Great article by Seth Godin…

This is a great article from Seth Godin. It strikes me, in my context, because it speaks of the conversations around “missional” churches. We all have the tendency to think in terms of our experience. Our solutions then to the problems we perceive, UNLESS WE ARE INTENTIONAL, tend to mirror our experiences. We think that our problems can be fixed by doing more of the same…not ever considering that doing the same __________ might not work since the context in which we do them may have changed.

You can access Seth’s article HERE. I would love to hear your thoughts, so drop back by and share them.

Take Two: Exodus 31, Proverbs 13

There are two basic elements in this chapter. First, God establishes skilled craftsmen to oversee the construction making of implements of the Tabernacle. Notice that God called “by name” those whom He had appointed and filled them with His Spirit that they would be skilled to accomplish the task. This indwelling (v.3) gave them knowledge, wisdom, and understanding across multiple disciplines.

This ties a bit to my Message on Sunday…but here is the preview. God gifts them individually for service to Him and to other corporately. Their skills/gifts are intentionally granted so that they might serve the congregation.

As we will discuss this weekend, every person…as a believer…is gifted/skilled with certain spiritual gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ. What is neat is that these skills don’t necessarily look like preaching and teaching or prophesy or mercy. They are for some…mechanical aptitude, logical thinking, musical skills, computer skills, patience with children, and so forth. Each one is gifted according to a master design that God has…for His own purpose to His own glory. They are not the product of some evolutionary process…but are given specifically…by name…to those whom He chooses.

Question: What do you do with your spiritual gift to build up the Body of Christ RIGHT NOW?

(See, you got me preaching already.     ).

The Second element is the admonition concerning the Sabbath. Certainly this is appropriate since God has just given chapters of information about work to be done. Even in the midst of everything He said…He stops to point out that nothing is to violate the Sabbath, because “it is a sign between [God] and [the people]” (v.13, 17).

Beyond the obvious regarding the Sabbath, I am mindful of how I allow my own logic to override clear principles in Scripture. For instance, when I read about the Sabbath, I immediately began considering those who work on Sunday because they have to. Many are required…by the nature of their job to work on what they would consider “the Sabbath.” So, my tendency is to begin compromising on the principle and stating that “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” while “meaning” on the inside…I don’t know how to reconcile this principle with my human experience. When that happens…I am supposed to go with the PRINCIPLE and trust, by faith, that it is more informative than my HUMAN EXPERIENCE. So, what does this mean?

It means that everyone should take a Sabbath. It should be a day of rest. If not on a Sunday, then on some day. To override this principle and to work “7 days a week” is to display a sign to God that we do not trust His provision. To work every day is to disobey the principle and to demonstrate a lack of faith. (Now, I think this approach can be applied to many areas of my life. How about you?)

Then in v.18, God gives Moses the two tablets which He inscribed supernaturally and Moses heads down the mountain. (Tomorrow it gets interesting so don’t miss it.)

Proverbs 13:1 is the takeaway today. “A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”

Take Two: Exodus 30, Proverbs 12

In Exodus 30, we find more details. First is the instruction for the altar of incense. Not only is its design given in detail, but what is allowed to be offered on it is also specified (vv.8-10).

In vv.11-16, we find instructions for the census. Each man (20 and up) who is counted was to offer a “ransom” for himself, one half shekel. What struck me here is the fixed amount. Both rich and poor were commanded to give the same amount and were prohibited from deviating from it at all (v.15). The proceeds were ordered to be used for maintenance of the place of meeting (Tabernacle) “that it may be a memorial…before the Lord.” This is the precursor of the Temple Tax. (By the way, the amount was equivalent to $144 dollars). In Jesus’ Day, the Temple Tax was 1/3 of a shekel but was an annual tax ($100).

Two things stand out. First…the amount was fixed for each male (presumably for each family since a 20 year old man would have his own family). Typically, we think of giving to God in percentages (or at least we should since a tithe means one tenth). In fact, we think of it as not equal gifts but equal sacrifice. This tax is different. It is equal gifts. Each gift was to be equal because of the community responsibility for the maintenance of the Tabernacle/temple as a testimony before the Lord.

That is the second observation. The condition of the Tabernacle/Temple was a testimony before God because it was a representation of the value people ascribed to God’s presence. This is where the people came to meet with God. They collectively sought His presence here and relied on His presence among them.

From this, I am impressed that every family should have a stake in the condition of the meeting place as a testimony before God. Beyond tithes and offerings, every family should be personally, physically invested in the testimony of the place of meeting. If God’s people gave $100 a year in Jesus’ Day because they were compelled to…how should God’s people living under grace respond to God today?

