Ed Horak’s Blog

The Anatomy of a Decision

Decisions …Decisions

 

We are all faced with a multitude of decisions, each with their own set of consequences. Some will be more significant than others, and the leading of the Holy Spirit becomes imperative if we are to fulfill God’s plan for our lives. Very often correct choices are not immediately obvious, because we do not have all the facts up front. What may appear to be a good move now may later turn sour. However there is a way to avoid making wrong choices. The Holy Spirit knows all things and will help you make God ordained decisions.

 

 

The ‘Revelation Sieve’

All that we read, hear, and think about, needs to be ‘filtered’ through a ‘revelation sieve’ to make a wise decision. Any ‘leading’ you feel you have from the Lord, ought to be confirmed by two or three witnesses.  

“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.  Deut 19:15-16

Many Christians get excited when something even remotely resembles a word from God. “I have heard from God,” they may excitedly say. Then they proceed to rush off half-cocked, later to crash and burn, lamenting that they had “Heard from God!” Yet time was not taken to get confirming witnesses. I know personally of two couples who got married at Bible school on the basis of one ‘prophecy’, later to get all messed up out of the will of God. They did not stop to check things out and get confirmation.

 

A house I stayed in as a youngster whilst visiting in the country, had water tanks that caught the rainwater from the roof. The tank had different types of sand to filter the dirty roof water. When you tapped the water at the bottom of the tank, it was clear and drinkable. It had been ‘filtered’ through the different layers of sand. God’s leading through the Holy Spirit will be ‘clear and drinkable’ when you take the time to filter the impressions and words you get through the ‘revelation sieve.’

 

The Word filter is the first and foremost step in the process of making a decision. The choices you have to make have to fit within the framework of God’s already revealed will. His word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. Be sure to shine the Word on what you are planning to do. See if there is something in the Word that God can and will ‘quicken’ to you. It will ‘stand out’ and minister life to you regarding the decision.

 

 

Your word is a lamp to my feet

And a light to my path.  Psalm 119:105 

 

Be sure to consecrate what you are planning to do to the Lord. Be prepared to back off without stubbornly clinging to what you believed to have been from God. If it was from God He will repeat the message in some way. You have to believe that God has your best interests at heart. He will not withhold any good thing from you if you walk uprightly before Him.

 

 

For the LORD God is a sun and shield;

The LORD will give grace and glory;

No good thing will He withhold

From those who walk uprightly.  Psalm 84:11 

 

However, God will keep you from something that looks good to start with, but which will eventually harm you. He knows the beginning from the end and what we are like, so He puts others in our lives to balance out our excesses and weaknesses.

The second step is to seek the counsel of wise elders in your church. God can and does speak through others who may have an angle on things that you have never thought of. Zeal without wise counsel can be dangerous.

 

Plans are established by counsel;

By wise counsel wage war.  Prov 20:18 

 

The third part of the ‘revelation sieve’ involves prophecy. If you received a prophecy or some other word from someone that did not know the circumstances, then they may well have heard from God. These utterances should confirm what God has already been speaking to you. Why would He take the time to speak to someone else, and not give it to you first, His own dear child of the faith? Someone else’s ‘word’ must witness with your spirit. Let peace be the umpire and judge. The God kind of peace will be real even in the midst of the pressure of your decision-making circumstances. After all, you do want to please God with your decision! He will allow you time to check things out, and will not be angry if you want to be sure. He is your Father and wants the best for you.

 

In addition be sure that you have a witness in your spirit and do not step out on someone else’s word alone. The decision must sit well with you and agree with what you already know to be the will of God for your life. If you step out on someone else’s conviction and not your own, they might move on and you may be left stranded without a sustaining sense of certainty. After all, you have to live your own life, so take the time to filter what you hear through the inner witness of your own heart. Do whatever it takes to develop a confidence in your own ability to hear the voice of God in your own heart.

