By John Stallings
On Thanksgiving Day a man who loved football went out to watch his hometown team play. It was the most important game of the season.
His seat was terrible but he could see the best seat in the stadium sitting vacant. “What a waste” he thought so he made his way over & asked the man in the next seat, “excuse me, is this seat taken?”
“Be my guest” said the man, “My wife was a fan too but she died.” “I’m sorry for your loss” said the man, sitting down. “But why didn’t you ask someone else to come with you, say & friend or relative.” “I would have” came the reply, “but they’re all at the funeral.”
Though this is just a cute story, it expresses what the “missing chip” is in our day. What is that chip, or the character trait of which I speak? It’s Loyalty.
The dictionary defines loyalty thusly; “Loyalty connotes love and devotion one holds for one’s country, creed, family & friends; allegiance & sense of obligation.
THERE’S A DIFFERENCE IN LOYALTY & COMMITMENT
· Commitment can be forced; for example a company or cooperation can demand that their workers be committed.
· Loyalty can’t be forced, but rather springs from love.
· Loyalty is love squared to the highest power.
It’s interesting that in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 when Paul was describing the last days, he mentioned nothing about wars or bombs or bloodshed; he gave us a spiritual picture consisting of nineteen earmarks of the last days. Keep in mind Paul is describing religious people here. The very first sign Paul gives is;
For men shall be lovers of their own selves. A leading indicator of the end times is self-love or loyalty to self only.
Proverbs 30:11 says---There is a generation that curseth their father & doth not bless their mother. This also sounds a lot like our generation, don’t you think?
Further underscoring the lack of loyalty in the last days Jesus said
in Matthew 10:21 … the brother shall deliver up brother to death and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.
This is truly a day of “it’s all about me”-mentality.
I read a story about a man who took a course on life saving. One day he came to class all excited. He said he’d had the opportunity over the last week to put into practice some things he’d learned in the class.
The other pupils excitedly asked him for details. He explained there was a big car wreck near his home & as soon as he heard about it he rushed to the scene of the accident.
He said, “When I arrived, there was blood & carnage everywhere. I immediately went into action with one of the very first things I learned here in class.” The other students again eagerly inquired as to what he actually did so he went on; “As soon as I got there & saw all the blood, I thought of what I’d learned here & promptly knelt down, put my head between my knees to keep from fainting.” To that young man, the life saving class was all about saving his own skin.
LOYALTY & COMMITMENT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUDAS & PETER.
· Peter had a failure of faith but,
· Judas had a failure of love.
In John 12:1-6 when Mary brought a pound of expensive ointment & poured it on Jesus’ feet, Judas spoke up & harshly condemned her for squandering the precious ointment on Jesus’ feet saying the money could be given to the poor.
John doesn’t equivocate about it & flatly tells us Judas wasn’t interested in helping the poor. He was blowing smoke. He was the treasurer & had been skimming off the top of the Lord’s money & wanted his share of that expensive item. Judas had lost his love for Jesus & didn’t want an item that precious “wasted” on something so mundane.
Here’s a key to loyalty; when someone is loyal to you, they enjoy seeing you blessed. When you are blessed it’s almost as if that person themselves were being blessed. When someone has no love in their heart for you, it’s like a slap in their face to see you blessed. A real friend will be with you in your “ups” as well as your “downs.”
Preachers who have large ministries are often criticized for employing as many of their family as possible & because of this are sometimes accused of nepotism. They’ll have close family members on their boards & working close to them because they feel at least the relative loves them, when someone brought in from the outside could have a hireling’s spirit & not be loyal to them.
Judas’ problem was he no longer loved Jesus & consequently he didn’t want to see Jesus doted on & given such extravagant treatment by Mary. Conversely, Peter had a temporary lapse of faith but he never lost his love for Jesus.
It’s not always the case but I’ve observed over the years that the reason some people so vehemently oppose tithing is because at the root of the issue is their love for the Lord. I also doubt God would bless something given grudging anyway. If you & I can’t reach down in our pockets & get a dime out of a dollar & give it to God out of a heart of thankfulness & gratitude, it’s very likely because we are deficient in our love for Him. Just a little food for thought.
