Letting God Be God In Death #4 Series

The premise I have been pursuing these precious Sundays in the preaching moment is simply this: At times, All of Us Project A Stubborn Opposition, even a Religious Resistance, to Authentic Authority and Legitimate Leadership.

That stubbornness is manifested in our Opting For Kadesh (Sacrilegious Sanctuary of Satan) rather than Canaan (Sacred Sanctuary of the Sovereign Savior), and, our Personal Preference of Prominent People From Our Perspective Over the Personal Presence of the Holy God. We are learning how pervasive and universal is the ‘Miriam Factor’ in all of us.

On last Sunday we explored our perennial problem of Not Being Able to Master Our Moods, our failure to Remain Constant. We explored the Frequency of our Migrating Moods. We migrate from Blessing to Blaming; we gravitate from Praising to Finger-Pointing; we course from Complimenting to Criticism; from Inspiration to Imprecation. We navigate from the holy to the Horrible, from the Heights of the Honorable to the Depths of Degradation much-too-much and way-too-often!!

We learned that our Blessing Mood is often a One-Time Compartmentalized Act Reserved for Sunday Morning, whereas our Speaking Against is a Repetitive Imperfect Tense which spans from Sunday to Sunday.

And so, we were interested in Why we Keep On Speaking Against one another on a consistent and sustained basis? Why is it that we saint live more in the Kadesh of Criticism than we do in the Canaan of Praise?

And we discovered on last Sunday morning that the Problem of the OTHER WOMAN was one of the Causes. Simply because the Problem of the Other Woman seems to bring to the forefront Our Personal Preference of People Who Are Like Us and Who, thus, Remind Us Of Us. And we discovered How Large a part Race Plays in our mixture of madness and mess. Verse 1 states quite plainly that one reason why Miriam played the Blame-Game with Moses was because of the “Ethiopian woman whom he had married.”

Sometimes, people we Prefer make Decisions that Anger Us in the Choice of a Marriage-Partner or Boyfriend/Girlfriend.

That’s why we ought to heed the hints and suggestions of the series of messages because Perturbing Perils Are Paired With Persons Who Are Positioned In Prominent Places Of Power.

Miriam and Aaron were Two Prominent People who were Poised and Positioned By God For Greatness. But because they were Paired with the Perturbing Peril of ARROGANT HIGH-MINDEDNESS, They Blew It!!!

II. AND SO, THE SECOND SUGGESTION OFFERED BY OUR TEXT AS TO WHY WE CRITICISE THE CONTENT OF ONE’S CHARACTER AS WELL AS THE CRITICAL CONSEQUENCE OF ONE’S CALLING IS ARROGANT HIGH-MINDEDNESS.

Now those of you are who conversant with the Paradoxes that are Paired with our Privileged Position of being Providentially Preferred in Christ Jesus will recognize that this very point is dealing with one of those paradoxes. Because there is a sense in which we are exhorted and authorized by God Himself to be High-Minded.

Now just before you judge me to be a heretic and propagating things contrary to the revealed mind of God as recorded in the Holy Writ, let me remind you of a few instances of this High-Mindedness Principle pushed by God all thru the Scriptures. Isaiah the prophet reminds us in Isaiah 6 that the Lord our God is “high and lifted up.” He is the God who is above all other gods. He is incomprehensible, beyond the full grasp of our understanding. And thus, for us creatures of low places to gain some insight into this High and Lifted Up God, demands a measure of High-Mindedness. We have to “Lift up our eyes” beyond the hills from whence comes our help.

For instance, if I want to be kept in perfect peace, it means that I must be High-Minded in that I keep my mind stayed on the Lord. This is the principle that Paul picks up on in Colossians 3. In verse 1 of Colossians 3 Paul says: “If ye then be risen with Christ (Raised, Elevated, Lifted Up), seek those things which are ABOVE, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affections on THINGS ABOVE, not on things on the earth.” now, that’s high-mindedness!!!

And then in Philippians 4:8, Paul enumerates some of those High-Minded Things. He writes: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE, whatsoever things are HONEST, whatsoever things are JUST, whatsoever things are PURE, whatsoever things are LOVELY, whatsoever things are OF GOOD REPORT; if there be any VIRTUE, and if there be ANY PRAISE, THINK ON THESE THINGS.”

Which all underscores the fact that you can’t make it to a High Place with a Low Mind. You can’t dwell in the Mountains with a Valley Mentality, a Valley mind. In order to Go Up, you have to THINK Up, LOOK UP and then CLIMB UP. No one will go to Heaven Minding Earthly Things!!!