 

The Example of Paul and Barnabas

 

Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  Acts 13:1-3

Here Saul (Paul) is sent out on his first missionary journey after the Holy Spirit spoke to the group at a special time of fasting. He leaves the local church where he had been serving to fulfill the call on his life. He had been saved and had been told by God through Ananias in Acts 9:15-18 that he was called to bear God’s name to the gentiles, even kings! We see that come to pass in the rest of the book of Acts.  Paul was trained in the Word under Gamaliel. The apostle Peter confirmed Paul’s ministry in the Word, acknowledging that there were things Paul knew that even he Peter found it hard to understand. Remember Peter had sat under Jesus, the Master, for three years!

 

In short, Paul was well grounded in the Word! He already knew that he had a call from God, yet was faithfully serving alongside other seasoned ministers in the local church in Antioch. His decision to leave the church and head on out in his ministry was no quick thing. It was the product of filtering ‘input’ from:

 

·         The written Word of God

·         What was already in his heart: the inner witness

·         A confirming supernatural utterance or prophecy

·         Counsel from wise leadership and peers

 

He became the greatest missionary of the book of Acts. The ‘revelation filter or sieve’ worked for him and his life provides a safe example for us to follow.

 

A useful rule of thumb to follow: if the decision is big, take enough time to be sure. Then have courage; it will still take faith to step out with confidence.

        For we walk by faith, not by sight.  2 Cor 5:7

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. Psalm 103:7 

Introduction 

When I was in high school I always wanted to know how the particular math problem I was grappling with fitted into the ‘big picture’. I never had the reasons behind the operations explained to me, at least that I remember, and consequently my understanding was limited. Do you feel that way with the things that happen to you as a Christian? Where do all the dealings of God fit in? Where is all this leading?           

In this article we examine some of the ways of God with man with a view to learning how to cooperate with the Lord in what He is trying to do in our lives in a particular season. If we do not recognize what He is trying to do at any particular time, we may be found resisting His purposes in ignorance and miss out on His ultimate blessings and purpose. God is the God of purpose, working all that he does according to a strategy and timetable. The secret is to learn what He is doing at any particular time, and not tire ourselves trying to get Him to fit into and bless what we are doing!

The call, the fall and the recall!

Mankind was called to rule and reign on the earth as God’s under regent, having dominion over the creation. (Gen 1:26) However when Adam yielded to temptation, mankind fell and so the great recall to dominion status was set in motion by God to restore us back to our rightful and intended position in Him. This process has lasted at least 6000 years and will see its final outworking when Christ returns and the final ‘wrap up’ to this episode of human history occurs. What God is doing on the micro-scale in our individual lives fits into His grand macro-scheme of restoring mankind back to rulership on this planet under His loving guidance and governorship. (Acts 3:21) In case you are not convinced about the call to rule and reign check out the word in Matt 16:19 / Psalm 8:6-8 / Psalm 115:16 and Rom 5:17. They all point to the fact that God has ordained for us to rule and reign.

The question becomes then, over what or whom, when and how?Unfortunately we see all around us the perversion of this mandate and so are largely confused if our minds are not yet renewed to the will of God as revealed in His word. When God’s purposes are not understood, abuse is inevitable. People are being dominating or trying to dominate one another all the time, instead of serving one another. The dominion we are to have is over sin, selfish appetites and the devil, but never over one another.            

Christ came amongst other things to teach us to serve rather than manipulate and dominate. It is in serving that we learn the key to ruling and reigning. All things belong to God to whom we have to give an account. There is going to be an end to all things where God will judge everything we have done according His measurements and not ours. Once again life is not trying to get God to fit into our scheme of things but rather discovering where we fit into His scheme of things. His invitation to become like Him in service ought to be taken seriously as it has consequences both now and forever. If we serve ourselves then the benefit is short-lived. If we serve God, the rewards are eternal.Remember God builds from small to large. If we show ourselves faithful to serve in small things, then we can go to the next level. As a wise master teacher, God will not graduate us to the next level before we master the level we are on. He is not into statistics, but committed to producing Christlikeness in His subjects. All that happens to us fits into the framework of producing conformity to the image of Christ. Of course we have to qualify by our love for Him. We cannot expect difficult circumstances to work out when we are not cooperating with God according to His plans and purposes. 

