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Thursday, January 28, 1999

Be Real - "Why?"

The study today seeks to answer the question “Why must I be real? Why must I be a doer of the Word?” The simple answer is, because God is.

What is the first thing you think of when I say the word “Tacos”? Answers include “amazing,” “Taco Bell,” “Kendra” and so forth. How about when I say the word “Dogs”? Some say “ugg,” other “cute.” How about the word “Clowns”? The group responds with adjectives such as “freaky,” “scary,” “big red noses.” With clowns - you either love them or you hate them. To be honest, I don’t know many who are in the former category. If all you ever knew of clowns was a happy Ronald McDonald at your birthday party when you turned six, then you will probably be ok with the idea of a clown. However, if you have ever watched a movie with a spooky clown, even the thought of one will give you shivers.

Now, how about the words salvation?..... church?..... God? All different responses. A.W. Tozer said in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The greatest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most [important] fact about any man is not what he at an given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like” (pg 9).

You see, how we view God will affect how we live our entire life. No one can escape that fact. Some will say, “I don’t believe in God, so it doesn’t affect me.” Wrong answer. It does affect you. How you view God (or how you choose not to recognize God) will play out in everything you do from your choice of professions to how you treat your parents to how you brush your teeth. It is like those yellow tinted glasses, you know, the ones that turn everything you look at into a “1960’s-I’m-Happy” picture. The glasses through which you view God will color your whole life.

So, the question is, how do you view God? How does the world around us view God, Scott in his book, Exemplary Husband outlines a few different view of God found today. (Not the typical textbook on theology, I know, but I was reading through it and found them interesting) The list is much lengthier, but we will look at a few.

A very common view of God is that He is a Domestic Gene. He is basically obligated to deliver based on our behavior, the same way a genie is obligated to grant wishes to the one who rubs the lamp. Thoughts such as “If I am “good” - I will get what I want in this life and the next.” Or, “God owes me what I want” rule this persons life. If things are going well, the person is happy because he is getting what he thinks he “deserves.” In this person’s view, they essentially are the god.

The downfall of this view is seen when things don’t go as planned, when the job falls through, when the house goes back to the bank. This is when the person decides that God is either 1. Not loving, 2. Not All Powerful or 3. Not alive. This person normally falls off the face of the religious earth when it comes to any form of real Christianity.

A second view sees God as a Distant Ogre. He delights in forcing others to do what they don’t want to do. This god has been advocated (at times inadvertently) by pastors or missionaries saying things like, “Don’t tell God that you don’t want to go to Africa, because guess where you’ll end up? Africa!” Or, “Don’t ask for patience because God will hit you upside the head with a 2x4!” To this day I still hesitate to pray for patience!

This god enjoys inflicting hardship on His children. This is directly contrary to Scripture such as Matthew 7:9-11 and Psalm 145:8. While it is true that God uses trial in our life (Job, James 1, Hebrews), He does so because He loves us and we are His children in need of correction.

Others see God as some kind of Spiritual Psychotherapist. He exists merely to help them feel better, function better and get more out of life. This god would never discipline for that would hurt one’s “esteem.” This is a very low view of God and a very high view of man.

Others see him as a kindly old Grandpa or a Cosmic Santa Claus. He cannot bring Himself to really hold us responsible for our actions and therefore ignores or overlooks our sin. (for more about these categories, check out the afore mentioned book, chapter 2). This god is “safe.” A wise beaver once corrected a false belief such as this. “Aslan a Man!? said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he- quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.” “The he isn’t safe?” said Lucy. “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you” (The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis, 146).

Still others prefer to think of God as a casual bystander. He is unable to do anything about what is happening in this world. He may like to help, but he can’t. Maybe he doesn’t want to. Either way, he set the world in motion and is watching it unfold.

None of these describe the God of the Bible. They are extremely far from it. We are going to take a brief look at Romans 11:33-36. In the context of these verses Paul is speaking about the mystery of God’s working with the Jews and the Gentiles, specifically in salvation. He has waded through some pretty heavy spiritual things from the beginning of Romans until the end of the eleventh chapter. He began with man’s exchange of the true God for their own ideas. He hammered down the fact that none of us are righteous, no not one! He explained that through one man sin entered this world, and by one Man we can have life. He fells false ideas about sanctification like a tornado through a forest. He draws out the implications of God’s adoption by explaining that “neither height nor depth...” He begins to explain the Gentiles place in salvation and God’s future plan for Israel and then stops. It is as if he had been hacking his way through the jungle and just freezes in place. Before him is magnificent view of miles of lush vegetation, cascading waterfalls and exotic animals. He freezes and says, “Wow!”
He just basks in the glory of God for a few verses. “33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,or who has been his counselor? 35 Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

God’s riches are deep (33). God’s wisdom is deep (33).God’s knowledge is deep (33). No one has ever know the mind of the Lord (34). No one has ever been the Lord’s counselor (34).God has never been indebted to anyone (35). Everything is from God (36). Everything is through God (36). Everything is to God (36). He deserves the glory (36). He deserves this glory forever (36).

