I have no idea what I'm going to write but I feel the need to write on the subject of, "Only you can make you happy!"
OK, You are feeling miserable, someone comes along and suddenly you are happy! How does that work? I used to do the "I've just won the lottery" thing. The point is that generally speaking if you were feeling miserable and you heard that you won the lottery you'd probably go into emotionally overdrive. But it isn't the winning the lottery that makes you happy. It's the thought of it. How many times have you thought you had good news, got all excited and then found out it wasn't true? I have that a lot. What really bugs me is when I am talking to people and they jump to the conclusion that I am telling a happy ending story and get all excited. I feel really horrible to have to disappoint them, maybe I should make up a happy ending for them!
The point is that all the stuff that makes you happy is in your body. It is in you. So, when someone or something comes along that makes you happy, it isn't the thing that made you happy, it is your reaction to it. Often the things that tend to make us are new things and surprises. Often when I get Happy because of a person, the initial happiness doesn't last (If my happiness is triggered by a thing)
Very often I can link my lack of happiness to my lack of energy. I have noticed that when I am low on energy and in need of a rest even usually exciting things don't do it. I try to remember to have a rest and find things that energise me. Some things that supposedly energise actually don't. They are just fun to do when you have energy. Some of the things that energise me most are sitting and resting in deep relaxation, not thinking about anything. I like to listen to music that distracts my thinking and stops me concentrating on anything. I like music that seems to massage me on the inside. It always takes a while to get comfortable with a piece of music but it is well worth the effort.
Sometimes, mindlessly watching TV or playing computer games. But not stressful and not as a lifestyle. I don't like to "get involved" with a program or game, because then it becomes more stuff in my life. The same goes for thumbing through a mindless mag, just dreamily looking at the photos and drifting off to the white sandy beach, or floating down the river.
I, as you can probably tell, am the cerebral type. I do a lot of thinking, therefore for me re energising myself is giving the brain a rest and feeling for a change, or just day dreaming but definitely not concentrating. For others, emotional types and gut reactors just switching that off for a while will help recharge the batteries. I actually find boredom very helpful. Like most people I don't like being bored. But, I find it really helpful to do nothing until I am bored. Once I'm bored I know I am recharged!
Sleep alone is not enough rest. And sometimes even the time wasting things we find can be draining. Like they say, "A change is as good as a rest!" So, do something different. Not demanding and not in line with what you usually do. Having said that I found the boxes at the museum a real energy booster!
Sometimes I have to remind depressed people that what they are saying isn't true, it is the slant their depression puts on it. For example the feeling that you have too much on, everthing is against you and so on. When you are up and full of energy these things are as nothing.
I was asked on Sunday what I could thank God for. Recently I have heard a debate on "the curse of work!" However, if you are in a good frame of mind and have plenty of energy there is nothing that beats the satisfaction of a job well done. We were made to work before the fall, the fall just made it hard work!
One of the reasons we get down is because we look at the negatives. We focus on them so much that they become all there is. Obviously there can be physiological reasons for feeling down and that needs medical treatment or whatever. But one of Jesus' pushes was to not focus on the negative but to focus on the positive. Now, you can focus on the things in this world that are positive, but they aren't guaranteed to stay positive. Jesus clearly and constantly referred to the fact that God is in Heaven. A real God in a real place. If we focus on the stuff down here we will get all the depression we deserve. However, if we focus on God in the way that Jesus encouraged us to then the rest will follow, as He said!
Our joy is dependent on what is going on in our minds. Like I said if you heard you won the lottery. Well, there is a true lottery that we can all win and that is knowing the creator God of the universe has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, for our good and has a good future for us.
There was a series over here called red dwarf. In it there was a character who was typically depressive. One time they plugged into a computer game called "better than life!" The idea was that it connected with your thoughts and while you were in the game anything you could imagine became real. All of the characters had a great time, they were successful and really enjoyed themselves, except this depressive character. He ended up an ruining it for everyone!!
Even when we are told everything is positive some people would still rather not take control of their own minds but let their minds dictate to them how it's going to be. The fact we are told to control our thinking tells us we can. So, we have come full circle. Only you can make you happy!
What follows is the episode "Better than life" in three parts!
Jesus said of Himself being "The Life," but for the mean time most of us have a life that isn't reality, it is only our perception. We need to learn to change our perception by taking what God says and counting it as more real than what we see. If we have life then what God has for us is better than life. Are you going to allow your perceptions to spoil what God has for you?
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Know Your Leaders!!
Introduction
I have called this booklet “know your leader!” because like me you may be inclined to feel that books on leadership are for those who are called to be leaders. But there are two very important issues we need to address. Firstly that it is just as important for “followers” to know what to expect from leadership and secondly, we will see how we are all engaged in leaders in some form.
What is leadership?
OK, before we start let’s have a look at the irreducible minimum of what leadership is. Firstly a leader isn’t a leader unless people are following! Imagine going into a classroom and seeing a teacher giving a lesson and there are no students in the class. It may be a practice session, but with not students it isn’t teaching! In the same way if a leader has no followers he/she is merely going for a walk!
We need to ask the same question of ourselves as followers as well. Is the guy who sees himself as our leader really our leader. Does he cast a vision and we complain or do we get behind it. Probably the best film I have seen on the subject of leadership is a film called "Heartbreak Ridge" starring Clint Eastwood. Clint plays a sergeant training a group of marine recruits. He is a hard as nails sergeant but at the same time he really looks after and cares for his men. Whereas the captain of the group is an ex stores manager. He treats the men like items on shelves and has no time for them. It is all about numbers and rank as far as he's concerned. There is a battle and this raw regiment are the only people available to go. The captain gives an order and the men refuse, however, they are prepared to do whatever Clint tells them. Even though the captain is their leader, they aren't following him, they follow the sergeant. So often I hear people big up the pastor of the church but when you examine their lives a little more closely they don't even attend church that often, let alone get behind the pastors vision. The pastor suffers from a "nice man" syndrome. Where people think of him as a nice man but that's about all!
That is the first aspect of leadership, that there is a person leading and people following. The next aspect is what we call that relationship. What is the effect that the leader is having on the followers so that they can be considered followers? The word is “influence.” A leader is someone who has influence over others. The fact that the leader influences them shows that they are following.
Two types of leader
Let’s start with a black and white picture. It is usually helpful to see things like this and then work out the shades in between. We have already seen one black and white picture, that a leader either has followers or isn’t a leader.
Let’s have a look at two “opposite” types of leaders. It is said that the definition of a bore is someone who wants to talk about themselves while all you want to do is talk about yourself! Well, the opposite of that is a good definition of “a charismatic person.” That is, someone who wants you to feel good about yourself.
In leadership we see these two types of leaders, those who want you to feel good about them and see it as being about them, and those who want you to feel good about you and see it as all about you.
Winston Churchill was seen as one of Britain’s greatest leaders. However, he was only a great leader during a time when his leadership styles suited the situation. During World War 2 I believe he said of himself that his greatest gift was to be able to voice the feeling of the nation. Although he was speaking on his own behalf, thankfully for him at that time the feeling of the nation was in agreement with his own feelings. However, no sooner did the war end than the feeling of the nation changed and Churchill was voted out.
One of the most common quotes of his that I hear is of the time when he was accused of being drunk by a woman. He turned on the woman and said, “You are ugly, but I will be sober in the morning!”
This has so often been quoted to me as a good put down that I have for a long time been blinded to its significance. How did he make that woman feel? After all she was speaking a truth to him. He used the most offensive and personal thing he could find to say to her to put her down. He may well have “won the argument” but in the process lost her. He lost her as a follower.
