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Articles 2014-2017
In Acts Chapter 15 a church council met together in Jerusalem to consider whether or not the Gentiles needed to keep the Mosaic Law in order to be saved. What was the apostle Peter’s conclusion? The Jews are saved in the same manner as everyone else.
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.
Whether one is Jew or Gentile, salvation is by the grace and the mercy of our Lord Jesus. Scripture informs us that it is by God’s grace that we are saved through faith. (Ephesians 2:8) We are enabled to believe and to be born of His Spirit because He lavished His empowering grace upon us. What a privilege! And no one can boast, because we are experiencing the gift of God. Our proper response is to worship Him, thank Him, share Him with others, and pray for those who do not yet know Him – that He would have mercy and pour out His grace upon them as well.
Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.
This was not a small group meeting. It was a multitude of apostles and elders seeking unity on significant theological questions. And I am certain it took a large amount of debate and discussion before they all fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul relate how God had performed signs and wonders through them among the Gentiles. Something to take note of is how the Council’s journey toward a sound theology involved these men sharing stories of their various spiritual experiences.
Many will tell us that we should not build our theology on experience; we must build it on the Word. While this statement is certainly true, it is incomplete. Those who were leading the believers into error were quoting scripture to support their agenda. The problem was not with God’s Word but with certain men’s hearts and how they were interpreting what they read.
Since the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ, certain parts of the Old Testament Scriptures had now been fulfilled. Events that men had once looked forward to had now been completed. As a result, certain changes were in order. Though God was taking His people into new spiritual territory, what He was now doing was not in contradiction with what was written. But one had to read the Scriptures with a humble heart while honestly seeking to know their Author.
In other words, Scripture is about more than simply instruction on how to walk before God in a righteous manner; it is also instruction on how to walk with Him. It is a call to relationship. And relationship involves experience. Contained in the pages of scripture are the records of many peoples’ experiences with Him. Indeed, the Bible has much to say about His call on mankind to come to know Him. And without a proper response to that call, we will misinterpret the Scriptures no matter how much we study.
On the other hand, all spiritual experiences must be held up to the standard of His written word. The Scriptures are Heaven’s measuring-rod to properly evaluate what we are experiencing in the spiritual realm.
For example, not too long ago, I attended a couple of meetings where two prophets were the speakers for the conference. The first meeting was powerful. They spoke for about ten minutes over each of a number of individuals regarding what they saw going on in their lives. I sensed God’s power as they ministered and very much enjoyed that first evening. But the next night, it was very different. As these men spoke it seemed to me that a spirit of confusion had entered their teaching. Just one example could be seen in their approach to stirring up and motivating the people to action. According to them, we are not to wait for God to take the initiative; He’s waiting for us to do it. Of course, such thinking is exactly how Ishmael was born when Isaac was to be the child of promise. Abraham and Sarah decided that they needed to take the initiative.
But even Christ Himself when ministering on earth only did what He saw the Father doing and only spoke what He heard Him say. God is not asking us to take the initiative. In fact it is only in learning to walk in union with Him, in learning to speak what He is saying that what we do makes any sense. Lord, teach us Your ways and Your timing. And integrate us more fully with Your heart that we might see Your kingdom come and Your will done on earth.
To me, one obvious principle of ministry is that prophets need teachers in their lives and teachers likewise need prophets. In fact, all the ministries need the others. The Lord did not give the Ephesians Chapter 4 ministries so that we can then pick and choose the one specific type of leader that we like the most and then ignore the rest. Rather, we need all the ministries functioning in His house so that Christ’s Church can grow into Heaven’s designed fullness.
These two prophets mentioned above were also teaching that if we all just had more faith, we all could do what they were doing. The underlying thought was that their particular function of ministry was the norm for all believers. But the problem with such thinking is that the Lord has not called each of His people to be prophets. Those called to be teachers but trying to function as prophets will be frustrated and will probably bring confusion when they minister. And vice-versa. We need to discover and then be faithful in what God has called us.
But this does not mean that we cannot be inspired by those who serve with a different nuance of God’s grace operating in their lives. The grace of God for ministry does look different in a prophet than it does in a teacher. And that’s ok. It is supposed to. And it is good for teachers to be inspired to believe the Lord for a greater dimension of the prophetic grace to operate through their teaching. But teachers still need to be faithful to the grace of God in their lives to teach the word of God accurately. Otherwise of what help would they be to the prophets?
