Bend, Don't Break!

 A Single Piece - From Start To Finish

Continuing to use the Golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle as God's blueprint for the local church, let look at Exodus 25:31.

"You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs and flowers shall be of one piece."

Moses was instructed to make the lampstand out of a single piece of gold. The craftsman responsible for it was not going to fabricate different pieces and then weld them together That probably would've been much easier, but wouldn't be God's way. No matter how intricate and detailed the lampstand was going to be at the end, it was all going to be made from one single piece.

I would have loved to watch the process of blacksmithing the lampstand. No doubt, there were heavy, powerful blows at the beginning of the shaping, as the rough shape started to be formed. Then as the work continued, the blows started turning lighter and more precise. At the end, there were very light taps - not with a sledgehammer, but with fine tools.  As he shaped the more intricate features, he had to use great care not to break anything. No matter how far along he was, any break during the process would mean having to re-smelt the material together and start over again.

This is a perfect representation of how a local church is built. Let me explain...

Applying The Hammer

Jeremiah 23:29 - "'Is not My word like a fire?' Says the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces?'"

I can personally attest to this: God's Word is like a hammer. There have been many times that a preacher will say something from the Bible that is right, but it hurts. Has that ever happened to you? What is that feeling? That is the truth of God's Word impacting us like a sledgehammer! 

The four-fold ministry gifts are like blacksmiths. Actually, if you read through Zechariah 1, you'll find that this is a very Biblical comparison. These ministers take the hammer of God's Word and go to work on a congregation. Like the craftsman that made the lampstand, these ministers have a detailed picture in mind for what God wants the church to look like. Their goal is to use that hammer to shape us into what we're made to be. 

At the beginning, those impacts are going to feel devastating. Why? Because that is the point in our lives when nothing looks like what God wants it to. So there are going to be some big blows coming from the pulpit...not to hurt you, but to shape you!
 - "You can't do that anymore."
 - "You're different from them now."
 - "This is how you act now."

Over time, as they continue to work, those impacts are going to become lighter and more detailed.
 - "Treat your family this way."
 - "Don't spend your time in meaningless things"
 - "Be more aware of the faces you make when talking to people."
There will always be attitudes to tweak, actions to refine, speech to correct...but it will become easier and easier to adjust as we go.

Shaping Or Breaking - It's Up To You!

Here's an important thing to remember: The effect that God's word has in your life is not up to the preacher. It's doesn't even depend on the Word itself! The effect of that impact depends entirely on you.

In Exodus 25, we read that God wanted the hammer to shape the gold into a lampstand.
But in Jeremiah 23:29, God said this His Word breaks rocks in pieces.
 - Hammers shape gold.
 - Hammers break rocks.
If the tool is the same, and the strength of the impacts are the same; why are there different effects? It's all because of the material!

Some people get so offended when a hard word is preached that it breaks them. They get mad at the preacher, abandon the church, and slander everyone involved. Many of them will never step back into any church again. Their life is devastated by what they heard.

Others will hear the same hard truth, and feel the same impact, but react completely differently. Instead of breaking under the blow, they yield to it. Even though it hurts, they agree that it's right. Their life is changed for the better by what they heard.

What's the difference? One is broken by the hammer, the other is shaped by it. 

Which one are you? Will you submit to the Word preached, even when it's hard? Or will you shatter and fall apart when you hear that you need to change. Will you yield your life to the instruction God gives through His ministers? I encourage you not to break. Let your life be shaped by what you hear from the pulpit.

True churches are hammered work.