We tend to put our money, time & energies into the things we love & have relationships with. I look over some congregations as the worship service is going on & some people are lost in worship while others are yawning & looking around as if they’re sitting in the dentist’s waiting room waiting for a root canal. As they come by to shake the preacher’s hand after church, you are tempted to ask, “Did it hurt much this time?” Again, could it be that these bored souls are uncomfortable because they don’t love & value God & his house & down deep they don’t feel He is worthy of their praise & worship?
HUNG BY THE TONGUE
We should never underestimate the power of the words we speak. Jesus said in Matthew 12:37, -- For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Let’s do a little post mortem on the incident of Peter denying Christ. Its given complete coverage thanks to the four evangelists & they all contribute pieces of the story. For example, Matthew & Mark tell us that in Peter’s third denial there was a reference of Peter as a man from Galilee because of his accent. Mark alone tells us that at the first crowing of the cock Peter paid no attention. Luke alone tells us that an hour had passed between the second & the third denial & also he is the evangelist who describes Jesus looking at Peter. From John we have the information that the third time Peter was questioned it was by a relative of Malchus, the man whose ear he had severed. John alone tells us of the three-fold restoration of Peter, “Do you love me?”
As Peter warmed himself by the community fire a woman notices him in the flickering firelight & says, “You were with that Nazarene, Jesus….Mark 14:67-68.
Acting out of fear & panic, Peter swore an oath that he absolutely never knew Jesus. Matt. 26:72. When it hit Peter that he’d in fact really denied & sworn that he didn’t know Jesus, he went out & wept bitterly.
LOOK AT THE DAMAGE PETER DID WITH HIS WORDS.
With Peter’s oaths & cursing, he unplugged himself from his apostolic standing. He took himself out with his words.
In Mark 16:7, Jesus had already risen from the dead when Mary & others came to the tomb to anoint his body. An angel met them & said…….Go tell His disciples-- and Peter—that he goeth before you into Galilee…..
In making a distinction between the disciples & Peter, Jesus was recognizing what Peter had established in separating himself from the other disciples in swearing by an oath with his mouth that he wasn’t a disciple.
When Jesus appeared to the seven disciples as they were fishing, He made a fire & had fish & bread prepared. John 21:9 tells us the fire Jesus made was a fire of coals. John 18:18 tells us that the fire Peter was warming himself by when he denied Jesus three times was also made of coals.
Isn’t it interesting that in the Word of God no detail is lost? A totally different aroma emanates from a coal fire than from a fire made of wood. A person can be blind- folded & tell the difference in burning coal & burning wood. Jesus took Peter aside to test his love for Him, but did you notice He didn’t call him Peter? Jesus now called him by his old name, Simon.
Earlier Jesus had changed his name to Peter, meaning rock, but that was before Peter denied Him. Now Jesus calls him by his old name, Simon, which means reed. With the aroma from a coal fire in his nostrils, reminding Simon of the night he denied knowing Him, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. Three times Simon affirms his love for his Master. Upon completion of the test Simon is plugged back in, restored to apostolic ministry & commissioned to feed the Lord’s sheep.
Peter was a young man when this happened. Though maybe you & I have never denied Christ as Peter did, we’ve all probably made mistakes in being silent at times when we should have spoken up for Christ.
But Peter never again made that mistake & apocryphal writings tell us when it came his time to be martyred for the Lord, he showed his loyalty & true colors by requesting to be crucified upside down.
ELIJAH AND ELISHA-A PICTURE OF LOYALTY
Elijah is one of the most electrifying prophets in the Bible. In 1 Kings 17:1 he storms on the scene without so much as an introduction. The first time we hear of him he’s storming Ahab’s palace with the message that there’s going to be a long drought & it won’t be raining until he says so.
We’re familiar with Elisha, the young man who took Elijah’s mantle when God took him to heaven in a chariot of fire. But did you know Elijah had a servant before Elisha? Most people aren’t aware of this person because he’s an un-named servant. We read about him in 1 Kings 19:1-3. The un-named servant is un-named & unknown probably because when he had a chance, he abandoned Elijah.
