I've Seen His Glory

This has been another interesting week in South Africa…not so much from the action happening around me, as much as from the action happening IN me.  I found myself compelled to take a stand against the world again this week…and once again discovered that many Christians are washing down the Word of God to take away its power to save.  When we decided that Jesus is just so loving that anything goes…when we decide that to emulate Christ we have to just be sweet and kind and loving and accepting of sin because we might actually offend someone…we emasculate ourselves as Christians.  Jesus’ message in His day was bold.  It went totally against the teaching of the world.  It went totally against the teaching of the church of its time.  It was something so different that people stood in wonder for hours to hear Him preach.  Did He love the people?  With all His heart!  But that did NOT stop Him from pointing out that they were falling short of God’s glory…God’s plan for their lives that would point others toward heaven.  Whenever he met a sinner He told them to stop sinning!  It was a simple message.  But in the end, He knew man had a proclivity to sin…that given “choice” we’d pretty much very easily make the wrong choice.  He knew that wrong choice would keep us separated from His Father…and His mission and purpose for coming to earth was to open up the gates of Heaven so that we could know and love and have a personal relationship with the Father.  He was very clear about that too.  There was ONLY ONE WAY to do it…only one way to know God personally…the One, Living, True God.  He knew that man was doing just fine meeting with their own puny, powerless, manmade, woman-dreamed gods.  But if you wanted power…if you wanted to get to the real authority of the universe…there was only one way.  And that was to accept that there is no way to get to God.  You have to let God come to you…and He does that when we allow our sinful nature to be cleaned up by the holy nature of Christ.  That’s it!  No other way.  And what are we doing these days in the name of Christ…we’re loving people into hell.  Gasp!  My fingers are pointing at me, friends.  In the name of not wanting to offend…in the name of not wanting to hurt…in the name of not wanting to judge (although agreement with God is not me judging…it’s Him judging…the only One Who IS capable of judging because of His holiness and righteousness)…in the name of “tolerance” and “acceptance” and “rights” and “respect”…we (I) have stopped sharing the message of Christ…that through His blood we have power over the sin in our lives.  I don’t have power over my sin…Christ living in me gives me that power.  Without Christ, I’d have no reason to give up sinning.  Satan has made sin beautiful.  Satan has made sin pleasurable.  Satan has made sin palatable.  As the father of lies, he’s done exactly what he’s always wanted to do.  And the church is buying into his bull…for that’s all it is.  Sin is insidious…it “creeps” in…it infects slowly everything around it.  It’s a cancer…not evident till it’s spreading and something else gives the warning sign.  Sin is like the live frog thrown into a pot of cold water…set on a burner…and the frog is totally unaware he’s being cooked.  Doesn’t even jump out of the water…content to just lie comfortably in his spa…oblivious to the danger.  Our new message of love and tolerance and acceptance can’t change lives…there’s no reason for those lives to change.  Notice I said “our” new message.  This is NOT the message of Christ.  We were NEVER instructed to tolerate or accept sin in the name of loving someone.  We were told to love and accept the person…but we must speak out about the sin.  And we must be looking in the mirror to make sure that we’re dealing with our own personal sin at the same time.  But just because I’m a sinner doesn’t mean that I’m not to speak to other sinners about their sin.  If this were true, then Peter and Paul and all of the New Testament preachers had no business telling the unsaved that they were sinners!  How dare they!  And what about those Old Testament prophets?  Were their lives perfect when God sent them to tell nations they were about to perish?  No!  Another wonderful lie from satan…your sin keeps you from talking about sin.

You know what I’ve discovered…if you want to learn, you teach!  Nothing makes you a better learner than to study to teach something.  You do more research.  Your heart hungers and longs to know the subject you are going to teach…you dig deep…you go beyond just being handed information.  You’re like that person digging for gold…you won’t give up till you find the treasure you’re looking for.

