Dan Sullivan

“He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.”
(Psalms 103.7, KJV)

His ways: manner, journey, path, conversation and custom, a road, the root of this is the word that means “the way that you string a bow” which is by walking on it and bending it

His acts: performance, deed, effect, work (ok, that is obvious) but the root word of this word is to glean, abuse, overdo, to thoroughly effect

God made these things known to Moses and to Israel. It’s interesting that God ‘made known’ these things. There is a different word in Hebrew for teach or taught, but instead it says God made these things known. Only God can give the grace to us to grasp something. Information is information. God changes the heart. May we cry out to God and say “God, make your path, manner, journey, custom and conversation KNOWN to me! String me like a bow, JESUS!”

Louie Giglio talked about God not being about wanting us to “do this better” or clean this up, or change this part of our lives so we can do this different. He said that more than anything else God wants us. Period. He doesn’t want us to _____. He just wants us.

God wants you.

He talks about knowing all of the facts and the slogan and creed of Krispy Kreme, but that they don’t sell donuts just to get the Krispy Kreme information across, they sell them for an experience.

Jesus did not come and teach the sermon on the mount so that we’d have a list of things that we should do differently. He didn’t bring a new law to us to replace Moses’ law.

He came to fill up the law.

““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”

(Matthew 5.17-18, NIV)

“to fulfill them” is the same word used of a FULL NET OF FISH.

My love for Cindy isn’t by a list. I don’t have a list of how to relate to her, or how to be with her, or do-s and don’ts concerning her. Since I don’t have that list, sometimes I mess up on accident, and I hurt her, but I know and she knows that it’s better that I know HER than have some list, because I could never know her if all I had of her was a list.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

(1John 4.18, NIV)

There isn’t any fear in my relationship with Cindy, because I know that eventually she’ll forgive me for however I mess up. The same is with Christ. I know He will forgive me, no matter what I do, and I live KNOWING HIM rather than some list.

Here’s a little fancy table to search out the details more
Wife/List
Unpredictable/ Predictable
Personal/ Impersonal
Failure needs Forgiveness/ Failure needs a Formula
Free /Debits & Credits
Alive /Dead

the current fad of the 10 commandments proves that it really is easier for us to live by a list. We try to make laws out of the command to draw near to God by grace. We try to make laws of Christian living, such as tithing and quiet times. Illegal things come up, like cuss words or hanging out with certain people. But none of that is the Gospel.

Jesus said, “if you know me, you know the Father.” and He talked about it like it was one of the most important things we could do!

“Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.””

(John 6.28-29, NIV)

So I’m trying to think of times when God supplied people with things before they needed them vs. when they needed them.

Peter didn’t see anything on the water to hold him up.
The disciples didn’t see enough bread in the basket for all those people-ever. They just saw enough bread and fish once it was in everyone’s hands.
David picked up the rocks for Goliath and his family while walking across the creek to fight Goliath.
The Red Sea parted when Moses put in his staff.
The Jordan River stacked up when the Levites were in up to their ankles.

One time I can think of that they got something in advance of needing it:
On the day before the Sabbath, they were given a double portion of Manna. That way they could gather it, and keep it so they wouldn’t gather it the next day. That was also the only day of the week that it wouldn’t spoil and rot by the next morning. So can I go so far to say that they got their provision in advance when they rested?

Hebrews 4:3 “Now we who have believed enter that rest.”
Hebrews 4:9-11

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

Malachi 1
- paraphrase of Malachi 1:6-7
- You priests are the ones who are defiling my name. “but how” you may ask. By putting defiled food on my altar. “But how does that defile You?” you say. By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible!
- The real verse: “When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty
- The people have returned from exile, rebuilt the temple that even though it was puny, it would have a greater presence of God’s glory than ever before, and have begun to offer sacrifices. But the sacrifices they bring are the dregs of what they own. The leftovers, the less that desirable from their flocks and herds and posessions.
- Many people in my culture give away their old widget when they buy a new widget. That is good, that keeps things from going to waste. But in terms of the church, don’t regard it as a sacrifice. I know we are under grace and not the law, and that no sacrifice can draw us any closer to God than Jesus’ sacrifice has already brought us, but in terms of the heart, I think we should take a closer look at hand-me-downs.
- When we’re in the position of “I’ll give away my old one because I’m planning on buying a new one,” here is the heart check. Are we baptizing our greed and calling it generosity? Are we taking our desire for excess and the newest and the latest and spiritualizing it because we are giving away the stuff that is perfectly good to someone that needs it. That’s good right? yeah, it’s good to give somebody what they need, but would you just go out and by them a new one? Would you go to the trouble of selling the old one, and then giving that person the money? Even better, would you decide that you want to do to others what you want them to do to you, and since you want a new widget, you go out and buy them a new widget instead, making due with whatever you have?
- The priests that Malachi was talking to didn’t even know they were doing wrong. They could have, because it is written “When he is made aware of the sin he committed, hemust bring as his offering a male goat without defect.” (Lev. 4:23) But God has to tell them three times what they are doing because their hearts have hardened towards God. They may even have learned these practices from the earlier priests, and heard spiritual reasons why it was ok, but they could have still seen the truth in the Law.
- Then it says “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar!” (Mal. 1:10) God is saying that He would SO rather people not even offer sacrifices‚Äìnot even enter His temple, than what they are doing now.
- “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings wil be brought to (5602) my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty” (Mal. 1:11)
- 5602, Nagash: to come near, approach, draw near, touch, present. Essentially denotes coming into proximity to an object. Can mean approaching someone to kiss.
- from every tongue, tribe, and nation God will have true worshippers. They won’t have to go to any temple or any sacred place, because THEY will be the temple, THEY will be made sacred by the blood of the Lamb.
- “But you profane it by saying of the Lord‚’ table, ‘It is defiled,’ and of its food, ‘It is contemptible.’ And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty. (Mal. 1:12-13)
- this was convicting to me because I know I’ve said things like this about going to church, participating in Bible studies, and other things that I know God is asking me to do. It’s gross, I don’t want to, excuse, excuse, excuse. The sorriest thing about that, in my case usually anyway, is that the things that God asks me to do really are for my own good, and for His glory. If I knew that, then would I ever make my lazy or cowardly excuses?
- ‘Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give
it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king’ says the
LORD Almighty, ‘and my name is to be feared among the nations.’ Mal (1:14)
- What if we did a flippety-flop of this verse: “If anyone says, ‚’I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” (1John 4:20)
- How often do I do something to God that I would never ever do to somebody I see every day. Do I say I’ll meet Him and don’t show up? Do I fall asleep in the middle of an important conversation? Do I say wait a minute, and get up and walk away, going on to do something else like play my playstation, instead of sitting and talking with my lover and my master? Do I take the bigger ice cream cone for myself and give the smaller one that is melting to my love? I think I will take these questions with me, and see what other crippled, diseased, injured, blemished sacrifices I’m offering.