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A lot of years ago, a famous evangelistic ministry changed the way they kept statistics. For years, they had counted the hands raised at events and called them conversions. As the leadership matured and as they reviewed those conversions, they realized that many of those who raised the hand or made the long walk to the altar had only recognized their need for a redeemer, but had not acted on it. That ministry changed the way many believers viewed those who respond, changing the vocabulary to this day. These are only decisions for Christ. Small change, but an important revelation.
I had a conversation with a friend recently about these issues. He was struggling about an acquaintance of his who had made a decision for Christ, who was claiming to be a Christian, but who was living in total rejection of what many would consider to be a Christian walk. Well call the acquaintance Lonnie. And he was even more concerned about his tendency to judge Lonnie. We talked about the differences between assessing conditions and condemnation, and found scriptures that pointed to God as the One Who makes heaven/hell judgments, and His instruction that those who are spiritual are expected to assess all things. At the end of the conversation, my friend realized that he had an obligation to assess Lonnie's behavior and to gauge his relationship with Lonnie accordingly. There were lots of facets to the discussion, but I thought the most interesting had to do with the whole issue of decision versus belief, and the relationship of those two to salvation and conversion.
While most of these are hard verbs to define, to decide is fairly easypick one! In our scenario, when presented with the facts of sin and a fallen nature, the choice is stay there or pick Jesus. The decision, however, is only a single point in time. It could be a pivotal point, or just another meaningless and unvisited rest stop on a persons journey. Lonnie had mouthed the words, I believe and had gone on with life pretty much unaffected. The decision was really a non-decision, seemingly, just a powerless acknowledgment of human condition. Those of us whove been around and through the processes and training to help new believers know that its a process, that one who decides must use that point of decision as a pivot to change the direction of ones life or it wont help.
What about the verb, to believe? I love that word. Its another one that has so many layers, much like to love or to know, or to worship. Each layer has an intensity and flair. Ive explained this intensity on numerous occasions with a short analogy. I love my wife. Read that in a monotone. Every day, when I am at work and totally focused on my job, I love my wife. She is not in my conscious thoughts, but in truth, she is a primary reason that I am at work. As I earn my living, I am expressing my love for my wife, but shes not often in my thoughts. Its break time and I think about our last conversation, maybe a short email exchange, and I smile. Maybe Ill give her a call, just to touch base, to hear her voice, and to say, I love you. I have changed from loving her to Loving her, if you will. My work day is done, I travel home and find my honey waiting for me. A long, tender hug, a tender kiss, a smile, an eye-to-eye conversation, and things change from loving, to Loving, to LOVING. Can we assign similar values to believe? I think so. I believe that two plus two equals four. I seldom think about it, but that simple truth hides in the core of my logical processes. I believe that Jesus is Lord and that He is God. That truth hides in the very core of my being and colors all of my decisions, consciously and unconsciously. My focus is on the task at hand, but through training, I am busy, doing all as unto the Lord. For me, that is belief, small b. The most intense, BELIEF, is easier for me to relate to than the broader, middle ground of Belief. BELIEF is knowing in my knower that God has given me an assignment or a point of truth for a specific point in time. This could be an expression of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (a word of knowledge or a prophecy), or instruction to turn left NOW.
Perhaps, Belief comes into play in the kind of secondary as Im faced with situations where I have to make large or small life decisions in the flow of life. There are times when I have the opportunity to actually ponder a response to a situation. What do I Believe? What would Jesus Do or Say? What does my training or exposure to the Word of God indicate would be the better or correct choice? I Believe in Jesus enough to consider His thoughts on the matter. Anyone care to weigh in on believe, Believe, BELIEVE?
I would offer that salvation begins when my belief that Jesus could be a solution to my life issues, changes to BELIEF that Jesus has become the solution to all life issues. We all know that salvation is a process, right? To be saved and to continue being saved seems to be a major tenet of the faith. Paul talked about working out ones salvation. Weve been taught about walking out our salvation. As various parts of my life becomes subject to kingdom thinking and kingdom actions, more and more of my life experiences salvation. I get closer and closer to Pauls expression teleios which is translated as perfect or mature. Thats the goal!
