STRIKE THREE

“But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them’”
Numbers 20:12

Watching sports on TV has never really been my thing. Okay, so I do watch football and NASCAR, and do keep my eye on the bracket during March Madness, but watching sports on television is not the same as playing the sport. Baseball is one of those sports; one of those I would rather play as opposed to watch. There is a totally different feeling in holding the bat and making contact with the ball myself as opposed to watching a guy on TV do the same thing. Furthermore, there is a different emotion that comes over me when it is I who strikes out as opposed to the player on my screen. Yet while I do not play the sport of baseball with the kids in the neighborhood anymore, I can say I know both these feelings. And maybe it is safe to say that I know the feeling of striking out more than I do hitting the game winning run. Allow me to explain as we look at the life of Moses.
When I think of Moses and his inability to enter the Promise Land, I think of baseball. Strange relation, I know, but not too far off really. You see, Moses had an anger problem. On three different occasions he allowed his anger to get the best of him and in the end, was struck out. Let’s take a quick look at these three times.
The first strike is found in Exodus 2:11-12. The chapter records that he went out to where his own people were and watched them doing their hard labor. Seeing one of his people, an Israelite, getting beaten by the Egyptian taskmaster, Moses glanced around him. Seeing no one around, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. While the Bible does not say specifically, “…thus Moses was mad and killed a man,” it does point to the fact that his anger flared up when he saw the mistreatment of a fellow Israelite. Instead of handling it in perhaps a better way, Moses took matters into his own hands and allowed himself to swing at this crazy pitch.
The second strike came years later, and is found in Exodus 32:19. After spending forty days on the mountain with God, he begins his trek down and hears a celebration going on. When he gets closer, he sees the camp dancing around a golden calf idol and his anger flares once more. Moses throws down the stone tablets he just got from God with the Ten Commandments written on them, breaking them at the foot of the mountain. Another crazy pitch; another swing.
The final strike, however, happens when he is already upset. Instead of calling for a time out of the umpire, Moses plays on and swings at the third pitch in Numbers 20:8-12. Instead of speaking to the rock as God had told him, he takes his staff in anger and strikes the rock instead. But this action caused Moses to strike out, and to not gain access to the Promise Land (v12).
Did Moses make it to heaven? Yes. Did Moses make it to the Promise Land? No. Why? Because of Moses’ actions taken in anger, God denied him the honor of going into the Promised Land. But why do I share all this with you? The answer is easy. I do not want us to be in the same shoes as Moses concerning our anger. Anger is a natural emotion, but as Psalm 4:4 tells us, “In your anger do not sin…” This thought is so important that Paul even reminds us in Ephesians 4:26 of these same words. I want us all to hit the homeruns, but we must be wise and not swing at the crazy pitches.

WE SHALL FIGHT

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
I Corinthians 16:13

On June 4, 1940, as word of the upcoming German attack on the British Isles became known, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered one of the grandest speeches given in World War II. To a weakened French army, a surrendered Belgian army, a proud British army, and any additional army listening, Churchill spoke.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,
we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender

As I read these words again, my mind is immediately taken to I Corinthians 16:13. It is here that Paul warns the believer to stand firm. It is in Churchill’s speech that he too warns the British nation to stand firm. A fight was about to come, there was no doubt it was coming. But it was not time for the nation to shrink back in the face of the oncoming Nazi regime. It was time to dig the feet in the sand and stand ready to fight.
In Isaiah 51:12, the prophet questions, “Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass…?” I believe it is true that although God has not given us the spirit of fear, we are still easily intimidated by the enemy. It is no different than when a child sees the flicker of lightening and hears the crashing of thunder. Countless times the parent can soothe the child and let them know they are safe, but the fear is still there. It is not that the child does not trust his or her parent, but rather that in that moment something is bigger than the parent. In our moment of attack by the enemy, we fear a ‘something’ bigger.
But let us continue in Isaiah 51. In verse 14 we are promised freedom from our prison and life where we once feared death in our dungeon. How is this so? The answer is in verse 15 and following. God! It is God who brings this freedom. God laid the foundations of the world. God puts His words in our mouth. God calls us His children. And as an angry mama bear runs after the threat to her cub, so God will step on the grass that we are for no reason to be fearful of.
With Christ on our side, we are undefeatable. The people of Britain heard this message given by the Prime Minister, but did they believe it? It is the same message God is giving to the church, but do we believe it? Look…

We [the church] shall go on to the end, we shall fight [against the devil and his cohorts],
[the church] shall fight [in prayer and fasting],
[the church] shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in [the power of God],
[the church] shall defend our [body], whatever the cost may be,
[the church] shall fight [against the devil’s schemes],
[the church] shall fight [against the rulers and authorities of evil],
[the church] shall fight [against the powers of the dark world],
[the church] shall fight [against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms];
[the church] shall never surrender

It is time to put away the fear of the enemy and meet him head on. He only has power over us if we let think he does; if we let him get in our mind. So then, it is time to “be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”

