"To Build and to Tear Down"

Hi Everyone,

Today is a quiet day, a Sunday, a day of prayer, worship and the presence of the Lord.  It is a wonderful day.  Sometimes, I have the opportunity to spend most of the day in prayer.  This is one of those days.

I have a vision to share with you.  

A Block

I saw a child’s building block with only two sides in view.  One side had a capital “G” and the other side had the number 2.

When I began to think and pray about this vision, I was so surprised that I didn’t see the meaning of the “G” right away.  I first thought of the words “go, good, government, and global.”   Then I actually thought to myself these are small “g” words, I need a big “G” word.  Then I felt so silly to not see the big “G” as representing God!  Oh my!

Then I looked up the Biblical meaning of the number 2, and found a few meanings:  “union, division, and the verification of facts (by two witnesses).”  

Union

The number 2 representing “union,” is shown as a man and a woman joined by a marriage covenant.   There is also a union between Jesus and the Father and another union between Jesus and the Church.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”   John 17:20-23

When we are united with him we will see things differently than we might otherwise.  In union with him, we can see and understand God’s will and purpose for our lives.  We are more receptive to the Holy Spirit when we abide in him.  As we abide in him, and become one with him in Spirit, we are able to receive his power, and to bring glory to his holy name.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”   John 15:5-8

 When we abide in him, we have peace: 

“You will keep him in perfect peace whose heart is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”  Isaiah 26:3

Being in unity with the Spirit, and in unity with each other, there is power.  

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”  Matthew 18:19-20

Division

Division is another interpretation of the number 2.  It can be represented by two armies fighting each other, or a nation that is divided into two.  Israel, the Promised Land, was under one rule until the kingdom was divided into two.  God found unfaithfulness, rebellion and idolatry in Israel, and so judged them by bringing division.  

The Northern Kingdom with its capital at Samaria was referred to as Israel or Samaria.  King Jeroboam set up two centers of worship, one in Dan and one in Bethel to keep his people from traveling to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.  He created two golden calves to replace the Lord, claiming that these calves had delivered the people from Pharaoh in Egypt.  

The Southern Kingdom with its capital at Jerusalem was referred to as Judah, even though Benjamin was also part of the Southern Kingdom.  The sin of Idolatry eventually brought down both kingdoms.

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”  Matthew 12:25 

Comparison

The number 2 can represent a comparison or a contrast between two things:

The acts of the sinful nature and the fruit of the Spirit are complete opposites.  They are compared and contrasted by this passage of scripture in Galatians:

 “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.   But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry  and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”   Galatians 5:17-23

Building

In the vision, the G and the 2 were each placed on the face of a child’s building block.  What is the significance of the block?  What does a child do with a block?  Usually children like to stack blocks, one upon the other, to build a wall or a tower.  It is the youngest child, who given the opportunity, will knock them all down.  We see this as a “symbiotic” relationship - building and tearing down.  That is what our bodies do everyday.  Our bones are very good at this:  The osteoclasts tear down old bone and osteoblasts lay down new bone everyday!

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find this same thought expressed: 

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build…”  

Ecclesiastes 3:1-3

Speaking again of the two kingdoms, they were divided because of the sin of Idolatry.  Later they were uprooted and taken in captivity for the same sin.  The Assyrians took the Northern Kingdom over a course of years with the final destruction and capture in 722 BC.  Later the Babylonians captured Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom in 586 BC.  After 70 years in captivity, the Lord caused them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the Temple of God.  This shows again the idea of building, tearing down and re-building.

So what are we to learn by this vision?  What are we called to do by this vision?  I believe that first, it is God’s will that we are to be united with him, because the G represents God and the 2 represents union. We unite with him and with all true believers.  I believe that God is reminding us of his “Great Commission,” to build the kingdom of God, shown by the building block.  

So we become one with the Lord and one with the body of Christ, in order to encourage one another, pray in agreement, and to persevere in building his kingdom.

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’”  Mark 16:15-16 

We are also called to part ways with the world and its values which stand in opposition to God.  The sin that ensnared the people of Israel was the sin of idolatry.  It was the worship of idols and “gods” of the people around them, that became a stumbling block.  They wanted to be like other people, to fit into their culture.  If festivals and feasting were going on in the house next door, or in the town square, they wanted to join in.  If the places of sacrifice had shrine prostitutes, they wanted to be part of that too.  If the ladies of the neighborhood were getting together to make cakes in the image of “the Queen of Heaven,” they wanted to join in the fun.  I am sure that the children liked the cakes too.  

