No Longer in the Dark

As believers in the LORD Jesus, we are called to walk by faith and not by sight.  To say this is counter intuitive is really an understatement, for from our earliest days we learn to rely upon our vision.  Seeing with our eyes makes navigating the world something we take for granted.  It is good for us to remember the God who created man's eyes can certainly see, and He can see far beyond what we could perceive or imagine.

Man looks on the outer appearance, but God looks upon the heart.  Jacob was able to fool his father Isaac by a crude disguise fashioned of goat skins on his arms and neck, yet God sees through the most sophisticated schemes and motives of men.  Samuel looks upon the oldest son of Jesse and envisioned him being a stately and worthy king, but God had rejected him because his heart bore no resemblance to His own.  Whether we have 20/20 vision or suffer from cataracts, it is imperative we acknowledge God's vision is infinitely clearer than ours, and without His insight we are running blind in the dark.

A man in fellowship with God is granted spiritual sight the most eagle-eyed creature of all God's creation cannot possess.  An example of this is seen in the prophet Ahijah whose eyes were glazed over due to age.  King Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself and go to the prophet with gifts and inquire about his son who was ill.  1 Kings 14:5-6 reads, "Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, "Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman." ⁶ And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news."  Isn't this amazing?  If Ahijah was able to see and relied upon his ability to see he could have been fooled by the woman's disguise, but though blind God gave him insight and made him His messenger.

Losing the ability to see clearly with your eyes is a terrible loss, but broken fellowship with the Almighty is a far greater loss spiritually and physically.  If he lived today Ahijah would have qualified as a person with a disability due to his blindness, but he was an able servant of the Most High God chosen and sent with serious tidings though he remained at home.  God brought opportunities to him!  How wonderful is the insight God gives, and that He would choose to employ us in His service despite our frailty.  In our weakness we discover great strength in our God and purpose even failing health cannot rob us of.  Because of the lamp of God's Word and the Light of the World Jesus Christ, we need never languish in the dark.

Remember the Alamo!

During our family's recent trip to Texas, one of the tourist stops we made was at the Alamo in San Antonio.  The restored church is the original building which still stands in the middle of a complex adorned with green trees, plaques, artefacts, and a gift shop.  The Alamo was a historical place of interest as my middle name found its inspiration from William B. Travis, a Lieutenant Colonel and rebel commander who was willing to die to defend it.

After the fall of the Alamo by the courageous who refused to surrender to General Santa Ana and the Mexican army, "Remember the Alamo!" became a rallying cry by rebels who continued the fight.  Remembering the courage and resolve of the departed and their violent deaths for the cause ultimately resulted in Texan independence.  Quoting from a website, "The Alamo defenders remind us "why people fight for an ideal," says Alamo tour guide Rosemary Mitchell. "They cared to fight for what they believe in, no matter the cost."  William Travis who is credited with the statement in a letter, "Victory or death," and this sort of determination and courage should mark faithful followers of Jesus Christ - but manifested in a very different way.  We are not called to take up musket or sabre against our enemies but to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to don the whole armour of God, and to wield the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Like Sam Houston famously led his troops with "Remember the Alamo!" we ought to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The death of Christ is a demonstration of His undying love for us; His resurrection from the dead proves beyond doubt His power over sin and death.  It shows Jesus Christ can provide the eternal life and enduring rest He offers.  Remembering the Alamo motivated men to fight with all their might because of a heroic defeat, but when Christians remember Christ's death and resurrection it urges us to persevere through all difficulties because of His victory.  To the world it seemed a fatal defeat on Calvary when Jesus breathed His last, yet the empty tomb and eye-witness accounts of Christ glorified reveals the certain future and ability to overcome granted to all who trust in Him.

"Remember the resurrection!" is a worthy battle cry, and this battle is not waged against flesh and blood:  it is a spiritual battle which takes place in our minds and hearts.  There are many temptations we will face to surrender to discouragement or sin instead of our righteous Saviour in faith.  There is no hope for this wicked world, but there is salvation for every person who repents and trust in Jesus.  How encouraging it is for Christians to know we are not alone in our battles but Jesus is with us and has overcome.  People may call us losers for pressing on - and we may feel like losers (and let's face it, we are losers by ourselves) - but we are granted strength for the day and victory by God's grace.  Even when the battle is fierce there is rest for the weary in Jesus.

The Fear of Isaac

"God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him. ⁸ O LORD God of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You."

Psalm 89:7-8

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, for all wisdom springs from the mighty God who created all things.  This glorious King is not to be reduced to "a friend next to ya" but ought to be reverenced by His redeemed.  It is one thing to imagine what God is capable of, but better yet to praise Him for all He has done and also promised to do.  He spoke the universe into existence and sustains it faithfully according to His infinite power and grace.  God is the source and spring of all life seen and unseen by men.  Having great fear of God we give Him the credit He is due, avoid what is evil, and delight to do what pleases Him.

