“Just
then He looked up and saw the rich people dropping offerings in the collection
plate. Then He saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, ‘The plain truth
is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today. All these
others made offerings that they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she
couldn’t afford — she gave her all.'” Luke
21:1-4 (The Message).
He
noticed! Isn’t that just like God?
I don’t
think Jesus was sitting near the temple treasuryspecifically watching and judging people as they dropped in their
offerings. He just happened to notice an obviously poor woman, mingling with
the rich people, giving her gift as they put their offerings in the collection
box.
Why did
she stand out among the crowd? Did her threadbare clothing give her away? Was
she wearing widow’s garb? The wealthy people would have dressed accordingly,
and she would not have blended in with them. Perhaps she attracted Jesus’
attention because His heart was always for the underdog.
In the
Sermon on the Mount, He has spoken out against the practice of the ‘hypocrites’
who gave their money in such a way that they wanted to attract attention to
their ‘generosity’. The collection boxes were trumpet-shaped containers which
prevented would-be thieves from helping themselves because the base was too
narrow to get their hands in. If a person wanted to be noticed, he would toss
his coins into the funnel so that it would make a ringing sound, hence the
saying, ‘Don’t blow your own trumpet.’
Amid the
ostentation of the rich, this poor widow slipped in and unobtrusively dropped
in her two small coins, the smalled denomination in their currency. And Jesus
noticed! Once again His comment puts our ‘generosity’ into God’s perspective
which differs so much from our own. He noticed, not how much she gave, but how
much she had left.
Of
course, that should not put us on a guilt trip. God is realisitic. He does not
expect us to give our entire livelihood away. What would be the point of that?
But He does hold us accountable as stewards of what He has entrusted to us. The
difference between the attitude of God’s people and the people who refuse to
acknowledge Him should be, but is not always, that we are guided by God’s
requirements and not by greed. He gives generously so that we will share our
resources with others.
The first
thought that comes to me is that this widow’s generosity was prompted by her
identity with poor people. As a widow, if she had no family to support her, she
was dependent on the generosity of others. She knew what it felt like to depend
on others for her livelihood. She also knew what it was like to have nothing.
Her two little coins were not much, but it was all she had to share with
others.
Secondly,
to give all she had meant that she had faith in God to supply her need,
risking, everything on the faithfulness of God. That introduces another
dimension to our responsibility to obey God — faith, which is spelt r-i-s-k.
It is not difficult to take faith-risks in other areas of our lives but in the
money category…that’s different!
This
little woman caught Jesus’ attention because her action lined right up with
God’s perspective. He did not see her as a poor nobody because of her
appearance or her station in life. He saw her as great in God’s kingdom because
she understood, believed and put into practice God’s will, and God always
responds to obedience.
God
works, not by giving to us according to our need but by meeting our need when
we take care of the needs of others. When we give, we create a current that
brings God’s supply to us through the generosity of the others. That’s God’s
wisdom!!
“‘Who
would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the
dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among
you as the one who serves. And you’ve stuck with me through thick and thin. Now
I confer on you the royal authority my Father conferred on me so you can eat
and drink at my table in my kingdom and be strengthened as you take up
responsibilities among the congregation of God’s people.'” Luke
22:27-30 (The Message).
Of course
we would rather sit down at the dinner table and be served than watch others
eating while we serve! But once again, we belong to a kingdom where all the
values are a reversal of this world’s values. In the present order of things,
“sitting at the table” implies occupying an important position in
society.
Serving
is a menial job and is reserved for the “nobodies”. In the world’s
eyes, Jesus is a “nobody”. In fact, even believers often treat Him as
a nobody – it’s “Jesus, do this; Jesus, do that” as though we were
the masters and He the servant.
Once
again Jesus is teaching us to view this life as part of a bigger whole. Being a
servant in the here and now is a necessary part of our apprenticeship for our
task in God’s kingdom. It would be foolish to employ an untrained person to do
a responsible job, especially one that handles people’s lives. No airline
company would emply a rookie to pilot their passenger planes.
There are
examples in Scripture of people who were placed in responsible positions
without first being taught to be a servant. The most glaring would be King
Saul, Israel’s first king. He had great potential but he was never put through
his “servant” training before he became king. When the tests came, he
failed dismally because he did not know how to submit to God’s authority.
He was
disqualified and replaced by David, a shepherd boy who had learned to serve as
the youngest son in a family of eight. His trust in God carried him through
many dangerous situations and equipped
him to be a true leader of God’s people because he submitted to God’s authority
and ruled wisely under God.
