Month: March 2012

Snake Handling Not Allowed

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

No doubt, when you get into the historical books of the Old Testament , and start reading about all the kings of Israel & Judah, trying to keep up with who’s who can be like trying to keep up with the latest champion in the WWE. The names can be confusing, and just when you think you know what’s going on- boom! There’s a new king. Yeah, you really need to take your time wading through the historical books, but it’s definitely worth it! There is so much to learn and apply to our own lives in these portions of scripture. I’d like to focus on one guy in particular for a bit, and see what we can learn from King Hezekiah of Judah.

King Hezekiah (II Kings 18-20; II Chronicles 29-32) is one of the few good kings mentioned during this period. When he came to power the Bible says, “He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.” (II Kings 18: 3,4a) You see, the people of God had abandoned the true worship of the Lord, and had begun to incorporate pagan rituals into their worship of the one true God (Ouch, sounds familiar huh?). They actually began to worship the gods of the surrounding nations, forsaking the religious practices God had commanded Moses to teach them. Every now and then you’ll read in I &II Kings about kings, who would come to power and re-institute true worship, but they wouldn’t go all the way and the people still practiced idolatry. Not so with Hezekiah; he brought about serious reform and great revival followed. There’s one thing that he did towards the beginning of his reign, before temple worship was restored, that really spoke to my heart. “He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.” (II Kings18:4b)

Do you remember the snake? Remember back when the children of Israel were traveling in the desert, and God had sent “fiery serpents” among them because of their sin? Moses had a bronze serpent made, lifted it up on a standard, and whoever was bitten by a fiery serpent could look to the bronze serpent and be healed.(Numbers 21) Well, the children of Israel had begun to actually offer sacrifices to the Nehushtan, the first “snake handlers” if you will. The bronze snake had been something God had used to bring healing; it was used in a mighty move of God. Jesus even said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” (John 3:14) We know that the bronze serpent was a symbol with messianic significance that God had used, but IT WAS NOT TO BE WORSHIPED!

Don’t we do the same thing the children of Israel did with the Nehushtan? We worship a move of God instead of the God who moves. We take things that God uses or has used, and worship them. The gifts and the “moves” of God become our idols. We take the prophetic, signs & wonders, social-justice, Calvinism, Armenianism, all the other “isms” and we worship them. We have even begun to worship worship. And like Hezekiah, the Spirit of God wants to rid us of the bronze snakes in our lives so that we worship God in spirit and in truth, through our great high priest Jesus.

Hezekiah knew that we are not to cling to things, even things  God uses or has used; but, we are to cling to the Lord, following and obeying him. No more “snake handling.” Worship God.

Conspiracy

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“The LORD has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said,
‘Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them.
Make the LORD of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.'” (Isa.8:11-13 NLT)

“You’ve Got to Fight for Your Right to…”

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I have a friend with whom I regularly work that is a big fan of a very popular alternative media figure, and I find myself in the position of listening to this man quite often. This particular talk radio personality has no qualms about saying that he is “awake,” and that he is being given enlightenment from God himself. He speaks regularly about the “globalist new-world order,” and encourages his listeners to pray, read the Bible, and fight for their rights. Listeners are encouraged to look inside themselves for the evidence of the truth concerning the take over of the new-world order, and then FIGHT! All of this kind of talk seems to be very appealing to many within the American Church, but I want to bring a word of caution to my brothers and sisters who are getting caught up in this. Do not be deceived! If something is genuinely from the heart of the Father, it will be centered on Jesus. God’s answer for that which ails the world is not legislation and political reform, but the establishment of the kingdom of God within the lives of people transformed by Jesus.

