Who Is on the Lord’s Side?

24 Friday Feb 2012

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13 “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand.” (Joshua 5:13)

 

The phrase “looked up” conveys an element of surprise.  When God walks onto the scene He does not come to take sides.  He comes to take over!  We are not to ask if God is on our side, but determine whether we are on God’s side.

The more appropriate question is, “Are we on the Lord’s side or against Him?” Today it is important as we face many battles – physically, emotionally, and spiritual that we make sure we are on the Lord’s side in all our endeavors.

 

The Lord WantsUs to Know His Holy Ground

 

“Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 5:15)

 

This is referred to as a “Theophany” or “Christophany.” This is Christ appearing 1,400 years before he appears in Bethlehem as a baby.

In shock, amazement, and awe Joshua flung himself face down before the Lord. Assuming that the Messenger had a message from God, Joshua asks that He deliver it.

We can understand that this is Jesus because:

  • First, this messenger allows himself to be worshipped, angels never do.
  • Second, Joshua was instructed to remove his sandals because he was on holy ground just as Moses had been instructed at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5).

We are not told what the message entailed but we can deduce it was details of how the war of conquest was to be waged. But the greatest significance of this meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Lord’s Army was that Israel would not be fighting alone.

 

The Lord’s Side Is Promised Victory

 

The Lord gave Joshua a huge promise in verse 6:2, “And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor.”

Notice the Lord proclaims Israel’s victory over the city of Jericho in the past prefect tense, as if it had already occurred (v.2).   Victory is just as sure as if it had already happened.

We may lose a few battles along the way, but the Lord has already won the war, and as long as we are on the Lord’s side, we are winners.  Jericho would become a “linchpin” in the conquest of Canaan.  After seeing it fall, the Israelites could more easily believe that nothing would be impossible for them.  God is good!  Sometimes we all need a linchpin event.

 

A Little Linspiration!

 

Unless you have been living in cave, you have probably heard of Jeremy Lin.  In just a few short weeks he has accomplished what many have wanted to do for Christians in China….encourage them.  This is a story from the Baptist Press.

 

The sudden rise to fame of Taiwanese Christian NBA player Jeremy Lin has received the attention of many Chinese Christians, and has inspired many who face persecution in their Communist homeland, the Christian Post reports. Chinese media has largely stifled any mentions of Lin’s Christianity in covering his basketball play, typical of the government’s attempts to control religious practices, but Lin’s story has nonetheless caught the attention of Christians throughout the country. One Chinese Internet wrote, ” physical agility has shown me the glory and omnipotence of God.” Another wrote: “How should young Christians live the life of the Lord? We have a good example in Lin Shuhao’s miraculous performance and we should cheer him on.” Hu Shubang, a seminary student at Zhejiang Theological Seminary in Hangzhou, said Lin could become a symbol for Christians in China to use in seeking converts. “Just by his being a Christian, it is a fantastic way to broadcast the ways of Christ,” Hu said.

 

We never really know just how the Lord is going to use us and what impact our lives will have on others.  We simply must be ready at all times.  Find the Lord’s Holy Ground in your life and get on His side.  Your Jericho awaits!

Blessings,

Pastor

Have You Reached Gilgal?

23 Thursday Feb 2012

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When the children of Israel were entering and conquering the Land of Promise, Gilgal became their home base of operations.  It was the place where the armies would return between victories.

 

 Joshua 10:43 – “Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal. It was “beside the oaks of Moreh,” near which Abraham erected his first altar” (Gen. 12:6, 7)

 

 

All the Lord’s children need a Gilgal.  While you are holding on to the promises of God and fighting for victory, you need a place of retreat, a headquarters.  Gilgal represents a place of safety.  It is a place where people agree with what God has spoken in your life.  If the battle gets fierce (and it will), Gilgal is the place you return to for affirmation, instruction, and encouragement.  Do you know how to find Gilgal?

There are three reasons that Gilgal was important as a place of centrality during the years leading up to the division of the land between the tribes.

