How is it With Your Soul?

The Methodist church is fond of asking the question: how is it with your soul?  This isn't a question most organizations ask people by the way.  it is, however, a question that I want to put forward to all of you today.  How are things going at home and at work?  How is it with your soul?  Moving through this strange and unprecedented time right now, I have learned three things that I want to pass along to you.  

First, I have learned that no matter what happens in the world, the church will survive - and even thrive.  Matthew 16:18 says, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  The Christian church was here before the pandemic, and it will be here after.

Second, I have learned that fear is a curious type of currency.  It motivates us to act in certain ways, sometimes with wisdom and sometimes out of frustration or anxiety.  I will strive to remember that no matter what is going on or how I have chosen to respond to it, I must stay in prayer with God.  This opens up a supernatural highway which allows the Father to help guide and govern us - and it allows for His peace to permeate our souls.  Make the time to regularly connect with Jesus, as it will result in a much more valuable type of currency.   

Finally, I have been reminded how much people need spiritual leadership.  Possibly now more than ever.  Those who have stayed connected to their church family (either through the Internet or by in-person attendance) seem to be doing better psychologically.  The temptation will exist to backslide and mold ourselves back into the secular culture.  I ask that you fight against this temptation, and maintain the discipline necessary to stay involved with the church.  In this fashion, God can keep working on you and refining your faith walk.  The Christian journey was never meant to be accomplished by ourselves; we need each other.

I hope that if anyone were to be asked the question 'how is it with your soul', that you can answer in the affirmative.  That you might be able to say with confidence and gratitude - all is well with me.  Joshua 24:15 says, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."  This statement is true for my own home, and I hope it is true for yours as well.  Let it be well with your soul.  

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Guided by the Spirit

Prolific teaching pastor Nicky Gumbel tells a story about using the GPS (Global Positioning System) application on his smart phone in one of his Alpha Christian small groups.  I can relate to this story, as I am not great with driving directions.  For those of us who are 'directionally challenged', instructions like turn left or go straight tend to work much better than compass directions.  It is my cross to bear, so to speak.  This condition results in frequent use of my own iPhone's GPS navigation software, especially when traveling any kind of distance.

I think many of us rely on this when driving around strange or new places.  If you miss your turn or exit, then the phone will politely instruct you to turn around as soon as possible.  Never yelling or berating you ... but simply reminding you that you have chosen the wrong path.  Now mind you, even the best GPS systems can land you in the middle of a corn field accidentally (especially in rural Iowa).  This is part of the fun though, right?  It has become an adventure I believe, for many of us directionally challenged individuals to simply get from one place to another.  

You will also notice that if you persevere long enough, eventually you will hear those sweet words spoken to you by Siri's phone voice: "you have arrived at your destination."  Mission accomplished; no more missing turns or exits.  Time to get out of the vehicle and join up with your friends or family … the long journey is over.

I imagine that following God's still, small voice might be like this sometimes.  People by and large, are looking for someone to follow who will guide and mentor them.  Someone they can trust.  Politics can often fail you in this regard.  Bosses and organizational leaders may let you down from time to time also.  After all, they are only human, just like you.  But what is it like to try to listen to God's voice in the midst of all the other voices out there competing for our attention?  How can we allow God to faithfully guide us by His Spirit?  How do we zero in on His voice.  

Ephesians 2:10 says this, "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Do you believe this?  Do you agree that each and every one of us has been hand-crafted in order to accomplish something important for the kingdom of heaven here on Earth?  I do believe it myself, and I hope you do also.  I believe it in spite of apparent evidence to the contrary occasionally (i.e.: was Adolf Hitler really also God's handiwork?).  

It is entirely possible that a creature intended for good can lose his or her way and end up performing evil.  I also don't think this acts to discredit the notion that people have a special meaning and purpose from God.  The Bible says that even the Devil himself used to be beautiful and lofty above all other angels, right up to the moment he pridefully rebelled against the creator.  

Bear with me a bit longer, and look at Psalm 32:8: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."  This is one of God's many promises to us from the Old Testament - that if we keep our eyes fixed on Him, He will guide us along the path with love.  

