Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

May 20th Asa – He Started Well, But Finished Poorly

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 13 – 17

Second Milers also read – Acts 14 – 16; Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20

“And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.” – (2 Chronicles 15:8)

I wonder how many Christians today start out well, living their lives for the Lord; but something happens: maybe they make an error in judgment; or maybe just have a moment of weakness, and they sin against God.  When they are confronted about it, instead of humbling themselves and getting it right, they “dig in”, refusing to admit that they did wrong.  As a result they continue on a path of destruction, refusing to consider the possibility that they could be wrong.  This then leads to more problems; not only for the person, but for their families as well.

As God’s people, why can’t we just preprogram ourselves to understand that we are going to blow it at times.  We will never (in this life) lose our humanity; we will never arrive at sinless perfection.  I think God understands our humanity more that we do.  We are going to blow it eventually.  It’s OK.  We are human.  But don’t get mad at your humanity; don’t get mad at the preacher, the church, or God.  Get right!  Run to God, not away from Him! Admit you blew it; pick yourself up; pay the consequences; and move on with your life.  Why lose all of the blessings that God has in store for you simply because of your pride.

May 18th The Fire Came Down From Heaven

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 6 – 8

(Second Milers also read – Acts 7 – 9; Psalms 86 – 90; Proverbs 18)

Scripture Memory for may – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 61:1 – 3

Read “Hear Thou From Heaven”

“Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” – (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)

I love passages of Scripture like these chapters here in 2 Chronicles. Everything is as it should be. The people are in a right relationship with their God, and the Lord is blessing the people tremendously. In chapter 7, verse 1, God sent down a visible manifestation of His approval of the new temple when He sent the fire down from Heaven. It was if He was saying “Amen” to the prayer that was just made by Solomon in chapter 6. How I wish I could have seen that awesome display of the glory of God.

God still sends His fire down today, though it cannot be seen with the physical eye. The fire He sends down today is the manifestation of His Spirit upon His people when they are pleasing Him. I have witnessed God’s fire fall upon some of the church services which we have had here at our church. I wish that I could say that all of the services had the fire of God on them, but I do cherish the times that He makes His presence among us so apparent that every last individual in the church recognizes it. Why can’t we have services like this every thime we meet together? I believe it is because all of the ingredients are not present; and the same ingredients are necessary today, as were present the day that Solomon dedicated the temple. So what was present in 2 Chronicles, and what must we have today, in order for God to send His fire down from Heaven?

1  There must be unity – These people were all “in one accord”. They all had one heart, one mind, and one purpose that day. Their attention was completely focussed on the Lord.

2  There must be praise – Look at 2 Chronicles 5:13 & 14. God truly does inhabit the praises of His people. They were praising the Lord in song, and with instruments; and the Lord was glorified.

3  There must be humility – I noticed in chapter 6 that Solomon got down on his knees before all of the people. Solomon was a “big shot” , but Solomon yielded and bowed to the One who was infinitely greaer than him.

4  There must be obedience – These people were doing exactly what God wanted them to do.

We could see the manifestation of God’s presence today just as much as Solomon did if we simply get with God’s program.

May 17th Just Ask Him

Today’s Passage – 2 Chronicles 1 – 5

Second Milers also read –  Acts 4 – 6; Psalms 81 – 85; Proverbs 17

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 55:17

Read older posts from today’s passage: “The Glory of the Lord Filled the House”; and “A Full House”

“In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. … Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?” – (2 Chronicles 1:7, 10)

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” – (James 1:5)

“For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” – (Proverbs 2:6)

Solomon was given the opportunity to ask from God anything that he desired. Wow! What would you ask for? Remember that it is God who is giving Solomon this chance: the same God that created everything in the universe; the same God that owns everything on earth. Solomon could have asked for all the wealth in the world. He could have asked for his own planet to live on. He could have asked for anything, and God would have given it to him; but Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge. And, he doesn’t even ask for his own benefit: he asks for wisdom so that he can be a blessing and a help to the people of God. Again, wow!

As a pastor of a local, New Testament church, I realize that I have a great need for wisdom as well. The Book of James tells me that I have the same opportunity afforded to me that Solomon had. I can simply ask for wisdom, and God promises to give it to me; and He won’t rebuke me for asking for it. I need God’s wisdom if I am going to be able to help my family, and the people of Jersey Shore Baptist Church. God has provided many other resources besides prayer that will help us to be wise. He has given us His Word, which is filled with His wisdom. He has also placed within our reach some godly counselor who can share with us some of the wisdom that God has already given them.

There is no excuse for not acquiring the wisdom that we need to fulfill God’s will for our lives as we sojourn on this earth. Wisdom is available. All we have to do is ask.