I would offer that in this context, conversion equates pretty closely to salvation. It is a process, not a one time function. How does it happen? As I submit to the discipline offered by the church and the Word, as I willingly submit the various parts of my thinking and being to the truths of the Kingdom and walk in His ways, I am truly converted to Christ. I am converted more and more into His image, allowing Him to increase, while my old man decreases. Letting my old man, my carnal nature, the flesh, rule the roost is defying conversion and frankly denying BELIEF, in my opinion. Keeping the old man down and allowing the mind of Christ to reign is witness to the conversion process.
So how do the Lonnies in our circles move from belief to BELIEF? I think that part of the formula is that we need to encourage and expect Lonnie to work at his confession of belief, to explore what it means, and to begin to walk out the truths of salvation. Prayer of course enters into the formula, but speaking encouragement and speaking the Word gently and without trying to inflict guilt or shame is a large factor in whether or not Lonnie begins to walk it out and allow the belief to become that pivot point, the change in life direction.
Onward toward teleios!
So many times in liturgical life, we hear the fundamental historical facts about Epiphany and various theories about the Magi and their visit to the Babe and His mother. How about a quick review? Maybe some busting of Magi Myths?
The kings from the east did not show up at the manger, no matter how many crèche scenes youve seen.
Its a fair deduction that they visited with King Herod within two years of the birth of Messiah. That explains the kings edict to kill the innocents two years of age and under.
We really dont know how many eastern kings there were, in spite of the famous Epiphany hymn. Weve assigned the number three based primarily on the number of gifts mentioned in the scriptural account. Its a plural word, but I dont know if there are clues in the Greek about the size of this group. One teaching heard was that it was unlikely that it was merely three magi. Certainly anyone carrying valuables across the desert would be a target of bandits. Further, the implications are many: that these magi were men of means to present costly gifts such as gold, frankincense and myrrh; that the men of means would travel with all the comforts of home including servants and body guards.
These men were educated in the esoteric arts of the dayastronomy, astrology, history of the important religious communities of the day including the prophecies and how they might relate to their own time.
These men were notable if not known in the courts of Herod. One does not caravan through a country and expect a visit or even an audience with the local ruler. Yet, look at what happens in Matthew 2. The Magi roll into Jerusalem and start asking around, Hey, where is the one born King of the Jews? We saw His star and were here to worship Him. Accounts of this strange encounter gets back to Herod who is deeply troubled by it. After all, HE is supposed to be king over the Jews and there is no other king, at least to the best of his knowledge. He gathers all his own intelligentsia and asks them what the heck these Magi are asking about. The seers, priests, and scribes of the Jews tell him of what their prophets have foretold. There is a little discussed phrase in Matthew 2:3 that says Herod was not the only one upsetand all Jerusalem with him. Thats why the priests and scribes are in discussion with this king. They had all been taken by surprise. They were not expecting God to actually keep His promise of Messiah, or at least not in their lifetimes.
Could it be that the star had disappeared for a time? They had followed the star and suddenly had to stop and ask for directions? They had come hundreds if not thousands of miles following a remarkable star and suddenly, they are off the trail. God works in remarkable ways to tell His people through these non-Jewish prophets just what it is that Hes wanting to do right now in their lives. Balaam had his donkey, the Jews of that age had these foreigners who knew their scriptures better than they did!
Herod quietly asks the wise men from afar to come and share what they know. Its almost as though the Magi are astonished that the king in Jerusalem was so unaware of the world-changing, history-shaking event that was afoot in his realm. Sly old Herod suggests to them that they continue their search and let him know when they found the new King so he too, could go and worship. Yeah, right! He pumped them for information as to when the star first appeared. His own scribes knew that Bethlehem was to be the place of Messiahs birth and if the star did indeed mark His birth, killing all male children born since before the stars appearance would ensure his own rule.
The Magi have been sent off to Bethlehem to seek the Babe and Herod has his own plans. We know that Jesus had probably already gone back to Nazareth after the census and His birth. The Matthew narrative is plenty vague, but not without hints. First, in verse 10, there is a wonderful phrase, that when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Rejoiced is already an extravagant word. Rejoicing exceedingly is like a double dose, but then we get the topping. This is like a chocolate lover receiving a special desert with the richest chocolate cake with the silkiest, perfectly sweet chocolate ice cream, topped with the worlds best hot fudge, all supersized!