In 1 Kings 19:3 we read, --and when Elijah saw that, he arose & went for his life & came to Beer-sheba which belongeth to Judah &----- left his servant there.Elijah was getting ready to go into the wilderness & no doubt the young un- named servant didn’t really want to go so when given the chance he copped out. To say the least there was no loyalty in this young man whoever he was.
In 1 Kings 19:19 we read about the calling of Elisha. It wasn’t as if he was looking for a job, he was happy running the farm he was in charge of. Can you imagine how hard it must have been for him to control 24 oxen plowing through earth that was parched with famine for over three years? I’m sure sweat was running down his brow as he squinted into the sunlight, when all at once a shadow fell over him for a moment.
Imagine the double-take Elisha must have had when he looked up & saw Elijah standing there? Everyone knew who Elijah was because most of them had been up on Mt. Carmel a few days prior to this when he called down fire from heaven. What could Elijah possibly want with him? Before he could stop the oxen & speak, Elijah took off his outer robe or mantle & threw it right on his head.
Elisha knew Elijah was not only offering him a job, but he was offering him an opportunity to be a prophet too. It can’t have been easy to think about this job. Elijah was the man. Elijah was the be-all, end-all of prophets for Pete’s sake.
In 2 Kings 2, Elijah had decided to take a farewell tour of all the cities he’d worked in & invited Elisha to follow along. Three times in that chapter he offered Elisha a chance to stay behind like he’d offered that un-named helper but three times Elisha would say, “No way.” I’m sticking with you so I can learn everything I can from you.”
I don’t think we could find a better example of loyalty than Elisha. In Bible days the firstborn got a double-potion & that’s what Elisha got for staying with Elijah. Elisha stayed “joined at the hip” with Elijah & he was watching when a chariot of fire swept down & scooped Elijah up & he caught his mantle as it fluttered back to earth. Even after Elisha’s death there was still enough power resident in his bones that a man was raised from the dead by coming in contact with them. 2 Kings 14:21
SEEDS OF DISLOYALTY ARE BORN IN OFFENSE
One of the most appalling examples of disloyalty in the Bible is the case of King David’s son Absalom. He became furious with his father when he didn’t act decisively when his son Amnon raped his sister Tamar. He finally led an insurrection against his father. Obviously Absalom had some legitimate complaints against his father, feeling that if he would let the rape of his sister slide he’d neglect the people’s business in the same way. The offense against David finally saw Absalom driven to such extremes he eventually died hanging by his hair from a tree limb, his heart pierced with darts.
If you’ve been a Christian any length of time more than likely you’ve been offended by someone. The devil has a field day when this happens because he uses strife to separate people & rob them of God’s power, not to mention the joy & peace they forfeit.
None of us are beyond being offended by someone & none of us are above offending someone else. James 3:2. While some offenses are intentional, some are unintended & some are even imaginary. Along life’s road people are going to do us wrong or say things that hurt us. We will all be offended.
Experience has taught me that people who go from church to church are usually carrying an offense of some kind. In many cases the offense they have suffered is very real. The problem with these people is they are almost too sensitive to live in this world. You have to walk on egg shells around them for fear of wounding their delicate sensibilities. If you’re always getting your feelings hurt you’re too sensitive. If you get hurt & upset by something or someone every time you go out in public, you need to get a thicker skin.
The Child of God is forbidden to nurse & rehearse our offenses because this will grow into a grudge. James 5:9 Rom. 12:17-19.
LET’S LOOK AT THREE STELLAR EXAMPLES OF LOYALTY.
DAVID
People often wonder about David & how he could be called…a man after God’s own heart… when he sinned so abjectly with Bathsheba & then killed her husband.
When David was just a lad tending his father’s sheep a Bear came in on the flock one day & David killed the Bear with his bare [no pun intended] hands. Can you imagine him doing that when he had every excuse to run for his life? In another incident, a Lion attacked his father’s flock & had taken a sheep away in his powerful jaws & David ran him down, took the sheep out of his mouth & killed the Lion. Could there be a greater evidence of David’s loyalty to his father? To further show David’s loyal heart, when his son Absalom died making war against David, after having come close to killing him, David wept sorely saying, “Oh Absalom, my son my son Absalom, would God I had died for thee. Oh Absalom, my son, my son.”