Having a
servant heart is a necessary part of being a disciple. It teaches us how to
live in submission and obedience to our Master and equips us to be imitators of
Jesus. Without this training we would be liabilities to God in His kingdom just
like Satan
was,
taking the bit between our teeth and causing chaos through disobedience and
self-will.
There
will be a time when we reap the reward of faithfully serving others through our
obedience to God. Jesus assures us that, if we stick with Him, we will share
the honour of a place at His table if we have passed the test of humility and
self-sacrifice. Joseph spent thirteen years in slavery and imprisonment in
preparation for his great task although he was not guilty of wrongdoing. God
found him faithful and promoted him to a place of honour and authority where he
could “sit at the table” because he had served well.
Our turn
is coming. Our years of training may be long and tedious but they are intended
to
prepare and test us for great responsibility and honour. If we stick with Jesus
and serve others with humility, we shall also share in the reward of “a
place at His table”, taking up our responsibilites among the congregation
of God’s people.
Jesus is
the perfect pattern God has given us to follow. “Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered
and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who
obey Him and was designated by God to be a high priest in the order of
Melchizedek.” Hebrews 5:8-10 (NIV).
IS SOUTH AFRICA BECOMING A SOCIALIST STATE? LESSONS FROM HABAKKUK
As
a young student at Bible College, perhaps one of the most significant lessons I
learned then, and am still learning today, comes from a short prophetic book in
the Old Testament, the prophecy of Habakkuk.
There
are many parallels between Habakkuk’s times and our own. Society in his day was
out of control. Despite God’s covenant with Israel, choosing them above all the
nations to be His own people, they were no different from their wicked,
idolatrous neighbours.
They
despised God’s instructions on how to live in harmony with one another and with
their neighbours. Instead, crime was rife, law and order had collapsed, the
rich oppressed the poor, and the justice system had failed to stop the rot.
Habakkuk
was desperate. The situation was intolerable. It seemed to him that God was
either deaf to his cries or powerless to do anything to intervene. He was
sitting on His hands, perhaps even indifferent to the mess His own people were
in.
When
we read the opening verses of Habakkuk’s prophecy, we could be reading today’s
newspapers.
“How
long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is
everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil
deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and
violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has
become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far
outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.”
Habakkuk
1:2-4 NLT
How
often do God’s people cry out to the Lord to intervene in a situation like
Habakkuk’s, but God is seemly doing nothing! All we see is that sin is
escalating everywhere in the world, and not only in our own country. The whole
world has gone crazy!
(Despite
what is happening around us now, and the apostle Paul’s warning of a state of
meltdown in society that will characterise the end times, there are many
so-called “prophets” who happily and confidently predict a great and
worldwide revival before Jesus comes. Who is telling the truth? Jesus Himself
said that the love of most will grow cold).
God’s
response to the prophet’s complaint was both startling and frightening. “I
am doing something that, if I told you what it is, you would not believe me. I
am raising up the Babylonians.”
The
threat of Babylonian invasion may have seemed remote to Habakkuk at that time
but God alerted him to the reality that the Babylonians were coming, and they
would inflict great suffering on God’s people.
Perhaps
what troubled Habakkuk the most was that God claimed responsibility for raising
them up and letting them loose on His own people.
How
could God use such a vicious and cruel nation to punish His own people who
were, to the prophet, “more righteous” than the Babylonians? Doesn’t
God hate sin? Wasn’t He too pure to condone evil?
Habakkuk
was determined to get answers from God, so he declared his intention to wait
until God answered him (most probably to his own satisfaction, since God’s
response up to this point provoked more questions than provided answers).
“I
will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to
see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint.”
Habakkuk
2:1 NLT
Eventually,
God answered Him, but again, not in the way the prophet expected. Yes, the
Babylonian army would invade Judah. Yes, they would utterly destroy Jerusalem
and take God’s people into captivity. Yes, God’s people would suffer at the
hands of the invaders but….
God’s
focus is on those who remain faithful to Him throughout all the times of
hardship.
“Look
at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the
righteous will live by their faithfulness to God… “
Habakkuk
2:4 NLT
God
is never indifferent to the suffering that ungodly people inflict on those who
are faithful to Him. His cup of wrath guarantees that the wicked, be they
individual or nations, will be made to drink that cup to its dregs.
Habakkuk
finally got the picture. God uses situations that force people to make choices
that separate the godly from the ungodly. He never imposes change on people. He
uses circumstances and situation to drive them into a corner so that they must
choose for good or evil. (Hebrews 12)
Change
comes from within, and change happens when we recognise the evil of our ways
and return to the standards of God’s word.
