Job 40:3-5: Listening Is An Opinion

Yesterday, a friend and I were sitting down at our local hangout when another gentleman (a "Michael Bolton" look-alike) overheard our discussion and joined in on the topic of coffee while he waited for his drink to be readied. Sipping his specially concocted brew from a cup, he held forth on hangover remedies, herbal medicines and the evils of the FDA. Sitting down in the next chair, he continued on to sustainable living, solar energy and  monopolies and the sad state of the education system. After an hour, we said good bye. I have a lot of sympathy for him, because he is me on another day.

These past several days I have been reading through the book of Job as he and his "comforters" have attempted to reason out the cause for all of his suffering. Job cannot understand. But if he was to bring is case, as in a court of law, to whom would he bring it? God. Job recognizes this problem early on when he says: "If only there were someone to arbitrate between us, to lay his hand upon us both...Then I would speak up without fear of him but as it now stands with me, I cannot." - Job 9:33, 35

In our Men's Group a few weeks ago, we talked about all of the different aspects of fellowship, the sharing of our lives together before God. We looked at many of the "one another" passages which describe how we interact. Then we were asked to rate ourselves, where we do well and where we struggle. My confession, before our group, was in the command to "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." (Eph. 5:21) I always have an opinion. And, it seems, I always have to speak it. I struggle to submit and leave my opinion unsaid. Speaking is part of my idolatry of self.

Listening is an opinion. Listening is an opinion that shows my respect for a person. Listening is part of my submitting.

Job finally gets what he wants. The Lord "answered Job" and gives a few case examples (Job 38-39) of why Job might want to reconsider bringing charges. Now it is Job's turn.

"Then Job answered the Lord: I am unworthy-how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer-twice, but I will say no more." - Job 40:3-5

Listening is about respect. Does God want to hear our opinion? Surely. That is part of what prayer is about. But at other times, our prayers and proclamations are an attempt to bring God into court to stand charges. At the heart, it comes back to that key question-God asking, "Do you trust me?" Listening is an opinion.

I wrote in my journal earlier this week: My only prayer is to speak in order to build up, with gentleness. But I have been reminded of that old proverb: Don't speak unless you can improve upon silence.

Listen. It speaks volumes.

Prayers of Blessings

When we went to Turkey, one of our goals was to pray over entire cities where there were few, if any, known local believers. What to pray for? The advance of the gospel, certainly, and a breakthrough in receptivity to the gospel. What else?

As part of our training, we were asked to study a useful little book, Blessings: Ways to Pray In Hope, which described 7 ways to pray blessings for a person, a people or a place. Sometimes we would pray as teams walked up and down the streets of the small cities in the province of Cappadocia. Other times we would pray God's blessing from the top of a hill, overlooking the houses and businesses of thousands of residents. "Prayers of blessings are usually expressions of God's intended goodness prayed by ordinary people who pray in the power of having their hearts aligned with God's heart. Blessings bestow a future. Prayers of blessings are always prayers of hope."

1. Peace. Pray that the Lord of peace extends that over a city, over the leaders, over individual lives and that those who work towards peace would be encouraged. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." - Matthew 5:9
2. Increase. Pray that God will bring prosperity, body and soul and abundance without grief. "The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it." - Proverbs 10:22
3. Family Fullness. Pray for flourishing families and integrity of the generations to follow.
4. Abundant Life. "God's gretest desire is that people be alive with his kind of life" Jesus said he came "that they may have life, and have it abundantly." - John 10:10
5. Provision. Pray that God may provide and protect in every way.
6. Transformation. Pray that God's design for a person or city or a nation be revealed, making all things new.
7. Presence. The best blessing may be to recognize him with welcome as he comes, finishing all he has promised. Pray for the personal presence of God, and that the earth is filled with his glory.

When we stopped stop before a business, or a mosque, or a home, or a garden, we could see some of the people, imagined their lives and prayed blessings over them. Prayers like we would pray for our friends. Not just prayers of rescue, but prayers of blessing.

 

Blessings: Ways to Pray in Hope, WayMakers, http://www.waymakers.org/

God Speak: Change My Life

God Speak: Change My Life

 

This is the transcript of a talk I gave as part of a 4 part "How To Study Your Bible" seminar given at our church. It was designed to follow "Rick Warren's Bible Study Methods".

Part 1: Introduction

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16-17

There are four ideas I want you to walk away with tonight, and I’m going to tell you up front so that no one thinks I have a hidden agenda:

1. The most important thing on Earth for me is to find God and do what He wants.
2. The best place to find out about God and what He wants is in the Bible.
3. God changes my life through the Bible.
4. God changes the world through my life and your life.