Though David sinned horribly, & the sword never departed from his house, God saw that he had repented & rather than running from Him as Saul did, his loyal heart would be broken over his sin & he’d come to God in true repentance.
ABRAHAM
Only 22 chapters from the front of the Bible God is asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac on an alter. What Abraham didn’t see was that as he trudged up one side of the mountain where he was instructed to go to sacrifice his son, there was a Ram walking up the other side to be used instead of Isaac when God saw Abraham would be loyal enough to Him to obey His command.
Abraham had plenty of chinks in his armor but God saw his loyal heart. God wasn’t so impressed with Abraham’s knife as it was being lifted up above the head of Isaac, but He was impressed when He saw that knife coming down.
JOSEPH
Think about this young Hebrew Brad Pitt. He was young & handsome & Potiphar’s wife was sexy & beautiful. When she tried to get Joseph in her bed he resisted her & left his coat in her arms as he fled. I’ve said it lots of times, but that boy had a hard time keeping a coat didn’t he? Joseph stood strong against that sexual temptation but in the end he was sent away to prison on a trumped up rape charge. Notice that for Joseph’s loyalty God didn’t give him a badge of faithfulness. Heavenly music didn’t play & angels didn’t come down & minister to young Joseph. God didn’t have thunder & lightening to shake the earth & write across the sky; that’s my boy.”
Not only did Joseph get no rewards or praise, things actually got worse for him because he stood for the right. Joseph went to prison. But Joseph didn’t allow himself to become bitter. He just kept on serving in the prison. However in God’s time, this Hebrew did the unthinkable. He came out of the prison & was given an Egyptian chariot & the license plate had a big number 2 stamped on it.
I can imagine Potipher eating breakfast one morning & asking Mrs. Potipher, “Honey, do you remember that young guy who tried to rape you a few years ago? She answers, “I think so, you mean the cute guy who worked around here? Yeh, I think I remember him.” Right!
Potipher says, “You know hon, I hope we didn’t make a mistake by sending him to jail. He’s out now & I report to him this morning when I go to work.”
Before God uses us He always puts us through a test first. He’s testing our loyalty to Him.
Look at the test’s he gave the great apostle Paul who was used by God to write two-thirds of the New Testament. Some people say God won’t force us to do anything. That’s probably true but don’t forget Paul was struck blind the day he was converted. God said to him in essence, “if you don’t want to work for me, that’s O.K. here’s a tapping stick & a collection pan, & Main Street is two blocks south.” Then God spoke to Ananias & said;
Arise & go into the street which is called Straight, & inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus: for behold he prayeth…..go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles….for I will show him the great things he must suffer for my names sake. Acts 9:11-15
For those of you who like me grew up in Sunday School, the story of Ruth & Naomi is a familiar one. Sometimes I’m tempted to smile when I hear the words "Wherever you go I'll go & where ever you lodge I'll lodge & thy people will be my people " quoted at a wedding as if these famous words were uttered between spouses.
They were obviously spoken from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law. Sometimes it’s as if the inspiring words have been forgotten.
When you read the narrative you find that Naomi’s life hadn’t turned out as she had envisioned & she by her own admission was bitter. Naomi had left Bethlehem hungry & now was returning to plenty of food but no companionship.
You are alone Naomi. Your life hasn’t turned out as you’d planned. You have no husband to care & provide for you & no sons to care for you in your old age. What’s the point? Your life is empty now.
She finally speaks. “No, in fact, I’m not Naomi, for Naomi no longer exists. Naomi is the name of a woman who went away full, a woman whose life was pleasant. I’m defiantly not that woman. No, don’t call me Naomi; call me Mara, for I am bitter, the Lord has dealt with me bitterly.”
She is so consumed with bitterness that she seems to forget that loyal Ruth is even by her side. But the narrative won’t allow us to forget. Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law is returning with her from Moab.
So in the midst of our pain we sometimes forget there’s someone traveling with us. We forget our loyal God who travels along side us on all our journeys & it’s through Him that we find our strength to travel on.
It’s in Him, our loyal Savior who travels with us that we find the promise of new life for it’s Him who says;
Where you go I’ll go, & you shall be my people.
