May the mumbling commence!
We can try to disguise what we do. We can call on the name of the Lord. But if we do these things and we are not
being genuine, then we have no way to hide from the Lord. Read about some of the story of Jeroboam, the
man that God gave the throne of Israel – taking it from David’s family. Read from First Kings chapter fourteen:
So when Ahijah heard her
footsteps at the door, he called out, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else?” Then he told her, “I have bad news for
you. Give your husband this message from
the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘I promoted you
from the ranks of the common people and made you ruler over my people
Israel. I ripped the kingdom away from
the family of David and gave it to you. But
you have not been like my servant David, who obeyed my commands and
followed me with all his heart and always did whatever I wanted him to do. You have done
more evil than all who lived before you.
You have made other gods and have made me furious with your gold calves. And since
you have turned your back on me, I will bring disaster on your dynasty and kill
all your sons, slave or free alike. I
will burn up your royal dynasty as one burns up trash until it is all
gone. I, the Lord, vow that the members of your family who die in the
city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by
vultures.’”
Then Ahijah said to Jeroboam’s
wife, “Go on home, and when you enter the
city, the child will die. All Israel will mourn for him and bury
him. He is the only member of your
family who will have a proper burial, for this child is the only good thing
that the Lord, the God of Israel,
sees in the entire family of Jeroboam.
And the Lord will raise up
a king over Israel who will destroy the family of Jeroboam. This will happen today, even now! Then
the Lord will shake Israel like a
reed whipped about in a stream. He will
uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors
and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, for they have angered the Lord by worshiping Asherah poles. He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made all of Israel sin along
with him.” (Verses 6-16)
The Lord did not give Jeroboam the throne of Israel
because of anything that he did. It was
because of what David and his son Solomon did.
Jeroboam had nothing of merit in his name, and, if he didn’t follow God,
the throne would be ripped away from him as well. And so it was.
And let’s not think that a leader – or anyone else for
the matter – can live in a vacuum, where their actions only affect
themselves. Our actions impact many
other people. There are complex webs of
relationship that we can see, but they are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Look at how Jeroboam’s actions affected his
children and the entire nation of Israel!
When we seek to walk in God’s Way, we are fine. But, if we only seek to use the name of the
Lord to promote our own agenda, then we will suffer the consequences – just like
the seven sons of Sceva, as recorded in Acts chapter nineteen:
A team of Jews who were traveling
from town to town casting out evil spirits tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus. The incantation
they used was this: “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were
doing this. But when they tried it on a
man possessed by an evil spirit, the spirit replied, “I know
Jesus, and I know Paul. But who are you?” And he leaped on them and attacked them with
such violence that they fled from the house, naked and badly injured.
The story of what happened spread
quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. Many who became believers confessed their sinful
practices. A number of them who had been practicing magic brought their incantation
books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million
dollars. So the message about the Lord
spread widely and had a powerful effect. (Verses 13-20)
There is nothing magical about the name of the Lord Jesus. The power of Jesus’ name comes through right
relationship – knowing and being known by other people and by the Lord. This journey to wholeness is what makes the
power of God known to others.
When we
are in relationship with God and His holy people, there is power in walking
with Jesus. When we do this hard work,
we are truly doing something in the name of our Lord… and not mistaking the
power for some kind of magic.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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