Whilst reading through Genesis as a family we came across a couple of verses which provided a fascinating title of God.  In stating his case against Laban, Jacob said in Genesis 31:42, "Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked you last night."  He could have said the "God of Abraham and the God of my father Isaac" but Jacob did not.  He referred to God as "the Fear of Isaac."  It is right for man to fear God and greatly reverence his Maker.  Hebrew poetry employs synonymous parallelism to emphasise a point by using words which enlarge the meaning (see Psalm 89:7 above).  Fear and reverence are not synonyms (though we might use them in this manner) and expand our understanding of how man rightly relates to God.

The title of God employed by Jacob made me think:  if it was obvious to him Isaac his dad feared God, is my fear of God evident to my children as well?  How might Jacob realised Isaac feared God?  Most likely because his words and decisions reflected this fear and reverence of God.  Perhaps when he spoke to God in prayer he bowed with his face to the ground and offered costly sacrifices as a man would to a powerful king.  Isaac no doubt related Abraham's faith in God and their many interactions - like Isaac's miraculous conception or when Abraham bound Isaac on the altar intending to slay him in obedience to God.  That would put the "fear of God" in you, to hear the voice of the Angel of the LORD boom from heaven in Genesis 22:12 saying, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."  This event greatly impacted Isaac, and the righteous response of faith was to fear God.  Isaac's fear of God showed how awesome God was to him and all.

Through the testimony of his life the Fear of Isaac impacted his son Jacob as well.  Genesis 31:53 concluded the words of Jacob to Laban:  "The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us." And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac."  The Fear of Isaac became the Fear of Jacob, and Jacob spoke these binding words before the LORD the eternal and almighty Judge of All.  A parent who fears God receives no guarantee from God their children will follow in their steps concerning faith in God, and Esau and Jacob well illustrate this.  But there is no denying the impact the fear of God Jacob observed in his dad for many years was greatly influential in leading him to the Fear of Isaac as his only God and LORD.  May the Fear of Isaac be our Fear as well, for who is mighty like our LORD who is faithful in all His ways?

The Work of Ministry

The most important ministries of the church are not always the most visible ones.  When Christians think about ministry, it is typical to think of roles like a pastor, worship leader, or teacher, someone who has a recognised position.  These are the people whose names and bios are on the church website, but they oversee only a fraction of ministry God does through His people.  There are heaps of valuable and even indispensable roles in the Body of Christ which are easily overlooked because they are not platform ministry.  Solid Bible teaching is very important, but it is not everything in a church.  Every part of the Body has been divinely established by Jesus to do its share.  The organs of a human body are largely concealed and we need them for survival and good health:  the same is true concerning the church.  The work of the ministry is something we are all called to take an active part in for the good of the whole.

Ministry in the church is reserved for those who comprise the church of Jesus Christ, those who have been born again through faith in Jesus.  Think about the service of the tabernacle in Israel:  the children of Levi were given this responsibility and privilege, one tribe out of 12.  Whilst they were responsible to teach the children of Israel of God and the Law, a lot of their work was menial service.  They were required to keep the light burning, bake the bread, set up and break down the tent, carry it and the vessels from place to place, offer sacrifices, and study the Law.  The majority of the things done by the Levites did in the tabernacle had nothing to do with preaching but living in accordance to the Word of God day by day.  As people who comprise the Body of Christ the church, we are all enabled to serve and obey Jesus in countless ways together.

One of my favourite description of pulpit ministry is seen in Nehemiah 8:8:  "So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading."  Previously in verse 4 it says Ezra stood on a platform of wood made to facilitate addressing the people.  We are told the names of the men who stood on the platform, but we are not told specifically the names of the people who built it.  In context it seems to have been built by the people who were being addressed!  Nehemiah 8:1-4a says, "Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. ² So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. ³ Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. ⁴ So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose..."  How cool is this!  The people were so intent on hearing the Law explained they made a platform so all who had understanding could gather around and hear clearly.

There are many people in churches who work behind the scenes to ensure the truth of scripture is communicated clearly.  These help in administration, behind a sound desk, cleaning, praying, reaching out to others, and even carpentry!  Messages are recorded and uploaded to websites or for podcasts.  And what about those who spread the word person to person?  Personal invitations to visit a church or sending a link to a message has been the first step to people being born again through faith in Jesus.  As servants of Christ even tasks considered menial are a big deal.  As we are Christ's slaves Colossians 3:22-24 applies to us:  "Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. ²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."  A cup of water given to a thirsty soul will be rewarded by God, and even a small deed for God's glory He rewards greatly.  Whether you are the one on a platform speaking or the person who nailed it together, in everything we do let us do it in service unto the LORD.