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.   Romans 8:28-29 

4 key elements            

In the process of restoring us back to rulership God uses a training and preparation time that involves four key elements: ·         Relationship through intimacy·         Character building through testing·         Gifting and empowerment·         Production and reproduction. At any one point in time God may be focusing on one or more of these aspects. Our responses to the dealings of God will either help or hinder the fulfillment of our destiny. God expects us to respond in faith to His friendly disposition towards us. We must also remain committed to His essential goodness if we are to avoid questioning Him when we come under pressure.           

God begins with relationship. He invites us into a deeper and deeper relationship with Him. First of all we have to accept Christ as savior and Lord. Then through continuing fellowship with Him we grow in our experiential knowledge of Him. This takes place in regular study of the word, prayer and worship, whilst joining together with other Christians in common kingdom endeavor.           

God is ever speaking to us to ‘come up hither’ to where He is. When in His presence we partake of His nature, are transformed as we gaze on Him and empowered to go back ‘out’ and serve our fellow man in need. It is in the going that character needs to be built into us. Being properly related to God through Christ is no guarantee that we will manifest His nature at all times especially when under pressure. It is in times of testing that we have our faith refined and proved genuine. It takes both the pressure of the convicting word and circumstance to stamp His image on our hearts.           

A word of wisdom. We need to discern whether we or the devil have generated a particular adverse circumstantial storm. In both these cases we are called upon to do something about it. Either repent or take authority over the enemy in the name of Jesus. If we don’t we can languish under a heavy burden. However, if we are in place of proving that is in God’s overall training program, we have to discern what it’s all about and learn the lesson and pass the test. If we fight it, we could be blowing bubbles into a proverbial thunderstorm! 

Working in us to work through us            

Before God can work through us He has to work in us. That is why he develops relationship through both nurturing and feeding as well as allowing us to get into situations where this relationship will be tested. In circumstances like these we may feel that God is far, but if we are to learn to stand in faith and be faithful to His purposes, we have to learn not to trust in feelings and what we can see in the natural realm. The God -kind of faith does not rely on circumstance to chart its course. No, it relies only on the word of God. The word working in our lives will bring about the necessary change that will open our capacity for God to deposit more of His ability to function according to His purposes.

Character enables us to ‘contain’ God’s gifting for proper use. His gifts are like weapons that can either damage the enemy or us. Character will ensure that the power of God is always properly directed at the enemy. God’s nature and gifting is imparted to us through relationship. (2 Pet 1:2-4 / 2 Cor 3:18). His gifts are given without repentance. He doesn’t take them away from us the moment we slip up. However the fact that we get to keep the gifts is no guarantee that we won’t misuse them. Take being filled with the Spirit for example. A person trusts God and is filled with the Spirit and begins to enjoy the newfound power in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the course of time he may yield to some form of pride in the use of his gifts and hurt others in the process. Does God take the gift away? No. However pride lands the individual in trouble with his fellow members and God is presented with an opportunity to build Christlikeness into his character. If the individual responds to God’s correction positively, he will partake more of God’s nature and power. This process will further equip the individual to reproduce after his own kind. This time his fruit will be that much sweeter having learnt the painful lesson on the way.           

Zeal can often be misplaced. The zeal we have to use our gifts and talents to change others, ought first to be directed on ourselves. When we are changed then we can reach out and touch others and give them such as we have. In this way we impart life and not legalistic formula. Knowledge gained from our own experience has a greater capacity for changing others than mere intellectual assent. When God wants to impact our public ministry, He works in our private lives, giveing us the opportunity to put it into practice at home what we need to minister in public.           

Our function is to develop and maintain a consistent ministry to the Lord, one another and to the lost. This has to be nurtured against opposition, as this is a fallen world we live in. We have to gain dominion over our own flesh first before we can seriously expect others to gain it over theirs. The principle: ‘you reproduce after your own kind’ is God’s idea. He is endeavoring to develop a Christlike character in our lives first, so that our witness consistently brings glory to Him. 

