Take God Seriously

"These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, 'They shall surely die in the wilderness.' And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun." -Numbers 26.63-65

God commands the people to be counted again, this is the generation that is going to enter the Promised Land. Among those counted are none who were numbered during the first census except for Joshua and Caleb. Everyone else who had doubted God's promise had died in the wilderness, just as God had said they would. God's judgments are final and absolute. Those who refused to trust Him and follow Him were never allowed to enter the land and receive the blessings He had promised.

Men, let us take God seriously. When God says something will happen it will. When He says that all who come to new life in His Son Jesus will find eternal life, let us believe Him and receive it. The opposite is also true, that all who reject Jesus will be cast out from His presence into eternal death. When God pronounces a blessing let us receive it with full faith and confidence that it will be given, and let us live to seize it. When He pronounces judgment let us live with the same assurance that it will happen exactly as He said.

God is very serious in what He says. Nothing is said casually or haphazardly, so let us believe all that He says and take Him seriously. He told Israel that no one who left Egypt would enter the land except for Joshua and Caleb, and it was so. Just as God was serious then, He is serious now, and only those who come to new life in His Son will enter the Promised Land of Heaven.

May we always take God seriously.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Cut Off

"But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself from uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord; the water for impurity has not been sprinkled on him, he is unclean." -Numbers 19.20

This verse follows instructions about purification in regards to touching a dead body. There was a cleansing ritual that needed to take place otherwise the person would remain unclean, and an unclean person, who would not purify himself, was not permitted to remain in the assembly and defile the sanctuary of God. As I read this my mind goes to the judgment seat.

There will come a day when all of us will stand before God, and those who have not been cleansed from their sins by the blood of Christ, will be cut off from the assembly of God's people forever. Sin has no place with God, it cannot be in His presence and defile heaven. It will be cast out from Him, and the one who has not been cleansed will spend eternity separated from God.

Men, have your sins been purified? Have you been cleansed of iniquity and found forgiveness in Christ? Have you been sprinkled by the blood of Christ so that you may enter the assembly of God forever? If not what are you waiting for? Time is short, the longer I live the more I realize that. Death is certain, there is no way off of planet Earth without facing it.

Will you be welcomed into eternal fellowship with God, or cut off from His holy presence forever? The choice is yours.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

One Way

"Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp, and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people. The reason is so that the sons of Israel may bring their sacrifices which they were sacrificing in the open field, that they may bring them in to the Lord, at the doorway of the tent of meeting to the priest, and sacrifice them as sacrifices of peace offerings to the Lord. The priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and offer up the fat in smoke as a soothing aroma to the Lord. They shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to the goat demons with which they play the harlot. This shall be a permanent statute to them throughout their generations." -Leviticus 17.3-7

God is giving instructions on how the people are to kill and offer their sacrifices. It isn't be be done outside the camp, but brought before the Lord. The sacrifice is to be made to God at the tabernacle, not out in the field to a false God. Atonement comes from God alone, and He does not want His people to be led astray by the pagan nations they encounter. There was one way to find forgiveness, one way to make the sacrifice.

As we've said before, this sacrificial system has been made obsolete by the work of Jesus on the cross and at the empty tomb. But even with this there is still only one way to attain salvation. It is only through the blood of Jesus Christ that our sins can be forgiven (John 14.6). It is only by accepting the new life that He offers that we can live with power over sin (Romans 6). There is no other option, and if we would be saved we must call on the name of the Lord (Acts 2.21). We must confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead to be saved (Romans 10.9).

Men, the only way to find salvation is in Jesus Christ. The five pillars of Islam, though good practices to live by, will not bring you salvation. Salvation is not found in the Buddhist attainment of nirvana. We don't find forgiveness by making it through the five caste systems of Hinduism. The only way to be saved is faith in Jesus Christ.

Let us turn to Jesus, and look to Him for salvation. Apart from Christ there can be no real forgiveness, no real salvation, and no path to God. There is only one way, and it is found in Jesus.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Not Disqualified

"All the skillful men among those who were performing the work made the tabernacle with ten curtains; of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material, with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman, Bezalel made them." Exodus 36.8

The construction of the Tabernacle and its articles is underway, and we see that Bezalel, the skillful workman God called and appointed to oversee the building process is hard at work in the service of God. The reason this stands out to me is because we don't know of Bezalel's actions with the Golden Calf.

