COMPARING GLORIES OF PAST MINISTRIES
Ezra 3:12 (NIV 1984) But many ...who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.
Haggai 2:9 (NIV 1984) ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty.
My daughter took her first ministry position as a worship leader at a church where a well-known Bible teacher once pastored. There was a glory present during his tenure, and one does not have to be there long before hearing his name, along with the stories of how the church would host worship events boasting over a thousand in attendance, involving a diversity of other churches and ethnic groups. They would also have a night of worship every weekend that would sometimes, under the Spirit’s direction, last into the wee hours of the morning. Glorious! However, things are different now. The famous minister moved on years ago, but more recently the church has weathered through the cumulative effects of a sanctuary destroyed by a freak wind storm, the resignation of its previous worship leader, and not to mention, a global pandemic, all leaving in its wake a congregation that seems a shell of what it once was. A church once containing a glorious worship ministry that drew multitudes found itself small in number, with neither a skilled musician nor a worship facility.
One might expect to encounter a discouraged and defeated people, but instead there is a sense of hope, purpose, and renewed vision. They have young leadership in my daughter. There is also a new building in the works. Some who remember the former glory of worship are intent on returning to it. They want to get back their night of worship. Certainly not a bad goal. My daughter can bring that, but with a slightly different focus, one with an intercession and prophetic flavor; in other words, the coming glory will not be exactly the same as the former glory. It may look the same, but it will be different, and though different, it is still God.
The familiar feeling I got when visiting her church for the first time reminded me of a church I had recently pastored. It was a small congregation where I had seen God work in miraculous ways. When I resigned after sixteen years of ministry, it was hard to leave the vision that I had connected to that ministry, and specifically a downtown building God had given us and miraculously helped us refurbish. I left a ministry and a building where I had much blood, sweat, and prayer equity, along with a multitude of stories involving miraculous provisions from the Lord. I then began to lead a small home church that met for a year in various houses when one of our members offered to allow us to meet rent free in one of the small houses he owned. The house was much smaller than the downtown building I had come from, and honestly, seemed a bit less glorious. I had doubts, questions, maybe some regrets. Yet here I was, wanting to be in His will and follow His plans, seeking a renewed sense of hope and vision. It was the same, but different, different, but still God. I had a choice. I could weep in regret, constantly making comparisons with the past, or I could look at the fresh work of God and rejoice in His goodness and glory.
When God works in glory, it may be the same as a former work, but different, different, but still God. Our perspective is our choice, and our choice will determine our emotions. The Apostle John tells his readers that he is not writing them a new command, but an old one which they have had from the beginning. But then he changes and says, “yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you ...” (1 Jn 2:7-8). Perhaps John is touching on this. What he is saying is the same, but different, different but still God. We must not allow ourselves to stall with our eyes on past glories, but look with anticipation and hope towards a future that God is just as capable of commanding. Behold, I am doing a new thing, says the Lord, do you not perceive it? (Isa 43:19)
