DON'T SHAPE THE STONES

What does it mean to stand back from the altar in the fear of the Lord, while simultaneously approach the throne of grace with boldness? (Ex 20:20, Isa 6:5, Hep 4:16, Heb 10:19-25)

As the church - a royal priesthood - we are called to do both.  
 
Moses encountered the Living God in the wilderness. And he did approach the burning bush. But he had to take off his sandals to do so. He had to removing that which was man-made – his sandals. Nothing could come between what God had made – between Moses’ feet and the soil. (Ex 3:5) 

Priests built altars where they made sacrifices to the Lord. But they had to build that altar with uncut stones. They had to set aside their vision of beauty and build with what God had created - raw and untouched. (Ex 20:25)

Later, God gave detailed instructions on how to cut, shape, craft, and gild objects for the Tabernacle, and then He empowered men with the skill to build it. So, the issue really isn’t about shaping something - the issue is, do we take things into our own hands, or do we follow the exact instruction and heart of God? 

We approach the throne of grace, but we do it through our mediator, Jesus. And we must do it without bringing along all our “human wisdom.” Our human solutions, strategies, and plans. We must lay those things aside. Putting off the old man, the sin that so easily entangles, and running with perseverance the race set before us. (Eph 4:22, Heb 12:1-3)

JESUS is the prize. (Phil 3:14) Jesus determines how we approach God - with humility. With fear and trembling. (Phil 2:13-14). And with boldness. Boldness not based on human wisdom and man’s success – but boldness based on the truth. The truth that we are dead to ourselves - living sacrifices, laid before God, made righteous through the blood of Jesus and not our own efforts. (Col 3:3-5, Rom 12:1)  

Too often in the church world, we focus on the things that matter the least. Man looks at outward appearances - God looks at the heart. (1 Sam 16:7)

What would we think if we saw a rough, uncut altar next to a golden, gilded altar? Most likely, we’d think the gold one was better. What about two men walking around – one with bare feet and the other with shoes? Most would think the shoes are better.  

Appearances don’t mean much measured against God’s wisdom. The wisdom of God is foolishness to man. (1 Cor 3:18-19)

And so we often try to fit God’s “foolishness” neatly into our refined and excellence-driven ministry boxes. 

Does it make sense financially? Does it fit in the org chart? Who is in charge? Who gets the credit? Is it going to increase my reach? Will our ministry gain more influence? Does it function efficiently?  Does it wow with “excellence”?   

What is the motive of our hearts? 

How do we walk the tension of “don’t shape the stones” and “whatever we do in word or deed, do it with all our heart, as unto Jesus”? (Col 3:23) ATTITUDE. MOTIVE. We must assess the REASON for our actions, thoughts, and policies.   

Obedience is about one thing, and one thing only: just Obedience. Obedience is not about outcomes. We must leave the outcomes in the hands of God and focus on doing what Jesus said, without gilding our obedience with our perception of what it will result in. 
 
If we’re not careful, we find ourselves justifying our human thinking – building altars with beautifully shaped stones and walking on holy ground with our shoes on – through the “results.” 

“But people are praying the prayer of salvation!” “Healings are happening!” “Influence means God’s favor!”  

And all the while, Jesus is watching the widow's mite. He sees small acts of obedience as the huge acts of sacrifice they are - no matter the “impact” human eyes see in the physical. (Luke 21:1-4)

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He doesn’t measure the way we measure. He doesn’t look at timelines the way we do. (1 Peter 3:8). He wants untainted hearts. Hearts that are fully His, no matter what everyone else thinks is logical or strategic.  

An altar of uncut stones. Raw. Unshaped by human wisdom.  

Because human wisdom empties the cross of its power. (1 Cor 1:17) 

We are walking in the fear of God as we tread the steps of obedience with these Nicaragua campaigns. We’ve been hidden from sight in the mountains and jungles of Latin America for over 25 years doing our best to stay obedient. It’s been beautiful and challenging and full of seeds. Many of those seeds are bearing fruit. We are seeing something that, to human eyes, looks big. What does God see? Are we trying to shape this in our image? Are we allowing anything man-made to come between us and God? Do we assign more importance to the ninety-nine than the one? (Matt 18:10-14) 

May it never be so, Lord.  

Jesus is the LORD of ALL. The 99 and the one. The Multitude and the Solitary.   

The message of the Widow’s Mite is not about an amount that can be measured by human eyes. It’s about a heart percentage that can only be measured by God.  

We are running forward into His plans with boldness and the fear of God, measuring every step by laying it on the altar.  

Did doing 19 mass Gospel campaigns in one Central American country make sense? No. Did we have the full financial plan? No. Did we know how the local pastors and people would respond? No. Did we know if an evangelist and a missionary with two very different organizations could work together to pull something like this off? No. Did we know God told us to do it? YES.  

And that is all that matters. So, we cast off our shoes. We build unprofessional altars. We give what we have. We are ordinary, unschooled men. YET exactly because we are unremarkable, as miracles happen, people stand up and take note of the one thing that matters - JESUS. (Acts 4:13). He makes all things beautiful in a way that we cannot fathom from beginning to end! (Ecc 3:11)

Don’t fall for man’s thinking and strategies. Get lost in the presence of God. Follow His whisper. And watch what an extraordinary miracle He will unfold.  ​​

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Stay obedient. Keep moving forward.
Britt + Audrey Hancock