One year a visiting student raised his hand and asked me a question during a workshop on 2 Peter. He asked, “What is the most common sin a Christian commits?” Without hesitation, I replied, “Independence from God” He was quiet for a moment, and then asked me what I meant. I continued, “Independence from God is running your own life, taking your own steps, looking your own way, listening to what you want. That is the most common sin that any of His creation commits. Man says, ‘We don’t need God, we can do it ourselves.’”
He questioned me again, and told me his most common sin was ‘cussing’. I responded, “You may ‘cuss‘ a lot, but that is not the most common sin in your life. The most common sin in your life is your belief that you have the right to say what you want. You say those words because you believe you have a right to say them. You say them because you don’t believe that the wrath of God will come on you for saying them. That’s independence from God. The minute you really believe that God’s wrath is against all ungodliness and that He truly deserves to be honored as God, those things will not just pop out of your mouth.” He was totally oblivious to the most commonplace rebellion of man against His Creator. While he may have been expecting to hear me list some of the most heinous sins he could imagine, he was completely stunned to hear me give him, not a list, but an answer of one, and that one thing was something which he, and most, would not, and do not, consider to be any big deal at all.
In Romans 3:10-18 God tells that young man and every other person He has created, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is one who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving, the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
If I were to tell you, “Do everything God tells you to do.” What would be your reply? Mine would have been, “Yes, of course!” But then if I were to tell you, “Don’t do anything unless God tells you to do it.” What would be your reply? Mine would have been, “Isn’t that the same thing?” I can answer, “No, friend! Those two things are entirely different.” We need to learn to do always and only what we hear the Father say! We need to offer Him the fire He has asked for and none other!!!
One night we went to Chili’s for dinner and a waiter sent us a dessert of his own choice. What the waiter did not know was that I was only at Chili’s for one reason — their Chocolate Volcano Dessert Cake I didn’t really want anything else, I hadn’t tasted one for a couple of years and I was looking forward to it. The waiter sent us a dessert different than what I had anticipated because he said, “I thought you would like this.” Rather than being pleased, I was very disappointed. While I appreciated his effort to please us, the truth was, he did not have the position, nor the authority, nor the ability to choose what I wanted. He did so on his own and he made a mistake.
In Leviticus 10, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu make a deadly mistake. They decide they can offer God what they want to offer Him regardless of what God had already said He wanted. They offer incense to Him that He has not authorized. They go ‘one more step’ beyond clear direction. They ‘add’ to the counsel of God. They believe their idea is better than God’s. They die.
Leviticus 9:6 tells us why the people were to do what the Lord had commanded in the manner He prescribed. “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the Glory of the Lord may appear to you.” So they did all that God had commanded and only what God had commanded. What was the result? Did the Glory of the Lord appear to them? Oh, yes! Leviticus 9:23 “Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.”
If the Glory of the Lord is going to be seen in you--you must always do what He tells you to do, and you must only do what He tells you to do. Otherwise people will see you instead of God!
Let’s go back to the beginning of this incident and pick up a few repeated facts. First notice in Leviticus 8:1 that it was the Lord, Himself, Who started the event. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,” The Lord spoke to Moses and gave him instructions. Moses obeyed in each and every detail and it is recorded for us, “So Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.”
Why does the verse begin with “So...”? Because the Lord had spoken, so Moses obeyed. It really is that simple. Moses didn’t initiate a liturgy to give to the Lord. The Lord was the creator of the event—pure and simple; simple because it was God’s right to command and their responsibility to obey; pure because it was only that which God commanded that they were to obey, and not anything of their own device.
God had told Moses in Leviticus 8:2-3 to “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.” Moses did just that and when the congregation was finally assembled (there was a lot of them!) at the doorway of the tent of meeting, guess what explanation Moses gave them, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded to do.” I love that! Do you see it? Not, “We are here to brainstorm and think of some really nice thing to do for our God”, but just pure and simple, “What you are doing (standing all together here at the doorway of the tent of meeting) is the only thing God said to do. So until further notice, just stand here.” Period.
Moses began to do the things which God had previously instructed him and in Leviticus 8:9 we are told that Moses was doing it just right. “...just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Moses continued following the Lord’s commands right down to the final detail on Aaron’s cap. Leviticus 8:13 “...just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” Moses exemplified an obedient servant to the Lord as he dealt with the bull offering itself and did it, according to Leviticus 8:17, “...just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
And when the whole ram was offered up to the Lord in smoke on the altar, as per the Lord’s instructions, what was the summary of the event in Leviticus 8:21? “It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” It was a soothing aroma to the Lord, He was pleased with it because it was just as He had ordered. Moses obeyed concerning a second ram and it was considered by the Lord in Leviticus 8:28 to be, “...a soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the Lord.” Once again the Lord is pleased; it is a soothing aroma to Him. Moses even took what was given to him by the Lord to be his own portion, Leviticus 8:29 “...just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
The Lord had given Moses many instructions and Moses was keeping them all; Moses also gave instructions (from the Lord) to Aaron and to his sons. Moses reiterated that these were what, “The Lord has commanded to do…” Moses also shares the threatening fact that if Aaron and his sons do not do exactly as the Lord has prescribed, they will die. Leviticus 8:35 “The Lord has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf. At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.” What was the response of Aaron and his sons? Leviticus 8:36 “Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord had commanded through Moses.” Right response!
