- Oct 13, 2009
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Dear friends, I’m glad to be back with all of you
. I trust that the Lord has been keeping and prospering you. We may have known the Lord for a long time but we should never presume to know all about the Lord or second-guess Him. Although we human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) we shouldn’t presume to know so much about Him that we can dominate or worse challenge Him as Satan did (and still does) (Job 2:1-4). All the ills that plague mankind, loneliness, hunger, poverty, sorrow, and suffering have all affected the Lord Jesus unimaginably. But we’d wrong in assuming that He was overcome by them as most of us would have been or worse went through a radical change in His personality. Such thoughts and deeds could be fleeting or permanent, but they always insult the Lord and limit His ability to work in our lives.
Please turn with me to Numbers 11:23, and Isaiah 59:1. Although spoken in different contexts both scriptures refer to the strong arm of the Lord. In Numbers 11:23 God Almighty had to rebuke the Prophet Moses for his lack of faith in the Lord’s ability to feed the multitude wandering in the desert. In a completely different context in Isaiah 59:1 the Lord rebuked the Israelites for their sin and pointed out that it was their folly that prevented Him from acting and not His inability. Human beings have a peculiar habit of projecting their weaknesses on to others. It’s always someone else’s fault and miscalculation that led us into the current situation. We seldom introspect and even when we do we rationalize those feelings of guilt away swiftly. That could be one of the reasons why God’s Omnipotence is not being manifested in us through His Holy Spirit.
Moses, the man of God, with whom the Lord spoke directly (Exodus 33:11, Numbers: 12:8) took God Almighty for granted and went a little too far when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:11). Some theologians say that the rock referred to in scripture was the Lord Jesus Himself, the fountain of life (John 7:38). God Almighty had no choice but to castigate and reprimand His dear friend (Numbers 20:12). Moses was painfully reminded that he was not God.
King David, a man after God’s own heart, thought He knew the Lord so well that he could cover up and hide his sin from Him, and get away with it (2 Samuel 12). God Almighty was a close friend of David as long as the latter walked in the Lord’s light (1 John 1:7). However, David abused this intimacy and thought that he could get away with defying the Lord for personal satisfaction. King David was sorely wrong and invoked swift judgment from the Lord.
One final example that I’d like to cite from the New Testament is the historic rebuking of the Apostle Peter. In Matthew 16:21-22 we read how the Lord Jesus was prophesying His own suffering and eventual resurrection. This was very hard for a devout Peter to accept and what followed was an encounter between the disciple who thought he knew his Lord well and the Lord himself. Peter took the Lord aside and began to rebuke Him. After all, Peter loved the Lord dearly and only a couple of verses prior to this encounter the Lord promised to build His church with the Apostle Peter as one if its chief architects (Matthew 16:17-19). It was completely understandable for Peter to take some liberties with the Lord. Sadly, there was always one more fact that only God knew which Peter didn’t and then followed the historic rebuke (Matthew 16:23). Peter was again sadly reminded that he had much to learn about the Lord.
Sometimes the Lord needs to put us in our place (happened to me a few times) and remind us that we are like Him in Christ but that we don’t and can’t replace Him. That may seem obvious now but sometimes in the heat of the moment as described above we try to correct God with lasting consequences. The Almighty is never to be treated frivolously saints. No matter how close we draw unto the Lord it should always be in love stemming from profound respect for Him. Amen.
Dear friends, I’m quite certain that all of you are sanctified, Holy Ghost baptized saints. Should there be any amongst you that don’t know the Lord yet, I pray that the Lord of the Universe will set you free from sin and disobedience into His glorious light and freedom. Amen.
PS: Thanks for taking the time to read my scribble saints. If you find a lot of similarities between this writing and those of Rev. Oswald Chambers, that’s because the late Rev. Chambers is my mentor. Sorry if some or any of this offended you. I was just trying to illustrate a few ideas. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Lord is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10)
. I trust that the Lord has been keeping and prospering you. We may have known the Lord for a long time but we should never presume to know all about the Lord or second-guess Him. Although we human beings are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) we shouldn’t presume to know so much about Him that we can dominate or worse challenge Him as Satan did (and still does) (Job 2:1-4). All the ills that plague mankind, loneliness, hunger, poverty, sorrow, and suffering have all affected the Lord Jesus unimaginably. But we’d wrong in assuming that He was overcome by them as most of us would have been or worse went through a radical change in His personality. Such thoughts and deeds could be fleeting or permanent, but they always insult the Lord and limit His ability to work in our lives.Please turn with me to Numbers 11:23, and Isaiah 59:1. Although spoken in different contexts both scriptures refer to the strong arm of the Lord. In Numbers 11:23 God Almighty had to rebuke the Prophet Moses for his lack of faith in the Lord’s ability to feed the multitude wandering in the desert. In a completely different context in Isaiah 59:1 the Lord rebuked the Israelites for their sin and pointed out that it was their folly that prevented Him from acting and not His inability. Human beings have a peculiar habit of projecting their weaknesses on to others. It’s always someone else’s fault and miscalculation that led us into the current situation. We seldom introspect and even when we do we rationalize those feelings of guilt away swiftly. That could be one of the reasons why God’s Omnipotence is not being manifested in us through His Holy Spirit.
Moses, the man of God, with whom the Lord spoke directly (Exodus 33:11, Numbers: 12:8) took God Almighty for granted and went a little too far when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:11). Some theologians say that the rock referred to in scripture was the Lord Jesus Himself, the fountain of life (John 7:38). God Almighty had no choice but to castigate and reprimand His dear friend (Numbers 20:12). Moses was painfully reminded that he was not God.
King David, a man after God’s own heart, thought He knew the Lord so well that he could cover up and hide his sin from Him, and get away with it (2 Samuel 12). God Almighty was a close friend of David as long as the latter walked in the Lord’s light (1 John 1:7). However, David abused this intimacy and thought that he could get away with defying the Lord for personal satisfaction. King David was sorely wrong and invoked swift judgment from the Lord.
One final example that I’d like to cite from the New Testament is the historic rebuking of the Apostle Peter. In Matthew 16:21-22 we read how the Lord Jesus was prophesying His own suffering and eventual resurrection. This was very hard for a devout Peter to accept and what followed was an encounter between the disciple who thought he knew his Lord well and the Lord himself. Peter took the Lord aside and began to rebuke Him. After all, Peter loved the Lord dearly and only a couple of verses prior to this encounter the Lord promised to build His church with the Apostle Peter as one if its chief architects (Matthew 16:17-19). It was completely understandable for Peter to take some liberties with the Lord. Sadly, there was always one more fact that only God knew which Peter didn’t and then followed the historic rebuke (Matthew 16:23). Peter was again sadly reminded that he had much to learn about the Lord.
Sometimes the Lord needs to put us in our place (happened to me a few times) and remind us that we are like Him in Christ but that we don’t and can’t replace Him. That may seem obvious now but sometimes in the heat of the moment as described above we try to correct God with lasting consequences. The Almighty is never to be treated frivolously saints. No matter how close we draw unto the Lord it should always be in love stemming from profound respect for Him. Amen.
Dear friends, I’m quite certain that all of you are sanctified, Holy Ghost baptized saints. Should there be any amongst you that don’t know the Lord yet, I pray that the Lord of the Universe will set you free from sin and disobedience into His glorious light and freedom. Amen.
PS: Thanks for taking the time to read my scribble saints. If you find a lot of similarities between this writing and those of Rev. Oswald Chambers, that’s because the late Rev. Chambers is my mentor. Sorry if some or any of this offended you. I was just trying to illustrate a few ideas. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Lord is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10)
