Friday, July 30, 2010

WHY IS THAT ON FIRE?

The Bible doesn’t give us a lot of information about the forty years Moses spent in the desert after he fled from Egypt (Exodus 2:11-25). We do know that the man who appeared at the end of this desert sojourn was vastly different from the man who had run for his life years earlier. The desert years were formative, the change was drastic. The hot-headed, successful, highly-educated future leader of Egypt had become a humble shepherd caring for the flocks of his father-in-law.

When we are reintroduced to Moses, he is eighty years old and living in the backside of nowhere (Exodus 3:1). In Egypt, Moses had a future as big and bright as the horizon, but now—nothing but emptiness and a few sheep! The haughty adopted son of Pharoah’s daughter was now a shell of a man, simply existing, and I am sure that from time to time he reminisced about what might have been.

Out in the desert caring for sheep, Moses was a nomad wandering through the remainder of his life. On the dry and dusty plains, one of the few things he had to contend with was simply dodging the scrub trees that dotted the landscape. There was nothing he could do but walk around them; they were everywhere and there were so many, he just ignored them and continued on his wandering path.

I think the bushes that Moses was dodging are a type of the dozens of little incidents that make up our lives and dot our days, little situations that we quickly navigate and forget. “I meant to make that call or send that e-mail. Oops! I dropped my phone—I don’t want to talk to him right now. I intended to read my Bible today. I don’t have enough time to work on that project right now.” On and on it goes! These mini-incidents litter the landscape of our days and we traverse them with little or no thought and move on.

This day, as Moses wandered out in the wilderness, one of those bushes erupted in bright flames, but it didn’t burn up. The fire caught Moses’ attention and he stopped to see what it was all about. Suddenly God began to talk to him out of the bush. God unexpectedly took something that was a part of Moses everyday experience, lit it up, and spoke through it to change his life.

This was the incident that began the process of taking Moses back to Egypt on a divine rescue mission. The burning bush was really not that important in itself, God simply used it to get Moses’ attention. The really important thing about this encounter was that God spoke to Moses.

One of the ways God speaks to us is through everyday experiences. You won’t expect it but suddenly you will know that something unusual is happening and you need to take a moment and find out what it is. That’s when God will start speaking to you! Your burning bush may be in your daily devotional reading, it may be in a conversation with a friend and, amazingly, it may be in church while the pastor is preaching and your mind is wandering. It’s happened to me there more than once (the wandering mind part).

Moses spent every day dodging the scrub trees but when the burning bush caught his attention, Exodus 3:3 says, “Moses thought, I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” Verse four says, When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush….” When Moses stopped and focused on what was happening, God began to speak.

In 1958 a young pastor in western Pennsylvania wandered into his study late one evening and in a distracted way picked up a copy of Life Magazine. Little did David Wilkerson know that a two-page drawing of teenage gang members on trial for murder would become his burning bush. God spoke to him that night and he followed the Lord’s instructions to go to New York City. That burning bush experience led to the Teen Challenge ministry and fifty-two years later, it is still going worldwide. Every year thousands of desperate people are ministered to and rescued from the clutches of sin and addiction through Teen Challenge. It all began when that pastor innocently picked up a magazine and those pages became a burning bush.

Don’t go looking for a burning bush; far too many waste their lives doing that. They rush from one meeting to the next, from one church to another, watching one TV program after another, looking for a burning bush. Instead, set your heart on following Him, loving Him, consuming His Word, and rejoicing in the wonderful life He has given you.

The burning bush will find you and when you pause to see what that fire is all about, God will start speaking!

Friday, July 23, 2010

LIVING ON THE EDGE

Did you know that Christ-followers are supposed to live on the edge? Yes, we are!

If we really are pilgrims (ones who journey in a foreign land)—and that’s what the Bible says we are (1Peter 2:11)—then we are to live life awaiting instructions from Him on where to go and what to do. Living on the edge doesn’t mean living foolishly and doing bizarre things, it means living with a willingness to follow His instructions at any moment.

One of my favorite cops-and-robbers movies is “Heat.” It’s one of the few times Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro shared a movie. In the film, DeNiro (the bad guy) says that a successful crook needs to be ready at any moment to drop what he is doing, walk away, and start a new life somewhere else. This, he says, is the only way to survive as a criminal.

This is a mindset (not the criminal part) that Christ-followers need to be more attuned to. When God opens a door for us, do we really consider responding or are we so tied down that there is no way to follow that command? Are we capable of living on the edge?

The writer of Hebrews said, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight…” (Hebrews 12:1). We are instructed to lay aside anything that hinders our forward progress. Can we do that? Are we doing that?

Very possibly the clearest example of “living on the edge” is seen in the life of Abraham: “Abraham, when he was called to go…obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). There was no visit to MapQuest to get a travel plan, no map to follow; there was nothing but a word from the Lord. “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).

