Hitting God

Numbers 27:13-14
When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.”

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When I think about sin, I usually think about the obvious things: stealing, lying, cheating, murder, rebellion against God. But “failing to uphold God as holy in the sight of the people” doesn’t usually make it onto that list. Moses rebelled against God by rebelling against the word of God. God gave him specific instructions about speaking to a rock so that water would come out of it; but instead he struck the rock in anger.

Why was this a big deal? The first time water came from that rock to give water for the people, God told Moses to strike the rock. But he also told Moses that he himself would be standing on that rock (Exodus 17:6). This is to show that God didn’t just make water come out of a rock, but that because he “stood” on that rock, he was the source of the water. This gives validity to what the apostle Paul mentioned when he said that this very rock was Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).

So the first time Israel drank from the rock, there was a sense of God taking a hit for the people. Even though the people grumbled against Moses and tested God, God in a sense took all that grumbling upon himself and produced something life-giving. There’s an element of sacrifice on God’s part, for his sinful and disrespectful people.

So with this in mind, the second time God tells Moses that water is going to come from the rock, he tells Moses not to strike the rock, but to speak to the rock. I presume that the Lord would once again be standing there on the rock as he was before, expecting Moses to speak, but instead gets hit twice.
Just FYI, if God tells you to open your mouth and talk to him, but instead you hit him, twice, that’s probably a sin.

Moses’ sin was disobedience to God’s command, but also, he treated God with great disrespect. He didn’t give him the due honor or reverence that God deserves, because he is holy.

So today, I’m left in a nervous discontent. I wonder, as someone who gets up on Sundays and teaches people about God, if I truly treat God as holy. Especially in youth ministry, where there’s a desire to be relevant, cool, and humorous, it can be hard to get the message across that God is a holy God; and you don’t treat him as anything but holy.

I’m left challenged by this. What needs to change in how I operate on Sundays? And what needs to change in my daily life as I try to show the world around me that I not only believe in God, but treat him as holy?

For Glory and Beauty

Exodus 28:2-3
And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.

Exodus 29:35
“Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Through seven days shall you ordain them,”
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Even though God had led his people into the wilderness, into barren desert land, when it came time for Israel to build a center of worship, God instructed them to do so in a specific way. Everything was to be made skillfully and beautifully. When it came to the garments of the priests, God says that they are to be holy garments “for glory and for beauty.”
As Israel travels through the wilderness, at the center of their camp would stand the Tabernacle, essentially - the throne room of God himself. All the beautifully crafted tents and ornaments are meant to display to Israel and all other nations that a King dwells in their midst. This was also common among other nations. Palaces were the most finely decorated buildings in any city, where the king lived. When other nations would travel abroad with their king, they had finely constructed tents and structures for the king to travel in. So Israel wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary in constructing all these things, but what was uncommon was that there was no mortal king sitting on the throne; the king Israel traveled with was the God of all things, personally dwelling with them.
It’s not wonder that God commands them to build fine and beautiful things for him to travel in. And it’s not about ego. He says that all these things are to be built for glory and beauty. Glory, that all people will see how holy he is. Beauty, that all people will see that the God of all things is not a temperamental, destructive god, but that he is full of mercy and lovingkindness.
God is worthy of being displayed as the most glorious and beautiful of all beings. This was part of Israel’s responsibility, to display God properly to all the nations. In the church, there’s no specific command to build ornate buildings or that God’s people should be finely dressed. But this certainly doesn’t imply that we don’t do anything to honor God with beautifully, skillfully made things. God is still just as worthy of his people displaying him as glorious and beautiful.
It’s a tragic thing that many people’s conception of churches is a beautiful chapel-type building, but with 20th century overhead projectors using transparencies and out of tune organs played by an elderly, deaf woman. God’s people should make it a priority to give their best in displaying him as a glorious king in the midst of their community. Now, to be fair, in some churches, all they can afford is an overhead transparency projector and an organ; that’s fine. God is not looking for a specific type of decor, but he certainly deserves the best efforts of those who are calling the community to come and worship the King of all kings. Yes, it is about the hearts with which we worship God, but there should also be a sense that everyone is doing their best to create a beautiful environment for all people to come to.
In Israel’s case, where did all that beautiful material come from to construct the Tabernacle? It all came from Egypt. They used material from another nation, an idolatrous nation, to construct the house of God and the instruments for the priests. There’s a lot of disagreement in the church in how much we allow the outside world to influence our church services. Some people don’t think that loud drums, electric guitars, concert lights, blue jeans, ornate sets, or iPads belong in a church. I understand their opinion (sort of), but from the beginning of Israel as a holy kingdom God has always used things of the world, from other cultures, and adopted and modified them for his people to use.
But one key we find in Exodus is truly important that maybe some modern churches will overlook. In Exodus 29:35 we see that the ordination process of the priests and their work took one whole week. They needed to be made holy and purified before they began ministering before the Lord. So in some regard, all the modern touches of church shouldn’t be implemented (such as lights, electric guitars, etc.) until the people understand that they are taking something from modern culture and devoting it’s use to be holy unto God. But if indeed hearts are pure, and the intention is to display God’s glory and beauty, I say bring on the lights and crank the distortion. It’s not about being modern or letting the culture dictate the church, it’s using the best the culture has to offer, but setting it apart as holy for the beautiful display of a holy God.

