Numbers 32:1-5 – “Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.”  NKJV

The Reubenites are the Kind of People who really do not want to cross the Jordan.  The reason for coming out of Egypt was to cross the Jordan and go into Canaan, the Place of Promise.  There was a very large contingent coming out of Egypt.  They were blood bought, baptized in the Red Sea and now after wandering in the Wilderness for forty years and on the brink of breakthrough they said, “Don’t make us cross the Jordan, we want to stay where we are.”  In a very real sense, they were saying, “What we have become fits very nicely into what we have already possessed and we don’t want any more.”  It is easy to ‘sit in church’ and say: “What we have become fits nicely into what we have already possessed.  We have ‘x’ number of herds and flocks and it fits nicely, so we are satisfied.”

Let me take you back a bit to the Lion King Movie where Mufasa the King said to Simba from the clouds, “You Are More Than What You Have Become.”  It is easy to get in a state of mind where what we see fits into what we are able to accommodate and we do not want to move.  It is saying, “Don’t Make Us Go Over the Jordan.”  BUT, if we grasp the Word of God we realize that we ARE more than what we have become and God is not finished molding us yet.  We need to remember WHO we are and WHOSE we are and realize that we truly ARE more than what we have become.

Let me caution you and state this was not about Reuben stealing Glory from God. It was about Reuben stealing the Glory of Jacob.  It was about Reuben wanting a Glory that was not his to have.  We find that in the local church.  It is not about someone wanting the Pastor’s job or the Elder’s job.  It is about, “What’s in it for me?”  It is about RECOGNITION and COMFORT.  Believers, we are not here for what is in it for us, we are in it for what is in it for HIM.

Reuben wanted to experience something beyond his measure.  You will never be happier than when you abide in the measure God has granted you.  If your measure is to have no authority, no leadership, no responsibility in the House you will be far happier if you abide there than if you press into a measure you have not been called to receive.  Remember the disciples in the boat had ‘heard the word’ and as a result, they got blisters on their hands struggling against the waves and the wind but they had heard God.  It was as they persisted in WHAT they heard that He came to them in the night and brought victory.

If you observe the weather, you will not launch out into the deep. Anybody can run with the weather.  The only way you launch out into the unknown is by knowing that you know that you know that God has directed your steps.  THEN, don’t quit!  Do you understand why you get turbulence where two rivers run together?  That is the place where the vision and intent of River A and River B come together.  If you are not careful in life you will get DI-VISION not VISION. Turbulence can create DI-VISION but out of that confluence where the two become one, there is quiet power.

We need to be willing to Cross over into the Place of Promise taking with us that which we have learned in deliverance from bondage, baptism in our Red Sea, learning in the wilderness, and enter into the Place of Promise and Possess the Land.  God’s gives a Warning, sends His Word, and prepares the Way.  Will we be people who are Obedient and then eat the good of the land?

God, bless you richly as you enjoy this day in Him!

Matthew 14:22 – “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.”  NKJV

             There is one word I want to focus on and address some questions that arise out of that word.  It says, “Jesus MADE the disciple get in the boat and go before Him…”  Let me ask the obvious questions:

• Did Jesus Make the Disciples Get in the Boat?
• Was Jesus in the Boat?
• Would it suggest that there can be a time, in the work of God, where we can be absolutely led by the Lord and made to follow a Word He has given when He IS NOT in the boat?

           Back to question one.  Did He make them get in the boat?  I urge you to read verses 23-34 in your consideration.  Often, we associate the presence of Jesus with the settling or solving of our circumstances.  His presence does bring Peace but we dare not miss the point that Jesus WAS NOT in the boat and there was a storm.  On another occasion, He was asleep in the boat and there was a storm so clearly, the storms of life come when He is and when He is not in the boat with us.  Adversity is not proportional to the amount Jesus is in the boat.  It is a much deeper issue it is the realm of faith.  If we have ‘heard’ the word of the Lord and we are going to consistently apply that word to our lives, we must do so regardless of whether we feel He is in the boat or not.  Please read, Mark 6:45-51 and if it does not intrigue and raise questions you are not reading it deeply enough.

Jesus was watching them struggle and resisted the temptation to get involved at the moment of struggle.  He did not come to them until the 4^th watch of the night so there was a period of time that Jesus let the disciples struggle and the situation intensified.  They were in the middle of the lake straining on the oars and going nowhere.  It was a hard situation.  Jesus could see them straining.  How often do we get religious and say that straining at the oars is unspiritual?  I suggest there is a time to strain on the oars and a time to break a sweat in labor.  In every sovereign move of God, there is a time to labor.  We must be committed to straining at the oars no matter what others are doing in other places or God is doing elsewhere.  WHY?  Because, Jesus said, “Get in the boat and go to the other side.” 

The simple question is: “Are we committed to the Word of the Lord that has come into our spirits, even when it seems that Jesus IS NOT in the boat?”  Even when the winds are contrary and our hands are getting blisters from rowing?  Even when we have done all we know to do and nothing is getting better?  Are we determined to obey His directive to “Get in the boat and go to the other side?”  That is what faith’s all about!  (Note John 6:16-21 for a wonderful reality.)  Three or four miles is a very long way to row, especially when the wind is against you and the water is rough with the current trying to push you back and the waves about to capsize your boat.  Jesus showed up and they thought He was a ghost.  What I want you to see is HE DID COME TO THEM.  He comes out of the darkness to the boat and they were willing to take Him into the boat and immediately they were at the other side.  I like that!  In the midst of struggling, straining, striving WHEN they allowed Him to get in the boat VICTORY CAME!