The followed the star and as they crested the hill, the star stood in place over the house where the Child was. Verse 11 puts the meeting in a house, not in a stable. They met the Child and His mother. Greek is a fun language and I wish I actually knew the language instead of knowing about it. There are a bunch of words that translate in English to child. Most of us could assemble a list that would provide a reader with an approximate age: infant, toddler, young child, pre-teen, teen, youth, young adult. What I remember of this teaching is that the word here implies a toddler. Can you picture Mary and Joseph in a house in Nazareth watching an incredible array of foreign dignitaries bowing before their toddler and presenting fabulous gifts? All this in a very rustic village, in a very humble residence. What a spectacle it would have been!
This is Epiphany, the revelation of Messiah to the Gentiles. The Magi had come and worshiped. They were visited in a dream and instructed to go home without returning to Herods court.
And, of course, God has His own plans, too. Herod looks and kills in the wrong place. Joseph hears from God to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt, to escape the slaughter. Just days before, there had been an amazing provision so that a sudden trip to Egypt. The treasure that the Magi provided made the escape fairly easy. A couple of changes of clothes for the road, some food, and away they could go. And away they could stay. God had provided the money necessary to protect the Light of the world when HaSatan would have snuffed it out.
And that, in a Dean shaped nutshell, is the story of Epiphany.
Sometimes I hear a phrase or a portion of Scripture and it provokes a whole new train of thought, taking me where Ive never been before. Today was one of those days and one of those moments.
Bishop has been preaching the Psalms of Assent. Today was Psalm 125 and his take on it was all about trust, and the difference between belief and trust. Belief is a head thing. Trust is a foot thing, putting action to the belief. He made me smile with a comment about how so many Christians talk the talk but when it comes to walking it out, we act like atheists. Do we trust Him? There is a sign over the doors into the nave that asks a tough question, Do you really believe that what you believe is really real? What a question, but isnt that the thrust of trust vs. belief?
As we read down through the psalm, there was my moment. Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. If I really do trust Him, I become immovable! Thats amazing enough, but to recognize that in addition to that, those mountains that surround me are nothing less that God Himself surrounding me with His immovable Self. It was the beginning of a wow moment for me. I could see myself as a rock with my triune God dancing around me, Mountains moving in harmony about the mountain that is me. So long as I stay within the circle, I can be the immovable mountain!
I think that somewhere deep down, most men want to be solid and stable. Women, too, Im sure, but for the moment, I can only talk to my own mornings experience. I want to be a rock for my wife and those in my life who might depend on me for things. I want to be immovable on the things that are important, things that are of eternal significance. Now the thoughts began to string together. Gods intention is for me to be that rock. He is doing that calling things into being thing again! Just as He sent an angel to prophesy to Gabriel that he was a mighty man as he cowered in secret, just as Paul wrote in Romans 4:17, God who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
So, He wants me to be that rock. Hmmm. My mind ran to Jesus talking to Peter and changing his name from Pebble to Rock. I knew that Peter was anything but immovable at that point in the story, but he did indeed become the rock that Jesus prophesied. More important perhaps was the recollection of teachings about Romans 12, not to be conformed to the things of this world, but rather to be transformed through the renewing of my mind. Transformed into what? Phillips translation says, Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. The teacher that introduced me to that translation and this verse explained that the point was that Jesus was the mold, and that Gods plan for me was so that I would be always in the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus, more and more like Him with every breath.
For Peter and for me, Jesus was and is the Rock. And if I am to be conformed more and more into His image, isnt part of that image for me to be more and more conformed to Jesus the Rock?
If you are the person in your church that leads the music team and has the privilege/responsibility of choosing the song list for your services, you are in a position of unique influence. By our selections of music, we can say powerful things that can shape the course of the service. So it is important to examine what our motivations are in our weekly choices.
Here's a question I think we as song leaders have to ask ourselves periodically:
Am I using my song list to preach or am I using it to encourage and to worship?
It can be very tempting to try to get our personal theological points across through song choices, and I think sometimes it can be happening without our even being aware we are doing it.