 

1. Gilgal Represents the Pruning of God

 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. (Joshua 5:2,3)

 

Circumcision was covenant in action.  In simple terms circumcision represented the exchange of self-life for the Spirit life. (Genesis 17:9-11) Circumcision represents:

  • To be delivered from self, to the total reliance on God.
  • To cut away fleshly attitudes.
  • To be Spirit led.

 

The pruning of God today is a spiritual exercise all believers must allow to happen.

 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh…” (Philippians 3:3)

 

This is accomplished when God puts us in impossible situations where we have to rely only on Him. Most of us do not want to find ourselves in these places.  But the Lord knows what needs to be “cut away” from our lives.

 

2. Gilgal represents the Promises of God

 

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua 5:9)

 

Forty years had passed since the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt.  God’s grace carried them each day.  Victory was always a future event.  Now at Gilgal they would learn to move from grace to victory.

To commemorate what was about to happen the whole nation observed the Passover meal.  The partaking of the Passover brought another major change.  They ate food from the land and the manna ceased. The manna was to sustain them in their wilderness wanderings.  The fruit of the land speaks of them being an actual participant in the promises of God.    The Passover not only looks back to what was accomplished but also looks forward to those things to come! For God’s covenant people, deliverance from Egypt included the promise they would inherit the land, a land of abundance, a land of wheat, barley, fig trees, olive oil, and honey (Deut. 8:8-9).

All of this spoke of their new beginning, of their new life as the people of God delivered from judgment and now living in the place of blessing.

Seeing God’s word come to pass in someone’s life is so exciting.  It is a great encouragement to every believer.  We all need places like Gilgal where we can recount what God has done and what God is doing.  If we fail to go back to Gilgal, we might forfeit our promise and lose sight of where God is leading.

 

 

3. Gilgal Represents the Presence of God

It was here Joshua had an encounter with the Captain of the hosts of the Lord

 

Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the LORD’S host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

 

It was not for Joshua to claim God’s allegiance for his cause no matter how right and holy it might be. Rather, the need was for Joshua to acknowledge God’s claim over him for His purposes.

We tend to approach our battles and causes backwards.  We turn things around and try to marshal God to support us rather than to submit and follow Him.

The Lord was also reminding Joshua (and us) of both God’s personal presence and His powerful provision. The promise of God’s personal presence always carries with it the assurance of God’s personal care.

Do you have a word or two you are standing on today?  Be of good cheer!  If you are struggling, go back to the place you originally heard that word.  Remind yourself of what, when, how, and where God originally spoke.  Go to Gilgal and receive the encouragement you need to battle on into your future.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Final Execution Order – Please be in Prayer for Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

23 Thursday Feb 2012

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A new execution order has come down for Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani.  If you have time to pray, please do so and pass his name along to other individuals and prayer groups. 

Below is a recent artcile about his current situation. 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Gets Final Execution Order

By Daniel Tovrov

February 22, 2012 3:12 PM EST

Iran has issued what could be the final execution order for Youcef Nadarkhani, the Christian pastor who was found guilty of renouncing Islam.

Nadarkhani has been waiting in limbo for this verdict for months. After turning down four separate chances to convert to Islam to save his life, Iranian officials delayed their sentencing, leaving the pastor to await his fate inside a cell in Iran’s Gilan province. But now, Nadarkhani could be executed within days.
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  • (Photo: Buzzbox.com) Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani could be hanged in a matter of days.
(Photo: Buzzbox.com) Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani could be hanged in a matter of days.

“They are threatening to execute a pastor who is, in my opinion, totally innocent,” said U.S. Representative Joseph Pitts (R. – PA), who is sponsoring a congressional resolution to call for Nadarkhani’s freedom.

“He’s facing the threat of execution on false charges just because of his religious belief.  He’s willing to face the hangman’s noose over this.”