Christ and Israel as examples             

At the tender age of twelve God had already established an enduring relationship with His son as a caring and providing Father. He then developed character in Him as Jesus in His humanity learnt to submit to the imperfect authority of Mary and Joseph. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit later followed as God released Jesus into fruitful ministry but not before he was tested in the wilderness. He then set about establishing a relationship with his own disciples, later developing character in them, empowering them for service and then releasing to go into all the world to reproduce after their own kind. Of course there were some bumpy moments in that process with the disciples misunderstandings, doubts, betrayals and confusion. Jesus patience, love and commitment ensured that God’s purposes were ultimately fulfilled. All things did work out for Jesus! This can happen for us too, if we submit to His dealings and yield to the training that is needed to bring us to a place of great fruitfulness.           

God’s invitation remains firm: be like me! But there’s much water that has to flow under the bridge before we can walk in the authority we are called to. ‘Between the call and the commission comes the college of life.’           

The history of Israel as they were led out of Egypt provides us with another example of this pattern. God first reestablished a covenant relationship with His people teaching them to see Him as a caring provider as they marched towards the Promised Land. The manna, water from the rock, cloud by day, fire by night, all proved His love for them. The problem arose when they came under pressure to possess the land. They failed to meet the character test as they refused to move forward on the word only. Instead they yielded to doubt and questioned God’s intentions saying that He had brought them this far only to kill them! Far from it. God remained committed to training up His covenant people to share in destiny. They were called to rule and reign over their own fleshly appetites, doubts, fears and inadequacies and were supposed to go straight into the land of promise killing giants all the way. Instead the first generation only knew His miraculous works of provision and protection, but not His ways of increase and fruitfulness! Fortunately, the second generation under Joshua did receive God’s power to take the land. Under Joshua’s leadership they fulfilled their destiny and became fruitful in their occupation of the promised land.            

Conclusion            

Understanding God’s ways equips us to cooperate with Him in the seasons he has established for growth. Spiritual growth need not be haphazard or accidental. God has a plan. Know it, recognize His dealings and flow with Him.

Saturday May 10, 2008

Dear Friends,

God is passionate about you, and wants to answer your every prayer. Problem is some of the prayers we pray are ‘off base’ and He cannot answer them. You see, all prayer must be in terms of what God has promised to answer. He has made a covenant that he is bound to honor, and if we step outside that covenant, it is as if we tie God’s hands.

Check out the following excerpt from my latest book entitled: “Where Heaven and Earth Meet”. This practical resource will set you on track with God so that you can have confidence that your prayers are being heard and answered.

Yours for the kingdom,

 Ed Horak

God’s Delight

As for the saints who are on the earth,‘They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.’  Psalm 16:3 

I will bless the LORD at all times;His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;When I awake, I am still with You. Psalm 139:17-18 

God is totally consumed with us. We are all His delight, and His thoughts towards us have no limit. They are like the never ending sands on the seashore.

The big question is what is our response? Do we delight in Him as much as He delights in us? It is amazing that whereas we fall short of perfection, God stills finds all His delight in us. It stands to reason that if God is completely and utterly perfect and worthy of our total devotion, then why should we be distracted by anything else less worthy?

This speaks of lifestyle. When our lives are oriented to Him in prayer and worship, other things cannot get our attention and distract us from the greatest pursuit of life.

My prayer is that “Where Heaven and Earth Meet” will encourage you to fulfill the call on your life to put God and His will in the center of all your passion.

He gave His only begotten son to bring us to Himself and make our hearts His eternal home. He is looking for continued intimacy and is awaiting our response on a daily basis.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8 

Establishing a Lifestyle of Devotion

A lifestyle is that which is customary or characteristic. Does your devotion to God characterize your life or is it merely part of who you are and what you do? Are you satisfied with mere ‘devotions’, or are you ready for a journey where you cultivate a ‘lifestyle of devotion?’      

Our devotion to God ought not to be restricted to a particular place and time, say Sunday morning Church. Our relationship with God should find expression in any place at any time.     

Intimacy can be cultivated. Use “Where Heaven and Earth Meet” to establish a regular ‘practice’ of prayer, worship and intercession. Make entering into God’s presence a holy habit that spills over into your everyday living. When you do, you will begin to walk under an ‘open heaven’ wherever you go, and enjoy the benefits of continual fellowship with your loving Creator.      