May 16th Preparing for the Next Generation

Today’s Passage – 1 Chronicles 28 – 29

Second Milers also read – Acts 1 – 3; Psalms 76 – 80; Proverbs 16

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 51

“Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building:” – (1 Chronicles 28:2)

In today’s passage in, 1 Chronicles, we see David making all of the preparations for the building of the temple in Jerusalem. David would not be the one who would assemble all of the pieces together and produce the final product, as that job would be given to his son, Solomon. But David did everything else. When Solomon took over as king he had everything that he needed in order to complete the project.

In these two chapters we have seen that David did the following in order to prepare for the building of the Temple:

1  He planned it. David supervised over the drawing of the blueprints for the Temple

“Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.” – (1 Chronicles 28:11-13)

2  He provided for it.

David provided for all of the gold, silver, brass, wood, and other materials. Everything that was needed to build the temple was provided for by David. Solomon did not have to gather any of the building materials, they were all ready to go.

3  He prayed for it.

Notice David’s prayer for Solomon and the temple in 1 Chronicle 29:10 – 19.

I think the temple should be called David’s temple. He did all of the hard work. Solomon really had the easy part. Why should he get all of the credit?

I see in this passage a picture of what God wants us to do for future generations. We are to plan, provide, and pray for the generation that is following behind us. When they arrive, they can then build upon the foundation that we have laid. Too bad Solomon didn’t continue building after he built the temple. If you study Solomon’s life you will see that he will eventually start squandering all of the things that were handed to him. He will forsake many of the things his father fought and worked for to provide for him. What a shame. We need to remember to take the things that others have built for us, and preserve them; and then build upon them so that we can deliver them to the next generation.

May 15th Working Behind the Scenes

Today’s Passage – 1 Chronicles 26 – 27

Second Milers also read – John 21, Acts 1; Psalm 71 – 75; Proverbs 15

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

In today’s passage we see the list of countless names of people who labored behind the scenes in the temple, and in the kingdom during the reign of David. When we think of the temple, we think of Solomon primarily, because it was he whom God chose to assemble it; or we may think of David, because he was the one who made most of the preparations for it. However, we can see from these passages that there were literally thousands of people laboring behind the scenes that made the ministry that went on in the temple possible, as well as in the rest of the kingdom.

The picture above is of my wife Cindy. She was working the visitor center during the “Are You Happy?” campaign last year. Her labor helped make that big day possible. There were many other people who labored that day as well. There people who greeted, and there were ushers. There were people who worked the sound booth, and people who controlled the screens in the front of the church. There were people who sang in the choir, and peple who played the instruments of music. There were people who passed out invitations all over town, and people who invited their friends and neighbors. There were people who cleaned the building, and people who made sure the grounds and parking lot were just right. These people all labored behind the scenes that day, and without their effort, none of it would have been possible. We may not notice all of the people who labor behind the scenes, but as we can see from this passage, God doesn’t forget them.

May 14th The Hope of the Future

Today’s Passage – 1 Chronicles 23 – 25

Second Milers also read – John 19 – 20; Psalms 66 – 70; Proverbs 14

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

In today’s passage (and yesterday’s) we read about David making the preparations for the building of the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the worshipping of God in the temple.   If you will recall, David was forbidden of God to actually build the temple himself because God said that he was a man of war; and that he had shed much blood while delivering Israel from the hands of her enemies.  God said that Solomon, David’s son, would be the man that would build the temple as he would be a man of peace.  However, this did not prevent David from doing all that he could to help gather the materials, and to make the necessary preparations, so that Solomon would have all that he needed to fulfill God’s will for his life.

I have been saved now for twenty years.  I have learned that God will not allow me to do all of the things that I have dreamed of doing for Him; but that does not stop me from doing all that I can do to help pave the way for those that He will call later to fulfil His will (and some of my dreams).  I have a lot of dreams: I dream of seeing multitudes of people saved and serving God here in south Jersey.  I dream of seeing hundreds of young men and women being trained here to go forth throughout the world serving God.  I dream of planting dozens of churches here in our area.  I dream of running dozens of buses all over Atlantic County, picking up boys and girls and bringing them to the house of God.  It is in my heart to do all of these things; but God will very likely not allow me to do all that I dream of.  But maybe I can help train and prepare the next generation so that they can take what we have started and build upon it.  I have to be content with being just a part of the process.  I can maybe help give the next generation a strong foundation so that they can continue to do what I could not do.

How about you?  What are you doing today to help prepare for the next generation.  Sometimes people don’t want to be involved in the process at all if they personally can’t be there for the final product; or if they won’t receive the praise of men for the final product.  We need to forget about who gets the credit;  do all that God will allow us to do ourselves today; and then give and train and prepare so that the next generation will be able to finish what we have started and even do “greater works than these”.