On Monday, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), an international Christian and human rights organization, discovered that Nadarkhani’s “life is in imminent danger” and that “the situation has not been this dire” since the organization first learned of his arrest. While that first report did not go into specifics, the organization believes it has confirmed the execution order and that, at least as of Tuesday, Nadarkhani was still alive.

“Iran’s legal system is not like any legal system in the world. [The order] is still being kept secret. Even his legal team might not find out about the execution until the body is delivered to the family,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the ACLJ.

Crisis of Faith

The pastor, who once led a small congregation of about 400 worshipers in the northwest part of the country, was originally arrested in 2009 for apostasy, the crime of abandoning one’s faith. Although apostasy is not a crime under Iran’s official legal code, it is punishable by death according to Ayatollah Khomeini’s fatwas and religious decrees, thereby bringing Nadarkhani’s trial through Iran’s special Revolutionary Court.

Under Iranian law, anyone born to Muslim parents is a Muslim.  Nadarkhani claimed in his defense that he never accepted the Islamic faith and that he became a Christian before 15, the age of religious maturity in Iran. And while Christianity is a protected religion under Iran’s constitution, Nadarkhani was also charged with converting other Muslims to Christianity through his evangelism, which is a crime.

A year after his arrest Nadarkhani, was “convicted of turning his back on Islam, the greatest religion of the prophesy of Mohammad, at the age of 19,” according to a court ruling from December, 2010. That’s when the first death sentence was handed out. After many attempts to get the pastor to repent, the case eventually made it to the Supreme Court and then to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is still the final judge.

If the order goes through, it will be the first time that anyone has been officially hanged for apostasy in Iran in over 20 years.

(However, the legal system allows Iran to publish charges after a criminal has been executed, meaning that the court can mask an apostasy execution after the fact by changing the conviction. Iran has already made claims that Nadarkhani was arrested for “security-related crimes” like Zionism and spying — claims which court documents refuted but were made nonetheless.)

Final Plea

Along with Pitts, who is co-sponsoring the bill with Rep. Keith Ellison (D. – Minn), the White House, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the European Union have also condemned Iran for breaking with the Universal Declaration of Human rights, of which Iran is a signatory.

But these official censures may be too little too late. Iran’s execution orders are kept private, so the details are unclear and the execution order could be carried out at any time.

In Iran, those sentenced to death generally don’t wait long for execution. Alireza Molla-Soltani, a teenager convicted of the murder of “Iran’s strongest man,” was sentenced to death on Aug. 20, 2011, denied appeal on Sept. 11, and then hanged on Sept. 21. Thus, Nadarkhani could be hanged in a matter of days.

“There are grave concerns that the death sentence could be carried out at any time without prior notification and that the authorities will merely announce it later, a practice that is not uncommon in Iran,” activist group Christian Solidarity Worldwide stated.

If the execution is held publicly, it will have to be approved by Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani. But if it’s done in private, which most hangings in Iran are, it may not be known about until days or weeks after it occurs, the ACLJ points out.

Still, Pitts and Sekulow believe that if enough international attention on the issue is brought quickly to the fore, the pressure will be enough change the minds of Iranian leadership, at least for the time being.

“It’s not there’s no hope, because Iran knows it’s being watched,” said Sekulow.  “The only hope for [Nadarkhani] right now is that one of the ayatollahs steps in.” [Because of the secrecy surrounding the case,] “we won’t know who stepped in or how, but it will still be a victory.”

“I hope people will pray for him and for the Iranian authorities and that the right thing will be done. It’s the only thing that some of us can do,” said Pitts.

 

Oringinal article at http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/303034/20120222/iranian-pastor-yousef-nadarkhani-execution.htm

 

Preparing for Battle!

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

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Many of our current generation do not remember that Sergeant Alvin York was the most famous soldier of World War I. Neither do they realize that Alvin C. York was a most unlikely man to become a legendary hero. York felt that his Christian faith barred him from killing anyone, even in war.  

After being drafted, York went home on a ten-day leave and considered the scriptures a Christian captain had shared with him.  Finally in a crisis of faith, God showed York that he could obey God and defend the helpless in Europe at the same time.

