By John Stallings
Perception isn’t the same thing as reality.
You know this if you’ve ever jumped to a conclusion that simply wasn’t right.
First impressions are often right, but they are also sometimes totally wrong. At times we think we know what’s going on only to discover later that we weren’t even in the ball park when it came to seeing what was happening or why someone was behaving the way they did. As a rule things are more multi-layered than we suspect. The story in Joshua chapter 22 is a case in point.
After the Jews conquered the east side of the Jordan River, Moses was going to abandon the old land, because the Promised Land was on the other side of the river. But the leaders of Gad, Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh had asked if they could stay in the land they had already conquered, because it was just what they needed for their flocks.
The land was rich and fertile and there were large valleys for grazing their flocks and plenty of water. It seemed perfect. Moses agreed on the condition that they had to go across the river with their fellow Jews and help conquer the land of Canaan. After that task was completed they would be allowed to return to their own homes once more.
Canaan is finally subdued after over five years. The soldiers from the 2½ tribes had been faithful in their service and were given permission to return to their homes and families. Joshua, now their leader admonished them to love God and continue in His ways and to serve Him with all their hearts.
In that respect, things haven’t really changed much in the day in which we live. God still wants our faithful service. When He knows He has our hearts he will pour out His best on us.
The separation was an occasion of mixed emotions for everyone. The soldiers from all the other tribes had said their good-byes and there were probably numerous hugs and slaps on the back. Then the 2½ tribes left to cross the Jordan River and return to their families on other side. The soldiers could probably barely wait to get home. Their kids had now grown up and they had many stories to tell them of all the great things God had done.
THE PLOT TAKES A TWIST
As the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh backtracked east, they passed landmarks that must have brought back memories of what God had done. Happy as they were to be going home, it hadn’t been easy to say good-bye to their brothers. They were leaving behind the nearness of the Priesthood and the Tabernacle containing the Ark of the Covenant. They were leaving the land God had promised to bless. They were going home but somehow already missed the others tribes and began to feel isolated from the nation of Israel.
That’s probably what prompted the 2½ tribes to do what at first glance didn’t make much sense. Not only did it not make sense, it could have cost them their lives.
A MASSIVE MISCONCEPTION
Canaan is now under the control of God’s people. The tribes have each received their allotted portion of land and now they must begin, in the settled environment of Canaan, to live as the people of God; as a nation committed to be obedient to His Law. Under the new arrangements, the 9½ tribes will live on the western side of the Jordan in the land of Canaan itself, while the other 2½ tribes, Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh would live on the eastern side of the Jordan.
Things were going swimmingly. The Promised Land and peace were both finally theirs. It seemed nothing could go wrong with the new set-up and then, at that very moment- it did. It wasn’t a small thing either, it was major. The tribes on the western side of the Jordan didn’t see it coming, but there it was. The 2½ tribes on the eastern side of the Jordan River did it. They’re responsible. On the eastern side of the Jordan River, they built a massive altar.
What’s wrong with that? Well God had made it clear in Deuteronomy 12 that everyone in any city that built an extra altar for sacrifice was to be put to death. It didn’t take long of course for word to filter through to the western tribes that the eastern tribes had set up a new altar.
While an altar may not seem all that significant to us, it raised an alarm with the Israelites because it was clearly forbidden. In the aforementioned passage they were told to have only one altar for sacrifices, lest multiple altars lead to a falling away from God’s perfect plan for worship. Having only one altar and one place of sacrifice was a way to preserve the purity of the worship of God. It was a preventative measure to ensure that each tribe didn’t do its own thing when it came to worshiping. One altar spoke of one faith and one people. Unity! In fact, again, the penalty for building another altar was that everyone in the city which built the altar was to be put to death. This was serious business.
So, quite logically, when the western tribes heard another altar had been built they immediately thought that the eastern tribes had abandoned God and become apostates before they even got home. It’s interesting that the 2½ tribes were experiencing such joy about the great things God had wrought; the altar was built as they went home, not after they got there.
However-the western tribes were frightened. Remember how 36 people died when Achan took those few items from the tent in Jericho. Though that had been nearly 5 years earlier, they hadn’t forgotten that lesson. They must not disobey clear commands from God or the consequences would be terrible. What should they do? Were the 2½ tribes so quickly becoming “loose cannons?”
The 9½ tribes on the western side of the Jordan River decided that they had no choice but to go to war with their Jewish brothers on the east bank in order to overthrow their “apostasy and disobedience.”
In chapter 22 verse 12 we read the statement, "the whole assembly gathered at Shiloh and prepared to go to war against their brother tribes."
At least on some level the western tribes are to be commended for the zeal to look out for the honor of God and maintain the purity of worship. The fact that they were so stirred up by what they believed was spiritual infidelity shows that they were deeply committed to God. Far too often God’s people gradually accept things that God doesn’t accept.
The western tribes were right to want to stand against sin.However, as proper as it is to stand up against what’s wrong, they were also wrong because they jumped to conclusions that were far off the mark. It appeared that what their brothers were doing was wrong, but they would discover that there was another side to the story. When they heard about the altar being built they immediately assumed it had been set up in opposition to the altar in Shiloh. Were they correct?
THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM.
That’s something all of us must guard against; the danger of judging people by their outward appearance. There’s danger in attributing bad motives to people’s actions when the very same actions could in fact be explained in other honorable ways.