Try to imagine the conversation that went on between Abraham and Sarah after he explained why he taking down the tent. “What do you mean we are moving? Who said anything about moving? You don’t know where we are going? How can we be leaving if we don’t know where we are going? Have you been sipping from the jug again? Abraham, I like it here, this is a nice neighborhood. We have a lot of good friends and family here. I don’t know about this moving—and what is this talk about descendents as numerous as the sand on the seashore? Have you been taking those blue pills?”

Has God ever spoken to you like He did to Abraham? If you say no, it’s very likely you are not listening.

We talk about living on the edge and the picture that tends to come to mind is standing at the rim of a precipice—one wrong step and it’s over! This is poor imagery for a Christ-follower. Our edge doesn’t pertain to a cliff…it’s the edge of obedience, the edge of stepping out in faith. Obedience is the fruit of trust, and trust is built on relationship…knowing Him.

Carol and I were living in Santa Cruz, CA, when we graduated from college. I was very fortunate to have invitations to be assistant pastor at several churches. One of them was from a church just outside Monterey, CA. I mean, how cool is that, to live and be in the ministry in one of the most beautiful and laid-back areas of the country! But when we prayed about the invitation, God clearly said, “No, that’s not for you.”

For six or eight weeks we prayed and prayed about what we were to do. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that God had called me into full-time service. Finally, we heard the still small voice say, “Go east.” When you live in California, there’s not much immediately to the west. About the same time as we heard the Lord say that, a friend called and asked if we would fill in for a pastor for two weeks at a church in New Jersey.

California to New Jersey…that meets the requirements of “go east.” And so we obeyed. We packed just about everything we owned in our unair-conditioned Chevy and drove to New Jersey, in the heat of late July.

I know what you are thinking and I agree. In the natural, it wasn’t a very smart thing to do but we weren’t trying to be smart, we were trying to be obedient and step out in faith.

We had a great time in a small township in northern New Jersey and while we were there, another invitation came, this time from Denver. We were asked to move to Denver and help lay the foundation for the Teen Challenge ministry there. It was while we were in Denver that David Wilkerson asked us to come to New York and join him in his fledgling crusade ministry. We moved there and the adventure was on big-time. (Carol and I laughingly call our life’s journey Dave and Carol’s Excellent Adventure).

It’s now 44 years later and the adventure is still on. We are all strangers and pilgrims (and some of you are stranger than others). This earth is not our home, it just happens to be the place we are stationed for service—and our normal state of life is to “live on the edge.”

God’s talking—are we listening?

“Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.”
Corrie ten Boom

Friday, July 16, 2010

DO NOT LOSE HEART!

There are so many evil, bizarre things happening in our world that some reading this article are staggering in their faith. The cold wind of iniquity is trying to extinguish the faith of all of us. Jesus prophesied that this time would come: “And because lawlessness [sin] will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12 NKJV). In the very next verse He said that those who would stand fast in their faith would be okay. Take heart! This word is for you!

Isaiah 7:1-9 is a powerful word of understanding and encouragement for many who read this blog. Here’s the story in a nutshell.

Ahaz was the king of Judah (also known as the house of David), whose capital city was Jerusalem. The Jewish nation was divided into two kingdoms at that time; Judah was the southern kingdom and Israel (also known as Ephraim) was the northern kingdom. Judah had been attacked separately by Israel and Syria (Aram) and was barely able to fight off these attacks—but then came the bad news. The king of Judah, Ahaz, received word that these two enemy nations had formed an alliance and jointly they would attack Judah.

When Ahaz was informed of this new alliance and their war plan, verse 2 says, “So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” Ahaz and his leaders were staggered at the thought of these two nations joining forces, and the military might and destruction that would be unleashed on them. Their world had been shaken and they were overcome with fear!

During the period of several centuries following the death of Solomon, the Jewish nation was in a dark and evil time. The nation separated into two kingdoms and for the most part both kingdoms were in open disobedience to God. God faithfully sent prophets to the rulers and the people of both kingdoms to call them back to Him, to call them to repentance. At times the southern kingdom responded to God’s call, but then would return to pagan debauchery. The northern kingdom never once heeded the message of the prophets and became increasingly evil.

Once again, in faithfulness, as Judah was struck with the terrifying news of the impending attack, God spoke to one of the prophets, Isaiah, and told him to go and meet with Ahaz. God gave Isaiah a strong and clear word for the king and the people. Here is the essence of the word of the Lord for Ahaz—and it is for us, as well.

Verse 4: “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two” (NIV).

• Be careful—Don’t let fear or fearful circumstances cause you to make rash and foolish decisions (Proverbs 19:2 NIV).

