Three Chairs
I’ve been reading “A Life of Integrity” by Howard Hendricks. It is a book written to men and has twelve of today’s leaders contributing articles, each made some great points but Bruce Wilkinson hit the nail on the head. It was titled “Leaving a Legacy” but if you will let me, I will borrow from the article and his thoughts on “The Three Chairs”.
Bruce begins in this way; “Imagine there are three chairs. Each of them represents something that has profound implications for your life. In Joshua chapter 24, you can see a man who sits in the first chair. His name is Joshua, and in the last chapter of the book he says, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24: 15, NKJV). Here is a man willing to make a promise. I want to put Joshua in the first chair, as a person who is committed to God. Those who remain close to Him sit in the first chair.
But of the generation that outlives Joshua, there is another description. In Joshua 24:31 it says, “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua” [that’s generation one] “and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel” (NKJV) – that’s the second generation. The first generation is the generation of Joshua. They had seen God work in their midst, and they were committed to Him. The second generation includes those who outlived Joshua. They knew about the works God had done for Israel.
If you skip a couple of pages in your Bible, you’ll find the people who grew up in those second-generation homes. In Judges 2;10 we read, “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel” (NKJV). The first generation knew God. The second generation knew about God. The third generation did not know God.
The person who sits in the first chair knows the Lord intimately, the one in the second chair also knows the Lord but only on the surface, and the one in the third chair does not know the Lord. In a sense, the three chairs represent the grandparents, the parents, and the children. The grandchildren of Joshua didn’t know the Lord. They were not born-again. Just two generations later! Who would have believed it?”
I am not sure how Joshua's story grabbed you, but it sure got my attention. My first thought was, what chair am I sitting in? I have only one child and my next thought was did I proclaim “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. Did she see me living out that proclamation? And what about the third generation, my two grandsons, John Mark and Zachary David, will they know God? Bruce has put many thoughts in my mind, what about you, what chair are you sitting in? Are your children with you in the first chair, if not will your grandchildren be non-believers?
We live in a very interesting time, good is called evil and right is called wrong. Mothers are taking the life of their children and dads have little are no problem leaving their families, without means of support. We see a society that has a lust for anything that makes the “self” feel good. We have a society that wants to give little but take much. Many in our society tell us that there are no absolutes, not understanding that they made a statement that calls for an absolute.
And what about the Church of the Living God? Is it proclaiming truth, or has it gone the way of the world? Is it more interested in building programs and wealth, than proclaiming the full gospel of Jesus Christ? What chair is your Church sitting in? Is it a kingdom-minded church, or does it just tickle the ears of its members? Are sinners repenting? That word may no longer be in our vocabulary, but it means to be sorry, remorseful, or regret that you tried to play God and run your own life.
From my view of our society in the United States, it looks like we are a “third chair” nation. In our society, have we not asked God to no longer be part of our government, schools, and most of the institutions of higher education are anti-God? We no longer teach truth, and that is because all truth is based on the knowledge of God. Before you say all is lost and continue doing nothing, as I so often do, remember that the government is “we the people”. You have a vote and you have a voice, but first, you and I must repent, that word means to turn and go back to God. As people of God, we have his promises, and yet we live as if we do not understand or we do not believe the word of God. In II Chronicles 7:14 our God has stated: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
In II Chronicles 7:14 it begins; “If my people”, what does that mean, who are the people of God? Many people in our United States claim to be God’s people, but I will remind you that being in a garage does not make you a car. Nor does being a Baptist or any other denomination make you a person of God. I only have one point of reference and that is the Bible; in it, we will find the answer to who is a child of the living God. In the book of Deuteronomy 14:2, we find a people who were chosen by Jehovah, (one of God’s names) and this is what God says “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” He is speaking to Israel! So, if you are not a Jew, you are history, no, no, that is not true, all who have bowed their knee, all who have received the free gift of Jesus Christ, all who have repented and agreed with God that salvation is only in Jesus Christ alone and ask Him to forgive them from playing at being a god, trying to run their own life, the following includes them. (It doe not include, trying your best, it does not include doing good works, it does not include church membership to obtain God’s approval.
Look with me at the book of Ephesians 1:3-9; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ.” My heart’s desire is that you who are religious will understand you did not do one thing to earn God’s acceptance. Not once does he refer to you doing anything, Jesus has already done all that God required, you just have to bow your knee, you just have to quit trying to make god in your desires or image.
Next, we must look at a word that many of us fear, the word is “humble”, why do we fear it, and what does it mean? Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “Humble” as; having or showing a consciousness of one’s defects or shortcomings; not proud; not self-assertive; modest. A humble person in a favorable sense suggests an unassuming character in which there is an absence of pride and assertiveness. In many Christian messages we hear terms like the following “die to self”, “give up your rights”, or even “let go and let God do it all for you”. That is what Jesus did, He let the Father do it all for Him, if you visit the Gospel of John, you will see the statement made by Jesus.
“I don’t do anything of myself.”
“I only do what I see with the Father,”
“I only speak what I hear from the Father.”
“The works that I do, they’re not My works; they’re the Father’s works who dwell in Me.”
One who serves others not because they have to but because they find joy and peace in humbling themselves? A follower of Jesus should have such a heart attitude; often that is not what the world around us sees. In the book of Psalm 25:9-10, “He leads the humble in what is right and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” That is what God is calling His people to do in II Chronicles 7:14. God also is requiring His people to “pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.” Once more we find in the Psalm clarification of what God is asking His people to do in II Chronicles 7:14. Look, with me at Psalm 24:3-6 “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
A few pages back I made this statement, “From my view of our society in the United States, it looks like we are a “third chair” nation.” The Bible has a lot to say about any nations that forget God. Look at 2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
Now, the good news, God is not finished, but we who are in Christ must wake up! If my people are not Republican or Democratic, but the people of God. We have to wake up and call things what God calls them, and we have to humble ourselves and pray and seek God’s face, then we will see our great God do what only He can do, and that is heal our land. So what chair are you in?
Your Brother in Christ,
Bob Rice
P.S. My daughter and son-in-law have a strong faith in Jesus and my two grandsons are followers of Christ, I am so blessed.
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