Blessings,
John
His seat was terrible but he could see the best seat in the stadium sitting vacant. “What a waste” he thought so he made his way over & asked the man in the next seat, “excuse me, is this seat taken?”
“Be my guest” said the man, “My wife was a fan too but she died.” “I’m sorry for your loss” said the man, sitting down. “But why didn’t you ask someone else to come with you, say & friend or relative.” “I would have” came the reply, “but they’re all at the funeral.”
Though this is just a cute story, it expresses what the “missing chip” is in our day. What is that chip, or the character trait of which I speak? It’s Loyalty.
The dictionary defines loyalty thusly; “Loyalty connotes love and devotion one holds for one’s country, creed, family & friends; allegiance & sense of obligation.
THERE’S A DIFFERENCE IN LOYALTY & COMMITMENT
· Commitment can be forced; for example a company or cooperation can demand that their workers be committed.
· Loyalty can’t be forced, but rather springs from love.
· Loyalty is love squared to the highest power.
It’s interesting that in 2 Timothy 3:1-7 when Paul was describing the last days, he mentioned nothing about wars or bombs or bloodshed; he gave us a spiritual picture consisting of nineteen earmarks of the last days. Keep in mind Paul is describing religious people here. The very first sign Paul gives is;
For men shall be lovers of their own selves. A leading indicator of the end times is self-love or loyalty to self only.
Proverbs 30:11 says---There is a generation that curseth their father & doth not bless their mother. This also sounds a lot like our generation, don’t you think?
Further underscoring the lack of loyalty in the last days Jesus said
in Matthew 10:21 … the brother shall deliver up brother to death and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.
This is truly a day of “it’s all about me”-mentality.
I read a story about a man who took a course on life saving. One day he came to class all excited. He said he’d had the opportunity over the last week to put into practice some things he’d learned in the class.
The other pupils excitedly asked him for details. He explained there was a big car wreck near his home & as soon as he heard about it he rushed to the scene of the accident.
He said, “When I arrived, there was blood & carnage everywhere. I immediately went into action with one of the very first things I learned here in class.” The other students again eagerly inquired as to what he actually did so he went on; “As soon as I got there & saw all the blood, I thought of what I’d learned here & promptly knelt down, put my head between my knees to keep from fainting.” To that young man, the life saving class was all about saving his own skin.
LOYALTY & COMMITMENT WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUDAS & PETER.
· Peter had a failure of faith but,
· Judas had a failure of love.
In John 12:1-6 when Mary brought a pound of expensive ointment & poured it on Jesus’ feet, Judas spoke up & harshly condemned her for squandering the precious ointment on Jesus’ feet saying the money could be given to the poor.
John doesn’t equivocate about it & flatly tells us Judas wasn’t interested in helping the poor. He was blowing smoke. He was the treasurer & had been skimming off the top of the Lord’s money & wanted his share of that expensive item. Judas had lost his love for Jesus & didn’t want an item that precious “wasted” on something so mundane.
Here’s a key to loyalty; when someone is loyal to you, they enjoy seeing you blessed. When you are blessed it’s almost as if that person themselves were being blessed. When someone has no love in their heart for you, it’s like a slap in their face to see you blessed. A real friend will be with you in your “ups” as well as your “downs.”
Preachers who have large ministries are often criticized for employing as many of their family as possible & because of this are sometimes accused of nepotism. They’ll have close family members on their boards & working close to them because they feel at least the relative loves them, when someone brought in from the outside could have a hireling’s spirit & not be loyal to them.
Judas’ problem was he no longer loved Jesus & consequently he didn’t want to see Jesus doted on & given such extravagant treatment by Mary. Conversely, Peter had a temporary lapse of faith but he never lost his love for Jesus.
It’s not always the case but I’ve observed over the years that the reason some people so vehemently oppose tithing is because at the root of the issue is their love for the Lord. I also doubt God would bless something given grudging anyway. If you & I can’t reach down in our pockets & get a dime out of a dollar & give it to God out of a heart of thankfulness & gratitude, it’s very likely because we are deficient in our love for Him. Just a little food for thought.
