Click here to listen to the radio version.
Click here to search the AOG archives.
Apples of Gold
Radio Script for November 2, 2010
“I Wouldn’t Call Him the Man Upstairs”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Have you ever heard someone refer to God as “The Man Upstairs”?
It is usually said with deference, I’ll give them that, but I wouldn’t say it.
First of all, I don’t want to diminish heaven by merely calling it “upstairs.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus indicated that we shouldn’t take heaven lightly when He said, “Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne…”
Then He put it into context. Heaven is God’s throne, and earth, by comparison, is God’s footstool. That puts heaven exceeding earth as much as a throne exceeds a footstool.
So “upstairs” doesn’t cut it.
Second of all, I don’t want to diminish God by putting Him on the same plane as Stan “The Man” Musial. Stan may be The Man, but God is God the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and all mankind. To refer to Him as a mere man is to diminish Him.
Listen to this from Psalm 93. The Lord reigns. He is robed in majesty. The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. His throne was established long ago. He is from all eternity.
Psalm 45:6 says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever…”
Psalm 47 says that God is the King of all the earth. He reigns over the nations. God sits on His holy throne.
Psalm 103:19 says, “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.”
That is not “the man upstairs.” That is the King over all, from all eternity, robed in majesty, armed with strength and ruling from His throne in heaven.
In First Kings 22:19 a prophet said, “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around Him on His right and on His left.”
The prophet Daniel shared this heavenly view. “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His throne was flaming with fire. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before Him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.”
And guess what? I’ll bet none of those tens of thousands were calling Him “the man upstairs.”
The prophet Isaiah had an encounter with God. In Isaiah 6, he saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim with six wings, crying out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
And what was Isaiah’s response? Did he say, “Yo, Man Upstairs, wassup!”
I don’t think so. Actually, he cried out. Seeing the Lord on His throne caused Isaiah to cry out and say, “Woe to me, I am undone!”
The Apostle John had incredible God-encounters in the book of Revelation, and chapter four takes us right into the throne room of heaven.
There was a rainbow around the throne, John said, looking like an emerald. In front of the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal.
Around the throne were 24 other thrones with 24 elders in white robes and crowns of gold.
And get this: blasting out from the throne was lightning, thunder and voices. And burning before the throne were seven lamps of fire, “which are the seven Spirits of God,” John said.
There were also four astounding creatures around the throne, looking like a lion, a calf, a man, and a flying eagle; and they were constantly saying…what? “Check it out! It’s the man upstairs!”
I don’t think so.
Revelation 4:8 records them saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
And the 24 elders cast their crowns before the throne and said, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receiver glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
Yes, God is the Almighty, and here we are, little specks on earth which He called His footstool. We are specks of dust on God’s footstool.
And yet! Through the work of Jesus Christ His Son, we have access to His throne!
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Jesus became our high priest, according to Hebrews 8:1, and He “sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven…” Ephesians 3:12 says “we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
The temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom, and we have received His Spirit by which we now call out “Abba, Father!”
Yes, we have familiarity with Almighty God, for He is our Heavenly Father. We can come boldly before His throne of grace with His own Spirit now dwelling inside us.
We can walk with God and be with God and hear from God, but that in no way leaves room for saying anything that diminishes God or His rightful place in our lives or in the whole universe.
And for that reason, I submit to you that we must be careful when referring to God.
And for that reason, I would not call Him “the man upstairs.”
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2010 The Arrow’s Tip
To subscribe to your own daily “Apples of Gold” e-mail, write dougapple@wave94.com.
If you want to be removed from this e-mail list, simply click reply and type UNSUBSCRIBE on the subject line.
If you want to catch “Apples of Gold” in its original audio format, go to www.wave94.com
To search through the large archive of past articles, go here: http://www.wave94.com/modules.php?name=Stories_Archive
If you have trouble reaching me at my main e-mail address, try this one: douglas_apple@msn.com
(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
-vi-
No comments:
Post a Comment