In this one leader we see both sides of this leadership spectrum, on the one hand he made people feel proud to be British while on the other forgot to make people feel personally good about themselves. He had the attitude of a bulldog.
In what way are we all leaders?
We started by saying that “leadership is influence.” Well, we all influence people all the time. Even how we talk to a shop assistant has some influence on them. Therefore, to understand the qualities of leadership is very important for all of us. We can all become “bad leaders.”
Getting the best influence
In the bible we are told to imitate Paul as he imitates Jesus. In other words we should be influenced by Paul to become like him as he himself is setting his sights on becoming like Jesus.
There is a principle that people become like their leaders. Some have said this only takes three years. They go as far as to say that after three years every problem that a leader encounters within the followers is a problem that hasn’t been dealt with in the leaders own life.
It is important, therefore, to examine anyone that you would have as a leader and make sure that you really want to become like them. One thing I have noticed, having children, is that it is so often the bad qualities that are picked up first. If the leader cuts corners, that lets everyone off and tells them that they don’t need to be too bothered. The problem is they wont all cut the same corners! What is important enough for the leader to not cut a corner may be the very thing where his followers feel they can!
So many people are loyal to a denomination or party that they will go along with the leader regardless. We only get one short life so it is important to make sure that you really are getting the best influence you can get. Examine the qualities within the leaders life and ask yourself whether you want to become like them.
For example, at the time of Saul the people were just as afraid of Goliath as Saul was. Whereas, later David’s army were as loyal and brave as he was. In the wilderness part of the problem wasn’t Moses, It was that the people didn’t see Moses as their leader. They continually followed other ways.
Charismatic leadership
Charismatic leadership is simply the ability to listen to people and engage with them in a way that makes people feel good about themselves. What then happens is that they enjoy the influence you are having on them in making them feel good. If you are in a leadership roll then they will be happier to go along with your ideas.
Leaders who put people’s backs up by not listening or being dictatorial can find that they have a congregation but no followers. The congregation, like those in the wilderness are not actually following the leader, but instead are continually grumbling. It can also be that they are attracting others with a same mean spirit and therefore, like Churchill, are simply voicing the feelings of the crowd.
Let’s say there are two cafés in town. One is clean with friendly staff, makes you feel welcome and provides an excellent service. The other is dirty, unfriendly, doesn’t make you feel welcome and the service is lousy. Now you would think that the dirty café would soon go out of business. But what you find is that like attracts like. People who are dirty, and unfriendly feel more at home in that café. Some people would rather have negative influence in their lives as a means of validating who they are and where they choose to be.
In the same way a church may be full but that doesn’t mean it will be growing and moving into good ground. It may well be full of people who do not actually want to improve. Again this is reflective of the leadership. If the leader isn’t bothered about personal growth then the people wont be either. What happens is that others who do not want to be challenged will gather around that leader.
All change
Very often we see the situation when a leader leaves and a new one is brought in that some people leave and others come back who left when the previous leader arrived. This is simply that people are attracted to what they want out of life.
All too often a church becomes big when it attracts Christians from other churches because the leader is doing the very thing so many church leaders are accused of not doing. These are not necessarily “charismatic Leaders” but can often just be “Churchill style leaders.” That is they are voicing the feeling of the people. After all Churchill himself voiced the feelings of the nation. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. If the feelings of the people are amiss then voicing them isn’t good. If the people want to be about life changing messages and hands up worship but not about getting their hands dirty in mission then it doesn’t matter how big the church is it will stagnate. On the other hand many Christians want to hear the gospel preached but do not want to hear challenging life changing messages. Then that congregation will not grow to maturity.
The issue isn’t about popularity or about hearing what you want to hear. The issue is about becoming like Christ. That involves all aspects of the faith. That involves people engaging with their own life transformation. It involves heart felt worship. It involves getting our hands dirty in ministry and mission. It involves commitment and sacrifice.
What is biblical leadership?
Here we have to leave the debate! Leadership in the bible is not about following one man or one woman. Yes we are to be influenced to become like Jesus. And in that sense we need leaders. We need spiritual influences: those who are further forward with the Lord than we are. But government within the church is by consensus, not by leader.
This is the big problem in the church at the moment. Throughout history we have followed the tradition that was set up be the Catholic Church, who in tern were influenced by the Church Fathers (so called!) The biblical picture of leadership is through the united agreement of the body and not through the vision of one “pastor!”
There are a few scriptures that show that decisions were made through mutual agreement, where as teaching was obviously given by those who knew what needed to be taught.
I have called this booklet “know your leader!” because like me you may be inclined to feel that books on leadership are for those who are called to be leaders. But there are two very important issues we need to address. Firstly that it is just as important for “followers” to know what to expect from leadership and secondly, we will see how we are all engaged in leaders in some form.
What is leadership?
OK, before we start let’s have a look at the irreducible minimum of what leadership is. Firstly a leader isn’t a leader unless people are following! Imagine going into a classroom and seeing a teacher giving a lesson and there are no students in the class. It may be a practice session, but with not students it isn’t teaching! In the same way if a leader has no followers he/she is merely going for a walk!
We need to ask the same question of ourselves as followers as well. Is the guy who sees himself as our leader really our leader. Does he cast a vision and we complain or do we get behind it. Probably the best film I have seen on the subject of leadership is a film called "Heartbreak Ridge" starring Clint Eastwood. Clint plays a sergeant training a group of marine recruits. He is a hard as nails sergeant but at the same time he really looks after and cares for his men. Whereas the captain of the group is an ex stores manager. He treats the men like items on shelves and has no time for them. It is all about numbers and rank as far as he's concerned. There is a battle and this raw regiment are the only people available to go. The captain gives an order and the men refuse, however, they are prepared to do whatever Clint tells them. Even though the captain is their leader, they aren't following him, they follow the sergeant. So often I hear people big up the pastor of the church but when you examine their lives a little more closely they don't even attend church that often, let alone get behind the pastors vision. The pastor suffers from a "nice man" syndrome. Where people think of him as a nice man but that's about all!
That is the first aspect of leadership, that there is a person leading and people following. The next aspect is what we call that relationship. What is the effect that the leader is having on the followers so that they can be considered followers? The word is “influence.” A leader is someone who has influence over others. The fact that the leader influences them shows that they are following.
Two types of leader
Let’s start with a black and white picture. It is usually helpful to see things like this and then work out the shades in between. We have already seen one black and white picture, that a leader either has followers or isn’t a leader.
Let’s have a look at two “opposite” types of leaders. It is said that the definition of a bore is someone who wants to talk about themselves while all you want to do is talk about yourself! Well, the opposite of that is a good definition of “a charismatic person.” That is, someone who wants you to feel good about yourself.
In leadership we see these two types of leaders, those who want you to feel good about them and see it as being about them, and those who want you to feel good about you and see it as all about you.
Winston Churchill was seen as one of Britain’s greatest leaders. However, he was only a great leader during a time when his leadership styles suited the situation. During World War 2 I believe he said of himself that his greatest gift was to be able to voice the feeling of the nation. Although he was speaking on his own behalf, thankfully for him at that time the feeling of the nation was in agreement with his own feelings. However, no sooner did the war end than the feeling of the nation changed and Churchill was voted out.
One of the most common quotes of his that I hear is of the time when he was accused of being drunk by a woman. He turned on the woman and said, “You are ugly, but I will be sober in the morning!”
This has so often been quoted to me as a good put down that I have for a long time been blinded to its significance. How did he make that woman feel? After all she was speaking a truth to him. He used the most offensive and personal thing he could find to say to her to put her down. He may well have “won the argument” but in the process lost her. He lost her as a follower.
