January 26, 2011 Forward Motion Faith

Sorry this didn’t get posted last night (1.25.2011) for some reason.

Fallen Birds – Who Cares?

A few weeks ago there were simultaneous incidents where hundreds of birds were falling out of the sky – dead.  It was eerie to watch the news reports.  They were hanging in trees, lying on the roads, in people’s yards, on vehicles – they were literally everywhere.  Scientists are trying to figure out what happened.  The brightest of scientific intelligentsia have gathered to figure it out.  I don’t know if our intellectuals can figure it out or not – but I have an idea of Who already knows what happened, how many to the number fell to the ground and just what caused their untimely death. 

• Matthew 10:29    “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

The idea here is that our heavenly Father is well aware who we are, where we are, what we are doing, where we are going, how we are provided for and protected.  God knows us better than anyone else.  He created us.  He breathed life into us.  He set us in motion.  He gave us life.  If the Father knows when a sparrow falls to the ground – He is a master at knowing us!

What scientists are chasing to discover God already has figured out!  He is Sovereign in His knowledge of us.  But yet there is another part of being human that the birds don’t have.  Self-soul discovery…because they do not have a soul!   Allow me a moment here.

I read a story the other day about a bird who kept flying into the outside rear view mirror of a car.  He was in effect attacking himself.  Eventually the bird hit the mirror with such force that he broke his own neck and died.  One of two things happened here with this bird: 1) he didn’t like himself or 2) he was attacking someone who looked a lot like he did!  We will never know of course because obviously birds don’t have souls!

You see a bird cannot know himself like we can.  No one knows us like we do ourselves.  Paul wrote to the church at Corinth and said, “…who knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of a man which is in him?” (1 Corinthians 2.11).  Yep!  No one knows you like you know you! 

If God in heaven knows when a bird falls to the ground and that bird has no soul how much more important are you to the Father?  If a bird has enough sense to build a nest and provide for its own then how much more should we, as humans, take care of ourselves?   The other day the Lord counted the birds as they fell.  He knew they had fallen to the earth.  He KNEW! 

During this time of fasting I want to challenge you to know that God knows you.  He has also given you the unique ability to know yourself.  He has given you the ability to examine yourself spiritually. 

• 1 Corinthians 11.28   “Let a man examine himself.”
• 2 Corinthians 13:5  “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?

I like the fact that Paul tells us to examine ourselves.  Spend time looking inwardly at yourself.  Now then, here is the safe guard.  Because we are all selfish creatures by nature, we may be prone to give ourselves a little break on our self-examination.  We may want to fudge the exam here and there in an attempt to justify the results of our inspection.  Fear not my friend!  Paul also addresses this.  God is concerned about you.  Yep!  He knows when the smallest of birds fall the ground and He knows when we are keeping something from Him – good or bad.

• 1 Corinthians 4:3-4  But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.   4       For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. 

At first it seems as though Paul is contradicting other areas of his own writing.  He is not.  He is saying that at the moment of his writing he is unaware of any evil thing in his life.  He is not moved by any attempt of someone else to examine him.  He then says something you need to hear and understand.  He tells the Corinthians that he is not acquitted by his own self-examination but rather the Lord Himself who examines him.

Oh my Lord Jesus!  If only we, through our season of fasting, can find a place where we are acquitted of any evil doing in our heart by the Lord Himself!  Not our self-acquittal!  Not the acquittal of a court or justice system…but by the Lord Himself.  Too many times we look in the mirror like the bird and we don’t like what we see.  Sometimes we may go into a passive / aggressive attack on ourselves.  We may, like the bird, attack someone else who resembles our “sin nature.”  We don’t like what we see in someone else because it reminds too much of what is imaged in the mirror so we keep attacking the image – not knowing we are about to knock ourselves unconscious! 

I ask you to understand this tonight.  If the Lord knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and it has no intrinsic value – it is worth a half a penny – then how much more does He know us?  If the Lord knows about a bird with no soul how much more does He care for you and I with the innate ability to examine ourselves?  He loves us so much He gave us the ability to look inside our own heart and settle spiritual issues.  The safe-guard?  His ultimate examination!  I leave you tonight with this thought: the Holy Spirit was sent to assist us in the process. He came to convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment.  Did you get that last word?   Judgment!  The Holy Spirit will assist you in the judgment arena!  Others will judge you because they always do.  We are a society possessed with uncovering each other’s weaknesses and failures.  We delight in an “evil” way pointing fingers at others.  But wait a minute!  How long has it been since you sat back, withdrew your criticism of others, your judgment of others and asked the Holy Spirit to examine your heart?  Oh we say we are in the faith but we sometimes don’t act like it.  Paul said two things to us in his writing.  First, examine yourself and two, let Him examine you. 

I have a feeling that during this fast the Holy Spirit will purify your thoughts and your actions.  Let Him help you.   We don’t have to be like the soulless bird which kept flying into the rear view mirror.  We have the knowledge of the One who will help us with what we don’t like about ourselves.