A Spider Web

Frederick Nolan, a Christian living in Africa, told the story of the time he was a being pursued by a group of unbelievers because of a stand he had taken for the gospel. If this mob could get their hands on Nolan, he was certain they were going to kill him. After hours of pursuit Nolan finally collapsed from exhaustion. He had run into a cave to hide, but his strength was gone, and he feared he would be found and captured at any moment. 

 

While he was lying on the ground anticipating being found, he watched as a spider began to weave a web at the opening of the cave. In almost no time at all Nolan saw that spider produce an elaborate web from one side of the cave’s mouth to the other. Suddenly the men pursuing Nolan came upon the cave, but after observing the spider web, decided he could not have been inside. They decided the search was hopeless and called it off. 

 

Nolan would later write these words: “Where God is, a spider’s web is like a wall. Where God is not, a wall is like a spider’s web.” Obviously a spider web is not strong enough to keep people from tearing through it; in fact, we have probably all had the pleasure of accidentally walking through one and having to pull the web from our hair. But when God is with us, something as weak as a web becomes like a wall. 

 

Jeremiah once spoke of the power of God when he wrote, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you (32:17).” Because of this truth Paul was able to add, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (II Corinthians 12:9).” When a spider web keeps an army at bay, God gets all the credit. That is a case of the power of God coming through in our weakness. 

 

Maybe you can relate to Frederick Nolan. You know what it is like to be pursued by an enemy that wishes you harm. I am not talking about a real army of people, but maybe your trials feel like that. The mounting debt is chasing you down. The pressures at work are pursing you. Your marital problems, your addictions, or a hundred other things can bring you to the point of exhaustion. When you are at your weakest, look up; God may just send a spider to weave a web—a hedge of protection—to keep the enemy away. The God who made the heavens and earth can certainly make a web around you, so keep praying, and don’t loose heart. 

A Tandem Bike

 

I heard about two brothers who got a tandem bike for Christmas. Those bikes built for two can be a lot of fun, but they require teamwork. These two brothers decided to attempt going up an especially steep hill. The older brother was in the front of the bike, peddling hard, and giving it everything he had to reach the top. When they finally did, he wiped his brow and said, “Man, that was a steep hill.” 

 

His younger brother agreed, saying, “Yeah, and if I hadn’t been putting the brakes on the whole time we might have rolled back down.” 

 

Have you ever felt like you were doing all the work? Even worse, have you ever felt like people were working against you when you were doing all the work? I know Nehemiah felt like that. Nehemiah was the cupbearer for the Persian king Artaxerxes, but when his brother gave him a sad update about the state of affairs in Jerusalem, he asked leave of his king and set out to the land of his fathers. Seventy years earlier the city had been destroyed by the Babylonians, and the temple and city walls were still in ruins. God used Ezra to rally the people to rebuild the temple, and then He used Nehemiah to get them to rebuild the walls around the city. 

 

 While the work was being done a few antagonists began to work against Nehemiah. Like a little brother putting the brakes on the bicycle, these guys worked to undermine the work around the city. Sanballat and Tobiah openly mocked Nehemiah, sent open letters to embarrass him, lied about him, and plotted to physically attack him. They continually tried to lure him away from the work because they wanted to stop construction by any way possible. Nehemiah 4:6 simply says, “And we built the wall.” No fanfare, just dedicated work. 

 

In Chuck Swindoll’s classic book Hand Me Another Brick, he wrote that throughout all of the antagonizing Nehemiah’s response was always, “Keep mixing the mortar, and hand me another brick.” That must be our attitude whenever Satan tries to get us off course. We have to be able to drown out the noise and keep doing the work. Just keep building the wall. Keep mixing the mortar. Keep grabbing the next brick. 

 

There will always be a Sanballat and a Tobiah that try to thwart the plan when we are working for the Lord. They will try to keep you from teaching, preaching, and sharing your faith. Whenever they put the brakes on your bike, just say, “Keep mixing the mortar, and hand me another brick.”   

Revive Us Again

 

There was a visiting pastor preaching at a church for a special occasion, and he was taken back by two signs he noticed mounted in the sanctuary. The first sign was a large banner washed out in orange and red; there were flames coming up the banner leading to words that said, “Come, Holy Spirit!” That wasn’t what struck the pastor. 

 

Directly under the banner asking for God’s Spirit to come was a small sign that simply said, “Fire Extinguisher,”advertising the location of the emergency device. 