In this one leader we see both sides of this leadership spectrum, on the one hand he made people feel proud to be British while on the other forgot to make people feel personally good about themselves. He had the attitude of a bulldog.
In what way are we all leaders?
We started by saying that “leadership is influence.” Well, we all influence people all the time. Even how we talk to a shop assistant has some influence on them. Therefore, to understand the qualities of leadership is very important for all of us. We can all become “bad leaders.”
Getting the best influence
In the bible we are told to imitate Paul as he imitates Jesus. In other words we should be influenced by Paul to become like him as he himself is setting his sights on becoming like Jesus.
There is a principle that people become like their leaders. Some have said this only takes three years. They go as far as to say that after three years every problem that a leader encounters within the followers is a problem that hasn’t been dealt with in the leaders own life.
It is important, therefore, to examine anyone that you would have as a leader and make sure that you really want to become like them. One thing I have noticed, having children, is that it is so often the bad qualities that are picked up first. If the leader cuts corners, that lets everyone off and tells them that they don’t need to be too bothered. The problem is they wont all cut the same corners! What is important enough for the leader to not cut a corner may be the very thing where his followers feel they can!
So many people are loyal to a denomination or party that they will go along with the leader regardless. We only get one short life so it is important to make sure that you really are getting the best influence you can get. Examine the qualities within the leaders life and ask yourself whether you want to become like them.
For example, at the time of Saul the people were just as afraid of Goliath as Saul was. Whereas, later David’s army were as loyal and brave as he was. In the wilderness part of the problem wasn’t Moses, It was that the people didn’t see Moses as their leader. They continually followed other ways.
Charismatic leadership
Charismatic leadership is simply the ability to listen to people and engage with them in a way that makes people feel good about themselves. What then happens is that they enjoy the influence you are having on them in making them feel good. If you are in a leadership roll then they will be happier to go along with your ideas.
Leaders who put people’s backs up by not listening or being dictatorial can find that they have a congregation but no followers. The congregation, like those in the wilderness are not actually following the leader, but instead are continually grumbling. It can also be that they are attracting others with a same mean spirit and therefore, like Churchill, are simply voicing the feelings of the crowd.
Let’s say there are two cafés in town. One is clean with friendly staff, makes you feel welcome and provides an excellent service. The other is dirty, unfriendly, doesn’t make you feel welcome and the service is lousy. Now you would think that the dirty café would soon go out of business. But what you find is that like attracts like. People who are dirty, and unfriendly feel more at home in that café. Some people would rather have negative influence in their lives as a means of validating who they are and where they choose to be.
In the same way a church may be full but that doesn’t mean it will be growing and moving into good ground. It may well be full of people who do not actually want to improve. Again this is reflective of the leadership. If the leader isn’t bothered about personal growth then the people wont be either. What happens is that others who do not want to be challenged will gather around that leader.
All change
Very often we see the situation when a leader leaves and a new one is brought in that some people leave and others come back who left when the previous leader arrived. This is simply that people are attracted to what they want out of life.
All too often a church becomes big when it attracts Christians from other churches because the leader is doing the very thing so many church leaders are accused of not doing. These are not necessarily “charismatic Leaders” but can often just be “Churchill style leaders.” That is they are voicing the feeling of the people. After all Churchill himself voiced the feelings of the nation. But that isn’t necessarily a good thing. If the feelings of the people are amiss then voicing them isn’t good. If the people want to be about life changing messages and hands up worship but not about getting their hands dirty in mission then it doesn’t matter how big the church is it will stagnate. On the other hand many Christians want to hear the gospel preached but do not want to hear challenging life changing messages. Then that congregation will not grow to maturity.
The issue isn’t about popularity or about hearing what you want to hear. The issue is about becoming like Christ. That involves all aspects of the faith. That involves people engaging with their own life transformation. It involves heart felt worship. It involves getting our hands dirty in ministry and mission. It involves commitment and sacrifice.
What is biblical leadership?
Here we have to leave the debate! Leadership in the bible is not about following one man or one woman. Yes we are to be influenced to become like Jesus. And in that sense we need leaders. We need spiritual influences: those who are further forward with the Lord than we are. But government within the church is by consensus, not by leader.
This is the big problem in the church at the moment. Throughout history we have followed the tradition that was set up be the Catholic Church, who in tern were influenced by the Church Fathers (so called!) The biblical picture of leadership is through the united agreement of the body and not through the vision of one “pastor!”
There are a few scriptures that show that decisions were made through mutual agreement, where as teaching was obviously given by those who knew what needed to be taught.
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Hands up!
If th Bible were silent then we could be silent, but if the bible speaks then we need to speak! And we are told that we should let God speak!
"God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few." Ecclesistes 5:2
"I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Ps. 63:4
"I call to you, O Lord, everyday; I spread out my hands to you." Ps. 88:9
"Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord." Ps. 134:2
"Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ’Amen! Amen!’" Neh. 8:6
"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." Lam. 3:41 KJV
"Lift up your hands to Him." Lam 2:19
"I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and prayed." Ezra 9:5-6
"Solomon knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven." 2 Chron. 6:13
"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword ... Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, ’For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.’" Ex. 17:11-16
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer." 1Tim. 2:8 (New Testament)
Now, a person may not find it within his or her feeling, thinking or experience to want to raise their hands in prayer and worship, bu I believe it is scriptural! It may not be part of our "biblical tradition" but it is part of the bible. If it is wrong to steal or commit murder because the bible says so, then surely if the bile tells us to raise our hands as Paul does in Timothy, then we have no excuse not to!
Don't forget that God made man, "Male and female", in Christ their is no "Male or female."
If I were to add my own words to this, I would say that we can liken it to a marriage. How does it feel if one partner is holding back? God doesn't want us to be bound within the constraints of modest reservation! He wants us to be free indeed. What does that loom like. Not "free" to and "free" not to, but free to express the love and joy of being intimate with God. How can we be intimate if we are physically reserved! That isn't true intimacy.
Tradition has taught us to pray with bound hands. We don't pray like that, but we don't pray with raised hands as we should. And notice it is plural, "Hands" not the one sided hand raised! This is unashamed and unreserved.
Does it matter? Well, it obviously matters enough to God to put it in His word and more than once. We are shown that those who were considered great worshippers raised their hands. It is interesting that God says He lifts up His hands!
"Thus says the Lord GOD,
"Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My standard to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders." Is 49:22
Is a posture important? So, is this just cultural, descriptive rather than prescriptive? The problem is that Paul gives it as an instruction. I have heard the argument several times that it doesn't matter to follow the letter as long as you follow the spirit. Well, Jesus makes the point that you tell what is going on on the inside of a person by what you see on the outside. The only time you see different on the outside to what is happening on the inside is called hypocrisy! Like when the Pharisees where white washed on the outside, and dead means bones on the inside.
This comes into the question of whether our attitude to God is more important than our posture.
Let me give you some other scenarios:
Is it ok to get drunk every night as long as you have a good attitude towards God?
Is it ok to swear and curse as long as you have a good attitude towards God?
Is it ok to be bad tempered as long as you have a good attitude towards God?
Is it ok to beat up on you partner as long as your attitude towards God is ok?
Surely the answer to these is that if you are doing any of these on the outside then there is room for improvement in your attitude towards God! You may feel that you are "good spiritually" but the outside behaviours reveal something amiss somewhere.
If we really want to work on being good spiritually then we need to get the the spiritual manual and find out what the spiritual man (woman) looks like. Scripture is referred to as the cannon, the cannon was a tool that was held up against a wall to see whether it was vertical (Upright) and straight. Today we have a spirit level! We use scripture to see how well we are doing. It is too easy to try and test scripture against us. To say, "Well, I don't believe that!" and expect scripture to line up!