God's Gift and Greatest Tool

Acts 1: 6-8
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Exodus 12: 35-36
The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

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John the Baptizer recognized that Jesus was “the Lamb of God” who takes away the sin of the world. This was a reference to the Exodus where God’s final plague against the Egyptians was the death of all the firstborn in the land, but for all the people of Israel who sacrificed a male lamb (one year old, without blemish) and smeared it’s blood above their doors, God passed over that household and the Feast of Passover was instituted.

The tenth plague and the Passover was a crucial point in Israel’s history, but it was also an extremely significant moment in world history. God had declared that day to a broken creation, fallen in sin and unable to reconcile itself back to him, that he promise of restoration had just taken a huge leap forward: he was graciously forming a people who would be his royal ambassadors on earth.

When it says that the Israelites plundered the Egyptians, it wasn’t just for plundering’s sake. God later commanded them to use most of these valuables in constructing holy items, such as the Tabernacle, ornaments for priests, lamp stands, etc. After Israel was freed from the bondage of Egypt, they were given tools and authority to carry out their unique role in the earth.

But the Passover also pointed toward the day when God would send his own Son to be the sacrificial lamb for all people on the earth. Just as it was important that God provide Israel with material needs to survive a journey to the promised land, and tools to carry out their responsibility as God’s people, Jesus likewise promised his apostles that they would receive something that would empower them to carry out their roles as his followers. This was the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Once Israel was in the wilderness they weren’t just freed from the empire of Egypt, they were then free to serve God and take up a divine calling, one that was unique to them out of all the people of the world. It would require them to set themselves apart from all other nations, for the sake of displaying God’s glory and goodness to the rest of the world. Likewise, once we come to faith in Jesus, we go on our own process of embracing a new responsibility, a new lifestyle. This is the life of following Christ. It’s being equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be the unique people of God.

Today, this is a helpful reminder that each day I live, it’s not just a routine, day-in-day-out, “normal” kind of day. Each day is filled with the question, “How will I represent Jesus Christ today in all I think, say, and do?” I don’t have to worry much about the particulars, for God has given the tools and equipment - the Holy Spirit.

The Prime of Life

Joseph was 30 years old when he entered Pharaoh’s service (Genesis 41:46). In one day, he went from a prison to a palace. In one day, he went from rags to riches. In one day, all of his past and unfavorable circumstances gained a reason, and for the next seven years he would use all the skills and experience gained over his lifetime to begin his greatest work in life. This work would be the saving of many lives, and it would also play a direct part in fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham: that a nation would come from his offspring, and this nation would be a blessing to the world.

From age 30 to 37, Joseph had it made. He had a meaningful job and purpose in life, God blessed him in all he did, he was married and had children, he didn’t have to worry about finances, he was the second most powerful man in all of Egypt. He had it made. That’s the kind of life most men dream about.

To get to that point however, God had to lead Joseph through 30 years of hardship. Because in the hardship Joseph learned integrity and trust in God. Those 30 years prepared him for his great purpose in history. Then, after 7 years of blessing, God had another hardship for Joseph to go through.