If someone does not understand how God has designed the body of Christ to function, they might conclude that every believer should be trained to do everything that Jesus did in ministry. But Jesus was Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher and the whole body of Christ all combined in one individual. God has simply not called anyone to duplicate that! Anyone who could do so would not need the rest of the Church.
The truth is that we all have gifts differing according to the grace God has given to us (Romans 12:6). And to operate in His grace, He has given to each of us a measure of faith. Notice Paul’s words.
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Clearly, not all members of Christ’s body have the same function. If God has given someone faith to prophesy, then they should consistently exercise their faith. If He has given someone faith for leading, they should do so diligently. And for the one in whom He has deposited grace to teach His word, they should do so accurately. It seems to me that Paul is quite unambiguous in Romans Chapter 12; Christ’s body is expressed in significant diversity.
Of course, this is not to deny that God can do anything through anybody at any time. He could raise someone from the dead using anyone He chooses. And such a powerful event would not necessarily indicate that the believer He used had moved regularly in the gift of miracles. Indeed, we all can expect the God of heaven and earth to reveal himself in us and through us in any way He chooses.
In the end, we all are to learn from each other. We all are to be inspired by each other’s faith. We all can be stretched to express Christ in ways beyond our present comfort zone. But we also must seek to discover and be faithful in the unique expression of His grace that He wants to manifest on a regular basis in each of our lives.
And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.
The reason why God visits any nation in an outpouring of His Spirit is that He might take out for himself a people for His name. In the late 1960’s, and in the 1970’s, God swept through North America with a great outpouring of His Spirit and gathered to himself many people. Today we recognize that many thousands were saved and filled with His Spirit in those days. And our prayer now is that He would again arise in this nation that many more would turn to Him.
James continued:
”With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,’
(Acts 15:15 - 17 NAS)
James quotes the Old Testament prophet’s word that the Lord would return and rebuild the tabernacle of David. Some have taught that the apostle was referring to Christ’s personal return at the end of Church history. But in fact he was speaking of the then present debate caused by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon many Gentiles. Did they now or did they not have to keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved? Christ had indeed come as He had promised in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:18). And He had returned to rebuild David’s fallen tent so that the Gentiles called by His name would seek Him. The problem was that the Jewish believers were just not sure what to do with all these newcomers.
God’s heart in the Old Testament was for the whole earth, not just for Israel. His plan to break His glory out beyond the borders of Israel was to first come and restore the tent of David. Some scholars have said that the tent of David refers to his kingdom, his dynasty. But the prophet does not use the term “dynasty” or “throne”. He just speaks of David’s tent.
Here is what Amos prophesied.
”On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.
The Lord said He would restore David’s tabernacle. The Hebrew term for “tabernacle” is Sukkah, and it refers to a booth, a hut. At first glance, one might think that the Old Testament Feast of Tabernacles had to do with great cathedrals. Certainly, the word “tabernacle” today sounds more elaborate than what it actually meant in scripture. But in an Israeli’s mind, God was referring to a simple booth.
The Lord told His people that when they came into the land, they were to take the branches of leafy trees and build booths in their backyards. They were to live in these leafy little “huts” at the time of harvest for seven days and rejoice over God’s agricultural blessing. They were to remember that when He brought them out of Egypt they had been mere slaves. They were to remember how with great power He had destroyed the Egyptians at the Red Sea, how He was with them as they wandered in the wilderness living in tents before they came into their land. And then when they finally did come into their own land, He blessed them to build houses with foundations for permanence, plant fields, and reap great harvests. And in the time of harvest they were to dwell in their booths and remember where they came from.
The booth was a humbling experience; and it was a great equalizer. You could be the king of the nation, living in the palace, going out before the army, and having the power to tax the citizenry. But you still had to go into your backyard at the designated time of year and live in a little booth like everyone else. At the same time that the king sat in his booth, on the other side of Jerusalem there might live a simple carpenter faithfully celebrating the Feast of Booths as well. What God seemed to be after was that both the simple carpenter and the internationally known king were living in quite similar dwellings.
King David would recognize in those times that he had once been a simple shepherd. “It was the Lord who called me and made me the king of this nation. He’s the one who enabled me to kill the lion, the bear, and the Philistine and has enabled me to lead the army. My whole life is really about God, not about me. Look what He has done for me.” The booth would remind everyone of that basic, foundational and yet glorious truth.
