Recently I was sledding with my niece, nephew, my wife and another family from our church. We were sledding down a short but steep hill. At one point in the hill, you couldn’t help but scream or hold your breath because you were no longer able to maintain control. You had no other choice than to ride it out. Sometimes you crashed and other times you slid gracefully till you came to a stop. My last time down the hill I decided to ride down with my wife, I was in back and my feet hung out the front of the plastic sled. Ideally, I was supposed to keep my legs up but the steepness of the hill caused first my left foot to catch into the snow and pulled the hamstring in my left leg. My right foot caught and twisted my knee, which I heard snap. Needless to say, that hurt!
I couldn’t walk anymore in my own strength. My right knee could no longer support me and whenever it gave out I was in extreme pain. The hamstring muscle in my left leg made moving it almost impossible. I needed help. I could no longer rely upon my own will and determination to make it back up the hill and eventually to our car.
Now it wasn’t that I didn’t have to exert some effort, in fact it took quite a bit of effort on my part but I now had to rely on the support of those around me. Thank God they came to my aid, with their help and support I was able to lean upon them and make it up the hill and to our car. At home I had a knee brace and crutches waiting. We don’t have insurance so I could not go to a doctor.
My wife’s grandmother recently had a heart attack that caused her to go into a hospital and she is now in a rehabilitation facility. When asked how long she expected to be in the facility, she said, “about a week.” She is a strong-willed woman who doesn’t like to rely on others to take care of her. She is 89 and her husband has a similar character trait.
This past week, I listened to the family’s banter about her unwillingness to look to others for help, but I understand. It is difficult to believe that others are really willing to help. Many of our cries for help seem to fall on deaf ears. It seems like people only help because they have to help and so it is easier to just continue to carry the burden alone. It seems that we always respect those that “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps,” maybe that is because it doesn’t cost us any time, energy or expense when someone does.
Which is right? To only tell your burdens to God and pray that He alone will move heaven and earth to provide help, or is it better to let your needs be made known and appear weak? People say that fending for yourself is a pride thing, but then we immortalize great men of silent faith like George Mueller who never told anyone a need but only prayed to God to meet the need. Hudson Taylor, a contemporary to Mueller, believed that his needs and needs of China should be made known. Who was right? Even then it was a controversy.
Personally, I dislike asking for help. Personally, I am a bit wounded by the concept that the modern day church really cares. I have seen very little caring for the needs of others in the modern church. I have grown to believe that people, even in the church, only want to be blessed – not to be a blessing. While I could teach a Bible study as to why this is wrong, I have to admit that I have often let the focus on my own needs distract me from being a blessing to others. This is wrong and it is my determined goal for the upcoming year to change this about myself. I sincerely believe that God didn’t call us merely to be blessed but to be a blessing.
I have come to believe that I will always be in need, so maybe my life can be an example for others. God help us as the church to be who He has called us to be. "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal 6:10). Are you needing help? Let me know and I will do all I can till your need is met.
Phil 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Who Speaks For God?
Did you ever wonder how some people speak like God tells them what to do in almost every situation; while you struggle to understand His voice and His will? As a pastor, I have heard far too many times, “God is telling me that I need to _____” (fill in the blank with some ridiculous statement that you KNOW is just what THEY want and not really what God wants).
I call this “pulling the God-card.” When people pull the “God-card” it is meant to trump anything that anyone (especially the pastor) might say to them to give advice in opposition. After all, who can speak against God? I have heard of individuals who so believed that everything they did was a result of a direct pipeline from heaven that they could no longer be spoken to about their attitude, the needs of the congregation, the wisdom and leading of the Sr. Pastor, or if what they did was actually in truth of God.
What is the real problem behind letting every whim of your heart have God’s divine stamp of approval? Is it not essentially the same when prophets speak out in the church? Don’t they merely follow the promptings of their heart and add, “Thus says the Lord?” Indeed the greatest problem from those who say that God tells them to _____; comes from those who speak for God in the church. Out of order, they use their “gift” to trump what the pastor says, what the person who has irked them has done, or to get others to do their bidding-whatever it may be.
What is at the heart of the problem? I would say it is that these people have grown too familiar with God. We teach and sing so much, “I am a friend of God,” and that we have bold access to the throne of grace, that we are no longer afraid to touch the ark of God to give Him a “helping hand.”
This is polar opposite of Isaiah’s reaction when he entered God’s presence. “Yo, yo. G-man waaaaasssup?” didn’t dare be uttered in the presence of the Holy King (who by the way was Jesus according to John 12:41). No, the more common reaction of those who were God’s prophets was that of fear (e.g., Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, John, etc.).
There should be a fear of attaching God’s name falsely to our own plans. In the Old Testament, false prophets were to be killed and God spoke very harshly when His people allowed them to speak without rebuke. Here are some examples: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way (Jer 5:31). Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds (Jer 14:14). This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord (Jer 23:16).
Jesus, our friend, tells us that men will be judged for every careless word spoken (Mt 12:36), and that there will be some who prophesied in His name, to whom He will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you (Mt 7:22-23).” My advice as a pastor and one who has heard God speak; don’t be so quick to say, “God told me…,” without fear of what our Holy God would actually say to you in response.
I call this “pulling the God-card.” When people pull the “God-card” it is meant to trump anything that anyone (especially the pastor) might say to them to give advice in opposition. After all, who can speak against God? I have heard of individuals who so believed that everything they did was a result of a direct pipeline from heaven that they could no longer be spoken to about their attitude, the needs of the congregation, the wisdom and leading of the Sr. Pastor, or if what they did was actually in truth of God.
What is the real problem behind letting every whim of your heart have God’s divine stamp of approval? Is it not essentially the same when prophets speak out in the church? Don’t they merely follow the promptings of their heart and add, “Thus says the Lord?” Indeed the greatest problem from those who say that God tells them to _____; comes from those who speak for God in the church. Out of order, they use their “gift” to trump what the pastor says, what the person who has irked them has done, or to get others to do their bidding-whatever it may be.
What is at the heart of the problem? I would say it is that these people have grown too familiar with God. We teach and sing so much, “I am a friend of God,” and that we have bold access to the throne of grace, that we are no longer afraid to touch the ark of God to give Him a “helping hand.”
This is polar opposite of Isaiah’s reaction when he entered God’s presence. “Yo, yo. G-man waaaaasssup?” didn’t dare be uttered in the presence of the Holy King (who by the way was Jesus according to John 12:41). No, the more common reaction of those who were God’s prophets was that of fear (e.g., Moses, Daniel, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, John, etc.).
There should be a fear of attaching God’s name falsely to our own plans. In the Old Testament, false prophets were to be killed and God spoke very harshly when His people allowed them to speak without rebuke. Here are some examples: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way (Jer 5:31). Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds (Jer 14:14). This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord (Jer 23:16).
Jesus, our friend, tells us that men will be judged for every careless word spoken (Mt 12:36), and that there will be some who prophesied in His name, to whom He will say, “Depart from me, I never knew you (Mt 7:22-23).” My advice as a pastor and one who has heard God speak; don’t be so quick to say, “God told me…,” without fear of what our Holy God would actually say to you in response.
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