A Better Plan

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were looking for one thing, and found something else?  Something that was completely different? Something that was better? 

Sometimes in life we will go in a direction, or set off on a mission, and we think we know what we’re looking for, we think we know where we are going, but we come to find out that God has an altogether different plan. A better plan.

Some twenty-five years ago I went looking for something.  In 1985 I had just moved back home, and after I moved in my mom informed me that she thought I needed help!  So she gave me an ultimatum: Get some help for my “alleged” substance abuse problems, and I could live there. Now mind you, I didn’t think I needed any help, but apparently she thought I did, and if I wanted to crash at her house I was going to have to play by her rules. I had a pretty good job at the time, so I called our “Employee Assistance Hotline”, and told them I might, perhaps, drink a little too much, and could they recommend something for that.  They gave me another number to call, and within a few hours I was enrolled in some kind of program meeting ”thing” that I had to be at that next Tuesday night. So that evening I got the address, got in my truck and drove over to an office park, walked into this room full of people I didn’t know, where some guy named Woody was up front talking about getting sober or something, I really wasn’t paying much attention to Woody. My attention was focused on a cute little blond chick up on the front row that I felt like I really needed to introduce myself to.

Now I tell you this because on that day back in November of 1985 I thought I knew what I was looking for, I thought I knew what I was doing, I thought I knew where I was going.  But I came to find out that God had a completely and radically different plan for me, a better plan, and I really didn’t have a clue. It was several years before I was able to put together the pieces and begin to understand what God was doing in my life on that night in 1985.

In 1 Samuel chapter 9, we find a young man named Saul in a very similar situation. Saul is on a mission to find some lost donkeys, but he ends up finding out that God has a completely different plan for his life.  A better plan. Join us Sunday for the rest of the story!

…till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Our Money, or Gods?

A year or so ago I shared a series of posts about the area of finances. Since we as a church mostly teach through books of the bible, I don’t get as many changes to teach topically.  So every once in a while I feel its good to re-issue some of those past posts. 

The reason that it is important to teach our congregation about finances is not so that the church will have more money, but so that we can all experience the full blessing of God in this area of your life!

I pray that this series of posts will enrich your lives, and reveal a new perspective of God's unchanging principles. May you be richly blessed.

Pastor Clay

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Principles of Firstborn and Firstfruits

When it comes to money, often we think the main issue is “how much do I have” coupled with “how can I get more.”  But in reality issue is not how much money we have, but moreso, what does God want to teach us about money?

Fact: there are approx 500 verses in the bible that deal with prayer, approx 500 verses that deal with faith, but there are over 2000 verses that deal with the subject of money and possessions. Jesus talked about money in 16 of His 38 parables. Clearly, from the bible's standpoint, God wants us to understand His principles concerning money and possessions.

Why? Perhaps it is because money is a test of our faith & our priorities. Money is something that is near and dear to us. We need it to live. We use it to buy stuff that we need, and stuff that we want. How we manage money reveals volumes about what is important to us.

In this first issue, we are going to explore two principles: The principles of the firstborn and firstfruits.

Principle of Firstborn

The principle of firstborn is found throughout the bible, from Exodus to Revelation. The first place we see this principle is in Exodus 13:

"Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."  -- Ex 13:1-2

Here, God makes a declarative statement; "the firstborn is Mine". In fact, sixteen times God makes this statement in Exodus: Every firstborn was to be sacrificed or redeemed. Every time an animal delivered its firstborn, it was to be sacrificed to the Lord. If it were born unclean (with a spot or blemish), then it was to be redeemed.