Personally I think it is just as "missing the mark" to put your hands up and feel self conscious as it is to not put them up. However, we will never not feel self conscious if we don't start. Like having a new hair cut or new glasses or new outfit, we feel self conscious at first but after a while it is second nature. Maybe, this comes into the same area as fasting, "why?" I mean "Why fasting?" There is something about making a sacrifice in praise. I also feel that actually we are battling with the Spirit by keeping our hands down. We can easily desensitise our conscience, searing it, by constantly refusing to submit.
I can remember once when I was a fairly new Christian and in a large conference marquee. I had a few kind of spiritual visions. One of them was as I closed my eyes I could still see everyone in the meeting. Everyone had their hands down, but I could see that the spirit man in everyone of them had his, her hands raised! Now, if the spirit is raising his hands then are we in step with the spirit? If it is important enough for the spirit to raise his hands then why do we get and exemption?
I have found a couple of arguments that I didn't cover. One I thought of but didn't put and the other a new one to me.
1, "It says prayer!" (Apart from the verses in Psalm 63:4, 134:2 and Neh 8:6 where hand raising is connected with praise!) Yep, but worship is part of our prayer life. Prayer is part of our worship life. So, the question goes further, "Does that mean we should raise our hands whenever we are communicating with God? For example when we are reading the Bible? If we are praying while driving?" It is a serious point to test anything thing to the ludicrous extreme, if when you get there it is ludicrous then one two things has happened. Either the starting point was ludicrous or the logic was ludicrous!
The point here isn't that we should legalistically raise our hands and be stoned to death if we don't! You can see how this would get like the traditions of the elders. The point is it is an option to worship. One commentator said that hand gestures are something we do all the time while we are communicating. I would put it to you that there are or have been times in worship when you have felt like raising your hands and either have or haven't. Who says I have to raise my hands when I want to hug someone? Who says I have to raise my hands when I want to get someone's attention? Who says the Olympic Gold runner has to raise his or her hands as they cross the finish line? The point is it isn't law, it's gesture. and worship is a gesture.
The second issue is one that I never thought of and this came from a woman who had been a choir member for years. She said she felt very self conscious about raising her hands. The point she made was that she loved singing, choirs, small groups, along with the radio, and sometimes she caught herself "just singing" in church. Raising her hands helped her to remind herself that this singing was far more important than just singing along with the radio. Which is another slant on the "Surely it is more important to have a good attitude than to just raise your hands?" The point here is, the same can be said for singing! It is easy for it to become meaningless. Especially I find when the you don't know the words so are concentrating more on getting that right, or know them too well, so you sing them without thinking! Or there they are short so you never really get into the zone before you are hearing people again. Or they are too long so you are thinking how much longer is this going on for? Or you just have too much else on you mind and the pastor hasn't reminded everyone to lay it all down and get into the worship!
This is a quote from someone called AV. I like it because it leaves behind all of the theological argument that so often gets in the way of simple human response to a great God!:
"I grew up in a Presbyterian church in the South… very traditional and conservative. I studied abroad in Australia and ended up going to a Pentecostal/Assemblies of God church. I fell in love with this church and the openness and genuineness of the people and the worship. God felt real here, not just a tradition…. and yes, they raised their hands in worship.. which was very new to me at the time. How can we talk about God being worthy to be praised and not lift our hands? When we go to concerts and sports games, we throw our hands in the air with no second-thoughts… I think it is a great combined act of surrender, celebration, praise, and acknowledgement of God’s presence in our lives and with us every step of the way. I also think of it much like singing. When we are willing to sing God’s praises, we are willing to open up to Him; when we are willing to lift our hands to our Creator, we let Him in still."
Quoting another argument, this time a pro argument: why is it that the same people who argue, "Surely it is the heart that counts and not the externals," also argue about externals where it matters to them? For example, length of women's hair, tithing, decorating the church with banners, the pastor being smartly dressed (Which definitely isn't in the bible!), Christians wearing suits (again not scriptural!) (From this argument I can only conclude that some Christians would rather non scriptural externals as important rather than scriptural ones!)
Now show me, from the bible, why we should pray and worship with our hands down!
"God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few." Ecclesistes 5:2
"I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands." Ps. 63:4
"I call to you, O Lord, everyday; I spread out my hands to you." Ps. 88:9
"Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord." Ps. 134:2
"Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ’Amen! Amen!’" Neh. 8:6
"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." Lam. 3:41 KJV
"Lift up your hands to Him." Lam 2:19
"I fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God and prayed." Ezra 9:5-6
"Solomon knelt down before the whole assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven." 2 Chron. 6:13
"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword ... Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner. He said, ’For hands were lifted up to the throne of the Lord.’" Ex. 17:11-16
"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer." 1Tim. 2:8 (New Testament)
Now, a person may not find it within his or her feeling, thinking or experience to want to raise their hands in prayer and worship, bu I believe it is scriptural! It may not be part of our "biblical tradition" but it is part of the bible. If it is wrong to steal or commit murder because the bible says so, then surely if the bile tells us to raise our hands as Paul does in Timothy, then we have no excuse not to!
Don't forget that God made man, "Male and female", in Christ their is no "Male or female."
If I were to add my own words to this, I would say that we can liken it to a marriage. How does it feel if one partner is holding back? God doesn't want us to be bound within the constraints of modest reservation! He wants us to be free indeed. What does that loom like. Not "free" to and "free" not to, but free to express the love and joy of being intimate with God. How can we be intimate if we are physically reserved! That isn't true intimacy.
Tradition has taught us to pray with bound hands. We don't pray like that, but we don't pray with raised hands as we should. And notice it is plural, "Hands" not the one sided hand raised! This is unashamed and unreserved.
Does it matter? Well, it obviously matters enough to God to put it in His word and more than once. We are shown that those who were considered great worshippers raised their hands. It is interesting that God says He lifts up His hands!
"Thus says the Lord GOD,
"Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My standard to the peoples;
And they will bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders." Is 49:22
Is a posture important? So, is this just cultural, descriptive rather than prescriptive? The problem is that Paul gives it as an instruction. I have heard the argument several times that it doesn't matter to follow the letter as long as you follow the spirit. Well, Jesus makes the point that you tell what is going on on the inside of a person by what you see on the outside. The only time you see different on the outside to what is happening on the inside is called hypocrisy! Like when the Pharisees where white washed on the outside, and dead means bones on the inside.
This comes into the question of whether our attitude to God is more important than our posture.
Let me give you some other scenarios:
Is it ok to get drunk every night as long as you have a good attitude towards God?
Is it ok to swear and curse as long as you have a good attitude towards God?
Is it ok to be bad tempered as long as you have a good attitude towards God?
Is it ok to beat up on you partner as long as your attitude towards God is ok?
Surely the answer to these is that if you are doing any of these on the outside then there is room for improvement in your attitude towards God! You may feel that you are "good spiritually" but the outside behaviours reveal something amiss somewhere.
If we really want to work on being good spiritually then we need to get the the spiritual manual and find out what the spiritual man (woman) looks like. Scripture is referred to as the cannon, the cannon was a tool that was held up against a wall to see whether it was vertical (Upright) and straight. Today we have a spirit level! We use scripture to see how well we are doing. It is too easy to try and test scripture against us. To say, "Well, I don't believe that!" and expect scripture to line up!
Personally I think it is just as "missing the mark" to put your hands up and feel self conscious as it is to not put them up. However, we will never not feel self conscious if we don't start. Like having a new hair cut or new glasses or new outfit, we feel self conscious at first but after a while it is second nature. Maybe, this comes into the same area as fasting, "why?" I mean "Why fasting?" There is something about making a sacrifice in praise. I also feel that actually we are battling with the Spirit by keeping our hands down. We can easily desensitise our conscience, searing it, by constantly refusing to submit.