So, you might ask, how would one know if this was happening, and is it a bad thing?
Let's take the second part of that question first. So what is our charge as song leaders? I believe our job is to make a musical environment in which the Body can enter into a time of connection with God. This can happen when our songs are primarily focused to God. There is a time of "washing" and musical encouragement that helps prepare for the connecting part, but our goal is always to provide a platform for believers to meet with God. Unless we keep this goal in mind, our song list can become something that prevents that connection, rather than supports it.
Songs that are too theologically complicated, wordy, or introspective can pull the singer's attention away from pressing into that God connection. There is a time for analytical consideration of those things, but it is not in the corporate worship time. If you are listening to a CD, or in a concert hall, you have the time and intent to enjoy and absorb complicated lyrics and ponder the ideas presented in story, testimony or self-searching songs. In your church service, you really do not have the luxury of indulging that sort of reverie from a time standpoint, nor do you want to encourage a spectator type of format. What you want for your congregation is involvement, either in giving worship to God or in receiving ministry from God.
In visiting various "worshiping churches" I have often seen music used as a corporate "worship vehicle" that might better be presented in a concert format. Possibly because it is currently popular on radio stations, or is from a hot new worship leader/artist that is admired, or the music team likes being "up to date" and fresh. Whatever the case, the songs are apparently added in without really looking at their scriptural integrity or at their appropriateness for corporate singing. These types of songs can be prime vehicles for us to slip into the preaching mode of song leading, because they are often sentimental and grab our imaginations. It seems we are saying something important, when we are really only indulging emotions and romantic ideas.
So we might use them to get across how we were feeling this week, or how we think our congregation should be feeling this week. Or to get people to think about a certain issue that we think is important. It is a subtle deception. We can be convinced that we are just choosing things that support the message of the day or the pastors sermon series, but be actively trying to lead people to our own understanding or thinking. I have been in services where I felt this manipulation through the song list, and it creates a spiritual disturbance and distracts me from focusing my attention on entering into a state of worship.
I do think that most of the time, this is done without any malicious intent or even awareness. But being the fallen people that we are, we can easily succumb to using powers that we have for less than the highest goals. That is why it is good to look at our motivations and our practices in an objective way and really see what we are doing with the power that we have.
How might I know if I was doing this?
Look at the songs on your list. Are they directed to God? Are they what the scriptures say about God? Do they encourage, exhort, or celebrate in a scriptural way using scriptural concepts and truths in a simple, straightforward way? If so, you are on the right track. However, if songs on your list wander through a bunch of musings, stories, feelings or have strings of complicated ideas and lots of words, they can distract from the goal. If the worshipers are trying to grasp a bunch of clever phrases or word pictures that come at them every line of the song, are we really giving them a platform for connecting with God? Maybe we are we trying to teach them something about our personal theology, or we want them to sing a song that we think is cool without thinking through whether it is the kind of song that will advance us into worship.
You might say, well, what about the great hymns of the church? Are they not theological treatises? I would say, yes, the great ones are. But they are great because they are focused. They don't ramble through multiple subjects or get bogged down in sentimentality. They are true to scripture and the idioms are clear and precise. You can learn solid theology from the great hymns. Even so, the great hymns can help prepare us for worship, but they are not always vehicles of worship in themselves. And there are bad hymns and bad or weak songs as well. I think we have to sort out the difference and also be able to characterize songs into their primary focus area of adoration, petition, repentance, self-examination, exhortation, ministry and declaration. And then, be able to use them in their right places in the service.
Hi ho the derry-oh, a-rambling I will go!
Ive been reading a book that will remain unnamed, at least until I finish it. Its about a contextual Jesus through the eyes of what seems to be a liberal historian. From my perspective, its a pretty good representation of what I see as a scholarly book, not pushing one agenda item, but rather exposing thoughts and opinions about all sorts of seemingly minorish points. When that happens, it comes with a lot of subtly negative, critical comments about the folks that many of us consider to be heros. Over and above Messiahs status as divine, over and above centuries of debate, research, and investigation of events, over and above the stance of the vast majority of orthodox scholars of the Bible, there are still those who entice innocent readers and seekers of truth by clever titles and slanted texts.