Perhaps you meet a Christian friend walking down the street and wave at them. Although they seemed to be looking your direction they didn’t wave back, in fact, they seem to stare right through you. It’s easy if that happens to immediately jump to the conclusion that they are snubbing you. When in reality it might be that your friend is upset about some personal matter and is thinking about it at that moment. Far from being a deliberate snub that intense countenance could have in fact been the outward evidence of inner turmoil.
One more thing along those lines; when I was younger I had eagle eyes. I could see a person a long distance away and immediately recognize them. I’ve spotted famous people in airports that I’d only seen on T.V maybe once or twice, even when they thought they were incognito.
Because I had good eyesight, it never occurred to me that some people are born, and I say this with all love, about half blind. Out in a crowd, they have to get fairly close to you to recognize you even with their glasses on. Since we tend to judge out of our own hearts, I had to get older and in need of glasses, at least to read, to fully understand that some of those folk who didn’t seem to recognize me, didn’t really even see me. I’m just saying, let’s cut one another some slack.
It’s so easy to do what these western tribes did and jump to the wrong conclusions and pass rash judgments on others.
The Pharisees in the New Testament were often guilty of that. Consider what Jesus said to them about this very subject in John 7:24.
"Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." (NAS)
All of us have had some occasions in our lives when if people had judged us on the way things appeared we would have been in trouble. Things aren’t always as they seem. It’s far easier for me to recall the times when others have misjudged my motives and talked about me, than it is for me to remember the times when I have misjudged others and talked about them.
THE CONFRONTATION
To show the importance that was put on this situation, the 9½ tribes sent Phinehas the priest and 10 other leaders of the tribes to speak with the leaders of Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh. Phinehas started off with a full head of steam. Instead of listening to the 2½ tribes he began pointing out their failures.
The fact that the priest Phinehas was included in this delegation illustrated that this wasn’t mainly a political matter, the primary issue was spiritual. It was a highly charged moment for Israel. The eastern tribes were accused of breaking faith with God, building an altar in rebellion against God and the rest of the covenant nation.
Phinehas, as their spokesman said, "How could you turn your backs on God and break faith with Him and all the other tribes? You built this altar in rebellion to God. You know how God punished us all when one chose to sin. If the land you’ve chosen is unfit for worship, you can move over to the other side of the river with us. Just don’t rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves."
How many of us would have responded well to Phinehas? Imagine someone walking up to you and saying, "Look here you backslider, what you have done is rebellion and sin.”
The strongest word used in his attack was the word, "rebel" which means to deliberately resist God’s will and disobey His law.
On the surface of the story, there seems to be one group which is very right and another group which is very wrong. At this point it seems like things are going to go sideways but what we’re getting ready to see is a model of skillful/ healthy conflict resolution.
If the 9½ hadn’t taken the time to talk to the 2½ they would have probably wiped out the 2½. The 9½ didn’t realize that the 2½ had built an alter for other reasons than the ones they [the 9½] had in mind. [Microsoft Word didn’t like that last paragraph and wanted it re-written. No way!] I’m just glad that the 2½ didn’t get defensive when confronted by the 9½. A good thing to remember is to do all possible to treat criticism as a friend not an enemy.
Proverbs 27:6 says; faithful are the wounds of a friend.
Back to our story -and Phinehas. Sometimes criticism is necessary but it produces stress for most of us. Yet some folk try to motivate people to do better by constantly criticizing them. It doesn’t work as a rule because people don’t feel they deserve it. When we set out to deal in a corrective manner , unless it’s someone directly under our authority, we’d better know what we’re doing, because as you know the person we’ve chosen to ‘set straight” at some point is going to at least make an effort to turn it around on us.
But the western delegation, showing they were honest brokers of peace, doesn’t only accuse and condemn, it makes a very generous offer. If the eastern tribes don’t think they can worship the Lord on the east side of the river, they can come and live on the western side of the Jordan. This would shrink the territory of all the other tribes. This was a marvelously generous thing to do. How were they able to make such an offer? It had to be because it had been discussed with Joshua and the other leaders before they left. In other words, as harsh as the confrontation seemed to be, there was a desire for restoration.
THE EXPLANATION
To their credit, the 2½ tribes responded in an extremely constructive way. They said; - "God Almighty knows what our motives were. He alone is to be praised. If we have done what you said we have done, then we deserve God’s punishment and more. But we didn’t build this altar to sacrifice here, or worship another God. We built this altar as a witness.” The 2½ tribes began by acknowledging a very important fact concerning the accusations made against them, - God knew the truth.
Stated negatively, they say they have not built an altar as an act of rebellion against God. Worded positively, they have built the altar as a replica of the altar before the Tabernacle at Shiloh, as witness to their commitment to keep worshipping at the tabernacle with all Israel, and as testimony of their continuing right to share in the Lord’s worship despite the river that separated them from one another. The altar stood for covenant unity, not division, for firm devotion to God, not for backsliding. The 2½ tribes had a lot of “splaining” to do and they did it from the heart. The eastern tribes focused their attention on God. They used three separate names for (God) in their response to the accusations. El the Mighty One , Elohim God, Yahweh the Covenant Lord.
The Eastern tribes utterly rejected all the accusations. In their oath of denial, they basically invited God to call them to account and encouraged Israel to put them to death if the charges leveled against them were accurate. We should be willing to listen before we rush to judgment.