He wrote, “As I prayed there alone… I knew that He was there. He understood I didn’t want to be a fighter or a killing man… He took pity on me and gave me the assurance I needed… It was His will and that was enough for me.”  Sgt. York had to win the war in his mind before he could win the battles that lay ahead of him in the trenches of France and so it was with Joshua.

[John Perry. Sgt. York; His Life and His Legend. (Broadman and Holman Pub. 1997) pp. 30-31

 

 

The Visible Battle

The first thing Joshua observed was a visible battle that lay before him. The city of Jericho was a walled city. The walls towered from six to eight stories high and were several yards thick. Inside were well-armed and fiercely warlike people. What Joshua saw with his eyes was indeed a giant problem.  Jericho was not a fictitious place.  It was major, fortified city.

Everyone has some kind of visible giant in their life.  These battles are very real.  Whatever that giant is for you, it is real and stands right in front of you.

 

The Invisible War

As great as the visible giant of Jericho appeared, it was not Joshua’s real problem.  The larger issue was the invisible war he had to first fight in his own heart.

First, he had to overcome the challenge of past failures.

Being Moses padawan apprentice, Joshua brought all of his past negative experiences with him. He must have remembered when Israel refused to follow Caleb and him into the Promised Land. (Numbers 14:6-10)  Joshua had to wait forty years to defeat this giant because of the failure of others.  Our failures in the past have to be given to God or they will cripple us in the present!

 

 

Paul gave us a formula for dealing with past failures in Philippians 3:

  • Realize that no one escapes failure of some kind (v.12) – “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected.”
  • Leave the past where it is – in the past (v.13) – “forgetting those things which are behind.”
  • Focus on those things you can do something about (v.13) – “reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

 

Secondly, Joshua also had to overcome his own preconceived notions of how the battle should be fought.

Joshua was not going to be able to fight this enemy with his own notions of how to fight.  He would have to learn to do things God’s way (Joshua 6:1-5).

Too many of us approach the issues of life with our own grandiose ideas.  It is hard to remember that, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12). God often has to remind us that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). God probably has a very different way of handling the giants in your life than you would imagine on your own.

Like Joshua, we all face visible giants. But also like Joshua, we face a daily war within our hearts. As we win the war over our past, our ideas and our attitudes, we become ready to fight the battles that lay before us. Are you ready?

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

Inheriting the Promises of God

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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It is finally time to enter the Promised Land.  The book and life of Joshua is about “Receiving God’s Promises”. Maybe you too have stood on some particular promise of God for a season of time.  Praise the Lord the day eventually comes (if you have remained faithful to those promises) when God’s word comes to pass.

Joshua was chosen by both God and Moses to complete the work of leading Israel into the Promised Land. God had made a promise over 400 years earlier to Abraham that his descendants would receive the land Abraham lived in for an inheritance, as a homeland.

Time had gone by for Joshua and Caleb but in forty years they never stopped believing the promise God made them.  They both said 40 years earlier, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”(Numbers 13:30).

Can you imagine their ups and downs in all those years?   They spent forty years waiting and waiting on the fulfillment of God’s word.  They continually saw their neighbors die in the desert, not receiving the promise.  Each day these two men discovered fresh again the faithfulness of God. God could be counted on to fulfill His word.

 

 

You may remember the old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.  The chorus goes like this:

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided –

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

 

This great Hymn of the church was written by Thomas Chisholm. He did not write this hymn because of some great or miraculous event.  Rather, he wrote it because he looked back over his life and was reminded of the great faithfulness of God throughout the years. He penned the song when he was 75 years old.  Wow!

The same is true for the children of Israel.  Their entrance into the Promised Land is not about anything the Jews did or didn’t do.  This story is all about what God did and continues to do.  Why?  He is faithful.

Moses had just passed away.  Even though Moses had died, it did not mean that the plans of God were dead as well. Joshua was raised up to continue the work of God.