But the firstborn of the animals, which should be the LORD's firstborn, no man shall dedicate; whether it is an ox or sheep, it is the LORD's. And if it is an unclean animal, then he shall redeem it according to your valuation, and shall add one-fifth to it; or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your valuation. -- Lev 27:26-27

This principle was true for man as well, as the firstborn sons of Israel were to be set apart for service to God; they were to be the priests! Later on, after the golden calf incident, God set apart the Levites for His service (and also re-affirmed the principle of the firstborn):

"Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine.
-- Num 3:12-13

Why is this important? This is a picture of our redemption in Christ, as when Jesus approached John the Baptist, John proclaimed:

"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
-- John 1:29-30

Because man is born with a sin nature, we were born 'unclean'. We need to be redeemed. God redeemed us to Himself with the perfect, spotless, Lamb of God. Jesus was God's 'firstborn", His only begotten Son.  So this principle is not based on "we do all the giving", but in reality God gave to us first. God gave to us first, while we were yet sinners; He gave us His Son Jesus Christ. He gave us something that we could never put a price tag on. I mean, how much would you pay to be assured heaven? Everything you had!

The Principle of Firstfruits

Having noted that, there is a parallel principle that ties into the principle of the firstborn, and that is the principle of the firstruits.

The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. -- Ex 23:19

This scripture tells us two things: Bring your firstfruits, and bring them into the house of the Lord. Let's look at these two points.

First Things First
The bible doesn't tell us "give God what is left over". It says to give God our first. When an animal gave birth to it's first offspring, that first offspring was given to the Lord. When the crops were harvested, the first were given to the Lord.

How does this apply to us? When we sit down and write our bills, the first check we write should be our tithe to the Lord. This may sound somewhat ritualistic to some people, but trust me, this has meaning. What we do first says something about what we hold to be most important.

You see, as fallen people we are naturally selfish. Think about it, when the paycheck comes, our mind goes to the things we want or need to buy. Bills, clothes, dinner out, parts for my motorcycle. We hope that there is something left at the end so we can splurge a little. Why is it that our first thought is not "I get to give to the Lord!"

Guess what, God knows how we are. So God, in His infinite wisdom, tells me that I need to sit down and give to Him first, to establish a pattern in my life where I am thinking "Praise the Lord, I can give to the Lord! Thank you for your provision Lord!"

Think about it; When we give to the Lord first, it says "Lord I trust you." 

... see the next post for Part II

Our Money, or Gods? (Part II)

Faith Before Feelings
How many times have we run out of money before we run out of bills? Or we have to determine what we pay now, and what we pay later? When we are in this situation, it can seem easy to skip the tithe (we certainly can't let our cable TV get shut off!). Our feelings tell us "I have bills to pay! I have stuff I need!". We feel bound to our bills. But what that says is "God, these bills are a higher priority than you are."

In other words, it requires an activation of our faith to give the tithe first. Giving the tithe first says "God, I am going to be obedient to you, and trust you for the rest." Faith is being obedient to God when we cannot see the outcome. Faith is knowing that it may require the supernatural hand of God to meet our budget needs.

Think about it:

The first animal was to be given to God; there were no guarantees that more animals would be born.

The first of the crop was to be given to God; there were no guarantees that more crops would come up.

God told Abraham to give his firstborn son, and at Abraham's age, it was a certainty that there would be no more children!

When we give to God first, we are saying to God "I trust you". Do you think He will let us down? In my own experience, the answer to that question is unequivocal - NO! God will always come through! Why? Because it is His promise!

"Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, -- Deut 7:12-13

So when Satan comes at you and puts the thought in your mind "you're going to go broke if you tithe", you can respond: "No I won't, because God's Word says that God is going to bless me, and He will rebuke the devourer for my sakes!"

The House of God

Our scripture said to "bring your firstfruits into the house of the Lord, your God." It didn't say "give your firstfruits to whom you feel led". That means we don't give our firstfruits to a TV ministry, or to a missionary, or to some other organization as our "tithe". Now don't get me wrong, giving to worthwhile ministries and supporting missionaries are important, but we are not to take away from our giving to the house of the Lord in order to do so.