And so these two ideas come together quite nicely to form the following axiom - all of us have been created with purpose and meaning, and God will help guide us to complete the good works for which we were originally created (if we let him).  If we stay engaged with what He is so often trying to tell us through our conscience, and through other people.  It is always possible to ignore Him of course, and many people do.  

This raises a question, however, and doubtless some of you might already be wondering this as you read along.  How do we know for certain it is God that is counseling us in any given situation?   It's an excellent question, especially given that false teachers abound these days.  Some of us might remember that David Koresh used spiritual trust to ensnare many people into following him into the Branch Davidian cult.  You may also remember it was a pretty big news story from Waco, Texas back in 1993.  Things didn't end well for those poor people, and they didn't end well for Koresh either.  

I want to offer one more cautionary tale, and then we can move on.  Many will recall a man named Harold Camping.  If the name rings a bell, it is because he founded a ministry that made the bold claim that the world would come to an end in October of 2011.  Not only did he and his ministry spread this message across the world, but tens of thousands of people here in America also believed him.  They quit their jobs, cashed in their retirement savings, and hunkered down in safe places across the nation to wait for what they thought would be God's Rapture of the saints.  As you can imagine, October came and went.  If memory serves, Camping then tried to save face and make excuses … he even picked a handful of new dates.  But by that time, the world knew he was not listening to God's voice.  Harold Camping was convinced that his ministry was following the guidance of the Lord.  Apparently, no one could tell him any different.  The damage was done.       

The key to deciphering whether or not you are following the Holy Spirit is to stay in the Bible, and stay in fellowship with other Christian believers.  I must mention here also, that it doesn't hurt to stay in prayer with God either.  Had Harold Camping clung to Scripture in this way, I believe he would have seen the command in Matthew 24 telling us that no one knows the day or the hour that Jesus will return.  Attempting to calculate when the end of all things will occur simply isn't possible (or Scriptural).  It was a basic misstep by an extremely intelligent and charismatic individual.  

Likewise, if we suspect that the spirit of God is nudging us to do something, please do run it by other believers.  Feel free to ask your pastor about it.  Run it by your friends in the church - people you trust, not just those who you know will agree with you automatically.  Allow common sense to prevail, and wisdom to kick in.  Give yourself enough time to discern what is really going on.  

If it really is God guiding you, then stand back and watch for what I call 'ordinary miracles' to start happening.  We all know about some of the miracles that Jesus performed in the New Testament: water into wine, walking on water, healing people, etc.  This isn't what I'm talking about here.  What I mean is that God can also move in more subtle and personal ways.  Maybe He shows you a person who used to rebel against the Bible but now is born again.  Maybe you begin to notice some changes happening in your own life.  I have often said that if my current self could go back in time and meet my old self, I'm not so certain we would have been friends!  There were a hundred ordinary miracles that happened to me along the way, in order that my faith walk might have been bolstered.  

You will begin to see these little pointers and signs all around you.  Little nudges telling you to stay engaged, and stay in God.  If you are reading the Bible and talking through Scriptural truth with fellow believers, then you are headed down the right track.  Do not try to do your faith journey alone, it was never meant to be that way.  Instead, open your eyes to what is going on around you, and then open your heart to what God might be telling you personally.  It will be a wild ride, but it also won't violate the Bible.  Sooner or later, you will hear that familiar voice saying, "you have arrived at your destination."

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The Cross is Foolishness?

Once upon a time, I used to think that all churches just wanted your money.  Years before I found God, I was fond of saying detrimental things about congregations and pastors.  Whenever someone would invite me to a service, I would respond by saying something like, "all they are going to do is pass the plate and shake me down for cash."  During that time in my life - by and large - I thought that religious things were foolish.  It is an embarrassing time for me to think about, but only because God has brought me so much further along in my faith walk.  The truth is that many people today think that organized religion and church contain nothing of value.  

1 Corinthians 1:18 encapsulates this very topic.  It says, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."  What an odd statement to make at first glance.  Wouldn't foolishness be a universal trait to recognize?  What does it matter whether or not you have God in order to ascertain if something is silly or not, right?  It turns out there is more to this issue than first meets the eye.    