 

That poor sign placement is indicative of what many churches do: on the one hand they beg God to send Holy Ghost revival, while on the other hand we bring a fire extinguisher with us. Just when God may be about to do a work among us, we grab the fire extinguisher and put it out. How do we do this? Sin is the fastest way to put to a stop the moving of the Holy Spirit. Whether there is lack of unity in the church due to gossip, or some besetting sin in the life of the members, God often chooses not to work where His people choose not to let Him. 

 

Praying for revival while carrying a fire extinguisher is like reading the second half of II Chronicles 7:14 while ignoring the first half. We want God to hear from heaven, to forgive our sin, and to heal our land, but do we do not want to humble ourselves, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. I believe this is the idea Paul had in mind when he wrote, “Do not quench the Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:19).”   

 

Our sin quenches the Spirit when God is trying to work. Instead of quenching Him, we need to agree with the writers of the Psalms who said, “Revive us, and we will call upon your name (80:18),” and “Will you not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You (85:6)?” 

 

I believe America needs to experience revival now more than ever. Yes, the lost need to get saved, but that might happen more if the church would wake up. Christian, we need the church to repent of any sin that may be quenching the Spirit from working; if we do, there may be a revival that leads to the church seeing more converts and making more disciples. We can’t do it if we are lukewarm. 

 

There just isn’t room for both signs in the sanctuary. We need to pick one. Do we want to the Holy Spirit to bring revival, or do we want the fire extinguisher? 

 

 

 

Ejection

 

Danny Cox, a former fighter pilot, wrote a book called Seize the Day, which details the history of fighter jets. One feature he highlights is the ejection system for the pilot. The early model was simple: all the pilot had to do was push the button, and as he rolled forward, his parachute would open. A hitch was discovered during testing, however. Because the jets were so much faster than their predecessors—the propeller planes—the pilots were terrified and held onto their seats for dear life. As long as they held onto their seats, their chutes could not open. 

 

Designers had to tinker with the system. They added a strap underneath the seat and behind the headrest. When the pilot pushed the ejection button, these straps gave the pilot a push, which not only ejected them, but allowed their parachutes to open and take them safely down to the ground. Those original jet fighter pilots knew what to do, but they just needed a good push. 

 

There are times in our lives when we could use a push ourselves. Maybe you know there is something you are supposed to be doing, but you are sitting in the cockpit clutching to your seat. I realize that what you have been called to do may be scary, but there is no point in going down with the ship. 

 

Had God laid in on your heart to serve the church in some capacity? Do you know deep down that you are supposed to be volunteering to teach, sing, or minister in some other way? Maybe you get stage fright. Maybe you have never done it before. I get it. But if God has called you, He will equip you to do it. You do not go alone when you are serving God. Paul said that the Spirit of God is the one who gives us the ability to serve, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12).” 

 

Throughout the Bible God used ordinary people to do great things: Moses delivered Israel from Egypt, David was a shepherd turned king, Ezra rebuilt the temple, and Nehemiah rebuilt the city walls. Outside of the Bible God still works through people: George Whitfield, Johnathan Edwards, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham—maybe one day we can add your name to the list. 

 

It won’t happen if you keep holding onto your seat. Just push the ejection button and let go. God’s Holy Spirit will take over and guide you the rest of the way.  

 

 

The Wonderful God of Oz

 

“We’re off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Those words comes from the classic 1939 movie (which was based on the 1900 children’s story by L. Frank Baum). In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her dog Toto follow a yellow brick road to the Emerald City in hopes that the wizard will be able to send her back to Kansas, where she lived before she was displaced by a tornado. When Toto pulls back the curtain the cast learns that the wizard was really just a fraud, a man working machinery but devoid of power. At the end of the movie Dorothy famously declares there is no place like home. 

 

The Wizard of Oz is a fun story with lovable characters, including the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow. They are all disappointed to realize that the wizard they longed to see was actually powerless. He couldn’t give the lion courage, the tin man a heart, and the scarecrow a brain; he couldn’t even take Dorothy home. It would be crushing to learn that the one they sought, the one they believed would help them, was just a fake. 

 

I have good news. When it comes to our God, we never need to worry about the man behind the curtain. We will never discover that God is actually powerless, or that He is a fraud. The Bible tells us that God is powerful. We often describe Him as being omnipotent, or possessing all power. 

 

Psalm 62:11 says, “Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God.” Just a chapter later we read, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory (63:2).” God even likes to introduce Himself as El Shaddai—God Almighty (Genesis 35:11 for example).  

