1 Kings 17:2-4 (NKJV)
2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Get away
from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into
the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you
shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”
The Lord gave Elijah very specific directions for his
protection and his provision, He could only expect these provisions if he
obeyed and went to the place where God said that He would provide. God said, “I have commanded the ravens to
feed you there.”
Where is “there” for you? “There” is the place where God has
led you, or has directed you to go. “There”, most of the time, is not a place
of our choosing, it’s a place God has chosen for us.
For Jeremiah it was the Potters house:
Jeremiah 18:1-2
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2
Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my
words.
For Naaman it was the muddy waters of the Jordon River:
2 Kings 5:12-14
12 Are not the Abanah[a] and the Pharpar, the rivers of
Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be
clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if
the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How
much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in
the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was
restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
For Moses it was a cleft in the rock when Moses desired to
see the glory of God:
Exodus 33:21-23
21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall
stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be,
while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and
will cover you with My hand while I pass by.
23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face
shall not be seen.”
For Joseph’s father and brethren it was the Land of Goshen:
Genesis 45:10-11
And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be
near unto me, you, and your children, and your children’s children, and your
flocks, and your herds, and all that you have: 11 And there will I nourish you;
for yet there are five years of famine; lest you, and your household, and all that
you have, come to poverty.
Remember it is possible to be in church yet be in a far
country, and not have the nourishment of God.
Exodus 24:12
And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and
be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments
which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
“Be there”: Bring your whole being to me, not just the parts
we want to surrender, He wants us to be all there. God asks for a total surrender, even when we
don’t want to go there, we must go there, and we must remain there, to receive
all that He has for us and to be used as He wishes.
For Joseph “there” was a prison: Betrayed by his brothers,
and falsely accused of sexual misconduct and forgotten.
Genesis 41:9-14 (KJV)
9 Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do
remember my faults this day: 10 Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me
in ward in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker: 11
And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to
the interpretation of his dream. 12 And
there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the
guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man
according to his dream he did interpret.
13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he
restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out
of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in
unto Pharaoh.
“There” is a place of obedience, it is a place of
Preparation, it is a place of humbling, and “there is a place where we can draw
near to God so that we can receive revelation, cleansing, and reviving.
This week my “there” was a small country hwy. between
Savannah, GA., and Valdosta, GA. I
didn’t want to go that way, my GPS program kept routing me that way regardless
of the options I put in. I had been
through that area before, and there really isn’t anything to see. It’s just a whole lot of flat farm land and
it’s hot this time of year because it’s open and there isn’t any shade. It was toward the end of our 2400 mile ride
and I wanted to use the Interstate, but my wife hates riding the
interstates. It was the only
option. So I reluctantly headed that
way.
I decided to do something I hadn’t done all week, I put my
ear buds in and put on some worship music.
I began to listen to the words of a song on the album:
You take what is
And you make it
beautiful
When love floods in,
We're restored
forever more
With breath that
brings the dead to life,
With words that
pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are
we set free.
With mercy strong to
carry shame
and nail it to a tree
You alone
hold the power to
redeem.
No guilt competes
with innocence
crucified.
No grave can hold
what your grace has justified.
With breath that
brings the dead to life,
With words that
pierce the dark with light
Only by the blood are
we set free.
With mercy strong to
carry shame
and nail it to a tree
You alone
hold the power to
redeem.
As those words pierced my spirit tears began to flow down my
face, I began to praise God, exclaiming over and over again the only words I
could manage to say, “Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus!”
Then I found myself speaking in tongues as he refilled me
with his Holy Spirit, remember there were two of us on the bike together. I felt His sweet presence on that old country
road, in spite of the heat, in spite of my weariness, God responded to my need
for refreshing and sent His Spirit “there” to meet my need. Thank you Jesus.
Later that night I had an opportunity to converse with a
homosexual man via Facebook because of a comment I made on someone else’s
post. 20 yrs. Ago the conversation would
have been way different, because I would have had no compassion for this man, I
would have just been ready to stone him.
But God, by the power of His Holy Spirit allowed me to respond in a more
loving way. Let me share the dialogue:
Chaplain Clayton Hall: Well then since Billy Graham said it,
I guess the Apostle Paul had it all wrong.
Susan: Chaplain Clayton Hall Explain please?