We tend to put our money, time & energies into the things we love & have relationships with. I look over some congregations as the worship service is going on & some people are lost in worship while others are yawning & looking around as if they’re sitting in the dentist’s waiting room waiting for a root canal. As they come by to shake the preacher’s hand after church, you are tempted to ask, “Did it hurt much this time?” Again, could it be that these bored souls are uncomfortable because they don’t love & value God & his house & down deep they don’t feel He is worthy of their praise & worship?
HUNG BY THE TONGUE
We should never underestimate the power of the words we speak. Jesus said in Matthew 12:37, -- For by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Let’s do a little post mortem on the incident of Peter denying Christ. Its given complete coverage thanks to the four evangelists & they all contribute pieces of the story. For example, Matthew & Mark tell us that in Peter’s third denial there was a reference of Peter as a man from Galilee because of his accent. Mark alone tells us that at the first crowing of the cock Peter paid no attention. Luke alone tells us that an hour had passed between the second & the third denial & also he is the evangelist who describes Jesus looking at Peter. From John we have the information that the third time Peter was questioned it was by a relative of Malchus, the man whose ear he had severed. John alone tells us of the three-fold restoration of Peter, “Do you love me?”
As Peter warmed himself by the community fire a woman notices him in the flickering firelight & says, “You were with that Nazarene, Jesus….Mark 14:67-68.
Acting out of fear & panic, Peter swore an oath that he absolutely never knew Jesus. Matt. 26:72. When it hit Peter that he’d in fact really denied & sworn that he didn’t know Jesus, he went out & wept bitterly.
LOOK AT THE DAMAGE PETER DID WITH HIS WORDS.
With Peter’s oaths & cursing, he unplugged himself from his apostolic standing. He took himself out with his words.
In Mark 16:7, Jesus had already risen from the dead when Mary & others came to the tomb to anoint his body. An angel met them & said…….Go tell His disciples-- and Peter—that he goeth before you into Galilee…..
In making a distinction between the disciples & Peter, Jesus was recognizing what Peter had established in separating himself from the other disciples in swearing by an oath with his mouth that he wasn’t a disciple.
When Jesus appeared to the seven disciples as they were fishing, He made a fire & had fish & bread prepared. John 21:9 tells us the fire Jesus made was a fire of coals. John 18:18 tells us that the fire Peter was warming himself by when he denied Jesus three times was also made of coals.
Isn’t it interesting that in the Word of God no detail is lost? A totally different aroma emanates from a coal fire than from a fire made of wood. A person can be blind- folded & tell the difference in burning coal & burning wood. Jesus took Peter aside to test his love for Him, but did you notice He didn’t call him Peter? Jesus now called him by his old name, Simon.
Earlier Jesus had changed his name to Peter, meaning rock, but that was before Peter denied Him. Now Jesus calls him by his old name, Simon, which means reed. With the aroma from a coal fire in his nostrils, reminding Simon of the night he denied knowing Him, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Him. Three times Simon affirms his love for his Master. Upon completion of the test Simon is plugged back in, restored to apostolic ministry & commissioned to feed the Lord’s sheep.
Peter was a young man when this happened. Though maybe you & I have never denied Christ as Peter did, we’ve all probably made mistakes in being silent at times when we should have spoken up for Christ.
But Peter never again made that mistake & apocryphal writings tell us when it came his time to be martyred for the Lord, he showed his loyalty & true colors by requesting to be crucified upside down.
ELIJAH AND ELISHA-A PICTURE OF LOYALTY
Elijah is one of the most electrifying prophets in the Bible. In 1 Kings 17:1 he storms on the scene without so much as an introduction. The first time we hear of him he’s storming Ahab’s palace with the message that there’s going to be a long drought & it won’t be raining until he says so.
We’re familiar with Elisha, the young man who took Elijah’s mantle when God took him to heaven in a chariot of fire. But did you know Elijah had a servant before Elisha? Most people aren’t aware of this person because he’s an un-named servant. We read about him in 1 Kings 19:1-3. The un-named servant is un-named & unknown probably because when he had a chance, he abandoned Elijah.
In 1 Kings 19:3 we read, --and when Elijah saw that, he arose & went for his life & came to Beer-sheba which belongeth to Judah &----- left his servant there.Elijah was getting ready to go into the wilderness & no doubt the young un- named servant didn’t really want to go so when given the chance he copped out. To say the least there was no loyalty in this young man whoever he was.