Well if you want to discover the sin in your own heart…start looking at the sin in the lives of others.  Let no one be fooled…I’ve never been more aware of the sin in my life than I am these days.  Nothing magnifies your own sin and puts it front and center like deciding that the world needs to know God has no room for sin in any relationship with Him.  He is a holy God.  He is a righteous God.  He is a just God.  None of that changed when Jesus came to earth.  Jesus was holy.  Jesus was righteous.  Jesus was just!  Nope…God didn’t change.  His message didn’t change.  The only thing that changed between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that God took care of the sacrifice needed to cover sin…because we humans couldn’t even get that part right.  Our sacrificial gifts had become blemished…tarnished… second-class…unworthy.  Why?  Because *WE* decided it was okay…we became tolerant…we decided it wasn’t our place to determine whether a sin offering was worthy or not.  Money changers and salesmen made a mockery of God’s way of doing things…and no one in the church bothered to correct them.  It got so bad that God withdrew His fellowship from man for 400 years!!!!  Amazing!  Even more amazing…man didn’t even seem to recognize it.

How do I know that, you ask?  The Scriptures say that Mary found favor with God.  How could she have found His favor if she’d not been loving Him and serving Him?  Was she perfect?  NO!  The Scriptures teach very clearly that the only perfect person ever to walk on this earth was God’s Son, Jesus.  So we know she wasn’t perfect.  But she was still reaching out to God…even though He’d had not to say for ten generations!!! 

Is that where we are now?  Have we become so comfortable with the way we do church that we haven’t noticed God’s withdrawn? 

That brings me to an experience last night like none I’ve ever had before.  Sicelo, one of the third year students at DBC, asked if Dan and I would be interested in singing at a special service his church was having.  The youth had planned a “Gala Dinner” as a fund raiser for the church.  So we loaded up last night and headed to his church.  It was evident when we arrived that we were in for a different experience.  First thing we saw as we approached the building was a huge palm tree.  The bottom of the tree…about 3-4 feet…was painted white with a large red dot on it.  Lying at the base of the tree was a huge palm leaf with a small banana, a serving of cooked rice and a beautiful orange flower.  I believe there was a stick of incense lying on top of it.  I asked Sicelo what it was and heard Marcie say, “Which god are we feeding today.” Turns out the church is being “rented” and was originally a place of Hindu worship.  There are symbols painted on the steps that also have to do with Hindu worship.  So there we are, members of an Evangelical church, standing on the doorstep of a Hindu worship center, about to worship with an African Baptist congregation.  Yep…mission trips can be fascinating.

The service was to start at 5:00…we were on time, arriving at 4:45.  We were then introduced to the pastor’s wife, Bongi (yes, Marcie and I were singing the “B-I-N-G-O” song on the way home – weak smile).  Bongi invited us to come to her house for tea while the band continued setting up.  Dan and I got in her car and Marcie and Sicelo followed…and we drove about 8 miles from the church!  I knew we weren’t going to be back at 5:00.  Marcie had tried to tell us that 5:00 meant the service might start around 6:30 or 7:00! (African time is different from American time – smile).  She was absolutely correct.  Bongi and her husband (I’m sorry I can’t remember the pastor’s name…I can remember that I felt like I was in a room with Morgan Freeman) served us a delicious tea with banana bread and a blueberry muffin.  I thought this was odd since we were going to be having a meal at the church…but they knew what they were doing.  I’ll cover the logistics of the meeting before I talk about the spirit of the meeting.  We returned to the meeting around 7:00 and the music was just starting.  The young people made up the praise team…I’d say they were older teens (17-20).  Their music was beautiful…and even though we were listening to everything in the language of the Zulu, we knew God was being praised.  Special speakers, musicians, dancers, “motivators” and readers of poetry were part of the evening.  The program looked delightful.  We settled in with about 100 other folks at beautifully decorated tables (in reality they were plastic lawn chairs and huge round wooden circles placed on smaller tables…but decorated beautifully with cloths, material and ribbons…it actually looked like a wedding reception).  I was looking forward to a “relaxing” evening of beautiful music and a special meal shortly.  I was in for the shock of my life!  A very, very, very good shock!

