The Uzza Principle
"And David said to all the assembly of Israel,
'If it seems good to you, and if it is of the
LORD our God...let us bring the ark of our God back
to us, for we have not inquired at it since the days
of Saul....
So they carried the ark of God on a new cart from
the house of Abinadab, and Uzza and Ahio drove
the cart. Then David and all Israel played music
before God with all their might, with singing, on
harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on
cymbals, and with trumpets.
And when they came to Chidon's threshing floor, Uzza put out
his hand to hold the ark, for the oxen stumbled.
Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzza, and He
struck him because he put his hand to the ark;
and he died there before God.
And David became angry because the LORD's outbreak
against Uzza; therefore that place is called
Perez Uzza to this day.
David was afraid of God that day, saying
"How can I bring the ark of God to me?"
So David would *not* move the ark with him
into the City of David, but took it aside
into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite."
1 Chronicles 13:1-14
In this story, we learn a valuable lesson about someone
zealous to do something great for God, but it angered
the LORD and Uzza died because it was not done the
way the *exact* way the LORD had specified.
It is my greatest priviledge to suffer for our LORD.
But do we have the right to tell God what we will do
for Him and how we will do it?
"The steps of a good man are *ordered* by the LORD:
and he delighteth in his way."
Psalm 37:23
In Watchman Nee's book, "The Normal Christian Church
Life", he recounts the story:
"When Miss M.E. Barber thought of coming to China to
serve the Lord, she foresaw the difficulties of a woman setting
out on her own for a foreign country, so she asked advice of
Mr. Wilkinson of the Midlmay Mission to the Jews, who said,
"A foreign country, no promise of support, no backing of any
society--all these present no problem. The question is here:
Are you going on your own initiative, or are you being sent
by God?" The whole question hinges here:
"Has God called us and sent us out?"
We have no right to our life. We must learn to walk by the
Spirit in His leading. If we cannot walk by the Spirit,
we are only operating on human zeal, and our efforts will
most certainly fail. "For without me, you can do nothing." John 15:5
Again Nee writes:
"The danger, with those who know little about life and reality,
is to emphasize mere outward correctness; but with those to whom
life and reality are a matter of supreme importance, the temptation
is to throw away the divine pattern of things, thinking it legal
and technical. They feel that they have the greater and can therefore
well dispense with the lesser. As a result, the more spiritual a man
is, the freer he feels to do as he thinks fit. He considers that he
himself has authority to decide on outward matters, and rather fancies
to ignore God's commands regarding them is an indication that he has
been delivered from legality and is walking in the liberty of the
Spirit. But God has not only revealed the truths that concern our inner
life; He has also revealed relating to the outward expression of that life.
God prized the inner reality, but He does not ignore its outward
expression. God has given us Ephesians, Romans, and Colossians, but
He has also given us Acts, the Epistles to Timothy, and the Epistles
to the Corinthians. We may think it sufficient for God to instruct
us through Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians as to our life in Christ,
but He has considered it necessary to instruct us through Acts,
Corinthians, and Timothy, how to do His work and how to organize
His Church. **God has left nothing to human imagination or human will.**
Man is afraid to use a thoughtless servant, but God does not care
to use an over-thoughtful one; all He requires of man is simple
obedience. "Who has become His counselor?" asked Paul (Rom. 11:34).
Man would fain occupy the post, but God has no need of a counselor.
It is not our place to suggest how we think divine work should be done,
but rather to ask in everything, "What is the will of the Lord?"
The LORD is my shepherd. He will lead me...
to pathways of suffering. He will instruct me in the way of righteousness.
I will only trust in Him to prepare me for the way He has ordered, as
He has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and
teacher, for the equipping of the saints (Eph. 4:10-11), not
seminaries. We must not replace the Holy Spirit with human counterparts.
"God's workers *must learn* to be left, to be sent, and to be persuaded."
"The trouble today is that men are taking the place of
the Holy Spirit." Watchman Nee
"If God desires the service of any child of His, He Himself
will call him to it, and He Himself will send him forth.
The first requirement in divine work is a divine call.
Everything hinges on this. A divine call gives God His
rightful place, for it recognizes Him as the Originator
of the work."
"Are we doing this on our own initiative, or as representing
the Spirit of God? If they move without absolute assurance
that they are acting on behalf of the Holy Spirit, then
the separation of the worker has *no* spiritual value."
"For whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
Romans 14:23
Dear brother, I had longed to go to China with you, to
suffer with you and to die for my LORD. I went to
Washington D.C. this summer to meet with a special
agent of the naval criminal investigative services
to tell him my desire to go to China as a missionary,
to see how I may go. I am preparing the way for my
departure next summer. However, I will not go without
His orders. If I am a soldier of Jesus Christ, Jesus
Christ must be the captain. He sees all and knows all,
therefore I have no right to my life. I have no right
to say where I will go or what I will do. I have no
right to say whether I will suffer or whether I will
be blessed. All these things are given by the LORD.
We must only be prepared for them, and to give thanks
in everything.
"The steps of a good man are *ordered* by the LORD:
and he delighteth in his way."
Psalm 37:23
He must tell me where
to go to fight the battles, and when to go. If I go
before He tells me, I have certainly sinned and my
work will suffer. If I do not go when He calls me
to go, I will have certainly sinned as well.
I had made plans to leave next June. But now you have
found a *better* way? Will going your way be better
than the way of the LORD? I had long prayed that God
would raise up someone with a similar heart to help me
to preach. And you are the first I see to have such a heart
to suffer for our Lord. But I cannot in faith go your
way. I am disappointed that you must go this way.
But God has raised up another, and if the LORD is willing,
we will go the exact way as specified in His word.
I hope that I may be nothing, but that God would use
me as His instrument. He has formed me from the womb.
He has prepared works beforehand that I should walk
in them (Eph. 2:10). So my goal is to allow my steps
to be ordered by the LORD.
May the LORD bless your future efforts.
I have committed your way to Him.
Jesus said:
"God is a Spirit:
and they that worship him *must* worship him
in spirit *and* in truth."
John 4:24
It is not enough just to worship Him with all our heart,
we must worship Him in truth.
"Thy word is truth." John 17:17
love in Christ,
wes