And
so, when Habakkuk finally understood how God works, though His way might be
painful and difficult through hardship and suffering, his faith in God became
stronger and more resilient. Justice would be served on those who inflict
hardship on others. The prophet rejoiced in God’s grace to endure when
everything around him failed and fell apart.
“Though
the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the
olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in
the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be
joyful in God my Saviour. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet
like the feet of a deer; he enables me to tread on the heights.”
Habakkuk
3:17-19 NIV
How,
then, can we understand and participate with God in prayer in what He is doing
in our world today, as Habakkuk did in his day?
Let
me tell you what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me through His Word…
Some
time ago I asked the Lord why He has not stopped the war in Ukraine, since many
people around the world are praying. His response surprised me as much as His
reply to Habakkuk’s question stunned him.
He
took me to a verse in Genesis 15.
“In
the fourth generation, your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the
Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
Genesis
15:16 NIV
God
told Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land for 400
years. After that, they would return to the Promised Land (and conquer it –
understood) because God was giving the Amorites time to repent or to fill up
His cup of wrath against them.
In
a process of unfolding revelation, He told me that Russia’s cup of wrath is not
yet full. He took me to the prophecy of Habakkuk and showed me the parallels
between the prophet’s dilemma and the dilemma of the church in our day.
South
Africa is not a nation in covenant with God but the church in South Africa, as
part of His church through the ages, is a covenant “nation” spiritually.
“But
you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special
possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light.”
1
Peter 2:9 NIV
The
church is God’s representative to the world in the New Covenant era as Israel
was to the surrounding nations in their day. God’s attention is always on His
covenant people since they are part of His plan for showing the world who He
is.
“You
show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not
with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on
tablets of human hearts.”
2
Corinthians 3:3 NIV
When
the church fails to live as citizens of God’s kingdom in this evil world, the
Lord disciplines and trains through hardship and suffering so that we might be
a holy people, set apart for God. As, with Israel, He uses circumstances…
including people and nations, to do His work of sanctifying us for His glory.
“Moreover,
we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it.
How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They
disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us
for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems
pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Hebrews
12:9-11 NIV
A
short while after this encounter with Scripture, I had a mental picture, out of
the blue, of a huge ship ploughing through stormy seas, then slowing down and
turning around. The words came to me, “The juggernaut is turning around.”
Juggernaut? I looked up the meaning of juggernaut – an unstoppable force.
I
had no clue what this picture meant until I was riveted by a statement in a
weekly newspaper called “The Daily Friend” which I receive by email.
The articles are written by knowledgeable people who view current affairs with
insight and discernment.
The
article I was reading examined the reason for President Ramaphosa’s agreement
with Minister Gwede Mantashe that an “Eskom 2” was, a “good
idea” and should be built to stimulate competition with Eskom1 as one
option to deal with the energy crisis in South Africa.
What
was underlying this ridiculous proposal to solve the problem of an already
failing state enterprise? The writer’s conclusion, (that Gwede Mantashe is a
“died-in-the-wool” communist whose sole purpose is to turn South
Africa into a socialist state, to which President Ramaphosa agreed at this
point), set alarm bells ringing.
This
was not the president merely giving nodding approval to the suggestion,
according to the writer, but a deep-seated conviction that this is the way to
go for this country, underpinned by the SACP’s partnership in government.
Imagine
my surprise when I read this statement near the conclusion of this article…
“The
ANC, which has always been under the tutelage of the SACP, is intent on turning
the ship of state around (!!!!!!) and leaving this embarrassing period of state
failure behind them….”
Shortly
after reading this, I learned that South Africa is to become the headquarters
of the news channel, “Russis Today” after other countries had refused
them.
With South Africa’s sympathetic attitude and close links with Russia, is there every possibility that the “ship of state” is intent on leading South Africa towards becoming a socialist state? We have only to examine the new policies the government is proposing (e.g., EWC, NHI, BIG, etc.), and new legislation being inflicted on the people in South Africa to recognise that the ANC is moving us ever closer to absolute control over our nation.
How
does this tie in with Habakkuk’s interaction with God?
God
claimed responsibility for raising up the Babylonians. His purpose was to
punish His people for their disobedience to His covenant, and to bring them
back, through their suffering, to faith in Him.
He
also had to deal with Babylon. Their wickedness, cruelty, and oppression of
God’s people may have been the final drops in God’s cup of wrath which they would
drink when the Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon in one night (see Dani 5).
