"We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (1 John 5:19) There are moments in movie lore that you know will live on in infamy. Certain characters and single lines of script can go a long way in helping all of us solve the deep mysteries of the world. One such character is Jack Black in his role as the unassuming substitute teacher in School of Rock. Living in a fog of disillusionment and carrying the pain of unfulfilled dreams, he shares his pessimistic worldview with a class of privileged young students from a wealthy prep school. There has rarely ever been such insight and brilliance shared on the silver screen. Here is what he said... “The Man. Oh, you don't know the Man. He's everywhere. In the White House, down the hall... Ms. Mullins, she's the Man. And the Man ruined the ozone, and he's burning down the Amazon, and he kidnapped Shamu and put her in a chlorine tank! Okay? And there used to be a way to stick it to the Man, it was called rock 'n roll. But guess what? Oh no. The Man ruined that, too, with a little thing called MTV! So don't waste your time trying to make anything cool, or pure, or awesome, 'cause the Man is just gonna call you a fat washed up loser and crush your soul. So do yourselves a favor and just GIVE UP!” And then he reaches deep into our collective human angst to really grab the students’ heart... “If you wanna rock, you gotta break the rules. You gotta get mad at the man! And right now, I'm the man. That's right, I'm the man, and who's got the guts to tell me off? Huh? Who's gonna tell me off?” GET MAD AT THE MAN Do you want justice? Do you want to start a revolution? Do you want to gather thousands to rally behind you so we can change this world and bring real peace and fairness for all? The best way to do this is to cause people to “get mad at the man!” Bernie Sanders has mastered this. So has Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, and every musician that was somebody at Woodstock realized that if they wanted to move humanity forward they must, “get people to get mad at the man ... convince them that you have the answer to topple the man ... and the world will love you for it!” So this begs the question, “Who exactly is the man?” Understanding "The Man" is rather simple, and getting people to hate him is even easier. To begin, "the man" is no one in particular, he is an idea. Just convince the ignorant that somewhere there lurks a group of overlords who want to control this game called life. Through their evil brilliance they have figured out how to rig the system in their favor. Through lies, empty promises, and underhanded deals, they have stolen the world's large pile of "limited resources" and kept it all for themselves. Over the history of mankind they have hoarded all the wealth, money, capital, real estate, farmland and gold; and figured out how to keep it in their grubby, greedy hands. They have written the laws, designed governments, invented banking systems and even manipulated religion to keep this vast pile solely under their control. Above all, they fear losing their power - - so they are forever working to maintain the status quo. They do this by rewarding like minded "good ole' boys" and hire obedient thugs to keep the majority of people in submission. Like obedient but ignorant guard dogs. the police have been trained through bribes and systemic corruption to not to ask questions, just enforce what "the man" wants. And the poor rabble on the bottom, the marginalized, the innocent peasantry, are the ones being used to keep "the man" fat and happy. This sad exploited group are not allowed to touch "the man's" pile of treasure. They are forced out. So they are waiting for a hero, a person to lead them forward to topple "the man". All a revolutionary leaders needs to do is to convince this group to band together, join forces, because it is in "the collective, the community" that the dynamic power of solidarity can be unleashed. It is together that this once powerless group can become "the man" in collective form. All it takes is the stirring up of their hate and anger, and they can move mountains. THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN But in order to vanquish "the man" the collective needs to get rid of the power, or should I say, myth behind "the man." Here is another diagram.... This entity is jokingly referred to by "the man" as the "man upstairs." He is nothing more than a projection of themselves. What a brilliant lie he is. Not only is he said to be all-knowing, all-powerful and wise, but he also is a white European male. And as ruler over all, he has chosen a special group of men to carry out his will on earth. He refers to them as the chosen, as special, a better race of men. To keep people in line, the "man upstairs" has left a book to tell people how to behave. Clearly it is nothing more than a product of "the man" to keep all of us in the collective scared, enslaved and silent. And just to make sure people fall in line, their is a well-paid clerical class that insists on having special insight from the "man upstairs" that they alone possess. When examined closely, this same clergy is sharing in the hoarded wealth as well; they too have membership in the ranks of "the man." This is why the revolutionary class, the voice of the collective, tells us that religion should not be trusted - - this is why we must see faith as nothing more than fairy tale, a superstitious construct to support the system developed by "the man." This is what Jack Black means by "the man", and for that matter, this perspective is really believed by many in our world. This is where our current culture's inherit cynicism toward others is born. This is what gives birth to progressive politics, to celebrity arrogance, and increasing numbers in the armies of the agnostic and unbelieving. But this is not really what is driving "the wrongness in the world." This narrative of "the man" is shielding us from what is really going on. THE REAL TRUTH OF POWER Ephesians 6:12 tells us something very startling, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." We need to stop being fooled, and stop pointing fingers at others because our collective jealousy, hatred and covetousness is killing us. "The Man" is a myth, because if truth be told, "we are the real problem." Let me show you exactly what I mean... If you want to know what power is pulling the strings behind reality, go to the very first book in the Bible and you will see Satan has been against God and his creation from the get go. Satan is real, his name means adversary and he hates you primarily because God loves you! This is where hatred originates. Above all he wants to hurt God by hurting you. And he is the one who wants you to believe that "the man" is behind it all.