VV.17-21 speak of the basin for washing. When the priests entered the Tabernacle to minister, they were expected to wash their hands and feet…or die. God’s holiness demands that those who approach God be clean. It is a dangerous thing to enter into His presence without taking the time and attention to cleanse oneself.

In vv.22-38 I was struck by the admonition that there was a prescribed recipe for incense and anointing oil. God required that there be no other “knock offs” allowed in the Tabernacle…and that no one used the same recipe outside of the meeting place. The time and place of meeting was a Holy time and these elements of worship were reserved only for God.

As my mind wanders and reflects on this…I wonder if the “less than reverent” attitude many hold toward God, His Church, and Worship is at all related to the abundance of knock offs in the culture. If we are surrounded with “spiritual symbols” then the symbol itself loses significance. “Gazing upon the Cross” loses meaning if we wear a cross on our neck, have crosses on our car, crosses on our Bible covers, embroidered crosses on our shirts or hats. Perhaps…the “marketing” of Christian symbols has reduced the wonder of them altogether.

(I am not necessarily proposing this…just reflecting out loud. What do you think? )

Proverbs 12:24 is the takeaway today. “The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor.”

Sunday AM, 11-08-09, Lordship and the Ordinances of the Church

Here is a link the video from Sunday AM Worship Service. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks James for making these available to us! Lord bless.

"Lordship" and the Ordinances of the Church from Chris Aiken on Vimeo.

From a Friend in honor of Veteran’s Day

Thought you might enjoy this video today as you celebrate and remember the Veterans that you know…and those you don’t.

Take Two: Exodus 29, Proverbs 11

Let me begin by commending you for not growing weary in doing good! It would be easy enough during the study of Exodus to “check out” during these detail passages. Some of us are so well trained by our cultural trappings…that if some action that we like is not readily upon us…we just choose to “surf” the channels or “go to the fridge,” rather than sit through it. (I vaguely remember the difference in the eras when I was a boy and was the remote…i.e., Dad sent me to the TV to change the channel to one of the other three possible channels we could receive with our antennae. Now before you feel sorry…that was all anyone could do before Cable…but the point is…we surfed channels less!

CH 29 details the process to “consecrate” the priests before God. Aaron and his sons were chosen by God to minister before Him (v.1). God required that they be consecrated (set apart to Him and His service) before they could enter His presence and function as an intermediary between Him and the people.

Three animals are sacrificed in the process of consecration (v.1), along with the other provisions (v.2). The priests were to place their hands on the head of the animals that were to be sacrificed. This is ALWAYS a step of identification. Before the priests could proceed there had to be a blood sacrifice for their sins. In addition, there was a process of cleansing and changing of the garments (vv.4-9) in ordination of the priests. The instructions for Aaron (High Priest) differed slightly from his son (priests) but the BIG IDEA of consecration and ordination are clearly communicated.

Here is something that jumps out at me. In our “churched” culture today…we usually diminish the role of the pastor from a “priestly type role” to something of a chaplain. We rightly affirm the “Priesthood of the believer” doctrines which correctly acknowledge that no one is required to approach God by working through an earthly priest. But, when we deemphasize the role of the pastor as priest…we fail to emphasize the role of the worshipper as priest.

Imagine if…at your church there was an altar of sacrifice and you were to bring a bull and two rams to worship. Suppose you had to make a sin offering ever time you stood before God. Suppose you were required to be bathes and have your garments changed before God and had to make offerings to Him before even approaching Him…lest He destroy you for treating His presence as something common. Suppose you had to make offerings in the morning and in the evening from your flock…a prime, unblemished lamb each time in order to please God (vv.38-39), so that you might be able to enter into His presence and meet with Him (vv.42-46). Many would say that the cost was too high. Some would choose to reject…while others would truly understand the cost associated with access to God.

Today, we do not stop to offer a burnt offering or a wave offering or a heave offering to the Lord. But, if we understand the truths of Scripture…we must still make the offerings as priests before Him. We MUST STILL pause before coming into the presence of God and identify with Christ by identifying with Him and His sacrifice for our sins. We must acknowledge that our sins are the reason for His sacrifice. We do this in prayerful repentance…before we do anything else. Secondly, WE MUST take time to wash and change our garments before entering into His presence. In prayer we take time to confess and make amends. Thirdly, WE MUST never enter into the presence of God without our sacrifice. Access is free (through Christ) and is costly (It cost Christ everything and therefore is of ultimate value to us).

I wonder if we are not too flippant about the access we have. I wonder if we don’t rush into His presence and just expect that He knows. I wonder if we don’t sin “retail” all day and then try to pray “wholesale” in a brief moment…thinking that just makes us clean. God designed the process of consecration to be such that we could identify in the picture of it…with what it took and what it takes to approach a Holy God with boldness and confidence.

