Faith On Promise

“The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel.” (2Ch 6:10 AV)

 

Solomon is praying over the newly constructed temple.  He is reflecting on God’s faithfulness as the motive behind this building project.  As David did before him, Solomon wishes to recognize the faithfulness of God with a temple built to His honor.  In the statement above, Solomon is reflecting on specific events of God’s faithfulness.  God promised David his descendants would never cease to sit on the throne over Israel.  In particular, he promised Solomon would sit on the throne and secure the prosperity of the nation.  This God did.  God honored His promises.  The covenant to David was altered slightly with Solomon.  The condition of obedience to the law was added although the promise of an eternal kingdom with an eternal king was reconfirmed, if the descendants of Solomon refused to follow the law, then the covenant would be interrupted until Shiloh (Christ) comes.  These covenants were the basis of David and Solomon’s heart to build the temple.

Faith on our part has much to do with the faithfulness of God.  If God is not faithful, we can have no faith.  Two Eskimo boys stood at the shoreline waiting for their fathers to return from the annual seal hunt.  Both had been promised the hunt was to last for a specific number of days.  As they stood at the shore, their eyes were fixed on the boats coming in.  It didn’t take long before their fathers met their families.  One of the boys grabbed his father for a big hug.  It had been weeks since he had seen him.  The other boy stood there, waiting for his father.  Six weeks was promised.  Six weeks had come.  No dad.  This young boy stood there until all others had left the water’s edge.  He stood there for another two hours constantly gazing out into the open waters.  No more boat.  The walk home was a long and sad one.  A week later, his father arrived at the door of his house.  There was the smell of alcohol on his breath.  Nonetheless, they embraced and joy appeared on the face of that young boy.  The next year’s seal hunt came around.  Again, this young boy’s father promised six weeks and he would return.  History repeated itself.  This young boy stood at the water’s edge and no dad.  He could not celebrate as his peers did.  As was his pattern, the drunken father returned, albeit two weeks late this time.  The same happened year after year.  After a while, the young boy stopped going to the shoreline.  In fact, not knowing when his father would return, he didn’t even stick around the house to find out.  Because his father was not faithful to his word, the boy lost faith in his father.

Faith needs an object.  That object must be consistent and reliable.  When we speak of faithfulness, the is no other so faithful and God.  The promises of God are that upon which we base our faith and our actions.  Sometimes it takes a testing or two before we come to trust in the promises of God.  Once we learn that God does honor His word, it makes it all that much easier to trust promises yet needed.  That Eskimo boy had a father who never returned when he said he would.  This led to doubt in any and everything this father promised.  However, the other boy, enjoying a father who kept his word of when he would return, found it easier to trust him for a promise not yet fulfilled.  If father promised his return would be in six weeks, and he returned, surely if he promises to take him on the next hunt, that will come to pass, too.  Our problem isn’t in the promises.  Rather, it is in seeing them fulfilled and giving the benefit of the doubt to our Father that when He promises, it will come to pass.

Goodbye and Thank You

“20 ¶  My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21  Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.” (Pr 6:20-21 AV)

 

Today, my extended family is gathering in person and virtually to say goodbye to our father, grandfather, and great grandfather.  My dad passed away almost a week and a half ago.  Born in 1933, he lived a full life.  A father to eleven children and married for sixty years to his one and only wife, my mother, he was a man of conviction and principle.  Although my father had his share of faults, as we all do, he was a man of commandments and consistency.  When I look back at how we were raised, the rules and commandments, for the most part, showed a lot of wisdom.  I will not bore the reader with specifics, but I will summarize his household by saying he expected his children to act older than they were.  He refused to allow us to act at what would seem the normal maturity level when compared to our peers.  If our peers would normally run the halls of a building, we did not.  If our peers wore the fads of the day, we did not.  If our peers were idle, we were not.  If our peers who carousing and getting into trouble, we were not.  In short, the commandments of my father were designed to grow us up quick and right when compared against what was thought normal for the day.