IN THE MEANTIME

“Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.”
II Samuel 2:4a

Last week I wrote concerning what God had been showing me concerning a moving from point A to point B. I shared how we receive our destiny at point A, and find the end result of the destiny at point B, but then questioned how we are to get from point A to point B. What are we to do in the meantime from when God gives us our destiny till the time God allows us to walk in this destiny? While we looked at the word service, I want to look again at a few additional factors God has shown me in the life of David.
In I Samuel 16:11-13 David is anointed as the next king. However, it is not until after 17 chapters have passed that we arrive in II Samuel 2:4, where David finally steps into his destined position. Looking within those 17 chapters, God has shown me five lessons, the first being a lesson in service. We find in I Samuel 16:14-23 that David is invited to play music for Saul, who recently had the spirit taken from him when he disobeyed, and is now being tormented by an evil spirit. David played his music and the spirit left Saul. It is for this that we read in verse 21, David entered into Saul’s service. David played music, but also became an armor-bearer for Saul. In I Samuel 17, though, we read that David’s defeat of Goliath also brought him into the military service of Saul as he joined in Israel’s army, taking the lives of many Philistines.
A second lesson I believe David learned in these 17 chapters has to do with the allowing of his self to be trained. With the spirit tormenting Saul, he became unstable and threw his spear at David, forcing David to flee for his safety. However, as David fled, Saul followed. In Psalm 18, we read within the intro of the LORD delivering David from Saul’s hand. And in verse 34 of this Psalm we read that God trained David’s hands for war. David allowed himself in these years to be trained. I believe that this training wasn’t only for physical combat, but for spiritual combat as well. In our time of moving from point A to point B, we to need to understand that both our bodies and our spirits need to be trained in order to be a complete warrior.
Following Goliath’s defeat by David, a friendship was entered into by Jonathan and David, and this is the third lesson. Who are we hanging around? David allowed himself to enter into a friendship with like-minded people. From Jonathan, to the men that fought alongside David, all were like-minded and shared in a covenant. All were in one accord, and lifted David up when the enemy tried to bring him down. Knowing this lesson the hard way, it is easier to move to point B when your friends are supporting your destiny.
Forth, David learned to fight off pride. After David’s victory a chant was heard, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands (I Sam 18:7).” David had every reason to allow pride to sneak in, yet he brushed it off. He had every reason to get big headed, yet he forbade the option. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. God is looking for those He can move forward who will not become big-headed. In fact I will go so far as to say that pride will only delay our end result.
The last lesson I see within these 17 chapters is this, David learned not to usurp authority. Once anointed as a child he could have taken over, yet he allowed God to promote him in His time. On two occasions David had the opportunity to take Saul out. His men even cheered him on in doing so. Yet David did not. And in I Samuel 24, after cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe, David even admitted to feeling guilty for his actions. It would have been easy to promote his self and usurp Saul, but I question if God’s spirit would have rested on David much longer.
Once God has given us a destiny it can be hard to wait for it to pass. Trust me, I know this one first hand. But it is in this time of waiting that God sharpens us and prepares us for our destiny. It is just like in building a model car. I can glue a few pieces together and it may be okay, but how much better will it look with the wheels attached, the pieces painted, and the decals added. God is wanting the same for us, to train us in these moments now so that when His timing comes and our destiny can be walked out, that we are ready. You will get from point A to point B, but it needs to be in His timing and after His lessons have been learned.

MOVING FROM POINT A TO POINT B - sermon

On March 9, 2014 I was given the opportunity to speak at Journey of Grace Church in Nashville, TN. I have included the youtube links should you want to take a listen.

part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vzirxHSwJ8&feature=youtu.be
part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc1avxaCSMk&feature=youtu.be

SERVING POINTS

“Don’t obey just to win their favor, serving only when they are watching you; but serve as slaves of the Messiah, doing what God want with all your heart.”
Ephesians 6:6

Have you ever wondered how we are supposed to move from point A to point B in life? I mean, in life God calls us for a specific purpose. We receive our destiny at point A, and find the end result of the destiny at point B, but how do we get from point A to point B? What is the process from the time God gives this destiny till the time God allows us to walk in this destiny? This is the question God has been helping me with these past few days, and the message I will be sharing with the church this upcoming weekend. For now, though, allow me to share a little concerning what I am learning.
I believe the answer between point A and point B is service. In Ephesians 6:5, Paul starts out by saying that slaves are too obey their human masters with the same fear, trembling, and single-heartedness in which they are to obey their God. In essence, slaves are to obey with a reverence in all that is required of them, and with an honest virtue. These are the same manners in which we are to obey our God. As His followers, His servants, how is it that we should treat him with any less respect? How is it that we should not follow in each detail He requires of us? And how is it that we think we can partially obey Him and still have a complete blessing on our lives? Even King Saul learned that partial obedience equals complete disobedience.
But the piece that sticks out to me is found in verse 6. I cannot help but find myself asking if my obedience is based on what I get out of it. By this I mean, do I only obey when people are watching? Do I only obey because I want to be blessed? I found myself asking myself this question two summers back concerning giving an offering. Do I only give above the tithe because I want the 100% return, or do I give because I want to bless someone else regardless of what happens to me in return? Here I am again faced with the same question. Do I only do my job at work when I see the boss coming and then goof off when her back is turned? Do I only work for a paycheck, a pay raise, or verbal affirmation?
Paul encourages us to serve as slaves of the Messiah, doing what God wants with all our heart. We are reminded of this in Scripture, but I point out that Jesus did only what He saw His Father do. He saw His Father’s example, and lived it. Jesus showed us an example of how to bless others in serving others. In fact, Matthew 20:28 tells us that Jesus came not to be served, but rather to serve. Between the point in which Jesus came, point A, to the point when Jesus ascended to Heaven, point B, He served. Is this not the example we are to be living? We are not to serve based on what we obtain from serving, but rather we are to serve because that is the example we are to follow. With all our heart we are to be a slave, a servant, of the Most High God.
How badly do we want to do as Jesus would do, or has done? Are we willing to follow in each of His steps, even the ones that at times can be harder to follow? If so, then we must add the character of a servant to our lifestyle. We must serve God with all our hearts and do all that He requires of us. As we work to walk in the fear, trembling, and single-heartedness of serving God, then we must also serve those who are over us.