A Fresh Wind - Learn
Learning doesn't come first. Being willing to be taught does.
I want to open with a disclaimer today. I do this periodically. If you aren't interested in the disclaimer, skip to the first paragraph below the image. That's where today's installment begins.
Monday Morning With Jesus is not a rebuttal of the message delivered at my home church. Monday Morning With Jesus is the next logical phase in answering a question I asked myself a while ago: as a congregant, what do I do with the message the Holy Spirit has given the person filling the pulpit today?
My first iteration was to take notes on the message. I found I wrote down a number of personal observations, questions about what was said, and action items to look things up. Then, nothing very happened with those notes.
Monday Morning With Jesus is the evolution of those notes. I sit in the pew during the service and listen to all that is said in the announcements, children's moment, and sermon. Even the song selection, though I have zero understanding of music or music theory. Now, instead of writing those notes knowing they are just getting saved in my computer's digital archive, I know I am taking action items for a task I have on Monday morning.
This exercise is mostly for me, but you, as the reader, can ride along if you choose. I'm not telling you this is what the speaker meant. I'm not saying this is what the scripture meant. Nor am I using these words to counter or argue with that message. What these words are is my thought process on what was said. These words are how those words impacted me.
Occasionally, I take issue with a position, interpretation, or what I consider the accuracy of something. I do that not as a rebuttal but as a statement for myself to make sure my opinions are rooted in something. I try to present my evidence or scripture when I take an opposing position. I do that because as I write and research these words, I think more deeply about the position I'm putting out there for all the world to see. It becomes a test to see if I really believe the words I'm typing or if I'm just mouthing platitudes.
Disclaimer over. Let's get on with Monday Morning With Jesus.
"Old Classroom Interior" by dejankrsmanovic is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Sunday's sermon was the next entry in the A Fresh Wind series. This week's message was titled Learn. The Children's Moment struck me this week as Pastor Lee pointed to all the features of her head; ears, eyes, chin, forehead, cheeks, and mouth. Then she asked a question.
"Of all the things on our face, what is the most powerful?"
My immediate thought was the tongue, but she hadn't pointed that one out. Then I thought, smile. Neither of those is what she said, which was mouth. Then she asked another question.
"What does the mouth do?"
The old show business statement, "Never work with children," was on full display. It was quite funny the high-pitched answers that cascaded up from her little audience. However, some were quite good. Prayer, call on God, love, Jesus, all were answers. She summed it up with three.
"We can say I love you, I'm sorry, or I care about you, to name a few."
I'm paraphrasing, but her point was that we can use the mouth to share the love of God. We can fulfill the Great Commandment. We can share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had this passage in small group just prior as well. There are no coincidences.
18And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:18–20 (NASB95)
When Pastor Lee asked the question, this was the first scripture that popped to mind.
23He who guards his mouth and his tongue, Guards his soul from troubles.
24 "Proud,” "Haughty,” "Scoffer," are his names, Who acts with insolent pride.
Proverbs 21:23–24 (NASB95)
We got a report on Annual Conference next, which I will not reproduce here. If your church is a United Methodist church, you received a similar report from someone who attended. If you did not, you should seek out someone in leadership there and ask about it. Suffice it to say, I think things begin to change in the UM connection much more than now after November, at least in the North Georgia conference.
The sermon began after the report. This week is based on 1 Chronicles. The passage chosen skips some verses, which I will include. The section skipped is likely for brevity because it is a list of names to give weight and authority to what is said. We give what is said weight and authority because it is God's Word as contained in His Bible. The passage quoted for the sermon was 1 Chronicles 12:1-2, 8-18. Let's look at that now.
1Now these are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he was still restricted because of Saul the son of Kish; and they were among the mighty men who helped him in war.
2They were equipped with bows, using both the right hand and the left to sling stones and to shoot arrows from the bow; they were Saul's kinsmen from Benjamin.
3The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, the sons of Shemaah the Gibeathite; and Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth, and Beracah and Jehu the Anathothite,
4and Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty. Then Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad the Gederathite,
5Eluzai, Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite,
6Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, Jashobeam, the Korahites,
7and Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor.
8From the Gadites there came over to David in the stronghold in the wilderness, mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, and whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the gazelles on the mountains.
9Ezer was the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the third,
10Mishmannah the fourth, Jeremiah the fifth,
11Attai the sixth, Eliel the seventh,
12Johanan the eighth, Elzabad the ninth,
13Jeremiah the tenth, Machbannai the eleventh.
14These of the sons of Gad were captains of the army; he who was least was equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand.
15These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.
16Then some of the sons of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David.
17David went out to meet them, and said to them, "If you come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on it and decide."
18Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, who was the chief of the thirty, and he said, "We are yours, O David, And with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, And peace to him who helps you; Indeed, your God helps you!" Then David received them and made them captains of the band.
1 Chronicles 12:1–18 (NASB95)
Pastor Lee's sermon focused on a character she wagered none of us had ever heard about or studied before. She was right. That character's name is Amasai, from verse 18.
I can only find a few references to Amasai, and apparently, there is a small discussion about who he actually was. Rather than rehash any of those discussions, which will not be resolved by me, we will focus on our passage and its mention of him.
Amasai led "The Thirty." It is important to understand who "The Thirty" are to understand who Amasai was, why he said what he said, and what effect he wanted to have with his words. To do that, I need to clear up something Pastor Lee said in error. It's a small thing and doesn't change much, but it is important for who Amasai was.