We've all heard Christian say "I gave to so-and-so ministry (or person) as my tithe." Think about it; would you send part of your mortgage payment to another bill? I'm sure they would understand. Thankfully, God does not foreclose on us (!), but we should heed the point: The firstfruits belong to God, and it belongs in His house! Paul echoed this to the church at Corinth:

For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it oxen God is concerned about? Or does He say it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written, that he who plows should plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? -- 1 Cor 9:9-11

The church is the place that we go for spiritual feeding, for ministry to our families. It is where we turn when we are having difficulties. It is where we turn when we have a financial need.  But more than that, the church is a place where we come and communally worship the Lord! And guess what, our giving is a form of worship. That's why giving is a matter of the heart:

God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. -- 2 Cor 9:7-8

When our hearts are turned to the Lord, we are fully aware that all that we have is a gift from Him. He is the source of our provision. When we give the tithe, it is an act of worship, acknowledging God as our provider. And God promises us, that when our heart is in this place, He will direct to us "all sufficiency in all things", so we will "have an abundance for every good work!"

Robbing God?

Many of us are familiar with this scripture:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. -- Mal 3:8-9

This scripture is often used to beat the flock into tithing, but let's look at the reality of what God is saying here:

The tithe belongs to Him

He considers it robbing from Him if we withhold it (the same as not paying something you owe)

OK. Those two points need no expounding on. We get it! But there are two additional points that we should look at:

• If we withhold the tithe, we are cursed with a curse
• If we give the tithe, we are the recipients of a blessing!

 ... see the next post for Part III

Our money, or Gods? (Part III)

Curses

A curse is simply a state that is the opposite of blessing, in other words a state where things don't work, where our efforts are hindered. The simple way to think of this is: When I am withholding from God what is rightfully His, then I don't have the power of God on my work, my business, and my efforts to get ahead.

I can't think of a better example that that of Achan.

We recently went through Joshua where God had told the Israelites that when they went into Jericho:

"all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD" -- Josh 6:19

In other words, the loot from Jericho was the firstfruits, and it belonged to God. The rest of the cities that they conquered, they could keep all the loot they could hold.

What happened? A man named Achan took some of the loot for himself. And when the Israelites went into the next battle, they were defeated - powerless against their enemies. When Joshua asked God "what happened?", God told Joshua:

"My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff." -- Josh 7:11

God called the stuff that was taken "accursed things", because it was stolen from God. And the result of this theft was that the power of God was no longer with the Israelites. They were ineffective, hindered. I am not trying to be overdramatic here, but when we withhold from God what is rightfully His, we are effectively signing our own "Declaration of Defeat." And we can't blame God, He told us what to do, we just didn't do it!

Now, before we get too depressed, let's rejoice that the opposite is also true!

If I am faithful to give to the Lord what is His, then instead of a curse on my efforts, I can expect a blessing. The world's wisest man told us:

Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. -- Prov 3:9-10

Solomon probably knew something about provision - he was also the worlds richest man! God tells us in the next verses in Malachi:

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it."And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," -- Mal 3:10-11

What this means is that if I am faithful to God the area of giving, it unlocks the blessings of God upon my life, and my efforts will not be hindered. God will bless my efforts! He will keep the enemy from hindering my efforts. We will have the power of God behind me!

Now stop and think about this for a second: What would I prefer, the blessings of God on my efforts, or a curse on my efforts? Well, that is a no-brainer. (I'll take blessings for $100, Alex.) Let's take it a step further: Do I believe what God says? (this is a "yes or no" question in case you were wondering!)

But now comes the hard part: Am I willing to put my belief into practice?

You see, to say "I believe", but then not act on that belief, is not really belief at all. It is self-serving. It's saying "God, I want your blessings, but I am not really into this obedience thing."

Law vs Grace

Now some people will say "But Pastor Clay, that is the Old Testament. That's the law. I am no longer under the law, but grace." True, we are no longer under the law, but that does not give us liberty to disobey God.

The Israelites had made the same type of assumption that they didn't really need to obey all this "old stuff" anymore, and God told them straight up:

For I am the LORD, I do not change… -- Mal 3:6

Even though we are in the "age of grace", we still know that murder, adultery, stealing, and lying are sin. None of these "laws" went away when Jesus died on the cross. Jesus said:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. --  5:17

Paul taught the church at Corinth:

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart. -- 2 Cor 9:7-8

Some might see this statement as meaning "so I can give whatever I purpose in my heart". That is exactly correct.