What a tragedy it would have been for the 2½ tribes to have said, "We know we haven’t done anything wrong and we know what our motives are, and we don’t have to explain it to you."
When we love each other, we really do have to explain our motives and we have to be willing to accept the motives of others. This is at the heart of communication. If you often find yourself saying, - "I don’t have to explain myself,” there’s a good chance you’re walking outside of the will of God for your life, -and you’re choosing to destroy relationships.
THE RESOLUTION
When Christ is at work in our lives, we think less of ourselves and more of what’s best for everyone concerned
Each time we’re willing to say, "I’m sorry" we’re living out a little bit of the Spirit of Christ. These are words of repentance, and repentance means going in the opposite direction. The 9½ tribes went from being critical of the altar to understanding because they were willing to listen and acknowledge that their fellow Israelites had thought of something they hadn’t considered.
This incident with the 2½ tribes can teach us an important lesson. Sometimes we are inclined to fight battles that do not need to be fought. We just see two different ways of getting to the same place. Don’t take it personally that your plan was not chosen this time. If the goal is the same, and the end product is the same, then flow with the plan of others. - Even if you had the better plan. - It’s called teamwork.
Human nature being what it is there will be times when misunderstanding will occur even among Christians. The spirit and example from this chapter speaks of the proper way to resolve those clashes. You and I must be governed by our love for the Lord and we must be careful that we don’t quickly jump to conclusions about others without giving them the benefit of the doubt. In Israel’s case, a few honest, rational words prevented a civil war.
I’m not suggesting that we gloss over things which really matter, that’s equally wrong. The well-known Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, once put it in wonderful perspective when he said. .
"Peace is such a precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth."
The very fragile situation between these tribes ended happily. It ended well because the two groups were highly invested in truth, love and unity. They were intent on loving, walking, obeying, holding fast and serving God with all their hearts. Their commitment to be conscientious brokers of understanding and unity leaves you and me with a template to follow in our personal lives, our homes, and in our churches.
The 2½ tribes made a statement that blows me away. They told the other tribes;-“If we’re in sin, may God destroy us, because we don’t want to defile His name or hurt you.”
Love isn’t’ the absence of problems or differences. Love is a function of something higher, -our commitment -which is an act of our Will to seek one another’s’ highest good.
Blessings,
John
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Things I Cannot Do
By John Stallings
1. I CANNOT FORGET WHO I AM
“Who do you think you are, anyway?”
I never did like that question. The reason I don’t like it is because it’s in the category of things that sound like a question- but isn’t. It’s a question that’s always asked when the “asker” thinks the “askee” thinks a little too highly of themselves. So knowing that, we know it’s not a question at all.
Care to hear a few more questions that are actually statements? Try this one. “And where have you been all day?” Now this question, it doesn’t matter who’s asking it, your parent or your spouse, is not—let me repeat-is not a question looking for an itinerary. What the “question” is telling you is—“Because you certainly weren’t where you were supposed to be—here!”
Here’s another one- one my mother probably asked me a thousand times; “So, Son, just how long are you planning on leaving your room in that condition—seeing that it runs contrary of the health laws of this state?”
Don’t- I’m telling you-don’t fall for that one. It isn’t a question. Heed this warning and don’t say-“Well, let’s see. Today’s Monday, Tuesday’s band practice, how about…” This sounds like a question but if you ever hear those words just remember, you’re not being asked for your schedule.
Here’s one for the married men; “Does this dress make me look fat?” Again, sounds like a question- but this is a test. Don’t hit that “tar-baby.” Husbands, learn to cry. Because at some point you’re gonna get cornered and the best thing you can do is weep these words, “Honey I really don’t know, but I do know I love you.” You’ve got to watch out for these questions that aren’t questions.
One more. “Sir, may I please see your license and registration?”
So going back to the original question, “who do you think you are” we clearly see it isn’t a question. The continuation of it would be, whether stated or not- “Because whoever you think you are, I want you to know I don’t think you’re that hot.” Trust me, this question, no matter who asks it, is never good news.
If you’re anything like me, when you’re alone with just your gut, you’ll ask yourself that question. “Really, who do I think I am?” When we have those times of introspection, often we’ll come face to face with ourselves and the masks we wear. We’ll find if we’re not careful the masks we put on to hide ourselves from others have been so effective- we don’t even know ourselves.
When we ask- “who do we think we are”- we could answer it from the point of view of the psychologist. They’ll tell us that who we are has a lot to do with something called the “genetic code.” Here’s something that a lot of folk use; -- “since my genes dictate the color of my eyes and hair and how crooked my teeth are, and to some extent my disposition and personality, I’ll just blame all my problems on my genes. It runs in my family.”
Our families will do a good job of telling us who we are. They’ll remark that you’re funny and you’re fun. They might also say they wish you’d have listened a bit more or that you are and have always been a holy terror. They might tell you that you are their most cherished possession or they may say you scare the beejeebers out of them. And there are always the teachers who’ll tell us we’re bright or that we’re average. Maybe they’ll say we’re just plain dumb, but they’ll tell us. Here’s the big one I always heard, “John has such potential, if he’d just apply himself a little more. [But he would not.”]
In the midst of all the influences, here we are in the corner staring into the middle of our soul asking the question-“Who do you really think you are? “When all these pieces of me come together, what’s the big picture?”
