{"id":8166,"date":"2020-05-01T08:28:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T12:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=8166"},"modified":"2020-05-01T08:31:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T12:31:01","slug":"go-ahead-make-my-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/go-ahead-make-my-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Go Ahead, Make My Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is one of\u00a0the\u00a0most famous movie quotes of the 1980s. Clint Eastwood said it in the movie\u00a0Sudden Impact<\/em>\u00a0(I don\u2019t think I ever saw the movie, but I was a child of the 80s).\u00a0I would like to\u00a0use\u00a0this quote as a metaphor for how\u00a0we should and should not\u00a0respond to our heavenly\u00a0Father.<\/p>\n

What? Keep reading.<\/p>\n

The Negative First\u00a0\u2013 Never act\u00a0Arrogantly\u00a0Toward the Lord<\/h2>\n

The Bible reminds us\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>to put the Lord to\u00a0the\u00a0test. In Matthew 4:7 and Luke 4:12\u00a0Satan encourages Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple\u00a0because\u00a0His angels would rescue\u00a0Him. It sounded simple enough. Jump to your death, but then ask the angels to rescue you. No big deal, right?\u00a0Jesus responds with, \u201cIt is written,\u00a0\u2018You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.\u2019\u201d\u00a0This is a quotation of\u00a0Deuteronomy 6:16. When you read Deuteronomy 6:16 you realize that this passage reminds the people of earlier events. Moses\u00a0commands the people not to test the Lord\u00a0like they did earlier in their wilderness wandering. Exodus 17:7 describes the scene. The nation of Israel is newly freed from Egypt and watched the destruction of\u00a0Pharaoh\u2019s\u00a0army and now they are complaining against the Lord.<\/p>\n

This entire sequence from Exodus 17:7 to Deuteronomy 6:16 to Matthew 4:7\/Luke 4:12\u00a0shows that\u00a0we should never try to manipulate or force God\u2019s hand<\/em>.\u00a0Just because God can do something does not mean that we should attempt to force\u00a0Him to do it.<\/p>\n

Peter also used this same\u00a0\u201ctesting\u201d\u00a0terminology when he confronted Sapphira. You\u00a0may\u00a0remember the story. Ananias (her husband) and Sapphira owned a piece of property. They sold it in order to share with other believers. This was a challenging time for the believers as some were persecuted and exceedingly poor. It sounds like Ananias and Sapphira are doing a very noble thing. However,\u00a0in the process\u00a0of giving their gift, they\u00a0tried to make a big deal out of\u00a0it. They said they were giving the entire value of the land!\u00a0In reality, they\u00a0secretly planned\u00a0together\u00a0to withhold a portion. The problem was not the sharing or withholding,\u00a0for they had the opportunity to do either. The issue is that they lied. They wanted people to believe\u00a0that they were doing something they were not\u00a0doing\u00a0(Acts 5:1-11). Peter says that she was putting the Spirit of God to the test\u00a0(v. 9).\u00a0Why? Because they were disobedient to the Word of the Lord. The issue was not their generosity, but their willingness to lie about it.\u00a0As you remember the story, both Ananias and Sapphira died. If Jesus did not convince us\u00a0of the danger, then certainly this story would!<\/p>\n

As we keep reading the Bible,\u00a0Paul challenged the church at Corinth to learn from the wilderness generation and not be like them. He\u00a0instructed\u00a0them\u00a0(and us!)\u00a0not to put the Lord to the test (1 Corinthians 10:9).\u00a0His reference in v. 9 recounts the time in Numbers 21 where the people complained about the manna God provided. Serpents came and many died. Paul describes that event as putting God to the test. They were dissatisfied with the provision that God gave them.<\/p>\n

The theme seems clear \u2013 do not put the Lord to the test. Do not try to manipulate or force\u00a0His hand. Do not willfully disobey God and then dare\u00a0Him to do something about it. Do not live in a\u00a0state of grumbling because the Lord has not given you what\u00a0He has given to others. These are actions that put God to the test.\u00a0In fact, sometimes it is helpful to remind ourselves that the Bible explains that God is the tester of human hearts (Proverbs 17:3\u00a0is only one example of many). Even if God allows hardship for the express purpose of testing what is in our hearts \u2013 that does not give us the right to put God to the test.<\/p>\n

