Pastor’s Blog

Latest Post From the Pastor’s Blog: Lift Up Your Head

Look Familiar?

Advertising is an intriguing thing to me. The ability to use a controlled environment (I’ve seriously never seen a Whopper look as good in real life as on TV), a glamourous spokesperson (if it works for all those Revlon girls and it got Peyton Manning to the Super Bowl it has to be the right thing for you), and precise language (Fill in the blank with the company of these slogans: “Drivers Wanted” __________; “More bars in more places” __________; “Finger lickin’ good” __________). Advertising also has this strange effect on me. I can be walking through Wal-mart, see something I have no need for and have a strange sensation that I need it just because of what it looks like or what it says. Who knew that pen and pencil packaging had the power of Jedi mind tricks? (“You will buy me…” *Uniball waves hand*).

Advertising, too, is everywhere. Everywhere you look – or hear – advertising is around. Well, almost everywhere. One of the most popular places that I think advertising could be, where it isn’t yet, to have a huge effect, is not on billboards and signs but on sidewalks and walkways. Reason: because most of us, almost all of us, walk with our heads down and not with heads lifted up.

This past Sunday I preached through Psalm 110 and saw that Jesus is King and as King He conquers the Church with love and His enemies with wrath. Verses 5-7 describe the latter, a picture of Jesus mopping up, so to speak, His enemies that have been scattered and have fled from His Gospel and His rule going forward (seen in v. 2). The last verse of Psalm 110, “He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore He will lift up His head” is great imagery of Jesus barely taking time to refresh Himself as He pursues His fleeing foes. More than that though, verse 7 has great parallelism, and probably it’s roots, tied to the story of Gideon in Judges 6, 7, and 8. In Judges 7 Gideon is called by God to deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites. The story goes that Gideon set out with an army of 32,000 but God told Gideon that was too many. God explained, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” Simply God wanted Israel to know for certain that it wasn’t their own power, might, and size that delivered them – instead it was the power, might, size, goodness, mercy, grace, love, justice, and promise of God who would deliver them. (A fantastic parallel to the Cross as well)! The story continues, Gideon sends 22,000 home and maintains a force of 10,000. God again says, “Too many” and this time offers one of the strangest tests in the bible. God tells Gideon to take his army down to the water. He then tells Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink” The story explains, then, that 300 men “lapped, putting their hands to their mouths…but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink the water.” Strange? Certainly a peculiar way to discern a special forces unit. But I think that there is something to it, especially when we see the parallel in Psalm 110.7 – to kneel down to drink the water you have to put your face in it – eyes down; but lapping the water out of your hands enables you to keep your head up – to be alert, ready, aware. In this oddball story of Gideon’s army we see God help Gideon select a people that were alert, ready, and aware – and he sent home the people, who with heads down, were consumed with a present need and not a kingdom possibility. (By the way, the first 22,000 sent home were “fearful and trembling,” too afraid to stand up and battle their oppressors).

When we couple the story of our conquering King Jesus, who is conquering His Church with Divine Love and conquering His enemies with Divine Wrath, and the story of Gideon’s 300 who are not consumed with a present need but aware of kingdom possibilities, we learn something very important for ourselves.

Jesus is The King, conquering the kingdom of the world with the Kingdom of God. This has been Jesus’ mission from the beginning – His first words, “The Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” “Believe” Jesus is saying, that through His death, burial, and resurrection He has reversed the curse – that the Kingdom of God is really, and truly, here. But Jesus, except for three years when He went around announcing the arrival of the Kingdom through miracles and healing and ultimately in His death and resurrection (and finally in His return), did not leave all the work of proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom to Himself – He charged the Church to proclaim the arrival of the Kingdom – to trumpet the Good News through word and deed.

What do we learn when we couple the story of Jesus as The King who conquers in Psalm 110 with the story of Gideon’s 300 who lapped like dogs?

The King, who will “drink from the brook by the way…lifting up His head” is desirous of those in His Church who, too, will keep their heads up – alert, ready, aware – not consumed by their present need but available for Kingdom possibilities.

In your life, how much time do you spend with the “blinders” on? Going about your business and missing so many opportunities to bless a brother or sister at church, missing opportunities to bless people through your day. Stop. Lift up your head – open your ears – pay attention – be ready. They’re right in front of you in the check out line. They’re just over at that table in the coffee shop. They live right next door to you.

Lift up your head to see and to hear all the Kingdom possibilities before you. And see that your King, who has already conquered, is busy all around your life making known the arrival of His Kingdom. How will you participate?