Broken Promises

Experiencing God's miracles won't guarantee your faithfulness to him.

Exodus 24:1-3 Then the LORD instructed Moses: “Come up here to me, and bring along Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders. All of you must worship from a distance. 2 Only Moses is allowed to come near to the LORD. The others must not come near, and none of the other people are allowed to climb up the mountain with him.” 3 Then Moses went down to the people and repeated all the instructions and regulations the LORD had given him. All the people answered with one voice, “We will do everything the LORD has commanded.”

Exodus 24:9-11 Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. 10 There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. 11 And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

Exodus 32:1-6 When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” 

2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 

5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.

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In my study of the book of Genesis and Exodus it has been so clear that God loves us and wants to restore our relationship with him to the intimate relationship that we had before sin came between us and him. God gave us a choice in the garden to let him define good and evil or eat from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil so that we can make our own rules. 

From the beginning of time we have proof that it is difficult for man to trust God's wisdom and consistently make good choices on our own. The Bible shows us that our problem is the same as it was back then. When we take control and decide good and evil the results are always more evil. (Genesis 6:5, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 12:2)

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even Moses all made poor choices despite the close, intimate relationship with God.  You may think that you would be more consistent and behave so much better than they did in the Bible but history has proven that no matter how much we learn about God we will still have a problem trusting him and treating him as well as he deserves.

God's people in Exodus have experienced him:

• Bring disaster on Egypt by the plagues and they saw him save his people by the Passover lamb. (Exodus 12)
• The Egyptians demand that they leave and they give them their wealth to take with them. (Exodus 12:31-42)
• Manifestation of God that went before them to lead the way. (Exodus 13:21-22)
• The crossing of the Red Sea and the drowning of their enemies. (Exodus 14)
• Work miracles in the wilderness to teach them to trust him for their necessities. (Exodus 15-17) 
• Defeat the army of Amalek (Exodus 17:8-16)
• Moses father in law declares that God alone saved his people from Egypt. (Exodus 18:9-11)
• God has taught them that he is holy, he is the only God and he must be worshiped properly. (Exodus 19-20)
• God's chosen people have been redeemed to live a new way. (Exodus 20-23)
• A new covenant with God is established. (Exodus 24-31)

Such amazing experiences with God made them so sure that they could be committed to him and fully trust him. They agree to God's terms and Israel's leaders meet with God and even eat a meal in his presence to ratify the new covenant before Moses is called to climb the mountain higher to meet with God for 40 days. (Exodus 24:7-18)

God's people needed less than 40 days to go back to the way of worship they learned from the Egyptians. They didn't forget about God but they wanted to remember the gods of Egypt and worship the way their evil neighbors did despite how God had just finished judging them. The blessings of God became a curse to the people, they took the gold from Egypt and created an idol, they seem to want God but they also want to have their idols too. (Exodus 14:1-4, 15:1-21)

God's purpose to make his people a priestly kingdom and a holy nation that would be a witness for him to our dark world is difficult to imagine. So far in the first two books of the Bible, God has been true to his word despite the broken promises of his people. 

At this point they are still at Sinai, God's glory has been obvious for all to see, if they can't be true to him here just imagine what happens when they start moving forward to the promised land. (Numbers 11:1,10, 12:1-9, 14:1-2, 16:1-3, 20:1-3, 21:4-5)

Deuteronomy 8:2,10-11 Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.

10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

The new generation of God's people will be reminded of the reason why their parents did not receive the Promised Land. This new generation of God's people will need to guard their hearts even after the amazing miracles they will experience.

Everyone throughout the ages must decide for themselves. We are not forced to do what God wants, you cannot force love, there must be the freedom to chose God in order to truly love him. Man had to be a creature with a genuine will of his own. Otherwise, there could be no such thing as relationship or love. The possibility of love between man and God springs directly out of man’s freedom to choose.

We must guard our hearts so that we will make the right decision. Humbly digging into God's word everyday is the best way to guard your heart so that you will become more faithful to your promises to love and obey him. (Deuteronomy 11:26, 30:15 Psalms 119:30, 111, 173)

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The Corrupted Church

The world doesn't need a tolerant and compromising church.

Revelation 2:18-29 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze: 19 "I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.

20 "But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman--that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet--to lead My servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.

22 "Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.

24 "But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching ('deeper truths,' as they call them--depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.

26 To all who are victorious, who obey Me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. 27 They will rule the nations with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots. 28 They will have the same authority I received from My Father, and I will also give them the morning star! 29 "Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches.

