Distinctions

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. (Malachi 3: 17, 18)

Many people assume that I have issues with motivation. And it is true that I have.

Only that it is not for the reasons they may think.

My main issue with them is the narrow and biased way they push their doctrine and interpret scripture

Though being positive is fine, being overly positive is deceptive.

That is why I am using a verse I have heard preached many times to explain how God sets His people apart.

A wholesale lifting up is not a distinction just like we can’t have any distinction when the whole class gets A’s or first-class honours.

Exodus is the clearest Biblical example of distinction; Egypt was weeping as they were burying their dead even as Israel was celebrating as they were leaving bondage. And it had started with the plagues.

It is therefore illogical to speak about distinctions when there are none. We can’t talk about distinctions when they apply to everybody.

But something is happening today that may demonstrate this.

I have not followed the LA fires but I have heard of some unexplainable occurrences that demonstrate what I am saying.

Despite all the devastation, some houses have been left standing, unscathed.

That for me is the clearest meaning of distinction.

And it is not because they were different, or had fire retarders, or even brick built.

I saw one such and the owner even had timber outside surrounded by the fire damage yet untouched by it.

You are teaching rebellion when you teach distinction instead of obedience that is the precursor to that distinction.

Stop deceiving your congregation by teaching distinction when you have a whole spectrum of characters, from the openly wicked to the holy.

If God lifts up that whole membership, He would not be the God of the Bible since He would then be a God without standards.

But there is something else that we should understand, which is also a distinction in itself

There is serving with distinction and God bringing about the distinction.

Joseph and Daniel served with distinction. God lifted them through their excellence.

Mordecai served faithfully and God lifted him up. He did not stand out like those others. He was content to serve and be indistinguishable from the woodwork as we would say.

We therefore should be careful to separate the two though for the servant of God the distinction will not come unless we serve with an excellent spirit, faithfully.

Obedience precedes God’s distinction for the simple reason that it will only point to God.

Even with the two young people I have mentioned, it was evident to all that a different spirit was running their lives. God was therefore glorified in their serving with distinction.

That is the whole purpose of distinction. It is a witness to God’s work in and through His servants.

I do not know whether the distinctions in the LA fires have pointed to God as the fires have pointed to God’s judgment of rebellion to many.

God does not set out distinctions for the simple purpose of proving the obedience and faithfulness of His people. He does it to use those people to point the world to Him.

You are praying for such a distinction in your life or the life of your ministry?

The question to ask is, what’s in it for God?

You see, He is the object of that distinction.

Any distinction that does not direct people to God is not from Him.

Even the enemy has his distinctions and an example is in order.

Ever heard or seen thieves eating grass? Or a person who ate a stolen chicken having it crowing from his stomach? What is the object?

It is to point at the devil and his servants, the witches.

It is not for the purposes of instilling fear as most assume. It is a powerful magnet to draw people to search protection from the enemy.

God’s servants do not procure fear but worship.

That is what I pray will be the product of those destructive fires and the distinctions it produces.

They should draw people towards the grace of God.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2Corinthians 7:10)

That is the prime difference between God’s distinctions and the devil’s.

Has God distinguished you? Is God distinguishing you?

What is the product of that distinction?

Are people fearing you or fearing God?

Are people flocking to you or are they flocking to the cross?

Where are you directing them to?

Because distinctions are always happening since it is God who promised them.

They must happen as we continue fighting the fight of faith. They must happen as we stand for what we believe and what is right. They must happen when we confront wickedness in the holy place.

They must happen because we are standing for a holy God since the term holy means distinct, completely different.

Another aspect of this topic is that it is not only in the rescues and elevations that distinctions occur.

A case in point Job.

Though Job was an ordinary wealthy man, God needed to brag about him. And what better way than by challenging the devil to finish him? Because He knew that doing that will set out the distinction even to us, myriads of generations later.

But in the immediate probably only those three friends dealt with that distinction after being told that their lives hung on Job’s forgiveness and prayer for them.

But if I must repeat myself again and again allow me to say this.

It is for the single purpose of pointing people to God that the distinctions will occur.

Or do you not remember Jonah’s case?

That is why our verse talks about the righteous and the wicked since that is dealing with values and motivations.

Then it talks about those who serve God and those who serve anybody else, meaning even those who serve God with different drives and motivations, however well they do that serving.

Do you understand now?