Get Your Gold Back

By Gobel Brockman

     “In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. And as often as the king went into the house of the Lord, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom.” - 1 Kings 14:25-28

     I saw a news report in January about a coin that was sold at auction for $204,000. This coin was a 1943 “wheatback” penny. These pennies are valuable because they were made of copper and accidentally put into circulation. This was during World War II, and copper was being saved for usage for war supplies.

     

     My Dad was a coin collector. After he passed away my Mom gave me three coins from his collection. One of them was a 1943 “wheatback” penny. (Pictured) A few years ago I learned that some of these were valuable. I also learned that most were merely copper-plated lead and pretty much worthless. The article said that the way to tell was to hold it to a magnet. If the magnet stuck to the penny, it was not a valuable coin.

     Mine stuck. (Sad face.)

     In the Scripture from 1 Kings Rehoboam was leading Judah during a time when they were turning away from God. Because of their rebellion, God allowed the king of Egypt to plunder them. The Bible says that he also took the gold shields that Solomon had made. Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them. They looked like gold, they shined like gold, and they gave the appearance that everything was just as before. There was only one problem: THEY WEREN’T GOLD. Just like my penny, they may have fooled the casual observer, but those who knew the truth knew just how fake they were.

     Please allow me to be blunt. You may be in a place right now where you have compromised in your relationship with the Lord. Just like Judah, sin and self-centered living have replaced holiness and obedience. Perhaps you’ve lost the “gold” in your Christian walk, but you’re still trying to give the appearance that all is well by presenting “bronze shields” for all to see. We may still be going to church and doing all the “church stuff” that goes with it, but all while our love and commitment to the Lord have all but dissipated. The sad reality in those times is that we may be able to fool others, but It’s much more difficult to fool ourselves.

     More importantly, it’s impossible to fool God.

     If what I am saying applies to you, my message to you is simple: get rid of the bronze. Repent, make things right with God, and get your gold back. Just like the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, the father waits for his children to return home. And one of the first things he did was to put a ring on his finger.

     I'm sure it wasn't bronze.

   

Waiting For a Move of God

By Gobel Brockman

"I don't wait for a move of God - I AM a move of God!" - Smith Wigglesworth

     We constantly hear things like, "The next revival is just around the corner!" or "The next 'Great Awakening' will soon take place." People are using different phrases to describe what they believe will be "the next move of God." I want to be very clear that I fully believe that is true - the Spirit of God is moving mightily all over the world, and I believe that it will only increase in the coming days. But what has been on my mind is what we see in the first two verses of the very first book of the Bible (Genesis). We read this familiar passage of Scripture in Genesis 1:1:

     "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

     But what catches my attention is what we find in the next verse:

     "The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters."(Genesis 1:2) 

     What I find interesting is that in verse 1 God creates, and immediately in verse 2 it says that He was "moving over the surface of the waters." This is my point:

     We talk about "a move of God" and sometimes fail to recognize that He has been "moving" from the very beginning.

     My point is that the issue isn't that God doesn't want to move; the issue is whether or not we want to move along with Him. We hear a lot about the need for "discipleship." I fully believe that new converts to Christ need to be taught and nurtured in their new faith, but I have a little different view on discipleship that many seem to have. We see several places in the Gospels where Jesus would tell someone, "Follow Me." What we DON'T see is Jesus sitting people down and telling them beforehand everything they would encounter if they chose to follow Him. (We also don't see Him showing up at their house every Saturday to make sure they were coming to church every Sunday.) Jesus simply said "follow Me" - and then He kept moving. It was up to each person to decide whether or not they were going to follow Him. I don't believe it's any different today. God is moving, and He is still inviting all to follow Him. It is up to each of us to decide if we will answer that call.

     There is a great promise for those who do indeed respond to the call to follow Jesus, and it's this: the next great "move of God" is indeed on the horizon! Peter, in preaching the first sermon of the New Testament church, tells us this in Acts 2:16-17:

     "But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh..."

     That word is alive for us today. The same Holy Spirit that moved in Genesis 1:2 is still moving today! Those who will move with Him will be astounded at what He accomplishes in these days. By faith I am excited to see how God moves in these times - excited to see people born again, filled with the Holy Ghost, and moving in power as the Spirit of God moves in them and through them. I am eagerly watching to see how God moves in the days ahead.

     Because God is always moving.  

A Life Worth Dying For

By Gobel Brockman

     I've been thinking a lot recently about a verse of Scripture that many Christians can quote from memory. It is found in Revelation 12:11, and it says this:

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..."

     That is a powerful statement indeed. There is overcoming power in the blood of Jesus Christ that will cleanse us from all sin, as stated in 1 John 1:7. There is also power in the word of our testimony when we proclaim the greatness and the glory of what the Lord has done in our lives. But what I have been thinking about lately is how that there is another part to Revelation 12:11 that we don't hear quoted as often:

"...and they loved not their lives unto the death."

     Yes, there is power in the blood of Jesus. Yes, there is power in our testimony. But that verse - when read in its entirety - tells us of another power to be found: the power of the crucified life. As Christians, I believe we sometimes forget that the call of Christ involves a cross for us to carry. If I may be so bold, I'm going to make a strong statement here that I believe needs to be made:

     We Christians are sometimes far too attached to this world.

     German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated it well when he said, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." Jesus said it even better in Luke 9:23:

Then (Jesus) said to them all, “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

     Note that He said "daily." In what we refer to as "The Lord's Prayer" Jesus told us to ask for "our daily bread." We seem to be quite OK with that, but I can't help but ask myself if I'm just as ready to accept "His daily cross" as I am "His daily bread." If I'm going to truly be His disciple, I can't separate them. You see, we are told in Hebrews 9:27 that "it is appointed unto man to die once, and after this the judgment." The simple truth is that this life that we are trying to hold on to will one day end. But as disciples of Jesus Christ, our hope will NEVER end. The Bible tells us that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord." Paul also said in 1 Corinthians 15:19 that "if in this life only that we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable."

     That's not to say that there is no hope or joy in this life for those who follow Jesus. In 1 Peter 1:8 we are told, "In (Jesus), though you do not see Him now, you believe and you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." I'm not sad, depressed, or discouraged in my walk with Christ - I have unspeakable joy! The power and presence of the Holy Ghost is with me every moment, and it is that joy that enables me to consider taking up my cross and following Jesus a worthwhile journey. There is great joy, peace, love, and hope in my faith in Christ - a hope that this world that I often try too hard to hold on to could ever give me. My prayer for myself - and for you - is that we will always remember that and be willing to live our lives for Jesus with absolute abandon and no reservation.

     It truly is a life worth dying for.