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This church was doing some really great things, Jesus said that he knows "ALL the things you do" and he was pleased with their love, faith, service, and patient endurance. Not only were they doing all of those things they were also getting better at doing all of those things. They must have had a great discipleship program in their church.

Even though they were constantly improving in so many areas, we all know that there isn't a perfect church, it is easy for any church to emphasize certain qualities and as a result they tend to neglect something else. After Jesus commendation he let's them know where they needed to focus their attention.

This church would have been very popular in today's culture where tolerance is expected of everybody and absolute truth and values are not allowed. What God has said is wrong in His Word, many, even in the religious community, are now calling normal and holy. That is what was happening in the church at Thyatira as well.

It is interesting to contrast the churches at Ephesus and Thyatira. The Ephesian church was weakening in its love, yet faithful to judge false teachers; while the people in the assembly at Thyatira were growing in their love, but too tolerant of false doctrine. Both extremes must be avoided in the church.

-Warren Weirsbe

Jesus tolerated people that he didn't agree with without being mean to them, he tolerated people that were using him to get something from him and he tolerated physical abuse. In many ways Jesus was the most tolerant but in the essentials Jesus was very intolerant and narrow in his teaching.

The culture that Jesus lived in here on earth was very tolerant of things that he could not accept. Jesus never tolerated the sin and false teaching was all around him. Jesus hates the sin but he loves the sinner and wants to give him eternal life in his presence.
All of us have to decide how far we will go in accepting the cultural standards that our world embraces. Where do we draw the line in being friends with the culture around us without falling into compromise? Where are the boundaries?

We are citizens of another kingdom that we long to be in but for now we are trapped in a world that is ruled by sin and hostile to God's standards. This battle between the two worlds should create tension in us so that this world shouldn't feel like home to us. (Colossians 1:13)

Jesus words to the church in Thyatira to hold on tight are just as good for us today, he never says that it is going to be easier to live in this world, in fact he told us that we will have trouble but my love for Jesus should make it easier. Because I love him I am motivated to love what he loves and hate the sinful deeds of this world that caused him to suffer on the cross.

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The Compromising Church

A difficult environment never justifies compromise.

Revelation 2:12-17 "Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum. This is the message from the One with the sharp two-edged sword: 13 "I know that you live in the city where Satan has his throne, yet you have remained loyal to Me. You refused to deny Me even when Antipas, My faithful witness, was martyred among you there in Satan's city.

14 "But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. 15 In a similar way, you have some Nicolaitans among you who follow the same teaching.

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Everyone worships someone or something, Satan knows about this God given desire and he has limitless options to help you direct your worship where it doesn't belong, religious beliefs is a wide open category where you can pick and choose.

The church has always been in a battle to keep everything that isn't truth away from their beliefs. It is so important that most churches have a page on their website to tell you what their essential core beliefs are.

Compromised beliefs have been around from the beginning of time when mankind decided to turn away from God's rule. From that day on world history has been filled with substitutes for the truth that we find in God's Word.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Jesus was pleased with the church in Pergamos for their stand for the truth in spite of severe persecution but they were not faultless. False teaching from the pagan culture that they lived in was being tolerated.

They didn't get any extra credit because they lived where Satan had so much influence. Judgment will come upon every church that accommodates the culture and seeks acceptance from man.

The world doesn't need a compromised church, they need to know that we have something that is worth living and dying for, the message of the gospel is too important. Jesus doesn't tolerate compromise, Jesus didn't look at their good side and ignore the bad and he didn't make excuses for them because of their difficult environment. The church must be a pure bride without blemish if it is going to attend the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The world doesn't need a judgmental and unloving church either, they need to hear the truth that will save them from eternal punishment but they also need to know that the church people are sinners that haven't forgotten their condition before the Gospel.

Let’s not compromise by seeing how close we can get to right; let’s stand on God’s promise to walk so close to Him that almost right becomes evil in our sight.

-Franklin Graham

God doesn't want any compromise at all but most of us look for the minimum amount of good that we need to do to please him. We go so far as to judge others that look less good to us but we don't know their circumstances. It is easier to look Christ like in some situations more than it is in others, we don't know what they have been called to stand against, they may have resisted far more than I have ever encountered.

Instead of just good enough we need to be seeking to become more like Jesus and stand for truth when it destroys our popularity. There isn't any room for this faulty logic when you realize our mandate is to be holy just as our God is holy. If we are new creations then we shouldn't look so much like our old self. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

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The Cross and Our Commitment

The cross should be life changing for all of us.