 

1. The most important thing on Earth for me is to find God and do what He wants.

 

I grew up mostly in a Baptist church and we looked forward to the day when we would be in heaven and there would be no more divisions. Some Lutherans would be there, represented by Martin Luther. Methodists would be there, represented by John Wesley. Some Catholics would be there (though this idea was a little more controversial), represented by the pope. And we Baptists would be there, represented by….Jesus. [1]

 

Sometimes people want to know, if there are so many religions and denominations, how can they know which one is the right one? But they miss the underlying truth of their question: there are so many religions because (a) we are spiritual beings, (b) the desire for the divine was built into our spiritual DNA and (c) we are spiritually lost.

 

I am so tired of people whining that God doesn’t meet their expectations, how they couldn’t believe in a God like this or that. We want to fashion a religion where our faults are virtues and our pet peeves are sins; where God conforms to the opinion page or Oprah’s guest. I don’t think God sits around fretting because he is not living up to our high standards.

 

Instead, it is our job to find God and do what he wants. The Bible says:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. – Hebrews 11:6

 Did you catch that? God rewards you when you plunge after him; when you are sold out in pursuit of God. An apathetic, gee-I-guess-looking-for-God-would-be-a-good-thing search for God will result in finding a God who is apathetic about rewarding you. The Bible says: 

Come close to God and he will come close to you. – James 4:8a (NLT) 

If you honestly seek God, you will find God. But once you have found God, what will you do with Him? Wilbur Reese once wrote:

"I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a foreigner or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation. I want the warmth of the womb not a new birth. I want about a pound of the eternal in a paper sack. I'd like to buy $3 worth of God, please." [2]

God is not content with a paper sack. He is not just the adrenaline rush of a mountain-top experience to be forgotten when you decide to go bungee jumping. Finding God is not enough, you must find out what he wants, because a true encounter with God is life-changing.  

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. – Romans 12:2a (NLT) 

Take off after the truth and see where it takes you. Because the most important thing on Earth for you to do is find God and do what he wants. The second point is:

 

2. The best place to find out about God and what He wants is in the Bible.

 

How can we find out about God? God is not seen. God is not heard. God is not tasted or touched or smelled. The Bible says that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24a) but the last time I looked, “spirit” wasn’t one of the 5 senses. The songwriter Chris Rice tries to find God and said, “Sometimes finding you is like trying to smell the color 9. 9s not a color. And even if it were you can’t smell a color, no. That’s my point exactly. ” [3]

 

In order for us to find God and do what he wants, God must reveal himself. He must translate. He must interpret because otherwise everything he wants to show us is invisible and everything he wants to say is unintelligible.

 

How God longs to speak to us-to communicate with us—in a way we can understand. Try to explain purple to a blind man; Beethoven to a deaf woman; the scent of strawberries to someone with a cold. And he has tried every trick in the book: visions, miracles, disasters, donkeys, handwriting on the wall and even his Son Jesus. 

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son… (Hebrews 1:1-2a)

There are a lot of letters and books and histories and proverbs that didn’t make it into the Bible. God took his “greatest hits” and had them write it down in the Bible. Why there are so many different types of books and styles in the Bible? Because he was trying to find some angle, some style, some turn of phrase, some way past your defenses so that you would open up and let him come in and change your life. 

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. – Romans 15:4

The most important thing for me on Earth is to find God and do what He wants. The best place to find out about God and what He wants is in the Bible.

 

3. God changes my life through the Bible.

When I was 10 years old, I was an expert on the Guinness Book of World Records. Sonya Thomas, aka the “Black Widow” downed 36 dozen oysters in 10 minutes. The world’s largest pizza was 122 feet in diameter. The tallest man in recent history was Robert Wadlow at 8 feet, 11 inches and he ate over 8000 calories a day. I spent hours poring over the latest edition. I was proud of my specialized knowledge. People used to tell me how smart I was.

 

The Bible can be like that for us. We can listen to the best preachers, quote the most verses, tell the worst Bible jokes (the shortest man in the Bible was Bildad the Shuhite, Job 2:11), but if it never changes our life, alters our habits or makes us more like Jesus, it is wasted.

