Culturally Irrelevant

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good.  (1 Thessalonians 5:19-21)

What does it mean to put a prophetic word of insight or encouragement “on the shelf”? Someone gives you a “word” about your life or situation or future. Maybe it falls in line with what you already know, or maybe it sounds new. What do you do with it?

I used to think putting a prophetic promise “on the shelf” meant to file it way in the back of my mind to see if it ever comes true. But the Bible doesn’t say to put promises or prophecies “on the shelf” at all. We’re supposed to test every spirit, test prophecy against scripture, and look into the character and lifestyle of the person speaking to us, but we’re not told to put it on the shelf or forget about it until it comes to pass.

God promised Abraham that he would have a son, that he would be blessed and father a nation of countless people. Did Abraham put that prophetic promise “on the shelf”? Romans 4 says that Abraham became stronger in faith as he waited for the promise of a son. His confession got stronger, not weaker, during those years of waiting. He grew more hopeful with time and got more excited about having a son, not less. That doesn’t sound like someone who put the promise “on the shelf”.

In verses 19 and 51 of Luke 2 we read that Mary treasured the events and prophecies surrounding Jesus’ birth and growing up, and “pondered” all of them in her heart.

I like the way these two people treated the prophetic promises and mysterious developments with which they were surrounded. They treasured God’s promises, pondering them in their hearts, rehearsing the details and allowing themselves to get excited about what was happening or would soon happen. Because they operated in faith, trusting God and believing the promises, they grew in excitement. And when things seemed to take a while, they only got stronger. Rather than questioning God, they knew they were getting that much closer.

I believe some promises have to be fought over. When I was born, I was premature with underdeveloped lungs. God promised my Mom that I would live and not die. That was confirmed to her in a card from a friend with a scripture out of the Psalms. But the doctors came in and said I wouldn’t live through the night. Instead of collapsing into tears of doubt and fear, she warred over what she had been promised (I’m not saying she didn’t cry, but that she ultimately rose up in faith). She didn’t just wait to see what would happen. If she had, I probably wouldn’t be here (thanks, Mom!). The promise had been “given” to her, but she had to own it, steward it, rest in it and fight against doubt and fear for it. Can the enemy come in and steal the promises? I believe he can if he can get us into fear and doubt and out of agreement with God. We’ll stop believing, stop trusting and stop letting ourselves get excited about the future we’ve been promised.

This is a big deal for parents of small children, me included. Babies and little kids don’t have the ability to believe for themselves, so it’s up to parents to stand in faith for them. As stewards, it’s our responsibility to cover them in faith at a time when they can’t cover themselves, just like we do in the natural. Whatever we settle for or let into their lives, they’ll have to struggle with later because we didn’t deal with it appropriately. This happened with John’s excema. Katy and I knew he would want to be healed of it later on in life, so we began to stand in faith for his healing as a baby. In a way, we simply applied the faith we knew he would have as a believing teenager or adult. I’m happy to say that because of some practical insight and God’s healing touch, John is free from excema today!

Ultimately, I’m discovering that prophetic promises are something that don’t belong on the shelf. I think that’s an excuse for not operating in discernment. We need to be able to discern things right away, spit out the bad and keep the good, and then stand on what God is telling us. For myself, I’m determined to keep the promises in front of my eyes daily. I’ve forgotten them before and had them ripped out from under me. I’m not going to let that happen again.

Jesus says that we remain in the Father’s love through obedience (check out John 15). Complete obedience is our anchor to the Father’s love. As we obey the word, we begin to experience God’s love and become like him. Through continued obedience, his plans for us reach maturity and become powerful in our lives. However, we can know everything there is to know about the word and yet still remain under the control of our flesh and Satan’s devices if we are unwilling to obey what we’ve been told to do. Another word for willful disobedience is rebellion. When we know what we should do but willingly rebel against the truth, we are literally turning away from God. It doesn’t matter if we’re in church every Sunday. Ask the members of the Laodicean church what God thought about their church attendance, giving record and knowledge of the word (Revelation 3). Our obedience let’s God circumcise our hearts. It’s how he cuts away the extra flesh that desensitizes us and makes our spiritual understanding dull.