He says a few phrases about who God is, and then tells us how it ought to affect us. This passage is immediately followed by an appeal to present oneself as a sacrifice (12:1-2). The reason why we ought to be doers of the Word. The reason why we must “be real is because God is. That is it. Because God is. It is the very reason why we live, it is the very reason move, it is the very reason we are. Because God is.

The flow of the passage is: 1. Discussion of God’s plan 2. Outburst of Praise 3. Call to godly living. How can we miss that? The answer to the question, “Why should I really care?” is right here. If you view God in any other way that how He explains Himself in Scripture you will come up with a different conclusion. The simple fact is “God is the source, means, and end of all things. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and the goal of everything. Therefore He should be praised and glorified forever” (Nelson Bible, 1901).

So, how would taking a different view of God affect the way we live our lives? If you fail to see God as deserving all the glory, you will soon become your own god. You will exchange the true God for yourself. Because all things are from Him, and through Him, and to Him we must live completely for Him. We must be real.

If you have followed me through all of this you will now be faced with a decision. How are you going to pursue the correct view of God? What will you do in order to know God? What areas of your life do you need to change? Well, what are you going to do about it?

Wednesday, January 20, 1999

Be Real - What it does not mean

Read James 1:22
What does it mean? Paraphrase it. Restate it.
Practice what you preach. Put your money where your mouth is. You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk...

The problem we face is becoming “doers of the Word” who are not real “Doers” of the Word. You ask, “How can I be a “non-doing doer”? The dictionary definition of “doer” is - “the person who does something : the doer of the action.• a person who acts rather than merely talking or thinking.” That is the easy part, the surface. There is more to being a “doer of the word” than just doing. I know, that is hard to believe. We do really well at measuring ourselves each week by our church attendance, tithe check, and smile holding ability (some are able to keep a straight smile all the way through Sunday School - as long as no one touches their Starbucks. Impressive.). That is just not what it takes to be a “doer of the word.” Consider this example. A mother of two boys asks them each to clean their room. Both boys go about picking up their clothes they “hung up under the bed,” straightening their dressers, making their beds, and tending to other messes. Both do what their mother tells them. However, one complains the entire time. His mother is too strict, she expects to much, she is a hypocrite because her room is messy too, she is a legalist... Which one obeyed their mother’s instructions? Both of them. Which one honored their mother in what they did? Obviously not the one complaining! Both were “doers,” but only one really did it correctly. You see, it is not just about action, but attitude.

That last thing I want to see in this youth group is simply an external adjustment. In a conversation about the topic of our studies, one of my friends, Dave Casey, made this comment “The last thing you and your youth group need is behavior modification, which is the default mode of most conservative evangelical churches.” I do not expect you to respond to this lesson by vowing to read your Bible for five hour each day, or fast twice a week, or start a special Bible study meeting every night, or join a monastery. I am asking that you consider what you are already doing. Are you a true doer?

We do not need any more burden-passers (Matt. 23:4), ego strokers (23:5), heavenly door-slammers (23:13), hypocrites (23:15), convert-killers (23:15), blind guides (23:16), blind fools (23:17), penny counters (23:23), spirit of the law neglecters (23:23), gnat straining camel swallowers (23:23), inwardly rotting surface cleaners (23:25), whitewashed tombs of dead people’s bones (23:27), prophet killing tomb decorators (23:29), serpents and vipers (23:33).

This is the description that Jesus gave for the Pharisees in Matthew 23. It appears that He was not pleased with their methods of “doing.” If anyone were to be considered “godly,” it was this group. They were the elite. They knew their Old Testament Torah. They knew what all the leaders said about the Torah. They knew all the secret rules and exact procedures. They were respected, they were looked to for spiritual guidance. Even with all their doing, they still were not “doers of the Word.” James MacDonald makes this comment, “On the positive side, the Pharisees took the Bible very seriously. They confronted error, they separated themselves from the world, they were hypersensitive to the application of God's Word. So what's wrong with that? Nothing--that's all fine. But Jesus identified their acute internal problem in Matthew 15:8, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me’."

Take a look at Matthew 15.