 

We can say that we believe something, but until what we believe changes what we do, it is just hot air. John Ortberg mentions three kinds of beliefs:

1. Public beliefs are convictions I want other people to think I believe, even though I really may not believe them. Steven Colbert calls truthiness the degree to which something sounds true, even though it may not be true, allowing people with his or her sincerity. (Herod)
2. Private beliefs are convictions that I sincerely think I believe, but it turns out they may be fickle. (Peter)
3. Core beliefs are revealed by our daily actions, but what we actually do. At our core, we have a set of values—a set of assumptions-we cal l that your worldview. These assumptions control what you will pay attention to, what you will ignore and how you organize your mental world.  

God wants to change your life. The words of the Bible are God Himself speaking. He is not speaking just to hear himself talk. He doesn’t just write the Bible to see his name on the front cover “Holy Bible by God” He put His best down because he wants to change your life.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

1. Everything in the Bible is God’s
2. Everything in the Bible is useful. It teaches us, giving us the goods on the right way to live. It rebukes us. It tells us straight up when we’re doing something wrong. It corrects us, helping to get back on God’s track. It trains us, building in us the habits so we can shine for God in any circumstance.
3. The Bible sets you up for success. You are thoroughly equipped. You may not know what life is going to throw your way, but you can be ready when you listen to what God says.

First, the most important thing on Earth for you is to find God and do what He wants. Second, the best place to find out about God and what he wants is the Bible. God changes my life through the Bible and

 

4. God changes the world through my life.

You are just the start of something special that God is doing right where you live. God is able to do so much more than I can know or imagine, and I have a pretty active imagination. And God’s strategy is you and me, together with all of the followers of Jesus, working together. The collective passion and energy of so many changed lives in a room like this one should shatter the status quo. We are the start of the quiet revolution; where the power of God and the people of God change politics and families and marriages and broken lives forever.

 

When I started tonight, I pointed out how difficult it was to find God and to see him. The Bible says:

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. – John 1:18

When Jesus came, it was God speaking to us. Nothing was kept back. But Jesus is gone. Where is the love and compassion of God? Look at what happens, in John’s other book.

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. – 1 John 4:12

We are the hands and feet of Jesus, continuing on his life-changing work in our neighborhood. He is the light of the world and we are the light of the world.

 

Conclusion

Just before giving a lavish party at his estate, a tycoon had his swimming pool filled with poisonous snakes. He called the guests together and announced, "To anyone brave enough to swim across this pool, I will give the choice of a thousand acres of my oil fields, 10,000 head of cattle, or my daughter's hand in marriage." No sooner were his words spoken than a young man plunged in, swam across the pool and climbed out--unscathed but breathless.

 

"Congratulations!" the tycoon greeted him. "Do you want my oil fields?"

"No!" gasped the guest.

"The 10,000 head of cattle?"

"No!" the young man shouted.

"Well, how about my daughter's--" "No!"

"You must want something," said the puzzled host.

"I just want to know the name of the guy who pushed me in!"

 

You have to want to hear God’s voice for yourself; otherwise the Bible is no reward. I can’t force you to make it a priority and I can’t give you any more promises than God has. But I can tell you, from my own experience, that the most important thing on Earth for me is to find God and do what He wants. The best place to find out about God and what he wants is the Bible. God changes my life through the Bible and God changes the world through my life.

 

Training

These next weeks, we will be studying seven different ways that you can use to dig into the Bible. I am going to introduce one, one of my favorites and one that you can use again and again. It is called the “Devotional Method” and it really focuses on how to read the Bible and focus on using what you learn in real life.

 

The Bible was designed for real life. It is not an abstract theological treatise designed to explain a system of epistemology. It is a manual for living. If you just read the Bible it is just information. And “Information without application is abortion.” [4]

 

I’m going to give you four steps for digging in, then we will walk through two actual examples and then I’ll give you a little homework.

 

Step 1: Pray. Pray for insight on how to apply the passage. God is speaking. We are listening. So we (a) ask God to show us what he wants us to do and (b) tell God that we are ready to obey and share the application with other people.

 

Step 2: Meditate. Find a way to fill your mind with the passage. When we read verses, it doesn’t always catch, so we need to concentrate on it in different ways. Here are four suggestions:

 

1. Visualize. Try to picture the situation being described in your mind. Or try to visualize the images in the words. “They will soar on wings like eagles, they will walk and not grow faint.”

 

2. Emphasize. Read through a verse several times, each time emphasizing a different word. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

 

3. Paraphrase. Rewrite the verses in your own words. I have a whole journal where I rewrote the Psalms in my own way. Taking it out of the formal language helped me grasp the feelings. “My God, My God why have you forsaken me.” “God why are you leaving me all alone. Why don’t you pay attention to my pain even though I keep yelling at you about it all day long.”