I
present my conclusions in the form of questions since I have no right to put
words in God’s mouth or claim to speak for God. I can only conclude, on the
strength and authority of God’s Word, that He might be using similar tactics as
He did in Habakkuk’s day to bring His church back to Himself or, at least, to
refine the remnant of His faithful ones who will survive the troubled times we
are living in.
Since
God is sovereign in all human affairs, can it be that He has raised up the ANC
to purify His church and restore the simplicity of faith in and obedience to
Jesus as Lord?
What
if the ‘ship of state’ is turning us back to communism – the scourge that
Russia let loose on the world – with its avowed intent to rid the world of
faith in God and in Jesus as Lord, and to control the world and its wealth by
oppressing the poor? Is that not Putin’s intention – to restore Russia’s rule
over its once vast empire by bringing its former member-states to their knees?
Russian
and Chinese communism’s attempt to destroy the church has failed. It produced,
instead, a purer and more powerful witness to Jesus. Perhaps this shaking may
just be what the church in South Africa needs to sift out the counterfeit church
and refine the bride in preparation for the Bridegroom’s return.
I
claim no prophetic gift or office. I ask only that you consider what I have
offered you and heed the message that faithfulness to Jesus and His ‘law’ of
faith in Him and love for one another (1 John 3:23) is our only hope of
survival despite all attempts to nullify our faith and drive us to deny our
allegiance to Jesus as Lord.
How
did Habakkuk respond to God’s startling and terrifying revelation of His ways?
Did
he “pray against” the invasion by the Babylonians? Did he “take
authority” over the devil and his attack on God’s people? Did he
“identify” and “pull down” altars and strongholds? Did he
organise “prayer walks” and mass prayer meetings to deal with the situation
he was enduring?
“No!”
to these reactions which are so often typical of the current “prayer”
movements.
Habakkuk
reflected on the coming destruction of those who would harm God’s people. He
remembered God’s great deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. He
remembered how God’s power over nature destroyed the enemy and opened the way
for His people to escape. If God did that for them, then, He could do it again.
His prayer, in response to all that God had revealed to him, was simple.
“I
have heard all about you, Lord. I am filled with awe by your amazing works. In
this time of our deep need, help us again as you did in years gone by. And in
your anger, remember your mercy.”
Habakkuk
3:2 NLT
Armed
with a renewed confidence in the sovereignty, power, and wisdom of God,
Habakkuk ends his encounter with the Lord in a song expressing his profound
faith in God despite impending disaster. The Babylonian army may come and
destroy everything but… accompanied by wild music and dizzy dancing, the
prophet expresses his confidence in God’s grace to see him through the test.
“The
Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to
tread upon the heights.” (For the choir director: This
prayer is to be accompanied by stringed instruments).
Habakkuk
3:19 NLT
Is
it possible, then, that God’s message to Habakkuk is His message to us today?
It is not our mandate or role to direct the political affairs of state by
interference or prayer. Our role as members of Jesus’s church is to be faithful
to Him, to live in obedience to His word and the leading of His Spirit, and to
trust Him that He is working, in all things, for our good, to conform us to the
image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29).
All
the signs of South Africa becoming a socialist state under the present
government are there. Communism’s goal, as demonstrated in the history of
Chinese and Russian communism, is to destroy the church and annihilate God’s
people.
Unless
God rescues us from the present regime with its hidden and not-so-hidden
agendas, the church in South Africa will be shaken as never before. Whether we
stand or not will depend on our commitment to be faithful to Jesus, no matter
what.
Communism
or not, God is sovereign. He will use whatever is necessary to transform us
into true children of God. His perfect family is His goal. Let our prayers echo
and reflect the faith of Habakkuk, submitting to God’s ways and trusting Him
for grace to endure suffering until His purified church becomes the light that
points the way to Jesus who will take us to the Father.
The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but He became a priest with an oath when God said to Him: ‘The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever.’ Because of this oath, Jesus became the guarantor of a better covenant (Heb. 7: 18-22).
Why
was the old covenant weak and useless? It had no power to effect what it
required. There was nothing wrong with what God asked them to do. In fact, the
law was a reflection of God’s character. He not only asked, He required that
they obey His teachings because there was no other way to live that would satisfy
His holiness. The problem did not lie in the measure or standard God set for
His people but in their inability to carry it out.
