“Holy Assumptions”

When my daughter was growing up (pray for her and bless her, she turned 18 years this week and she is a good girl!), I listened closely to her Nursery Rhymes. A number of them were deeply worrying because they taught fatalities. “London Bridge is falling down” was one, “Solomon Grundy” was another. One of the worst was one of the most popular:

Row, Row, Row your boat,

Gently down the stream,

Merrily Merrily, Merrily, Merrily

Life is but a DREAM”

(NOTE: In this song above is the core Hindu concept that life is an Illusion - Maya. This is completely anti-Christian, and anti- Hebraic thinking. Life for the Christian is NOT MAYA. The life of a Christian has substance, the substance is not ONLY material, it is not JUST consistent, IT IS CONSISTENTLY ETERNAL).

But back to the Songs, these Songs taught children fatalities.

I refer to these because I want us to think about a passage today. The Ruler in Mt 9:18 obviously did not go to a Modern Nursery school. His assumptions defied modern realities and rejected death. The Ruler said:

“…My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

What kind of faith makes a man to look at a child who has stopped breathing, a child who is certified DEAD, and still say “…she shall live!” What kind of assumption makes a man to reject the obvious, refuse the visible, challenge the inevitable; and receive the impossible? What kind of inner assumptions creates such logic?

It is the assumption that has ingrained in him a clear understanding of the God of Abraham. This is the “God of the Living and not the Dead” The scriptures said Abraham did not look at his body that was dead when he believed God for the gift of a Son. He did not look at Sarah’s realities; he looked only at the capacity of God who promised to give LIFE.

It is an Assumption like Daniel’s that believes that life in the Oven and the Lion’s Den is better than life as a person who has denounced Jehovah. It is an assumption that Jehovah has power to remove the Sting of Fire, to destroy the power of death.

God wants us to check our assumptions today. Proper assumptions create the internal environment for MIRACLES from the hands of God. The sick are still healed today, the dead are being raised today; but the witnesses to power are people who believe internally that “With God, all things are possible!”

THE HOLY POWER OF GOD

Psalm 29 makes an interesting reading, it becomes more so when you go behind the language and see that the Psalmist was clear about his intentions. The Psalmist described “glory and strength” in verse 1 as “Oz.” It is a material, physical, personal, social or political manifestation of power.

POWER THAT IS BEAUTIFUL: “Oz” is the tangible revelation of power that is often ascribed to oppressors and wicked rulers. It is the visible pomp and accessible, non-ethereal, everyday revelation of power. It is money, position, influence, access, location, riches, capacities, extraordinary abilities….! It is that which distinguishes great men from ordinary mortals. The Psalmist said this substance that we are wont to run away from must be “ascribed to the Lord.” In common everyday language, we can say that the Psalmist ordered us to: “Give it to God!”

Let us think about this, if power of this sort can be given to the Lord, it can be reasonably inferred that such a power is HOLY! The Psalmist punctured all oppositions to this thought when he described how we are to give this power to the Lord. He said: “do it in the beauty of holiness”

THE VOICE OF THE LORD: How is this power manifest? It is manifest through the released voice of the Lord. What is the Voice of the Lord? It is the words of His Spirit into our hearts; it is the witness of His Counsel; it is the direction of His Spirit.

The Psalmist was detailed about the manifestation of this voice. The First Place is “Upon the waters” Waters in this context is the Hebrew word “Mayim.” This word represents danger, violence, transitory oppositions that come from among the people. God is saying to us that He is a glorious God over the dangers, the violence and the transitory oppositions that we face. He wants to show forth His Power over them.

The Voice of The Lord Shakes The Wilderness and Create A Holy Habitation: The Wilderness is an uninhabited large tracts of land. The voice of the Lord is insistent that your uninhabited places will become shaken. Those large areas of your existence will not be allowed to remain uninhabited. God will give you the power to occupy your wild places. He will give you the resources and the skill with which to design and build Holy Habitations.

Possessing Your Extremities: That the Psalmist referred to the Wilderness of Kadesh is noteworthy. Kadesh was the farthest city in the land of Judah, it was the most difficult place to reach; yet the meaning of its name was Holy. God by His voice will cause you to experience true Holiness. God will give you victory where it is most difficult for you.

Holy Speed & Easy Movement : God shows his power by causing the hinds to calve. We can understand what this mean for us by looking at what a hind (deer) represents to an Israelite. A deer is to the earth what an eagle is to the heavens. Rabbi Ariel Bar Zadok wrote: “Running of a deer can be compared to the soaring of an Eagle. The Eagle expresses ease of movement in the heavens; the deer expresses swiftness of movement on the earth.”

When God says that by his voice, he will cause “the hind to calve,” He is saying that he will increase your capacity to navigate on earth. God is saying that He will smarten up your capacity to move. A Deer is never confused about where to turn, she knows instinctively what to avoid; God’s power will be Manifest Discernment in your life. You will be given special grace to know what to accept and what to reject.

Discovering Honey Pots: The same verse says that the Lord “discovers the forest.” That is a strange statement until you understand that the same word used for “forest” is the word used for “honeycomb.” God is affirming to His precious ones that there is a honey pot hidden in your environment! Our reaction to that statement is often… “let me go find it in my own strength.” The Lord of Glory Hints us not to go that route – however. He rather invites us to “allow Him to discover the Honeycomb for us.”

WHY IS GOD DOING ALL THESE?

Every wise man must ask the question above. Why is God expending Himself on our behalf and why is he doing it now? Verse 11 of our passage holds the Key. It is so that he might fulfill His promise to leave his precious one with peace that passes human comprehension. Verse 11 says: “the Lord will bless his people with peace”