Or when our Perception becomes our Reality….
It’s like the 5 blind men who examined an elephant. One examined the tail and concluded the elephant was like a rope. One examined the ear, and concluded the elephant was like a large fan. One examined the trunk and concluded it was like a large snake. One examined the leg and said the elephant was like a tree. Another examined the tusk and said the elephant was like a large spear. The last one examined the back and said it was like a leathery wall. They were all right based on what they had each examined.
It has been well said that “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know, and the less you know, the more you think you know”…
Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in His time, He has also set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God has made from the beginning to the end”.
The word “beautiful” is the Hebrew word “yaw-feh” - which has the idea of fitting things together - so that when everything is fitted together the way its designed to be fitted together – the results is that it becomes something beautiful.
Believe in the person God wants you to become!
Romans 8:28 expresses this same idea…..”When all things fit together, they work out for the good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His best intentions”
Let me give you a very basic example…..At our home in Ramrod, it was very dark on our street at night…some folks complained that the unlit streets were unsafe and would make it easier for thieves to do their thing…..but the flip side of the coin is that everyone who came to my home said the stars were the brightest they had ever seen…. The darkness actually allowed the stars to be seen even more beautiful!
God is just as present, doing His amazing work in the light as He is in darkness, in birth as He is in death. He’s just as awesome in the sowing of the seed as He is in the harvest that has come to it’sfull season. He’s just as present in the times of peace as He is in times of war. His greatness does not change and He remains the same when we understand and when we don’t. While we may only see chaos and futility, God is there, fitting it all together into something with meaning, purpose and a Divine design – He is turning it all into something very beautiful.
When God appeared unto Solomon as a young man, and told him that He would give him anything he asked for….. Solomon certainly shows us what God is looking for in all of us…..Solomon answers the lord in 1Kings 3:9 “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. “For who is able to judge so great a people? v10 And the answer pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. v11 And God said unto him, Because You have asked this thing, and have not asked for long life or riches for *…..yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but you have asked for understanding to discern in judgment. v12 Behold, I have done according to your words. For, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart, so that there will be none like you before or after you and there shall arise none like unto you. v13 And I have also given you that which you did not asked, both riches, and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto you all your days”.
The God who is sovereign over eternity - who created time - who uses time according to His purposes - who sees time as one continuous eternal now - who knows every detail of history and all the possibilities of what might be at any given moment - that same God is working all things together - into what is beautiful - fitting - according to His will.
We have no idea how God is going to fit all of it together, but what God offers us is the assurance that He is making something beautiful in the defining and transitional times of our lives.
Acts 16:25 "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." Many folks will think you’re really strange in those moments when your theory becomes your experiential theology!
It is at the midnight times in our lives is when we find out the difference between “Bible Theory” and “Experiential Theology”…. Paul would be the first to say that it’s not an easy road…. He would tell folks of his prison time, the floggings, of being exposed to death again and again. Five times he received forty lashes minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned, three times he was shipwrecked. He would tell of spending a night and a day adrift at sea, in danger from bandits, betrayal by false brothers. He had often gone without sleep, known hunger and thirst and been exposed to the cold without adequate clothing.
And in all those situations Paul discovered that God was working, arranging, adjusting, connecting and creating something good in the midst of it all! It all gave Paul greater faith in three important areas….
The first area is “TO GO WHERE YOU’RE SENT”….In all that Paul went through, he was always on his way to where he was sent…. He wasn't thrown for a loop when he ended up in jail, or when he endured being beaten by the authorities. You see those are the times when your Bible theory, becomes your experiential theology…. When your confession becomes your core beliefs. If you don't believe in the sovereignty of God, then you'll probably be bitter and angry and very discouraged. If you don't believe in a God who numbers the very hairs on your head, then you may think that something strange and terrible has happened to you. But if you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you know that nothing can happen that is not part of His greater and better plan for your life. And you understand that you don’t camp there because you’re just passing through, you’re on your way, to where you’re sent!
When where you are makes no sense, and you may not see any purpose in the things happening to you right now….you know that this means there is a next time and a next after that…. That God will take you over it, under it, around it or through it, but He will take you to the NEXT THING! Those are the times when we can only shout….
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me, beside still waters, He restores my soul: He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for You are with me, Your rod and staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the presence of the LORD forever”.
I’m on my way to God’s next thing……I will praise Him, when I can’t predict Him!.... I will worship, when I can only wonder! I will exalt Him when I am humbled before Him! And I will obey Him when I can’t understand Him! (And I must say that happens often)!