 On one of the monuments commemorating the life and death of John Wesley at Westminster Abby is carved these words: “God buries His workmen, but His work goes on.”

Someone has to pick-up, hold, and believe the promises of God for this generation.  If you are still alive and kicking, that person is you!  What promises are you believing God to bring to pass today?  It is not too late.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Finding God In Waterless Places

20 Monday Feb 2012

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1Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to thewilderness of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there.

2 There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perishedwhen our brothers perished before the LORD!  (Numbers 20:1-3)

 

 

Have you ever been in a “waterless place?”  These are the places in life when all our own personal rescources have run dry.  All of God’s children eventually find themselves in waterless places.

Oftentimes while being led by the Lord we are brought into crisis situations which manifest the character and quality of our faith. These waterless places may tempt us to second-guess whether we heard God speak in the first place.   Somehow we incorrectly believe following the leading of the Lord does not entail any problems or cares. Surely being led by the Spirit exempts us from all trials, pain, sickness, family or marital problems, and financial difficulties.

So when we meet waterless places we conclude, “it was a mistake to listen to that preacher, teacher or other spiritual speaker, and God Himself.”

 

Beware of Fear’s Motivation –

Fears try to persuade us that the purposes of God are not reliable. In our panic we allow fear to frame the debate that the Lord delivers us from sin to bring us into evil.  Fears twist our thinking to believe the Lord redeems us from captivity only to lead us back into bondage; the Lord brings us out of one mess just to entrap us in another mess.  Fears will cause us to believe the Lord has brought us this far just to leave us!!! Can you relate?

 

 

Waterless Places Witness About Us –

In Waterless Places, our behavior witnesses to the fact that we oftentimes act in order to survive.  In these dark places we discover our flesh still searches for not only security from others, but also for power over others. It can get ugly.  This is why the children of Israel “chided” with Moses and Aaron.  This means they opposed the authority and leadership of the very same men to lead them from bondage.

 

Trusting In The Lord In Waterless Places

In order to let God be God in waterless places, we must deal with this fear of not being in control.  The only way to deal effectively with it is to TRUST IN THE LORD!!! 

We must be able to place our confidence in God’s ability to provide for all our needs in waterless places. We must trust His gracious purpose in bringing us to what we call “evil places”.  God can and will do good things in evil places.

We must resolve in our souls that all things do in fact “work together for good to them who love the Lord, who are called according to His purpose.” But we must take the weight of caring for our own welfare out of our feeble hands and entrust it into the strong hands of the Lord our God for He cares for us!!!

DON’T CHIDE, JUST CALL! Call upon the Name of Lord and He will deliver you. Rest in the Lord and allow Him to bring you through your waterless places.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

 

The Angry Squirrel

17 Friday Feb 2012

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I saw this funny story and thought I would pass it along to add a little humor to your weekend.

Pastor

 

I never dreamed slowly cruising on my motorcycle through a residential neighborhood could be so incredibly dangerous! Little did I suspect.

I was on Brice Street – a very nice neighborhood with perfect lawns and slow traffic. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me.

It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was no time to brake or avoid it — it was that close. I hate to run over animals, and I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should pose no danger to me.

 I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal lovers, never fear. Squirrels, I discovered, can take care of themselves!

Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing my oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his beady little eyes.

His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, “Bonzai!” or maybe, “Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!” The leap was nothing short of spectacular…

He shot straight up, flew over my windshield, and impacted me squarely in the chest. Instantly, he set upon me. If I did not know better, I would have sworn he brought 20 of his little buddies along for the attack.

Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothes, he was a frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer riding gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This furry little tornado was doing some damage!

Picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather gloves, puttering at maybe 25 mph down a quiet residential street, and in the fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing…

I grabbed for him with my left hand. After a few misses, I finally managed to snag his tail. With all my strength, I flung the evil rodent off to the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter should have ended right there.

It really should have. The squirrel could have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel.