I can remember once when I was a fairly new Christian and in a large conference marquee. I had a few kind of spiritual visions. One of them was as I closed my eyes I could still see everyone in the meeting. Everyone had their hands down, but I could see that the spirit man in everyone of them had his, her hands raised! Now, if the spirit is raising his hands then are we in step with the spirit? If it is important enough for the spirit to raise his hands then why do we get and exemption?
I have found a couple of arguments that I didn't cover. One I thought of but didn't put and the other a new one to me.
1, "It says prayer!" (Apart from the verses in Psalm 63:4, 134:2 and Neh 8:6 where hand raising is connected with praise!) Yep, but worship is part of our prayer life. Prayer is part of our worship life. So, the question goes further, "Does that mean we should raise our hands whenever we are communicating with God? For example when we are reading the Bible? If we are praying while driving?" It is a serious point to test anything thing to the ludicrous extreme, if when you get there it is ludicrous then one two things has happened. Either the starting point was ludicrous or the logic was ludicrous!
The point here isn't that we should legalistically raise our hands and be stoned to death if we don't! You can see how this would get like the traditions of the elders. The point is it is an option to worship. One commentator said that hand gestures are something we do all the time while we are communicating. I would put it to you that there are or have been times in worship when you have felt like raising your hands and either have or haven't. Who says I have to raise my hands when I want to hug someone? Who says I have to raise my hands when I want to get someone's attention? Who says the Olympic Gold runner has to raise his or her hands as they cross the finish line? The point is it isn't law, it's gesture. and worship is a gesture.
The second issue is one that I never thought of and this came from a woman who had been a choir member for years. She said she felt very self conscious about raising her hands. The point she made was that she loved singing, choirs, small groups, along with the radio, and sometimes she caught herself "just singing" in church. Raising her hands helped her to remind herself that this singing was far more important than just singing along with the radio. Which is another slant on the "Surely it is more important to have a good attitude than to just raise your hands?" The point here is, the same can be said for singing! It is easy for it to become meaningless. Especially I find when the you don't know the words so are concentrating more on getting that right, or know them too well, so you sing them without thinking! Or there they are short so you never really get into the zone before you are hearing people again. Or they are too long so you are thinking how much longer is this going on for? Or you just have too much else on you mind and the pastor hasn't reminded everyone to lay it all down and get into the worship!
This is a quote from someone called AV. I like it because it leaves behind all of the theological argument that so often gets in the way of simple human response to a great God!:
"I grew up in a Presbyterian church in the South… very traditional and conservative. I studied abroad in Australia and ended up going to a Pentecostal/Assemblies of God church. I fell in love with this church and the openness and genuineness of the people and the worship. God felt real here, not just a tradition…. and yes, they raised their hands in worship.. which was very new to me at the time. How can we talk about God being worthy to be praised and not lift our hands? When we go to concerts and sports games, we throw our hands in the air with no second-thoughts… I think it is a great combined act of surrender, celebration, praise, and acknowledgement of God’s presence in our lives and with us every step of the way. I also think of it much like singing. When we are willing to sing God’s praises, we are willing to open up to Him; when we are willing to lift our hands to our Creator, we let Him in still."
Quoting another argument, this time a pro argument: why is it that the same people who argue, "Surely it is the heart that counts and not the externals," also argue about externals where it matters to them? For example, length of women's hair, tithing, decorating the church with banners, the pastor being smartly dressed (Which definitely isn't in the bible!), Christians wearing suits (again not scriptural!) (From this argument I can only conclude that some Christians would rather non scriptural externals as important rather than scriptural ones!)
Now show me, from the bible, why we should pray and worship with our hands down!
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Another River!!
This really spoke to me. I heard someone mention this as part of a talk and it lept out and exploded in my thinking. The idea that Jesus went to the river where He experienced an open heaven and then into the wilderness where He was tempted and tested. The bit that really lept out at me was the line, "In the river, God's character is revealed, in the wilderness, our character is revealed!"
I automatically make connections, so I connect Jesus' experience with Israel leaving Egypt. They went through a river and into a wilderness. They experienced God revealing Himself to them. Then, in the wilderness their character was revealed. These were the same people who had cried out for deliverance. But, once delivered where was their faith!
It the garden of Edan, God had been fully revealed to Adam and Eve, the like of which we do not experience. Then one day God wasn't there, and they were tempted and tested. Then God turned up. It is interesting that although we are not told God wasn't there, we are pointedly told when He arrived, making the point that He hadn't been there!
Likewise when Samuel told Saul to wait for Him before making a sacrifice and Samuel was delayed. Saul made the sacrifice himself. In the absence of God's "revealer", Saul was tempted and tested.
One job I had was to work in what was called, "Environmental Conditioning." It was also called environmental test. The two names kind of have to go together. To test something is to see whether it works under certain conditions. It can pass or fail the test. But there is another meaning of the word test, and that is to harden through certain processes.
We would receive an electrical unit and first of all place it on a large vibrating table and vibrate it very hard and fast for about ten minutes. We then placed it in huge chamber that cycled between -35c to plus 65c. We then placed the unit into water and looked for air bubbles!
All of this was sometimes done while running a test program within the units and sometimes we tested them afterward. The idea was two fold. One was to make sure it could stand up to the conditions of working around the would. Say, placed in a rough terrain vehicle and then taken through deserts and frozen places. The other was the conditioning aspect. We were not only seeing whether they worked, but also toughening them up so that they would withstand the conditions they need to work in.
In other words, when we talk about "wilderness" being a place of temptation and testing. We shouldn't think of it in the bleak terms of pass and fail! The Israelites can give us a picture of "failing the test." But God judged them as a whole. By the time "Israel" emerged from the wilderness it was a wholly faithful and powerful force to be reckoned with. There were still elements within that had not been dealt with and need to be. If Israel is a picture to us then we need to see it as one nation and not individuals. Jacob was given the name Israel! As one person each of us can see ourselves dealt with in the ways the nation of Israel was dealt with. Not that we will be illuminated if we fail, but that the parts in us that fail will be illuminated.
We are tested as if by fired yet not burned up. Our character is revealed, both the good and the bad. The good is made even more firm and the bad is exposed and placed before the Lord. When you refine Gold you have to heat it up. The dross rises to the surface and is then removed by the refiner.
Let's talk about money! Why, because Jesus used it as an example a lot to reveal our connection to worldly things. If we are to handle the kingdom's riches then we first have to be tested in the least. If a person, a goodly Christian, has a good income and pays a tithe and considers any spare there to be saved or squandered, then he has missed the point. If God is our provider today then He is our provider tomorrow. That which is given to us is for His glory, not our indulgence. Can such a person be trusted with the true riches of the kingdom?
God wants us to be people of faith. People who are truly connected to Him and His will. The process by which He develops this relationship is through revealing His character to us as if by an open heaven and then by placing us in a place of barrenness where we are tested and tempted.
You can be in a very blessed place and still feel empty. This is what struck me. This is how I have felt for ages. In a place of tests and temptations, where God seems almost absent. Nothing that used to work is working. But the thing to notice is that the wilderness is for a season. It is funny that the guy giving the talk said about charismatics, how when they are in a wilderness time, they can't tell each other! They often want to pretend that everything is fine, which will only make the sense of isolation worse! But if they tell, then what abundant and over bearing ministry will they receive?!!