Pastor Lee said several times these men could beat a hundred of the enemy and some more than a thousand. That's not what that verse meant, in my opinion. The verse in question is verse fourteen. We get a clearer understanding if we read it in the King James Version.
14These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.
1 Chronicles 12:14 (KJV 1900)
This verse doesn't say they could beat a hundred or a thousand men in battle. It means they commanded them. Some of these men commanded only a hundred, but others commanded a thousand or more. The point is that Amasai is the leader of all the mighty leaders of the army gathered at Ziklag to go to war for David. Amasai was a powerful leader, respected by the warriors to the point that they were willing to follow him into battle. As many of you know, I served in the United States Marine Corps. The instant I made this connection of who Amasai was, I thought of General James "Maddog" Mattis. I never met him. I'm old and out of shape now with bad knees and no physical fitness, but if General James Mattis got on the news and said he needed all Marines, old and active, to show up at a certain place with their gear, I would should my 60lbs pack, pick up a rifle, and make my way there. He is that beloved by Marines. That's who I imagine Amasai to be to his men.
What does a beloved leader and warrior have to do with a mouth that can share the love of God? Amasai's words in verse eighteen are the point. Pastor Lee made one point, and I'll add another that she did not voice, nor do I think she intended to imply.
First, Amasai's words are of peace. He wishes peace to David. He also tells David that they are all with him. That's important because the most respected voice in the army just reassured their commander he is with them and, by extension, backing the rightness of their cause to the troops. Morale is a real and tangible commodity in a fighting force. It can make all the difference in the world, and Amasai just told David he would ensure he kept it up by backing David's words.
The peace aspect of Amasai's statement is what Pastor Lee focused on. In her sermon, she pointed to the idea that Amasai was calling for peace rather than war. That's not exactly what I believe was being done. It's not entirely out of the question, but not the focus of what Amasai was trying to convey, I think. Her concern was that David was worried about the loyalty of the men he led. There is some of that, and Amasai, by stating they were with him, was assuaging that fear. But that's the crux of my disagreement with the words peace and how Pastor Lee interpreted those words.
Amasai isn't telling David we should have peace here instead of war. Amasai is telling David to relax and not worry about it, don't war within yourself about these details. Set your mind at peace David. We are with you.
This assumption that Amasai was calling for peace instead of war stems from what I consider to be a fundamental misunderstanding of who warriors are at heart. The press in this country, for as long as I can recall since World War II, has told the populace the United States military man is a warmonger who desires nothing more than fighting, death, and destruction. That is just not so. That same press points to any warrior who is decorated or accomplished and vilifies them as a violent extremist who only wants us fighting someone so they can shoot guns, blow up bombs, and kill the innocent. That is not who our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guard are.
The warrior knows what war is. It is horrible. It is death. It is something to be avoided, not sought out. Anyone who has trained for any length of time in the US military knows to go to battle is not something to be sought after. It is the tool of last resort. It is to be employed when all else has failed. However, that same warrior knows that when it is time to go to war, it is time to unleash those tools and not hold them back. Why? The same reason God sent people to war in the Bible.
Every time God sent His people to war in scripture, it was to either defend His people from someone or to stop a threat to His people from killing them. Were there times when people went to war without God's blessing? Yes, and it often didn't end well. What, why, and what happened at Ziklag wasn't the sermon's focus. The call to peace was. My point is that a Warrior wants peace but is willing to defend or even get it by going to war when necessary.
Pastor Lee thought it "strange" that the warriors armed for battle might offer up peace or talk of peace. It isn't strange at all. Warriors do not want to inflict or experience the horrors of war, at least not the smart ones. The Warriors have an advantage over the diplomats. They understand what they are trained to do and grasp what will happen if they go out and do it. The diplomats don't. Diplomats don't fight wars. They start them. Warriors are the ones who leave their homes and loved ones to march into the jaws of the beast in defense of what the diplomats said or did.
Pastor Lee closed with this. "Conflict is inevitable. You cannot avoid it." She is right. Life has conflict. No matter how much you are averse to it, don't want it, or try to avoid it, and sometimes it is thrust upon you. Where nations are concerned, citizens can only hope to have wise leaders who make the best decisions. In the United States, it is important for people to be educated on who they are voting for rather than just voting for whoever the most recent propaganda piece on social media said was good and who was bad. How do we do that? The same way we do anything. As Christians, we use scripture to guide our decision-making and have God's guidance here too. Instead of listening to the most recent, loudest voice on social media, we should follow God's guidance.
15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:15–20 (NASB95)
What does that mean? It means don't believe everything you've read on social media before you search out and find out the parts you are not being told. In our modern-day 24-hour news cycle, with so many outlets vying for our eyeballs, none can tell you the whole story. You'll have to read three or four different retellings of the same event and even go to sites you don't like to find out what parts you aren't being told. Then, you'll have to discern for yourself the truth of those "facts." Yes, it's a lot of work, but if you want wise leaders who will do what is right in God's eyes, you must do a little work for it.
I want to add a disclaimer here at the end. Notice I am not telling you which side of the debate is right or wrong here. I'm merely telling you to listen to the opposition's side of the story for yourself instead of being fed what "they" think by the same people feeding you what your side thinks. Both sides are trying to shape your opinion to the outcome they want. Don't let them. You shape your opinion. Look up what they have done in the past, where they were right and wrong, and decide who you can trust on your own. You will know them by their fruits. God bless and Godspeed.