John 19:38-42 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body.

When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes.

40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

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For the past three years there have been crowds of people eager to follow Jesus everywhere that he went, just a week ago there were plenty of people that cheered for him as they declared him to be their Messiah, but where is everybody now? Where are the people that saw Jesus call Lazarus out of his tomb?

I remember there used to be a powerful group of seventy disciples that Jesus sent out to do a short term mission trip. This group gave up their time, left their families and their stuff behind to obey Jesus command to go, they returned with awesome testimonies but then they are never mentioned again. (Luke 10:1-24)

Even the twelve that spent almost every moment for three years with Jesus, only one came to the cross to be with Jesus mother in her darkest hour, they had given up so much to follow and yet now they are gone.

The small group at the cross was probably shocked to learn that two people from Jesus past stepped back into the picture to give Jesus a proper burial. These two guys had encounters with Jesus earlier but they didn't reach a decision until later on and they never came forward and expressed their conviction or show any commitment to Jesus.

It seems likely that Joseph and Nicodemus have been in the garden waiting for Jesus death, the tomb site so close to Golgotha made it unlikely that this tomb was ever intended for a rich man like Joseph, it was the best location to bury Jesus body quickly, so they waited in secret nearby with the spices already prepared.

When they took Him from the cross, they defiled themselves and were not able to eat the Passover. But, what difference did it make? They had found the Lamb of God!

-Warren Wiersbe

It seem like these guys planned ahead to work as a team on the burial.  The work that they set out to do could not be done in secret, they had to get Jesus buried in the daylight before Passover began. They would be found out but they didn't care, they were no longer ashamed to be identified as believers. While every other disciple was hiding out these two guys were coming out of hiding and stepping up their commitment to Jesus.

We do not know what happened to make them realize that Jesus is who he claimed to be. I have to wonder when these two men got it and decided that Jesus is the Messiah. They did what we all need to do, they showed courage and faith at record levels. These two would have to miss this Passover because they were considered unclean but that didn't matter anymore since this was the last lamb that would ever need to be sacrificed.

We do not know what happened to these two as a result of coming out to honor Jesus. Any show of sympathy for a condemned criminal could bring trouble on yourself. How would Pilate react? What about the other religious leaders? There must have been a price to pay at the office when the rest of the guys found out about the work that these two had done to give Jesus a proper burial. The rest of the religious leaders must have scorned them and they probably lost their jobs and were not allowed in enter the synagogue ever again.

John 12:42-43  Many people did believe in him, however, including some of the Jewish leaders. But they wouldn’t admit it for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. 43 For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.

It is remarkable that the secret disciples came out of hiding like first responders running toward trouble despite the consequences. When everybody else ran and hid these two reached a new level of commitment and dedication to Jesus.

It is easy to assume that a weak brother cannot be used for the Lord's purpose but it isn't our job to judge him and put him down for his struggle. You would think that the weaker brother would be the first one in hiding but they overcame their fear and openly followed Jesus.

Ask yourselves whether you have sometimes held your tongues because you knew that if you spoke people would find out where you came from and what country you belonged to. Ask yourselves, Have you ever accompanied the witness of your lives with the commentary of your confession? Did you ever, anywhere but in a church, stand up and say, ‘I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, my Lord’?

When these men came for Christ’s corpse and bore it away, what a sharp pang went through their hearts! How much these two men lost-all those three years of communion with the Master; all His teaching, all the stimulus of His example, all the joy of fellowship with Him! Neglect of duty puts barriers up between you and God.

-Alexander MacLaren

There isn't any room in the kingdom for secret disciples. You can be a secret sports fan or a secret follower of a particular social or political issue and then come out when the battle is over and squawk loud about your belief in the cause but where were you during the battle?

The cross should be life changing to the point that silence and hiding out should never be an option. How can we look upon Jesus and realize the evils and terrors that he went through for our sake and keep our love for him silent? How can we serve him without passion and excellence?

Stir a passion in my heart, God
Let it overflow, let it overflow!

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Serving Your Master

You have to choose because you cannot be a slave with two masters.

John 8:34-36  Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  35  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  36  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Matthew 6:24  "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Deuteronomy 13:4 Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him.

The news is filled with stories of war everyday, they are evidence of the spiritual battle that we cannot see, the battle wages on in the physical and spiritual realm. You may not like to think about it but there is a relentless force for evil that will stop at nothing to get you to choose any of his options over the single best choice.

