A few years ago, I was reading (somewhere) about Jim Bakker, the former televangelist who went to prison as a result of the PTL Ministries scandal. Why was I reading about Jim Bakker? I think I was surfin' the Net at work or something like that. But anyway, what I learned was that prior to going to prison, he had never read the Bible in its entirety. It was not until he went to prison that he read the Bible, in its entirety, at least three times. It was then that he realized that many of the things he had preached as leader of PTL Ministries, were incorrect-taken out of context. On one hand, I was shocked! I wondered how many pastors, ministers, ministry leaders (etc.) are out there that have not read the entire Bible. On the other hand, I understood perfectly. At the point that I read whatever it was about Jim Bakker, I had been a Christian for nearly 20 years and I had not once read the Bible in its entirety. I had tried, on a couple of occasions, but I always go stuck (and quit) in Leviticus and Numbers-not the most riveting books of the Bible, in my opinion, but essential in learning about Our Most Holy and Righteous God. So, out of obedience, I have begun again on the journey. I tried reading it in 90 days but I got behind on the second day. I just could not keep up. I am embarrassed to say when exactly I began reading the Bible (all the way through) again because I am not yet finished (and I should be). . .so I won't. BUT, I will say that I successfully made it through Leviticus and Numbers AND with some understanding.
Jim Bakker also mentioned seeing the big picture, in a sense, understanding God's incredible love for us, as a result of reading the entire Bible. I can totally relate to that! The other thing I was amazed about is the level of obedience demonstrated by the men and women of the Bible. From Genesis to Joshua, I was astounded by the leaders' strict obedience to God. So many times I read of God telling a person or a group of persons (i.e. the children of Israel) to do something and they simply did it. "Simply" does not meant that the tasks were simple. I know that working to build the ark for 100+ years was no simple undertaking. Rather, these men (and women) knew it was our Lord God speaking to them, they trusted them, and did what He said without question. Now, that's impressive! Now while I do include Moses in this list of obedient leaders, he did make some mistakes here and there. For example, I had always known that Moses did not get to actually cross over into the Promised Land with the children of Israel as a result of a sin he committed, but I never knew what his sin was exactly. Well, the answer to that question lies in the book of Numbers chapter 20. How ironic is that? Anyway, the children of Israel were in Kadesh and they began to complain (yet again) to Moses and Aaron about the lack of water to drink. Moses and Aaron then fell on their faces and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. Numbers 20:7-12 reads:
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." So Moses took the rod from before the Lord as He commanded him.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said, "Hear now, you rebels!" Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them".
Did you get it? Did you catch what Moses' sin was? To be honest, I did not at first. I had to read it a couple of times, and then read it from a different Bible with additional commentary. God told Moses to speak to the rock and then it would yield water. Instead, in frustration and anger, Moses yelled at the children of Israel and hit the rock twice. Since water came out of the rock for the children of Israel and their animals to drink, most would conclude, "all's well that ends well". But that is not the case because he hit the rock (twice) rather than speak to it, as God said, Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
Can you believe God did that to Moses after all he had been through with the children of Israel, not to mention all the other times in the past he had indeed obeyed God? Well, at first, I must admit I thought God was a little harsh on ol' Mo. But then I remembered that God is a Holy and Righteous God. He is our Heavenly Father and He commands our obedience, because, hands down, His ways are always best. As with our own children, if they do not obey us, there are consequences for their choices.
I think we have embraced God's message of grace and mercy to a dangerous point that we dismiss His call for obedience. Perhaps you think, as I did at first, "So, Moses hit the rock instead of speaking to it, is it really that deep?" Well, yes it is actually, but the enemy (satan), along with our flesh had done a really good job of desensitizing us to that fact. God is Holy. He does not tolerate nor can He be in the presence of sin. For even God separated Himself (briefly) from Jesus Christ as He bore our sins on the cross.
So, perhaps you are wondering what our next steps should be. First, we need to fall on our faces before the Lord with praise, adoration, and thanksgiving for His incredibly abundant grace and mercy. For it is only by His grace that He has not utterly destroyed us because of our extreme disobedience (personally and collectively) and our lackadasical attitude toward obedience to Him.
Next, repentance is in order. Repent for when you have flat out disobeyed God and did your own thing. Repent for when you have only partially obeyed God, which is really disobedience. Repent for when you have compromised or not taken His Word seriously.
Then, we must pray. Hebrews 4:15, 16 says:
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
We cannot live a Christ-centered life of obedience and submission to God in our own strength. We can only do so with the help of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that He will give you His strength to be obedient, and He will. John 14:14 says:
If you ask any thing in My name, I will do it.
What an awesome promise for help in living a life totally obedient to God!
Finally, do what He has told you to do. James 1:22-25:
But be doers of the word, and hot hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mierror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
So, go forth in obedience. . .