The book in question was written by a man who sounds in the opening chapters of the book as though hes a believer in Christ. Hes a professor of the history of the Jews and seems to be pretty focused on Judaism as expressed in the several hundred years either side of the birth of Messiah. He brings some things that make any thinker ponder some of our preconceived ideas. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. More on that in a bit. (I did look at the last pages of the book and the author does confess the lordship and divinity of Jesus. Thats a good thing and a relief to me.)
He also writes about events chronicled in the Gospels, narratives about things that Jesus did. This guy, however, writes about the same sorts of things being manifest in the lives of other Jewish holy men. In one chapter, he writes about Jesus various confrontations with the demonic realm. With deftness, the writer presents historical accounts of devout, but admittedly non-deity, Jewish holy men of that time and their encounters with demons. Like the other exorcists of that era, Jesus was treated as just another Who had His own formulae for dealing with the connection between exorcism and healing. It is true that the Hebraic mindset sees the human being as a complete being, mind/body/soul/spirit. Greek mindset subdivides us into convenient components that can be dealt with separately, with little or no connection between spirit and body, for instance. Hmmm.
Those of us who have traveled in Charismatic circles for any length of time, have seen all sorts of healing and exorcistic events. Some Ive seen have been pretty mild, some were pretty wild. Ive been hissed at, called names, glared at with suddenly hateful eyes. Im sure that youve been exposed to similar stuff. If youve studied the Book, youll remember how Jesus and His followers, and even the prophets before Him, did this stuff. Most of how Jesus healed worked against demons was from the position of authority. He simply spoke and things happened. He also did things, however, many of which are very foreign to our western experience. In todays disease-paranoid world, imagine putting one of your bodily fluids in someones ears or eyes! Can we say lawsuit? Im positive that there is something to the authors thesis that saliva has cleansing and thus healing aspects. The mouth is the area of the body that heals quickest. Remember the old adage about licking ones wounds? We see Jesus spit in an ear, saliva-mud on the eyeswas this part of the healing ritual? Was this something that other Jewish exorcists of the era practiced? Or was this a cure that came special delivery from on high, from the throne?
Even though Jesus certainly had an earthly context, I dont believe that Jesus was like other healers or exorcists of that or any other age. How did Jesus do what Jesus did? I think that we have a couple of clues from Scripture. We know that He was up early in prayer, spending time with Father. In John 5:19, Jesus gives us an even bigger clue, that the folks saw the Son does nothing on His own, but rather does only what the Son sees the Father doing. One of my earliest memories of being schooled in ministering to people was to be careful to listen to the Spirit. Dont be praying for or declaring healing on someone unless youre hearing or seeing Father heal that person. In a prayer line with someone whos intent on doing what Father is doing, you might hear prayers for blessing for the one requesting prayer rather than prayers to heal.
The author in question shared that many of the historic healers spent hours or even days praying before what we might call ministry. These people were homing in on what G-d was wanting to do! This author shared one special anecdote about one evidently famous healer who spent an hour focusing his heart and preparing before he ever addressed HaShem! Thats an interesting lesson from antiquity, yes? We do things like confessing our sins and asking that any weakness spiritual, mental or physical would be shown that we could present it to Father that He might make it whole, so that we can be better and more effective vessels of His virtues.
When it comes to dealing with demons, Jesus gave us a bunch of examples. Were these standard operating procedure for healers and exorcists of the day? Do I care?? The point here is still the samewhat is it that Father is doing and how do I do that?
Dealing with healing issues and exorcism issues of any sort are not for the faint of heart or the ill-prepared. Demonic forces play for keepstheyll hurt you. Remember the sons of Sceva the Jewish chief priest? We dont know all the details, but we know that they tried to do what Paul did, but did it by an Authority that they did not know. I love the story and I have my own imaginings about how it came down. The boys were dabbling with exorcism. Were they thinking that because they were the chief priests kids that they had clout? They watched St. Paul the Jewish exorcist and used his formula: Come out of him in the name of the Jesus that Paul preaches! The demonic force answered and I swear I can hear a Jewish accent, I recognize Jesus. Paul I know, but who are YOU? These hobgoblins did not go boo and make ugly faces. This demonic force pounced on all seven of them at once, overpowered them, stripped them of their clothing and then allowed them to flee the house naked and bleeding from their wounds! PHYSICAL punishment for SPIRITUAL warfare! Do not forget that story, ever! Its not there to amuse.