Knowing who we are is very important because if we don’t know, there are the voices of Ma and Pa, Jocks and Cheerleaders, Geeks and Jerks, Meatloaf Martha and Potato Salad Priscilla who’ll be glad to fill in the picture. If you’re not certain, those folks will be more than happy to tell you who you are or who you could be if you’d just…….
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
If we’re still confused we can just take a look at the things we’ve done or the things we do. We can look at our grades and try to claim some sort of identity through our scholastic achievements. If you are “ultra super cum laude” or valedictorian, you’ve got it made. Or flip it and be a school drop out. Don’t even try in life. Some people will try to claim some identity that way. Sadly, many people can’t tell who they “are” unless they’re high on some substance, and then they really know. Maybe getting pregnant will give some identity.
And none of these decisions we make by ourselves. There are the others, the advice, and the influences. Right? And there’s enough pressure in all of that to scare most of us to death. Here’s the tragic part. In this county alone, we perform at least ten funerals a day for teenagers who just can’t make it because the pressure of trying to discover who they are is just too overwhelming.
You and I can get some guidance from friends and family, strangers and enemies and everything others say about us may be exactly right. But hear this; whatever people say about us good or bad must be filtered through our core identity, -who we really are in essence. And that’s, -we are God’s creation and therefore God’s child and He’s never going to be mad at us, He’s too busy being mad about us. O, He won’t put up with too much “stuff” out of us, and He will probably take us to the woodshed now and then but He’ll always love and forgive us because we’re always and forever His Child. That’s who you are. That’s who I am. I cannot forget that!
2. I CANNOT ALLOW A FAILURE IN ONE AREA TO CONVINCE ME THAT MY LIFE IS A FAILURE.
Failure doesn’t mean that we’ve blown everything. It just means we have some hard lessons to learn.
Failure doesn’t mean we are permanent losers. It means we aren’t as smart as we thought we were.
It doesn’t mean we should give up. It means we need the Lord to show us the next step.
It doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. It means that He has a better plan.
I’d like to share with a story so shocking that we’re still talking about it 2000 years later. It’s the story of Simon Peter’s denial of Christ.
Peter was in charge of his failure.
Jesus was in charge of restoring him.
Behind this story lies a wonderful, liberating hope-filled truth assuring us that failure is an event not a destiny. This is good news because we all fail from time to time. If we’re prepared to be painfully honest we must admit we fail over and over again.
Those who’ve failed in a great way will truly appreciate this story. This story won’t greatly move you if you’ve only failed in a small way. But if you’ve known the shame of a large failure, then listen. This story is for you.
Failure, especially when we’ve failed someone we love deeply will set our mind into a swirl of emotions.
Embarrassment…Anger…Fear…Shame…Despair. We feel dirty and unworthy because we acted foolishly. When we have hurt someone we love deeply we want to know if they still love us or have we blown everything.
Will they forgive me?
Can I ever forgive myself?
As long as Peter lived he never forgot that terrible night he denied his Lord. Tradition says that he’d start weeping when he heard a rooster crow and that he’d wake up every night and pray during the hour when he denied the Lord.
How did Jesus restore His fallen disciple? The answer is;
1. HE SENT FOR HIM.
When the women arrived at the empty tomb on Sunday morning an angel announced the good news and instructed them to-“Go tell His disciples and Peter. Mark 16:7
Peter no doubt was wondering, “Who am I now? Am I a disciple or a traitor? That’s why Jesus asked for him separately to show He still held him in high esteem.
Peter had bragged about how brave he was and how he’d never desert Jesus but how wrong he was. Under pressure, the bold disciple turned to butter. But Jesus didn’t write Peter off and put him in the “biggest loser” category. Jesus still has plans for Peter, plans to use him, and plans to give him a second chance.
2. HE MET HIM
Where did Peter go after he denied Christ? We don’t know for certain. He probably spent the next hours in a miserable prison of self-imposed solitary confinement.
I’ve had failures and have made huge mistakes in my life and I can tell you when it happens we don’t want to be around people, especially the ones who know and love us best. Having let them down, it’s painful to see them. Sin isolates and separates us from God and from God’s people.
We aren’t told where Peter was during the crucifixion on Friday or during the burial that afternoon. We can guess that he retreated to some lonely spot to replay those awful memories in his mind and beat himself up again and ask, “Why? Why did I do it? What made me think I was so much better than the others? How could I have been so stupid?
Jesus made a special appearance to Peter sometime on Easter Sunday. We don’t know where or when precisely nor do we know how long the meeting lasted, but twice the New Testament says it took place. To wit;
It’s true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.—Luke 24:34
He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve. 1 Cor. 15:4-5
This is especially heartening to me that Jesus met with Peter before he met with the rest of the disciples. Aren’t you glad that Jesus is your Lord and Savior?
What amazing grace. There will be no “Perp walk,” no public humiliation. Since Peter denied Christ, things must first be settled between the two of them. With wisdom and grace Christ comes to Peter and doesn’t wait for him to make the first move.
3. HE CHALLENGED HIM.
In John 21, not long after the resurrection, Peter and six other disciples have spent the night fishing. They end up catching nothing. In the morning a man calls from the shore telling them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat and they’ll catch fish. They end up catching so many fish they can’t haul them all in. When Peter realizes the man is Jesus he impulsively jumps in the water and begins swimming for shore. It turns out Peter and the disciples caught 153 fish by simply obeying Christ.