We don't know if he took part in the worship of the idol Aaron made for the people. I'm sure there were those who did not, but we don't know, he very well may have been heavily involved in the day's festivities. If we look ahead to 1 Chronicles 2.20 we see that he is part of the tribe of Judah. Even after Moses' return, when he calls for those who were for the Lord, only the Levites come to him, so Bezalel wasn't part of that group.

Bezales' actions during this event will forever be a mystery to us. He could have gathered with other faithful followers away from the idol, refusing to take place in the idolatry. But maybe he was an active worshiper who fell into disobedience and sin. For the sake of this post, let's say the second option is true. Let's say he bought into what everyone else was doing and went along with it, worshiping a gold cow as God. Even this didn't disqualify him from the service of God. After Moses has spoken on behalf of the people and sought restoration with God, we find Bezalel hard at work building the the Tabernacle.

Men, your past does not disqualify you from serving God. No matter what you have done, no matter what your sins may be, there is grace and forgiveness. The events of your past life, your old life if you have received forgiveness, have been erased from God's mind. He does not remember them, and He does not hold them against you. When we receive new life in Christ, we are made fit for His service.

In the song "A Few Good Men" I shared yesterday it says, "He calls the broken derelict whose life has been renewed". When God forgives us, we are fit and called to serve Him. The past is forgiven and forgotten, and we are able to participate as skillful workmen in the service of God.

Forgiven men are not disqualified.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Let it Go

"Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept." -Genesis 33.4

Twenty years ago Jacob tricked his brother out of both his birthright and blessing. The last we knew Esau had vowed to kill Jacob as soon as their father died. Jacob fled, but God has told him to return, and has passed the covenant of Abraham on to him. But this covenant has come with the words, "Go back home." Everything has led up to this moment. Finally, after all this time, and all the events, the twin brothers come face to face.

Esau runs to him and embraces him. The two of them reunite, and revenge couldn't be farther from the picture. Esau has let it go. He values his brother more than any birthright or blessing. It's been twenty years since they've seen each other, and the only thing on Esau's mind is making up for lost time.

Men, what are you holding on to from the past? What is so important about this grudge you're holding? Is the revenge you seek really worth it? How many relationships have been lost because of a lack of forgiveness? How many memories have been forfeited because you've clung to the past? How much growth has been stunted because you haven't let it go?

I need to point out, forgiveness does not mean what happened was ok. Forgiveness does not mean that what happened didn't hurt. Forgiveness does not give the person permission to do it again. But forgiveness says I don't hold this against you, and I don't allow myself to be imprisoned by this anymore. God will have justice, don't worry about getting even. But if you seek to become like Christ, holding on to the wrongs against you, or that you've committed against others, will greatly slow you down.

Esau isn't the only one to let it go, Jacob does do. He has humbled himself before his brother, seeking forgiveness and mercy. He doesn't beat himself up over the past, but seeks to reconcile it and move forward. And Esau, who could have taken revenge instead offers the forgiveness that is being sought. They both have let it go.

What are you holding on to? Something that you've done? Something that was done to you? Why can't you let it go?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Wild at Heart, Chapter 7: Healing the Wound, part 2

"That is the way we are with our wound, especially men. We bury it deep and never take it out again. But take it out we must, or better, enter into it." This is no easy task, I really believe that many refuse to even attempt this. For me its has been difficult to identify the wounds at times. Some are easy and obvious, but others aren't so clear. I'm thinking of the first time I was at the Dead Sea in Israel. It was January, and like most men I didn't use lotion during the winter. The first time I went into the salty water I felt ever crack in the skin on my hands, and most of them I wasn't aware of before that moment.

On the journey to manhood healing is essential, without it we have no other option except to live as posers, putting up a front, and hoping it gets us through life. To be men, we must face out wounds, we must enter them and get to root of them in order that they may be healed. And this is something the enemy works hard to prevent. "The whole false self is an elaborate defense against entering our wounded heart." I just thought of the movie Hitch, Will Smith plays a dating consultant who works to help guys reinvent themselves to win the girl. He guards Himself, presents a false self, and appears to be happy, but really he drives the girl away. It isn't until the end when he realizes that the woman is interested in who he really is, that he is enough, that he wins her. He faces his wound, he enters it, and because of that he is healed and the relationship is saved.

"But a wound unfelt is a wound unhealed. We must go in." In order to be men our wounds must be healed. And in order to be healed they must be felt. We must face the wounds and enter them. And at this point it get's extremely individualized. "There are no formulas with God. The way in which God heals our wound is a deeply personal process. He is a person and he insists on working personally."