The music got exciting!  The drums and keyboards added to the voices.  I must confess that I was immediately impressed with the keyboard players.  They had NO music…everything was done by ear.  A vocalist would sing a couple of notes…stop…the keyboardist would play till he found the notes…and then the song started.  Beautiful songs…soulful songs…worship songs…praise songs.  CD’s accompanied some of the singers.  A beautiful dramatized ballet for a song about Christ being alive and no longer dead!  NkuluNkulu was mentioned often…I knew this word for God.  “Sibonga, NkuluNkulu” I knew was “Thank You, God”.  I recognized “Jesu” for Jesus.  I knew “Siyakuthanda, Jesu” – “We love you, Jesus”.  It was enough…God was being praised…and He was being praised beautifully.  And then the highlight of the evening came for me.  A group of young adults…about twenty of them, I think…called “Durban Inspiration” rose from their tables and the music…oh the heavenly music…that came from their lips.  Their songs had choreography…nothing distracting…their faces were the picture of joy.  They wore Zulu costumes…bright oranges, lime green, lemon yellow on black.  Everything they sang…every step they made…every glorious moment was a picture of praise to God.  My heart was in my throat.  THIS is what I’d been hoping to see in South Africa.  This was joy unstoppable.  This was a taste of heaven.

As Dan and I sat enthralled with all the beautiful music…with speakers we couldn’t understand…I’d never felt closer to God in worship.  It was louder than I’m used to.  It was definitely more joyous than I’m used to.  It was nothing like any praise and worship service I’d ever been in.  BUT I WAS HOME!  I was home with the Lord…in front of His throne…able to worship His greatness…His magnificence…the joy of His salvation.  Everything in my heart agreed with the spirit that was in the room.  Worship and praise and joy and excitement and honor and glory!  Arghhhhhhhhh.  We captured some of it on video…but it will never be the same as being in that room again. 

Now, if you can imagine…Dan and I love music.  We love to sing.  But we were so out of our element in this room…overwhelmed with the beauty and excitement.  At some point satan niggled my brain and said, “You’re going to dampen the spirit of this room when you get up to sing.”  I was horrified…literally horrified…I am not exaggerating…that I was going to have to get up on that platform/stage and sing for these wonderful people.  Never in my life have I felt sooooo inadequate for something.  I turned to Dan and said, “I don’t want to sing!”  I was ashamed…thinking that the gift I had to give God that night was so meager.  I was ashamed for even thinking that way…because I knew my thoughts did not honor the God I’ve loved and served for so long.  But my throat felt choked…not with fear…I wasn’t afraid…just with shame that I didn’t have something better to offer the King of Kings.  All my teachings about worship while at DBC sort of went down the drain…because satan let me get my thoughts off the focus of God and onto the caliber and quality of the other people sharing last night.

But our God is an awesome God!  Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently.  After about a dozen presentations…all beautiful…all sincere…all breathtakingly wonderful…a young man rose and spoke for about a half hour.  And the room calmed.  And the spirit continued to move but it was a gentler, softer spirit.  And then it was our turn.  I could handle gentler and softer…I knew gentler and softer.  After a brief introduction of why we were there, I sang “Daystar” and Dan sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.  We could not have been…never have been…more enthusiastically received.  You see…these people weren’t thrilled just to hear our song…they were thrilled that someone from America was in their midst.  We’d turned their gala event into an international event.  Oh, how appreciative they were.  And oh what a humbling moment that was.  We were loved, accepted, and praised because of our nationality.  In a world where America’s not looking so good…these people loved us because we were Americans and had chosen to fellowship with them.  They gifted us at the end of the program to thank us for making their program even more special.  Us????  No way.  That was something God did.  I’m still shaking my head over it.

The evening concluded with a meal at about 10:30.  Yes…we had been in a worship service for three-and-one-half hours!!!!  I had no clue.  Dan had no clue.  I thought it was about 9:00. Thank goodness for tea time at 5:30.  I really had no idea what time it was till we were dropping Sicelo off at school and I found out it was almost midnight!!!  I wasn’t worn out.  I wasn’t tired.  I was on fire!!!  I was bubbling over!!!!  I told Dan later that I wanted to just go out in the street and sing and dance!!!  I can honestly say that I have never made such a statement before.  But the spirit of God was still moving in my heart.  I woke this morning and the first thing I thought was, “Please, Lord…let that fire remain.”