Background - Jesus is where? Gennesaret (14:34), this is another name for Galilee. What is Jesus doing? He was healing masses of people (14:35-36). What happens? The scribes and the Pharisees came from Jerusalem (15:1). They made a pretty heavy trek. They would have had to cross over the Jordan, skirt around Samaria, then cross again to meet Jesus. They were serious. Why were they there? Did they want to be healed? No. Did they want to hear the words of life? Probably not. Did they want to worship him? Not likely. They wanted to know if He washed His hands. WHAT?! Jesus was calming the storms, walking on water, healing the sick, and they wanted to make sure He washed His hands before He went to the dinner table! Their mothers must have been real sticklers! My mom made us wash our hands before we sat down, but it wasn’t that big of deal. Actually, this was one of their many rules which they considered sacred. If someone did not wash ceremonially before they ate, they defiled themselves. They wanted to make sure everything was kosher.

Jesus, however, was not excited about their cleanliness or ceremonialness. Is response to their question He fires back, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, Honor your father and your mother, and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. But you say, If anyone tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father. So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites!” (Matthew 15:3-7a).

They had focused on the rules and regulations made by man and failed to obey God’s commands. “Tradition refers to any kind of teaching, written or spoken, handed down from generation to generation. In Mark 7:3, 9, 13, and Colossians 2:8, this word refers to the arbitrary interpretations of the Jews. The commentator Lightfoot gives a number of curious illustrations from the old Talmudic writers, showing the value that they set on traditions: ‘The words of the scribes are lovely, above the words of the law; for the words of the law are weighty and light, but the words of the scribes are all weighty. The words of the elders are weightier than the words of the prophets’.” (The New Manners and Customs of the Bible, 443).

Jesus then pulls the curtain back on a little trick the Pharisees would use to get out of caring for their elderly parents. “Oh, sorry Mom and Dad, you know I am godly now. I can’t take care of you because all I own is God’s now.” It was a lie, they only wanted to get out of their responsibility.

Then Jesus quotes a description of these fake leaders from the book of Isaiah. ““This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” The passage which Jesus was quoting, Isaiah 29:13, states “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men...” Ouch! “Their fear of me is a commandment taught by men.” It’s all in the classroom. There is nothing in their hearts.

James MacDonald sums it up like this, “The Pharisees put on a good show, but Jesus saw right through it. They wanted to look like they had it all together with God, but hadn't privately done the heart business with Him. Looking the part was all they cared about.”

This is not what James was talking about when he said we are to be “doers of the word.” If we are obeying God for the wrong reasons, it isn’t true obedience.

Jesus then calls together those who are watching and lays it out on the table. He explains that no matter what you eat, it can’t defile you (or make you ceremonially unclean). It is what comes out of your mouth that defiles you. What comes out of your mouth is coming from your heart, and your heart is what matters.

The disciples interrupt him by letting him know that the Pharisees aren’t too happy. Obviously not! Jesus has made it His goal to confront their facade. I wouldn’t be happy either! He tells them, “If God hasn’t planted them, they will be uprooted. Leave them be. They are blind guides, that is all.”

You see, God is concerned about the heart - that is where the issue is. The heart of the matter is really a problem with the heart. Out of the heart comes a slew of evil things such as evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander (vs. 19). Earlier during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals that hate in the heart is the same as murder, and lust is adultery. The heart is of utmost importance.

You see, it is not just what you do that makes you a doer of the Word, but what are the attitudes and motives behind it. It all hinges on the heart.

I asked for some examples of things that we do as Christians. Here are some of the responses:
1. Read our Bible
2. Pray
3. Attend Church
4. Rejoice in God
5. Love others
6. Be modest
7. Be a witness
8. Take care of our parents
9. Trust God
10. Encourage one another
11. Be an example
12. Worship God
13. Sing
And the list could go on.

Then I had them give me some attitudes with which we could do these things which would completely negate our obedience to God. Here are some of those:
1. Read our Bibles in order to be able to tell others that we did our “Devotions”
2. Witnessing by force
3. Out of obligation
4. Out of pride
5. Self-serving
6. Out of fear
7. For appearances
8. To be popular
9. To ease a guilty conscience
10. Without love for Christ
And again, the list is not exhaustive.

Being a doer of the Word involves a lot more that mere actions, although those are needed. James pretty blatantly tells us - faith without works is dead. However, it does not mean simply:
1. Showing up to every service in order to keep up appearances
2. Reading a chapter a day to keep the Devil away
3. Keeping your list of “Can’t Do’s” longer than your list of “Can Do’s”
4. Flying below the parent radar
5. Not doing the “BIG” sin - drinking, drugs, or sex

Being a doer of the Word is being concerned just as much about the heart as the action. Let the Pharisees be an example for us, albeit, an example of what not to be. Let’s be doers of the Word.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. (Philippians 3:8)