The first question is: Where is your heart? Do you love the Lord? Do you see that all that you have comes through His hands? Is your heart open to what He wants for your life, His plan, His purpose?

The second question is: What do you purpose in your heart? Do you want the blessings of God and the power of God on your life, your business, your job? If Then give according to that which you purpose in your heart. If you want big blessings, give big!

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. - 2 Cor 9:6-7

The Unchanging Principle

Paul was affirming the unchanging principle that had been established by an unchanging God - Give to the Lord, and He will bless you. This is not a formual; He does not bless "because we give", He blesses because He see's our heart!

And that is where I see our church growing and flourishing. As we learn to be faithful and give to the house of the Lord, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work".

When we as a church are giving abundantly, God is going to bring into our lives the resources that will ensure that we have abundance for every good work. That means that the "good works" that God has put on our heart as a church to do, they will be fully funded!

... see the next post for the final installment, Part IV

Our money, or Gods? (Part IV)

Ownership vs Stewardship

In our last installment, we talked about how the New Testament believer lives under grace and not the law, and how we are to give as we purpose in our hearts. This week, we are going to look at how that grace is played out in a practical way in our lives. How we are not commanded by the law to give to the Lord, but we are grateful recipients of God’s blessings, and we want to give to Him, because we understand that we are stewards!

As we noted earlier, when it comes to giving, some Christians will say “I am not under law, I am under grace” as a way of explaining why they do not regularly give to the Lord. But when this excuse (excuse my bluntness!) is rolled out, it reveals that the person has completely missed the basic principle of ownership vs stewardship.

If we go all the way back to Adam and Eve in the garden, we see that God gave Adam and Eve some specific instructions:

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” -- Gen 2:15-17

In other words, God gave them stewardship over everything. They could utilize all of the resources of the entire world, except for one thing: The tree of knowledge of good and evil. That tree was off-limits. If they ate of that tree, they would die. Everything else they were free to partake of, free to utilize.

Being good stewards over God’s creation was literally life to them. Taking something that God had told them was not theirs, meant death. So, when Eve, and then Adam, ate of the fruit of that tree, they experienced death. In this one act, revealed a change in perspective: They placed themselves into the role of owners, rather than stewards. They determined that they were capable of deciding what resources that they would use.

In a similar way, God has give us stewardship over all that He has brought into our lives – namely our abilities, our gifts, our income, and our increase. Notice I said what He has brought into our lives, because in fact we brought nothing:

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
-- 1 Tim 6:7

We brought nothing into this world. Whatever we have, God has given us. We are, therefore, stewards of what the Lord has given us. Look at the exhortation that Paul gives to those whom God has blessed with much:

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.  --1 Tim 6:17-19

So we see that some will be blessed more than others, and God calls that person to trust in the Lord, to do good works, and to be ready to give, etc. Paul tells us that there is a reward for that person in heaven if they are faithful in this. In Luke 12 Jesus gave a parable:

"The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  --Luke 12:16-21

Jesus told this parable in the context of a man who wanted to be sure he got “what was his” (his inheritance). Jesus pointed out to this man that, in fact, nothing was his. And this man’s attitude towards his abundance (“my crops”) caused his judgment. Jesus calls this “laying up treasure for himself.” It belies a perspective that “this is mine, why should I give any of it away?” This man failed to realize that God had blessed him, and he should have honored the Lord in response to that blessing.

The same holds true in our life: Nothing that we possess actually belongs to me, it all belongs to God. We are but stewards of His resources, and I believe God is watching to see how we manage and use the resources He has given us. We can choose to “lay up treasures for ourselves”, or we can choose to honor the Lord with out increase. And I for one believe that when we are faithful stewards in regards to the one area that God calls us to, the firstfruits, God honors that obedience.

