THE ACCURSED THING?



What Can We Say?

What can we say when the fellowship we are a part of enters into a time of pain, into a season of unanswered prayer? Is it a normal part of the Christian life to pass through periods when it seems God has died and no one is at the helm of the universe? Is it right to ask, 'Why'? Why don't people get healed when we ask the Father for His mercy? Why do relationships that have gone wrong not come back to a place of peace and reconciliation? Why do we launch out into the exploits of the Lord and the resources for what He has told us to do don't appear? There may be many possible answers to these questions and there even may be an X factor as Pat Robertson has said. In other words, there may be something that is totally unknown to us and that cannot be known by humans. It may be something completely outside our understanding and something the Lord does not wish to reveal at this time. We probably should not occupy our time with trying to peer into the forbidden arena. While "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God" . . . "those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children . . . " (Deut. 29:29).

Of course, the real answer is to hear a rhema word from the Lord. But in the absence of a direct Word from God concerning our specific trial, we can look to the Scriptures for some potential explanations. We can present these possible answers before the Lord and we can inquire before Him. If we are willing to deal honestly with our own hearts, we may find the answer we need.

What can we say when a local congregation begins to experience sickness, death, and other tragedies? What can we say when prayer just does not seem to work, especially when we have seen the hand of the Lord bless us and confirm His Word powerfully in the past? I would like to suggest a couple of things we should consider as we bring them before the Lord in heart-searching prayer. This is not intended to be a speculative mental exercise, but a lifesaving plan of attack against the evil we see gaining victory over us.

Consider The Source

I heard the story of a town that was experiencing a plague, a sudden surge of sickness (typhoid?) affecting almost everyone in the town. The town got their drinking water from a nearby lake and someone decided to investigate. They took a boat to the middle of the lake to where the end of the pipe was that carried water into the city. To their horror they found a dead body stuck on the screen over the water inlet. Mystery solved. The corpse was the cause of the illness being conducted into every home in town.

When many families in our churches are being affected with unrelated sickness and other unexplainable problems, we need to quickly check and see if a source that everyone is drinking from, spiritually speaking, is contaminated. I say quickly because it is urgent. I also say quickly because we do not want to dwell here if is this is not so. We need to ascertain that the leaders, musicians, worship leaders, and regular guest speakers are not bringing to the entire congregation a spiritual pollution. It is the responsibility of the elders to make sure the fountains that everyone drinks from are free from hidden contaminates. Because we are a real Body, what we do does affect every other member of that Body. This is no time for political correctness. Lives are at stake. Let's do it quickly. Either drag the carcass of dead flesh out of the way or determine that the spiritual water flowing through the leadership is indeed pure.

When You Cannot Stand

Joshua and the nation of Israel were ready to enter the promised land. God gave great promises of His presence and a guaranteed victory over the enemies. To Joshua God said,

"No man shall be able to stand before you" (Jos 1:5).

There was great expectation and confidence. Israel passed through the Jordan river as their ancestors had done at the Red Sea. The victory at Jericho totally confirmed their confidence in the promise and in the faithfulness of the Lord Who was guiding them.

At the next city of Ai, however, their confidence was shattered. It was considered unnecessary that the entire army go against Ai so only about 3,000 soldiers went up to attack it.

"....but they [the army of Israel] fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about 36 men, for they chased them . . . " (Jos 7:4,5).

The Israelites had put their confidence in the Lord. His Word was their comfort and it was confirmed through several successful exploits. God could be trusted and His Word was sure. However, after the disaster at Ai and after 36 funerals there was a sense of betrayal by the Lord. Joshua bemoaned their losses,

"Lord God, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all . . . to destroy us?.... What shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies?" (Jos 7:7,8).

If the army of Israel had never seen a military victory; if they had never seen the hand of God at work then maybe they could say that it is not the will of God to go to war against these pagan cities. But the truth is that Israel HAD seen the mighty power of the Lord. They HAD experienced corporate triumphs. They had a long list of the faithfulness of God and the certainty of His Word to them. God had promised, No man shall be able to stand before you. Yet Israel was the one unable to stand in the day of battle.