This was not even an ordinary angry squirrel. This was an EVIL MUTANT ATTACK SQUIRREL OF DEATH! Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands and, with the force of the throw, swung around and with a resounding thump and an amazing impact, he landed squarely on my BACK and resumed his rather antisocial and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved. Not improved at all.

 

His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach him. I was startled, to say the least. The combination of the force of the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars, and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a Valkyrie can only have one result.

Torque.

This is what the Valkyrie is made for, and she is very, very good at it.

The engine roared and the front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in . well .. I just plain screamed.

Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a slightly squirrel-torn t-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, and roaring at maybe 50 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet residential street on one wheel, with a demonic squirrel of death on his back.

The man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder. With the sudden acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars and try to get control of the bike.

This was leaving the mutant squirrel to his own devices, but I really did not want to crash into somebody’s tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not yet figured out how to release the throttle…my brain was just simply overloaded. I did manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the massive power of the big cruiser.

About this time the squirrel decided that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle (maybe he was an evil mutant NAZI attack squirrel of death), and he came around my neck and got INSIDE my full-face helmet with me.

As the faceplate closed part way, he began hissing in my face. I am quite sure my screaming changed intensity. It had little effect on the squirrel, however. The RPMs on the Dragon maxed out (since I was not bothering with shifting at the moment), so her front end started to drop.

Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a very raggedly torn T-shirt, wearing only one leather glove, roaring at probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel’s tail sticking out of the mostly closed full-face helmet. By now the screams are probably getting a little hoarse.

Finally I got the upper hand … I managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked … sort-of.

Spectacularly sort-of … so to speak.

Picture a new scene. You are a cop. You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street and parked with your windows down to do some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in the breeze, and wearing only one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by, and with all his strength throws a live squirrel grenade directly into your police car.

I heard screams. They weren’t mine… I managed to get the big motorcycle under control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at the stop sign of a busy cross street. I would have returned to ‘fess up (and to get my glove back). I really would have.

Really… Except for two things.

First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit concerned about me at the moment. When I looked back, the doors on both sides of the patrol car were flung wide open. The cop from the passenger side was on his back, doing a crab walk into somebody’s front yard, quickly moving away from the car. The cop who had been in the driver’s seat was standing in the street, aiming a riot shotgun at his own police car. So, the cops were not interested in me. They often insist to “let the professionals handle it” anyway.

That was one thing. The other? Well, I could clearly see shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery from the back seat. But I could also swear I saw the squirrel in the back window, shaking his little fist at me. That is one dangerous squirrel. And now he has a patrol car. A somewhat shredded patrol car but it was all his.

I took a deep breath, turned on my turn-signal, made a gentle right turn off of Brice Street, and sedately left the neighborhood. I decided it was best to just buy myself a new pair of gloves. And a whole lot of Band-Aids.

 

 

Learning to Live Within Your Anointing (Part 2) How to Be a Leader God Uses

16 Thursday Feb 2012

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The story of Korah and his followers gives us a clear picture of what not to do with the gifts, abilities, and anointing of God.  Korah could have been a leader God used, if he had simply stayed within God’s boundaries.  How do we do this?

 

#1 Measure Yourself Humbly and Do Not Magnify Yourself.

 

8 Then Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi, 9 is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them; 10 and that He has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you? And are you seeking for the priesthood also? (Numbers 16:8-10)

 

Magnifying oneself is exaggerating one’s importance and contribution. It is a sign of the beginning and the cause of one’s fall.

 

Korah’s grandfather occupied an important place in the ministry of the Lord. Kohath’s family was one of three families appointed to serve in the sanctuary.

This family had the highest honor because the holiest items in the tabernacle were assigned to their care.  This included the Tent of Meeting or tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the table of shew-bread, the candlestick, the altar of incense, and altar of burnt-offering. God had promised that they would never to be cut off from the Levites.  Wow!

 

BUT THE SONS OF KORAH WANTED MORE…

This family was more privileged than most, yet it wasn’t enough.   They began to entertain thoughts of greater service and positions.  The tasks and anointing God placed on others was coveted by Korah and his followers.