For a great illustration, 2 Chronicles tells us how King Hezekiah enacted reforms throughout the nation, and he called on all the children of Israel to bring the firstfruits into the house of the Lord. For seven months the tithes came in. When it had been collected, Hezekiah looked at the mounds and questioned the Levites (perhaps he wondered if the people had anything left to eat!). The Levites responded:

"Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the LORD has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance."  -- 2 Chron 31:10

If we are being faithful, especially in giving Him the firstfruits (which is all He asked for), then He will be able to bring more into our lives, because He knows He can trust us. God was doing exactly what He promised in Deuteronomy:

"Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock,  -- Deut 7:12-13

And what is echoed in the NT:

God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. -- 2 Cor 9:7-8

What does all this mean? It means that for me to honor God with my giving is to acknowledge that He is my God, that He is my provision, and that I know full well that all I have and all I receive comes directly through His hands into mine. It means that I realize that I am not an owner, but a steward of all that God has entrusted into my life. It means that I have an appreciation that God has allowed me all things to enjoy, and that He only encourages me to be free and give to His house and His work in a cheerful and obedient way.

... Pastor Clay

I want it - NOW!

Have you ever had something that you really wanted? And as you pondered that thing, and thought about it, the desire became greater and greater.  And so you ask the Lord “Lord, give me _______. (fill in the blank)” Perhaps you had good intentions… 

“Lord if you give me this job, I’ll have more money to tithe with.”

“Lord if you’ll let us get this bigger house, we can use it to hold small groups in and minister to more people!”

“Lord if you’ll make her go out with me, I can win her to Jesus and we can serve you together!” 

"Lord it’s gonna be awesome!"

But tell me something; in those instances where God granted that wish, when He answered that prayer and gave you what you asked for, how many times did it work out well? I can tell you that many of my requests to God have turned out to be total duds. When I got what I thought I really wanted, it caused me more problems than I had bargained for.  

When we got that new job, it demanded so much of our time that it took us away from serving the Lord.   

When we got that big house we had to work so hard to keep it we never had time to hold small groups. 

When that girl or guy did go out with us, they ended up drawing us away from the Lord instead of us drawing them to God. 

See our problem is two-fold:

#1 We cannot see the future

#2 The desires of our flesh are often the driving force behind our motives.

But guess who can see the future?  Guess who is not affected by those desires?   If you guessed “God”, you guessed right on both accounts! We think we know what’s best for us, what we really need, but in reality we don’t have a clue what’s best for us.  And sometimes God will allow us to have what we want, so that we can see for ourselves that His way is always best. In 1^st Samuel chapter 8 we see God giving the nation of Israel exactly what they want, even though it’s not what’s best. 

 

It’s a hard thing to admit that we don’t know what’s best for us, but a wise person will accept the fact that God knows what is best in every situation, and that He always has our best interest at heart.

Join us Sunday as we continue our study of 1^st Samuel, chapter 8

... till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Turn and LIVE!

If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. – 1 Sam 7:3

If there’s ever as a message that’s appropriate for our generation today, it is this:  Put away your fake and false gods, and commit yourselves fully to the Lord!

If we want to be free from the things that bind us up, the things that oppress us, then we must make a decision to put away those things and devote ourselves to the Lord.  Really, there is no other way!  Jesus said “you cannot serve two masters…” and it’s true. If we try and hang on to our sin, even just a little bit, then we’ll never be free. The fact is, when we offer ourselves to sin, we become its slave:

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? – Rom 6:16

Which is why the power of repentance is so important.  Not only does God forgive us, He gives us the power, through His Holy Spirit, to be set free from the power of sin!

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. – Rom 6:18

The fake and false gods of our time: sensuality, money, power, drink & drug, they will lead us into bondage and affliction… every single time.  Who needs it?  Put away your gods, turn to the Lord, and LIVE!

...till the whole world hears

Pastor Clay

The Power of Repentance

This morning Tammy and I are heading up to Duke to have my surgically implanted torture device removed (happiness!).  I want to sincerely thank all of you who have been and will be praying for the procedure!  It shouldn’t be a big deal: They’ll put me to sleep, take out a few screws, and wake me up.  I should be home for dinner (which I am looking forward to after not eating since last night!)