If Jesus was watching the disciples from the shore all night, why didn’t he speak up sooner? Why allow His men to toil for hours in frustration? The answer is;
THEY NEEDED TO FAIL
Failure was going to be the prerequisite to success. Let the night pass and the sun come up and these tired fishermen are ready to listen to the voice of the Lord. The Lord allows us to fail in our own strength so we may learn that only by His power we will ever succeed.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said; “Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can’t lose.” [Sound like any televangelists you know?] The disciples needed to fail so they could learn to depend on God for their victories. Sometimes it takes shameful failure for us to finally wake up and see our need of the Lord.
4. HE REINSTATED HIM.
After breakfast was over Peter and Jesus took a walk together. That’s the part of the story we know best.
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes Lord you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon, son of John do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”-John 21:15-17
Peter had stood by one charcoal fire and three times he denied he ever knew Jesus. Now he stands with Jesus beside another fire and is given the opportunity to speak his love for Christ three times. Peter is finally restored by the Lord. Jesus didn’t make Peter feel guilty. He didn’t humiliate him publicly. He didn’t ask, “Are you sorry for what you did?” He doesn’t make him promise to do better. He just asks one question, “Do you love me?”
There’s a legend that Peter will meet us at the gates of heaven. While there’s no biblical proof of that, it would be appropriate for Peter to be there because he understood more than others what God’s grace really means.
In the light of this wonderful story of redemption of Simon Peter and the way his life was changed by the Lord, and his failure was forgiven, you and I cannot allow our failures to ever cause us to see ourselves as failures.
3. I CANNOT ALLOW MY DREAMS TO DIE- WHATEVER MY AGE.
Everyone needs dreams.
As someone has said, if you have no dream how will you ever have one come true. Dreams deliver us to a new reality when they come true. We need to follow our dreams, and never stop dreaming, though we reach 100 years of age.
In the book of second Kings the fourth chapter, there is a great story about just such an event. It’s called the story of the Shunammite woman and her son. Elisha passed by her home so often that she and her husband built a room or prophet’s chamber for him.
One day Elisha asked her how he could repay her for her hospitality. She replied that she had always wanted a child but her husband was now too old. Elisha gave her a word of prophecy that one year from that time, she and her husband would have a son. She reacted by telling the prophet not to lie to her, showing that her faith was weak in this area.
HER DREAMS DIED IN HER ARMS
None- the- less, in exactly one year the prophecy came true and she held a son in her arms. So now we have a dream that has come true for this woman. When the child got older he was with his father in the field one day and suddenly the boy ran to his dad complaining of pains in his head. They took him to his mother and horror of horrors, he died in her arms.
The woman immediately took her dead son, cradled him in her arms and went into the room she had built for the man of God, laying the lifeless child on the Prophet’s bed. So now, this woman has seen a dream come true, held the dream in her arms, then sees the dream, her son, die in her arms.
And what a wonderful woman this is. Look at all the great qualities she has. She’s a woman with a great sense of hospitality, and a great love for servants of God. After all she had her husband built the prophets chamber for Elisha. Certainly not a bitter woman.
Though she heretofore had been deprived of a child, she was still reaching out to others and loving them. Some women would have been so bitter that God had closed their womb they would never have wanted a man of God staying at their house. This woman must have had a right spirit, as she wanted to entertain God’s man in her home and help him in every way she could. There must have been an atmosphere of Faith and Godliness in this home. And now she has been given a miracle child, and that miracle is snatched from her arms.
Look at some of alternatives she had: this woman could go into a rage, start panicking and screaming and cursing, even cursing the God who had given her the gift and now so cruelly taken it from her. She could have gone on a tirade saying, “Well I quit. If that’s what God does to you, I want no more to do with him.” Some people blame God when bad things happen to them. I’ve seen folk who never again darkened a church door after life dealt them a disappointment similar to this. But you don’t see those kinds of hysterics with this woman. Instead, she tells her husband to tell the helpers to get a donkey ready for her. He reminded her that it was the Sabbath, but that didn’t seem to register with her, she was going to find Elisha.
Nothing would deter her. We’re not told how much trouble she had finding Elisha. It probably wasn’t all that easy, but she found him and when she found him at Carmel, she ran to him to tell him what had happened. When some people have trouble, they run from God, they stay out of church and hibernate. But this woman is going in the right direction. God is always the right direction.
When she found Elisha and told him what had happened, he was so sensitive to her need that he immediately sent his servant running ahead to place his staff on the child. Sadly, when this was done it failed to raise the boy.
The situation looked hopeless until Elisha arrived. He went into the room with the child and closed the door, stretching himself on the lad. When that failed to raise the child, he did it the second time and miraculously, the child came back to life.
What an amazing story, a story that would never have happened if the woman had not been a fighter. What if she had gotten so caught up in the finality of death that she collapsed in despair? What if she had let the discouragement of her husband stop her from going even if it was the Sabbath? She could have allowed a hundred things to divert her that day and her dream would have been over. She could have gotten mad at God for what seemed like a cruel joke played on her by granting her dream son and then taking him away. She could have even been angry enough at the man of God that she would never want to see him again. She could have said, “Well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” She could have said, “Well I’m too old now to see another miracle, that’s it for me, after all, God works in mysterious ways.” But- The violent take it by force!