We can enjoy the river, and know that the wilderness is for our good and only for a season! I say it is for our good because we ask for it! We forget that we stand in church and sing with gusto, "Purify my Heart" "Make me new" "Your will be done in my life!" (Or words to that effect!) but as soon as God starts to work on us we are like the Israelites protesting and sulking! We hear sermons that talk about christian character and say, "Yes Lord!" then when the heat is applied we say, "No Lord!"
One of the most important things to do in the wilderness is to keep remembering God's previous goodness, the river, and to keep looking forward to the promises of God, the promised land. Even Jesus was said to have endured the trials of the cross looking forward to the glory to come.
The time when it was right for the Israelites to come out of the wilderness was set by God as 40 years. It was so that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness and not go into the promised land. In other words, they when Israel had put off the old nature and taken on the new nature, that was when it was time!
I automatically make connections, so I connect Jesus' experience with Israel leaving Egypt. They went through a river and into a wilderness. They experienced God revealing Himself to them. Then, in the wilderness their character was revealed. These were the same people who had cried out for deliverance. But, once delivered where was their faith!
It the garden of Edan, God had been fully revealed to Adam and Eve, the like of which we do not experience. Then one day God wasn't there, and they were tempted and tested. Then God turned up. It is interesting that although we are not told God wasn't there, we are pointedly told when He arrived, making the point that He hadn't been there!
Likewise when Samuel told Saul to wait for Him before making a sacrifice and Samuel was delayed. Saul made the sacrifice himself. In the absence of God's "revealer", Saul was tempted and tested.
One job I had was to work in what was called, "Environmental Conditioning." It was also called environmental test. The two names kind of have to go together. To test something is to see whether it works under certain conditions. It can pass or fail the test. But there is another meaning of the word test, and that is to harden through certain processes.
We would receive an electrical unit and first of all place it on a large vibrating table and vibrate it very hard and fast for about ten minutes. We then placed it in huge chamber that cycled between -35c to plus 65c. We then placed the unit into water and looked for air bubbles!
All of this was sometimes done while running a test program within the units and sometimes we tested them afterward. The idea was two fold. One was to make sure it could stand up to the conditions of working around the would. Say, placed in a rough terrain vehicle and then taken through deserts and frozen places. The other was the conditioning aspect. We were not only seeing whether they worked, but also toughening them up so that they would withstand the conditions they need to work in.
In other words, when we talk about "wilderness" being a place of temptation and testing. We shouldn't think of it in the bleak terms of pass and fail! The Israelites can give us a picture of "failing the test." But God judged them as a whole. By the time "Israel" emerged from the wilderness it was a wholly faithful and powerful force to be reckoned with. There were still elements within that had not been dealt with and need to be. If Israel is a picture to us then we need to see it as one nation and not individuals. Jacob was given the name Israel! As one person each of us can see ourselves dealt with in the ways the nation of Israel was dealt with. Not that we will be illuminated if we fail, but that the parts in us that fail will be illuminated.
We are tested as if by fired yet not burned up. Our character is revealed, both the good and the bad. The good is made even more firm and the bad is exposed and placed before the Lord. When you refine Gold you have to heat it up. The dross rises to the surface and is then removed by the refiner.
Let's talk about money! Why, because Jesus used it as an example a lot to reveal our connection to worldly things. If we are to handle the kingdom's riches then we first have to be tested in the least. If a person, a goodly Christian, has a good income and pays a tithe and considers any spare there to be saved or squandered, then he has missed the point. If God is our provider today then He is our provider tomorrow. That which is given to us is for His glory, not our indulgence. Can such a person be trusted with the true riches of the kingdom?
God wants us to be people of faith. People who are truly connected to Him and His will. The process by which He develops this relationship is through revealing His character to us as if by an open heaven and then by placing us in a place of barrenness where we are tested and tempted.
You can be in a very blessed place and still feel empty. This is what struck me. This is how I have felt for ages. In a place of tests and temptations, where God seems almost absent. Nothing that used to work is working. But the thing to notice is that the wilderness is for a season. It is funny that the guy giving the talk said about charismatics, how when they are in a wilderness time, they can't tell each other! They often want to pretend that everything is fine, which will only make the sense of isolation worse! But if they tell, then what abundant and over bearing ministry will they receive?!!
We can enjoy the river, and know that the wilderness is for our good and only for a season! I say it is for our good because we ask for it! We forget that we stand in church and sing with gusto, "Purify my Heart" "Make me new" "Your will be done in my life!" (Or words to that effect!) but as soon as God starts to work on us we are like the Israelites protesting and sulking! We hear sermons that talk about christian character and say, "Yes Lord!" then when the heat is applied we say, "No Lord!"
One of the most important things to do in the wilderness is to keep remembering God's previous goodness, the river, and to keep looking forward to the promises of God, the promised land. Even Jesus was said to have endured the trials of the cross looking forward to the glory to come.
The time when it was right for the Israelites to come out of the wilderness was set by God as 40 years. It was so that the generation that left Egypt would die in the wilderness and not go into the promised land. In other words, they when Israel had put off the old nature and taken on the new nature, that was when it was time!
Saturday, 20 September 2008
The River of God!
Years ago I heard people trying to describe the will of God. Most used the idea of a cruise liner bound for a destination on a preprogrammed course, set by computer. The passengers on that boat can do what they like but whatever they choose to do they will arrive at the preset destination.
Today I heard a much more biblical picture. The River of God, as the will of God. It is the same idea. The River of God is a river running to a destination. It is a strong current. We who are in Christ are in that river. We might try to swim up stream (against the currentand flow of the river). When we do, that is a struggle. We are striving against God's will. We can tack from sideto side and try to not get dragged along too quickly. But again we are simply resisting God's will. In order to get into God's will we have to resign from trying to do our will. Surrender to the current.
Switching analogies for a bit! An ocean liner cannot do a hand break turn. It takes miles to turn round. We need to allow God to turn us around. Often we are pointing the wrong way. We cannot just stop and turn, we need to keep going in the direction we are going but take our hands off of the wheel and let God steer us around.
Another analogy is that we are like a horse and Jesus is the rider. A meek horse has all the power of a hoprse but is under total control. They do this trick where they tie between a post and the horses bridal. The horse walks around the pole at exactly the right distance. too close and the ribbon wraps around the post too far and it snaps. But the analogy of Christian meekness is like being a horse with our head on backwards. Jesus is our rider and we are looking at Him for His instruction.
Funny how these analogies get weird isn't it!
I used to have a saying, "I am today where God wants me to be, if He wants me to be somewhere else tomorrow, then He will move me!"
Many people had problems with that saying, but not those who knew the walk. To say you aren't where God wants you to be today, is like the man who asked an Irishman directions. The Irishman said, "Well, You don't want to start from here!" Where else can you start from?! To the straight, uptight, middle-class conservative the Junkie is starting in the wrong place! But to the Junkie, where else can they start! We know that Jesus meets us where we are.
We don't get into the will of God by works: by doing all kinds of religious stuff, getting our lives sorted out and so on. That is religion. Religion says, "to approach God get yourself pure." Jesus says, "I will appoach you and make you pure!" That is how we can "Boldly approach!" Not by our works, but by His.
Religious people hate the idea of that saying, "I am where God wants me to be and if He wants me somewhere else He will move me" It urks them. They can't be comfortable with it. But how else can we approach God. There is no logic in having it any other way. "While we were yet sinners Christ first loved us!" or somethinglike that. I feel I have mixed to verses there! But hey, it's still scripture!
I remember a friend saying to me, "If you no longer feel close to God, guess who moved!" God promised He would never leave us or forsake us. How can we think that God has left us? There is a brilliant image in the Lord of the Rings (the film) where Golum is having an argument with Smeagal. At the end Golum puts his hands over his ears and says, "Not listening!"