 

The father of Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, reminded him several times of a humbling truth. “Whenever you get too high on yourself, go down to the beach and look out over the vast ocean. Then, pick up a handful of sand and realize that one grain is all you are in the space of time.” (USA Today 1/21/97)

 

 Someone noted, “The less privileged  looked up at the sons of Korah, gushed in their presence, and pined for an opportunity to safeguard the most holy things, to keep Moses and Aaron company, and to serve God up-close and personal.”

 

#2 Motivate People Honestly and Do Not Mislead Others. (Numbers 16:12-15)

 

Many people motivate others in the wrong way.  They only look after their own interests and take advantage of people’s trust, fear, and ignorance.

 

The mutineers were essentially calling Moses a tyrant, a liar, and a sadist. Dathan and Abiram reopened old wounds by echoing the ten spies’ claims that Egypt represented everything good – milk and honey (13). They twisted the promises of God by saying Moses personified death and torture and the Promised Land epitomized wastelands and barrenness.

 

Moses, a good leader, offered a measured response and opportunity for those in rebellion to “opt-out” and correct the situation. Dathan and Abiram dug their own grave when they refused to control the damage, confess their wrongdoing, and correct people’s misperception.

 

Moses gave Dathan and Abiram more leeway than Korah, but the two didn’t show up or shut up! He was disappointed, exasperated, and angered by their unproven accusations (16:15). He had gone out of his way to meet them, mend fences and make up (16:4), but the two did not even have the respect to see, face, or confront him (16:12).

 

 

#3 Meet God Honorably and Do Not Mock Him! (Numbers 16:41-50)

 

 

THE ANOINTING IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE

Korah and company accused, defied, and humiliated Moses in public. They succeeded in shredding Moses’ reputation to pieces, pouring contempt on his leadership, and raising issues about the land.  The problem here… Moses was God’s ordained leader. Moses was both appointed and anointed.  When God appoints, gifts, and anoints someone, that person is not up for debate.

 

 

 THE END RESULT OF THIS CANCER  

At the end of the two day incident, close to 15,000 people died. The stern judgment could have been averted, but the people did not stop their complaining or accept their responsibility. They rolled up their sleeves and prepared for a confrontation. The Lord’s judgment was not as lenient, gracious, or merciful the second time round.

Moses could not prevent the breakout of the plague. His intervention could not stop the plague because the offenders were insolent and impenitent.

 

How could people be so wrong?  How could people see such miraculous signs/miracles and then attack God’s servant? 

 

The answer is rebellion! It may be in our hearts, just not revealed in our character until we are faced with it.  Korah and his followers forfeited their call because of rebellion. God will not allow rebellion to remain.  He must remove and replace it.

 

The good news, when confession of sin is made and intercession is offered, God restores His anointing and presence. Rebellion can be corrected.  It simply has to be dealt with God’s way.

 

These sons of Korah did not fare very well in this generation.  But they rebounded in later generations.  They became renown for their worship and psalms.

 

Blessings,

 

Pastor

 

 

Learning to Live Within Your Anointing (Part 1) Mutiny in the Desert

15 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Our Journey Into The Promised Land

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Some of us want more than what God says is good for us.  Why is it that we are never satisfied with what God has provided?  I am speaking primarily of the Spirit. Why is it that we covet the things others have like possessions, position, or power (authority)?

We seem to be like the monkey.

 There is a well told story that says in Africa and India the natives use a very simple technique to catch monkeys. They hollow out one end of a coconut and they put peanuts or bananas inside. The monkey puts his hand in the coconut and when he makes a fist to grab the peanuts, he’s trapped. The monkey cannot remove his hand with his fist clinched.  Because he desperately desires the treats inside the coconut, he keeps his fist clinched.  The natives will pull a string attached to the other end of the coconut and capture the monkey without harming it.   All the little monkey has to do in order to escape is to let go of the fruit.  But he never releases his grasp of the fruit and is caught.   