This story underscores the fact that just because a dream comes, doesn’t mean it can’t and won’t slip away. If it does, we must fight with everything within us to see it resurrected. There may be something in your life today that you need to fight for. Let me ask you about your dream, - how much do you want it? Are you going to give up without a fight? You may have laid your dream up on a shelf and it’s been there for years. It perhaps has grown dusty and parched with age. But I want to encourage you to take that dream off the shelf now and allow God to breathe life back into it. Do you believe it can happen? I know it can.
In Habakkuk, God told the prophet this: “Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it .For the vision is yet for an anointed time but at the end it shall speak, and not lie, though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come and will not tarry.”
The writing of the vision on tables speaks of the fact that sometimes while we wait; the vision or dream may fade. If it’s written on a table, it can always be read again and refreshed. Rarely when God gives a vision or dream does He give all the details of what will transpire before it comes to pass. Our challenge is to keep it close to our hearts and never let it go.
I cannot forget that. You cannot forget that.
Nothing can convince me to the contrary, our future holds-
RESURRECTED DREAMS!
Blessings,
John
1. I CANNOT FORGET WHO I AM
“Who do you think you are, anyway?”
I never did like that question. The reason I don’t like it is because it’s in the category of things that sound like a question- but isn’t. It’s a question that’s always asked when the “asker” thinks the “askee” thinks a little too highly of themselves. So knowing that, we know it’s not a question at all.
Care to hear a few more questions that are actually statements? Try this one. “And where have you been all day?” Now this question, it doesn’t matter who’s asking it, your parent or your spouse, is not—let me repeat-is not a question looking for an itinerary. What the “question” is telling you is—“Because you certainly weren’t where you were supposed to be—here!”
Here’s another one- one my mother probably asked me a thousand times; “So, Son, just how long are you planning on leaving your room in that condition—seeing that it runs contrary of the health laws of this state?”
Don’t- I’m telling you-don’t fall for that one. It isn’t a question. Heed this warning and don’t say-“Well, let’s see. Today’s Monday, Tuesday’s band practice, how about…” This sounds like a question but if you ever hear those words just remember, you’re not being asked for your schedule.
Here’s one for the married men; “Does this dress make me look fat?” Again, sounds like a question- but this is a test. Don’t hit that “tar-baby.” Husbands, learn to cry. Because at some point you’re gonna get cornered and the best thing you can do is weep these words, “Honey I really don’t know, but I do know I love you.” You’ve got to watch out for these questions that aren’t questions.
One more. “Sir, may I please see your license and registration?”
So going back to the original question, “who do you think you are” we clearly see it isn’t a question. The continuation of it would be, whether stated or not- “Because whoever you think you are, I want you to know I don’t think you’re that hot.” Trust me, this question, no matter who asks it, is never good news.
If you’re anything like me, when you’re alone with just your gut, you’ll ask yourself that question. “Really, who do I think I am?” When we have those times of introspection, often we’ll come face to face with ourselves and the masks we wear. We’ll find if we’re not careful the masks we put on to hide ourselves from others have been so effective- we don’t even know ourselves.
When we ask- “who do we think we are”- we could answer it from the point of view of the psychologist. They’ll tell us that who we are has a lot to do with something called the “genetic code.” Here’s something that a lot of folk use; -- “since my genes dictate the color of my eyes and hair and how crooked my teeth are, and to some extent my disposition and personality, I’ll just blame all my problems on my genes. It runs in my family.”
Our families will do a good job of telling us who we are. They’ll remark that you’re funny and you’re fun. They might also say they wish you’d have listened a bit more or that you are and have always been a holy terror. They might tell you that you are their most cherished possession or they may say you scare the beejeebers out of them. And there are always the teachers who’ll tell us we’re bright or that we’re average. Maybe they’ll say we’re just plain dumb, but they’ll tell us. Here’s the big one I always heard, “John has such potential, if he’d just apply himself a little more. [But he would not.”]
In the midst of all the influences, here we are in the corner staring into the middle of our soul asking the question-“Who do you really think you are? “When all these pieces of me come together, what’s the big picture?”
Knowing who we are is very important because if we don’t know, there are the voices of Ma and Pa, Jocks and Cheerleaders, Geeks and Jerks, Meatloaf Martha and Potato Salad Priscilla who’ll be glad to fill in the picture. If you’re not certain, those folks will be more than happy to tell you who you are or who you could be if you’d just…….
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
If we’re still confused we can just take a look at the things we’ve done or the things we do. We can look at our grades and try to claim some sort of identity through our scholastic achievements. If you are “ultra super cum laude” or valedictorian, you’ve got it made. Or flip it and be a school drop out. Don’t even try in life. Some people will try to claim some identity that way. Sadly, many people can’t tell who they “are” unless they’re high on some substance, and then they really know. Maybe getting pregnant will give some identity.
And none of these decisions we make by ourselves. There are the others, the advice, and the influences. Right? And there’s enough pressure in all of that to scare most of us to death. Here’s the tragic part. In this county alone, we perform at least ten funerals a day for teenagers who just can’t make it because the pressure of trying to discover who they are is just too overwhelming.