Does God walk round with a big stick? That depends on what you fear. I am someone who grew up in fear. I was affraid of everything. Not spiders. I think people who are affraid of spiders don't understand what real fear is. I tell you when you have lived in fear of attack day in day out spiders are nothing! Well, to me anyway! To me people who are affraid of spiders don't have enought to be affraid of. (Now I'm speaking as someone who lives in a country where there are no deadly spiders. There are no spiders bigger than your thumb.) OK I am probably talking out of turn so I appologise. If you have lived in constant real fear and are affraid of spiders I let you off!!
We are told to fear God. I have met people who say, "I think that means reverance!" No, it means fear! Healthy fear. Like the healthy fear that stops an electrician getting killed, you stop fearing electricity and you wont be around very long. It wont be long until you touch something without thinking and bang, your no more!
Ananias and sophira were Bang and no more! However, there is no evidence that they weren't saved. No evidence that they were not taken straight to the throne room of God where as a loving Father He could keep them where He wanted them. That isn't wrath, that is love. When a hand goes gangerous, the surgeon will cut it off. Not out of anger, but out of compassion for the rest of the body.
God made us
We fell
God redeemed us
Why do we now say, "You got to get yourself sorted out!" We didn't make us. We don't have a clue what makes us tick. Can you take any child and guarantee to bring that chiold up to be perfect? No, you are just any child, yet you assume you can make you perfect! Doesn't make sense. Only God can make us perfect. A car cannot fix itself. I can't fix my car, but I can take it to the garage! Now, if I can't fix a car, that is a lot more basic in opperation than a person, then how can I expect to fix me? But I know where to go to get me fixed!
Anyway, I am late for bed now!! I have to give a talk in the morning! When will I learnt to not volunteer anymore! It always seems like a good idea at the time! Hopefully, God will give me the words to say!
Today I heard a much more biblical picture. The River of God, as the will of God. It is the same idea. The River of God is a river running to a destination. It is a strong current. We who are in Christ are in that river. We might try to swim up stream (against the currentand flow of the river). When we do, that is a struggle. We are striving against God's will. We can tack from sideto side and try to not get dragged along too quickly. But again we are simply resisting God's will. In order to get into God's will we have to resign from trying to do our will. Surrender to the current.
Switching analogies for a bit! An ocean liner cannot do a hand break turn. It takes miles to turn round. We need to allow God to turn us around. Often we are pointing the wrong way. We cannot just stop and turn, we need to keep going in the direction we are going but take our hands off of the wheel and let God steer us around.
Another analogy is that we are like a horse and Jesus is the rider. A meek horse has all the power of a hoprse but is under total control. They do this trick where they tie between a post and the horses bridal. The horse walks around the pole at exactly the right distance. too close and the ribbon wraps around the post too far and it snaps. But the analogy of Christian meekness is like being a horse with our head on backwards. Jesus is our rider and we are looking at Him for His instruction.
Funny how these analogies get weird isn't it!
I used to have a saying, "I am today where God wants me to be, if He wants me to be somewhere else tomorrow, then He will move me!"
Many people had problems with that saying, but not those who knew the walk. To say you aren't where God wants you to be today, is like the man who asked an Irishman directions. The Irishman said, "Well, You don't want to start from here!" Where else can you start from?! To the straight, uptight, middle-class conservative the Junkie is starting in the wrong place! But to the Junkie, where else can they start! We know that Jesus meets us where we are.
We don't get into the will of God by works: by doing all kinds of religious stuff, getting our lives sorted out and so on. That is religion. Religion says, "to approach God get yourself pure." Jesus says, "I will appoach you and make you pure!" That is how we can "Boldly approach!" Not by our works, but by His.
Religious people hate the idea of that saying, "I am where God wants me to be and if He wants me somewhere else He will move me" It urks them. They can't be comfortable with it. But how else can we approach God. There is no logic in having it any other way. "While we were yet sinners Christ first loved us!" or somethinglike that. I feel I have mixed to verses there! But hey, it's still scripture!
I remember a friend saying to me, "If you no longer feel close to God, guess who moved!" God promised He would never leave us or forsake us. How can we think that God has left us? There is a brilliant image in the Lord of the Rings (the film) where Golum is having an argument with Smeagal. At the end Golum puts his hands over his ears and says, "Not listening!"
Does God walk round with a big stick? That depends on what you fear. I am someone who grew up in fear. I was affraid of everything. Not spiders. I think people who are affraid of spiders don't understand what real fear is. I tell you when you have lived in fear of attack day in day out spiders are nothing! Well, to me anyway! To me people who are affraid of spiders don't have enought to be affraid of. (Now I'm speaking as someone who lives in a country where there are no deadly spiders. There are no spiders bigger than your thumb.) OK I am probably talking out of turn so I appologise. If you have lived in constant real fear and are affraid of spiders I let you off!!
We are told to fear God. I have met people who say, "I think that means reverance!" No, it means fear! Healthy fear. Like the healthy fear that stops an electrician getting killed, you stop fearing electricity and you wont be around very long. It wont be long until you touch something without thinking and bang, your no more!
Ananias and sophira were Bang and no more! However, there is no evidence that they weren't saved. No evidence that they were not taken straight to the throne room of God where as a loving Father He could keep them where He wanted them. That isn't wrath, that is love. When a hand goes gangerous, the surgeon will cut it off. Not out of anger, but out of compassion for the rest of the body.
God made us
We fell
God redeemed us
Why do we now say, "You got to get yourself sorted out!" We didn't make us. We don't have a clue what makes us tick. Can you take any child and guarantee to bring that chiold up to be perfect? No, you are just any child, yet you assume you can make you perfect! Doesn't make sense. Only God can make us perfect. A car cannot fix itself. I can't fix my car, but I can take it to the garage! Now, if I can't fix a car, that is a lot more basic in opperation than a person, then how can I expect to fix me? But I know where to go to get me fixed!
Anyway, I am late for bed now!! I have to give a talk in the morning! When will I learnt to not volunteer anymore! It always seems like a good idea at the time! Hopefully, God will give me the words to say!
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
The cure for sin!!
There are several ideas in scripture to do with sin. One is that our sin needs to be covered. Another is that God needs to be pleased, there are others. Of course Jesus' death did the lot. All of these pictures although true are pictures to try and help us understand how sin has separated us from God and how the Crucifixion has brought us back together.
The idea of healing in the bible has mostly always been seen as healing. The guy I learned from certainly saw healing as being about healing. The word faith people also see it very much that way. For example, it me through that common verse at you, "By His wounds we have been healed!" I have only ever heard one person say that this is not talking about healing!! Let's have a look at the verse in context.
The first thing to see is that the verse as it is quoted begins with "for" as in "For by His wounds. .
."
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls." 1 Peter 2:21-25
OK, so is this "passage" About our being brought back to God through Christ's sacrifice for our sins, and He Himself being an example to us? Or, is it about healing?
After 3, 1, 2, 3:
Well, it seems odd that he should through in a verse about healing. It is a picture, "He bore our sins . . . for by His wounds we are healed."
"Healed" is a word that describes our being treated for our condition, which was sin. The passage actually quotes Isaiah. Not word for word, more to do with it's fulfilment. Isaiah puts it in future terms, here it is past. However, actually, there is no future tense in Hebrew, so actually it was always in past tense. Sorry that's very technical!
Now, I am sorry, I am hinting at stuff here, I don't even want to go into it here, because I want to get to the point I am interested in. And that is looking at "healing" as a picture of sin removal! The Old Testament often uses sickness and an allegory for sin and often asks, "Who can heal us?" That is the context of Isaiah's half of this statement.