In 1 Kings 19:19 we read about the calling of Elisha. It wasn’t as if he was looking for a job, he was happy running the farm he was in charge of. Can you imagine how hard it must have been for him to control 24 oxen plowing through earth that was parched with famine for over three years? I’m sure sweat was running down his brow as he squinted into the sunlight, when all at once a shadow fell over him for a moment.
Imagine the double-take Elisha must have had when he looked up & saw Elijah standing there? Everyone knew who Elijah was because most of them had been up on Mt. Carmel a few days prior to this when he called down fire from heaven. What could Elijah possibly want with him? Before he could stop the oxen & speak, Elijah took off his outer robe or mantle & threw it right on his head.
Elisha knew Elijah was not only offering him a job, but he was offering him an opportunity to be a prophet too. It can’t have been easy to think about this job. Elijah was the man. Elijah was the be-all, end-all of prophets for Pete’s sake.
In 2 Kings 2, Elijah had decided to take a farewell tour of all the cities he’d worked in & invited Elisha to follow along. Three times in that chapter he offered Elisha a chance to stay behind like he’d offered that un-named helper but three times Elisha would say, “No way.” I’m sticking with you so I can learn everything I can from you.”
I don’t think we could find a better example of loyalty than Elisha. In Bible days the firstborn got a double-potion & that’s what Elisha got for staying with Elijah. Elisha stayed “joined at the hip” with Elijah & he was watching when a chariot of fire swept down & scooped Elijah up & he caught his mantle as it fluttered back to earth. Even after Elisha’s death there was still enough power resident in his bones that a man was raised from the dead by coming in contact with them. 2 Kings 14:21
SEEDS OF DISLOYALTY ARE BORN IN OFFENSE
One of the most appalling examples of disloyalty in the Bible is the case of King David’s son Absalom. He became furious with his father when he didn’t act decisively when his son Amnon raped his sister Tamar. He finally led an insurrection against his father. Obviously Absalom had some legitimate complaints against his father, feeling that if he would let the rape of his sister slide he’d neglect the people’s business in the same way. The offense against David finally saw Absalom driven to such extremes he eventually died hanging by his hair from a tree limb, his heart pierced with darts.
If you’ve been a Christian any length of time more than likely you’ve been offended by someone. The devil has a field day when this happens because he uses strife to separate people & rob them of God’s power, not to mention the joy & peace they forfeit.
None of us are beyond being offended by someone & none of us are above offending someone else. James 3:2. While some offenses are intentional, some are unintended & some are even imaginary. Along life’s road people are going to do us wrong or say things that hurt us. We will all be offended.
Experience has taught me that people who go from church to church are usually carrying an offense of some kind. In many cases the offense they have suffered is very real. The problem with these people is they are almost too sensitive to live in this world. You have to walk on egg shells around them for fear of wounding their delicate sensibilities. If you’re always getting your feelings hurt you’re too sensitive. If you get hurt & upset by something or someone every time you go out in public, you need to get a thicker skin.
The Child of God is forbidden to nurse & rehearse our offenses because this will grow into a grudge. James 5:9 Rom. 12:17-19.
LET’S LOOK AT THREE STELLAR EXAMPLES OF LOYALTY.
DAVID
People often wonder about David & how he could be called…a man after God’s own heart… when he sinned so abjectly with Bathsheba & then killed her husband.
When David was just a lad tending his father’s sheep a Bear came in on the flock one day & David killed the Bear with his bare [no pun intended] hands. Can you imagine him doing that when he had every excuse to run for his life? In another incident, a Lion attacked his father’s flock & had taken a sheep away in his powerful jaws & David ran him down, took the sheep out of his mouth & killed the Lion. Could there be a greater evidence of David’s loyalty to his father? To further show David’s loyal heart, when his son Absalom died making war against David, after having come close to killing him, David wept sorely saying, “Oh Absalom, my son my son Absalom, would God I had died for thee. Oh Absalom, my son, my son.”
Though David sinned horribly, & the sword never departed from his house, God saw that he had repented & rather than running from Him as Saul did, his loyal heart would be broken over his sin & he’d come to God in true repentance.