My bishop regularly says, The day after the battle is more important than the day before. What does that mean practically for those who minister, ordained or lay? If Sunday is my day for the ministry team, that means that the days prior, I need to be prayed up. Focus on confessing my sins, asking the Spirit of the Lord to show me anything that can and will be used against me and to deal with it. Confess it, renounce it, throw it out, or otherwise deal with trifles or giants. As dedicated believers, serious about our relationship with our God, we always strive to be clean before Him, but any warrior or athlete prepares differently for the battle than for daily life. Some will describe this in a lot of ways. The point is to prepare. Put on the armor, check the sails and rigging, do all of the warm-upsprepare. Part of the preparation is using spiritual Q-Tips to get the spiritual ears clean. Come ministry time, we need to be ready to see all those in the prayer line or at the rail, depending on the church culturesee them and DEAL with them. How do we deal with those folks in the line?
As compassionate Christians, we want everyone to be healed, set free, whole. EVERYone! Is that practical or possible? No, sadly. Jesus did not heal everyone, and He was God! How do we pray for the sick? Weve prepared, weve asked Father to clean our ears that we might hear Him clearly and know what to do and how to pray. What now? Might I suggest the tried and true? Practice! In this case, it does not make perfect, but it does help us understand and recognize His voice and His thoughts. If we dont hear a clear word for the persons healing or release from oppression/possession, we should not be proclaiming their healing or even praying aloud for specifics.
[Please note: This is the training that Ive received and that I feel has worked for me in my life in ministry. Paul told Timothy to not be in a hurry to lay hands on people. I think that was primarily having to do with ordination or the passing on of spiritual gifts, but what greater spiritual gift could there be than the release of a soul from spiritual bondage?]
If a person comes forward and you feel no unction, pray blessings and peace on the person. Maybe pray for wisdom in handling the issues. Dont patronize, dont lie, dont pray for something that youre not sure Father is seeing.
Jesus was not like the other healers of His day. He was not the average, well-schooled exorcist student of local masters. He is the author of all this stuff! He knows the demons by name and by traits and He knows how to deal with them.
The author of the little book (at least of the point of the book where Im at) is busy dismissing this aspect of our Lord. Jesus knows ALL this stuff!! And if we have ears to hear and are called to the task, we can hear His voice and learn of His ways. In spite of liberal dismissers of the divine nature of our Creator, He's still the very best at what He does, and His is the original!
A ramble this has been, loosely inspired by the appearance of Halloween and the spiritual darkness that too often accompanies it in our society, along with the book being read. I look forward to the thoughts of those who have rambled with me on tonights mental walk.
COMFORT YE MY PEOPLE, SAITH YOUR GOD
Isaiah 40:1 is the home for the very first words sung in Handel's renowned oratorio, The Messiah. Handel and his lyricist were both Christian men and had studied enough of the Word to know how important God's chosen people were to Him. The whole concept of comforting His people is expressed in various parts of Isaiah. In 59:16, God sees that there was no man,and provided salvation by His own arm. In 61:2, part of the Redeemer's ministry is seen in the comforting of those in Zion who mourn.
How can those of us who are not in Israel properly or effectively comfort Israel? After doing a teaching at church where we talked about Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem, there was a need to help people find an outlet for blessing and comforting Jerusalem, to put feet and hands to our desires to help effect peace in individual lives.
As a result, we thought there might be others who find themselves in a similar situation. We can offer four ministries with whom we have had experience, that we would trust with our money and to be our hands and feet in the lives of people in the Land.
<URL url="http://www.icej.org/">International Christian Embassy -Jerusalem
<URL url="http://www.bridgesforpeace.com/">Bridges for Peace
<URL url="http://www.cfijerusalem.net/">Christian Friends of Israel
<URL url="http://www.davidstent.org/">Final Frontier Ministries (Avner & Rachel Boskey, Messianics living in Israel, reaching the Jews through fresh, original music)