There was still more that the Lord had commanded His people to do and when Aaron’s (and his sons’) seven days at the doorway of the tent of meeting had transpired, Moses was right there to continue disseminating the instructions of the Lord. These instructions were just as important as the ones from the week before; in fact, these included an unbelievable promise! The Lord’s Glory was going to appear to them! The whole congregation had come near to the front of the tent of meeting and was standing, as it were, ‘before the Lord.’ Moses explains the instructions once again as “...the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do…” and as a requirement so that, “...the Glory of the Lord may appear to you…” Leviticus 9:6 Wow! If God’s people did exactly as He instructed, He would let His Glory appear before them! What more of a draw should be necessary?
Moses, in Leviticus 9:7, once again walks Aaron and his sons through the directions given by the Lord, “Moses then said to Aaron, ‘Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.” And Aaron and his sons, in Leviticus 9:10, followed the instructions which the Lord had given to Moses. “...just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
In one final act before the grand finale, Aaron presented a wave offering before the Lord, “...just as the Lord had commanded”. Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. Leviticus 9:22 Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the promise was delivered! “...the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.” Leviticus 9:23 Can you just imagine! To see the Glory of the Lord, right there in front of you; in front of everyone! His blazing purity, His brilliant holiness, His ferocious righteousness, His formidable, blistering power!
But God doesn’t stop there, Leviticus 9:24 says, “Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar…” This was God’s act showing that He accepted their offering. Why did He accept it? Because it was what He wanted; what He prescribed; what He ordered. If they had not followed His orders exactly as He gave them, He would not have shown them the appearance of His Glory, and He would not have accepted the offering by consuming it before their eyes.
What was the reaction of the people? Leviticus 9:24 “...and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” Right response!
Enter Nadab and Abihu with the wrong response... Leviticus 10:1 says, “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.”
What was God’s immediate response to their disobedience—doing that which He had not commanded? Leviticus 10:2 “And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.”
What had Nadab and Abihu done that was so wrong that they deserved to die for it? Might they have just been caught up in the moment of God’s Glory appearing to all the people? Might they have been trying to make God’s glorious appearing ‘more’ glorious? I don’t know what went through their minds at that time, but I know their actions—and their actions went beyond what God had authorized them to do. And God killed them for doing it.
God immediately explains His action through Moses in Leviticus 10:3 “Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘It is what the Lord spoke, saying, “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.”’” God will be treated as holy! God will be honored! Nadab and Abihu did not treat God as holy. Nadab and Abihu caused God to be dishonored before all His people.
And what had they done? They had offered strange fire, fire from another, illegitimate fire, unauthorized fire, fire which was not initiated by God, Himself. Wow! That’s pretty hard to take if we don’t realize just Who God really is! If, however, we do realize just Who God really is, then we can praise God for doing exactly what He did, and we can ask Him for wisdom that we might not ever do what Nadab and Abihu did.
Where can we find wisdom? In Jesus, the Son of God. In the time of Moses, God spoke to His people in many and various ways through His prophets. In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son. God has appointed Jesus heir of all things, (God made the world through His Son). Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s nature. Jesus, God’s Son, upholds all things by the Word of His power. Jesus made purification for the very sins which Moses and the Israelites were trying to take care of in Leviticus through following God’s instructions. Once Jesus had purified our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, God, Himself, being better than any and all who had gone before Him, and none would come after Him. (Hebrews 1:1-4)
So, Jesus ought to be where we find our instructions on how to walk before our God! And He is! If we just take a quick perusal through the book of John, where Jesus is revealed as the Son of God, we can see the pattern which all true sons must follow.
First of all, the child of God must realize it is not about him or her—it is all about God, the Father. The son must acknowledge and accept his place in the family of God, which is under the rule of the Father. “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing…” And the child must realize that whatever He does, it must be what the Father does. Why? Well, for starters, because whatever the child does reflects upon the parent. The child is supposed to be the image of the Father—that is how the Father derives His Glory from His children. “...for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19
“I can do nothing on My Own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My Own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.” John 5:30 How can the child know what the Father wants done? By listening to the Father for His will. Where do we find the Father’s will? In His Word. So, the key is to remember to listen before acting—make sure the Father is initiating the event, not the child! In the beginning, in the middle, in the end, it must be the will of the Father, not the child! “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My Own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me.” John 6:38
Can the son do anything on his own; i.e. something which the Father has not initiated? “So Jesus said, …I do nothing on My Own initiative… How is the son to know what things the Father initiates? Simply by listening to the Father. And we are not talking about some nebulous idea of hearing the Father out of the air or in our own minds, but instead, this is listening to God in His Word. The child of God is taught doctrine from the Word of God. “...but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” John 8:28
What things did Jesus speak? He spoke the things He had seen with His Father. How about you? Do you spend time with the Father—in His Word, watching His every move? Then speak those things. If you are studying His Word, more and more things will become familiar to you, things which you will see with your Father...speak these things. Don’t speak things you do not understand, instead spend more time with the Father in His Word in order to understand. “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father…” John 8:38
Where does your truth come from? From a book about God, from a book about the Bible, from a friend who ‘knows’, from a pastor, a teacher, a relative…? Where did Jesus’ truth come from? “...you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God… John 8:40 Make sure you are speaking the truth! Unless you received it from Him in His Word, you won’t know for sure whether you have truth or not! Considering the mistake of Nadab and Abihu, I wouldn’t take any chances on this one!