The first sentence of that passage gives me pause, as it mentions that people who don't respond to the message of the cross are 'perishing.'  This changes things a little bit.  It doesn't say that the unbeliever is simply wrong without any real consequences.  But rather, there seems to be an eternal weight pertaining to whether or not we consider the work of Jesus Christ as empowering or foolish.  

Was I in the process of perishing all those years ago when I used to make fun of going to church?  Apparently so.  I knew of God, but there was no personal relationship with Jesus, and probably very little fruit of the spirit.  I was quick to anger, often full of self, and occasionally downright nasty I suspect.  

By contrast, the second half of the Scripture makes certain that we understand this truth: those who are born again (or saved), have had their eyes opened.  We  begin to see things in a spiritual way, and with a redeemed heart.  Things that once seemed foolish to us begin to make perfect sense in the context of what God is doing in the world.  As the axiom goes: I was blind, but now I see.  

It belies the concept that there really exists two different sets of values - at least that I have noticed here in the United States.  There is a worldly (or secular) system of morality … and then there is a Christian value system.  Occasionally there may be points where these two ideologies match up, but for the most part, I think they are well at odds with each other.

Let us begin by tackling the secular view - that set of morals and values that may commonly be considered as important to the unbelieving crowd.  This value system espouses things like money, power, and importance of self and the ego.  Lives can be built up around a system like this, such that working your way up the status ladder and amassing wealth is of utmost importance.  Prayer may have little or no sway for these people, and regular church attendance might be seen as a waste of time (or something worse).  

Now take as an opposing example, the Christian mindset.  Money matters of course, but it isn't our God.  It is placed rightly where it should be; as a neutral tool which allows us to get through life while serving the real God.  As for power and status, we look to what Jesus said about the workers in the vineyard in the Gospel of Matthew.  Chapter 20:16 states, "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."  Talk about turning the tables on things!  Ask a secular leader what they consider as appropriate for their role, and typically you will not get the answer "putting myself last."  This sort of talk is typically reserved for the mature Christian I suspect (at least it is supposed to be).  As members of this spiritual worldview, we tend to cherish things like servant leadership, humility, and strong faith.  Concepts that are often foreign or foolish to those not acquainted with the work of the cross.

I believe that God's goodness and His heart are offered as a gift to those who are being saved.  This type of grace is bestowed upon the born again man or woman in such a way as to change their value system.  It replaces the gods of money and power with the cornerstones of faith and hope.  At this stage of the game, the work of the cross is no longer foolishness anymore.  It is instead, the very work that God had ordained ahead of time, for the saving of the world from sin and eternal separation from Himself.  

I want to add one additional thought here.  After reading the book 'Tactics' by Christian philosopher and apologist Greg Koukl, I have noticed two things.  First, he says that the unbeliever will often espouse and empathize with the idea that churches are too judgmental.  Second, stating that a church is judgmental is in and of itself … a judgment.  And furthermore, it is a judgement that some will make in the midst of God's transcendent goodness being performed all around them.  They are missing it. 

Take this quote from Koukl on page 181: "In a very real sense, every person who denies God is living on borrowed capitol.  He enjoys living as if the world is filled with morality, meaning, order, and beauty, yet he denies the God whose existence makes such things possible."  In other words, it's like making fun of the cross while denying the impact that the crucifixion and resurrection had on the Judeo-Christian value system.  This value system is predominant in our culture today.  You cannot make fun of your parents, and then expect to go home to their house every night and enjoy pleasant dinner conversation at the same time.  Something about that equation doesn't add up.  We cannot take God for granted one moment, and then revel in the beauty of His natural world the next.  There is no divorcing goodness from God.  

God sent His one and only Son Jesus as a sin offering and sacrifice for you and I.  We may not think we need His help, but we really do.  I don't believe there is any way to achieve the type of humility and redeemed heart that God possesses, other than allowing Him to transmit it to us supernaturally.  We won't ever get there on our own steam … especially if we are making fun of His church at the same time.  The cross is only foolishness to those who are perishing.  Instead, see it for what it really is - a symbol of redemption and hope.  