ABRAHAM
Only 22 chapters from the front of the Bible God is asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac on an alter. What Abraham didn’t see was that as he trudged up one side of the mountain where he was instructed to go to sacrifice his son, there was a Ram walking up the other side to be used instead of Isaac when God saw Abraham would be loyal enough to Him to obey His command.
Abraham had plenty of chinks in his armor but God saw his loyal heart. God wasn’t so impressed with Abraham’s knife as it was being lifted up above the head of Isaac, but He was impressed when He saw that knife coming down.
JOSEPH
Think about this young Hebrew Brad Pitt. He was young & handsome & Potiphar’s wife was sexy & beautiful. When she tried to get Joseph in her bed he resisted her & left his coat in her arms as he fled. I’ve said it lots of times, but that boy had a hard time keeping a coat didn’t he? Joseph stood strong against that sexual temptation but in the end he was sent away to prison on a trumped up rape charge. Notice that for Joseph’s loyalty God didn’t give him a badge of faithfulness. Heavenly music didn’t play & angels didn’t come down & minister to young Joseph. God didn’t have thunder & lightening to shake the earth & write across the sky; that’s my boy.”
Not only did Joseph get no rewards or praise, things actually got worse for him because he stood for the right. Joseph went to prison. But Joseph didn’t allow himself to become bitter. He just kept on serving in the prison. However in God’s time, this Hebrew did the unthinkable. He came out of the prison & was given an Egyptian chariot & the license plate had a big number 2 stamped on it.
I can imagine Potipher eating breakfast one morning & asking Mrs. Potipher, “Honey, do you remember that young guy who tried to rape you a few years ago? She answers, “I think so, you mean the cute guy who worked around here? Yeh, I think I remember him.” Right!
Potipher says, “You know hon, I hope we didn’t make a mistake by sending him to jail. He’s out now & I report to him this morning when I go to work.”
Before God uses us He always puts us through a test first. He’s testing our loyalty to Him.
Look at the test’s he gave the great apostle Paul who was used by God to write two-thirds of the New Testament. Some people say God won’t force us to do anything. That’s probably true but don’t forget Paul was struck blind the day he was converted. God said to him in essence, “if you don’t want to work for me, that’s O.K. here’s a tapping stick & a collection pan, & Main Street is two blocks south.” Then God spoke to Ananias & said;
Arise & go into the street which is called Straight, & inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus: for behold he prayeth…..go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles….for I will show him the great things he must suffer for my names sake. Acts 9:11-15
For those of you who like me grew up in Sunday School, the story of Ruth & Naomi is a familiar one. Sometimes I’m tempted to smile when I hear the words "Wherever you go I'll go & where ever you lodge I'll lodge & thy people will be my people " quoted at a wedding as if these famous words were uttered between spouses.
They were obviously spoken from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law. Sometimes it’s as if the inspiring words have been forgotten.
When you read the narrative you find that Naomi’s life hadn’t turned out as she had envisioned & she by her own admission was bitter. Naomi had left Bethlehem hungry & now was returning to plenty of food but no companionship.
You are alone Naomi. Your life hasn’t turned out as you’d planned. You have no husband to care & provide for you & no sons to care for you in your old age. What’s the point? Your life is empty now.
She finally speaks. “No, in fact, I’m not Naomi, for Naomi no longer exists. Naomi is the name of a woman who went away full, a woman whose life was pleasant. I’m defiantly not that woman. No, don’t call me Naomi; call me Mara, for I am bitter, the Lord has dealt with me bitterly.”
She is so consumed with bitterness that she seems to forget that loyal Ruth is even by her side. But the narrative won’t allow us to forget. Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law is returning with her from Moab.
So in the midst of our pain we sometimes forget there’s someone traveling with us. We forget our loyal God who travels along side us on all our journeys & it’s through Him that we find our strength to travel on.
It’s in Him, our loyal Savior who travels with us that we find the promise of new life for it’s Him who says;
Where you go I’ll go, & you shall be my people.
Blessings,
John
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1 comment:
John,
I have been reading your blog for a long while now, and it never fails to hit a nerve right where I am at a time.
Today, you left me in tears. You don't know how deeply God speaks to me through your words.
In perfect season as well.
Thank you.
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