would all be a lot better off if we stopped telling our friends and family members just what we thought they wanted to hear and start telling them the truth as we see it.  You could be wrong - I could be wrong - but I'd much rather warn and be proven wrong than encourage and have my fear realized.

As a pastor I'm either going to be the bad guy on the front end or the back, I choose the front end just in case it helps someone avoid trouble down the road.

The next time someone tells you something difficult don't blow it off, give yourself time to process and consider, they may just be the voice of God helping you to avoid devastation.