• Keep calm—Don’t panic when you hear of tumultuous things happening. God is still in charge (Psalm 29:10-11 NIV).


• Don’t be afraid—Fear paralyzes us and instead of doing the right things, we do nothing or we do foolish things; don’t give in to the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV).

• Don’t lose heart—Don’t give up, don’t quit, no matter how difficult it looks. Don’t become fainthearted, weak or timid. Don’t lose your heart to follow and trust God. Proverbs says we are to “guard our heart” (Proverbs 4:23 NIV). The heart is where victory is established and quitting is birthed!

Verse 7 - The prophet thunders to the terrified leaders of Judah: “The Sovereign Lord says: It will not take place, it will not happen” (NIV). And, indeed, no attack took place. Ahaz and the leaders had responded in fear to the threat of an attack.

One of the primary weapons of “the terrorist of all times, the father of terrorism” is to try to build fear in the hearts of those he is attempting to victimize through threats and allusions. 1 John 4:18 teaches us that fear has torment—it is a form of terrorism!

I heard it said years ago that “fear is the down payment on 90 percent of things that never happen.” If we embrace the lies/threats of “the terrorist,” we will be weakened, our faith will lose its vitality, and we will be overcome.

Verse 9 - Isaiah finishes this word with this very potent statement that reaches across the centuries to where we are today. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isaiah 7:9b NIV).

This is not the time to be putting your faith in anything but in Him. Faith in the church is not going to cut it; having faith in people is dangerous; having faith in pet doctrines about faith is dangerous. Our world is being shaken! Things we thought never would happen, are! People that we thought were trustworthy, aren’t. And because of all this, some are giving up; they have lost heart!

God’s word to us is, “Don’t lose heart, stand firm in your faith!” We are to love Him! We are to trust Him! God alone is our salvation!

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal” (Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV).

(If this article has ministered to you, please share it with others. Print the article and give it to them or encourage them to visit the blog site and read this message for themselves.)

Friday, July 9, 2010

THE SOUND OF A HEAVY RAIN!

The prophets of Baal were all dead, slaughtered after the fire of God fell on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:40). Afterwards, Elijah told Ahab to “go, eat and celebrate, for I hear the sound of a heavy rain.”

The sky, however, was a bright blue, with no clouds anywhere. How could Elijah say such a thing? What Elijah said was not based on what he was seeing with the natural eye, nor was it based on what he thought might happen. Elijah was speaking by faith, saying what he knew would happen.

“I hear the sound of a heavy rain.” In the original language the word for “sound” is often translated in other passages to be “voice” and frequently “voice of the Lord” (Genesis 3:8). Elijah was not being presumptuous; he was not confessing something for which there was no basis—he had heard the voice of the Lord.

At the very beginning of this chapter, God told Elijah, “Go present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” The Lord’s promise was still alive in Elijah’s spirit even though the sky was cloudless. Elijah knew what was about to happen because he had heard the voice of the Lord say it!

This is a colossal truth for all of us. When the Lord quickens a promise to you and His Spirit brings it alive in you, the combination of the Word and the quickening of the Spirit is God’s voice speaking to you. That’s the basis for you to step out in faith: “I hear the sound of a heavy rain.”

Presumption and wishful thinking have brought terrible distress on the message of faith and they simply need to go away. God’s word is true and when He speaks it into our heart and spirit, we have a basis to step out in faith.

Elijah heard the sound of God’s voice in the promise that took him to Zarephath, and from that voice he dared to step out in faith and declare, “…the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil shall not run dry….” It was the same reassuring voice that said to him, “I will send rain on the land,” and it was with that confidence that Elijah could say, “I hear the sound of a heavy rain.”

There was only one problem with all of this; there still was not a cloud in the sky! Elijah went to the top of Mt. Carmel and “bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees” (18:42).

This is the posture of an expectant mother about to give birth and it is also the spiritual posture of intercession. Elijah assumed the position of the persistent intercessor (*see note below) and said to his servant, “Go and look toward the sea” (18:43). The servant returned and said, “There is nothing there.” Six times the servant looked and each time he came back with the same report, “I don’t see anything.” On the seventh time the servant said, “A cloud the size of a man’s hand is rising from the sea” (18:44).

Elijah immediately sent a message to Ahab: “You’d better get in your chariot and get out of here before the rain starts and you get stuck in the mud” (18:44b).

Today’s church seems to be quite strong with its teaching and understanding of faith but what happened to the prayer life that must accompany faith? Today’s American church is largely prayerless and powerless. Large attendance must not be confused with power, because it is not! May God forgive us for our lack of consistency in prayer.

Elijah went to prayer to show the nation that he was not something special but simply a man God was using. It is through prayer that we display our dependency on Him. Prayer is an act of humility and homage. “…I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit…” (Isaiah 57:15 NIV).