With a famine throughout the world, Joseph, although he had made provisions for Egypt to have enough food, was faced with a famine in his own life: the starved relationships with his own family; and this was a famine he hadn’t prepared for.

My guess is that the seven years of abundance and blessings also gave Joseph some pride. When he first sees his brothers, his first reaction is not forgiveness and joy, but bitterness and pride. Genesis 42:7 says that his first reaction was that he “treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them.” Then in verse 9 it says that he “remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them.” What ran through his mind at that point, I think, was that he was going to force those dreams on his brothers by his own authority.

This is how I imagine his thoughts: “Now that I’m the main man in Egypt, my older brothers have to bow down to me. Those dreams I had were true after all! Thank you, God, that you have brought sweet justice on their heads and for allowing me to taste this sweet revenge.”

But as the events unfold, it becomes clearer, at least to us, that God didn’t just give Joseph those dreams because he was somehow better than his brothers, and he didn’t just give Joseph those dreams so that he would be avenged from the injustice of his brothers.

Those dreams of his youth pointed to a day when his brothers would come to him out of a life or death need, and the reaction that God wanted from Joseph was not pride or revenge, but mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Joseph eventually gets to this point, but it did take him some time, and a lot of tears and inner battling.

Even though Joseph’s life was blessed vocationally, he had a lot of inner pain to fight through in the area of his family. And God brought this to light in the middle of Joseph’s most blessed years. Even though we may be riding on God’s blessings in life, we have to also accept that during these blessed times, God will probably also address hurt and pain that comes from our past. That’s not necessarily what these chapters of Genesis suggest, but it certainly is wise to assume that God will also deal with us in a similar manner.

This is especially important in our American culture, because we are so driven by our jobs, our occupation, what we do for a living. We wrap our identities around it. We schedule our lives around it. Our relationships, especially with our family, tends to take a back seat; and when we begin to realize that family is important after all, it’s often too late to reconcile or make amends. Through Joseph’s life, it seems pretty clear that God is not only concerned about what we do in life, our occupation and achievements, but he cares about our relationships very much. Even though Joseph had it all, God still wanted to address the gaping hole in his family relationships, and God chose to bring this to light during Joseph’s prime years (and at the same time he was doing this deeply personal work in Joseph’s life, God advanced his plan of salvation for the entire world).

So this New Year, as I look at my resolutions and goals, I see that I need to pay particular attention to my relationships, especially with my family. My prime years of vocation will also be peppered with the screaming need to reconcile old relationships, and to keep current ones well tended.

If I Ruled the World

1 Corinthians 6: 1-3

1 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?

2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?

3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!

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The Corinthians had a hard time settling their own disputes with one another in the church. They'd been going to court with each other over trivial matters. I can understand this because I get easily angered over small things and can freely speak my mind. It's easy to be entangled in the blame game, so convinced that I'm right and someone else is wrong, but Paul points to a shocking truth to put this in perspective.

He says that in the end, the saints - those who have been bought by Jesus and have trusted him in faith to live by following him - these men and women will judge the entire world. What does he mean by this?

I don't think it means that we will all be courthouse judges in heaven, that just doesn't fit right with any description of eternal life with God. To understand what Paul means by this, it's necessary to go back to what man was created for in the first place.

Genesis 1:26

November 9, 2011 8:40 AM Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

This is important because God had a clear purpose for making people. It's not an accident, or a coincidence that we are the way we are. There's a reason we have our cognitive abilities, our physical attributes, our soulful yearnings; there is a design to all of that. And things are designed for a purpose, not just haphazardly.

God created Adam to be someone who had rulership and authority over the entire creation (this is what it means to "have dominion"). Eve was created to be a helper and equal partner in this task. Man was made to rule the world. But not in a militaristic and corrupt sense. He was made to rule as a steward (or "house servant") under God's supreme kingship. When Paul says that the saints are to be judges of the world, he has to be pointing back to man's original design and purpose: to have dominion over the world; to judge the world under God's supreme rulership.

And so, if this is our ultimate destination, Paul's comment makes sense. We're not just going to get to heaven and do nothing all day for eternity but sing songs to God. There's no indication in all of Scripture that God has some other purpose for man after sin entered the world. The created purpose remained the same throughout history, we just haven't been able to fulfill it. But we sure are still trying.

