November 18

1 CHRONICLES 11-12
These two chapters are filled with the exploits of the mighty men of David. What impresses me the most about these chapters is really 13:16-18:

16Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to David at the stronghold. 17And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, “If you have come peaceably to me to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if to betray me to my enemies, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look and bring judgment.” 18Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, chief of the captains, and he said:

“We are yours, O David;
We are on your side, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
And peace to your helpers!
For your God helps you.”
So David received them, and made them captains of the troop.

Why did they come to David? They knew that only he could set them free, and they dearly wanted freedom. Why do we come to the Lord Jesus Christ? We come because only He can set us free from our sin and death. His glory is greater than that of David. Is He not worthy of our saying to Him:

“We are yours, O Jesus, son of David;
We are on your side, O son of Jesse!
Peace, peace to you,
And peace to your helpers!
For your God helps you.”

Do we really mean “we are yours?” What would happen in our lives if we really meant that? At the very least, He receives us and makes us captains in his troop. He does it all for His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 138
I remember being in the second grade, sitting in my room and thinking, “What if everything around me isn’t really what it seems. What if I am actually on some sort of stage and everyone around me is some sort of actor? What if there are some kinds of beings out there that are just enjoying me perform, and everyone else is an actor? What if everything that happens to me is to provide some kind of entertainment for those beings?” Well, I knew you thought I was kind of strange. Yes, I occasionally have some really weird thoughts. Maybe I watched too much Twilight Zone as a kid.
Consider this first verse from Psalm 138, “I will praise You with my whole heart; Before the gods I will sing praises to You.” But I thought David believed in only one God! Certainly the word ‘gods’ here is translated from ‘elohim’, which is regularly used for God and is plural. The word can mean rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, or gods. When used of the One True God, it is a plural of majesty, an intensive singular. It allows for the Trinity, but doesn’t necessarily demand it. Elsewhere in the Psalms David teaches that all the other gods are mere idols, statues, the work of men’s hands, non-entities. So just what does David mean by this?
In 1 Corinthians 8:4–6 Paul says:

4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

Later in 1 Corinthians 10:19–20 Paul continues saying:

19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.

Now couple that with what Paul says in Ephesians 2:7 “That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” To whom is He showing those riches? Well, read a little further in Ephesians 3:10, “To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.”
So, what does David mean by ‘the gods?’ He could mean the mighty rulers with whom he is constantly engaged in battle. He could mean the angels. He could mean the spiritual principalities and powers ruling in the heavenly places. Maybe he means all of them. I really don’t know. But I do know that when you fuse this Psalm with the theology revealed through Paul, there is a very real sense that we all have become actors on a stage. In this play in which we are unwittingly participants, God is seeking to reveal the various aspects of His wisdom, not just to us, but also to a spiritual audience. Perhaps David was well aware of the spiritual battle raging in the universe. Perhaps he was aware that he was a player on stage observed by more than this physical world.
What is it that he wants to praise or magnify? Well, look at verse 2, “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” What does it mean that God has magnified His word above His name? Psalm 8:1 informs us, “O LORD, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens!” The glory of our Lord is majestically proclaimed throughout the earth through His creative acts. Everywhere we look, His creative power is displayed in glory around us. It is a constant sermon of the greatness of His name, particularly the judgment aspects of His Name. The beauty of the creation constantly proclaims His mighty power. But, as beautiful as is His work of creation, the creation itself screams, “We have been cursed!” Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, lightning, droughts, famines, floods, diseases etc. all constantly scream at us, “We have been cursed!” They tell us that something is wrong, and we have been damned! Who is this God who creates such beautiful things but slams us with judgment? Ahh! That is where the exaltation of His Word above His name comes into play.
His Word is He Who came from eternity past; through Whom He made all things; without Whom nothing was made that has been made; without Whom there is not light or life; without Whom there is only judgment. His Word brought us grace and truth. Moses’ law explained the judgment of a righteous God upon His creation, but His Word triumphs over His judgment, for He has made His Word judge of all things. His Word has shown us that God has not just performed this great act of creation, judged us and left. His Word has entered His creation and become the atoning sacrifice for our sin. This Word He has exalted above every name that is named. This Word is Jesus!
He will not leave us in the judgment of the sin of our past. He calls us out of that sin. He enables us to walk free of that sin. As 2 Peter 1:3–4 says:

3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

So David agrees with Peter when he says, “8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” I am on a stage acting out the marvels of His grace. I am playing to an audience around me upon this earth, in the heavenly places and even to God Himself! In order to give me a perfect performance, He is working in me to accomplish perfection. Praise the Lord! Mercy has triumphed over judgment! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

HAGGAI 2
We drove by the house to see what it looked like. My brother and I had not been there since January 1962. It was now May 1973. Eleven years had passed. I was 6 when we moved. I had just turned 18. What in my memory had loomed as a gigantic house now appeared small and unimpressive. It probably had around 800—1,000 square feet on the first floor and less on the second floor. It did have a full unfinished basement. My memories were much larger than the reality. It was kind of disappointing.
The old men of Zerubbabel’s party wept when the foundation of the temple was laid because it did not meet up to the memory of the glory of the previous temple. They did not have the silver and gold needed to adorn this smaller one as the former one was adorned. What is the use in trying if you can’t do it well? They slipped into neutral for 18 years. God asks them, “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?”
Do we do the same thing? Perhaps we experienced a time in the past, when we were enjoying the blessing of God in the building of His temple, the church. (See yesterday’s meditation. I am not talking about a physical building.) Something went wrong, the blessing of God seemed to be removed. The glory of the former is greater than the glory of now. Discouragement sets in. The church shifts into neutral. But God calls us to answer His questions. He instructs us to cease thinking about former glory and fix our eyes on Him and obey Him. The principle is that if we will bring our lives into line with His instruction, then He will use us to build a living temple suitable to fill with His glory. It matters not how much silver and gold we have because He owns it all. He supplies what is needed. He instructs us to, “Be strong, all you people . . .and work; for I am with you.” But it is very important to work His work, not the work of the memory of our past. It is a work that must be done in holiness for the unclean will defile the clean, but clean does not clean the unclean. Personal and corporate holiness is a requirement. So we put away the unclean and receive His cleansing. We place ourselves in a blessable position. Mark Barnard calls it a blessing point.
Many times we live in the past trying to recreate the former times. But the Lord wants to fill His temple with His glory and He wants to build it through us in new and fresh ways. For when He does it in the new way, everyone recognizes it as His work. But there are old principles that He never changes. He does not use an unclean vessel, and He chooses to use people completely consecrated to Him who want only His glory to be seen. Henry Varley, a British revivalist, once said to D.L. Moody, “Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.” Years later Moody told Mr. Varley:
Those were the words sent to my soul, through you, from the Living God. As I crossed the wide Atlantic, the boards of the deck of the vessel were engraved with them, and when I reached Chicago, the very paving stones seemed marked with ‘Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.’ Under the power of those words I have come back to England, and I felt that I must not let more time pass until I let you know how God had used your words to my inmost soul.
When Zerubbabel and Joshua rallied the people to repent and return to the Lord, to receive His cleansing, to once again begin the work of building the temple, they placed themselves at a blessing point. They were at a point that God wanted to bless them because He could then display His glory and not have it obscured by them. Oh Lord, help me, help us to place ourselves in a blessing point to receive Your cleansing so that we might be empowered to do the work which You have called us to do, so that You may display Your glory for the world to see! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

HEBREWS 13
The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. When I consider who He is and have completely grasped that thought, then I am able to continue on in a holy life. Even though a brother in the Lord hates me, I can love him because the Lord is my helper. Even though He calls me to entertain a total stranger, I can do it because I might be entertaining Him. Even if I have a spouse that is not perfect, I can lover her or respect him because He will do it in me. Even though everybody around me has better 'stuff', I can be content because He is always with me. Jesus helped the saints in the past. Jesus has helped me in the past. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. I can trust Him. When I focus on His glory, I am satisfied with His grace. I don't need anything else.
Jesus is the One who suffered outside the city gates for me. He is the great Shepherd of me, who through His own body and blood cut a covenant. The end result of that covenant is that I will be made complete in every good work to do His will. He is faithful to the end. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John