“The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (James 5:16b-18 NIV).

As it started to rain, Ahab jumped into his chariot and headed for home (v. 45). And then something unique happened. The power of God came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel” (v. 46).

The literal rendering of the phrase “the power of God came on Elijah” is “the hand of God touched Elijah.” I believe the Lord was pleased with Elijah, and as a father would do with his son who has brought him joy, God reached out and put His loving hand on Elijah. The hand of the Lord is a symbol of power and as the hand of the Lord touched Elijah, he was so energized in the natural that he outran Ahab’s chariot for a distance of about twenty miles.

Could it be any clearer—could it be any simpler? It was when Elijah came out of prayer, out of an intense period of intercession, that the power of God manifested itself by resting on him.

The hand of the Lord, the power of God, will not come to a prayerless church…it will not! We will not hear the sound of rain in our land until we humble ourselves and find our place in prayer! (See 2 Chronicles 7:14.)

Do we want to hear the sound of heavy rain?

(*Definition of persistent intercessor—This is the prayer warrior who says, “I will not give up, I will not let go, I will not stop ‘asking, seeking, knocking’ until I see the fulfillment of that which God has promised!”)

Friday, July 2, 2010

THE GRAND SMACKDOWN

God would not let Elijah establish residence in either Cherith or Zeraphath. After three years in Zeraphath, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land. So Elijah went…” (1 Kings 18:1-2).

Elijah’s life was not just moving from one community to another; rather, the events of his life were the journey on the road of the making of a man of God. The journey ultimately led to Mt. Carmel and a showdown with the forces of evil that could be seen as the greatest act of deliverance ever recorded—an entire nation was brought back from evil domination to freedom!

Some of us will serve the Lord in one place for most of our lives. Others of us will be “rolling stones” and will have several places of service over our lifetime. In all situations God will orchestrate our personal journey with times at Cherith, Zeriphath and on Mt. Carmel. We are all on the journey to maturity.

The apostasy of Israel was not just the evil of Ahab and Jezebel; the wickedness is underscored by the fact that there were hundreds of demonic prophets in the nation. The showdown on Mt. Carmel was really not between Elijah and the prophets of Baal; it was a war between heaven and the forces of evil and the battle would show the nation who was god!

Elijah established the terms of the contest and did so fairly. Each side would sacrifice an ox in just the same way and then each side would have the opportunity to invite their god to consume the sacrifice by fire. “The God who answers by fire—he is God” (18:24).

Elijah permitted the prophets of Baal to go first. The ox was killed and laid on the altar. The big moment had arrived for the evil prophets and they began to call on the name of Baal. “Answer us!” they shouted as they began to dance around their altar.

Nothing happened! After several hours Elijah began to taunt them, “Shout louder! Perhaps Baal is deep in thought; maybe he’s on vacation or in the bathroom, or perhaps he is asleep!” The madness of hell began to possess the prophets of Baal and their dancing became more frantic, the shouting louder. They began to slash themselves with knives until they were covered in blood. The demonic display continued for much of the afternoon but there was no answer and no fire fell.

Finally Elijah called the assembled crowd to him. In front of the people, Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord which lay in ruins (18:30). Around the rebuilt altar, Elijah dug a shallow trench and on the altar he arranged the wood and placed the pieces of the sacrifice. He then ordered the people to fill four large jars with water and drench the sacrifice, the wood, and the entire altar. Twice more he sent for water and drenched the altar until water filled the surrounding trench.

Elijah then prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again" (1 Kings 18:36-37).

Out of a clear blue sky the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the soil and even the water in the trench. When the assembled thousands of people saw this, they fell flat on their faces and began to cry out “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” (18:39).

For hours the people had watched the demon-possessed prophets try to work their magic and nothing had happened. Baal had more than ample opportunity to show up and start a fire and could not! In a relatively short time, Elijah made his preparations for the sacrifice and then he humbly prayed and asked God to answer. God did answer, with fire—the sign of His holiness, His judgment and His acceptance/blessing. God judged the evil and accepted the sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Observing the lead-up to Mt. Carmel, it’s very easy to get caught up in the nuances of what Cherith and Zarephath meant to the preparation of Elijah as a man of God. We meet Obadiah and we are given a glimpse into the crippling effects of divided loyalty. We study these and learn how God prepares His children for growth and maturity.

On Mt. Carmel the preparation period was over, and we do ourselves a disservice if we miss the simplicity of what happened. God loves His people and went to great lengths, in spite of their rebellious ways, in spite of their gross sins, to bring them a deliverer who called them back to Him. In a massive display of power, God showed His children that He forgave them and accepted the sacrifice on their behalf. This is a monumental picture of grace not deserved—but freely given!