In 2 Corinthians 4:4 it tells us very clearly that he blinds all of us. We are the pawns in his sick game. Not only are we polluted by sin, but in our brokenness we want to believe Satan's lies. As a result we all are in the business of dominating others, we want to win, we want to hoard money, riches and gold, we have become "the man." One of the most obvious ways to tell we are part of "the man" is by blaming "the man" so we can get things from "the man." We, as individuals, are the real selfish ones. And the one person who is getting trampled on in this crazy world is God himself. Not only was he murdered on a cross 2,000 years ago, but he is daily ridiculed, ignored, mocked and made fun of. He is not power hungry, he only wants us to love him. How could a person be power hungry when he already owns everything? How could a person be power hungry when he is inviting people to share in his wealth and glory through faith? THE REAL MAN Jesus came to die for you. He did this to prove he hasn't come to dominate, but to serve and save. It was in his death he set all of us free - - now offering all of us a chance to no longer be a part of "the man." We can be set free from our sin, we can leave behind our selfish ways, we can be forgiven. All you need to do is believe. In fact, as Johnny Cash's song puts it, he is the real man: "And I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder One of the four beasts saying, 'Come and see.' and I saw, and behold a white horse" There's a man goin' 'round takin' names And he decides who to free and who to blame Everybody won't be treated all the same There'll be a golden ladder reachin' down When the man comes around The hairs on your arm will stand up At the terror in each sip and in each sup Will you partake of that last offered cup Or disappear into the potter's ground? When the man comes around ("When the Man Comes Around)
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Last night I took a personality test at 16personalities.com After responding to 100 questions, this test promised to reveal to me my true self. I was shocked by the results. It said that I was an “Entertainer”: I have to be the life of every party, I don't like to talk about the big issues of life, and I am only looking for fun. I never knew this is who I am? In some ways I feel more complete knowing this. This morning I was reading an article that stated how Bernie Sanders, the white haired, Jersey talking democratic candidate made this statement, “Most republicans and conservatives are naturally racist, greedy and lacking compassion to those who are stuck in poverty.” Uh oh, for most of my life I have voted republican and looked for the most conservative candidates on the ballot. Does that mean...it must mean...I am a cold hearted hater! The other day I heard the rantings of a very well known feminist talking about most men over the age of 40 in our country: “they are selfish, controlling and lust driven.” I am a man over 40, I am ashamed of myself. A year ago my daughter had me take a “Divergent Test” based on the best selling movie of the same name. It said I am both “Dauntless and Abnegation.” This means I don't care while caring too much. Who am I? I was reading a history book explaining how the German warlike spirit is what caused most of the major wars. I have mostly German blood flowing through my veins. I got it from my mom who eats sour kraut for fun. It went on to say that “although Germans were very industrious and efficient, they also were calculating and cruel.” I feel terrible about this. I took a Lord of the Rings test two years ago that said I was an Orc. That is all it said...what does that mean? I like to eat Hobbit flesh and drink the blood of squirrels? How did they know? I was watching a debate between an evangelical apologist and an atheist. The atheist made a statement that most Christians are disillusioned and gullible saps. I am not just a Christian, but I sell it to others on a daily basis. What does that make me...a peddler of false promises and illusions? What manner of wretch am I? I am a Midwesterner as well, as compared to those from the South and West I am less hospitable, more to myself and by nature a rather boring family man. According to that list I wouldn’t want to hang out with me. I also am an American. You know what that means! I am an Imperialist that enjoys living off the backs of the third world poor who work in sweatshops and dwell in shanty-towns. Why am I so indifferent to the plight of others ? The most insightful article yet was from a psychology journal that showed how the youngest child in the family, which I am, is a people pleaser and family clown. I am not sure if I even know myself anymore; and worse than that, I don't like who I am. If I could I would run away from myself. I can't. So what are my options? Let the social experts and political hacks define me? Take a test and submit to its results? Just obey the commands of my German, male chauvinist self? I choose death. “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) 'Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:12-14) My daughter is taking introductory philosophy at college, for her it feels like a full frontal attack on everything she ever believed in from a very kind and grandfatherly looking man - - I told her, "Strap your mind in, and get ready to let the games of argument and persuasion to begin!" She explained to me last night at dinner how in her class they were learning about some famous guy with a girl's name. "Rene' Descartes?" I asked. "Yep, that's it." He thinks therefore he is. Smart guy I guess. My daughter went on to say how her professor, who fancies himself as being a man of sheer brilliance, proceeded to lambaste most of Christendom because they are so divided, so confused, and oh so wrong. During our dinner-time discussion she made this statement: "I am so confused, because he had 40 years to think about these things and it is the first time I heard this stuff. How am I to defend my faith. I wish you were with me dad." She went on to say how he is claiming the higher ground of agnosticism: He doesn't really believe there is a God as Christians describe him, nor does he buy into strict materialism. So, being the man of sophistication and nuance that he is, he is choosing to remain non-committal. Mighty courageous of him, don't you think? It is always best to never stand for anything, because you can always be above everyone else who does...and of course, you are never wrong when you never claim you are sure of something. It is the modern position most sophisticated people take. Their arrogant indifference keeps them detached and superior in everything; especially in politics, religion and whether or not to implement capital punishment for homicidal maniacs that were raised in bad families. The issue I have with how the humanities are taught in most of our schools of higher learning is how professors have no qualms with attacking students