We need to be concerned about the next generation. I am reminded of Hezekiah who was not at all disturbed when God told him that judgment would come in future generations, as long as things were going well in his day. I believe we have a great responsibility to provide for the next generation. I want to see those who follow behind me succeed, and to build upon the foundation that was laid by the folks who came before them.

One final note – 3 times in chapters 23 – 25, David mentions folks that would be positioned in the temple just to praise the Lord. It seems that David took his worship of God seriously. We need to make ure that the next generaltion of Christians will not be ashamed to lift up the Lord in praise.

May 13th The Threshingfloor of Ornan

Today’s Passage – 1 Chronicles 19 – 22

Second Milers also read – John 17 – 18; Psalms 61 – 65; Proverbs 13

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:6

In chapter 21 of 1 Chronicles we read of a very serious error in judgment made by David. This is as bad in God’s eyes as his adultery with Bathsheeba, and his murder of Uriah. What was this great sin? He numbered the people of Israel. You might be thinking to yourself, as I did, as to why God would be so upset about that. Because God didn’t want David trusting in the number of soldiers that he had in his army, He wanted David to trust in God. Even Joab knew better. In verse 2 he told David that God would multiply Israel’s strength against any army. There is a good lesson to be learned here for us today. We need to learn to trust God to take care of us. We live in a day when we want insurance for everything, and I am not against having insurance; but the greatest insurance policy we can have is our faith in God. God will always take care of those who place their trust in Him.

My main thought for today’s post, however, is the place where David set up the altar in order to appease God’s wrath for what he had done. God commanded David to purchase the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and erect an altar there. This is the same piece of ground that Abraham was called to offer up his son, Isaac in Genesis 22. It is the same place where the temple would be built later by Solomon; and it is the same place that the Lord Jesus would be crucified. It is the place of sacrifice; it is the place where we can find forgiveness. David blew it. God’s judgment was warranted for the sin, but David found forgiveness at the place of sacrifice, and so can we.

Have you blown it also? Well you can lay that sin down at the foot of the cross and watch the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, our Sacrifice, wash the sin away completely. Praise the Lord for forgiveness. Praise the Lord for the place of sacrifice.

May 11th God’s Will, God’s Way

Today’s Passage – 1 Chronicles 13 – 15

(Second Milers also read – John 13 – 14; Psalms 51 – 55; Proverbs 11)

Scripture Memory for May – Psalm 51

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34

Read “Subversion of Marriage” by Pastor Paul Chappell

Read last years post from this passage – “Obededom – A Doorkeeper for the Lord”

“And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us:” – (1 Chronicles 13:2)

“And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and he smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.” – (1 Chronicles 13:10)

A quick glance at 1 Chronicles 13 will leave the reader puzzled as to why God killed Uzza, and also as to why God stopped the transport of the ark to Jerusalem. Let’s carefully look at what took place in this passage and see if we can figure out how we can prevent this type of thing from happening in our lives and ministries.

First of all I want to say that David’s heart was right in wanting to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was going to be the place where God was going to build His temple through David’s son Solomon. Jerusalem was going to be the capitol city of the people of God. David wanted to do the right thing, and David wanted to be sure that the thing that he wanted was also the thing that God wanted. He said in v 2, “and that it be of the Lord our God”, meaning that he was careful to point out to the people that God had the right to close the door on this move. So, was it not God’s will to bring back the ark?. Did God close the door on the project by killing Uzza? I don’t think so. God removed His hand of blessing from the transport of the ark because David and the people of Israel were not doing it God’s way. The Bible had given clear instructions as to how the ark was to be transported. It was supposed to be carried on staves (poles); not on a cart pulled by oxen. What happened to Uzza was certainly unfortunate, but it could have been avoided had David and the leaders of Israel looked into the Word of God to see how this particular job was to be done.

In this passage, we see a threefold formula for fulfilling our purpose in life. First, God puts the desire in our hearts. The verse says, “if it seem good unto you”. I believe if God wants you to do something, He will put the desire in your heart to do it:

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” – (Philippians 2:13)

“This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” – (1 Timothy 3:1)

Secondly, we must determine that the thing we “desire” to do, or “seem good unto [us]”, is, in fact, the will of God. If it is, it will be in agreement with the Word of God, and will be reassured through prayer and godly counsel.

The third thing is that once we determine to that the thing we want to do is God’s will, we must do it God’s way. We need to search the Word of God and see what He says about the process of completing the task at hand. This is where I believe many churches and leaders are failing today. We are attempting to what God wants us to do, but we are not doing it His way. God’s will must be done, God’s way. I realize that everything that God wants us to do today, including every minute detail in the process will not be covered completely by the Word of God; but I believe the foundational principles contained in the Bible, coupled with the leadership of the Holy Spirit, will guide us through the process.