 

The power that is used to describe God in the Psalms and elsewhere is actually the Hebrew word oz. Because our God is El Shaddai, we do not serve the Wizard of Oz, but the Wonderful God of Oz. The wizard told Dorothy that he is “a good man but a terrible wizard.” Our God is not terrible, or even good; our God is great. He is not a trickster (or a “humbug” as the wizard calls himself). He possesses all power and is able to fulfill every promise He has ever made. 

Among those promises are forgiveness of sin to whoever calls on the Lord, and a promised home with the Him forever. Because of the Wonderful God of Oz, all who trust in Him will one day be able to say, “There’s no place like home.” 

 

Misunderstandings

 

Did you hear about the homeless man who was looking for food? He went into a nice neighborhood on the good side of town and approached the first house he saw. He rang the doorbell, and in a few minutes the owner of the house opened the door. 

 

The poor man introduced himself and explained that he had fallen on hard times. He asked the affluent man if there was any way he could spare a few dollars, or maybe a bite to eat. The homeowner said that he is a believer in honest work, and told the man that he had been meaning to paint his porch for quite a while. “If you paint my porch, you can come inside and I’ll serve you a hot meal.” 

 

Not half an hour later the beggar walked right in through the front door and announced he was finished and ready to eat. Surprised that he was finished so quickly, the rich man told him to have a seat at the table while he finished preparing lunch. It was then that the homeless man dropped this bombshell: “By the way mister, you really need to learn your cars. You don’t drive a Porsche, but I painted your BMW.” 

 

We can get in real trouble if we do not understand something. In Scripture we see far too many people who misunderstood Jesus and His mission. For some, they had expectations that when the Messiah came, He would come as a conquering general or a ruling king. When Jesus did not launch an assault against the Roman government, people decided Jesus must not be the Messiah after all. For others, they wrongly viewed Jesus as someone who minimized their laws and traditions, even though Jesus said He came to fulfill the law, not destroy it. 

 

Today we can make a similar mistake if we misunderstand Jesus. Part of the problem is due to our misunderstanding of the Bible. We may develop the wrong idea that nothing bad is ever supposed to happen to a believer, or even go so far as to expect nothing but material and physical blessings from God if we truly believe.

 

Jesus said “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” Many misunderstand this verse (and others) to say that only good things are in store for us in this life, but they overlook the clear part that promises tribulations as long as we live in this world. People walk away from the church the second something bad happens, deciding that Christianity must not be real. Don’t let this, and similar misunderstandings, keep you from God. That would be as foolish as painting a car instead of a porch. We need to study the Word so that we do not fall victim to these misunderstandings. 

 

God’s House

 

I don’t know what kind of house you live in, but I would guess there may be some things you would like changed or updated. You may watch renovation or house hunting shows on TV and find yourself wishing you had a bigger house, a newer house, or a nicer house. Maybe you see other people’s houses and envy what they have. 

 

Retired NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal is selling his house in Orlando for a reduced price of “just” 19.5 million dollars. The house has twelve bedrooms, a regulation indoor basketball court, a movie theater, and a showroom style garage with room for “17+” cars. It isn’t that it is too much house for the seven-footer, it is just that he has too many other houses. 

 

Some may criticize O’Neal and others like him for having a house like that. What he does with his money is his business. When this becomes a problem is when Christians ignore the needs of others while they live in mansions. Imagine the audacity of building yourself a house fit for Shaq, while knowing that your local church did not have the funds to repair a leaky roof. That is exactly what God’s people were doing in the book of Haggai. 

 

Israel had been destroyed during the Babylonian invasion, and the temple laid in ruins for seventy years. When the Israelites began returning home, their first order of business was to rebuild God’s house. Ezra tells us the people acquired the timber they needed for the project, but fifteen years later the temple construction and stopped, but the Israelites were living in luxury. Haggai asked, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins (1:4)?”

 

What happened to all that timber? And why were the people living in paneled houses? Hmm…

 

It becomes clear that the Jews were stealing the timber meant for God’s house and incorporating it into their own. There was still no place to go worship, but at least they had luxurious homes. Paneled houses were reserved for royalty (I Kings 7), but thanks to the five-finger discount, now anyone can have the finer things! 

 

They let themselves off the hook by coining a new proverb: “This people says, ‘The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built (1:2).’” They basically said, “We can do it later. We have plenty of time to build the temple.” God had to send a prophet to scold the people and get them back to work. Besides the fact that stealing is wrong (and stealing from God seems even worse), the people were out of line because they made excuses for themselves and kicked the can down the road. It is always easier to let someone else handle a problem, but when we are the ones who are supposed to be doing the work, we need to do it. Whatever God may be calling you to do, do it. Don’t live in a paneled house while the temple lies in ruins. No delays; no excuses. Just get it done.