 

Korah’s History

 Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action, (Numbers 16:1)

This desert rebellion was led by a man named Korah. He was a Levite, meaning he was a privileged person among the Hebrews.  He was specially chosen from among God’s Chosen People to serve in the Priesthood.  Yet the story tells us he was still discontented with his position when he compared himself to Moses and Aaron.

Korah spread his discontent to 250 other Israelites. They brought forward a list of complaints, acting more like a mob.  They were determined to have things their own way.

Have you ever known people like this?

It is as if they cannot be happy unless they are the ones running the show.

  • They think they have just as much right to be the boss as the boss.
  • They are self-appointed.
  • They insist they have been disadvantaged somehow by not being given the opportunity to lead.

These mutineers have not demonstrated any ability to lead.  Yet, due to the mob, they insist they know what is best. All this sounds like some politicians doesn’t it?

 

Korah’s Complaint (2-3)

 “and they rose up before Moses, together with some of the sons of Israel, two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation, chosen in the assembly, men of renown. 3 They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” (Numbers 16:2-3)

Those wanting a change in leadership had three complaints.  These complaints all focused around Moses.

  •  #1 Moses, you are no better than anyone else.
  • #2 Everyone in Israel is chosen of the Lord, not just Moses and Aaron
  • #3 We don’t need to obey you Moses (you’re no better than us).

If you are a parent, these complaints may sound familiar.  Have you ever heard a child say, “you’re not the boss of me.”

Well, the fact of the matter is God has made (the parent) “the boss of you.” But trying to convince insolent children of this truth is a difficult task.  It may take dramatic discipline to restore the leadership.

 

Korah’s Rebellion

Webster’s Dictionary uses several synonyms to help to define rebellion.

  • Insolent – arrogantly rude.
  • Arrogate – to claim or seize without justification.
  • Arrogant – proud and overbearing.

When Moses sees and hears of the rebellion, it looks as though he is shot in the stomach. He immediately falls to the ground.  But the Lord gives Moses a simple plan to deal with these mutineers.

Everyone is invited to stand before the Lord as equals at the Tent of Meeting.  Each is to have a censer filled with incense to burn before the Lord. Each will be received or rejected by the Lord.  It never dawned on Korah that the Lord would reject him.

God instructs Moses to move everyone away from the trouble makers and their tents. Moses informs everyone plainly; This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea.  (28)

29 If these men die the death of all men or if they suffer the fate of all men (a natural death), then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings about an entirely new thing and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that is theirs, and they descend alive into Sheol (unnatural death), then you will understand that these men have spurned the LORD.”

 31 As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” 35 Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense.  (Numbers 16:29-35)

 

End of discussion… end of the rebellion!  The leadership question has been answered once and for all.  When the ground opens up and swallows you, your family, and everything you own, then there is nothing left to discuss.

When we challenge the leaders God has put in place, we do so at our own peril.  To challenge leadership with wrong motives may cost you more than you are will pay.

The truth is leadership is more than just leading.  It is about anointing and how God has appointed that person.

Moses – As Good As It Gets

Korah’s group sought to walk outside their anointing, calling, and purpose.  They were ministers of the Tabernacle.  Their personal anointing didn’t extend beyond the priesthood.  Yet they challenged the established authority using numbers and influence.

By the end of the next day 14,950 Israelites died. The plague that struck the camp was the scene of the longest and bloodiest day in the wilderness.  This incident far outnumbered the 3,000 calf-worshippers that had died previously (Ex 32:28).

The truth is God had His best man on the job, Moses.  We may think we know better than God.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  When God appoints, He anoints.  Our job is to follow the anointing and learn to be comfortable with God’s anointed leadership.  The Leadership was not going to get any better than Moses.

Have you learned to discern who is anointed and appointed by God?  If you are still stuck in the flesh and looking for fleshly solutions to spiritual problems, you will be constantly disappointed.  Learn to discern where God’s anointing is resting.  It will change the way you operate and bring glory to the Lord.

Blessings,

Pastor