When I look at today’s parents and how they are raising their children, it saddens me.  These children are not expected to act in a responsible and grown-up way.  Over the years, I have worked in youth groups and as a pastor and had to console parents as their children got into all sorts of deep problems.  For the most part, we can trace the problems back to a lack of discipline and structure in the home.  It is not easy.  Surely our father lost a few years of his life with all we put him through.  One child is difficult enough.  But eleven?  He ran our home like a well-regimented organization.  There was absolutely no change in standards.  No adapting from one child to the next.  The principles applied to one child were the same to each.  There was no relaxing the standard because children are different.  It is a misnomer that children do not like rules and structure.  They may chafe at it or reject it, but that does not automatically mean they reject it.  How do I know?  Let me give you an example.

I lived in North Chicago which was an inner-city invironment.  Most of the children came from broken homes with no male authority figure to guide them.  The High School offered two programs which replaced Phy-Ed.  The student could opt into ROTC or the Community marching band.  Both were extremely popular.  But the Community Marching Band was by far the most popular.  We lived about a mile away from their practice field and could hear them playing and practicing very early every Saturday morning.  This went on from the time the snow melted until it flew again.  This commitment was a year commitment.  This marching band was not a school year commitment.  It was year-round.  The commitment meant six to eight hours of practice every Saturday.  It meant learning an instrument.  It meant learning to march in precise formations.  This marching band was so good, they regularly placed within the top five in the nation.  They even place within the top three several times.  This commitment required a high level of discipline and following unbending rules.  With such a strict environment, one would think the school would have a hard time finding students.  But there was actually a waiting list!

Solomon encourages his son to keep his commandments.  Commandments are timeless.  Application may vary, but the commandments do not.  The things my father taught me fifty-plus years ago are still true today.  They have never changed.  And never will.  Things like emotional discipline!  Things like balance and controlling impulse.  Things like hard work and goal-oriented living.  These things are always true.  I thank God for the father He gave me.  Again, he was not perfect.  But none of are.  However, there was a foundation that was laid that continue to my children.  And I can thank God for providing a man who never compromised and sought to do the right thing.

Most Important Prayer

“O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:” (1Ch 29:18 AV)

 

If there was one prayer, at least to me, that would be the most important one of all, this would be it.  As far as striving for godly living, in my opinion, this request would be the first and most important.  In David’s prayer, he is asking the word of God be kept in the forefront of the minds and hearts of God’s people.  That doesn’t always translate into perfect living.  One can know and meditate upon the word of God and still fall.  However, having the word of God in the forefront of one’s mind and heart makes it much more difficult to do so.  The request goes deep than merely improved recall.  Not the details of this request.  The request isn’t restricted to memory.  It goes deeper into imagination.  Imagination is not a simple recall of information.  Imagination has to do with the creative or practical application of what one already knows.  Imagination means the entire world view or how we process our world as we interact with it.  In short, David is asking the LORD to keep His word and principles as the only lens through which the nation of Israel looks for living and serving God.  Keep the word of God forever in the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the saints continually and without interruption.

As shared before, one of my hobbies used to be photography.  My father took a lot of snapshots.  He set up a darkroom in the basement of our home.  We learned to roll bulk film.  We learned to develop our own film.  And we learned how to make prints from that film.  Inside a dark room, there is a red lightbulb.  This lightbulb is the light from which one works.  Any other type of light would destroy the film and or prints.  The door locked from the inside.  That way, no one could come into that room while someone was working.  This process was very exact.  Prints were no big deal.  If you burned a print because someone opened the door or white light was turned on, you can always print another.  Film, on the other hand, cannot be replaced.  If film is exposed to white light, it would be ruined.  So, one can imagine how important it was for the darkroom tech to be not disturbed under any and all circumstances while developing film.  Unless the house was burning down, he was not to be disturbed.  I loved developing film!  Thirty minutes all to myself without parents or siblings to interrupt me.  Needless to say, I developed a lot of film!  When I was in that darkroom, my complete attention and focus was on that film.  What I was doing completely consumed all my thoughts and purpose.

This is what David had in mind.  This is what our prayer should be.  We should be so focused on the word of God and God’s will for us that there are no other considerations.  To have our entire person overwhelmed by the principles and purposes of God will keep us from the shame and guilt of sin.  David knew if Israel were to make that level of commitment and strive to that end, the LORD would bless them beyond what they could possibly imagine.  The same is true for us.  If we simply discipled the mind and heart to constantly focus on the word of God, His purpose, and His person, then our lives would never swerve into failure, guilt, and shame.

