"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)...Problem with this is, most people like to be in chains. One of the best movies scenes ever...Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, court room, high tension, screaming match, explosion: Col Jessep: I'll answer the question. You want answers? LTJG Kaffee: I think I'm entitled to them. Col Jessep: You want answers?! LTJG Kaffee: I want the truth! Col Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Wow, now that is great script writing, and some intense acting. But it is also true, most people you run across everyday live in the safety & comfort of lies. And if you were to tell them the truth, they would hate you for it. That is why Jesus was hung up on the cross and died a bloody death - - he told the truth. He couldn't help it, he's God and God never lies. As I thought about this, I wondered what would happen if you told the truth on Facebook? Well you can't do that, people will get mad and think you are an obtuse bigot. I have tried it from the pulpit on occasion, and I think that is why people leave our church so frequently. I am not mean, or loud; but people don't care, they just don't want to be exposed. But what if? What if I poked and prodded the internet world with truth, just a little, and let fly some things that people inherently know, they just don't want to be the ones to say it? I don't know, let's experiment...here goes nothing....we will start slow. . . * God is really real, he is alive, he sees everything, and he hates sin...even yours. * Jesus right now is sitting in heaven, watching, praying for those he loves, and waiting for people to talk to him. And some of you think you are cool, tough, and edgy when you use his name as a curse - - but you will quickly change your mind when he confronts you face to face. * Death SUCKS (I have never written that word, ever, that is how strongly I feel about it)...and if you don't let the reality of it haunt you, you are an abject fool, a mindless idiot. * A mom and a dad dwelling together in love is God's idea and his one and only perfect design to raise a child. To mess with it is like throwing a wrench into the fan-belt of a $100,000 Lamborghini. * Feminism, transgenderism, and homosexuality is not God's ideal, nor should it be something we strive for and promote if we want to have a healthy society. "Most of the time" these three conditions result from defunct and defective marriages and fathering that has undergone tremendous stress and dysfunction. Remember, I said most of the time. These three conditions are often built on a bedrock of bitterness and spite hidden under the guise of personal freedom and creative self-expression. The way I know this is because I have sat across many, many people who have secretly shared their deepest wishes of wanting nothing more than to have been raised in a happy family. I am not saying this is true for all...but I would say many if not most. * Every living human has red blood, regardless of the color of their skin pigmentation. Our differences come more from cultural conditioning than chromosomal wiring. * The world has not teamed up against you personally - - we are all alienated from each other because of sin. * You will never find a perfect president. * Working hard while shutting your mouth is the fastest road to success. * Saving money is smart. * Money is a wonderful thing to have, the more you have, potentially, the happier you will be. However, don't ever buy the lie, the more you have the more you will give away. If you aren't giving now, you won't give later. * Adultery is always a question of "Can you be bought?" not "My wife is no longer hot." * Celebrities are just as miserable and insecure as you are on Monday mornings. * Most people on Facebook want you to think they have a better life than you - - and they don't. * Every complaint you have leveled against someone else can be rightfully applied to yourself. * The media daily lies to you (including conservative talk) - - and so do commercials. "You actually deserve nothing." * Every major sport athlete you cheer for has no idea you even exist. . .that includes Steph Currie. * Superheroes are not real, they are drawings, on the same level as you child's imaginary friend. * Your children play electronics because you rarely initiate meaningful conversations with them. (They know they are more of a nuisance than someone that intrigues you). * Most Americans eat too much. * Few people in the church read their Bible. * Spiders crawl in your mouth sometimes while you are asleep. * Most worship music is more for the person singing than for God. * Living in Russia is a nightmare, and most of Europe is rather dirty. * Most guys playing pick-up basketball secretly think they could school most women at basketball...even WNBA players. I'm leaving now....letting the chips fall where they may...
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It is getting to the end of the school year, and so all of you students of Theology should be ready for the final exam. Hopefully you have studied up so you can answer the final question. It is worth 100% of the grade for class. This is for all the marbles…. FINAL QUESTION: If Johnny wants to make it to heaven with absolute certainty, which formula should he use to get there? (A) F = J + W (B) F + W = J ( F - faith, W - work, J - justification - - If you answered (A) you pass. If (B), we need to talk.) While reading “Are We Together” by R. C. Sproul*, I was brought back to the wonder and exhilaration I first felt when I finally discovered the “true gospel” that is taught clearly in the Bible. You see, for 23 years I was unsure of what God wanted from me. Different people told me different things, the nuns told me one thing, the priests another, and both groups didn’t often see things quite like my grandparents and parents did. I realized at the age of 18, nobody really knew if they were right or wrong? Climbing the stairway to heaven seemed like a crap-shoot. As I look back on it now, the reason why there was such confusion on the topic of salvation is because they were all using the wrong formula: answer (B). As much as you may try, the wrong formula will never give you a correct answer -- every physics student knows this. In the same way, people think they can ignore the importance of correct doctrine, but precision of thought and language is always necessary if you are going to come to right answer. This is especially true when it comes to where you spend eternity. It is funny, when people build a house, precision is expected. My dad would throw me a tape measure and say “measure twice and cut once.” Exactness mattered. But for some strange reason people have a terrible habit of using fuzzy math when it comes to the things of God. So let's get precise. THE RIGHT ANSWER: F = J + W (Faith = Justification and Works) “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” (John 9:25-27) This formula is the “true gospel”, the one that truly saves. It is fairly straightforward. On the left side of the equation we have the only thing needed that is necessary for a person to please God (Hebrews 11:6), FAITH (F)! As the early reformers would put it, “Sola Fide”, faith alone. So what exactly is faith? Is it wishing something will come true, or hoping God is who he says he is? No, both of those ideas fall short of the true, solid, biblical definition of faith. Faith is “receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness and his righteousness alone.” I can’t add a single thing to what he already did -- he drank the cup of wrath fully for all of us when he died on the cross (Matthew 26:42) and he rose again to prove God was fully pleased. Faith trusts that his death and resurrection was a complete payment on my behalf. This is something none of us could ever do...and he did it out of love for us! Now the right side of the equation is where it gets interesting. The first element after a man exercises faith is called “Justification” (J). This term means, “Declared righteous by God himself.” You see when I receive Christ, I receive his life. This is called imputation; all that Jesus has accomplished is “credited” to me. So if I receive the gospel by faith, God forever sees his Son in me (2 Corinthians 5:21). R. C. Sproul says this kind of justification is called “synthetic justification”, something outside of me was added to my life, an alien righteousness. I was blind, and Jesus had to give me sight that was not originally mine. And this imputation is both real and powerful. So powerful it will produce fruit, which is signified by the final variable, “W”. I will start working, not to earn, gain or secure a standing. Synthetic justification says I already have it (Romans 5:1), but I work because the life of Christ is now alive in me. As James says, “Faith without works is dead” which means if I have no works I probably didn’t exercise true faith in the first place. If God gives me sight, I will prove it through seeing. If God gives me his Son’s imputed life, I will prove it through loving. If someone isn’t working it may be because they never really exercised true faith. You can’t do work in order produce work, in the same way a blind man can’t first see in in order to receive sight. It must be first given to you by God. This is true salvation. THE WRONG ANSWER: F + W = J (Faith + Works = Justification) “And behold, a man came up to him, saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’...The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’” (Matthew 19:16-17; 20-21) This formula is the “tricky and tiring gospel” because it sounds so right, and yet it is oh so wrong and exhausting. It sounds so right because the variables seem the same, but they do not mean the same thing. Faith (F) again is used in the equation, but if you notice, it is not complete. It isn’t enough, you need to help it out by adding Work (W). This faith is not “imputed” it is “infused”. Infused faith is not complete faith. It is like jump starting a car, Jesus’ death on the cross started us out on the path to righteousness; but it isn’t enough to fully get to the destination. It is up to us and our efforts to continue working toward it the rest of the way, that is why “W” needs to be added to it. What kind of work needs to be done? This is the problem, it depends on who you ask. I know priests who said you need to do penance, others said you need simple sincerity, I had nuns that said to pray to Mary, and then you have the regular guy that said you just had to be baptized as an infant. Standards were always shifting, and certainty was an impossibility. The number one phrase that described the work that was needed was “Be Good.” But what does it even mean to be good? Who decides on the correct standard of goodness? If it is a cool priest or liberal nun, you just need to be a liberal democrat and give a lot of money to the poor. If it is your parents who decide what the standard is, it is pretty easy, just be yourself. But in the verse I quoted earlier, Jesus said, “Be perfect.” Wait a minute? Did you say perfection? In Theological terms, perfection is sinlessness. Can a person be perfect? Did you know Mother Teresa wasn’t even perfect? Just read Romans 3:11-23 and you will soon realize no one is perfect. And that is the problem. To get to the “J” in our formula you need to do enough “W” to make the “F” sufficient. And that depends on an imperfect person (you), to achieve perfection, (impossible)! Oh yeah, one more important thing about this formula: The “J” is still representing justification, but it is not “synthetic justification” but rather “analytical justification.” That means when all's said and done, God analyzes a person and their work to see if they are truly righteous. But remember, perfection is the standard God is obligated to use (Habakkuk 1:13), and none of us has it in us. Do you see the problem? THE TRACK MEET There are two track meets to heaven. The first one is the biblical race: The gun goes off to begin the race when a person believes in Christ alone. As they run, sometimes they fall, but they can still get up because they are already on the team….they will never be kicked off. The finish line is the moment of death, it is at that time when a person will be granted glorification, the likeness of Christ forever. The second one is the religious race: The gun goes off when a person is born, but you never quite know when they make the team. If a person falls during the race, it better not be a fall that is so bad it will get them disqualified. But in this race every fall is that bad! In fact the whole race is trying to achieve perfection so you will finally make the team. When they get to the finish line, it is then that their race is judged, and you never know the outcome because you never know if you did enough. The truth is, no one ever runs the perfect race, so in this race no one ever does enough. That is why it is so exhausting… Only one person has run the perfect race, Jesus, and when a person believes, God attributes Jesus’ race to them. That is why you will only hear cheering from the first race, it begins at the beginning of the race and never stops all through eternity! Which answer did you choose, and which race are you running? Sophomoric: conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature. If you have ever been to college, you have clearly seen and understand why the different gradations of classes are named the way they are: FRESHMAN are fresh meat...ready to be devoured by all the upper-classmen, they are naive, scared and gullible. JUNIORS are not quite there yet, one year left, second on the totem-pole. SENIORS are the top dog, however they are the most realistic about the world - - they are quick to admit they don't know hardly anything because they know they soon have to get a job and provide for themselves. But a SOPHOMORE? What exactly is a Sophomore? Someone who is sophomoric. But still, what does that mean? The root of Sophomore is taken from the group of intellectuals called the Sophists - - people who use reasoning and argument as a way to project an image instead of getting to true truth. Sophists think they know things when they actually don't, and in the same way Sophomores are people who have been through one year of college, learned some new things, and now they foolishly think they are smarter than the rest of the world. Did you know you don't have to be a Sophomore to be sophomoric? Sophomores are a very dangerous breed of person because they unknowingly wear "pride as their necklace." And pride is the one sin that blinds us to ourselves. Sophomores don't see that they are standing on intellectual and moral shifting sand. If anyone disagrees with the sophomoric mind, pride inoculates them to the criticism. The Sophomore says to himself, "They don't know anything because they are disagreeing with me; and I am the person who knows everything so clearly they are in the wrong." What the Sophomore doesn't know is that pride is Satan's bait of choice to snare a person. Listen to how 1 Timothy 3:6 warns people against the Sophomore who wants to be a leader over others in the church, "He must not become a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil." Puffed-up: this is the way of describing someone who is more concerned with their outward image as compared to their inward substance. This is the Sophomore curse as well as Satan's playground. If we were to honestly look around at American culture we are flush with Sophomores, people with a penchant for hype, image, raised on advertising, lured by photo-shop touch ups, creating reality through Instagram, and thinking they can spark social change through Twitter feeds. Perception has become our new truth. That is why gender now trumps biology, and feel good psychology has more moral authority over the mind of the masses than traditional orthodoxy and houses of worship. Even our politicians are the creation of money hungry media manipulators - - they definitely are not our best and brightest. Could you imagine Trump debating Hamilton on Federalism? Or Hilary discussing law with John Adams? Historically speaking, our leaders are mere juveniles - - Lincoln argued the intrinsic worth of man, Trump and Hilary debate the definition of "Schlonged." The smarter we think we are, the more at risk we have become to the persuasive power of image and hype. That is why we are in desperate need of people who are humble. People who are open to criticism, and are willing to be self-critical. John Stott, the late Christian writer, once brilliantly penned the need for a new movement of humble and moral thinkers, “Is not this submission of our minds to the mind of Christ an intellectual imprisonment? No more so than the submission of our wills to the will of Christ is moral bondage. Certainly it is a surrender of liberty (ie. Intellectual Freedom), for no Christian can be a “free thinker”. Yet it is that kind of surrender which is TRUE FREEDOM - freedom from our own miserable subjectivity, and freedom from bondage to the current whims and fancies of the world. Is it stunting to spiritual growth? No, it is ESSENTIAL to it, for Christian growth is nothing if it is not growth into Christ as Lord and head.” (In other words, just as a true Christian is to guard their actions from ungodly behavior, so too must we guard our mind from ungodly philosophies).” If you want to grow and mature, stop being a Sophomore. Show some humility and learn how to learn from others. You don't know everything and the moment you think you do you have set yourself up for Satan's hook. The tempter knows how to play the proud, and the Sophomore is his favorite meal of choice. You are being played...for that matter we all are! This past year I have seen the world, especially the mass media and pop-culture world, in a whole new way. Those who are pulling the strings with what we see, read, hear and think are much more prevalent and devious than I ever thought. My good friend Rick Dolphin suggested a book for me to read last year, “Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator” by author Ryan Holiday. it has opened my eyes to the ways media gurus scheme, plot and plan to make us normal saps think the way they want us all to think. Social Media is the modern day “Vulcan Mind-Meld.” Here is a summation of Holiday’s findings... “Well, television is no longer the main stage of culture. The Internet is. Blogs are. YouTube is. Twitter is. And their demands control our culture exactly as television once did. Only the Internet worships a different god: Traffic. It lives and dies by clicks, because that’s what drives ad revenue and influence. The central question for the Internet is not, Is this entertaining? but, Will this get attention? Will it spread?” Two things to note:
This is why sex sells, it grabs instant attention. But the author says there are even more compelling ways to hook people than seeing a girl in a bikini -- if you can arouse anger or fear, you are sure to pull people in. That is why so many of the articles, tweets and news headlines you read are designed to tick you off. In other words, “Conflict Works!” Let me show a couple recent headlines that people have sent to me and see if you can see the conflict: “‘This is Not Incest’: A Man Leaves His Wife to Engage in a Sexual Relationship With His Mother.” “Much Scientific Research Published Today is False” “45% of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax.” Each one of these headlines is meant to have you say, “What???? You have got to be kidding me?” They are purposely designed to attack just those areas that mean something to you. They want you to wonder if the society you desired for your kids to grow up in is now being seriously threatened and on the verge of total collapse? Or they are trying to pit you, the decent law abiding American, against the no good dirty scoundrels of this world who are stealing your peace and joy. Take the first article for instance: The word "incest" is meant to make you recoil in horror. And it works! Then the writer wants the reader to consider if what we once all agreed was taboo, a boy sleeping with his mom, can possibly be acceptable behavior in our new enlightened society? “What???? You have got to be kidding me?” See how it works? I think this desire to arouse attention through conflict is more dangerous than the media experts think or allow. When they are attacking well established norms and healthy moral boundaries in order to profit, they aren’t just getting people angry, but they are unknowingly, and I would even argue knowingly, helping society to establish new sick norms. The human heart is definitely twisted and prone to deceit (Jeremiah 17:9), but left on its own it really is not that creative. When articles are thrown out there to shock, people start thinking in ways they would have never really thought about before. Why is there such a rise in transgender experimentation? Because when kids are alone in the backyard playing hide-n-go-seek they really are wondering if they are a different gender, or because they saw media stories and articles on it that made them think about it in ways they never would have on their own? Evil is for the most part taught and caught, like a virus of the mind. I can never forget watching “Deliverance” uncensored on a Saturday afternoon when I was 12. It was disturbing because it caused me to consider the actions of morally sick people I would have never, ever considered before. Look at the first article again: How many boys do you think naturally wonder if their mom is hot? On their own, very, very few because they are our mom,”You just don’t don't go there!” But if you were to read an article on it, have experts discuss the new acceptance of it in our more socially mature (warped) world, little un-creative and defenseless minds will start thinking things they never would have thought before. That is why I think so many normal people seem to be breaking to the bad. Out of sight out of mind. But not anymore, we want to sell advertising so let's be innovative with evil in order to shock and anger. Why else would parents even consider letting biological boys in their daughter's locker rooms? It is because some sick new social engineers convinced writers and bloggers and news sources (Slate, Huffington Post, CNN) to make it seem normal and healthy. And those news sources knew that topic would be explosive! Money, money, money! Conflict doesn’t just sell advertisements, it steals minds in order to destroy lives. That is why Ephesians 2:2 calls Satan the Prince of the Power of the Air! He is the malicious string puller behind the scenes and he is using our fancy new social media tools to magnify his work. C. S. Lewis has a quote that encapsulates these thoughts perfectly: “A sick society must think much about politics, as a sick man must think much about his digestion; to ignore the subject may be fatal cowardice for one as for the other. But if either comes to regard it as the natural food of the mind—if either forgets that we think of such things only in order to be able to think of something else—then what was undertaken for the sake of health has become itself a new and deadly disease.” Moral perversion is meant to arouse anger, so bloggers use it. But as C. S. Lewis notes, once we ignore it and then regard it as natural, we have become filled with it’s virus. I once heard a debate between a liberal and a Christian. The liberal asked the Christian, "Why do you only talk about the sin of homosexuality, abortion and transvestism?" The Christian said, "Because you keep pushing it on us as normal - - we didn't start the fire!" Yes, anger is the proper emotion for perversion. But how we handle our anger is the big question. We don't just ignore those things that make us angry; but we do use sound arguments, reason and kindness to get people to see God's beautiful design for man. So be angry and sin not! Silly boy ya' self-destroyer. Paranoia, the destroyer Self-destroyer, wreck your health, Destroy friends, destroy yourself The time device of self-destruction, Light the fuse and start eruption "Destroyer" The Kinks The Kinks, that strange English group from the 60's, 70's and 80's, had it right...however, they didn't take it far enough. Paranoia will not just stop at the paranoid person, but like a pebble tossed into a puddle, the ripple effects reach out and affect everyone connected to the paranoid person. Let me give you one small example to show you what I mean: It was my first year as Senior Pastor of Kent City Baptist Church. To say I was overwhelmed with the new responsibilities would be an understatement. I will never forget the second month into my new position a close friend came into my office to tell me how one of our regular families was leaving our church to start going to a church down the road. I really liked this family so I wanted to know why they were leaving. "Well," said my friend, "apparently you were stopped at the stop sign before school, and this person was stopped across the road at the opposite stop sign, she waved to you, and you didn't wave back. She is convinced it is because you don't like her, and she feels you are now too important to give a simple wave." So subsequently, she left a loving community while whispering to her friends that remained in the church just how hurt she was by my callous inconsideration. I couldn't believe it. A person was offended because I didn't wave back at a stop sign? Now that, my friends, is called paranoia. If truth be told, I was probably trying to get my kids (through some high decibel verbal coaxing) to put on their shoes and grab their lunches before I dropped them off to school. But this lady was firmly convinced I was a cold-hearted, arrogant man. She pulled her kids from our youth group, distanced herself from former friends who stayed at the church, and over the years she refused to even look me in the eyes. Paranoia not only affected her, but it oozed out and poisoned everyone and anyone who would listen to her. We now live in a society that is forming laws, college policy, and public behavior built on the same type of paranoia. No one is allowed to be offended anymore, even if the offending party had no idea what they were doing. One of the primary ways this new culture of paranoia is splashing ashore is through a relatively new sociological theory called "Microaggression." Here it is defined: The term “microaggression” was used by Columbia professor Derald Sue to refer to “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color, other minorities and women." So in this brave new world of microaggression, if you are an African American and you wave to your friend at a stop sign and they don't wave back, it is probably a case of hostility that needs to be hunted down and punished. We once were taught to look past unintentional slights, as Jack Sparrow says, "Sticks n' stones love, sticks n' stones." Now, all unintentional behavior is to be analyzed, rooted out and destroyed. Professors at college are being dismissed for that one errant word, companies sued for not hiring the guy with the funny name, and bathroom doors are being swung wide open just so the transgendered male/female with a beard doesn't feel bad when he or she isn't accepted by your average juvenile students in the other bathroom. What ever happened to "kids will be kids"? It is to be no more! The thought police is everywhere, walking on the street, sitting on the park bench, riding the subway. . .so look out! And liberals call Donald Trump a Nazi? Why am I writing about this? Because I hate how this seepage of paranoia's poison is twisting me; especially when it comes to the way I view myself. I now feel like I am an incredible person if I am nice to a black waiter, or I smile at a female basketball player, or I shake hands with a man in a wheel chair. Morality is now defined by niceness toward those I am scared to death to offend. The problem with this mentality is that everyone around me has reason to be offended...so my life has careened down onto the proverbial "eggshell highway." Everywhere I step, every look I take, every word I utter could be hiding unintentional aggression. If I run into a person who has piercings in their nostrils, tongue, eyelids, and navel with an assortment of sexual and demonic tattoos plastered all across their body I must not stare like I used to when I would spy on the Carnies at the fair. (Question: why else would a person decorate themselves like a freak show artist if they didn't want to be noticed? Isn't that their point? Don't they secretly want to be noticed and to shock? So if I am shocked I am just confirming what they wanted, right?) If a man who is 300 pounds is dancing in a ballerina outfit talking about invisible fairies and ponies as if they were his best friends, am I supposed to treat this as normal? How come when black people play basketball with other black people....you know where I am going with that. I know the naysayers of this post will say we have to be sensitive, respecting the emotional scars of people's past hurts and give everyone respect. But as a society, the paranoid have moved way past general respect and they want me to accept everything they do as normal. Much of this is not normal! What I find completely illogical is when transgendered or homosexuals talk about all the hurt and scars they have sustained from the past, and yet they promote and even encourage others to adopt the lifestyle that brought so much ridicule and hurt upon them. Yes, ridicule is wrong, disrespecting others is wrong, but so is setting those you love up to be emotionally scarred as you were the rest of their life because you are telling them abnormality is normal. And the paranoid feel perfectly justified in passing down their paranoia to their kids and friends so every bad look, and every person who doesn't wave at a stop sign must be a devil from hell. If you want to have an emotionally healthy world, we need to teach everyone Proverbs 12:16, "A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a wise person looks past insults!" I was the youngest brother of six feisty and verbal siblings growing up. That means I was always surrounded by ridicule and insults, it was normal life for me. My three "evil" sisters (tongue in cheek of course) loved to sing me a song that they knew would make me go unhinged, "Christopher Joseph four weeks old, how do you like the world so far? There will be swings to be swinging on, toys to be wound up..." It was a baby song and it made me furious. I would yell for them to "stop it, stop it, stop it!" One day as I was running through the house screaming for them stop, my dad grabbed me by the arm and sternly said, "Grow up, the sooner you stop getting mad the sooner they will stop. And by the way, this is no way for a 18 year old to act. (Actually I was only 12 at the time.)" That day taught me a valuable lesson, "A true adult lives above, perseveres under criticism, ignores the ignorant statements of others, shuts his mouth when they feel hurt, and proves himself through action and not litigation." It is paranoia that makes children out of us all! It really will destroy ya! "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching...Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them. so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers." (I Timothy 4:13-16) The dreaded foyer ambush, every preacher has experienced it. After spending 40 minutes of spilling your soul before 400 sleepy people on a Sunday morning, someone inevitably comes up to you in the foyer and smashes your world. It is usually done through criticism, cynicism or contempt for what you have just said. There is one particular morning ambush that has been burned into my memory. A person I have much respect for, a friend, a teacher, came up to me and with an off-handed comment clothed under a wry smile and hand shake, said, "Wow, that was great. And just think, you get paid to teach for only one or two hours a week. I do this four hours everyday, five days a week. I can see why you like preaching so much." She wasn't being mean or cynical, she was just being honest. But let me assure you, it hit me like a punch to the gut. I wasn't mad or offended, just taken a back. Was she right? Was my job of preaching, relatively speaking, a cushy job? One to two hours a week of speaking does seem like I have landed a lucky job - - especially when you get to read the bible the rest of the week. The nit-picking part of me often wonders about the importance of my job, "C'mon, really, you call that work?" My dad traveled to a new city every week selling appliances and air conditioners to angry buyers looking for a deal...now that is work. All I am doing is speaking to a congregation of friends and family. The following Monday after receiving the cutting comment, I decided to take some time to have a serious talk with God. So I grabbed the leash and took my dog for a walk in the woods; that is where I have my best times of prayer. "God, am I a slacker? Could I be doing more with my life? Am I doing any good for anybody?" It is easy to ascribe significance to a doctor, a lawyer, a soldier, a teacher, a farmer and even a barista at a coffee shop...but a preacher talking about an invisible God? Seriously, are people really being helped? I waited for God to answer. But all I got in response was a question from deep inside myself, "Chris the importance of your job all depends on one thing: Do you believe you are preaching the very words of God? How you answer that question will give you the answer you are looking for." Do I believe that preaching involves the transference of God's actual, powerful, saving, transforming word, or am I simply an actor on a stage? If I am just an actor, what's the use? If I am only trying to garner a following who like my use of metaphor, or think I am a nice guy, then my life and purpose is an utter failure. A court jester playing for a crowd. A marketing agent trying to bring in a larger profit margin so the church board will keep me on. In other words, if I am preaching for any other reason than I think I am sent by the living God, my job is a joke. John the Baptist is described in Luke as a voice. Just a man crying in the wilderness. But boy did the crowds come. They didn't come because he was dressed fine (camel's hair and belt), they didn't come to adopt his new paleo-diet (grasshoppers and honey), and they certainly didn't come because of the breath-taking desert venue he spoke in (average of 95 degrees, direct sunlight and intense humidity). The reason they came is because Luke 3:2 says, "the word of the Lord came to John." People knew John was speaking for God. His word's had weight and power. His words gave answers. His words connected people to God himself. I read recently that the preacher is important for this reason alone, "Heaven & Hell and Life & Death are at stake every time he gets up to speak." That's it! I believe the word of God is different than a sales pitch, something other than a comedian making people laugh. God uses the preacher, me, to extend an invitation to enter his life by faith. By living by his word a person can come into direct contact with him. The Eternal God, the one who lives in heaven, extends an open door through the voice of the wee-little man speaking with a bible in his hand. I have to also admit, while I love what I do, it also scares me half to death. What if I am saying things God has not commissioned to say? What if what I am saying is merely pointing people to trust in a man named Chris Weeks? In other words, I am responsible before the judge of heaven. That is why James 3:1 says a teacher of scripture will be judged strictly. So while the teacher may be right about amount of face time before the crowd, they are wrong about the audience. I am not performing for those in the seats in the auditorium. I am not trying to impress the crowd. I am being watched by God himself. And he is looking to see if what he wants me to say is being said. In Jeremiah, after God sent him his word, he says: "The word of the Lord came to me: 'What do you see Jeremiah?' 'I see the branch of an almond tree,' I replied. The Lord said to me, 'You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.'" Wow, God is watching. And if I am correctly preaching, I know this, "His word will not return void," I may be one man standing alone, but God has my back. “The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 91:1) If God is for us who can be against us?
God strikes fear in the hearts of all his enemies and foes...no one has a chance. So if I hide in him, I should be completely safe...right? If I run to him and ask him to defend me, I should not fear. But I do fear, I tremble and shake, I worry and fret. Why do I so often feel exposed if God is for me? Could it be that I have drifted out of his shadow and tried to go it alone? Living under the protection of The Almighty is about waiting...we live in a take charge world. I constantly am demanded to "stand up for myself", "take action", and "get busy." As the saying goes, "Don't just stand there, do something." But God says, "Don't just do something, hide in my shadow." Hiding is where I find salvation and deliverance. His darkness covers my nakedness. But His shadow also demands for my nakedness to be exposed before Him. This is the tough part of hiding. I am forced to admit both my need and my guilt. Hiding demands for my "self" to die, I cannot be harboring secret sin if I am asking to hide under the wings of the Holy One. I think this is why so many try going it alone. They would rather cling to their soiled toys of sin and corruption and face the enemy alone, without God and his protection. I also want fame. I want to be somebody. But hiding under shadows and darkness means anonymity. I don't like it when I am not noticed. So in fact fame, popularity, and applause. . . - Places me Under Extreme Vulnerability. I can't face the foe alone, my soul is weak, defeating me is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. Satan will pound me alone, that is why James implores all believers to "Submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you." Satan is licking his chops waiting for me to be exposed, to be caught in my own arrogance and pride. - Reverses the Roles: Instead of existing to serve God's glory, I want God to serve me for my glory. I want God to exist for my fame - - I pray so God, the cosmic butler, will answer my every beck and call. There is nothing more dangerous than this, "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory." (Psalm 115:1) "Dear God, help me to hide. Glory and fame are not mine to grasp - - nor grand popularity and praise. Stop me from gathering a following for myself. All you ask of me is to do your will...no more than that. And I must not do your will so someday I will be famous, rich or great. My goal is to simply survive this world with your praise being always on my lips." I've decided from this time forth to go into hiding. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. ( 1 John 2:18-19) It sounds so daring, so dangerous, so brave...but it is nothing more than a lie told by those who want their freedom to be unhindered and applauded. No commitment, no responsibility, all options kept open. What is the lie you ask? Well it can be couched in many different forms, but the main one is this: "I love Jesus, but I don't want to have anything to do with his church." This negative sentiment about the community of believers is catching like wild-fire across the Christian landscape. One study reports, "While spirituality is flourishing, fewer people affiliate themselves with a particular denomination or religion. There is also a new phenomenon taking place in Christendom, it is called the 'Dones'. Researchers say roughly 30 million former churchgoers still maintain their faith, but they are no longer following Jesus in traditional church settings." I once heard a pastor say this akin to a person saying to you, "Dude, I really like hanging out with you, I think you are really cool, it is your wife I can't stand! Just don't bring her along." If you were a creepy husband this probably wouldn't bother you at all. But what if you really loved and admired your wife?How would this sound to you? Did you know Jesus really loves his wife? He died for her. It even says in Ephesians 3:8-11 that he has a grand purpose for her, "to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him." Why then do people leave the community of believers and go out on their own? What is wrong with Jesus' bride? First, I do think there are some real legitimate reasons why some people grow frustrated with their community of faith. Here are a few listed: (1) People are tired of being lectured to, especially when they are all expected to think alike. This is especially true when they know they know more than their pastor. (2) People want to participate, but instead they feel church is nothing more than entering into the same ole’ “plop, pray and pay” routine. (3) People are genuinely tired of top-down authoritarian control and sin-management. (4) Church seems more about maintaining a rigid tradition than fostering a real relationship with God. While these issues can bother and frustrate the average attender, it doesn't give validation to a person's desire to abandon the church of Christ altogether. There is much written in the New Testament about forgiving, persevering and loving one anther. And isn't love to be "patient and kind?" No, love is now interpreted as being set free to do whatever your heart desires. If the church isn't meeting your needs ask yourself, "Do I really love people? Have I been a change agent of grace or a critic? What does it mean to "treat one another better than yourself?" This brings me to some possible hidden and destructive reasons why I think people quit on God's bride; I offer two assessments: (1) People don’t like to get involved in the messiness of other people and their problems. (2) Consumerism: People like their weekends, it is when they can finally get away and do what they want, the church just doesn’t measure up in thrill, excitement and pleasure as my other options do. In my study of Luke 2:39-52 for this Sunday's message, I find a 12 year old boy who submitted to the customs and rules of a very traditional and rigid religious culture. It didn't make him bitter or feel mistreated. But rather he loved to be in the presence of the boring old teachers of God - - and he grew in favor with others. And let me tell you, this boy was brilliant. He definitely knew more than even his mom and dad, and yet he didn't act aloof like the "cool, smart, and hipster people" of our day do. He obeyed joyfully. What if Jesus quit on his disciples and community because they were just so ... backward? What if he was simply "done" with the non-sense of loving little, messy people? What if he decided to go back home to heaven because he was tired of the hassle of dealing with humanity? Or he could have made his own planet to go fly-fishing on? If Jesus would have said adios to us the truth would be stark, "We would all die in our sin." |
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