 

4. Personalize. Put your name in the place of the pronouns in a verse.

 

5. Ask Questions. 

1. Sin to confess? Promise to claim? Attitude to change? Command to obey? Example to follow?
2. Prayer to pray? Error to avoid? Truth to believe? Something to praise God for?

Step 3: Apply. Write out an application. I can’t emphasize this enough. Write down what you have learned and what you are going to do about it. If you can’t write it down, it probably means that you haven’t thought it through clearly enough.

1. It should be personal. Use I, me, my, mine. No use writing applications for other people.
2. It should be practical. Put down a definite course of action.
3. It should be possible.
4. It should be provable. Can you check up on what you have done.

Sometimes you will come across a verse that doesn’t apply to you right now. What do you do? It is about death and how to overcome grief and sorrow? Write them down anyway, because you may have to use it in the future.

 

Step 4. Memorize. Pick a key verse and memorize it. Many times God will work on one area of your life for weeks or months. It takes time to change the old habits. It takes time to build in new habits. The verse can be a reminder on what to do. Some of you claim you can’t memorize Bible verses. But you can quote me the box scores for the Kings game or what your spouse said, word-for-word, before you went to bed six years ago. You remember what is important to you. Give God’s word priority in your life.

 

[1] Faith and Doubt, John Ortberg, Zondervan (2008), p. 28
[2] As cited on http://www.theseeker.org/. Accessed December 28, 2008.
[3] Smell The Color 9, Chris Rice, Smell The Color 9, © Clumsy Fly Music
[4] Howard Hendricks, cited in “Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods”, p. 34

Good Friday

In previous years, we have set up stations around the church, each depicting one of the scenes from the day of Jesus' death and then his resurrection, with readings at each from the gospels. This year, we are borrowing from other traditions and focusing on each of the seven statements Jesus made while he was on the cross. Ranging from elementary school student to senior citizen, each speaker will reflect for 5 minutes on the meaning of a specific passage. I've listed them below, along with my high-level thoughts about their importance:

• Matthew 27:46. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus echoes the pain of David, who looked for God in the midst of public humiliation and abandonment and did not find him. But he suffered shame not for himself, but for us. He shared, for a brief span of time, our separation from God.
• John 19:26-27. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Though Jesus had other brothers who could have taken on the responsibility of care for Mary, Jesus turns instead to John, his 'beloved disciple'. Here we see the bond established by Jesus, closer than family.
• John 19:28. Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." Jesus was intensely aware of his part in keeping all of the promises that God had made in the Old Testament about the Messiah. People build their hopes on promises. The  promises of God are our foundation because they provide the guarantee of his favor even in the middle of difficult circumstances and tough choices.
• John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. It is finished. It is complete. Jesus had spent himself to do all that God had for him. There was nothing more in this life.  Can we say the same thing? Have we fulfilled God's purpose in our generation? (cf. Acts 13:36)
• John 24:34. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The son of God, placed among dying criminals, his clothing picked over as if he's already dead, sneered about by a skeptical crowd, reaches out with forgiveness. It is not a vindictive statement, like we would use to express our superiority and anger, but one of pity, like he used when he wept over Jerusalem.
• Luke 23:43. Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." One of the most precious promises of God is that there is still something more, something better. And it is available, not because of our strenuous efforts on God's behalf, but because of the strenuous efforts of Jesus on our behalf. 
• Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.  Where to we 'commit' ourselves? Are we trusting in ourselves to make it? Are we convincing ourselves that there is nothing more? Or do we place ourselves wholly into the hands of the Father?

Sometimes we over-simplify Good Friday and want to rush ahead to Resurrection Sunday. We want to skip to the happily-ever-after. We forget the uncertainty and doubt of the in-between time, as Jesus' family and closest friends watched him die and be buried. Finding hope and purpose in those times is the lesson of Good Friday because, as the preacher said, It's Friday but Sunday's comin'.

1 John 1:1: Mavens and The Limits of Testimony

A friend of mine, after listening to a speaker enthusiastically describe a new technology at a trade show, described him as a maven. "A maven," he said, "is some one who understands, believes and talks passionately about a topic." Mavens are convincing "evangelists" precisely because they believe their topic is the center of the universe.