Question: Do you rush into His presence in the morning? Or, do you regard your sin as He does…spend time cleansing and confessing as He prescribes here? If we expect to meet with Him (vv.42-46), then we must approach God on the terms He defines.

Proverbs 11:25 is the takeaway today. “The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.” There is a clearly stated and true link between our generosity and our prosperity. One of the enemy’s greatest lies is that we control our own financial destiny. Many of the people who I know that struggle financially…also fail to give even a tithe to God. Those who tithe and give generously (which I would argue is always more than a tithe) seem to be more at peace with their finances. Why is that? I believe that it is because they have come to recognize finances as God always intended…as a means to an end and as the product of God’s provision. They have learned to trust in God who provides and not in the provision. It is not merely a cliche…it is absolutely true. Some claim that they cannot afford to give generously…but truthfully, they cannot afford not to.

Take Two: Exodus 28, Proverbs 10

Exodus 28 gives the details of the attire worn by the priests. It is in the same careful detail as the previous chapters. Again, God is intimately concerned with every detail.

A couple of observations from the chapter. First, on four occasions, the text states that the role of the priest (s) was to minister to God…not to the people (v.1,3,4,41). It is easy to think that the priest is there for the people…and He does serve the people…but He ministers before the Lord. God is the point. Whether you consider our great high priest– Jesus who lived, died, and was raised again…to the glory of God; or, whether you consider us…a kingdom of priests. We do not live for ourselves or for the world. We live for God. We minister to God. We are consecrated to that service as His priests.

Some argue that we are here to serve the world. Not so. We are here to serve God…and that sometimes entails serving the world…but we are clearly servants of the Most High God. When we get that wrong…people become the point…and then we miss the point.

In v. 21, the priest, who wore a breastplate of judgment, stood before God representing all 12 tribes of Israel. This encompassed all of God’s people. Jesus is the only means of Salvation for all peoples. He is the ONLY mediator between God and man. There is not a priest for Buddhist people, or Muslim people…there is only One…and His Name is Jesus.

In vv.36-38, we see that the role of the priest was to consecrate the unacceptable offerings of the people before God. Everything we could offer God would come up far short of the standard. He is absolutely Holy. Therefore, we need a Priest who takes our unacceptable offerings (ourselves) and consecrates them through His intercession (Christ’s Work on our behalf) and makes them pleasing before God.

Apart from Jesus, we can never please God. Apart from His work, our best work is woefully insufficient. But, with Him, we are righteous before God…not with our own righteousness, but in the righteousness we have because of Christ!

Proverbs 10:17 is the takeaway today. “He is on the path of life who heeds instruction, but he who ignores reproof goes astray.” Heeding instruction leads to life. It alone is the way.

Take Two: Exodus 27, Proverbs 9

Chapter 27 contains more information about construction of the tabernacle. Again, God is specific in the details: from the size, construction material, design…every detail is prescribed by God.

As the details are provided, the altar is the next in the sequence. (God gave instructions from the Holy of holies moving outward). One must come past the altar to enter into the presence of God. Another way of thinking of this…is that one cannot bypass sacrifice and enter into God’s presence. The sacrifice is what allows us to come into the presence of God. From our NT perspective…we recognize that Jesus is the sacrifice (Once for All) that makes us justified in entering into God’s presence.

Perhaps what struck me from the chapter was the final two verses. In vv.20-21 God directs that the people are to be charged to bring to the Tabernacle a sufficient supply of olive oil so that the lamp outside of the Holy of holies could remain perpetually lit. The priests (Aaron and his sons) were charged with keeping the lamp serviced and constantly burning…while the people were charged with providing the supply to accomplish it.

The issue of the lamp is not that God is afraid of the dark. The lamp was behind the walls of linens we discovered yesterday…so it served no distinct purpose apart from being an act of worship. It was a testimony to God and of God. The fact that the lamp was to remain lit speaks of God’s continual presence. You don’t turn the lights off with someone in the room and you don’t leave the lights on when no one is in the room. The fact that God commanded that the light be ever-burning…signifies His continual presence.

I am certain that some might object and speak of the impracticality of burning a lamp perpetually. They might declare that there is a better way or offer some alternative understanding. But, God is not always “practical” as we understand the word. He operates according to His own plan and purpose. His commands are good…always. His purpose is perfect…always. Our acceptance, by faith, of God’s instructions is worship. Our obedience is worship. Our obedience is a perpetual testimony to those who believe…and to those who do not yet believe.