Broaden your practice of prayer from the ‘formal’ moments when you pray, to the ‘informal’ continual unceasing awareness of God in Your life. As you practice abiding in Jesus, you will experience more and more of His abiding presence, comfort and wisdom in your daily walk. 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7 

The Power Twins: Word and the Spirit

I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. 1 Corinthians 14:15-16 

God has given us the power twins of praying (and worshipping) ‘with the understanding’ – the Word, and ‘with the spirit’ – the Holy Spirit’s supernatural utterance in tongues. It is up to us to develop both these areas of prayer. Faith will arise as you yield to praying in both these ways. A good workman will know how and when to apply what is appropriate at any time. 

Praying with the Word

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5:14-15 

When you use the prayers in the various focus areas of this “Where Heaven and Earth Meet”, you will be praying according to the Word. God’s word is the language of prayer, the medium of exchange in the relationship between God and His children. It is true that God’s people perish not for a lack of prayers but for a lack of knowledge of His will.  Most Christians pray, but even though they may be entirely sincere, their prayers are ‘off target’ at times because they are not based on the Word. The solution of course, is to get the Word solidly built into your heart so that it will come out in prayer, not matter the circumstance. When prayer is scriptural, God is put in remembrance of His covenant promises that He has made. It is these promises that He is committed to watching over to make them come to pass in your life as you stand in faith.            

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom… Colossians 3:16 

Praying with the Spirit

If you are unfamiliar with the present day supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit, and how it relates to prayer, at this point open your heart to what God wants to impart to you.  Check out the chapter on the Holy Spirit in Section C: Resources on page 68 to see from scripture God’s plan for empowering you with the Holy Spirit in a new way.

For those already familiar with the Holy Spirit’s supernatural utterance ministry in your life, be reminded that God expects us to cooperate and co-labor with the Holy Spirit in prayer. He wants not only to lead us in the areas that we are to pray for at any time, but also to give us the supernatural utterance in tongues to pray in areas and in a manner that goes way beyond our own resources. He wants to help us pray supernaturally.

Where Heaven and Earth Meet

The role we have to play. 

Your kingdom come.Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

           

 Where Heaven and Earth Meet

Heaven and earth meet when man’s petition intersects God’s provision.

Prayer is not some dutiful religious exercise to keep us busy, but a vital expression of a dynamic relationship with our Almighty Covenant Father in Heaven. He requires that we connect with Him in order to establish His kingdom and will on earth.

God’s desire is that prayer be a delightful, fulfilling and fruitful experience where we co-labor with Him to extend His kingdom on Earth. He has chosen us to go in His name under His divine direction and in His power to proclaim and demonstrate His goodness to a world that desperately needs heaven’s touch. Prayer is the foundation for a fruitful life and ministry. 

God has given both His Word and Spirit to help us connect with Him in fruitful prayer. We have to do the praying, and He does the helping! To be heard in Heaven we must pray on target. To be on target our prayer must be in accordance with His revealed will. 

Prayer is not reserved for the super spiritual either. Elijah was a man with like passions. He was just like us, yet his prayers had dramatic impact because of his faith. He was able to connect heaven and earth with his prayers. Like Elijah, we should always pray with expectancy that God will honor what He has promised!

Prayer has a Protocol and Pattern

And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.  But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Matthew 6:5-9 

To enjoy prayer’s delight, we must align with the discipline of the Word. Jesus taught us that our prayer must be:

Spontaneous and sincere: ‘not like the hypocrites.’ This speaks of the motives of a pure heart.

• Specific: ‘do not use vain repetitions.’  This underscores the importance of believing when you pray. There is no need to nag or beg God for what He has promised.

• Scriptural: ‘in this manner.’  Here the manner of approach is highlighted. God is orderly in all that He does, and He expects us to be the same.

Prayer has a broad three-fold focus

The first focus in prayer is where we adore the Lord in our ‘devotions’ through prayers of worship, and also through music and singing of praise to God.

Second, God expects us to pray for our own personal needs to be met in ‘petitions’ according to the promises He has made in His Word.

Third, we are to offer prayer for the needs of others in ‘intercession’ and ‘supplication’.

All three prayer focuses are valid and necessary expressions of prayer, and the “Where Heaven and Earth Meet” seeks to provide you with the tools to build these into a balanced and Spirit led prayer lifestyle.

