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Are we lighting one another’s
torches or secretly snuffing them out? As
the weightiness of God’s presence becomes thicker in the midst of our
more earnest, passionate worship, sin in and around us is exposed. “Where
do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your
desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have.
You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do
not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you
ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures...friendship with the
world is enmity with God...The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously…”
(James 4)
We
can sanctimoniously “go off to war,” indignant that the enemy would
exalt himself against the knowledge of God, but are we examining the
strongholds that are within our own minds and hearts? Jesus spoke to the
Jews who believed Him saying, “If you abide in My word, you are My
disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.” (John 8:31,32) Freedom here means “unrestrained, to go at
pleasure, not a slave, exempt from obligation or liability, delivered.”
(Strong’s 1659)
IN
honesty, let’s admit that most churches, conferences, cities, and even
highly anointed worship teams are far from free when it comes to
internal turf wars (or turf “tiffs” at the very least!). More
accurately, they are riddled by the deadly arrows of jealousy. It is not
a phantom demon that perpetuates attacks from outside the church against
its very walls, but sin that has rooted itself within the body of Christ
so intricately that we no longer recognize its face. It is time for the
mythical green-eyed monster to bow at the name of Jesus, Son of the Most
High God, a.k.a. “Jealous!”
“For
you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is
a jealous God…” (Exodus 34:14) The Hebrew Name of our Lord used here
is Qanna. Scriptural references to our Lord’s nature as jealous
include: Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 4:24, 5:9, 6:15; Joshua 24:19, Ezekiel
39:25, Joel 2:18 Nahum 1:2, Zechariah 1:14, 8:2. These references speak
of His zeal for us, a desire to possess us wholly. You might say that “Qanna”
only has eyes for us....and desires that we reflect this same
emotion toward Him!
Our
jealousy often becomes misdirected and is pointed toward our brothers
and sisters in Christ. How does this happen? Insecurity over who we are
in Him, past rejection or fear of being rejected, belief that we are or
have less than another all trap us in a mode of unhealthy comparison. It
starts with a seemingly innocent observation where we calibrate the
gifts, talents, abilities, possessions of another. This ungodly standard
becomes a measuring line against which we compare ourselves. If we fare
well in the comparison, it can readily become pride. When we fall short
on this unbalanced standard we can quickly enter into the sin of
jealousy.
El
Shaddai is the All-Sufficient God...there is more than enough of Him to
go around, and more than enough of His love for every one of us! This
name indicates He is the Many-Breasted One...just like the nursing
mother cannot forget her baby, He has promised to not forget us. John is
not the only beloved who can rest his head upon His breast. We can all
find a place of our own. Worshiping Him as El Shaddai ushers in His
revealed presence and when we spend time with Him as such, we get to
know Him more intimately in this aspect of His character and become
reassured of our position in and upon His heart.
Esau
sold his birthright to his brother. His name means “red.” His
descendants have been jealous of the inheritance of Israel and war has
raged for thousands of years since. One of the definitions of jealous
means “red-faced.” The fire of our Lord’s love and His passion for
us cause Qanna to become red-in-the face over us. It is a comfort
and a blessing to know that He is so jealous for us that He goes
off to war against our enemies. But when we have met the enemy and “they
is us”… it is time to get on our faces and ask Holy Spirit to search
our hearts and point out all that is within us that makes Him sad. No
more sweeping it under the rug! Let’s get ourselves faces down and ask
the only One Whose name is Jealous to forgive us for misappropriating
this emotion of jealousy. The Bride is not yet without blemish. We
must sincerely encourage others to become all they were destined to be
in God, even when it appears to be more than we are.
When
we worship Him as Qanna, the flames of His jealousy for our holy
love burn out impurities of sibling rivalry, envy, competition,
judgment, criticism and jealousy. In His presence, we can and must drop
the game of competing against one another for Papa’s love. When one
has favor, all are favored; the beauty of one is the beauty of all; when
one succeeds, all share in each accomplishment..
Purified by the fire of His jealous love, the words of our mouths and
the meditations of our hearts fuel those fires He has ignited...
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