Evokeministries.org

No Restoration without Purification

Leen La Riviére – Chairmman, Intl Assoc. of Christian Artists

.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah make fascinating reading. They contain many great lessons for us today. We can read how the Lord appointed both of these prophets to lead his people back from captivity into their own land. This process would not be complete until the center for worship had been restored: Jerusalem and the Temple.

Despite the fact that the Israelites had obtained full permission for this work from the highest authorities, and had everything they needed for it, things were not at all easy. Their return meant a loss of territory to those who had taken their land during their captivity. They were not welcome in their own country. They faced overt opposition, slander, blackmail and bribery. The enemy even suggested c0-operation with a view to undermining and destroying the work they were doing. Tricky. When the work was completed, we might think that the Israelites could start living their own lives and resume worshipping God just like that. But no, during their captivity and then during the period of restoration, people had defiled themselves in various ways. Mixed marriages had taken place. So Nehemiah called on the levites to purify themselves so that they could guard the gates and keep the sabbath holy. All the beautiful things that had been achieved, including the joyful worship full of color and song and dance, would be endangered if the gates were not watched by purified people. People who were able to discern what was impure.

Doesn’t this story make your heart beat faster? Hasn’t our culture been captivated by the enemy? A culture that should be under God’s authority? We too are called to restore things under Christ’s authority.

That is the essence of Gospel preaching. Just as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, we need to pray while building the walls, fully armed in the spirit. We also need to be instructed in the word of God as Ezra and Nehemiah instructed the people. We also need to discern the wiles of the Devil. And, having done all that, we have to see to it that purity is achieved and maintained continually.

The moment we fail to watch the gates, the enemy will move in. Ezra and Nehemiah could do their work because people supported it fully. They not only gave their tithes, they also fulfilled the role each had to play. May artists fight the myth that has captured our culture today, that everything is neutral! Objects are neutral; life never is. Bob Dylan rightly sings, ‘You’ve got to serve somebody’. There’s no such thing as ‘art for art’s sake’. That is plain deception. Art conveys something, and so it’s never neutral. When AAron created the golden calf, he abused art. When we go along with the trends of the secular world, we abuse art. The world’s beauty is negative beauty when it doesn’t speak of truth. It doesn’t lead to worshipping God. It will always reflect the character of it’s origin; Lucifer. Negative beauty always has a sting in it’s tail. Art reflects  a reality, and when that reality is not derived from God it will end up in deception, in a lie.

Artists need to purify themselves. They need to be free from selfish ambition, from self-centeredness, from jealousy, rivalry and insincerity. Only then is art safe in their hands. Only then can they guard the gates. It will take determination, as Nehemiah was determined. It will take boldness, never losing sight of our vision. The levites were called were called to guard the gates. Today our artists should rise up and hold the gates of civilization. Restoring beauty, proclaiming truth, challenging every other Christian to stand up and rebuild in their own location, in their own profession, the eternal values of God;preparing his kingdom.