Dear friends,

I have often heard people blame God for things that go wrong. They say something like this: ‘I don’t know why God took so and so’, or ‘How come so and so got so sick, they are such good people? They don’t deserve this.’ It seems as if God is blamed for everything that happens: good or bad.

Take a look at a short excerpt from my latest book “Why Do Bad Things Happen?” where I begin to explain the role self, others and satan have to play when bad things happen.

Why do ‘bad’ things happen?

Even good people sometimes leave the door open at night.

The Bible teaches that we have a part to play in staying under the Lord’s protective covering. It is not all up to Him to automatically cover for us in every situation. He wants to, but He needs our cooperation. Why else would He give us instruction in the following?

Hidden neglect.

Very often we see things differently than God. God expected King David to live a holy life. Yet he went in to Bathsheba, committed adultery, had her husband murdered, and covered up his sin. He was all the time perceived by man to be a good king. God had to send Nathan His prophet to expose his hypocrisy. The child died, and only after David’s repentance, was God’s mercy poured out and Solomon their next son succeeded David as the next king. 2 Samuel 11:1-12:14, and Psalm 51, give a vivid account of the situation. David was quick to repent and still enjoyed the honor of being described as a man after God’s own heart despite his obvious shortcomings. However, his sin and neglect opened the door to tragedy in his family and his dynasty had plenty of trouble after his Bathsheba transgression.

God comes to save us with a great deliverance. The new birth into His family is a unique spiritual moment that marks the beginning a great destiny. We may start well and enjoy much blessing. But God expects us to continue and finish well. We cannot afford to neglect such a great work in our lives and let the enemy get an upper hand.

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation,
Hebrews 2:1-3

In the same way that a shiny new motorcar needs continuing maintenance, our walk with the Lord must be maintained. Transgression and disobedience always has a consequence. Neglect opens the door to trouble. King David neglected to go out with his men in a season of war (2 Samuel 11:1) and fell to temptation and trouble.

Partial Obedience, Presumption and Ignorance.

Then there is partial obedience and presumption that gets us into trouble. In 2 Samuel 6:1-19 we have another example from the life of King David. He wanted to bring back the ark of God’s presence. The Philistines had captured the ark. David’s desire was a good thing. The problem was that as they were bringing the Ark back on a new cart pulled by oxen, a man named Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady it from toppling at one point and was instantly killed. A bad thing happened to a ‘good’ person acting on the instructions of another ‘good person, His king! David is confused and leaves the Ark in Obed – Edom’s household which is then mightily blessed because of God’s presence.

Later, David gets it right when he checks out the laws pertaining to moving the Ark. He sacrifices properly and the priests carry it on their shoulders, as they should have in the first place. No one dies this time and the Ark makes it to the tabernacle David had prepared for it. The people are blessed and celebrate, and now the focal point for their national worship is restored. The point is that David was right in wanting to bring the Ark back, but wrong in how he did it. His partial obedience mixed with presumption based on his neglect to check out the proper protocol led to trouble. As a result of ignorance or a lack of knowledge of how to do things, Uzzah perished.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Hosea 4:6

In short, bad things happen to ‘good’ people often because the enemy exploits their partial obedience, presumption and ignorance. All that we need to know to survive in this life is found in the word. It is our responsibility to dig up the treasure in the word, and apply it diligently to our lives so that we might enjoy God’s promised provision and protection.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
2 Peter 1:2-10

Notice that God’s grace is multiplied to us ‘in the knowledge’ (v 2). We have to know His word! Also, we are given all things that pertain to life in Christ (v 3). It’s ours for the taking, and when we supply the required diligence
(v 5), we reach a place where need never stumble (v 11). It’s possible. Jesus never did, and He showed us the way to follow and gave us the ability in the Holy Spirit to actually do it. We must imitate Him and we really do not have any valid excuses that hold water with God. Sure we can hide behind our own short comings, background, experience, lack of this or that, but God’s word says we have all we need to walk in victory. He will always lead us in triumph in Christ. It depends on us how much in Christ we really are through prayer, worship, scripture meditation, obedience, steadfastness etc. He has played His part, are we playing our part?

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. Click here for this and more Resources.

Yours for the King,
Ed Horak