Abraham talked to God a lot. We like to think of talking to God as this really awesome and charismatic thing. And it is. But it’s also a painful thing, mainly because so much in us needs to change to become like him. In Genesis 12, God tells Abraham to leave his home and everything familiar to seek a land he’s never seen. In chapter 17, God tells him to circumcise himself and all of the males in his house. Ouch. And then in chapter 22, God tells him to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering. Is it just me, or does talking with God seem painful and costly?

Abraham was able to obey completely because he trusted God. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham didn’t worry about losing Isaac because he reasoned God would just raise him from the dead if necessary! What was God doing through all of this? Yes, he was taking him on a very practical journey to find a land of promise, build a family and gain wealth. But none of that mattered at all without trust, righteousness and love. God had Abraham on a journey of the heart, continually testing him and telling him to do things that would remove more and more of his stubbornness, his doubt, his fear and any deep-seated mistrust. Why? So that Abraham could become more like God and actually hold the promises when they came, enjoy them and pass them on to Isaac and his sons.

When the Holy Spirit spoke to Katy and I last year, we began a journey of the heart that was years in the making. God spent years preparing our hearts to obey some hard things. Everything had its purpose and timing. He’s asked us to do some hard things recently that don’t make sense naturally. Give things away, sell stuff, pack without selling our house, take part in a church plant that’s spread out across 750 miles. Why? He’s got a good future for us in the natural, no doubt. But along the way he’s having us do it a certain way because he’s cutting away stuff in our hearts. We’re on a journey that can’t be seen in the natural. The “stuff” is really inconsequential. Houses, cars, jobs. They come and go…really…but there are more permanent things that determine all of that. Everything that happens in the natural follows what’s already going on in the spirit. And it’s critical for us to see this. That’s why Jesus says, “Seek first the Kingdom and all these things will be added to you.” It’s simple, really. But it can also be painful. How much heat can your heart take? It’ll be determined by how connected your heart is to the “stuff”. Ultimately, I’m asking “Which kingdom am I living in?” If it’s mine, then I better get everything here and now that I possibly can, and I’ll have to rely on my own understanding to get there. But if it’s an eternal Kingdom, then it’s got to be done God’s way. And that inevitably means I’m not always going to understand everything until I’m looking back on it. And trust me, we’ve looked back over the past year and realized that God knows exactly what he’s doing.

The contrast between the ”Shinarites” in Genesis 11 and Abram in chapter 12 is a perfect example of kingdom vs. Kingdom

The Shinarites ”said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks’” while Abram left his home behind and struck out into the unknown “as the Lord had told him.” They “settled” in the plain while Abram “traveled” from place to place. They said, let’s build ourselves a city with a tower to heaven, but he built a humble altar of worship and pitched a tent. They said “let us make a name for ourselves” but he “called on the name of the Lord.” They didn’t want to be scattered all over the face of the earth, while Abram followed God from Ur to Haran to Canaan to Egypt and back to Canaan.

Here’s the incredible irony. Everything they desperately wanted God freely gave to Abram, and much more. Everything they feared came upon them, while God settled Abram’s fears and carried him through difficult times into abundance, promise and legacy. They wanted to hole up away from the wide world while God thrust Abram out into the world and made him a blessing to many nations. They wanted a name and got nothing but confusion. God gave Abram a new name that lasts to this day.

Abram trusted God without evidence. He put his family, his fortune, his faith and his future into God’s hands, trusting an unsubstantiated promise. He went out not knowing where he was going, but he had a living word from a living God. He wandered in tents, exposed to the elements but full faith, fully surrendered. In exchange, God gave him protection, peace and favor with those around him, a great name and eventually a place to settle and call home. His only monument was an altar of surrender, and what did God have to work with in the natural? A barren woman who laughed at the promise and her 100-year-old husband.

Man has kingdoms. Lots of them. And they’re impressive, no doubt. I have kingdoms. Mostly little ones. In reality, we all tend to have our own little kingdoms we’re working on. But God has a great big Kingdom, and he operates his differently than we do ours. 

Here are some questions I continually ask myself. Whose kingdom am I building? Am I settling somewhere, getting comfortable and surrounding myself with protection, or am I letting myself get thrust out for the sake of others? Am I building any monuments to myself, even little ones? Am I helping someone else build a monument to themself or to a group’s hard work and smart planning? Am I still willing to risk everything to follow Jesus, to go whenever and wherever he might lead?