Jesus said in John 6:45 that anyone who has heard or learned from the Father would come to Him. Forgive my English but, “If it aint about Jesus; it aint from God.” If you claim to be enlightened, or awake, or whatever else you want to call it, and you aren’t being drawn to Jesus; you ARE NOT having an encounter with the one true God. The Devil is not going to burst on the scene and say, “Hey, I’m the Devil, and I’m here to destroy you.” No, he comes with smooth, enticing words, seductive words that play upon our religious inclinations and our pride. He will speak of “God,” right and wrong, duty and freedom. He’ll tell you that you have it within yourself to know the truth and restore truth, justice and the American way! And little by little, as you give yourself to these things, the intimacy you had with Christ is lost, and you become nothing more than a self-serving religious/political activist. Listen, if a form of government was established in which there was no poverty, no racism or discrimination of any kind, no war, etc…, if this government was not submitted to the Lordship of Jesus; it would still be fleshly and demonic. There is no true freedom or liberty apart from Jesus!

These high profile media personalities talk about “God” a lot. They speak of being “enlightened,” and having faith.  They talk about good conservative values and so on. Think about it though, when is the last time you heard one of them declare Jesus as God? These guys talk a lot about freedom, liberty, and the nobility of the human spirit; but you won’t hear one say that the hope of mankind is in repentance, and coming to God through faith in JESUS ALONE.

Christian, Alex Jones and Glenn Beck are not your prophets. Abide in Christ, be being continuously filled with the Holy Spirit, and study the Word of God. In doing so, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and those who hear you.

Not Tonight Lord; I Have a Headache

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

We have been making excuses ever since Adam & Eve blamed the devil and each other when they rebelled against God. Even after we come to Jesus, we have plenty of excuses why we don’t move closer to Him in intimacy. Our culture has made famous the adages, “Not tonight dear; I have a headache” and “I’m sorry darling; I’m just really tired,” but did you know there is something similar to this kind of thing in the Bible? Check out the following passage:

“I slept, but my heart was awake,
when I heard my lover knocking and calling:
‘Open to me, my treasure, my darling,
my dove, my perfect one.
My head is drenched with dew,
my hair with the dampness of the night.’”

“But I responded,
‘I have taken off my robe.
Should I get dressed again?
I have washed my feet.
Should I get them soiled?’” (Song of Solomon 5:2, 3 NLT)

Reading this passage makes me think of the many times I hear the Lord speaking to my heart and drawing me near, inviting me to spend time in communion with him, but I offer a weak excuse, and turn to follow my own desire. I don’t know about you, but I’m so messed up that I’ll use even “good” things as an excuse to not spend that intimate time with the Lord like, “Well Lord, I need to prepare this sermon” or “Lord, I really need to study” or “Lord, I’ll catch you later; brother so and so needs my help.” There are countless others, but these are the first that come to mind. Well, these things are good things, but I hear Jesus saying, “That can wait; come to ME.”

We do the same things in our churches. Jesus makes an invitation for us to come closer and go deeper, but that would mean having to get a little “dirty” and we’ve already “taken off our robes and washed our feet.”

We say, “Lord, we’re all good here. Things are going just fine; I’m not sure how the congregation would respond to what you’re asking here. We’re not really comfortable with emotional displays, and God forbid if someone were to speak in tongues or shout hallelujah or something like that.”

In our hearts we know that the Spirit is speaking to us about how HE wants us to “do church,” but we are content with business as usual, and decide on hiring consultants and demographers to tell us how to grow instead of opening up to Jesus and allowing him to simply have his way.

Sadly, we as individuals and churches run the risk of ending up like the bride in our passage above. Later on, in the same section we read,

“My lover tried to unlatch the door,
and my heart thrilled within me.
I jumped up to open the door for my love,
and my hands dripped with perfume.
My fingers dripped with lovely myrrh
as I pulled back the bolt.
I opened to my lover,
but he was gone!
My heart sank.
I searched for him
but could not find him anywhere.
I called to him,
but there was no reply.”

After giving her excuse as to why she could not open up to her lover, she was moved and thought the better of it; however, the groom had gone. Let’s pray that God will give us grace to respond to his wooing with an immediate, “Lord, have your way with me.”