Tell Us, O Lord!

Give us the word, Chuck

18Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” 20And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”21So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20: 18 - 21 NKJV

Since the truth of Christ was revealed to me not so long ago I have often wondered about the role of pastors and priests in our houses of worship.  I mean, couldn't God simply cut out that middle man and pass on what He needs us to know by communicating with us directly?  Why is it that we need a intermediary just in order to hear what it is that God wishes for us to hear?  From what I have gathered, it wasn't always this way.  No, for our Lords very first creation often walked in the garden and talked with the Lord on a daily basis.  We get clues from scripture that Adam and Eve enjoyed a very close and personal relationship with God.  So much so that at the upon taking of the fruit of what he had been commanded not to, Adam heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden {Genesis 2:8}.  Not finding His children, God then called out to Adam {Genesis 2:9}.  If God simply was in the business of creation without relationship, then why would He develop such a relationship with His creation?  It has been my belief for some time that we were not simply created to follow a set of rules set before us.  We are not here to simply waste space and breathe air until such a time when those fortunate enough among us are whisked home to be with our Lord for eternity.  I believe that we are all here, that we have always been here, for a deeper personal relationship with our heavenly Father.  It was for this very reason that Jesus gave Himself for us, to fix what had been broken in the garden.{2 Corinthians 5:21}.  So, how is it that we can have a close, personal relationship with God and not that ability to communicate with Him?  Well, one of the dirty little secrets of christianity is that we DO have the ability to hear and communicate with our heavenly Father.  Once we know and understand the truth of Christ Jesus, we understand that we are closer to God than we may have ever known {Galations 2:20}.

3‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
Jeremiah 33: 3 NKJV

It took me awhile to come to grips with my understanding of my relationship with Christ Jesus, but when I did I ended up with more questions than answers.  If indeed Christ now lives through me, how is it that I now need a middle man in order to communicate with my heavenly Father?  If it was Gods intention all along for a closer relationship with me, then why must I trust in another just in order to hear His word?  Does anyone besides me see the folly in this thinking?  It's kind of like going to the next door neighbor to hear what your parents want to tell you.  We would consider that to be a dysfunctional relationship, yet we ourselves engage in that very thing ourselves when it comes to God.  A coworker of mine has a saying that all too often we have a habit of getting in our own way.  Brilliant thinking.  So, are we getting in our own way by relying on hearing the word of the Father through another?  I think so.  As I said, I believe that we all have the ability to hear for ourselves what it is that the Father is wishing for us to hear.  That being said, do we really need the local priest or pastors to do the very same thing?  I'd say no.  However, this is what Gods children wanted for ourselves.  We see in Genesis that when faced with standing face to face with God or hearing His word delivered from Moses, the Isrealites chose Moses to be that middle man between themselves and God.  So great was their fear of God that they feared that they would surely die if they were to speak to Him {Exodus 20:19}.  The only man to draw near to Gods presence was Moses.  Why didn't Moses get the local priest to commune with God for him?  Well, because I believe that Moses had that personal relationship with God that we ourselves struggle with.  It was Moses who took the cause of the Isrealites before Pharoh.  Of course, the Isrealites continued their tradition of hearing Gods word through that middle man through the tradition of the priests.  As for me, I never liked dealing with middle men, and this is no exception.  Why would I need someone to communicate to me what my heart already knows?

16“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another eHelper, that He may abide with you forever— 17“the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."
John 14: 16 - 18 NKJV

~Scott~