People who have never seen the Lord answer prayer might be able to say that the day of miracles has passed away. If the Lord had never showed His faithfulness to us we could say that we just never know what God might want to do. But for those of us who have seen healings and miracles, it is impossible to say such things with an honest heart. When God has proved His power to us and showed us His desire to touch men and women and when we have a huge portfolio of victories and spiritual successes, it begs an explanation when suddenly victory is absent. When we as a congregation know by experience the victories of the Lord, we have to ask what is wrong when we cannot stand before our enemies any longer.

Joshua and the elders of Israel were on their faces before the Lord. How could they trust a God Who blesses their armies one day and then lets them be slaughtered the next? There is a strong sense of betrayal when someone we trust in abandons us and lets us hang.

The Lord finally spoke to Joshua. Let me paraphrase: "Stop praying! This is nothing to pray about. Get up off the ground! Why do you automatically assume when something goes wrong that I am the One Who is in the wrong? Might there be another explanation? Why do you insult Me by accusing Me of changing My character?

"Israel has sinned . . . they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived . . . Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies . . . " (Jos 7:11, 12).

God says, "Surprise, surprise; I am not the One Who sinned." Why is that a shock to us? It is because of the belief that God runs everything the way He wants and we are not responsible. True, God IS in control but we ARE responsible for our part in His plan.

Notice also the Lord says they have sinned; the nation has sinned. The fact is only one individual, Achan, took the accursed things. One person sinned but it affected the entire camp and army and nation. Does it make any sense that one man sins and the whole nation suffers loss? It does when we understand what we are. Israel was one people. The Church is one Body. We are intimately joined to every other member of the Body, particularly the local expression we are a part of.

Can it be that one person sins and the entire congregation suffers? We weep with those who weep and we rejoice with those who rejoice because of what kind of thing we are. We are one Body in Christ. What I do does affect the entire body. What a brother or sister in the congregation does really does affect me. The American philosophy of independence and individualism has no place in the Church of Jesus. Our citizenship is in heaven and we live by the bylaws of the Kingdom of God.

Can it be that we cannot stand before the enemies of sickness and death because we are joined to persons who are deceiving? Are we holding the key to someone's healing in our disobedience or our repentance? What was the sin that caused the ruin of Israel before the small army of Ai? It was disobedience but specifically it was a secret financial sin. For some reason, this type of sin seems to have a most serious effect upon the community we are a part of. The crime of one man resulted in the death of 36 neighbors and eventually in the death of Achan, his sons and daughters, and all that he had. Can it really be that we are joined to one another in a way that effects life and death? We may want to say, "That's Old Testament."

We need to ask Ananias about that. The same severity was seen in Acts 5 when he and Sapphira committed a secret financial sin. In this case it was dealt with quickly and they were both buried within three hours of the incident. Did God have mercy on the young Spirit-filled Church by so doing? Did He save her the embarrassment of having a reputation of being a powerless social club? Did He preserve her testimony before the people of Jerusalem?

Application

In considering these things there is a warning that must be issued. Beware lest we end up working for the Accuser of the brethren. We should probably not ask, "Who did it?" but let us first ask, "Is it I?" We must not judge others first in this matter but ourselves. We do not want to suspect our brother or judge his liberty in the Lord. This is devils' work - to suspect our brother without any word from the Lord about it.

As leaders, singers, teachers we must ask ourselves: Are we the dead body contaminating the entire city? Is there a polluting stream coming from our hearts? And as members of the local congregation we must ask: Are we committing some financial impropriety or sin or some other secret disobedience and bringing a curse upon the entire camp so that we are not able to stand before our enemies? Our life is not our own. We owe all our brothers and sisters in Christ a pure and dedicated heart so we can help the army of the Lord face the enemy and put him to flight.



Dec. 19, 2002

Email: david@davidestewart.com

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