who are not prepared for the battle. It reminds me of the time I played tackle football with Junior Highers as Youth Pastor. I had a helper that was a fully grown 25 year old man tackling and knocking 12 year old kids to the ground not caring if he was hurting them or not; he was simply displaying his dominance. That is exactly what this professor was doing to my daughter - - instead of teaching he was dominating. This same thing happened to me 32 years ago when I took a religion class in college and the teacher's whole aim was to destroy everything I believed. Here I was, an impressionable 18 year old facing a 50 year old liberal teacher that scoffed at my belief in a male God named Jesus. This is nothing more than sheer exploitation: Taking advantage of people who are woe-fully unprepared for battle. And modern society sees this attack and wrecking-ball approach of most professors as necessary in order to help students become well reasoning adults. Destroy all religious superstition by name calling and creating straw men of parents and pastors. That isn't courage, nor is it education. It is instilling materialist propaganda on vulnerable minds. Gone are the days of learning rhetoric, logic, scientific method and other tools to help expand the mind. Now higher education is training the student to walk lock step with a liberal agenda. That isn't thinking, it is dominating. Some people call it fascist. (But I won't use that term because people believe that it is only reserved for slinging at conservatives and bible believers these days.) Faith is mocked, mystery is patronized and compared to a child's safety blanket for the infantile Christian mind, and life is really all about what political party you are going to vote for. Conservative bad, Progressive good. I thought Progressives were for accepting all forms of diversity? Nope, if truth be told, they are scared of the idea of an all-powerful God because that means there is someone that has the sole power to judge.. . .and that is what they don't like! I can't wait for the class when my daughter will learn about Friedrich Nietzsche and his coining of the atheist's favorite philosophical phrase "God is Dead." It is argued that Nietzsche was one of the most brilliant materialists ever to live. Too bad the teachers will never explain to their students how this poor atheist man died. His weak little diseased body was falling apart in an insane asylum while he was deathly scared of God. Oh well, fat chance they will ever learn about that. These days it is cool to be the men and women who teach in tweed jackets; and yet are not courageous enough to stand on anything. It is cool to remain aloof and above. And by golly, if you want to pass this class, you better join them in their unbelief. Sadly for most of them, faith demands for you to believe even when there is doubt, and it expects you to be "all-in" in that belief. Without it, you are on your own as you meet your maker. Good luck with that. And this thought doesn't really give this sophisticated, nuanced, intellectual, broken-down evolved animal called man much hope at all. But I do like their tweed jackets!. “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39) The year was 1966. John Lennon, the lead singer for the wildly popular rock group The Beatles was sitting in his London home next to a gorilla suit, a full size crucifix and a fully equipped suit of armor as he was being interviewed by Maureen Cleave of the London Evening Standard. She started her interview with a question about religion, and he responded in his cheeky English way by saying, “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity.” Most Londoners let his comment filter through public discourse with barely a notice, but Americans of that day were up in arms. Parents, pastors and even the Klu Klux Klan were demanding for a complete cancellation of all concerts. “How dare he spew such vile hatred!” Lennon was the poster boy for teen rebellion and his comments became the new battle cry for an emerging culture of narcissism. Narcissism is defined as, “extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one's own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.” Narcissism in most cases can be quite destructive for relationships and families. But when it is displayed in pop culture, like it was in John Lennon’s case, people are quick to accept it and assign it to the outflow of “artistic brilliance” and the person’s inner genius...they are just being their amazing selves. Lennon may have been a rare case to exhibit such public brashness, but now being 50 years removed, narcissism has become standard fare for most of our celebrities. Just this past weekend the NBA had their all-star game weekend. It featured the best of the best in basketball, including both the three-point competition and slam dunk contest. Sure it was meant to entertain, and it did just that, but this year it was a bit too much. The players, pimped-out in their best gangster wear, acted like a group of self absorbed teens who were more impressed with each other’s greatness than being mature professionals who were grateful just to represent. And to top it off, it was Kobe Bryant’s last all-star game so the NBA felt obligated to to send him off well. One sports writer notes, “I wonder whether the league needed to produce more than one tribute video for the occasion. . .These videos were over the top, insofar as most people do not receive elaborate tributes when retiring from their professions.” So for the next two months, basketball fans will be asked to pay weekly homage to a man out of his prime limping around the court while raking in millions. Politics is no better. “The Donald” and Hilary truly believe they can do no wrong. Even when they are caught in misbehavior and possible corruption, American voters are being asked to ignore “the man behind the curtain” and continue serving as mindless neophytes who never question and only fawn at their super-star candidate. It is clear to everyone Donald and Hilary are only in it for themselves, not to be representatives of the people for the people. It is believed by many pundits that narcissism is a necessary character quality if you are ever hoping to become the President. If you don't think I am right, just watch Barak. He is a narcissistic virtuoso. But before we are quick to point a finger at the rich and famous, we need to look a little closer to home. I believe narcissism is fast becoming a standard part of our American fabric. Two clues have awakened me to the truth of this.The first comes once again from reading the writings of that nasty demon in The Screwtape Letters written by C.S. Lewis. He is writing letters to his demon nephew about how to really get people off track from following God. He explains how it is very simple, all you need to do is get a gullible person to really believe that ‘My time is my own.’ He says: “Let a person have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of twenty-four hours…the money that he tithes is his own personal birthright...and ownership in general is always to be encouraged. The humans are always putting up claims to ownership which sound equally funny in Heaven and in Hell and we must keep them doing so” And here is one more very insightful nugget, “Man can neither make, nor retain, one moment of time; it all comes to him by pure gift...the word ‘Mine’ in the fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything.” This truth is convicting and humbling. Our time, money, health, talents, intelligence, and property has never really been ours - - they are all God’s provisions of grace. Grace is never deserved; only bestowed. And since birth, we have grabbed and clutched at things believing its all mine, it’s mine to do as I please, as I want, as I decide, throw caution to the wind and let it be! (Another great Beatle song) James 4:12-15 says, “Come now, you who say,’Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ — yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” This ownership and possessiveness of time God calls evil. If that isn’t narcissism, I don’t know what it is? The second thing that has really awakened me to this “Natural Narcissism” is the way we talk about people we love or admire, especially when they die. As a pastor I have witnessed many funerals and memorial services, and in the last five or six years people seem to talk about their loved ones who have passed in terms, titles and abilities that should only be reserved for God. People are painted with no flaws, no errors, they are seen as almost godlike in their qualities as they lived among us, mere mortals. I have even heard quite a few people making statements about how their loved one “is now an angel in heaven watching over us, ever present and able to meet our every need.” I understand how grieving and mourning causes people to tend toward sentimental cliche’ and overstatement, but for most people God has faded in the shadows and is nothing more than a minor actor in the life of a person. He has become the world's stagehand whose job is to stay hidden while he changes the backdrop and stage scenery for the brilliant actors on the stage to “strut and perform” for there own personal glory. And we think we are doing God a tremendous favor to even acknowledge him as playing a small part in our lives at all. Chinese water torture is meant to kill with a slow agonizing death, drip by drip by drip. That is what I call my daughter's young teen television shows that she watches on Netflix. Over the years I have watched enough of these mindless exercises of folly to send me to the loony bin: "Suite Life with Zac and Cody," "Zoe 101," "ICarley," "Life with Boys," and the most recent one she watches is "Good Luck Charley." One day as my daughter was eating lunch watching "Good Luck Charley" I was noticing that the plot line was so stupid I wanted to pull my hair out. Apparently the oldest boy in the family had to baby-sit his sister for a whole day. He is 17 and his sister was one years old. He decided to invite over his neighbor who also was 17 and had him bring over his one year old little brother. He came up with the brilliant idea of having a crawling competition between the two one years old. So they decorated the basement, got a sound system, designed a high tech crawling track, outfitted the babies in track wear, and were awarding gold and silver medals for the baby who won the crawling battle. And the show was trying to make the viewer believe that both of the 17 year olds were dead serious about this. I couldn't take it because not only was it silly, but it was overtly patronizing to the viewer. Who in their right mind would ever take a crawling contest seriously? Who in their right mind would award medals to babies? Who in their right mind would spend hundreds of dollars to decorate a basement just to watch babies crawl? Seems ridiculous, doesn't it? I wonder, does God feel the same way about us and our sports, award shows, trivia competitions, all-star games, and singing competitions? From God's perspective, what is the difference between a baby crawling and a man shooting a ball through an orange hoop? I am not doubting the entertainment value and fun it provides for us down here, but why do we allow these things to give us so much personal significance and worth? Why do we think we are so great because we can do the things God designed for us to do in the first place? 1 Corinthians 4:6-7 asks it like this, "Do not take pride in one man over against another. For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" Narcissism's biggest downfall is that after awhile we begin to lose the importance of God because we are so obsessed with staring at ourselves. “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6) In my sophomore & junior year of college I decided to sign up for some very tough “electives”: General classes that were outside of my business marketing major but still applied to my overall credits. I wanted to choose some courses to help me be a more intellectual and well-rounded student. After perusing the different options that were offered, I picked three that sounded especially hard: Camping, Canoeing and Scuba Diving. (And to think my parents only thought I goofed around at school?) In all seriousness, I chose Camping and Canoeing because they were easy “A’s”; not only did they offer loads of outdoor time with my friends, but they required “zero” mental strain and labor. So wanting to take one more breeze class, I signed up for Scuba Diving. After the first day of class, I came to a quick realization that this was going to be a different sort of animal altogether. It was to push me to my limits on three personal levels: (1) Physically it demanded for each student to be in great swimming shape. We had to be able to swim 20 laps across the pool and then tread water for 30 minutes before we could even touch the actual scuba equipment. Many students dropped the class once they heard that this was a mandatory requirement to pass. (2) Mentally you had to learn a lot about the human body’s circulatory and respiratory system. There are two very real risks when you go diving in deep water: Decompression Sickness, otherwise known as the “The Bends”, and Nitrogen Narcosis. The teacher made sure we understood the extreme seriousness of these dangers before we even stuck one toe into the water. (3) Emotionally this class directly confronted some of your worst fears. The teacher scheduled us to dive in some flooded quarries found in Northern Ohio, where they went 150 feet down into inky black, ice-cold waters. I assure you, 150 feet is really deep and it can feel terribly claustrophobic. As we began to dive these waters I often had to trade partners because after reaching certain depths some students would panic and refuse to go any deeper. I must tell you... I loved this class and I really came to enjoy Scuba Diving. I would tell other students about my diving experiences and then they would ask me, “Why would anyone choose to subject themselves to the silent prison of such cold black water, not knowing which way was up, or facing the possibility of encountering an angry catfish, a curious nibbling carp or being chased by the dreaded shrieking eels?" (They watched way too much Princess Bride.) My answer was simple, "It is a strange thrill when you can survive in a place that normally would kill you." There is a wonder about it. Scuba brought me into the mystery of new sights and strange sounds. I was able to experience things I never had before, and saw things relatively few ever did. One of the first times we put on our Scuba equipment, our teacher put us under a very curious test. He gave us 15 minutes to get familiar with breathing out of a regulator: You would stand in the pool up to your waist, put the regulator into your mouth, and then stick your head under the water while breathing in and out like Darth Vader. It took some practice, but soon we all were comfortable with breathing in the water. Next, he then had our class go sit with our full equipment on at the bottom of a 15 foot pool. There we sat. Enjoying the experience of breathing freely under water. Out of nowhere, our teacher came swimming down to the bottom with a pair of Scuba fins and proceeded to pull our regulators out of our mouths. Many in the class panicked and quickly swam to the surface. A few of us tried to stay at the bottom to prove we could survive his little test. The only problem was that we couldn't breath - - that is . . . UNTIL . . . UNTIL . . . UNTIL . . . until we stopped panicking, reached back, grabbed our regulators, placed them in our mouths and started breathing the slow "in and out" Vader pattern again. There we sat...breathing freely, safe and sound, happy that we passed this test. The key to our survival was experiencing the moment of "Until." This is when the human mind realizes two things: Our desperate "need" and the "solution" that is offered to meet that need. "Until" is what made the Scuba experience wonderful. "Great story, but...seriously, what does this have to do with anything?" Stick with me and you will see. To help explain what I am getting at I ask you to turn to Psalm 73 and read the first 16 verses. I know most of you won't do this because cracking open your bible is a rare endeavor...so let me explain what it says. In the first 16 verses the writer of Psalm 73 is both depressed & distressed. He is trying to be true to God but his life is falling apart. As he looks around, people who have no regard for the things of God seem to be doing fine, and this really ticks him off. So much so, he asks himself in verse 13, "What's the use? Why be clean, why be pure, why be a good religious guy?" Now it gets exciting, and verse 17 is the key verse to the whole psalm: "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end." The Psalmist was in despair, "Until." It is just like me in Scuba class, I could not breath under water "Until." It is the way God designed reality. He brings us to the brink of despair so we will reach out for him through the "Until." (see Romans 11:32) It is that place of solitude, silence, alone where we invite the presence of God to change our perspective, circumstances and our life. Jesus calls this moment of "Until" the prayer closet, the secret place, a person's own personal sanctuary. And in the prayer closet he tells us to "Ask, Seek, and Knock" (Matthew 7:7-8). In Luke 1:5-25, the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, all their dreams to have a child of their own were smashed, that is "Until" Zechariah went into the Holy Place and offered incense, the visible sign of prayer. When I was in Scuba class, I couldn't breath under water "until" I reached for the regulator. The regulator brought "oxygen" down to my lungs so I could survive in 150 feet of the icy dark deep. Often my life is too much for me, "until" I enter the secret place, and my prayer invites the "Actual Presence of God" to come down into my strange world of depression and despair. Oxygen is the physical stuff of the world above water; God's presence brings to me the Spiritual stuff of heaven. God is just as real and far more powerful and effective than the oxygen he is responsible for creating in the first place. I want to take this a step further: Just as Scuba diving brought me into "the mystery of new sights and strange sounds. I was able to experience things I never had before, and saw things relatively few ever did," this is even more true with prayer. Wonder is so rare in the church because prayer is so rare. Rarely are we desperate, rarely are we alone, rarely do we reach the point of "Until." I have found this to be true in my life, and just think, I am a pastor! TAKE THE "UNTIL" CHALLENGE I have been really provoked, by both my wife, my life, and the Spirit of God to start taking prayer more seriously. I want to experience his wonder, and to do that I have decided to grab on to the "Until." (See corresponding diagram) What is your mountain? What is your longing? Are you desperate for God to answer them? The way you can tell if you are is that you reach the point of "Until." Most of us don't get that far with God, that is why wonder is often lacking.
I will never forget the first big dive we went on, we had a class of 20 but only 4 wanted to go down all the way to 150 feet. I was one of the 4, and as we went deeper, the darker and colder it got. It was so dark you could not see your hand before your face, and as you floated in the water it felt like being in outer space, a true Darth Vader experience. I will never forget the moment when my fear turned to marvel. Marvel is the point of reaching total amazement. You can't describe it, nor can you replicate it, but you can feel it. After the dive, the four of us came slowly out of the water, smiles tattooed on our faces, while the rest of the class was watching on shore. "How was it?" asked a fellow student. "What was it like?" asked another. The four of us had nothing to say, nothing. It is the same when God comes directly to answer prayer. I have seen God come in the middle of my impossible and there was nothing to say, nothing. It took me to get to the moment of "Until", and then wonder and marvel came. It is there, right after the moment of "Until", that you begin to realize and know that, "God is." “There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” (Mark 7:15) Don't you wish more people would just be themselves, be real, shed the plastic veneer? Isn’t it refreshing when people just let it all hang out and don't care about what other people say? Don’t you like it when people tell it like it is?
“I was just venting”, “Putting Myself Out There” and being “Raw” are all catchphrases in the quest for being an authentic person these days. There is nothing more noble or praiseworthy than a person who is just being themselves, casting caution to the wind, and letting people hear and see the “real me.” Right? Cam Newton, the Carolina Panther’s MVP quarterback, is a prime example of this type of bravado. All year long as his team was crushing their opponents Cam would smile, sing, dance and celebrate. He was outspoken and noisy about his joy. Commentators loved it because he was just being himself, adding his own special spice to the game, playing to the crowd. After his team had an embarrassing loss in the Super Bowl, Cam responded by pouting. During his interview he showed open disdain and irritation, barely answering questions and eventually walking off the stage while questions were still being asked. Many people said that he acted like a sore loser, a spoiled brat who didn’t get his way. But one commentator said, “Hey, at least he was being authentic! And isn’t it refreshing to finally have someone tell the truth instead of performing for the fans and putting on a fake humility? Hey, he was just being himself, you can’t fault a guy for that.” Cam later said, “I don't have to conform to what anybody wants. I am my own person...I'm on record as being a sore loser," he said, via the Charlotte Observer. "I hate losing. You show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser." You see, he is just being himself, right? He was being authentic? He was telling the truth. Really? I am not too sure about that. In 1997 a rather crass and silly movie starring Jim Carrey was widely popular, the name of it was “Liar, Liar.” The plot is simple: Jim Carrey played a deceitful lawyer named Fletcher whose son wished that he would tell the truth for a whole day. The boy’s wish came true. As a result, whatever was on Fletcher’s mind he was compelled to say. Even if it was nasty, derogatory or plain cruel, it came flying out of his mouth. Here is one simple example: Fletcher’s co-worker was a very fat man and he greets Fletcher, “What’s up?” Fetcher responds, “Your cholesterol, fatty!” Funny, isn’t it? But is that true? Is that being authentic? Was the nasty lawyer just being himself? Throughout the movie Fletcher continued to ridicule and abuse almost everyone he came in contact with. He referred to people as, ”retarded, pedantic, pontificating, pretentious b@#$!, a belligerent old fart, a worthless steaming pile of cow dung, brownnoser, losers! Idiot! Wimp! Degenerate!” I guess this is Hollywood’s version of truth telling? This brand of truth and authenticity is nothing more than the spewing of human pollution and plain old impolite nastiness. Being mean, surly, critical, condemning and crusty is not telling the truth, it is allowing sin to distort the person God intended you to be: an image bearer of Christ created in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24) Just because I can vent does not mean I am being authentic. Often all it means is that I have no control over myself. It isn’t being real, it is being rotten. Jesus says the problem with people is not what goes into them, but what comes out of them, listen to how he puts it... “Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?. . .What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” The definition of authentic is this, “made to be or look just like an original; not false or imitation.” The original pattern of humanity is Christ himself, so if I am to be authentic, I need to "be or look like the original” … which is Christ himself. Can you imagine Christ calling someone a fatty? Or if Jesus lost a football game would he pout, whine and act like a brat and call those who don't agree with him losers? If you want to be authentic, be authentically authentic by living up to the pattern you were made to display - - Christ Jesus. During the halftime show of the Super Bowl, Queen “B” (Beyonce’), pop-media's number one diva herself, performed a routine that was in praise of the late Malcolm X. He was the Black Panther founder who was notorious for his aggressive brand of black superiority. She received a lot of criticism for her routine; and when her corresponding video came out that condemned police brutality and included overtly sexual dancing that she is known to perform, many people called her out. To defend her performance, one person said, “Beyonce' is just being her ferocious black self.” In other words, her overt sexuality and hostility toward authority is her being authentic to who she is. She is just being the Queen "B". That is not who Jesus created her to be, or any woman for that matter - - a piece of meat to arouse men's sexual fantasies. I don't think God wants women prostituting themselves out while judging and castigating different groups in society that often are just trying to serve the people. Beyonce’, Cam, Fletcher and the rest of the “opinion spewing culture” we live in is not a sign we are authentic, it is a evidence of adolescent arrogance where virtue and maturity no longer matters. What ever happened to using your speech to build others up? (Ephesians 4:29) I guess common civility and kindness and having “words fitly spoken” are no longer admired or desired. If I was Governor Snyder and I had to deal with the Flint water situation, I would simply say, “The city of Flint is just being true to itself. The sewage that is coming from the lead pipes is nothing more than Flint expressing it's authenticity.” If Cam Newton can whine and complain, Beyonce’ can do a strip tease, and ‘Liar, Liar’ is supposedly a great study of truth telling, than we should be able to also spin Flint’s sewage problem to a positive as well. Authentic authenticity, or sewage? Which one do you want to be? Getting it Right: Knowing Jesus correctly, as he was, is the key for worshipping Him, as he is.2/3/2016 “With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:3-4) Who really was Jesus?
Are you sure you know what he was like, how he lived, what he really taught? Researchers tell us that the way people view Jesus often has more to do with their personal background and experience than any other factor. If a person was raised in a white capitalist home, Jesus is seen as an enterprising entrepreneur that has come to bring you “Your Best Life Now.” If a person was raised in poverty, Jesus is seen as the valiant revolutionary who has come to topple Wall Street; and like a modern day Robin Hood, deliver the money of the rich into the hands of the poor. To the atheist, Jesus never really claimed to be God; it was his zealous power-hungry followers that wanted the world to see him as more than just a mere man. (I often wonder how some critics of Christianity could think his disciples wanted power when thousands of the first century Christians were martyred and made sport of in the Roman Coliseum for what they believed?) This is why many religious cynics say Jesus looks more like the image you find staring back at you from the mirror than a man who actually walked the dusty Middle Eastern roads 2,000 years ago. As a result, some of our more learned historians and progressive theologians have