05/25 Reading - Thoughts & Comments

25-May 1 Kings 9-10, Matthew 19-20, Psalms 121-125, Proverbs 25

1 Kings 9:11-13 (NIV) 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 "What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul, a name they have to this day.

It's widely understood that the lands of Tyre and Sidon are shipping, merchant cities which provided many of the goods needed around the world in Solomon's day. The king of Tyre allied with Solomon to send him gold and wood to build the temple of the Lord. At the end, Solomon gave him 20 cities in Galilee. But the king of Tyre went to them and did not like them. He called them CABUL.

Cabul means LIMITED or STERILE. The king over world merchant distribution found the cities under Solomon's care to be incapable of doing what he wanted. They didn't have business sense, and they were NOT the kind of cities that the king would want to build his capacities with.

I believe that this represents the church proper today. While the business community is coming together to help God's Kingdom movement, they will NOT be happy with the way Christians and churches live their lives. We are, in the opinions and minds of the business world, LIMITED and STERILE to the abilities of multiplication, production, distribution, and management. In the opinion of the business world, the church is CABUL. This is an indictment against us that we should work hard to change. When business people come to our churches, to our meetings, and to see our visions, will they cry CABUL?

God has called us to walk both as priests and kings. However, we priests have a very hard time figuring out how to live as kings. Therefore, we have a hard time understanding God's kingdom. Priesthood activities serve one purpose - to send life, worship, incense, prayers, and love upwards to the throne of God. It's a life of servanthood which takes money, time, talent, and human capacity and burns it upwards with no return seen in that transaction. This is our duty as priests before the Lord - to offer worship, sacrificial offerings, and tithes upwards to God.

Kings operate completely different than priests. Kings have dominion over territory, and they demand taxation, increase, multiplication, and bounty from that territory. If they see a business model that continually loses money, they are quick to kill it and move on. If they see a people who only operate in priestly activities of giving and sending money/time/talent away, they will not understand that process unless they see a multiplied blessing coming back somehow, some way. We are called to be a careful balance of king and priest. While giving and worship is most important, dominion and demanded multiplication of our gardens is also important.

No doubt, if the businessmen of Tyre were to come to our cities and view the churches around town, they would cry CABUL. Why? Because churches don't have understanding of business, business models, multiplication, commerce and commercial ways of meeting needs for profitable exchange.

I have met a few churches in my lifetime which are not CABUL. These churches don't look like, don't function like, and don't have a hint of being like the traditional church that you and I understand. They operate in the kingdom principles of 24/7 meeting of needs. They have businessmen crawling all over them, throwing their capacity, anointing and money into the works, because they operate in the New Testament command of "kings and priests".

I want to challenge you to blast CABAL right off the doorway of your church! But to do this will require a change of your wineskin. You will have to learn a new way that the Holy Spirit wants to teach you, the walk of a priest/king in total harmony and balance in the earth. If you can walk out of the life of LIMITATION and STERILIZATION, you will become a multiplying, creative, bountiful, powerhouse in God's Kingdom. Businessmen and wealthy individuals will come running to your side to help you build!

Tomorrow's Reading:
26-May 1 Kings 11-12, Matthew 21-22, Psalms 126-130, Proverbs 26