I had a lady from the town who came to our church to participate in the exercise classes that I offered as a ministry to the church, and as an outreach to the community.  She was a Hindu.  One day, I dropped something off at her house and saw that she had a Christmas tree set up in her living room, presents under the tree, and stockings hung over the fireplace.  She did not want to become a Chrisitian, but thought nothing of celebrating the holiday with all the trappings of Christmas.  Isn’t this the part of Christmas that everyone celebrates, whether they believe in Christ or not?

This is the very thing that the Israelites were doing: worshiping at the high places and shrines, on certain days and then going to the temple to keep the Sabbath and the feasts.  To them, they were very “spiritual.”  But in reality they were idolaters.  The Lord refers to this as adultery.

As true believers in Christ, we are to separate from the world. We are to tear down the idols and the altars that we have built in our minds and in our hearts that have become stumbling blocks to us. What do we desire above the Lord?  What has caused the division in our hearts?  Why are we so willful as to give the Lord our hearts and attention on Sunday mornings and consider everything else REALLY IMPORTANT the remainder of the week?  

If there is something that takes precedence in our lives over and above the Lord, then we must take care to remove it. Our relationship with the Lord is at stake.  Things that capture our hearts and our attention and take up much of our time, can be idols. Let’s stop and consider, which is more important: my current pleasure and personal fulfilment or my eternal home?  

“What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?  Matthew 16:26 

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”   Matthew 6:24 

We should fast, pray and seek the Lord for his power to overcome our flesh.  In the Book of Revelation, we see that Jesus spoke to the seven churches, admonishing and encouraging them to overcome, to not give in, or become defeated.  He promised the churches with salvation and rewards if they were faithful until the very end.  These promises are everlasting, so they hold true for us.  

Here is an example— the Church of Ephesus:

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.  I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.  Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.  But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:1-7

We see here that those who overcome will have the right to eat from the tree of life.  Those who do not heed the warning, and those who have lost their first love, may have their lampstands taken from them and they will be denied the right to eat from the tree of life.  This is a serious message.  We can not candy coat it, or change the words to our liking.

Here is another example:

 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.  Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Revelation 3:14-22

The Lord gives us power to overcome our sinful nature or what we call “the flesh,” by strengthening the Spirit.

Someone once said that the flesh and the Spirit are like two dogs.  Whichever one you feed will become the stronger of the two. So how do we feed the Spirit? Jesus tells us:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”  Matthew 4:4 

We strengthen our spirit with the word of God. And as we seek the Lord in prayer and commune with him, we develop a sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.  We are then able to hear his gentle rebukes and his powerful warnings.  If our spirits are strong we will be able to overcome our own weaknesses, and keep our body and mind in check.    

So let us ask ourselves, “ Are we united with Christ or are we following our own hearts desires?”

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”  Matthew 12:30  

If we are serious about getting our flesh under control, and seeking God, then we may have to do a bit of housekeeping.  Anything or anyone that tries to stop us, hinder our efforts, or tempt us to go the wrong way needs to be stopped.  It is the devil and his cohorts that try to keep us from having an intimate relationship with God.  We frustrate the plans of the wicked one by taking authority over his demons, binding them in the name of Jesus.  Through prayer and declaration in the Name of Jesus, we speak into the heavenlies the things that we want to see. 

“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”   Isaiah 55:11  

 “The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  2 Corinthians 10:4-5

This is a vision of purpose and a vision for the church.  We know that the Lord will return someday for the church.  We want to hear these precious words:

“Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful with a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your Master’s happiness.”  Matthew 25:23  

So I believe that we need to choose to be united with God and his purpose.  We need to separate from the things that cause us to stumble and to fall away from him.  If we are seeking God with all our hearts and have aligned ourselves with him, we will make his will a priority in our lives.  And that is it all about:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31

If we love the Lord, we will keep his commands.  And if we love what he loves, and love those whom he loves, then we will surely want to share the gospel with them so that they will be saved.  In doing so, we will be building his kingdom.

So let us decide today that we will make a greater, more meaningful commitment to him.  Let us become his true disciples and share the gospel with those who are lost.  Hallelujah!

Please share this post with someone that will be blessed by its message. Let us reach everyone, everywhere with the Lord’s love and with the message of salvation. God bless you!