Then
there was a second problem – the priests who represented the people to God were
just as unable to measure up to God’s standard as the people were. They were as
sinful, rebellious and corrupt as the people they represented. God’s
requirements were just and righteous. What He demanded of them was exactly
according to who He was, but the whole system fell flat because of the
corruption of the people’s hearts. They had no desire or power to do what God
required.
God’s
intention was never to accept them on the basis of their perfect obedience to
the law because they couldn’t do it. The priesthood was His special gift of grace
to show them His solution for their sinfulness. He provided blood sacrifices to
atone for their sin, and a priesthood which would mediate for them so that God
would accept their sacrifices.
All
this was just a picture of what He had already done for them. Before He even
put breath into the first human being, He had already provided His sacrifice –
Jesus, the perfect lamb sacrificed before the creation of the world. He was the
only acceptable solution to the problem of man’s sin. Every time an animal was
killed and its blood sprinkled on the altar, the offerer was supposed to be
trusting in God for the forgiveness of his sins because God’s lamb was the real
sacrifice of which the animal was a picture.
So
deeply was the nature of man corrupted that the people used their sacrifices as
an excuse for sinning since they thought that, no matter what they did or how
wicked they were, they could always offer sacrifices for their forgiveness.
They thought that it did not matter how much they sinned. They could always
offer a sacrifice and be forgiven.
Though Ephraim built many altars for sin offerings, these have become altars for sinning (Hos. 8: 11).
If
the system was intended to provide a solution for the corruption of the
people’s hearts, it was doomed to failure from the beginning. It could tell
them what to do but it could never enable them to obey. It could only show up
the depth of their sinfulness and bring the judgment of God down on them,
priests and people alike.
God’s
solution was already written into His book before man ever fell from his state
of perfection. He had prepared another priesthood – not taken from among the
people by reason of their ancestry, but one whom He sent from heaven to be a
man, to uphold and live by His standards to perfection and then to die in their
place as a sacrifice for sin. This priest would be raised to life again by
reason of His sinlessness and become forever the high priest His people needed.
Why
was Jesus, in the order of Melchizedek, the perfect replacement for the Aaronic
priesthood?
Now
there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from
continuing in office but, because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent
priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through
Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest truly
meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners,
exalted above the heavens (Heb.
7: 23-26).
He
is the high priest we need, and He is always in the presence of the Father to
represent us before Him. Not only does He present His blood as the perfect
sacrifice but He also provides the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts. We are
no longer rebels but beloved sons and daughters, at home and at peace with the
Father.
“Therefore, everyone who
hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who
built his house on a rock…But everyone who hears these words of mine and does
not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand…” Matthew 7:24, 26.
You
don’t have to be a builder to know that a house must be built on a solid
foundation if it is to weather storms. Without a foundation, there is nothing
to keep it from falling down or blowing away. Jesus used this simple picture to
urge His disciples to build their lives on a foundation of truth that will not
fail them when they are faced with the storms of life.
Every
religion has its teachers and its teachings based on the gods they serve. How
do we know which one is telling the truth?
First,
we must look at the person who is telling us what to do. We must look at two
things: what kind of person was he, and did he do what he taught?
Second,
we must find out who the authority is behind his teaching. What is the god like
who is responsible for the teaching?
It
is not possible to examine all the teachings of every religion. One thing we
can say is that there is only one God who claims to be the true God – the God
of the Bible. When we examine what He has revealed about Himself, we discover
that He is the only one who is so different from human beings and other gods
that no one could have made Him up. He is the only one who loves and gives. All
the other gods are like human beings and who are cruel, unpredictable and make
demands on their worshippers.
The
Bible tells us that God sent His Son, Jesus, to show us what He is like. God
the Father gave Jesus authority to say and do what He said and did. Jesus not
only taught His disciples about God and how God wants us to live; He also lived
out what He taught and then gave His life for us so that we don’t have to face
the punishment for our sin. When He was punished as an innocent man, He was
calm and went to the cross without a struggle because He trusted in God.
“When they hurled theirinsults
at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats, but
entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:23.
Jesus
also kept His promise that He would rise again. No other god or religious
leader has ever done that! He said that if we do what He taught, our lives will
not fall apart when we face hardships and trouble. If He kept His word about
His resurrection, we can surely trust Him to keep His promise that we will not
be blown away in the storms of life if we follow His teaching.
Best
of all is that He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us when we believe in Him.
The Spirit gives us the power to do what Jesus tells us. If we follow Him, we
will build our lives on a solid foundation which will keep us standing firm when
the storms of life hit us because Jesus is always with us, and He will hold us
and keep us strong.