Wisdom And Grace

“She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.” (Pr 4:9 AV)

The ‘she’ here is wisdom.  So, the question would be, what does wisdom have to do with grace?  If wisdom is knowing what to do; when to do it; how to do it; and the discipline to do it; what does that have to do with grace?  If an ornament of grace means the disposition towards others as a gracious person, then why would wisdom have anything to do with it?  When we think of wisdom, generally we are thinking of the pragmatic.  Planting one’s crop and tending to the fields to gain a greater yield.  Saving for retirement.  Fixing the broken faucet.  These things take know-how.  They take wisdom.  There are skills of life like raising children or loving one’s spouse.  These skills are seen as wisdom.  But why would wisdom produce an ornament of grace?  Because wisdom applied to others results in a spirit of grace.  In others words, we may have all the tangibles figured out.  That only makes us wise in the tangibles.  If we fail in matters of the human heart, then we are not wise.  Wisdom results in a gracious spirit.  If one does not possess a spirit of grace, then we cannot say we are wise.

I had a childhood friend whose father was a rather wealthy business owner.  His grandfather had come from a European country and started this business.  When his grandfather passed away, he left his business to three brothers.  One of those brothers was my friend’s father.  I spent a good deal of time with this family.  My friend’s father and uncles alike.  These three brothers were worth millions.  Maybe even hundreds of millions.  Each one was a success in his own right.  Never divorced, faithful churchgoers, and very fair businessmen, these brothers were pillars of the community.  Each had a very lovely home.  Not too extravagant.  Well within what one might consider modest.  However, there was a difference between my friend’s father and his two brothers.  I didn’t care for my friend's uncles.  They didn’t know how to interact with people from whom they could not profit.  My friend’s father was different.  He treated me like I was important.  In my early teens, my friend's father allowed me to hang with my friend and help him with his responsibilities around the business.  The two uncles constantly felt annoyed with my presence.  All three would be considered very wise men.  However, only one had an ornament of grace.

When we think of wisdom and grace, we usually think they are mutually exclusive.  In fact, sometimes we think the two cannot go together.  If one is wise, he may make some enemies.  Prudent financial dealings may cause another to lose something.  A wise property purchase may leave another without a dream home.  Etc.  We assume showing grace costs something and therefore, might even be considered unwise.  Giving someone the shirt off our backs will leave us susceptible to catching a cold.  Therefore, showing grace may not seem to be the wise thing.  Solomon says just the opposite.  Wisdom cries out for men to learn it and apply it.  In doing so, one also attains a gracious spirit.  The two are not mutually exclusive.  They are mutually dependent.

Build On

“Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.” (1Ch 22:16 AV)

 

David's Charge to Solomon was multifaceted.  However, in our reading this morning, we are made aware the majority of this charge is to build the temple.  David had in his heart to build a temple for the ark of the covenant.  He desired a more permanent dwelling for worship wherein God would meet His people.  He desired a temple that would rival the pagan temples of their neighbors.  David gave this a lot of thought.  He planned and designed the building.  He gathered the materials.  He prefabbed the entire building.  All that remained was to assemble the temple.  Then came Nathan and told David by the word of the LORD that Solomon was to build this temple.  Upon the last few months of his life, David laid out the plans for the temple and revealed to Solomon all he had prepared.  This project was a true shovel-ready project.  It was all there.  All Solomon had to do was to arise and do it.  The instruction above is not to be busy for being busy’s sake.  David is not telling Solomon to arise and do anything.  There is a plan laid out and resources assembled.

My father had a few projects that were always part of our life.  There was the darkroom where we learned how to develop film and make prints.  That was my hobby.  Then there was the model railroad project laid out upstairs in our playroom.  A four-by-eight piece of plywood with track and buildings which we were allowed to work on.  However, one project which my brother Christopher fell in love with was building airplane models.  My father loved airplanes.  Christopher was very talented in this craft.  I always messed up with too much glue or breaking the decals as I tried to place them.  But Chris was excellent at these models.  Everything was perfect.  He would even go so far as to sand down flyers.  Those little ‘tags’ left from breaking the parts off their frame.  He would fill cracks with putty.  Where there were no decals, he would paint his own pattern appropriate to the aircraft at hand.  My father would pick up a new model and Chris would dive into it.  When they were done, Dad hung them by wire from the ceiling or bookshelves in his den.  It was quite remarkable.  Sometimes, Christ was a bit busy or disinterested.  So, the model lay there unassembled.  My father had to prod and poke Chris into assembling another one.  Arise and do it. 