The New Testament is full of mavens. John, friend of Jesus, said: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life." (1 John 1:1) Peter, another follower of Jesus, said: "So I will always remind you of these things...as long as I live in the tent of this body." (2 Peter 1:12, 13) Paul, latecomer to the gospel, said: "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" (1 Cor. 9:16)

These men understood deeply the implications of the gospel, believed wholeheartedley in the good news of God's kingdom and communicated passionately and tirelessly with anyone who would listen about Jesus (and event o many who would not listen!) People listened and were amazed. Cities were in an uproar, Roman authorities took notice, governors wanted to hear. They were mavens.

But mavens only take you so far. At some point, you must decide if you will trust what they trust; whether their cause is going to be your cause; whether their passion is your passion, or just a curiousity; a circus side show. Are they really mavens? Or are they frauds? Or are they deluded?

Peter encountered that frustration. "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2 Peter 1:16) Peter had been there. He had seen the Christ transfigured. He had heard the voice of God. But now others would claim it was all clever stories.

Imagine if God were to appear today for an instant to every man, woman and child. I suspect that in 20 minutes, we'd be checking our medications. In a day, we'd be trying to get back to normal. In a week, the news would be full of articles citing experts on mass hallucinations. Not because God didn't show himself, but because we don't want to believe.

At some point, mavens are not enough. They can open your eyes; they can be convincing and thought-provoking. But, no enthusiastic testimony on their part can penetrate the unwilling heart, because you can't borrow testimony. You have to have your own. You have to decide.

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. - Acts 17:27

God would like to give you a testimony of your own, your own story, with him.

He could use a few good mavens; who understand him deeply, trust him completely and communicate him passionately. You just might change the world. Are you willing?

Follow Up on "Lest We Forget"

So right after I post on making teaching memorable, I really struggled in teaching the parable of the "Workers in the Vineyards" (Matt. 20:1-16) The basics of the story are easy. A clock, 20 eager K-2nd graders, and some Monopoly money made the story visible, physical and interactive. But the application. Working in the idea of envy, especially "spiritual" envy was tough and I didn't give it enough time, prayer and thought. Took a nap instead. Looking back, I know it means that I don't know the story well enough yet (per my own axiom). And, perhaps I am too content to rest on my ability to wing it.

The most profound thing said last night during that time was from Addie, a little girl I asked to pray. Though maybe few heard her, I did. She prayed eloquently for the protection of the children of Haiti and that Satan be restrained from them.  That stuck in my mind.

Next week, I'll teach the parable of the tares and the wheat. Any ideas for getting the application across?

2 Peter 1:12-15: Lest We Forget...

Anyone who has read the Bible a few times can testify to its power to surprise. There is always a twist, a nuance, a discovery or even a forceful insight that God drives home each time. I was reminded of this again this week when someone told me how the impact of the word "and" (and not "but"), in a powerful verse, had stuck with him for many years.

So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,  - 2 Peter 1:12-13

My fried used to complain that he had a one-bit brain, because it could only hold one bit of information at a time. As soon as a new bit came along, the old was lost. I think we are like that. Life happens. I have enough trouble just keeping up with what is happening now. The present emergencry crowds out the lessons of a previous hard-fought victory. So we need to be reminded, because we tend to forget.

Yes, we have heard them before. There is no parable, no teaching of Jesus, no exposition of Paul, no story of the Old Testament and New Testament heroes of the faith that hasn't been the subject of sermon or Sunday school lesson. We have heard them before, but we were different people then, in different circumstances.  We have heard them before, but God has re-worked our heart since then.  We have heard them before, but the season has changed to God's appointed time (Titus 1:3).

Peter said: "And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things." (2 Peter 1:15). Don't forget.

I find Peter's words challenging, as a teacher in a church. It is not enough to teach the truth. It is not enough that the teaching is clear. Teachers are challenged to make the truth memorable. He said, "I make every effort..." The burden of the lesson learned is placed on the shoulders of the teacher.

Sometimes memorable is wrestling with words. Try and translate the great truths of God so that a 2nd grader can grasp them. Kosuke Koyama challenged himself, as a missionary, to formulate his gospel message to speak the "language" the farmer plowing his field behind a water buffalo.

Sometimes memorable is retelling our story. The best taught lessons are those most deeply learned. Sometimes God's lessons need soak time. Your story is a story God designed to tell of his glory.

Sometimes memorable is keeping our eyes open. God's lessons are written large and small in the world around us. Jesus didn't have to look far to find subjects for the great themes of the gospel. They were ready at hand: the field, the widow, the rich man, the beggar, the mustard plant and the loaf of bread and cup of wine. Jesus said: "Do this in remembrance of me."

We forget. Tell the old, old story anew. Hear the old, old story anew.  Lest we forget...