Chaplain Clayton Hall: First of all let me say I am a great
admirer of Rev. Graham, he never hesitated to preach the truth regarding man's
sinful condition, second that quote is taken out of the context in which it was
made, it wasn't made in any public forum, it is from an article quoting his
daughter, quoting her father in regard to his graciousness toward President
Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, since no one would ever try and
convince people that BG approved of President Clinton's behavior, he never
meant to say we are not to judge the sinful behaviors of men, just that we are
to treat them lovingly in spite of their sin
Barry: Chaplain Clayton Hall on what basis would you say we
are to judge someone's behavior?
Chaplain Clayton Hall: The sole basis for any moral judgment
must be the Word of God, if the Bible says it's sin, it's sin whether it is
gossip, drunkenness, or sexual immorality:
The claim that Christians are not to judge is often made
when dealing with issues such as abortion, adultery, homosexual behavior, and
same-sex marriage. When a Christian says, for example, that homosexual behavior
is a sin and that same-sex marriage is wrong, he or she is often met with
objections like the following:
“Who are you to judge two people who love each other?”
“Who do you think you are, telling someone who they can and
cannot love? You’re a sinner, too!”
“Someone’s private life is none of your business. Don’t
judge them.”
Some people will even quote Matthew 7:1, where Christ said
during the Sermon on the Mount, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Of course,
when they quote this verse in regard to such situations, they take it out of
context to support their fallacious claims. When we consider the concept of
judging, especially as it relates to the Sermon on the Mount, Christ tells us
to be discerning, not condemning.
There are significant logical problems with the claim that
believers should not make judgments. The first becomes evident when we read the
context of Matthew 7:1 - “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what
judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will
be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's
eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your
brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your
own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will
see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” (Matthew 7:1–5)
Here, Christ is warning believers against making judgments
in a hypocritical or condemning manner. That type of judging is a
characteristic often associated with the Pharisees during the ministry of
Jesus. Many people who quote “judge not” from Matthew 7:1 fail to notice the
command to judge in Matthew 7:5, when it says, “Then you will see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” The point Jesus emphasizes here is
to judge yourself first before you make judgments about others. (Also, notice
the discernment and judgment required in Matthew 7:15–16, (20).) In the broader
context, Jesus is telling believers to be discerning when it comes to false
teaching and false prophets because they “look” Christian, but their goal is to
lead the flock astray (Matthew 7:15–20; Luke 6:43–45).
As Christians, we should be living godly lives so that we
can first concentrate on our own repentance of sin. Sanctification is a
lifelong process of being transformed every day into the image of Christ.
Without this, we have no place in helping another brother or sister. What
Christ teaches His believers in Matthew 7 is that if we ourselves are not
personally repenting of our sins, we are in no place to tell others how sinful
they are acting. But the Bible does tell us to preach the gospel—and part of
the gospel message is that people are sinners in need of salvation.
Barry: Chaplain Clayton Hall that is probably the most
articulate argument for judgment I have seen.
Chaplain Clayton Hall: I am two years sober as of June 26th,
I am by no means judging, I simply try to preach the gospel of repentance in
hope of reaching those trapped in the bondages of sin. I'll leave you with the
same response I always give when asked by others if their lifestyle offends me,
no it does not, the only life I have to answer for to God is my own. My bondage
was alcoholism by the grace of God I am free, I only wish to see others freed
from whatever sin holds them in its grip. God Bless
Susan: That certainly was articulate, and I saw no judging
there, in fact, quite the opposite. Simply stating the facts, which all are
free to examine. Out of the mouths of 2 or 3 witnesses, dear Barry.
Barry: I agree. You
have given a lot to think about. I still
think it is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, but I see today chaplain the Holy
Spirit is in you.
It was only by the grace that God has shown me that I was
able to have compassion for this man, I understand what it means to be in
bondage to sin, and by God’s love and grace I know that God can set me free
from any bondage. Maybe on a different
day I wouldn’t have bothered, or even cared, but on this day God had prepared
my heart to be of service to Him and to show His love while speaking the truth.
It was at a place called “there” that Elijah was prepared
for Mt Carmel, and it was a place called “there” that God prepared my heart to
do His will on that day.
Many times we miss our Mt. Carmel experiences because we won’t
go to the “there” that God has prepared for us.
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