We just finished Easter, which is a reminder of the resurrection. In the Spring everything is green and growing, which is a reminder that we are supposed to be constantly charged up, full of life, and growing. We are to always be ready in season and out of season. One of the ways to do this is found in Jude, which says to build yourself up on your most Holy faith by praying in the spirit. Praying in the spirit is similar to charging up your internal batteries, it keeps you charged up. We can also stay charged up consistently by leaving margin in everything we do, which requires humility. Take a humble approach and build more margin into your life.
During the resurrection of Jesus the stone was rolled away. One Easter, I was in church and the theme was the rock that rolled away. In the book of Joshua when the people cross over into the promised land and were circumcised God then told them that he had rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them. Reproach is guilt, condemnation, and shame. When Jesus was resurrected the stone was rolled away and God has rolled away all of our guilt, condemnation, and shame and given us new hearts. We must learn to stop beating ourselves up and condemning ourselves and give ourselves the same grace God has given us.
In Hebrew there is a word for charged that is tsavah, one of the meanings of this word is a pile of rocks or stones. Think of each of your memories as a small stone that you pile up inside of you. Also, it is important to note that there is a difference between bricks and stones. There is a theme in the Bible that God doesn't like building with bricks. In the story of the Tower of Babel the first thing the people say is "let's make bricks, and heat them thoroughly." Then God ends us destroying their tower. God doesn't like bricks because they are all the same and made by man. They are artificial rocks that are made by putting pressure on them and heating them to conform to the mold. Stones are all unique and they are made by God. We each have a unique series of memories, experiences, talents, and gifts that stack together and make a pile of stones that contains your unique purpose in life.
One of the ways we could use the word "charged," is what are you charged up, excited, motivated, or fascinated to do. What is the dream you have had in your heart for years? When it comes to memories they often have a timing component. Certain times of the year can stir up certain memories. As an example, about a year ago when the coronavirus first started I had been praying and rebuking and fighting against it spiritually. Soon after this my daughter had a slight fever that spiked and sent her into a seizure. After seeking God about this he showed me that my fighting against the darkness of the world actually opened a door for some bad things to happen. In the Abundant Life Blueprint I talk often about the importance of focusing on the light, about how God has released us from the darkness and transferred us into the light and how we need to continually focus on and give thanks to God rather than fighting against the darkness. If we will focus on God he will fight for us. Whatever you focus on you will get more of. This was one of the most important learning lessons of my life. After learning these lessons our entire family has been very healthy for the whole year but on the 1 year anniversary of my daughters seizure she had a small fever again. I began thanking and praising God and focused on him, and the fever left very quickly, but God began showing me that memories have a timing component and certain times of year can stir up certain memories, and our bodies seem to even have a memory.
In the story of Joseph in the Bible there are two interesting examples of remembering. After Joseph suffers through being sold by his brothers, enslaved, and imprisoned he becomes the ruler of Egypt and names one of his sons Manasseh which means "God made me forget all of my troubles." Joseph suffered for awhile but then God blessed him so much that his memories of all the troubles were forgotten. When Joseph became the ruler the dreams that he had interpreted for Pharoah came true and there were 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine. In Genesis it tells us that the years of famine made the people forget the 7 years of abundance. Their memories were reversed. They experienced blessing and good things first and then they forgot about all the good when things turned on them. We see a reverse pattern in these stories. God's path seems to be a time of struggle first but then his blessing overpowers the years of struggle causing you to forget those times and replaces those memories with new ones of his goodness.
In 1 Chronicles 22 is the story of David passing the kingdom over to Solomon. David charged Solomon with building a house for the Lord. That word charge is tsavah. We would think that word charge would mean command or order but the definition is closer to a set of directions or instructions pointing out the path. God has a path for each of our lives, think of it like a series of stepping stones of milestones, and each one will be unique to you. I believe that as we go further with God we will have unique memories of things God has done in our lives and those things will be the unique memories and experiences that lead us on God's path for our lives and to forget the troubles we went through before. Some of the Hebrew writings on this word has to do with a pile of rocks. In ancient times stones were used to mark out boundaries for property. They were used to let you know when you were in bounds. Rocks were also used to create landmarks for navigation and to create memorials. Piles of rocks would be for remembering certain people or events that had occurred, think of them like monuments. Tsavah means something similar to plugging a destination into a GPS along with the instructions for how to get there.
After David charged Solomon with building the temple he said that he had it in his heart to build a temple for God. This was the dream David had in his heart. This was the thing he treasured in his heart and really wanted to do. What are the things you treasure in your heart? After Jesus was born people were saying amazing things about him, and his mother Mary treasured those things in her heart and thought about them often. God told David that he was not the one to build the temple but it was for Solomon to build. David then made extensive preparations for building the temple, and David had in writing all of the plans for how to build the temple and everything to be used in the temple.
David said that he went through great pains to prepare everything for the temple. He had accumulated the equivalent of billions or maybe even trillions of dollars worth of gold, silver, iron, wood, bronze, and precious stones for the building of the temple. God had also given him the exact plans for how to build the temple, how the temple was to operate on a daily basis, and the exact measurements for everything that was used in the temple. God had shown David such detail, that even the proper weight of all the forks and dishes for the temple was known. David had also prepared all of the people that were needed to help build the temple. All Solomon needed to do was get started and follow the plan. David told him to be strong and do the work and to not be afraid or discouraged because God would be with him and would not leave him or forsake him until all of the work was finished.
The charge is like a treasure map to the heart of God. In a similar way I believe Jesus went through great pains to prepare everything for us. Everything has been given to us in Christ. All of the resources, plans, and people we need have already been prepared for us in Christ, and we simply need to find our charge from God and get started trusting that God will supply everything that is needed at the perfect time.
One other concept that is important is the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 33:6 says the fear of the Lord is the key to the treasure. When Jesus was about to be crucified it says that he offered up prayers and petitions to God asking if the cup could be taken from him, but out of reverent submission he offered himself. The fear of the Lord is honor, respect, reverence, and awe for God. Once we find our charge from God, it is important to walk it out in the fear of the Lord or reverent submission. We walk it out not because we have to or are obligated to. We do it to honor God and Jesus and revere him, and to hopefully bring him glory.
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