How I am healed is not the same way you will be. But there is one commonality for all of our healing, "Healing never happens outside of intimacy with Christ. The healing of our wound flows out of our union with Him." Half way through my junior year of college things began to change for me. I had just gotten out of an almost two year relationship. I had lost sight of priorities and had cut a lot of friends out of my life, and had really neglected my spiritual growth. I remember telling some of the few friends I still had, "I feel like God is running way out in front of my and I'm trying to catch Him. But instead of offering encouragement and slowing down He turns and says, 'Just try and catch me!' and sprints faster to get away."

I knew the relationship needed to end, but I didn't know how to get out of it. We had been together for almost two years, we had talked about marriage (seriously have no idea what I was thinking), and now I just felt stuck. The fall of 2007 I really began to focus on God, really began to pour out to Him. He stepped in ended the relationship, and then on New Years day at around 1:00 am I was alone in my room. I sat there thinking about the last year, thinking about how much it had sucked, and then I just began to pray. I remember telling God how much I wanted this next year to be different. I had already begun to grow closer to Him again, and at that moment He and I began a journey together, running side by side. It began with Philippians 3.13b-14, " forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." And for much of the next few years I poured through the four short, yet powerful, chapters of this incredible letter.

I have found so much healing in those pages, not just for that wound, but for most of the ones I've been dealt. Last January things at the Church I was pastoring got really rough. I was in a board meeting where I quickly found myself on the receiving end of a verbal shotgun that lasted well over an hour. I called my mentor the next day and ended up crying on the phone as he began to put some of the pieces back together. And then I went back to Philippians. I read the book in its entirety every day for a few weeks, each day picking up on something different. And in those moments finding healing and the strength to go on.
As I'm writing this I feel the need to go back into them again, another wound, one of the subtle ones but one of the first I'd received, has been revealed to me, and its time for it to be stitched up.

John mentions four steps in the chapter, that though they will be uniquely fulfilled in each of us, are universal in the healing process. The first is "Surrender". This is where it all begins. There is no healing apart from the stitching done by God, and so we must invite Jesus into our wounds, but we must also meet Him there. Healing cannot be done at a distance, we must work through this with Christ. This is one of those procedures where the patient must be awake and alert in order to be able to respond to what the surgeon is doing for proper healing. "Christ comes to restore and release you, your soul, the true you." As Philippians 1.6 tells us, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." You were created to be a Man of God, and Christ is at work to make you just that, but we must enter into the wound with Him. To be healed we must surrender.

Step two is to "Grieve". As a pastor I have had the opportunity to share intense moments with people as life came to an end. I've been with a family at the hospital as a wife was told her husband of 60 plus years might not make it through the night. I held her and as she sat and took it all in. I was with a family in a hospice room as they waited for dad and grandpa to take his last breath. I preached his funeral. And one of the things that I shared with them is that grieving is part of the healing process. We must grieve. We something precious is lost or stolen from us, grieving helps to admit the truth that it hurt and it mattered. If we refuse to grieve we reject the pain, we deny the loss, and we never heal. Grieving is key, because grieving says it happened, and grieving works to heal.

Step three is "Letting God Love us". We must let God get really close. "This deep intimate union with Jesus and with his Father is the source of all our healing and all our strength." It is in those moments of deep study of Scripture, of intense prayer, and in moments of silence and solitude with God that the most crucial truths have been spoken into my life. In order for God to sew up the wound He's got to get closer than arm's length, He's got to get face to face with us. We must fall into His arms, or climb up into His lap and curl up. We must allow ourselves to be loved by God. This means vulnerability but it is the safest vulnerability ever because we offer ourselves fully to the hands of the creator. The love of God heals all wounds.

Finally, we must "Forgive". John points out that this is a choice we make, it is never something we feel like doing. Forgiveness is the final step because the other three must happen for us to be able to choose to forgive. I must first surrender to Jesus and enter my wound. As I do I must grieve it. I don't deny that it happened, I don't deny that it hurt, I don't say that it didn't matter. And through all of this, I allow God to love me, to speak truth to me and to heal me. And then we come to this final step, we choose to forgive. Forgiveness doesn't say that it never happened, it doesn't say it was ok, we've already acknowledged it did in our grief. Forgiveness releases those who wounded us and says, "I don't hold this against you." It doesn't mean we will have warm fuzzy feelings for those people, it simply means we let it go, that we aren't imprisoned to it any more. It means the band-aid has been removed, the stitches have done their job, and there is now a beautiful scar.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3.20-21

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor