Tabernacles and Thresholds

Today I want to share a little of my heart with you.  One of my favorite Biblical characters is a guy named Moses.  I think I identify with Moses because he was a flawed but faithful leader of the Hebrew people, as they faced victories and failures.  The people leave Egypt under fire.  They reluctantly enter the desert, quickly forgetting their miraculous delivery from the Pharoah.  Moses struggles as the people balk, complain and invite God's harsh discipline that causes them to wander 40 years in the desert.  If you read the Bible carefully, you will not find Moses as a seamless, perfect leader.  Instead, he fights doubts, stiff-necked people, family struggles and life.  He is my kind of guy!

During October we will travel with Moses and share his struggles.  We will see how he leads through the desert wilderness of the Middle-East.  And we will see how God worked good things through the plight and possibilities of the Hebrew people.  This week we will talk about tabernacles and thresholds.

Three points here.  First, Moses was, though reluctantly, a leader of the Hebrew people.  He was appointed by God, though his leadership qualities were suspect.  He stammered and stuttered.  He was wanted for striking down an Egyptian guard.  He really didn't want the job of leader.  God didn't choose him because of his gifts, passions or strengths (at least visible to others).  God used Moses and equipped Moses so he could lead.

Allow me to chase a rabbit here.  What is a leader?  Lots of leadership gurus define leadership.  An influencer, one who directs the mission or one who manages people are all used in this context.  But, in step with the Biblical idea of leading, I like the oldest root of the word, laedere.  It is an old English word that Peter Senge (my favorite leadership guru) says means "to go first across a threshold."  And this, Moses did well!  He went first, but his direction and his path were chosen by God, as a cloud by day and a fire by night led the people.  And, for this week, we will remember part of the whole process was to remember/keep/acknowledge God's presence with them, through the tabernacle.

We think of our tabernacle as the church building, but there are many lessons we can learn from the tabernacle (Exodus 25-31):

1.  The word means "to dwell," the idea being that God would dwell among the people.

2. God gave specific instructions about the tabernacle and the holiness of liturgy, worship, priests.  This included the actual construction of the tabernacle, which was explicitly portable. 

Let's stop on that portable idea for this week!

Tabernacles were not designed or intended to be comfortable, non-movable structures.  They were to be movable and moving on toward destinations that were thresholds.  The leader, here Moses, was to go before the people and lead them toward those thresholds that were God's plan and path.  How did they know where, when and how to go?

1. God gave them His ordained leader, Moses.  He was imperfect and flawed, but God equipped him, spoke with him and, when necessary, disciplined him.  Moses led the people till they were on the threshold of the promised land.  God then appointed a new leader, Joshua, to lead them across that threshold.

2. God gave them a cloud by day and a fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22).

3. God gave the leaders a place to worship and praise God, a place to make offerings and a place for the leaders to receive guidance.  It was the portable dwelling of God, able to go with the people so they never forgot God's presence, provision and power.

4. God, in this design, reminded the people that He was a God on the move.  God calls us to move the things that are good ... music, liturgy, people (most of them), love, prayer, listening, things that connect us to God.  God calls us to leave some things behind ... things that aren't glorifying to God, anger, self, stagnation, comforts that keep us stopped, some people that won't leave Egypt.

God is, and always has been, moving.  God's leaders follow 'the cloud by day and the fire by night' as they go out in front of the people to cross the thresholds God leads us across.

We have some thresholds to cross.  While we have a church building that is located at 100 E. Kelly St., we are called to be a moving church.  God's Word is a cloud by day and a fire by night.  Will you/we be those people that cross over to the places and challenges God has laid out for us?  I hope so!  Randy

Stand

It is almost comical to see people take 'stands' in today's world.  If it wasn't funny, I would recount the Biblical passage about people following their hearts in these 'stands' ... "the heart is deceitful above all things, and is desperately wicked! (Jeremiah 17:9)."  Yet, people stand in their heart-felt ideas, forgetting this stark and clear warning.  They stand for political agendas ... they stand for political figures ... they stand for their rights ... they stand for their football team.  But what about God?  What does God's word say about standing, and what we should stand for?

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Be on guard.  Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.  And do everything with love!"  But probably the most quoted verse about standing is from Ephesians 6:13, "Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor, so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  After the battle you will be standing firm."

Some of you are saying, "We are warriors ... we must attack."  Others envision themselves in the great battle from Revelation 20, where Satan has assembled a great army to storm God's city.  Guess what God's people do in that battle?  Nothing, except stand!  Guess what God does in that battle?  Everything, as fire rains down from heaven and destroys Satan's army!  Paul reminds us that we have a job ... stand!  Paul describes the tools we need to stand in God's power!

Let me remind you why this lesson and this good word from Paul is needed at this appointed time.  

Paul says the belt of truth is needed!  We have an enemy that needs to be resisted in this time of evil.  Paul reminds the Ephesians that there are "evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world ... mighty powers ... evil spirits in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12)."  I believe many of us feel something is wrong ... we just blame and label people, rather than seeing past our human frailties to the evil of the unseen world.  And never forget this evil resides in the political right and left ... even in heavenly places (like church gatherings).  So, we must be equipped to 'stand.'

We must have truth (the belt of truth Paul says).  Wesley said we need to learn to discern God's truth by remembering that God reveals Himself in the story of the Church, the experiences of God's people, the reasoning ability God has given us to use our mind, and (most importantly) Scripture.

We must have God's righteousness.  God's word says our righteousness is 'filthy.'  Note that 1 Samuel 17:47 tells us that God does not save with sword and spear.  Instead, Samuel tells the people "the battle is the Lord's."

We need to put on the shoes of peace, even when we don't feel peaceful.  I get that!  I want to do something!  I want to act, and sometimes that is the right thing to do.  But here, God says to stand ... not my preference, but God's Word!

We need to put on the shield of faith, for Satan never stops firing arrows at us.  Jesus demonstrated this during His temptation as he expressed His faith in God by quoting Scripture to Satan.  Paul demonstrated this as he writes of faith, hope and sound doctrine from prison.  We demonstrate this when we look to God instead of charismatic speakers, ear tickling speeches and self-affirming advisors for guidance.  Paul says, in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight.  I have kept the faith."  Satan's arrows followed Paul everywhere he went, and Paul's life was a testimony to faith and faithfulness.

We are to be both assured and protected, as we wear the helmet of salvation.  For God's work in us and for us, gives us assurance to hope and press on, even when we see an upside-down world.

Finally, we are to wield the sword of the Spirit, which Paul says is the Word of God.  Here is where I invite and caution you.  So many of us think we can get into God's Word by being in church for an hour on Sunday.  Isn't God's sword worth knowing, exploring, engaging and struggling with?  If we want to know God, wouldn't it be prudent to know what He said?

These tools are how and where we stand.  Will you stand beside me and with the one true God?  Randy

Rented or Owned

When I entered the workforce in the 1970's, I was pretty caught up in one idea of the American Dream ... home ownership.  I didn't have the income to own a home (at first) but I had always been told about the need to press toward the goal of moving from renting housing to owning property.  I was told that when you rent you must work with (sometimes pester) the landlord to repair the property.  Also, when you rent the landlord gets both the tax benefits and equity benefits of money spent on monthly house payments ... renters get neither.  So, we worked, strived, and finally purchased our own home.

While I won't go into a long discussion about renting vs owning, this idea brought something spiritual to mind that is worth discussion.  In Ephesians 3:17, Paul puts forth a prayer for the Church and for his people.  He says, "And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him!  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love."  This passage describes his desire and, I believe, God's desire for you, your family, your children and your church.  Here are a few thoughts about this passage.

First, when you read this, what is your desire?  Do you want to be rented or owned?  I think one of the most important and vital issues for the Church today is that we have too many people who like God hanging around, but love the idea of being rented.  If you are rented by Christ, you don't have the responsibilities the come with ownership.  You can call upon God when you need God.  God has an arms-length investment in you, and when something goes wrong, God can come in and fix it.  When the pipes burst, the dishwasher fails or the roof leaks, it is someone else's fault!  But you can still be owned by something or someone else.  While we can talk about this "tongue and cheek" I do have some bad news for the "wanna be" rented ... God doesn't rent.  If you want a rental arrangement, you must look elsewhere.

Second, God's Word expresses, again and again, that God wants an ownership arrangement with you.  Paul prays for God to have a home in your heart.  We have lots of songs about this like "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart." One of my favorites (I believe the oldest song in the hymnal) is "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," which says, "Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand."  Where a renter's roots are shallow, an owner's roots are invested in the responsibility (financial, physical and security) of owning the home.  And the owner expects equity from the investment.

So there it is ... do you want an owner-arrangement or a rental-arrangement from God?  Are you down with God's full ownership, full investment and expectation of equity for what God has invested?  For God has paid the full price for you.  He gave His son.  He erased your indebtedness.  He provides care and security.  And He will never sell you out or leave you.  God wants your roots to go "way down deep into the soil of His marvelous love."  Randy  

For Good

Did you ever taste a meal and get a big blob of salt or pepper?  The seasoning that was meant to make the meal taste better ends up becoming overpowering, and it can ruin the whole dish.  It seems that salt or pepper works better if it is used to season the whole dish.

I think God knows this is a good principle for both cooking and for the work of the Church.  In Acts, God begins small, ascending to heaven while telling a small group of disciples, "You will be my witnesses."  At Pentecost, that small group spreads out into the streets, leading the crowd to a worship service that ends in 3,000 people coming to the Lord.  That number was .001% of the world's 300 million population at the time.  And the 3,000 was .5% of the 600,000 that occupied Palestine.  Those are small numbers that beg a question ... how would God spread the Gospel in the context of a world without mass-communication or convenient ways of moving large groups of people (and probably people who were content to live where they were)?  The answer seems to be a similar answer to the salt and pepper in the dish ... you stir.

In Acts 7 Stephen proclaims the Gospel message in boldness, and it costs him his life.  Some of you might ask, "Why did God let Stephen, who spoke truth in the face of opposition, die?"  In Acts 8 we find these words ... "On that day a great persecution broke out in Jerusalem and all but the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  Some of you might ask, "Why did God allow His faithful to be displaced, scattered and persecuted?"  My thought ... stirring!

In the story of Joseph, we find that wonderful statement by Joseph, now ruling in Egypt, totally in control of the plight of his brothers who had harmed him.  Joseph says, "You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives."  I believe this is one of the underlying themes of Acts ... God making good out of evil intentions.  There are some great messages here.

1) Good is always opposed ... it has been that way since people came upon the earth.  In the New Testament (read it for yourself) God's good is opposed by Satan, but God's good wins out.  It doesn't win out by our might or powerful warriors (except prayer warriors) ... it wins when we give God control and apply what Jesus had taught us.

2) God intends good for His people.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)."

3) God is accomplishing something that is currently being done.  This is God's work ... and we can join God in this work.  I say (often) if we want to do God's work, get into God's plan and get out of our plan.

4) God's work saves people.  Who would wish persecution on the Church?  Who would want Stephen killed?  And who would think good would come out of those situations?  But God sees a bigger picture.

In the Acts 8 passage, did you note that those who were scattered did not include the apostles?  Did you note that in Acts 9 God uses the guy in charge of persecuting the Church, Saul/Paul, as His head evangelist in most of the rest of the New Testament?  Do you think God knows something we don't know?

We are all worried about the plight of the Church in America, Afghanistan and all over the world.  I get it!  But, when we are being persecuted and scattered, don't we follow Jesus?  Don't we go to our book of instruction, the Bible, and seek guidance?  Don't we pray and watch for what God is doing?  And, don't we tell everyone about the message of salvation ... that the Jesus who commissioned Paul, raised Stephen to eternal life ... is the same God who will lead us out of darkness, even today?  That's what I plan to do ... what about you?  Randy