Idle minds are the Devil’s workshop.  So I have heard.  Idle hands will find something to do.  There is a plan for each of us.  There are resources the LORD has provided for the performing of our calling.  God has something for us to do and a way to do it.  Our lives are a project.  From the beginning, the LORD assembled us in the tummies of our Mums.  But the building did not stop there.  There is a plan.  There are resources laid aside.  Many of which we are unaware.  There are gifts and talents.  There are abilities.  There are personality and temperament.  There are acquaintances, influences, and material things God has given and will continue to give to accomplish that which the Masterbuilder has designed.  We cannot sit idle, wasting away our lives as though they have no purpose.  This is exactly what is happening.  In our world of turmoil, the saints are becoming fraught with fear and holding up in their homes, afraid to come out for the possibility of what might happen.  The building materials are out in the weather, rotting from neglect.  The resources are sitting idle, accruing interest that others will enjoy.  It is time to arise and do.

Let It Slide

“2  Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. 3  And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4  Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in:” (1Ch 17:2-4 AV)

 

What the Spirit wants us to see is how the Father dealt with a prophet who assumed His will but was not correct.  In the purity and humility of his heart, David expressed the desire to build a permanent temple for the ark of the covenant.  Until this time, Israel used a tent.  The tabernacle was a portable structure carried about as Israel fled Egypt and wandered in the wilderness.  When they entered Canaan, the tabernacle, for the most part,  lay packed up and unused.  Once the land was conquered and the nation began to settle in, then the tabernacle was set up.  Yet, David’s heart was to build a temple that would rival the houses of worship seen in neighboring nations.  The king genuinely wanted to give back a portion of what God has bestowed upon him.  When sharing his heart with Nathan the prophet, the prophet told David to go ahead and God is with him.  Now, note what happened that night.  God spoke to Nathan and told him to go back and tell David no.  He was not to build that house.  His son, Solomon would.  Of particular note is what God did not say to Nathan.

Grace is a requirement for anyone who is called to lead.  There are times when those under our authority mess up.  It happens all the time.  However, grace steps in and decides if it is prudent to correct, or more prudent to let it slide.  The LORD has placed me in all sorts of supervisory positions all my life.  Starting with Boy Scouts, He has asked me to oversee others as we try to accomplish a task.  The LORD had me work as a manager of a Pizzeria.  Then He gave me a job as a commercial property superintendent where I oversaw a staff.  There was the factory job where I worked in various coordinator positions.  One of the tools in the tool shed is allowing those under you to make mistakes.  Even if it reflects on you, sometimes the greater lessons are learned by experience.  There are other times when actions by a subordinate may appear to challenge your authority even though it was not meant that way.  For example, one of the tasks my department was tasked with was unloading railcars.  There was a specific procedure for doing so and there was a window of time when that chore was scheduled to be accomplished.  If a subordinate failed to complete that task, it would be easy for the lead operator to question the subordinate’s willingness to follow direction.  However, it just might be that something of a greater priority came into play.  Knowing when to show grace is one of the greatest tools a leader can have.

Technically, Nathan did nothing wrong.  He did not speak in the name of the LORD.  He merely presumed upon the will of God and told his king building the temple would be blessed.  God would have been justified in rebuking Nathan for presuming to answer for Him.  But He didn’t.  Why?  Because in the whole scope of things, it wasn’t that big of a deal.  In fact, it wasn’t a thing at all.  God let it slide.  Nathan’s mistake was extremely minor and it was not a matter of malice or rebellion.  It was an honest mistake based on his own judgment.  Nathan’s heart was in the right place.  He was serving God and serving his king the best way he knew how.  One might even say his response to David showed initiative.  The fact he could see the value in David’s desire and saw no obvious problem with it showed good judgment.  For all these reasons, the LORD chose not to make a fuss over Nathan’s presumption.  When it comes to leading, we have to know when grace is the better part of valor.  In so doing, we will grow in Christlikeness.