You and I can get some guidance from friends and family, strangers and enemies and everything others say about us may be exactly right. But hear this; whatever people say about us good or bad must be filtered through our core identity, -who we really are in essence. And that’s, -we are God’s creation and therefore God’s child and He’s never going to be mad at us, He’s too busy being mad about us. O, He won’t put up with too much “stuff” out of us, and He will probably take us to the woodshed now and then but He’ll always love and forgive us because we’re always and forever His Child. That’s who you are. That’s who I am. I cannot forget that!
2. I CANNOT ALLOW A FAILURE IN ONE AREA TO CONVINCE ME THAT MY LIFE IS A FAILURE.
Failure doesn’t mean that we’ve blown everything. It just means we have some hard lessons to learn.
Failure doesn’t mean we are permanent losers. It means we aren’t as smart as we thought we were.
It doesn’t mean we should give up. It means we need the Lord to show us the next step.
It doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. It means that He has a better plan.
I’d like to share with a story so shocking that we’re still talking about it 2000 years later. It’s the story of Simon Peter’s denial of Christ.
Peter was in charge of his failure.
Jesus was in charge of restoring him.
Behind this story lies a wonderful, liberating hope-filled truth assuring us that failure is an event not a destiny. This is good news because we all fail from time to time. If we’re prepared to be painfully honest we must admit we fail over and over again.
Those who’ve failed in a great way will truly appreciate this story. This story won’t greatly move you if you’ve only failed in a small way. But if you’ve known the shame of a large failure, then listen. This story is for you.
Failure, especially when we’ve failed someone we love deeply will set our mind into a swirl of emotions.
Embarrassment…Anger…Fear…Shame…Despair. We feel dirty and unworthy because we acted foolishly. When we have hurt someone we love deeply we want to know if they still love us or have we blown everything.
Will they forgive me?
Can I ever forgive myself?
As long as Peter lived he never forgot that terrible night he denied his Lord. Tradition says that he’d start weeping when he heard a rooster crow and that he’d wake up every night and pray during the hour when he denied the Lord.
How did Jesus restore His fallen disciple? The answer is;
1. HE SENT FOR HIM.
When the women arrived at the empty tomb on Sunday morning an angel announced the good news and instructed them to-“Go tell His disciples and Peter. Mark 16:7
Peter no doubt was wondering, “Who am I now? Am I a disciple or a traitor? That’s why Jesus asked for him separately to show He still held him in high esteem.
Peter had bragged about how brave he was and how he’d never desert Jesus but how wrong he was. Under pressure, the bold disciple turned to butter. But Jesus didn’t write Peter off and put him in the “biggest loser” category. Jesus still has plans for Peter, plans to use him, and plans to give him a second chance.
2. HE MET HIM
Where did Peter go after he denied Christ? We don’t know for certain. He probably spent the next hours in a miserable prison of self-imposed solitary confinement.
I’ve had failures and have made huge mistakes in my life and I can tell you when it happens we don’t want to be around people, especially the ones who know and love us best. Having let them down, it’s painful to see them. Sin isolates and separates us from God and from God’s people.
We aren’t told where Peter was during the crucifixion on Friday or during the burial that afternoon. We can guess that he retreated to some lonely spot to replay those awful memories in his mind and beat himself up again and ask, “Why? Why did I do it? What made me think I was so much better than the others? How could I have been so stupid?
Jesus made a special appearance to Peter sometime on Easter Sunday. We don’t know where or when precisely nor do we know how long the meeting lasted, but twice the New Testament says it took place. To wit;
It’s true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.—Luke 24:34
He was raised on the third day according to the scriptures and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve. 1 Cor. 15:4-5
This is especially heartening to me that Jesus met with Peter before he met with the rest of the disciples. Aren’t you glad that Jesus is your Lord and Savior?
What amazing grace. There will be no “Perp walk,” no public humiliation. Since Peter denied Christ, things must first be settled between the two of them. With wisdom and grace Christ comes to Peter and doesn’t wait for him to make the first move.
3. HE CHALLENGED HIM.
In John 21, not long after the resurrection, Peter and six other disciples have spent the night fishing. They end up catching nothing. In the morning a man calls from the shore telling them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat and they’ll catch fish. They end up catching so many fish they can’t haul them all in. When Peter realizes the man is Jesus he impulsively jumps in the water and begins swimming for shore. It turns out Peter and the disciples caught 153 fish by simply obeying Christ.
If Jesus was watching the disciples from the shore all night, why didn’t he speak up sooner? Why allow His men to toil for hours in frustration? The answer is;
THEY NEEDED TO FAIL
Failure was going to be the prerequisite to success. Let the night pass and the sun come up and these tired fishermen are ready to listen to the voice of the Lord. The Lord allows us to fail in our own strength so we may learn that only by His power we will ever succeed.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said; “Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can’t lose.” [Sound like any televangelists you know?] The disciples needed to fail so they could learn to depend on God for their victories. Sometimes it takes shameful failure for us to finally wake up and see our need of the Lord.
4. HE REINSTATED HIM.
After breakfast was over Peter and Jesus took a walk together. That’s the part of the story we know best.
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes Lord you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon, son of John do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”-John 21:15-17
Peter had stood by one charcoal fire and three times he denied he ever knew Jesus. Now he stands with Jesus beside another fire and is given the opportunity to speak his love for Christ three times. Peter is finally restored by the Lord. Jesus didn’t make Peter feel guilty. He didn’t humiliate him publicly. He didn’t ask, “Are you sorry for what you did?” He doesn’t make him promise to do better. He just asks one question, “Do you love me?”