To that end I’ve made a decision.  When I return to the U.S., I plan to learn to speak Spanish.  South Africa has taught me an incredible lesson.  You see…there are 11 official languages in this beautiful nation.  And knowing more than one language is expected.  Most everyone has chosen English as their second language.  How honoring is that?  They want to be able to communicate with the world if the opportunity comes.  They regard America visitors highly and WANT to be able to talk to us…to foreigners!  And I’m ashamed because I’ve watched people in my nation disparage the Spanish-speaking Americans and insist that if they’re going to be Americans they must speak English.  While I agree they should learn English…I believe it’s time for me to not only love and respect my neighbor…it’s time for me to be able to do so in their language.  To show them how important they are to me.  I also plan to study Zulu…just in case God ever sends me back to South Africa. 

I try to imagine the scenario that less than 20 years ago these wonderful Zulu people were completely oppressed by a limited number of white people who thought they were superior… who thought the Zulus needed to be “kept in their place”.  I’ve often heard that out of deep oppression comes strong and joyful faith.  I saw that last night.  There is still much evidence of that period of apartheid in the tragic gulf between rich and poor here.  The remaining effects are really evident in the older generation.  Even Zanele, Marcie’s maid, calls me “Madame” and calls Dan “Boss”.  I’ve tried and tried to tell her that we are peers…that we are friends in Christ…that she’s my sister.  But old ways die hard.  And that got me wondering…what old ways do I hold on to? 

One of the old ways I held on to was my unwillingness to even try to learn a new language.  I knew folks spoke English all around the world.  I took pride in that!  My egocentricity (a wonderfully big word I learned in college) is something I’ve become ashamed of.  What is egocentricity?  It’s looking out for #1…my nation.  It’s believing that my nation IS the best in the world…how arrogant!  I love America…that hasn’t changed.  But I’ve visited South Africa…a country where I’ve been welcomed AS A FOREIGNER.  I’ve been encouraged to find a way to come and live here.  Why?  Because of my bubbly personality…because of the joy I spread everywhere I go…because of my love for the Lord…because I genuinely have enjoyed everyone I’ve come in contact with…because I love and accept.  Love and accept???

The world is a funny place, isn’t it?  On one front of my life I’ve been accused of hating, being intolerant and not knowing how to accept people.  On another front I’ve been admired and desired because I’m loving and accepting.  Where would you want to live?

Well…I’ve made some decisions this week.  I WILL remain intolerant and unaccepting of sin.  I will continue to love sinners.  I will learn to speak another language (if it kills me) because I CHOOSE to respect and build up and edify others and I am ashamed that my pride and arrogance in my heritage has kept me from showing such love to others. 

This is me, folks.  This is how God works in my Spirit.  I’ve been meditating this week on II Corinthians 3 after an old friend sent along a couple of verses.  What a fascinating chapter.  It actually talks about Moses and his fading glory…the veil that hid the fading glory of God.  It talks about the fact that people didn’t even notice when God’s glory was gone.  I don’t ever want to be in a world without God’s glory!  And the way I read the Scriptures…we are now His glory!  We are His picture to the world of Who He is…because His Son continues to live in us and His Son is the truest picture of God.  Have You seen His glory this week?  I promise you… once you see it…you’ll long for nothing else!

Before I close I want to tell you something I heard last night I’ve never heard before.  Did you know that food…not matter how much is there…NEVER seasons the salt or makes the salt change flavor?  On that same note…did you know that just the tip of the spoon holds enough salt to change the flavor of the food?  We are called to be the salt that flavors the earth.  Did you know that dark NEVER dispels light?  The darkness will never overtake the light.  But the tiniest flame can be seen in the dark because it dispels the darkness.  Are you flavoring the earth with the message of God?  Are you that tiny light dispelling the darkness?  The power of ONE to make a difference is great!  I might not be changing the world…but with all my heart I do believe I’m making changes somewhere…and I’m certainly being changed from the inside out.

Thank You, Lord, for letting us see and share in Your glory.  Give us courage, Lord, to let Your glory shine through us in such a way that the world cannot ignore You.  Show us how to righteously live You in front of others…to courageously speak up when You need someone to speak up…but most of all, Lord, to bow down when we need to bow down in submission to You and the work You are doing in our lives.  Amen.