Not only does the Father need to be the one Who initiates your moves, He needs to actually send you, commission you to go for Him. How many times I have thought of soldiers who decided to save the day by acting on their own and instead reaped disastrous results. So, too, we are only to act when He actually sends us, gives us our marching orders. March for Him, sure! Onward Christian soldiers, for sure! But only at His command. Otherwise, don’t move forward on your own! “Jesus said to them, … for I have not even come on My Own initiative, but He sent me.” John 8:42
And once He gives me my marching orders, I must follow them to the letter! I cannot skip any part, I cannot change any part, I cannot add a thing to what He has said. Speak in the Name of the Lord, just as the Father tells you from His Word. “For I did not speak on My Own initiative, but the Father Himself Who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” John 12:49-50
Jesus had a special relationship with His Father, which those of His day did not have. Even today, no one has this relationship unless you have been born again into His family; then, and only then, does the Father abide in you. But, do you see, even with the Father abiding in you, it is still all about Him? It is ‘His works’ and it is ‘Him doing’ His works. Do not get in His way. When He finally sends you out to accomplish His mission, He will go with you (through His Holy Spirit) and actually do the work for you. “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My Own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” John 14:10
If you love the Father, what will you do? Keep His words! Sadly I know of so many people (who claim to be His child) who do not keep His Words. Why? Either they have not been with their Father listening to Him, and so, do not know His Words, or they do know His Words but refuse to keep them, and instead do their own things, both of these types of people show the signs and symptoms of not being His… “He who does not love Me does not keep My words…” If you do not keep His Words, God, Himself says that you do not love Him… And by the way, when you hear the true Son of God speak (Hebrews 1:1-2), what you are hearing is the voice of the Father. “...and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s Who sent Me.” John 14:24
What does it show to the world when you do exactly as the Father commands? “…but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me…” John 14:31 Not keeping the Father’s Words proves that you do not love the Father. Keeping the Father’s Words shows to the world that you do love the Father. I am so saddened by the visible ‘church’ at large in today’s society. They do not love the Father because they do not keep His Words. They do not wait on the Lord, instead they initiate programs and pageants of their own making, in most cases making a mockery of the Glory of God, the One Whom they like to call their Father… Claiming to be saved and calling Him, “Father” does not make Him anyone’s Father. However, a true child, one who obeys His Father, looks more and more like His Father every day, in every way—and the world can see it. Now the world is not going to like the way you look, but it will definitely notice the resemblance when they see you.
“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 What does Jesus do for those He calls His ‘friends’, those closest to Him, those with whom He is in Covenant? He discloses the conversations which He has had with His Father. Wow! He tells you what He and His Father have talked about and have said. If you are His, then this is exactly what He has done, and is doing, and will continue to do. You do not need to be in doubt about the Father’s will because Jesus, His only begotten Son, will reveal it to you.
How does that happen? Do you need to get ‘lost in the ‘spirit’’ and have some experience in order to hear from Him? “No, no!”, a thousand times, “No!” Just do what you see Jesus doing—listening to the Father’s Words, listen to the Father by listening to Jesus in His Word! This is so plain and simple that many people discount its potency. If you are not willing to sit at His feet in His Word, then don’t count on any supernatural revelations—or at least any true ones, because they won’t be from Him! If you won’t do it His way, then it won’t happen at all!
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His Own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” John 16:13 Almost as if to add one more exclamation point to the last paragraph, the very next reference we find shows us how the ordinary becomes the very extraordinary. Once Jesus had satisfied the Father with the accomplishment of His work on earth, God gave Jesus what had been promised—the Holy Spirit, which Jesus then poured out to true believers (Acts 2:33) As His child you are given many extravagant promises like this one. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth.
Think with me for a moment, rationally… How will the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth? Where is all truth disclosed? Where did Jesus find truth? Wasn’t it always from listening to the Father? If Jesus found truth from listening to the Father, then where should you go to find truth? Same place? God says that His Spirit is Truth and that His Word is Truth (John 17:13, 17) The Spirit will never contradict the Word and the Word will never contradict the Spirit. In fact, the prayer that Jesus prayed included the request for God to sanctify those who will believe in the Truth—and then He qualifies that to be the Word of God! “Sanctify them in the Truth; Your Word is Truth.” John 17:17 The Spirit will lead us to the Word of God and the Word of God will lead us to the Father. Do anything else and you might just be playing with ‘strange fire’!
How do we know we have the Words of the Father when we read the Bible? Because Jesus, to Whom the Father gave them, gave them to us in His Word… “For the words which You gave Me I have given to them…” John 17:8