Declare No Matter The Times

“8  Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. 9  Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.” (1Ch 16:8-9 AV)

 The direct context here doesn’t add too much to the plain meaning of the verses above.  The context is the return of the ark to Jerusalem where it would abide under the tent of the tabernacle.  The two verse above is part of the psalm David wrote and sang for the occasion.  This was a grand occasion.  The ark was taken by the Philistines when David’s predecessor, Saul, went into battle against them.  It was returned to the Hebrews upon God cursing the Philistines.  However, it lay idle in the home of a farmer and did not return to Jerusalem under the tabernacle for a few years.  Now, David wishes to honor the LORD by placing the most sacred of all items in its rightful place.  Back into the holy of holies.  This was quite an affair.  Israel, from the north, south, east, and west gathered for this event.  There was feasting, music, and celebration over bringing this ark back to the tabernacle where it belonged.  In the overflowing joy of the occasion, David challenges Israel to give thanks to God and brag on Him to all who have ears.  What struck the heart this morning is the lack of such in the heart of today’s believer.  The challenge above, although stated in a time of celebration, should be done always.  Regardless of circumstances.

During this time of COVID and other challenges not faced by my generation, it is easy to become a bit cynical.  It is easy to become overwhelmed by all the negative.  When God’s people had it set in their minds our nation and the world might be headed in a more godly direction, we are now discouraged by the rapid decline into wickedness the world seems bent on pursuing.  It is easy to cease our celebrations.  It is easy to forget all that God has done.  It is easy to think things are only going to get worse.  This may be our perception of reality at the moment, but it is no excuse to cease speaking of God’s faithfulness and goodness towards the children of men.  If anything, it is a time to do just the opposite.  The world can see the ark returning and understand the rejoicing which they are seeing.  However, turn these circumstances on its head and see the saints rejoicing, that would be odd.

One of our favorite Christmas movies is The Grinch.  Almost everyone knows the story.  The Whos in Whoville are completely obsessed with Christmas.  The closer it gets to the holiday, the crazier it becomes.  The story is intended to mirror our treatment of the holiday.  A comparison it accomplishes quite well.  As you know, the Grinch is a Who who does not like Christmas.  He was hurt by his classmates one Christmas long ago and retreated to Mount Crumpit where all the discarded presents eventually wind up.  In trying to make amends, little Cindy Lou Who invites the Grinch to the Whoville Celebration.  The Grinch is voted the Cheermister.  All things are going splendidly until the mayor rips off the sab of the old insult the Grinch suffered way back in grade school.  The Grinch settles in his mind that he is going to steal Christmas.  Successfully commandeering everything related to Christmas while masquerading and Santa Claus, the Grinch believes he has succeeded.  He sits atop his Mount Crumpit as the sun rises expected to hear great wails of sorrow.  But instead, he hears all the Whos joined in chorus singing their Christmas hymn.  This one act of gratitude and praise changes the heart of the Grinch. 

It is easy to sing and praise the LORD in the good times.  However, doing so rarely reaches a lost and dying world.  However, if we were to have the same demeanor in challenging times, the eyes of the wicked are upon us.  When we praise the LORD for His goodness and faithfulness when the world thinks we have nothing to be grateful for, it changes hearts.  When Naaman the leper was ill with leprosy, it was the gratitude and faithfulness of a servant girl who was kidnapped from her home in Israel who shared with her master the solution to his problem.  When Joseph served Pharaoh and his family arrived, because of Joseph's heart he was able to introduce Pharaoh to the God of the Hebrews.  When Daniel chose to pray to the LORD, it was his heart of gratitude and praise that turned the heart of a pagan king.  Many miracles come in bad times rather than in good times.  In those bad times, if we are ever so grateful voicing our praise before a world that would not understand, it is that evidence that often softens the hardest of hearts towards a God who gives grace.  So, let us sing of and declare the wonderful works of God towards those who would do us harm and see if the LORD won’t soften those hearts because of it.