Anyway, to the point! Imagine a doctor going into a room of people. All of the people there have something wrong with them. Most are too embarrassed to talk about it, and no one really knows what the others have wrong with them. The doctor comes in and lists a whole bunch of conditions and says, "If you have any of these conditions, I have the cure! I can heal you!"
Each person accepts the cure.
Until we see this picture, we will see people with long wagging accusing fingers telling us that we are evil and full of sin and our sin is what is wrong with us.
Now, listen to what Peter says, "By His wounds, you have been healed!" No wagging finger! No accusation.
Now, imagine someone goes back to the doctor because the condition seems to have re-emerged. What does the doctor say and do? "Here, have some more medicine!" No finger wagging, no accusation. Now, where there is wagging and accusation is those who allow there condition to get bad and refuse to go back to the doctor. Those who would rather have the condition than the cure.
Another, now! Now, have you been healed of all sickness and ailments? Of course the word faith people want us to go around saying we have been healed when we haven't because that's "faith!" However, do you believe that Christ's work on the cross did the job of making you acceptable to God? I hope the answer is a big, "Yes, Absolutely!" Then not only does "healing" fit the context of salvation in the passage, it also does in our faith! So, why are people stopping their kids insulin? For the same reason we are afraid that our sin will bring us condemnation, because we have been robbed of the rightful place of this truth.
I am not sure I have got across the release I felt when this sank in the other day. Up until now I have seen sin as something from the point of view of all the other pictures. They are all ugly pictures. But this picture balances that. Of course sin is still ugly. All the other pictures make us feel that it is something we have deliberately done and can prevent. Whereas this puts it in the right perspective. Can you give yourself cancer? No. If you have it can you decide you wont have it one day and it will just disappear? Apart from going to a doctor can you do anything yourself to prevent it or stop it? No (For pedants, I am using this as an analogy, I am sure I could find something that fits if you try and push the analogy!) So, sickness is an analogy of sin, then we need a doctor! There is nothing we can do! We know that! So why do we get so wound up about it?
What a wonderful release to realise that we are sick and need a doctor! Hey, you know what? That reminds of something someone else said, now who was that?!!
The idea of healing in the bible has mostly always been seen as healing. The guy I learned from certainly saw healing as being about healing. The word faith people also see it very much that way. For example, it me through that common verse at you, "By His wounds we have been healed!" I have only ever heard one person say that this is not talking about healing!! Let's have a look at the verse in context.
The first thing to see is that the verse as it is quoted begins with "for" as in "For by His wounds. .
."
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls." 1 Peter 2:21-25
OK, so is this "passage" About our being brought back to God through Christ's sacrifice for our sins, and He Himself being an example to us? Or, is it about healing?
After 3, 1, 2, 3:
Well, it seems odd that he should through in a verse about healing. It is a picture, "He bore our sins . . . for by His wounds we are healed."
"Healed" is a word that describes our being treated for our condition, which was sin. The passage actually quotes Isaiah. Not word for word, more to do with it's fulfilment. Isaiah puts it in future terms, here it is past. However, actually, there is no future tense in Hebrew, so actually it was always in past tense. Sorry that's very technical!
Now, I am sorry, I am hinting at stuff here, I don't even want to go into it here, because I want to get to the point I am interested in. And that is looking at "healing" as a picture of sin removal! The Old Testament often uses sickness and an allegory for sin and often asks, "Who can heal us?" That is the context of Isaiah's half of this statement.
Anyway, to the point! Imagine a doctor going into a room of people. All of the people there have something wrong with them. Most are too embarrassed to talk about it, and no one really knows what the others have wrong with them. The doctor comes in and lists a whole bunch of conditions and says, "If you have any of these conditions, I have the cure! I can heal you!"
Each person accepts the cure.
Until we see this picture, we will see people with long wagging accusing fingers telling us that we are evil and full of sin and our sin is what is wrong with us.
Now, listen to what Peter says, "By His wounds, you have been healed!" No wagging finger! No accusation.
Now, imagine someone goes back to the doctor because the condition seems to have re-emerged. What does the doctor say and do? "Here, have some more medicine!" No finger wagging, no accusation. Now, where there is wagging and accusation is those who allow there condition to get bad and refuse to go back to the doctor. Those who would rather have the condition than the cure.
Another, now! Now, have you been healed of all sickness and ailments? Of course the word faith people want us to go around saying we have been healed when we haven't because that's "faith!" However, do you believe that Christ's work on the cross did the job of making you acceptable to God? I hope the answer is a big, "Yes, Absolutely!" Then not only does "healing" fit the context of salvation in the passage, it also does in our faith! So, why are people stopping their kids insulin? For the same reason we are afraid that our sin will bring us condemnation, because we have been robbed of the rightful place of this truth.
I am not sure I have got across the release I felt when this sank in the other day. Up until now I have seen sin as something from the point of view of all the other pictures. They are all ugly pictures. But this picture balances that. Of course sin is still ugly. All the other pictures make us feel that it is something we have deliberately done and can prevent. Whereas this puts it in the right perspective. Can you give yourself cancer? No. If you have it can you decide you wont have it one day and it will just disappear? Apart from going to a doctor can you do anything yourself to prevent it or stop it? No (For pedants, I am using this as an analogy, I am sure I could find something that fits if you try and push the analogy!) So, sickness is an analogy of sin, then we need a doctor! There is nothing we can do! We know that! So why do we get so wound up about it?
What a wonderful release to realise that we are sick and need a doctor! Hey, you know what? That reminds of something someone else said, now who was that?!!
dare to ask!!
Here's a point, a simple point! Dare you ask God? Dare you believe? Dare you write down a list of everything in your life, no arguments, the lot, all you sins, sicknesses, weaknesses, debts, all the things like being blessed more than we can ask or imagine. Blessed financially, blessed physically, blessed in holiness, blessed in ministry and work? To write all that down, effectively seeing yourself as perfected in this word and living in an ideal way including financial blessing and freedom.
Like I say, without argument, write it all down and state that you believe God can do it, wants to do it and will do it?
It is nothing more or less than honest worship.
It is giving praise in our hearts that God is God and nothing is impossible to Him.
There is a verse that has been translated like this."If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ Deut 7:17 The next verse says, "you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt"
That isn't a very good reading as the answer doesn't follow the question. What if it were written like this, remembering that there is no punctuation in the Hebrew:
"If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I?' how can I dispossess them? 18 you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt"
The point being that it isn't just us who are limited by our disbelief. God is limited how we see our situation. We are told that God can do "far more abundantly" than we can ask or imagine, "according to the power of God at work is us!" How we take that for granted! How much power is at work in you?
Stir up the power of God at work in you, give Him the worship He deserves. Do not short change Him. Do not bind Him up in religion. Give Him complete free reign to be God and do His will, not the limitations of our imaginations
Like I say, without argument, write it all down and state that you believe God can do it, wants to do it and will do it?
It is nothing more or less than honest worship.
It is giving praise in our hearts that God is God and nothing is impossible to Him.
There is a verse that has been translated like this."If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ Deut 7:17 The next verse says, "you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt"
That isn't a very good reading as the answer doesn't follow the question. What if it were written like this, remembering that there is no punctuation in the Hebrew:
"If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I?' how can I dispossess them? 18 you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt"
The point being that it isn't just us who are limited by our disbelief. God is limited how we see our situation. We are told that God can do "far more abundantly" than we can ask or imagine, "according to the power of God at work is us!" How we take that for granted! How much power is at work in you?
Stir up the power of God at work in you, give Him the worship He deserves. Do not short change Him. Do not bind Him up in religion. Give Him complete free reign to be God and do His will, not the limitations of our imaginations
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