With all the APEC business going on today, it's clear that people are involved in ruling and governing and stewarding the world. Everyone has their political opinions, even if they don't have a political stance. People talk about it at lunch, at Starbucks, on Twitter, on blogs, on YouTube, at work, in their dreams - we all have a sense that our ideas could make the world a better place; that shows a glimpse of our divine purpose, to be judges of the world.

And so Paul points this out because if we are unable to settle minor disputes among each other within the church, how will we expect to be prepared to judge the world when our time comes?

Of course, when Jesus returns, it's all going to work out - but only because Jesus is going to put everyone in their place, according to how they've lived their lives in this one lifetime. To those who have been faithful, he will put them over much in his kingdom (Matthew 25:21).

For me, this passage in 1 Corinthians is a huge wake-up call. If I am not able to settle minor disputes in my life, what does that say about the focus of my life? If my focus is on eternal things, and what my life will be like when this life is over, I should be working towards something. I should be pushing myself to prepare for a life much better than this one. This extends beyond just how I settle disputes. If my life in God's kingdom is to be one of rulership and stewardship, how do I rule and steward the areas of my life that I am responsible for?

How do I manage my money? How do I lead my wife and children? How do I perform my job? How do I manage the ministries I am involved in? How am I a part of my church? How do I steward my relationships with family and friends? What do I do to help the needy? How do I stand up for injustice? How do I deal with temptation? What is my response when I sin? What values do I live by? How faithful am I to my promises and commitments?

All these areas and more reflect what kind of steward I expect to be after I die and then live forever in God's kingdom. How am I measuring up?

The Simply Complicated Truth

1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

v.26-29: For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
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In this letter to a young church, Paul begins by addressing the report he has heard of disunity within the church. People have had leadership arguments, that they are followers of Paul, or Peter, or Apollos, or Jesus. Paul sets the record straight that Jesus Christ is the one Shepherd to follow, and he points back to the cross to illustrate why we follow Christ alone.

What unifies a church is that everyone agrees on who Jesus Christ is, and that there is no disagreement or disunity on that. Paul then talks about the power of the gospel message, and the wisdom in it’s truth. And then Paul asks the church to remind themselves that not many of them were of any significant stature before their activity in the church. The reason for this is similar to the cross, that God wants to use what is low and simple to show the world how wonderful he is.

The reason is simple: when humans chase after wisdom they complicate the truth.

As people, we are always in search of more. We are convinced that there is always something more, that there is a need to go beyond. This was the mission laid out in Star Trek (although, I’m by no means a Trekkie, or even a fan, so I may not know what I’m talking about. If that’s the case, I’m okay with it, because at least I’m not a Trekkie); the mission to push the frontier, to discover new worlds and create a better humanity through diversity.

I think there’s something noble to be said of this goal, but there’s also a great danger. Because God, who is ultimate truth, has ordained the simplest, weakest, even foolish things in the world to be the wisest things in the world. Specifically, Paul is speaking of the cross, but surely this applies on a larger scale as well.

It’s not necessarily that God chose this method for no reason. It’s because of sin and fallen humanity. In our fallen nature, it’s within us to depart from God and continue to move away from him throughout life. The beauty of God’s grace is that he has set simple things to bring us back to him. We don’t need to go out and seek and acquire loads of knowledge to arrive back at God’s feet. That’s what religion does.

But God has made it so that everyone and anyone can come back to him. It’s almost too simple and too good to be true; but would you really want it to be more complicated than that?

And so today I realize that this truth needs to be embraced in all areas of my life. I can be convinced that there’s more to God I need to know and seek out more “advanced” knowledge and education. This is good and healthy, but my sinful nature will eventually lead me to go beyond what is necessary. There are some core, simple truths God wants me to know about him and make them a central part of my life. When I go beyond that, things get complicated and I get confused and frustrated, and it’s not God’s fault; I stepped past the simplicity of what he wanted me to grasp.

I can do this in all areas of my life. I can overcomplicate my schedule, my priorities, my work, my responsibilities as a husband and father, my finances, my relationships with family and friends, my Facebook profile, etc.

In all these areas, there are things to learn and areas to grow in, but I won’t ever arrive at perfection. There are some core, simple truths that will help all these areas of my life thrive, and if I go beyond them, it was because I was somehow convinced that I had to.