           Why Would God Allow This?  Why should we be made to get into a boat, when Jesus knows full well that we are going out in the middle of the lake where a storm is going to force us to struggle and strain?  Why would He put us in that position?  Why would He allow them to encounter a situation where all their hard work seemed totally in vain and was coming to nothing?  Here is a truth you must catch.  If you stop rowing you go backward so their labors were holding them in place and moving them slightly forward almost imperceptibly but it was producing something good.  If you stop rowing the wind wins and the waves defeat you.  There is a time in the experience of every believer when God will allow us to struggle.  If you are in the middle of the lake and you know you heard God but all hell is breaking out against you and defeat seems imminent what is the point?  It conveys to you a certain confidence and establishes a commitment to OBEY in Faith.  It enables us to realize that Christ in Us enables us to do all things and nothing is impossible with God.

          Anybody can run with the weather but Jesus wants His disciples to be those who will obey regardless of the obstacles and opposition.  It is a choice but it should be no choice.  We should determine that we are going to OBEY regardless.  It is saying, “I’m in this for the duration.”  It is saying, “I don’t see you, can’t feel you, and there is little evidence you are here but YOU SAID IT and I commit to doing it.”

We will consider this area just a little more but for now, God bless you richly as you enjoy this day in Him!

2 Samuel 15

I cannot do this justice in a short devotional or even two or three devotionals so I will hit the high points and hopefully convey that which is burning in my heart as a Word from God for the Body of Christ and local fellowships.  It is my conviction that it is the Word and the Spirit that brings Life.  Experience is a wonderful teacher but it is not life.  A Word from God is not always pleasant because sometimes it deals with issues that must be corrected and presents requirements that are not comfortable for the flesh.  Most people do not like hearing “Do No” they prefer to hear “Blessing.”  Sometimes in order to get to blessings, we have to hear the Warning, Correction, and Instruction because it matures and protects.  The less mature we are the more we resist warning and instruction.  The more flesh oriented we are the more we resist. In fact, most of the time, correction is not received with a “Thank You so much for that word.” 

It is imperative in the work of the Lord that we not get caught up in the Blessings but always listen diligently and carefully for God’s instructions and even His correction.  I have three things that I hope to address in a highlighted fashion.  There are certain questions by certain people that concern me greatly.  In 2 Samuel 15, we find some of those questions and see a scheme that is dangerous and destructive.  The Story of Absalom is one of incredible potential which turned into rebellion and resulted in total disaster for him, his followers, and the entire nation.

Absalom was ‘heir-apparent’ to the throne of David.  He was loved by everybody and noted for his good looks and popularity.  He had an incredible amount of natural ability, charisma, charm, and other qualities BUT…  That’s where the rub comes.  He allowed the ‘root of bitterness and unforgiveness’ to fester in his heart and it destroyed him.  It produced in him a Deceptive Spirit and a Spirit of Rebellion.  There is a progression that is followable in his life and one that provides a warning for each of us.

Notice the Seeds of Rebellion which began with a “Spirit of Hatred.”  This root comes out of injury.  Injury to person, ego, and pride.  It comes through words and/or deeds and is either real or perceived.  It began in Chapter 13 with Amnon’s rape of his sister Tamar and resulted in Absalom developing an intense burning hate for Amnon that would not die and he would not release.  Proverbs 10:12 warns that hatred stirs up strife and Proverbs 15:17 gives a graphic warning against hate.  1 John 2:9 warns that if we hate we are still in darkness, not God’s light and I John 3:15 declares that if we hate our brother we are a murderer.  THAT IS A POWERFUL WARNING!  Hate grows and spreads, breeds prejudice and perverts righteous and rational judgment.  It breeds a vengeful spirit and prevents forgiveness thus making it a prison.

The Spirit of Hatred resulted in the development of a “Spirit of Revenge.”  Anytime hatred and unforgiveness are not rolled onto the Lord they produce this spirit and vengeance becomes the primary objective.  This spirit usurps God’s authority, rejects His mercy, and produces an attitude of self-righteousness.  We must always remember the words of Romans 12:19, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay says the Lord.”  The following verses describe God’s desire of us toward our enemies and it is humbling and difficult.  That is a rehearsal of the teaching of Deuteronomy.  Revenge says, “My Rights!”  Love says, “I have no rights, I am a bondslave to Jesus and because of His mercy I show mercy.”

This leads to a Spirit of Selfishness which is the root of all sin.  Proverbs 16:2 tells us, “All the ways of are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives…”  I want you to note the progression.  Absalom is brought back from exile after three years but is given no audience with the king for two full years.  By this time, he is boiling over with HATE and has developed his own agenda.  He has learned to allow hate to have full vent.  He has developed a deep disrespect for authority and has tasted apparent success in his rebellion in burning Joab’s fields.  Hatred, bitterness, vengeance, and selfishness produce a Spirit of Self-Righteousness and the demonstration of a Superiority Complex that drives a person to believe they are or should be Number One.  Two more spirits result:   2 Samuel 15:4 is the Self-Exalting Spirit, “Oh that I was made King in the land…”  2 Samuel 15:3 the Spirit of Self-Deception.  He suggests to people that the king is not truly interested in them but he is and deceives many.  He would sit at the gate and ask people where they were from and their cause and suggest that if he were king they’d get the result they desired.

Those suffering from the Absalom Spirit NEVER expose that up front and often are not aware it is the driving force in their lives.  They sound sincere and their cause sounds valid and just.  Some questions seem harmless but if you have discernment you detect something behind the question that is not wholesome and unifying.  David’s men chased Absalom into the forest and the forest represents ‘confusion’.  My prayer is: “Lord, we pray not that you will protect your people in the time of our visitation.  I ask that you help your children to discern when an Absalom Spirit is attempting to gain a foothold.  Amen.”

            God, bless you and I will deal with another dimension of this tomorrow.