This Sunday we’ll be going into chapter 7 of 1 Samuel. The ark has been returned, but after the event at Beth Shemesh (50,070 died after peeking into the ark), the Israelites are as afraid of God as the Philistines were! So they move the ark to Kirjath Jearim, and according to the scriptures, “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.”   The reality of God, His power, His majesty, His mighty hand, has had a different effect on the Israelites than it did the Philistines.  Instead of turning God away, they are turning to God.  In essence, the house of Israel is coming to a place of repentance before God.

Repentance is a topic that is often overlooked, a practice that is often disregarded, because it brings us into conflict with one of our deepest weaknesses: Our inability to admit we have done something wrong.

However repentance is one of the most important elements of our spiritual walk. Matter of fact, without it we would have no spiritual walk at all, as repentance is the beginning point of our relationship with God. But it not only is the beginning point, it helps us stay in fellowship with the Lord.

Join us Sunday as we look into the power of repentance.

... till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?

In 1 Sam 5 the Philistines got a taste of the hand of God weighing heavy on the land, and they wanted no more of it.  So they made the decision to send the ark back to Israel in hopes that the affliction would end.  Away goes the ark, carried on a cart by two milk cows, lowing their way back to Beth Shemesh. 

But once the cart arrives in Beth Shemesh, after the initial rejoicing of getting the ark back, the men of that city make a fateful decision to peek inside the ark.  Maybe they were curious, maybe the wanted to see if the Philistines had taken anything.  Either way, they paid dearly for it:  50,070 men were consumed by the Lord.  Wow, that was harsh! The response of the men of that town says it all, “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?”  Indeed. Deuteronomy 4:24 tells us “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” 

So should we be afraid of God?  Should we be cautious in approaching Him?  Perhaps it depends on the condition of our heart, because we read in Psalms:

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. – Ps 5:3

and…

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. – Ps 5:11

and Hebrews 4 tells us…

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need – Heb 4:16

It seems to me that our God indeed is a consuming fire, and He is worthy our our awe, our reverence, and our worship. He does not take lightly those who would profane His name (Hophni and Phinehas come to mind). But God is also gracious and loving, and He is ready and willing to receive all who come before Him with humble hearts, as James notes:

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. – James 4:10

Join us Sunday, as we continue our study of 1 Samuel 6-7, with “Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God?”.

Pastor Clay

PWNED!

1 Samuel 4: Epilogue

After the terrible outcome in the battle between Israel and the Philistines chronicled in 1 Samuel 4, it would seem that Israel was done for.  They had been defeated on the battlefield, they had lost thirty four thousand men (which doesn’t even count the wounded), the High Priest and his two sons were dead, and worst of all: The holy ark of the Lord had been captured by the Philistines.  I can imagine that the people were pretty depressed. The scene in 1 Sam 4:19-22 says it all:  “[Ichabod] The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

But in the midst of this terrible situation, something rather incredible is about to happen. You see, when things look terrible, when it looks as though life as we know it is finished, there is one thing we need to always remember:  God is not finished! God is always working, always moving, in spite of the circumstances. God is about to reveal Himself: To the Philistines, and to Israel, if they’ll listen.

One of my boys likes to play video games, and he's pretty sick (in other words, he's really good). During a game when he totally dominates an opponent, the appropriate term to describe the victory is "PWNED" (sounds like "owned" but with a "P").  It basically means "to own" or to totally dominate an opponent or situation, as if by some god-like force (E.G. "dude, you've been PWNED!).

So the ark is now in the possession of the Philistines, but it doesn’t turn out quite the way the Philistines expected.  The Philistines had brought the ark and placed it into the temple of their main god, Dagon.  Sort of a victory thing, as in "our God took out your god!" But once the ark is placed into the temple, let’s just say PWNED is the right word to describe what happens next.

Join us Sunday for 1 Samuel 5-7, “PWNED!”

... till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay