You’ve heard it said…
I read one more article last night about a pastor who had a “moral failure”. Let’s just say it, a pastor who had sex with someone besides his wife. Sad as this is, it was the advice of the author that made me much more sad. He gave advice to others to help prevent such failures in the future. He suggested four steps, implying that they would help men and women “win the spiritual battle.” Amazingly, it is the same four steps that have been offered for decades. This fallen pastor, and several who have gone on before, probably taught these steps to the men in his congregation. I fear that our propensity to offer these steps to men and women is one of the most significant things we must address in this cultural shift which is the modern church culture.
Jesus had a phrase He used to uproot faulty religious thinking. “You have heard it said do not commit adultery, but I say to you don’t even look on a woman with lust. When you look at another with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery already.” This pattern was used throughout His sermon on the mount to help the people of His day think differently. Many heard this and only thought different, not differently. Jesus was not making a new and harder set of laws, He was trying to shift the understanding of His audience as to where the actual problems resided. The problems were not simply outward behaviors which must be managed, by changing behavior, they were conditions of the heart which desperately needed transformation.
I would like to address these four fallacies; “solutions” we hand each other regularly as if they will really work.
1. You have heard it said memorize more scripture but I say to you learn to let the living and active word of God renew your mind. The first implies that if you somehow exert more memory power, and retain more scriptural data you will be able to act differently. This actually seemed to backfire for the Pharisees, who had the entire Bible memorized but were the number one enemy of the Abundant Life that Jesus offered.
Renewing our mind does not mean replacing wrong data with right data. Paul tells us that the problem with law is that it does not have the power to transform us. Memorizing scripture alone can simply become law, and still leaves the power of transformation in human hands.
When God speaks He is creating. Engage the Voice not just the letter. Don’t just learn the data of scripture, learn to think and see like the Author. Let the words on the pages connect you to the Person of the Kingdom. Allow Him to point out core lies, deception in the deep places of your heart. Deception about Him and deception about you, and about the nature of reality. More important allow Him to tell you truth. Even identifying lies is not sufficient to change our behavior without the corresponding truth coming in to replace the lies.
2. You have heard it said have more consistent time alone with God but I say to you when you are alone with Him practice internal surrender. What happens during your time with God matters more than how much time you spend. Jesus compared two guys, both of whom were praying. One was telling God how glad he was that he was not a bad guy, and sharing his moral resume. Certain that God was impressed, he prayed and spent time with God. The other stood before God, and languished in his need. He unashamedly told God he deserved nothing, and knew that his spritual resume was a declaration of his need for help. Both were spending time with God.
Jesus came to set the captives free, not to advise us about His moral preferences. The restoration of our hearts, not the disciplnes of our flesh, will transform our outward experience. Let Him heal the wounds of our lives, let Him exchange our heart of stone for His heart of flesh. Let Him do His work, instead of telling Him how well you have done yours.
3. You have heard it said practice accountability but I say to you the Holy Spirit comes to convict us of sin and righteousness and judgment, let Him do His job in you. While it is true that Jesus tells us that in God’s economy the opposite of evil is truth not good, (John 3: 20-21) truth sometimes eludes us in our limited sight. Even when we are trying to be ruthlessly accountable we cannot confess to another the things hidden deeply in our hearts that we ourselves have yet to see.
Simply being able to tell another when we mess up is not sufficient to stop us from messing up. And even if it prevents us from behaving badly, it is unlikely to transform the processes of our heart. Fear or respect of another’s probing eyes may hold the beast at bay, but it does not have the power to crucify it. When the Holy Spirit brings to light darkness in us, and shows us that this darkness is no longer compatible with our new nature the darkness is put to death, and the Holy Spirit ignites the righteousness of Christ in me.
4. You have heard it said maintain your integrity but I say to you learn how to take dominion, and practice your authority as a son or daughter of the Living God. Somehow in our recomendations to one another we leave out one of the most siginificant aspects of Jesus framework of thought. He clearly recognized and engaged a whole realm of reality that I will call “the invisible world”. This is part of the creation that Adam was tasked with taking dominion over. This is still our assignement to this day.
I remind us again Jesus came to set captives free. If a man or woman is under the influence of another kingdom and has no idea what Jesus has done to grant us authority in this life, and how to practice this authority we remain under the influence.
In Jesus teachings on the sermon on the mount He was not discarding the first part of the “you have heard it said” statements, He was trying to reveal the hidden traps behind the statements. I am in no way suggesting that we throw out Bible study, time with God, accountability and integrity. I am, however strongly urging us that salvation and freedom are the acts of God in our lives, not the result of us arm-wrestling our behavior, thoughts and emotions into submission. Behavior management has never been the objective, transformation of the inner man, and the restoration of God’s created design in our souls is the objective. To offer the four solutions mentioned above as if they are sufficient for living the life we are called to, is like urging a man to swing on a trapeze, telling him the nets below will catch him if he falls, but neglecting to tell him that the nets are not anchored to their support and therefore will not hold his weight.
God did not send His Son to command us to behave like someone we are not, He sent Him to restore our factory settings so we might behave and think and feel like who He is in us.
Plans or wineskins
Years ago, I learned a valuable lesson. I was in a groove teaching a weekly class. On Monday I would begin to ask the Lord what He wanted to talk about the following week. I would enjoy the process of “hearing”. As I read and prayed, things I had never considered before would rise to my consciousness. They seemed meaningful and powerful, and through the week, they would change me. On Sunday, I would teach, and they seemed to change those who were listening. The process was invigorating and I was growing familiar with what seemed to be the voice of God in my life.
Then I was interrupted. Not by someone else, but by that same voice with which I had been growing familiar. It seems that routine was not His goal. For One who calls HImself the God who never changes, He was changing things up on me. I was still doing what I had learned, but this week He did not talk to me about a topic, He talked to me about me. It was the same “voice” I had been coming to know, but instead of directing me, The Voice seemed to pose a question.
“What would you do if I did not give you a lesson one week?”
I was perplexed. This had been a pretty good arrangement. And I was pretty sure that if this was really God, He really wanted me to be teaching people the things He said. It makes sense right?
Now over the years, I had developed some skills. I could talk. I could study words, and context, and history and impact. I could come up with something on my own. It seemed good to have these skills, especially before I began to hear the way I had been hearing. But now we had this plan. God gave me a lesson. I taught. People grew. It was a great plan. Why was He asking me this question? I continued to ask for a lesson for the following week, and He continued talking about me.
“So, Bob, would you do this without me?” He persisted,”If I didn’t give you a lesson, would you teach one that you came out of you instead of Me?”
The question was making me nervous. Instead of a growing awareness of what I should teach, I was growing in awareness that the correct answer to this question was, “Of course I wouldn’t teach a lesson without You!”
So I responded. Correctly.
“No Lord, of course I would not teach something that I made up without you”
It worked. It got Him off my back and I began to sense that rising awareness of what I should teach the next week. The Lord was back on track. Back to the deal that kept me comfortable. I could do what was expected of me, show up with a lesson, and demonstrate to people that I was a competent Bible teacher.
A week went by. Then another. Then it happened. Monday I started asking what I should talk about. Silence. Tuesday, silence. Wednesday, the silence grew louder. Thursday, the silence was deafening. By Sunday morning, I was considering my options. I had a few ideas I could probably develop. Some intriguing thoughts to impress my class with. They expected it of me. God did not seem to understand their expectations. He certainly did not understand that I had a responsibility Sunday morning. He had given me nothing, and I had given Him my word. I would not go on without Him. So Sunday arrived without a lesson. So did my class.
They took their seats, we did the weekly announcements, and it was my turn. I stood up, clutching my Bible, still strongly considering my options. Then I committed.
“I don’t have anything for you today”, I began. “Not for lack of asking, but in all my prayer and study, I felt like the Lord gave me nothing. Do any of you feel that the Lord spoke to you this week?”
This began one of our best lessons ever. Two people shared encounters they had that week, Others began to discuss. The discussion was rich and deep, and thought provoking, and more than anything, it seemed soaked with God. He was here with us.
This day became a landmark for me. I will not fake it. I will do my best to prepare, I will read, and pray and study, but I will not provide for a hungry people something that originates from my need to impress people or fulfill unrighteous expectations. People need God, not me. He’s a pretty good teacher.
A Plan is something that will work with or without God. A wineskin is made to contain something (someone). The only value of a wineskin is that which it contains. It has no value of it’s own.
Is your life made of wineskins or plans?
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4:13-14).
Seeing the invisible God
In the visible creation God has expressed His invisible attributes. But you can look and miss it.
The sun came up today, to remind you that the God who never changes, still constantly renews all things.
The Planet hung suspended in space one more day, with a perfect balance of temperature, atmosphere, and stability in order to maintain human life. God holds all things together by continuing to speak the same words that created all things.
The rain fell today in certain places to remind us that God sustains and nurtures out lives.
The rain did not fall in certain places to remind us that God Himself is enough when we are uncertain of our provision.
The wind blew gently today, reminding us that God is constantly in motion and interacting with His creation.
In some places the wind became violent and destroyed things. In this we see that the immensity and intensity of God is beyond our comprehension, and must be held in wise regard.
A married couple walked together in sweet unity reminding us that God is a two-become-one God.
Another couple walked through difficulty as they tried to connect through their chaos. In this we can see how different in nature man and God are. Crossing the gap can be difficult, and requires our focus.
A butterfly came from a cocoon, while a polar bear died a cold and lonely death. Trees grew and mountains fell. Oceans fed the people living on their shores, and in other places the fierce oceans caused men to stay home instead of put out in their boats.
Nebulae are creating stars and Solar systems in every direction, while DNA is replicating the minute intricacies of a single family line. Electricity flows, radio waves fill the air, Living creatures of amazing variety cover the surface of our planet.
A baby is born.
In these and countless infinite moments you can either see the Nature of the Invisible God, or you can walk through the middle of it, and think only of yourself.
Even the fact that you have this option tells us something about the Invisible God.
Think Bigger.
The bride of Christ is a rather large woman
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king who threw a wedding feast for his son.”
Jesus begins conversations in strange and unusual ways, but His message is different from anything we normally expect. The opening of Matthew 22, I believe, describes for us, something of God’s very big picture plan for creation. God, who was sufficient unto Himself, (not lonely) spoke creation into existence, and He did so in order to accomplish a very specific purpose. When time as we understand it comes to an end, the one thing that will be different is that the Son of God, (His Word, Voice, Expressed Self) will have a Bride. And if you continue the story in Matthew 22, it would appear that this bride, is not necessarily composed of the people that we would expect.
If the phrase “the Bride of Christ” is unfamiliar to you, I am referring to the church. Not “a” church. Not the Baptists, the Catholics, or the Charismatics. I am referring to the ones who will be with Jesus for all of Eternity. And among the groups mentioned, and many others not mentioned, I believe many of those people will join Jesus in eternity, and, frighteningly, many members of those groups will not.
The Bible teaches us that when Jesus returns for His “Bride” she (guys, don’t let the feminine reference throw you off… this includes us too) will be blameless and without spot. It is for this reason, that I think of this “freedom ministry” thing that I am called to, as pre-marital counseling for the Bride of Christ. Freedom, as I understand it, is not so much about helping you have a better life, though that is a wonderful side-effect. Freedom is about preparing us all to unite with Jesus for our eternal destiny, to stand alongside Him and play our role in the ongoing unfolding of God’s eternal plan.
It is crucial to our understanding to realize that God had a plan for man’s role in creation. In the garden of Eden, Adam had a role to play. That plan has never changed. Jesus came to Earth, taught and ministered, lived and died, and then was resurrected. He sent the Holy Spirit to us to guide and empower us now, here on Earth. He did not do this primarily to improve the quality of our lives or reduce our suffering, He did this in order to continue with the plan He instituted from the beginning. We must be careful that we are not satisfied simply to be relieved of our burdens. We have a mission, an assignment, a created purpose. We are being prepared here to fulfill that assignment.
We must become familiar with some of the essential tools of our mission, therefore our time on Earth may be considered boot camp, a place to learn to use the equipment we are given to reign with Christ in eternity.
It is good to no longer be addicted, but it is crucial that we now learn to be sustained by His Spirit. It is good to no longer be afraid, but it is crucial that we now learn to live by faith (interaction with the invisible Kingdom). It is good to recognize that the gifts of God are irrevocable, but it is crucial that we now learn to use them to fulfill His plan, not just to pad our spiritual resume. It is good to forgive those who have trespassed against us, but it is crucial we now learn to be moved by the impulse of His love, and restore on Earth the dominion of God’s nature. It is good to recognize God’s desired outcomes, but it is crucial to now learn that His Means are equally important as His Ends.
The church, the people on Earth who have been born of His Spirit, and are being conformed to His image, faces a time of unprecedented change. The season in which we currently live is marked by massive change in every aspect of culture. World economics, political conditions, even the weather and the planet, all are shifting at an accelerated rate. In this time the church world as we know it is also changing. While it is true that change is good, it is more true that the right kind of change is good.
Roses from God
A friend of mine told me a wonderful story yesterday about an experience he had in hearing God. I was so moved by the story that when I told my wife his story, I started to weep. It’s such a wonderful story of God’s love, and how God uses people who hear him to speak his love to other.
My friend, Allan, was only teenager when one day he was headed out on a bike ride for some exercise. As he was getting ready, he sensed that “still, small voice” say, Do you see those roses over there? Go pick some and take them to the pastor’s wife.”
He was a little reluctant at first. God was interrupting his exercise routine, but he knew what heard. So, he picked a few roses, hopped on his bike and headed over to the pastor’s house to drop off the roses. On the ride over there, he kept saying to himself, “I’m just going to knock on the door, give her the roses and get out of there.”
After he knocked, the door opened up and he handed the pastor’s wife some roses and said, “Here. God wanted me to give you some roses.” He quickly hopped on his bike and rode away.
The next Sunday, Allan and his family went to church as normal. It was a small church, and everyone knew everyone. At the close the service when people were leaving, the pastor’s wife pulled Allan aside and said, “I just wanted to let you know that you heard God that morning. Before you showed up, I was telling God how lonely I was and how invisible I felt, like no one loved me. I asked him to show me that he loves me, and then you show up with roses from God. I want to encourage you, Allan, that whatever voice you heard that morning, tune into it. That was God.”
I share this story as another example that God has such a desire to speak into our lives. And, maybe it’s not all about us. Maybe he wants to speak into our lives so that we can be a blessing to others.
Recent Posts
- The Knowledge of Good
- What do you believe about God?
- Go to the Mattresses
- Sin Mangement Vs. Forming Jesus In Us
- Focusing on your problem or focusing on God?
- Think Again
- What does it mean to Repent? What is repentance?
- Chasing your Passion
- Stop praying for revival, and BE the revival
- Divine Power within us to ask
Categories
Tag Cloud
believe business calling change depression destiny devil disease enemy faith fear forgiveness freedom garden of eden healing hearing hearing God journal journey kingdom limiting God love marriage mind money prayer prophecy purpose rain renew repentance running satan scripture sin soul spirit spiritual warfare surrender thoughts tree tree of life walk words work
WP Cumulus Flash tag cloud by Roy Tanck and Luke Morton requires Flash Player 9 or better.
Archives
Links
- Alan Smith's Blog - Gateway Church Pastor
- All about prayer - Excellent prayer resource
- Bob Hamp Blog - Finding freedom
- Destiny in Bloom
- Garden of the Heart - Prayer & Journaling
- Gateway Church - Our home church
- Mosaic - Erwin McManus
- New Life Church - Our Colorado church
- Season of Peace - Freedom from fear
- Stuff Christians Like - Very funny!
- Walking with God - John Eldredge
Admin