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Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Not long ago, I attended a public event at a local venue.  As my family and I waited in line with our tickets in hand, I noticed that the person working security looked familiar.  I saw the uniform first, and then when he turned to face the crowd I realized he was one of my former students from a martial arts club where I teach.  How awesome to think that this man had used some of the things we practiced years ago, in order to win a job working security.  I remember thinking that his job that day must have felt a lot like being a shepherd: constantly herding us visitors to the right and left.  Making sure that no one would dare sneak off into a room where they weren't allowed.  I was instantly filled with pride that this man was serving the community in this fashion.  It's so important to have trusted people overseeing 'the flock' sometimes, and there were hundreds of us at this event.  

I always loved how Jesus explained his own role through parables regarding sheep and the shepherd.  John 10:7-9 says this: "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.  All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  They will come in, and go out, and find pasture."  

Jesus declares himself the Good Shepherd.  A term that has become a title for our Lord over the years.  Revelation says that God gives a lampstand to each church, and it is up to us to wield this responsibility well - to make sure our lamp gives off light to the entire community.  Jesus guards us similar to a security guard at times - checking on the flock here and there.  Guiding it like he would his own (because we are in fact his own).

Now let's contrast this by considering a question: have you ever been under the mantle of a bad shepherd?  It's an entirely different thing.  When you cannot trust your leader, and you cannot look to that person to have your best interest at heart, it changes how you live your life.  I remember years ago when I lived in the dormitory in college.  Each floor had one person (usually a fellow student) who also served as hall monitor.  This job required him or her to make sure no one was coming and going who might look suspicious, or who didn't live on that floor.  During my second year, it was essentially a free-for-all.  Our dorm monitor never left his room, and didn't care who did what.  As long as you didn't raise a fuss or complain to his boss, you could drink to excess and party all night long.  As you can imagine, this made for some difficult experiences from time to time.  There was no guarding of the flock; no guidance of any kind.    

If we continue further with Scripture, John 10:10 says: "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."   Of paramount importance in this statement is to discover who Jesus is referring to when he mentions the thief.  Some scholarship suggests that Jesus is talking about false teachers and false prophets.  Still others say that the thief in this story is really the devil himself.  I believe both of these interpretations are accurate, in that the inspiration for a false teacher is usually based on the devil's handiwork anyway.  

If you are old enough (like me), some of you may remember a group based out of San Diego, California called Heaven's Gate.  This little cult was the brainchild of a man named Marshall Applewhite.  He led thirty-nine people to their deaths by hosting a mass suicide one day in the privacy of their compound.  He promised them hope and salvation, if only they would follow him.  If memory serves, he handed out fruit punch laced with poison.  Thirty-nine people laid down in their beds that night, never to wake up again.    

I mention this story because it illustrates the type of 'thief' that Jesus was talking about in his parable.  Applewhite probably sounded convincing and kind.  He probably prayed on vulnerable people who were down on their luck.  And he definitely entered the sheep pen without going through the main gate … he found an alternate entrance.  It is a cautionary tale, and there have been many like it in recent times.  Occasionally, it is only in hindsight that we can be confidant calling something a cult.  You can always judge something by the fruit it produces - and the Heaven's Gate cult produced rotten fruit.  

In ancient times, shepherds played a big role in daily life.  The occupation survives to this very day in some middle-eastern countries.  Shepherds used to lay down in the doorway of their sheep pens at night, so no animal could get out, and no predator could get in.  Like a responsible security guard, nothing snuck by on their watch.  

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Acts 4:12 says that there is no other name by which we can be saved.  He guards the pen and watches over the sheep.  He sleeps in the doorway at night.  Those who are born again and called to be saints for the church here on earth know the sound of his voice.  When he calls them, they follow, and they are happy to do so.  They understand that other teachers and shepherds may in fact not have their best interest at heart.  No bad fruit comes from what Jesus teaches.  

I implore everyone to enter through the main gate.  We know from Scripture that this path which leads to salvation is narrow, and not everyone will make it.  But for those who hear their shepherd's voice from outside the pen should follow it inside.  From that point forward, the wolves and other predators will all sound shallow and empty, as they have always been.  You will be safe inside the sheep pen, because it is Jesus himself who watches over you.  

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