declared that knowing the real Jesus is virtually an impossible task. In the early 1800’s a man by the name of David Strauss began to doubt what we have traditionally been taught about Jesus by starting a major scholastic movement called “The Quest for the Historical Jesus.” Strauss began his study by rejecting all supernatural events that involved Jesus and claimed they were nothing but fictional elaborations. He viewed the miraculous accounts of Jesus' life in the gospels in “terms of myths which had arisen as a result of the community's imagination as it retold stories and represented natural events as miracles.” Over the years famous men like Albert Schweitzer and Rudolf Bultmann joined in the search for trying to understand Jesus as he was. Bultmann was a tremendously influential professor of theology at Tübingen, Germany in the early 1900’s. He came to the conclusion that not much could really be known about the historical Jesus. For him, trying to find Jesus was a relatively pointless endeavor. In fact, if you want to know Jesus at all, he taught that you needed to have an existential encounter, a mystical spiritual moment, with the word of God. Other brilliant liberal men followed in this scholarly deconstruction of Christ, with the latest being John Dominic Crossan, a former Roman Catholic priest and co-founder of the Jesus Seminar. Joining with other revisionist scholars Crossan concluded, “that many authors writing about the life of Jesus will "do autobiography and call it biography." In other words, for the present day God seeker, real “knowing” of Jesus is nothing more than religious make-believe. If that is the case, then tell me, who are we singing to on Sunday? Well, for many progressive pastors like Kent Dobson, the former minister of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, they are not too sure what to believe anymore. According to The Grand Rapids Press, Kent, “told the congregants that he has never felt right serving in the role of pastor because he has always been ‘drawn to the edges of religion and faith and God.’ He has even stated a few times that he doesn't know ‘what we mean by God anymore?’” But into this fog of modern scholarship, the ancient gospel writer Luke boldly and unapologetically declares, “I have decided to write an orderly account...so you may know the certainty of things.” He knew that Jesus existed, and he knew actual men and women who personally saw and heard the real Jesus walk and talk. As one very solid Christian historian, Craig Keener, writes, “Luke not only spent lot of time with Paul in Judea, but he probably spent most of his interim in Caesarea, which afforded him the opportunity to become more ‘fully acquainted’ with reports about Christ’s actual life.” He goes on to say, that Luke had “impeccable credentials” for writing reliably about Jesus. Not only that, but Keener goes on to say that the first-hand accounts of Jesus during Luke’s day were widespread: “...hence what Luke reports was already in wide circulation at the time of his writing, probably within the lifetime of some who had known Jesus’ public ministry.” That should both humble the modern scholar and give confidence to the Christian reader of Luke. Because as Keener says, “whatever their (ancient writers like Luke) human biases, they were in a better historical position to evaluate matters of their day than we are today.” Luke declares that “what Jesus did was not done in a corner,” (Acts 26:26) and that “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” (Acts 2:22). I think Luke has more reason to be believed than Strauss, Bultman or Crossan...don’t you? I wonder what people will say about me 2,000 years from now? They can read letters from my wife, kids, parents and friends or they can do extensive research on what white, male baptist preachers were like back in the 21st century America. I can hear a haughty professor from some Ivy League school of Divinity wearing a tweed jacket saying about me: “Well I have done some thorough research of Reverend Christopher Weeks and his day. I know for a fact that this man was both a Caucasian and a Baptist preacher. From those two aspects alone we can extrapolate what manner of man he was. Clearly we can say that he probably was an adherent of the small but vitriolic fundamentalist sect: a group that was categorized by separatism, highly antagonistic to the culture around them, constantly participated in the degradation of women, prone to preach hellfire and damnation and a man who was apt to “cling to his guns,” wore white shirts and ties and often went unhinged on his anti-alcoholic rants. We have concluded Reverend Weeks was a man who was out of touch with the community around him.” Now if you would read my correspondence to those whom I love, they know that I am anything but a hard-core fundamentalist. Actually, I am a strange and complicated man. At times I don't even understand myself! Ties make me break out in hives, I love and respect women, in truth my mom is the smartest person I know, I try to preach grace, and I barely know how to fire a squirt gun. The point being, you don’t learn about a man by the culture he lived in, but you learn about a man by the people who knew and loved him. If you disagree, answer me one thing: Are you exactly like your brothers and sisters? Just because you were raised in the same home does not make you alike. One Israeli scholar writes, “The early Christian accounts about Jesus are not as untrustworthy as scholars today often think. The first three Gospels not only present a reasonably faithful picture of Jesus as a Jew in his own time, but portray him quite plausibly as a Jewish miracle-worker and preacher,” rather than some made up object of the church’s proclamation. C.S. Lewis quips, “The earliest converts were converted by a single historical fact (the Resurrection) and a single theological doctrine (the Redemption) operating on a sense of sin they already had.” They didn’t need some highly accredited scholar’s assurance to prove the historical accuracy of Christ. I believe if we lose the scripture’s account of Jesus, we will lose Jesus himself. In order to worship a Jesus that isn’t make believe, let’s stick to what has been revealed to us through the Holy Scriptures. It is here we become certain! “For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her…” (Proverbs 5:3-8) Screwtape is at it again! In my reading this morning I landed upon the part in the book where this tricksy demon was disclosing a major strategy the dark world uses when trying to secure the damnation of an ordinary young man...snare him with “Satan’s type of woman.” If you can get a foolish man to become intoxicated with the allure of a pretty face and the smooth curves of a shapely form, the poor sap is done for! This statement may at first sound sexist, but if you were honest, you know it to be true. The best way to lure a young man off the path to God is through a beautiful woman with a polluted heart.
As a father of two boys in High School, this discussion in The Screwtape Letters really piqued my interest. It all started with this bit of advice from one demon to another: “There must be several young women in your patient’s neighborhood who would render the Christian life intensely difficult to him if only you could persuade him to marry one of them.” Very simple advice, link a man to a noxious woman through marriage and you render him useless. If you are like me, you shy away from this type of discussion in public. It is dangerous to be talking openly about the possibility of a woman being dangerous in our politically correct world; but you can’t deny its reality! For crying out loud, in 1982 Hall & Oates got famous for warning men about the dreaded maneater, it was one of their most famous songs... (Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater (Oh-oh, here she comes) Watch out boy she'll chew you up (Oh-oh, here she comes) She's a maneater Screwtape pictures “Satan’s Type of Woman” with possessing 4 insidious qualities that lure and trap an unsuspecting man. I am determined to warn my boys of these 4 qualities because I have seen them to be true in some very scary women over the years. And if you are a mom reading this, please, train your daughters not to be this way. As Proverbs 5 says, “Her feet go down to death...She does not ponder the way of life.” In other words, sensual women are usually ignorant women; and destruction is the end result when a man is caught in her wily ways. Quality 1: Satan’s Type of Woman Focuses Only on the Physical Screwtape says, “In every age a general misdirection of what may be called sexual ‘taste’ is produced. This they do by working through a small circle of popular artists, dressmakers, actresses and advertisers who determine the fashionable type.” This is so true, in any given culture taste is determined by master manipulators (Advertising is more influential than you think); and for many women, acquiring this sexual “taste” is a matter of extreme importance. In fact, for Satan’s woman, they are convinced this “taste” is their source of power over others. Men may dominate others through their strength and talent; but maneating women have learned to use their beauty and sensuality as a weapon to gain control and advantage. In our present day pop-culture this type of power is used very effectively by the most brazen. Let me give you one obvious example: “Kim Kardashian has 50 Million followers on her Instagram.” Do you think people follow her because of her intellectual brilliance or divine moral example? No, the way she initially became famous was by producing a sex tape...and she hasn’t stopped peddling smut ever since. Now she and her sick sisters drive current fashion and public interest. “She’s a maneater...Watch out boy, she’ll chew you up.” And Beyonce` isn’t any better. She sells her poisonous wares, all the while her feet are dragging men down to Sheol. Quality 2: Satan’s Type of Woman Lives With a Chronic Horror of Getting Old It is one thing to hate wrinkles and old age, it is quite another thing to be horrified of it. This quality, which is the logical out-working of the first quality, ultimately places the worth of a person solely on their looks. When the idea of “beauty as power” takes hold of a woman’s heart, it ultimately grows into the pathetic belief of “beauty as personal significance.” If you marry a woman who only sees her worth dependent on the right facial creams, eyeshadow color and fingernail polish, you my dear man, are in trouble. Every person ages, and with age comes wrinkles, brown spots and gray hairs. If your wife becomes obsessed and convinced that she can defeat this aging process; life with her can quickly turn to misery the older she gets. I once heard of a woman who for the first seven years of her marriage woke up one hour ahead of her husband so she could put on make-up, fix her hair and brush her teeth. She would then slip back into bed silently ready to impress her husband when he woke up. Why would someone do this? Because they really believe that beauty equals worth. Jimmy Soul in his song, “If You Wanna Be Happy?” expresses it like this: I saw your wife the other day! Yeah? Yeah, an' she's ug-leeee! Yeah, she's ugly, but she sure can cook, baby! Yeah, alright! If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life Never make a pretty woman your wife So for my personal point of view Get an ugly girl to marry you Proverbs 31:30 puts it like this, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” So son, don’t be fooled. Because as my dad would say, “Beauty is only skin deep, but Oh those seven layers!” Quality 3: Satan’s Type of Woman is Constantly Striving for the Impossible This is very similar to quality number 2, and it is reached when obsession turns to habit. It is o.k. if a person is simply trying to slow the inevitable, but danger ensues when they believe it is possible to maintain the 23 year old body they once had until the age of 70. They say to themselves, “I can achieve the type of beauty I see in magazines and models, the perfect body is possible. All I need is the right diet, workout plan, vitamin drinks, exercise equipment and positive motivation and I will achieve and maintain true perfection.” It is commendable to want to stay in impeccable shape, but it is not possible to ever arrive there. If you marry a woman who will never be satisfied until she reaches perfection; guilt and feelings of inadequacy will be like a dark clouds perpetually hovering over your house. Joy and rest will be sacrificed for constant calorie counting and navel gazing. This behavior is nothing more than a sign that your woman is obsessed with self. There is a new god in town...the idol of health and beauty. Don't forget what the true God says in 1 Timothy 4:8, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” Screwtape says slavery to self will be achieved when, “Making the role of the eye in sexuality more and more important and at the same time making its demands more and more impossible.” And these days with photoshop, Instagram, Botox and silicon, the demands are way too much to keep up with. If your woman is not careful, her inability to reach perfection will be cause for her constant depression...and your misery. You want a woman who will enjoy life, not be crushed daily by impossible expectations. Quality 4: Satan’s Type of Woman is Type 2 Beauty is of two types: Natural and...how shall I say it? Let me paraphrase C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape so I won’t get in trouble: “There is a beauty that is naturally amenable to God - readily mixed with charity, readily obedient to marriage, colored all through with that golden light of reverence and naturalness. There is a second type of woman, and the fool desires brutally. Her beauty is best used to draw the man away from marriage altogether...but when married, the man would tend to treat this type of woman as slave, an idol, or accomplice...in this second type, there can be a felt attraction, wrongly called love, that is an evil that the fool wants; it is that ‘tang’ in the flavor which he is after.” My translation of this paragraph: Type 2 woman has a beauty that is rooted in seduction, sensuality and lust. Lewis sums her up like this, “it is the visible ‘animality, or sulkiness, or craft, or cruelty which he likes...there is a Beauty, that in a sane hour, he may even describe as ugliness, but which, by our art, can be made to play on the raw nerve of his private obsession.’” This type 2 kind of woman appeals to the sniffing, hungry, unthinking brute that is inside of the man. This is the kind of woman the fool sees more as a piece of steak than an actual child of God. And I have seen when men bite, they eventually will regret it, because marriage to a type 2 woman is a disaster. A woman like this will have no time for love of God and neighbor because her love of Self is all-consuming. As a pastor who has performed a lot of weddings, I have seen it time and time again: Men with type 2 women will sit in my office looking like trained lap dogs who are at the mercy of their demanding new masters...the maneating bride. Over the weekend the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was on. As my family and I were watching it there was a scene with mermaids, but they were not your normal kind and caring mermaids, they were monsters. Beautiful faced sea creatures who only wanted to lure men to the bottom of the sea so they could feed on them. I said to my kids, “Finally, someone is depicting mermaids as they were intended to be. These mythical creatures come from the Greek sirens, beautiful women who lure sailors to their deaths.” And then I turned to my oldest son and said in my best impersonation of Capn’ Jack Sparrow… “Mark my words laddy, as you swim in the waters of High School, if you are not careful, you too may be dragged to your death all because of a beautiful face.” |
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