A young boy and girl were looking at some old family photos on the computer and they asked their mother, "Who is the guy on the beach with you with all the muscles and curly hair?" "Oh”, she said, “That's your father." …"Then who's that man who lives with us now?" (Things change, but God remains the same)!
Paul makes a powerful statement in Philippians 4:11 “I do not speak to you out of my lack, for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. v12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to experience need. v13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”.
What is so powerful about this is that Paul writes these words while he is chained to a Roman soldier, as a prisoner of Rome. Even though things haven’t gone the way he thought, he talks about contentment. Contentment is fully accepting where you are until you get to the next place and there is always a next place when your trust is in the Lord!
So if you’re Paul and Silas and it's midnight, and everything around you is telling you that it’s all going down the tubes, you start praying and singing hymns of praise to God at the top of your voice. And you don’t stop until God has the final say!
God in His wisdom will take us all to those places where our theories must become our theological reality.
There’s a world of difference in just going somewhere and being sent! John 20:21 “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. v22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.”…… If you’re not sent, then you’re just taking a walk….
This is about more than just going for a walk, this is A POWER WALK! For this walk, we receive power from on high. Sent ones are anointed, equipped and brimming with power. When you’re in those impossible situations, and all of hell is breaking loose, and you’re facing the biggest Goliath you’ve ever faced…. It’s good to know that it’s where you’ve been sent to fulfill heaven’s intentions on earth. If you know He sent you to the other side, you know the storm can’t sink you until you’re there!
Remember as you stand in those earthquake zones of life, where the ground is shaking under your feet, and everything is topsyturvy…. It’s exactly where God has put you, when you know that you’re sent!
Matthew 10:16 “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves (well, how about that, it’s right where you are) be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Matthew 10:19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak. v20 For it is not you that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks through you!”
If you know you are where you are because you are sent…. Then you understand that you have skills that are not of this world. You are just the instrument, and God is the source and the outcome has been designed for that specific circumstance and situation.
And that’s (let’s see what’s that word again?) Oh yeah, Paul said it was CONTENTMENT! That stabilizing gyroscope called contentment, the
next time your theory becomes experiential Theology….
That next time is about Staying Where You’re Put! Submission is not the same as agreement. When I don’t agree with God, I still submit!
That means, wherever you happen to be, even though it may not have been your first choice, you’re going to let God pour Himself through you in that place. It means that you believe down deep in your soul that you are where you are because God wants you there, and that when he wants you somewhere else, you'll be somewhere else. You’re not just taking up space, but you are Pro-active in knowing there is a higher purpose.
In the Andrae Crouch song “Through It All” he sings….
“I thank God for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys,I thank Him for the storms He brought me through. For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know that my God could solve them, I'd never know what faith in God could do”.
But you’ll never know this truth, until you stay put, where He put you!
A man had his dog in the back seat, when he parked his car at the store. He didn’t want the dog jumping over the seat and as He backed *…..away from the car, he continued to say “stay, stay, stay”. A woman standing at the store, who didn’t see the dog, said, “Sir, if you want it to stay, all you need to do is just put in park”….
David gave special honor to those who were assigned to stay put…
He had led the army into battle to retrieve what the enemy had stolen, but he left some behind to guard the village while the rest went to war.. there was a debate about dividing the spoils of battle and not sharing with those who had stayed behind to stand guard. David hears them out and then he makes a ruling ….1 Samuel 30:24 “Those who have stayed by the stuff, shall have an equal share of the spoils with those who went out to fight against the enemy."
I heard a parable about a wealthy land owner who hired two men to draw water from a well and fill a tank which was near by. The strange part of the task was that they were to use two baskets to carry the water. As soon as they got the basket full, it would start leaking out. One of the men became frustrated at this apparent waste of time, and said he was quitting. The other man said, what is it to you, we are still getting paid to do this. So lets do what we’ve been hired to do. But the other man quit and the one carried on until the owner showed up the next day. The well was almost empty, but as the worker lowered the basket one final time, it revealed a priceless diamond which had been at the bottom of the well. The job wasn’t about the water, or the baskets, it was all about the diamond at the bottom of the well.
Stay by the stuff! It’s all about the diamond at the bottom!
The last thing I want to share as your Theory becomes Experiential Theology… is Be Faithful To Give What You’ve Got… I guess I should qualify that….“Always give 100% unless you’re giving blood”
The bible tells us that when Paul and Silas were in prison, they still praised the Lord. I don’t know how well Paul and Silas could sing, but when they were in stocks and chains, they sang the best and loudest they could! It was loud enough that the whole prison heard and everyone was encouraged and their spirits were raised.