There’s a legend that Peter will meet us at the gates of heaven. While there’s no biblical proof of that, it would be appropriate for Peter to be there because he understood more than others what God’s grace really means.
In the light of this wonderful story of redemption of Simon Peter and the way his life was changed by the Lord, and his failure was forgiven, you and I cannot allow our failures to ever cause us to see ourselves as failures.
3. I CANNOT ALLOW MY DREAMS TO DIE- WHATEVER MY AGE.
Everyone needs dreams.
As someone has said, if you have no dream how will you ever have one come true. Dreams deliver us to a new reality when they come true. We need to follow our dreams, and never stop dreaming, though we reach 100 years of age.
In the book of second Kings the fourth chapter, there is a great story about just such an event. It’s called the story of the Shunammite woman and her son. Elisha passed by her home so often that she and her husband built a room or prophet’s chamber for him.
One day Elisha asked her how he could repay her for her hospitality. She replied that she had always wanted a child but her husband was now too old. Elisha gave her a word of prophecy that one year from that time, she and her husband would have a son. She reacted by telling the prophet not to lie to her, showing that her faith was weak in this area.
HER DREAMS DIED IN HER ARMS
None- the- less, in exactly one year the prophecy came true and she held a son in her arms. So now we have a dream that has come true for this woman. When the child got older he was with his father in the field one day and suddenly the boy ran to his dad complaining of pains in his head. They took him to his mother and horror of horrors, he died in her arms.
The woman immediately took her dead son, cradled him in her arms and went into the room she had built for the man of God, laying the lifeless child on the Prophet’s bed. So now, this woman has seen a dream come true, held the dream in her arms, then sees the dream, her son, die in her arms.
And what a wonderful woman this is. Look at all the great qualities she has. She’s a woman with a great sense of hospitality, and a great love for servants of God. After all she had her husband built the prophets chamber for Elisha. Certainly not a bitter woman.
Though she heretofore had been deprived of a child, she was still reaching out to others and loving them. Some women would have been so bitter that God had closed their womb they would never have wanted a man of God staying at their house. This woman must have had a right spirit, as she wanted to entertain God’s man in her home and help him in every way she could. There must have been an atmosphere of Faith and Godliness in this home. And now she has been given a miracle child, and that miracle is snatched from her arms.
Look at some of alternatives she had: this woman could go into a rage, start panicking and screaming and cursing, even cursing the God who had given her the gift and now so cruelly taken it from her. She could have gone on a tirade saying, “Well I quit. If that’s what God does to you, I want no more to do with him.” Some people blame God when bad things happen to them. I’ve seen folk who never again darkened a church door after life dealt them a disappointment similar to this. But you don’t see those kinds of hysterics with this woman. Instead, she tells her husband to tell the helpers to get a donkey ready for her. He reminded her that it was the Sabbath, but that didn’t seem to register with her, she was going to find Elisha.
Nothing would deter her. We’re not told how much trouble she had finding Elisha. It probably wasn’t all that easy, but she found him and when she found him at Carmel, she ran to him to tell him what had happened. When some people have trouble, they run from God, they stay out of church and hibernate. But this woman is going in the right direction. God is always the right direction.
When she found Elisha and told him what had happened, he was so sensitive to her need that he immediately sent his servant running ahead to place his staff on the child. Sadly, when this was done it failed to raise the boy.
The situation looked hopeless until Elisha arrived. He went into the room with the child and closed the door, stretching himself on the lad. When that failed to raise the child, he did it the second time and miraculously, the child came back to life.
What an amazing story, a story that would never have happened if the woman had not been a fighter. What if she had gotten so caught up in the finality of death that she collapsed in despair? What if she had let the discouragement of her husband stop her from going even if it was the Sabbath? She could have allowed a hundred things to divert her that day and her dream would have been over. She could have gotten mad at God for what seemed like a cruel joke played on her by granting her dream son and then taking him away. She could have even been angry enough at the man of God that she would never want to see him again. She could have said, “Well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” She could have said, “Well I’m too old now to see another miracle, that’s it for me, after all, God works in mysterious ways.” But- The violent take it by force!
This story underscores the fact that just because a dream comes, doesn’t mean it can’t and won’t slip away. If it does, we must fight with everything within us to see it resurrected. There may be something in your life today that you need to fight for. Let me ask you about your dream, - how much do you want it? Are you going to give up without a fight? You may have laid your dream up on a shelf and it’s been there for years. It perhaps has grown dusty and parched with age. But I want to encourage you to take that dream off the shelf now and allow God to breathe life back into it. Do you believe it can happen? I know it can.
In Habakkuk, God told the prophet this: “Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it .For the vision is yet for an anointed time but at the end it shall speak, and not lie, though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come and will not tarry.”
The writing of the vision on tables speaks of the fact that sometimes while we wait; the vision or dream may fade. If it’s written on a table, it can always be read again and refreshed. Rarely when God gives a vision or dream does He give all the details of what will transpire before it comes to pass. Our challenge is to keep it close to our hearts and never let it go.
I cannot forget that. You cannot forget that.
Nothing can convince me to the contrary, our future holds-
RESURRECTED DREAMS!
Blessings,
John
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