The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength
Some people rudely compare our PM to a horse. I actually think that kind of behaviour sucks and it doesn't help our cause at all. It would be fairer to compare me with a horse these days. The media have given me that many horselaughs that my lips have gotten numb from twerking on my face. The latest belly laugh came from the supposedly reputable news source, the newsroom.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/an-ode-for-brian-tamaki In a nutshell, it claims that Pastor Tamaki is engaging in this political battle for money and fame. It's full of blasphemy and disdain for those who would believe in an invisible God. The poet doesn't intelligently interact with anything Pastor Tamaki is saying, but instead, puts his thumbs in his ears, and waggles his hands back and forth while saying, "neh neh neneh neh". Just childish stuff really, but I bet it gave him a great smirk of satisfaction to write such an "intelligent" piece.
Like I said in my last blog, the establishment is looking more and more desperate. They've resorted to publishing poetic insults, that at best, will give their team a little snigger. Once again, I can see the lockdown crowd has made a tactical blunder. When you see an enraged five-year-old taking a swing at an adult as they hold them off at arm's length you can't help but laugh at their futility. In the same way, the wild swings of this poet will go right by the Tamaki supporters, and instead of inflicting damage, they give us a laugh and only add to our joy of the Lord which is our strength.
The bible teaches us through the book of Nehemiah that grief cripples and that the joy of the Lord gives strength. This wisdom is spiritually discerned and the world cannot know it (1 Corinthians 2:14). They're trying to win by weighing themselves down with concerns and tales of doom and gloom, while we are horse-laughing our way to rock-hard abs.
"And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10b)
The Biblical Counter-punch
It is important that as our politicians get meaner and meaner, taking more and more away from us, that they don't take away our joy. The early church joyfully accepted the plundering of their property, and we must do the same lest we throw away our confidence.
"For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward." (Hebrews 10:34–35)
This doesn't mean that we don't engage in a lawful fight for our freedoms, but as we go into the fight, we must not lose our joy when we lose earthly goods. As Pastor Tamaki stands before his opponents he will lose more earthly reputation and wealth to the cause. And as we refuse to comply with the coming mandates, we will lose the freedom to work, to shop in some places, and to go to music festivals. But the proper response to this oppression is not to drop lip, but instead, party harder. We need to, as a community, "rejoice always" (1 Thessalonians 5:16). If we can't go to restaurants, we should be inviting people into our homes for massive meals, and putting on feasts in our church buildings. Get creative in "showing hospitality to one another without grumbling" (1 Peter 4:9).
A joyful response will, in effect, pick up that five-year-old throwing a tantie and dismissively put them to the side as we continue to move forward. When we see these hit pieces on our Facebook feed we need to be ready with the haha emoji. I had no problem distributing the link to this guy's poem, because, when you have the truth, you don't fear lies. I shared it because I don't want you to miss out on a laugh. Facing our enemies with joy is our biblical counter-punch. When we do this, we imitate our laughing Lord.
'Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”' (Psalm 2:1–6 emphasis added)
Jesus has been anointed the Lord of every tribe, tongue, and nation. When the world comes against Him and His people, they come against the One who is in charge and holds all things together. He gives them the very breath that they use to hurl insults at Him. This pathetic resistance causes Him to laugh.
But it also provokes Him to wrath. They have to climb on their heavenly Father's lap in order to slap him. How could this not provoke Him to anger? While we laugh with God at their futile attacks, we should also be saddened by the display of their utter blindness. Unless they repent this will not turn out good for them. Like I said in the previous post, we need to love our enemies and be praying for their repentance.
Some who subscribe to Nice-ianity will say that laughing isn't a loving response to anything but a PC joke. I would respond by saying that without laughing at our opponents they will miss out on a lesson that can only be taught by laughter. It is a kindness to respond with mockery at times. Mockery has saved me from being a try-hard many times. It takes wisdom to know when mockery should be applied, but the wise know when it is essential to let rip. It needs to be pointed out, for the sake of those witnessing our government's messianic charade, that these impotent false gods are only displaying their futility. And for all of their striving and straining to be the saviour of NZ from covid, they've only got a pile of crap beneath their feet to show for it - a ruined economy and a country that still has to catch the disease.
“Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” - Elisha
An Encouragement to the Pastor Whom I've Shown My Support
Since the blog on the weekend, I have been blown away by the response. I'm just a regular bushman that was encouraged by my wife to share my thoughts on a blog, which I guess makes me not a regular bushman anymore. Seeing this response has shown me the positive influence that I could have encouraging those who align with our political movement.
I'm convicted that if I am going to give anyone encouragement, it has to be strongly Christian and biblically-grounded encouragement since in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). I've sucked in way too many two-stroke fumes to have any profound insight coming from my own brain. But if God can confound the wisdom of the wise in the first century with fishermen, perhaps He could do the same with a knuckle-dragging chainsaw operator (no offense to all my fellow bushmen out there).
Thank you Pastor Brian Tamaki for sharing my post and for letting me speak to your people. I really didn't expect you to read my blog. My intended audience was my conservative Christian friends who respect me enough to hear my take on things, even if it is a little critical. I'm so glad that it was an encouragement to many of those who are already in the freedom movement, and I hope that God will use me as an outsider of sorts to encourage them further. Thank you for giving us all the kick in the pants that we needed, and for allowing me to follow up with my own loving boot.
One thing that has happened since the post, is I've been able to interact with a bunch of Destiny members. I had a phone call last night with a member of Destiny Church Rotorua, and I was so encouraged by his testimony. He told me about how Brian Tamaki shared the gospel with him as a young man who at the time was steeped in sin. Through the power of God, he was transformed into a God-fearing family-loving man. Now in his 60's, he has sold out his life for the cause of Christ and his kingdom. Just awesome! I understand why he appreciated someone from outside of Destiny standing up for the one who brought him to Christ.
Another thing that happened was, I listened to Pastor Tamaki's sermon this past Sunday, and to be honest, as a doctrinally conservative Christian, I was surprised. It was full of biblically grounded pastoral wisdom for these tough times. When the enemies of God are taunting us, we can learn from the life of young David, who could not believe that the masses were allowed these taunts to go on unchallenged. David is a great example of courage to point us to in these times. The main thing that could be drawn from the message was, fear not! Every church in New Zealand is acknowledging the fear that is present amongst the congregation, but few will give the pastoral exhortation to quit it. That would delegitimize the congregation's experience of this pandemic. But the false prophets on the news are the ones that have informed their fear, and the church can't continue believing their lies. It is the pastor's duty to say, no! Stop it. Our God told us not to fear. Good stuff pastor Brian.
A Final Word of Encouragement
I don't know if I'll have time to write another blog post before the next rally, so I'll finish with one last word of encouragement. It is for the causes of Christ that we should engage in any fight, even political fights. If we are going to spread the gospel of the kingdom in this nation, securing freedom of speech and our freedom of movement will help us in that mission. But even if these laws get passed, there will be no stopping the Church's advance, for who is stronger than God. Christ is going to build His church, and the gates of hell won't prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).
"Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere." (2 Corinthians 2:14)
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