It’s Not About Us
(Ultimate Divine Destiny)
Galatians 2:20; 2 Samuel 6
Over the past several weeks I have been pondering and meditating on two concepts. Meditating-like a cow chewing its cud, I’ve had one concept in each cheek as I’ve chewed. But the juices and flavors have run together and the concepts have merged into a singular concept that as a whole is indeed more glorious a revelation than the two separately. Maybe if I hadn’t been so dense, I would have realized that the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me this from the beginning.
Have you ever told a child something to do without their full, undivided attention, only to have to gain their full attention and tell them again to their response: “Why didn’t you say that before?” Well, God has to do the same with his children. Amen. or ~Oh, me~
We have been trained in our culture that the world revolves around us. Everything is out there for our beckoning, our pleasure, our desire, our satisfaction, our comfort, and our whims. Even the church has bought into this hedonistic philosophy by telling believers that everything Christ did, he did just for you. I would like to take exception with this theology and challenge it with scripture. If we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds,” (Rom 12:2) then why is the Church conforming to the world’s view of everything?
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
This verse has often been used as justification because it does say that He “loved me and gave himself for me.” So, we assume that it is all about us. After all, didn’t “God so love the world that he gave…” (John 3:16)?
So in our narcissistic little minds, we think it is all about us and the church has let us for centuries.
Narcissism, according to mentalhealth.com, is actually a psychological disorder.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
3. believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)
4. requires excessive admiration
5. has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
6. is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
7. lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
8. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
Narcissism is named after Narcissus, and both derive from the Greek word narke "numb" from which we also get the word narcotic. Thus for the Greeks Narcissus stood for callousness and insensitivity, as he was emotionally numb to the entreaties of those who fell in love with his beauty. (wikipedia.org)
Narcissus fell in love with his reflection in the pool of water and tried to seduce the beautiful boy, not realizing it was himself he was looking at.
Consequently, he grieved himself to death there at the pool by the unrequited love of his reflection.
Just as the Greek myth of Narcissus, if we live our life focused on us, we too will die, our destiny unfulfilled.
But, please note another part of that scripture:
Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
Do you see it? Did you catch those seven all important words? “I no longer live, but Christ lives.”
That ought to make you shout.
It is not about us!
Not you, not me, not our church, not our families, not our priorities, not out success, not our failures, it is simply not about us. It is all about Him.
John 15:16 (NIV)
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-- fruit that will last…
Yes, God chooses to use us, and bless us, and forgive us, and save us, and heal us, and deliver us, but it is not for or about us. Just as in the time of Pharaoh, God does everything to bring Himself glory.
Exodus 14:4 (NIV)
4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD." So the Israelites did this.
It is all about HIM! In fact, He will not even share His glory with another…
Isaiah 48:11 (KJV)
11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
11…I will not let them have my glory. (TLB)
Sorry to burst your bubble, but it simply isn’t about us. Everything He has done is about and for His glory.
It has always been about Him and His ways.
He told the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
That is why after the Ark of the Covenant had been in the house of Abinadab, man’s way would not work. Man’s way never works.
Prov 14:12 (NIV)
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.
Now to the men gathered at Abinidab’s house, it seemed a good thing to take the Ark back to the temple. And since this was such a noble and worthy act, the end certainly must justify the means…
2 Samuel 6:1-7 (NIV)
1 David again brought together out of Israel chosen men, thirty thousand in all. 2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.
Whether or not it makes sense to us, when God gives instruction or direction, He intends on it being followed. And He has His reasons, because our ways always lead to death.
Remember again, it is not about us or our ways or our thoughts.
Now see this, when things are done His way…
2 Samuel 6:9-18 (NIV)
9 David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" 10 He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household.
12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. 13 When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, 15 while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
16 As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.
17 They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty.
God has a way, which is often contrary to our way. And He certainly has that right, since it is all about Him anyhow.
Dr. Mark Hanby says in his book The Ministry of the Saints: “…God moves on objects that have a destiny--not on inanimate objects that have only purpose.” (Pg. 83)
Since the Ark represented Him, God, He refused to move on an object with simply a purpose: the ox cart. God instead insisted that He would only move on and be moved by (My Lord) the shoulders of the priests; animate objects with divine destiny.
The shoulders represent government:
Isaiah 9:6 (NIV) 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
Even in this seemingly insignificant act of moving the Ark, God was resting His sovereign will on men.
Can you see it? God desires and wills to move on men, with men and through men!
In recent months, all of Christendom has been in a tizzy over living a life of purpose. Chairs have purpose, ink pens have purpose, even cow manure has a purpose, but if all we ever do is seek our purpose, we will go to our grave with a purpose.
Purpose is all about us…what we can do, what we can be, what we can become.
We must change our will. Scriptures says that the enemy willed to do things:
Exodus 15:9 (NIV)
9 "The enemy boasted,
’I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
It is not about our will, but His will.
Here is what God wills for His own:
> to build us up
> and make a place for us with Him
1 Chronicles 17:10-14
"’I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: 11 When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. 14 I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’"
> He wants to build a house.
> He wants to build a Kingdom.
> He wants to build a Church.
Matthew 16:18 (NIV) …I will build my church…
David declared in the Psalms:
Ps 127:1 (NIV)
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Destiny is all about HIM! Our ultimate divine destiny can only be found as we pursue Him.
Our destiny is about:
> What we can do through him…
> Who we can be in Him…
> What we can become with Him…
After all we were created for His pleasure…
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV)
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
We didn’t make us, He made us…
Psalm 100:3 (NIV)
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
And since He made us, we are His. If we are His, then it can’t be about us. We were created for Him and He has intended for us an ultimate and divine destiny.
God spoke these words to the prophet Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 29:11-12 (NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
That is how we have hope and a future. Without Him we can never see our destiny fulfilled.
John 15:5 (NIV)
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
We only become people of destiny as we find ourselves living through Him because our ultimate destiny is only found in Him.
It is really all about Him!
Moses asked God:
Exodus 3:13-14 (NIV)
"Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ’The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ’What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ’I AM has sent me to you.’"
The only I it is about is I AM!
Jesus said:
John 8:58 (NIV)
58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
We have a choice:
We can either get all wrapped up in us… or…
We can get the focus off of us and onto Him, after all, that it is our ultimate divine destiny, Him.
> Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3
> In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. John 1:4
> Miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him. Acts 2:22
> It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him. Acts 3:16
> Through Him everyone who believes is justified. Acts 13:39
We are more than conquerors through Him. Rom 8:37
> For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Rom 11:36
> Through Him we have access to the Father. Eph 2:18
> I can do everything through Him. Phil 4:13
> Through Him to reconcile to Himself all things. Col 1:20
> He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him. Heb 7:25
> Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God. 1 Peter 1:21
> This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:9
He is not only is our destiny, but our destination is Him.