And because David got the point, he could go up to Mount Zion to a tent where he had placed the Ark of the Covenant, and he could worship the Lord with total abandon. In Mount Zion he did not consider his royal position. In fact, he was known to strip off his outer garments and dance before the Lord with all his might. David the great king understood what the booth was about. In worship he was free to be just one of the singers, or one of the dancers, or just one of the musicians. In Mount Zion God was the central focus, not David. And when his wife Michal saw him publicly displaying his love and adoration for the Lord, she despised him. “Oh how the king distinguished himself today, dancing like that in front of all the maidens.” What was David’s response? “It wasn’t before them. It was before the Lord. As a matter of fact, I’m going to worship Him even more.” David understood what the Feast of Tabernacles was about; his wife did not. And she was barren.
I doubt that David’s son Solomon ever got the point. He did have a great ministry and God did reveal himself to him. When he finished building the temple, God did powerfully reveal His glory. And when the Lord asked him what he desired, Solomon asked for wisdom so he could minister more effectively; he wanted to be a good king. That was a good request. But what had David asked for?
One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.
The Lord himself was David’s central focus. When God himself is our chief motivation, He will bless us with wisdom, for He is our wisdom. But when we seek primarily for one particular attribute of His so that we can minister more effectively, we run the risk of missing His kingdom in our generation. Solomon did have a great ministry but his heart for God did not seem to bear the same emphasis as his father’s. And the Lord never said that He planned to come and restore the booth of Solomon. It was David’s booth that had been set aside and then fallen into disrepair. When did that happen? Was it during Solomon’s reign? And while many people came to see the temple that Solomon had built and to hear the wisdom of this mighty man of God, in the end his wisdom turned to foolishness because of the sin of lust in his life.
David sinned grievously as well; adultery and murder are clearly heinous sins. But when the Lord confronted him, he quickly repented because David understood the lesson of the booth. He saw his own nothingness and his need to humble himself before the Lord.
Today we recognize that the Old Testament Feast of Passover was fulfilled at Calvary, and that the Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled in Acts Chapter 2. But the Feast of Booths was fulfilled when the Son of David, the King of glory left His palace in heaven and stepped into a simple “hut” made in the likeness of sinful flesh. He became one of us. And like David in his worship at Zion, Jesus was able to love God and reveal Him among the people while not seeking to draw attention to himself. He came not to speak from himself, to seek His own glory but to say what the Father was saying and to reveal His glory.
He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
(John 7:18 NAS)
No one had ever humbled himself as this one man who had come from heaven.
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:6 - 8 NAS)
Jesus was the walking fulfillment of God’s objective in the Old Testament Feast of Booths. And in Acts Chapter 15 James informed us that the Lord came also to specifically restore the fallen booth of David. Indeed, the royal lineage of Israel’s greatest Old Testament king was restored when Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high. Presently seated on the throne of the universe is David’s greater Son. And because He humbled himself more than any other, God highly exalted Him.
…he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death–even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(Philippians 2:7 - 11 NIV)
So today, just as we celebrate Christ’s fulfillment of Passover and Pentecost, we must remember His fulfillment of the Feast of Booths and of His success at fully restoring the fallen booth of David. Like David and His greater Son, we must be the people of the booth. The apostle Paul understood this call and you can see it in his writing. Here was an apostle of Christ, mighty in word and deed. Notice his words about his own nothingness.
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.
(1 Corinthians 3:5 - 7 NAS)
Then when the false apostles came among the Corinthians, notice Paul’s words about himself.
… I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.
(2 Corinthians 12:11 NIV)
One who can influence nations and simultaneously see his own nothingness apart from God is someone who will not touch nor take to himself the glory that belongs to Him. Here is a question to consider. How can I faithfully carry forward the ministry that the Lord has given me so that less attention is drawn to me and more is given to Him? Is there a way to perform my God-given task and be less visible than I am, where Jesus is more apparent and me not so much?
Remember the words of John the Baptist.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
We will need God’s wisdom on how to function as God’s booth people.
God laid out His strategy for changing the face of the earth. The fallen Booth of David was restored so that the rest of mankind may start seeking Him, even the Gentiles who are called by His name. Ever since Jesus arose from the grave, God has been arising out into the midst of the nations. Many more among the nations are coming. “Multitudes are coming can’t you hear the sound? And we’re just standing on the edge of the rain.”[10]
Donald Rumble – August 2015
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