My grandma could clear out an entire church pew, she sang so terrible, but my, my, she loved to sing unto the Lord! She really believed in making a joyful NOISE unto the Lord!
During the hardships of World War II, a man walked into a diner, sat down at the counter and ordered a cup of coffee. The waitress promptly set a steaming cup of coffee, with a spoon and paper napkin. The customer asked for the sugar, which, because it was being rationed, was in a glass container, sitting safely out of reach, under the counter.
The waitress produced the sugar and watched as the man poured not one, not two, but three heaping spoonfuls into his cup.
Grabbing the precious container, she quickly returned it to its place of safety under the counter, as the man swirled the spoon once or twice and then sipped his coffee, he asked for the sugar again.
Well, she glared at him and said, “sir I’m sorry but you’ll have to use what you’ve got."
When God called Abraham, he answered “Here am I”
When God called Jacob in a vision, he answered “Here am I”
When God called Moses from the burning bush, he answered “Here am I”
When the boy Samuel was called, by God he answered “Here am I”
Isaiah says, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I, send me”.
When God calls someone to a special task. The Hebrew word He used is hinnainee (hin-nay'-nee), which means "Here I am." So When we say here I am, God answers with “Here I am” also….God is offering Himself fully to those who are willing to offer themselves unto Him.
In the worst moments of life. When tragedy strikes, when life caves in, when your plans are dashed on the jagged rocks of reality, when you find yourself in a place you never wanted to be, that's when you discover what you really believe. As long as things are going good, you don't really know what you believe. It's all just theory. But it’s at the midnight hour, that you discover your experiential theology.
Anyone can sing "Shout to the Lord" when life is good, you've got money in the bank, your marriage is strong, your kids are doing well, you're happy in your job, you love your church, and all is right with the world. But If you can still sing with Paul and Silas and praise God at the midnight hour, then what you've got is the real stuff!.
Not only will YOU discover what you believe in times of trouble, that's also when the world will discover what you believe, that's when they will want what you have!
In the Message bible, it translates 2 Thessalonians 2:15-17 like this…
“So, my friends, take a firm stand, feet on the ground and head high. Keep a tight grip on what you were taught, whether in personal conversation or by our letter. May Jesus himself and God our Father, who reached out in love and surprised you with gifts of unending help and confidence, put a fresh heart in you, invigorate your work, and inspiring your speech”.
If you’ve been to one of the major airports, you’ve seen one of those “moving sidewalks”. Have you ever decided you didn’t want to get on those and just walk on the normal walkway? I did that one time. I’m walking along at a fairly good clip and I look to my left and here goes this lady just standing still, and leaving me in the dust. I tried to pick up the pace, but it was no use, she wasn’t even breathing heavy and I was puffing along not even close to keeping up. Now, I always get on those things and as I walk, it feels like I’ve got wings on my feet.
That’s what God offers us. He knows our next place !
It's not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, saith the Lord!
When a person gets aligned with God’s “Here am I” with their “Here am I”.. incredible things begin to happen. Things start to pop. Ministry happens, people’s lives are changed!
Do you understand that you are where you are and in what you’re in for a higher purpose?
Most kids can tell you what they want to be when they grow up. Can you imagine someone asking the young boy Jesus, what He would like to be when He grew up? His dad was a carpenter, so He was supposed to be a carpenter. And He says, well, I am God, and I am going to be the savior of the world when I grow up! And folks experience “brain explosion”….(ker-pow)! Jesus knew that His purpose was to bring glory to god!
John 17:1 “These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.”
I can tell you why you are where you are and in what you’re in…..You and I are here to glorify God in this place and the next and the next….
You were created for this. You were brought into this world to be a lover and a follower of God. You were placed here to bring glory to Him. Surrender to that calling on your life. Put a torch to the bridges you’ve been keeping as a fire escape in your life,just in case things don’t work out, and step down on to God’s moving side walk, where a glorious and exciting future awaits you. Where His greater purpose and glory are waiting to be accomplished as He flows through you.
I close with Habakkuk 3:17 “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls. v18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. v19 The LORD God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places”.
Prayer….
Lord, as David wrote, “you are good, and Your mercies endure forever”. We thank you that you know what you are doing in every situation and circumstance of our lives. We find our contentment in that, because many times we are clueless. We rest our weary souls on you, the Rock of Our Salvation.
Give us confidence to believe that You, who started a good work in us will bring it to completion, and even today, You are bringing it to completion. Grant us grace to say "Here I am" when you call us to bear witness at midnight. Help us to stand fast, never moved, trusting in you, now and forevermore, until the day comes when we see You face to face. Amen.