Our loyalty to God is constantly being challenged just as it was for Adam and Eve back in the Garden of Eden. Satan is always questioning God's right to have our praise and worship. He wants to be God and he will stop at nothing to have us treat him that way. Satan knows that we were made to worship and that we will serve something or somebody so he is always looking to take advantage of this God given trait.

There is a lot at stake and we need to keep in mind some important advice:

Remember That God Won't Share 

1 Corinthians 8:6, Exodus 20:3-6, Deuteronomy 6:14-16

Over and over again God told the Israelite's that they needed to make a decision. They could choose from a long list of gods, they could choose to serve themselves, or they could choose the real God. God made it clear that he will not share what belongs to him with anything else.

Don't Serve The Things The World Serves 

Luke 16:13, James 4:4, 1 John 2:15-16

There is one true God and since is the only one that means there is nobody like him. Therefore he alone is to be worshiped and served. If you truly love God then you will have an unfavorable opinion of the world and it's philosophy.

Don't Value The Things The World Values

Matthew 6:19, 6:33, Luke 12:20-21

Jesus cautioned us to crave or value the right things. The world finds pleasure in craving what they can see, the toys that they have, pride in their accomplishments at work or school, all of the things that are temporary.

We love to seek our own kingdom, to stress how good we are and build up our treasure, we burden ourselves with the pursuit of the temporary. Seeking God's kingdom means that I must set aside my own kingdom and declare my allegiance with the eternal kingdo

Who You Serve Is Who You Trust
Romans 6:16, 18  Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Do you serve yourself? Do you serve money? If you think about it, whatever it is that you serve, that is the thing that you are putting your trust in. Why would you serve something you don't trust? If you feel secure enough to trust in something then it is reasonable to assume that you will probably serve that thing.

In our previous post we saw that Jesus called us all slaves, we are all serving something or someone, Jesus made it clear that a slave is usually a slave until the day they die. Because we are “in Christ” (Romans 6:11; 8:1), and He died in our place (Romans 5:6-8), we are counted dead with Him. I have become a slave to righteous living!

It is clear that I cannot serve both God and mammon, I cannot serve the god's that the rest of the world serves, they all want my full attention and my allegiance. I must choose everyday who I will serve, I must choose to serve the Lord wholeheartedly.(Joshua 24:14)

Live In The Light

We need to be concerned about who we are making happy.

Ephesians 5:6-14  Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him.  7  Don't participate in the things these people do.

8  For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!  9  For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.  10  Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

11  Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.  12  It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.  13  But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,  14  for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light."

John 8:12  Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."

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There are a lot more people in this world that are living to please themselves than there are that try to live to please God. It can be easy to be fooled into thinking that it really doesn't matter very much how I live but the entire Bible tells me that isn't correct. From cover to cover the message of the Bible to God's people is that he wants them to be different.

Ever since man was created, God has desired to have fellowship with us, but we cannot allow ourselves to be involved in the sins that the world gets wrapped up in and think that we will be able to maintain a close personal relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13  "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases Him, and love Him and serve Him with all your heart and soul.  13  And you must always obey the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

Before we began following Jesus we were in the dark, intellectually we were ignorant and morally we were evil, we could not help but do what pleases ourselves. The devil has plenty of delightful tricks to get us to stay in the dark, that's where he wants to keep us, it is so much "fun" that we won't even realize that we are in the dark.

Living in light means living in truth and living in holiness, living to find out what pleases God, the light exposes the devils tricks and the lies that he tells you about how good life is in the dark. God's way is best, he has our best interest at heart, he wants to give us life more abundantly and he wants to change our eternal destination.

Before we became God's children we were living in a dark cave without any source of light. We couldn't know which way to go, we couldn't see to take care of ourselves, we were hopeless to do anything without the light.Then we get rescued from that hopeless environment and the next thing you know we go running back into the cave. It is amazing that we think that there is something better for us back in the dark.

Turn away from evil.

Titus 2:12-14  And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God,  13  while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.  14  He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

Light and dark don't mix and so the the characteristics, if you're going to walk as a child of light, goodness, righteousness, truth cannot mix with the evil, unrighteous lies of the children of the dark. We are told not to do the things that they do and we are to shine our light so that it exposes the shameful things that they are doing.

I must be determined to shine my light in this dark world. It is a crime for a lighthouse to be out of service when the storms of life are raging and people desperately need the hope of Jesus.