Proverbs 9:8 is the takeaway today. “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you.” Sometimes we want to correct those who act sinfully and are separated from God…by pointing out that their actions are against God’s will. Hey…they don’t care. They have no relationship. Our first focus is not to fix their outside conduct…but to help them come to know and revere God. Once relationship is established, we have a baseline for conduct, but not before then. As someone said, “Rules without Relationship breed Rebellion.”

Take Two: Exodus 26, Proverbs 8

As you read this chapter, you may have a tendency to want to fast forward through some of the details. (I had to read it twice). The details seem a bit extraneous to me as I read them…because I am greatly removed from the context. I mean, why do I need to know how many loops and fittings God declared must be in each curtain.

Then the big idea hits: God has an INTIMATE and SPECIFIC plan for every detail of our lives. He leaves nothing to circumstance, chance, or “karma.” From the composition of the raw materials, to their design, to the qualifications of the craftsman (v.31,36).

This should serve as an encouragement. If God is so concerned with the details of construction of a tent, how much more concerned is He about that which persists forever (the souls of His people)?  (See also MT 6:26,30).

The construction of the veil surrounding the Holy of holies struck me in a significant way. Significant in that I know that Jesus is the veil we must pass through to come into the presence of God. Apart from Jesus, we are precluded from coming to or seeing God…but through Him (the veil) we have access to the Holy of Holies. The offering that was continually before God (Showbread and incense) was made before coming into His presence.

{NOTE: The significance as I read it today is the comparison to how many “Christians” approach God today…desiring to come into His presence and then worshipping if they feel blessed to be there. This is opposite of the intended design. One must come to understand the blessing of even calling on God’s Name (because of His covenant with us) before experiencing the blessing of His presence.}

One other observations struck me. The construction of the veil which blocked off the Holy of holies from the Holy place is of the same construction as the curtain which served as the doorway or entrance into the Tabernacle (minus the cherubim embroidery). As I think about that, I wonder how many people think that by coming into the Holy place…they have arrived…even though they have never experienced the presence of God in the Holy of holies. Stated another way, how many people have made themselves satisfied with knowledge about God rather than an intimate knowledge OF God? If we are ever to experience the grace of God as He intends, we must get honest before Him and answer the question…do I know about You and your Grace…or have I experienced it in a transformative way in my life?

Proverbs 8:18, 21 are the takeaways today. Wisdom states, “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness”…”to endow those who love me with wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.” Wisdom states that living according to God’s instructions yields “enduring wealth and righteousness,” and that God’s desire is to endow those who love Wisdom with it…to “fill” their treasuries. This is not a health and wealth statement…but speaks to the heart of God to bless abundantly those who pursue Him with that which “endures.”

Take Two: Exodus 25, Proverbs 7

Exodus 25 contains detailed instructions for the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, the Table of Showbread and the Golden lampstand. A couple of observations that stood out to me.

First, God is very specific about the instructions of the material, shape, design, and how each item was to be used. We know now (looking back on this description from a NT perspective) that each of these items served as a symbol for us, so that we might recognize Christ in the symbols.

The second observation is that the people were to be solicited for a contribution according to how their heart moved them (v.2). The solicitation was a freewill offering, but it was to be given according to HOW the person’s heart was moved. Even though the freewill offering was voluntary…the person was NEVER to receive any personal glory or magnification from making the offering. Their freewill gift was to be according to how their HEART was moved.

We know that the heart of the king is moved by God (Proverbs 21:1), so the freewill offering is also an offering of obedience…which is worship.

To summarize…Moses was instructed to solicit a contribution from the people which ultimately was to be give according to how God moved their heart.

I know some people today who think that they are obedient if they give of their required “tithe.” Truthfully this may be obedience…but it may also be that a person could tithe faithfully and still be disobedient to God…by not giving offerings as God would move on their hearts to give. Much is said in church circles today about the economy and how it affects ministries. My conviction is that the economy has no impact on the church. The church is influenced by a person’s yieldedness to Christ. You can tell about a person’s heart by how much they trust God with their finances.

As a side note…this is why we REQUIRE of our church leaders (pastors and deacons) that they are committed to a practice storehouse tithing as a baseline of faith. If a man has not yet learned to trust God with money, how can he be entrusted with overseeing or being an example to souls?

Anyway, giving is a heart response to a Holy God who sits above the mercy seat and meets us there. Thank you Lord for reminding me that freewill offerings are also acts of obedience.

Proverbs 7:4 is the takeaway today. “Say to wisdom, ‘you are my sister,’ and call understanding your intimate friend.” A commitment to living according to God’s wisdom is both a good offense and a good defense! Many temptations in life are avoided by committing to live wisely all along the way.