June 11, 2010 When We Cover Our Ears

From the glory and rejoicing of the dedication of Solomon's temple to the hard-hearted stoning of Stephen:  what a jolting and disturbing contrast!

I don't have a lot to say about this.  Except: this could be us!  At any time, it could be me.  This is a stark picture of what happens to us when we habitually stop our ears from the Word of God, reject true prophetic expressions from the Lord, or refuse to receive a godly rebuke given in love.  Taking the truth can be painful, but when we refuse it, we can kill.  (Don't just limit killing to picking up a stone-- you know we can kill with words, with looks, with rejection.)

I pray that the Spirit of Wisdom and Discernment will show us the heart of the matter.  One thing I see is that, if we get stuck where we're at and make a religion out of what's supposed to be a relationship, we are at risk of completely misunderstanding, and even outright rejecting,  the next thing that God might do.  His purposes have been flowing along, right from the beginning, and He's never turned back from where He's been going.  The people of Stephen's day were right in the middle of God's river, the same river they were in during Solomon's reign, and yet they misinterpreted what was happening.  He even told them in advance what He was going to do. 

KEY:
God always goes higher and deeper!  Instead of the commandments in the ark and the glory cloud in the holy place of the temple, the living Word was in Stephen and the glory of God had filled him, a temple "not made with hands." [Not just Stephen, but any Christian who allows Him to do so.]

I've seen and heard of God doing some pretty strange things.  Sometimes I've misjudged these things, and later had to repent.  I think God's going to be doing some very radical things in these days.  I've heard some things, even just today, that fit that description, and I'm not going to disregard them.  We need discernment, and we definitely need to stay close to Jesus and listen to His Spirit, Who is glad to interpret to us what He is saying and doing in these last days.  Let's not cover our ears!

"But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse." Acts 7:57 NASB

Bonus:  Discern the difference between following the crowd and the unity of the Spirit.