There is never a time that we turn to the Lord through our words or our actions\u00a0and say, \u201cGo ahead,\u00a0Lord,\u00a0make my day.\u201d\u00a0We are\u00a0His bond servants through the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That\u00a0was\u00a0true when our jobs were going well, when our retirement accounts were growing, and when we were living in times of blessing. It is also true when times\u00a0are\u00a0difficult\u00a0and when our old way of life seems threatened.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Fascinating\u00a0Positive\u00a0Side\u00a0\u2013 Live\u00a0Faithfully and\u00a0Watch the Lord Keep\u00a0His\u00a0Promises<\/h2>\n

I have mentioned two\u00a0truths\u00a0so far.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. We are not to put the Lord to the test by grumbling against\u00a0Him for what\u00a0He provides, rejecting\u00a0His commands, or lying\u00a0in an attempt to\u00a0gain some glory or reputation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. We mentioned just briefly that the Bible says the Lord tries the hearts of men. In a passage or two, we find that it is even appropriate to ask the Lord to test us so that we can know our own hearts (Psalm 139:23-24).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      But there is one passage that is very different.<\/p>\n

      Malachi 3:8<\/u>\u00a0\u201cWill a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!\u201d You ask: \u201cHow do we rob You?\u201d \u201cBy not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.\u00a09<\/u>\u00a0You are suffering under a curse, yet you\u2014the whole nation\u2014are still robbing Me.\u00a010<\/u>\u00a0Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house.\u00a0Test Me in this way<\/em>,\u201d says the LORD of Hosts. \u201cSee if I will not open the floodgates of heaven\u00a0<\/sup>and pour out a blessing for you without measure.\u00a011<\/u>\u00a0I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,\u201d says the LORD of Hosts.\u00a012<\/u>\u00a0\u201cThen all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,\u201d says the LORD of Hosts.<\/p>\n

      Here is an instance where the Lord invited the nation of Israel to put God\u2019s\u00a0willingness to fulfill\u00a0His\u00a0commands to the test. He was not undoing any of the theology we learned earlier.\u00a0The Lord was reminding\u00a0His people that\u00a0He is always faithful to\u00a0His promises and commitments. He invites us to obey and then watch what happens. In their case, the Lord says that\u00a0He controls the \u201cdevourer.\u201d This is the\u00a0main\u00a0threat to an agricultural society. The Lord knows how to care for\u00a0His people even if it means turning a threat\u00a0that results in calamity\u00a0in another direction.<\/p>\n

      This passage is specifically about the Israelites\u2019\u00a0requirements to give under the old covenant. I would like to broaden the application for us. Let\u2019s think about the commandments of the Lord.<\/p>\n

      We never look at God and tell\u00a0Him to make our day. We do not manipulate\u00a0Him, or coerce\u00a0Him, or demand from\u00a0Him. But we do follow\u00a0Him. We do seek, by\u00a0His power working in us, to live for\u00a0Him every minute of every day.\u00a0Then we watch\u00a0Him fulfill the commitments that\u00a0He has\u00a0made. It is not a sneaky form of manipulation. It is based on a heart that loves the Lord, wants to live for\u00a0Him, and wants to watch God keeping every promise in living color.<\/p>\n

      Malachi 3:8-12 reminds us that sometimes God says something like this to us:<\/em><\/p>\n

      Go ahead – rejoice in your relationship with Jesus, demonstrate your love for the Lord by keeping His commandments, live with the commitment and passion to lift up the name of Jesus so all give glory to His name – and you will make my day.<\/em><\/p>\n

      \n

      Photo by\u00a0Joshua Earle<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      This is one of\u00a0the\u00a0most famous movie quotes of the 1980s. Clint Eastwood said it in the movie\u00a0Sudden Impact\u00a0(I don\u2019t think I ever saw the movie, but I was a child of the 80s).\u00a0I would like to\u00a0use\u00a0this quote as a metaphor for how\u00a0we should and should not\u00a0respond to our heavenly\u00a0Father. What? Keep reading. The Negative First\u00a0\u2013… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[25941],"yoast_head":"\nGo Ahead, Make My Day - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/go-ahead-make-my-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Go Ahead, Make My Day - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is one of\u00a0the\u00a0most famous movie quotes of the 1980s. Clint Eastwood said it in the movie\u00a0Sudden Impact\u00a0(I don\u2019t think I ever saw the movie, but I was a child of the 80s).\u00a0I would like to\u00a0use\u00a0this quote as a metaphor for how\u00a0we should and should not\u00a0respond to our heavenly\u00a0Father. What? Keep reading. 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