The temptation is always to move away from God. The solution is to find the truth in simplicity and look to Christ. This isn’t to say that there’s hard work and serious thinking that needs to go into life. It is, in fact, hard work to arrive at this viewpoint. I’ve spent over 29 years figuring this out, and I’m still learning a ton. Somehow, even simplicity has become complicated in my world today. But I must find all truth in Jesus, for only in him are all the complex mysteries of God made fully manifest, coherent, and simple enough for a guy like me to understand.

Fully Trained

Mark 9:28-29

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

Mark 9:38-40

John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us."

But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us.

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It's so easy to read the gospels and put all the focus on Jesus (which of course, we should do), but I've been trying lately to really dig into the viewpoints of the supporting characters. It stands out to me today that the disciples have already had a lot of experience in ministering with Jesus. Back in chapter 6, they've been sent out in pairs to heal the sick and cast out demons. In the same chapter, they played a part in feeding 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. The same thing happens in chapter 8 with 4,000 people. They've all seen Jesus walk on water, and they saw Peter walk on water briefly. Peter, James, and John have just seen Jesus transfigured on a mountain, and they've even seen Moses and Elijah!

When they come down from the mountain a big crowd is there, along with some scribes who are arguing with the disciples. It doesn't say what they're arguing about, but it must have something to do with casting out demons, as the disciples have been trying to cast out a demon from a young boy, but they haven't been successful. "What's wrong?" they must be wondering. "We've done this before, without Jesus helping us, why can't we do it now? Did we lose our authority?" Jesus walks into this picture and heals the boy. The disciples want to know why they couldn't do it. Jesus cites a lack of faith, not only on the disciples part, but also on the father's part, even the crowd and the scribes (v.19); but then he says that certain spirits cannot be cast out by anything but prayer. But what kind of prayer? Surely as the disciples were trying to cast out the demon they must have been praying. And when Jesus casts out the demon he doesn't pray; he just commands it to come out.

He must be talking about a consistent prayer; a life of prayer. He's just come down from the mountain, where he took his inner three disciples with him to pray. I assume this because it was his custom to go to mountains and pray (Mark 6:46). The disciples thought they were fully trained, that they knew all they needed to be exorcists. But here they learn a lesson, they don't know everything yet.

I feel that ring so true for myself today. Even though I might assume that I'm more trained in ministry than some people, I'm still growing, and by no means do I know everything about being a minister or teacher or worshiper or leader or team builder, etc. Like the disciples, I can often find myself in situations where things aren't working like they have in the past and wonder, "What's wrong? I'm doing everything I normally do. I do all the things I've been taught. Why am I failing? Why isn't it working the way I expected?"

Just a few verses after this event, again the disciples display this attitude. They say that they saw a man casting out demons in Jesus' name, and he wasn't a disciple, he wasn't part of their group. So they tried to stop him, thinking it the right thing to do. After all, this guy wasn't trained by Jesus. He wasn't commissioned by Jesus. He wasn't an apostle. He didn't spend time with Jesus. And yet Jesus tells them they did the wrong thing by discouraging this man.

Not only do the disciples feel they're fully trained warriors, they feel like they're the only ones who have this privilege. Jesus shows them that they're not yet fully trained, and also that they're not the only ones fighting the fight.

Why is it so easy to have this mentality the disciples had? Even though there are hundreds of churches on Oahu, why does it sometimes feel like it's all up to us at New Hope Windward? That attitude basically says that the other churches aren't worthy to share the same task as me. And why do I walk into situations feeling like I'm fully prepared to handle anything?

(I definitely think I should walk into situations confident that the Lord is with me and that whatever happens, I'm ready for it as long as my trust is set on him; but the difference is that subconscious tendency to feel like I can handle it on my own)

I'm reminded today that I'm a drop in the bucket. It's so important for the followers of Jesus to know that we're all in the same boat, we're all in it together. I am part of a global family; one body to bring the restoration of God's will on earth, as it is in heaven. I need to play my part humbly, with teamwork. I must always know that I am still in need of lots of learning, and that there are others who labor with me. It doesn't matter whether they work at a church or at Starbucks; there is only one body, one Lord, one Spirit, one Gospel, one reason to live.

I am a work in progress, dependent on others, who also need me. It's the greatest way to live this life.