|
Volume 13, Number 3, September-October 2009
If the Creator of the Universe is all powerful, then why does His Church appear to be fragmented and disarrayed? Why do corrupt governments, businesses and the entertainment industry seem so powerful by comparison? As believers, we can understand this paradox only by continuing to focus on our Father’s purposes for our lives. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1Pet 2:5). We
are being shaped by our Father to rule with his Son upon His return (2Tim And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built (1Kngs 6:7). Do you not know that you are the What is it that distracts us from the great eternal reality of our Father’s purpose? It is the temporary “buildings” in the world in which we live. We are not being formed in a perfect stone quarry, but we are being formed in this world and its evil: John Some believers may now be parts of temporary “buildings” such as churches, ministries, businesses, governments and other organizations of men. Others may exist as “clusters of similar stones” living together with families or friends. Still others of us may be “stones” sitting out all alone. Even when we are together in churches or ministries, there are still “tares”—in this case “bad stones”—stacked in and amongst the chosen stones (Matt 13:24-30). It is so easy to look at what we see now and wish that we had a better job, better friends, a better church, a healthier body, etc. We should not be so concerned about the appearance of our temporary “building”, “group of stones” or “isolated stone”—whichever represents us. We should be more concerned about how we will fit into what the Father wants for His building. Hewn in Humility The great leaders of the Bible were “stones” hewn in humility. The following examples show the patience of these believers as their Father in heaven shaped them: • Abraham was promised to be the father of many nations, but then had to wait 25 years for his first son to be born (Gen 12:2-4; 21:5). • Moses was told he would deliver his people from Egyptian slavery, but first God sent him to tend sheep in the wilderness for 40 years (Ex 7:7). • Joseph was shown that he would become the leader of his brothers, but then was sold into slavery and ultimately put into prison for something he didn’t do (Gen 37:6-8, 28; 39:7-20). • David was anointed to be king over • Mary, entrusted with the most
important child-rearing job of all time, had a home-birth in a stable,
subsequently had to flee to a foreign country to keep her baby out of a mass
murder. Then she had to raise her child in a town with a dismal reputation
and was falsely accused of fornication all of her life (Luke 2:7, Matt • Our Messiah himself suffered in his
ministry: “For it was fitting for Him (Christ), for whom are all things and
by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heb 2:10). Even after His
miracle-filled earthly ministry was finished, only 120 disciples gathered on
Pentecost to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts • Those who believed in Christ were
frequently cast out of the synagogue (John Why
did our Father in heaven do these things this way? Could not He make His Work
look a little more impressive to those who witnessed it? To continue the with
last example, when God called Saul to His ministry, Saul stopped persecuting
the church and became the apostle Paul (Acts 9:1-6). Only six chapters later,
in Acts chapter 15, we read that there is again a substantial church in Because
our Father was working with those people. He was hewing out His “stones” for
His Spiritual Temple to be built in the future. He was not simply trying to
build a big church in For he [Abraham] waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10). Our Lives Are Much the Same It is tempting to think the trials of men and women in the Bible are somehow different than ours. It is easy to think that they had a clear vision that their actions were right and that they were suffering for a righteous cause. Whereas, our trials often seem far removed from God and the Bible—they are just difficulties and there is no spiritual right-versus-wrong principles to be upheld. But indeed our Father is still hewing the stones—teaching us through our trials to live by the Scripture, find work to support ourselves, overcome sickness and injury, and live peaceably with difficult people. We need to see His work for what it is. The examples of faith found in Hebrews 11 demonstrated that these men and women suffered human temptations, poverty, sickness, and the like: They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were
tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not
worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of
the earth (Heb There is no doubt this life can be very discouraging at times. This writer has spoken to young people who have grown up in very difficult circumstances and who cannot foresee a bright future. Similarly, he knows of older people who realize they have missed their chance to have a successful marriage and children. He remembers talking to a great-grandmother who had many offspring, but who was grieved that most had departed from God and were in so much trouble. No person can tell us with certainty how much of our lifelong difficulties are a result of our own faults and how much were caused by circumstances beyond our control. But there are some things we can know with certainty. • Our Father does not expect us to somehow go backward in time and change the past. • We do not need to worry about our past. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Phlp 4:6, NLT). • Even if we have struggled with sin
for years, we can still repent and change now. Manasseh was king for 55
years—the longest reigning king in There is nothing wrong with praying for and working toward the pleasant things of this life such as good families, good friends and the physical needs of life. There are many good lessons of love, wisdom and stewardship to be learned. But the ultimate value of our physical lives is that which is being built for all eternity. Our Father is certainly watching to see where we place our priorities. That is what this life is about. Don’t Let the Church Discourage You This writer has heard brethren say things much like this: “I understand how the Eternal is working in my life. I have learned a lot of valuable lessons, but the state of the church discourages me. There are so many groups. Most cannot work together. They cannot agree on doctrine. They cannot even agree on what doctrine they would have to agree on in order to work together. Many groups are so small that they just do not have enough resources to accomplish much. Other groups are doctrinally tolerant and have more resources, but they have leaders or members with flagrant sins, about which they do nothing. The scriptures tell us not to keep company with certain people. I would like to devote myself to serving in a congregation, but something seems to be wrong with every congregation and ministry that I know about.” This person should pray and ask Christ to show them how and where they should serve with other brethren. The answer can vary greatly for each individual. Christ may send one to join a corrupt or erroneous group in order to help the people there. He may send another to a small group that he knows will do significant work in the future, and yet another He may use to gradually begin a new group. Many people read the following Scripture and interpret it in the same way it has been viewed throughout history—that the Church is a big, powerful, observable organization. “And I [Christ] also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:18-19). But let us read the next verse: Then He commanded His disciples that they should
tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ (Matt Even
though He was the head of the Church, He wanted his position, to some degree,
hidden from the world at that time. Is it not also likely that the Church,
His body, ( “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s
good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke Similarly, the letters to seven churches (Rev 2-3) describe, not a powerful organization, but a struggling body of believers with a variety of difficulties within each of them. But take heart, to each of the seven churches Christ promises that individuals, if they are willing to listen, can overcome and receive a reward. And yes, the rewards are all different, because the Master Builder is fashioning each stone for a specific purpose. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give [a different reward for each church] (Rev 1:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). Becoming a Good Stone for the Kingdom Is there anything that we can do to become a stone for the Father’s building in His Kingdom? Yes. Even though we cannot fashion ourselves to His specifications, we can yield to His work upon us: Do you not know that if you yield yourselves
to any one as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to
righteousness? (Rom Anything that we let come between us and our Father’s guiding hand becomes an idol. And what agreement has the Let Him form us through prayer, fasting and Bible study. Let Him test our strength as we • struggle to support ourselves and our families in a failing economy and deal with a corrupt world, • struggle to resist the temptations and errors of the world, and • struggle to do His work. Let Him see how we will fit together with other stones as we • pray for our brethren, • use our gifts to serve in our congregations, and • help our brothers whom we see in difficulty (Gal 6:1). This
article concludes with a few more verses from the many Scriptural analogies
where believers are compared, in some way, to Stones for an Or do you not know that your body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not
your own? (1Cor While we do not look at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary,
but the things which are not seen are eternal (2Cor But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end (Heb 3:6). While we do not look at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are
temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2Cor
Download Full Issue in PDF: September-October 2009 Quick PDF (2.1 MB) September-October 2009 High-Quality PDF to Print (5.1 MB)
Back to front pageLatest Issue Previous Issues Literature List About Servants' NewsDirectly Helping Contact Help Search this site Receive SN for freePermission is granted to reproduce any article in its entirety
|
