Worship While It’s Warm

As my time in Rhode Island draws to a close, I have been very reflective of the events and changes that have transpired over the past 7 years here and overall, the past 14 years in New England.  While there have been pockets of highlights, in general they have been unpleasant years.  I have experienced pain, loss, shifted directions, unmet expectations and disruptions.  In many ways, it has been a wilderness experience for me.

But I am mindful of the fact that God will intentionally allow us to experience dry, dark, painful, turbulent, disappointing and unsettled times.  His goal is to conform us to the image of Christ so we can reflect His love and His glory while on this earth.   When things are going well, it is much easier to manufacture a christian-esque presentation of our life.  It is easier, I think, to slip on sound choices because positive circumstances can give the allusion of benefits reaped for less than adequate decisions.  But because God is more concerned with fruit than with fiction, He renders discipline and this can only be found in troubling times because there is where the stuff that’s really in our hearts comes out and can no longer masquerade as irrelevant issues.   I think Hebrews 12:4-11 says it best in this Message version:

In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?

My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline,
but don’t be crushed by it either.
It’s the child he loves that he disciplines;
the child he embraces, he also corrects.
God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.

Confrontation is at the forefront during these times.  We confront the reality of our agendas and motivations and we confront the supremacy of God’s plan and purpose.  And it is here that choices must be made to either relinquish the grip on self-serving expectations with a heart of holy abandonment or to cling ever tighter to self-interest disguised as spiritual and prayerful hope.  We can either draw a line in the sand of the wilderness or sign our names in surrender with the proclamation that God will have His way regardless of the suggested external evidence of inadequacy and unmet needs.

So such has been the case with me during my New England, and especially Rhode Island, sojourn these  last 7 years.  I have experienced disappointments and have come face to face with internal unhealthy attitudes.  I have had to loosen my grip on a selfish and skewed agenda.  But as the Hebrews passage suggests, it has been all about the training and that is a beautiful thing. For it has exposed me to a greater joy and freedom that can only be found by yielding to it.  I have put my signature in the sand and remember what God has done during this time in me.  It reminds me of Moses exhortation to the children of Israel at the end of their wilderness journey found in Deuteronomy 8 to remember that it was all about God and His agenda.

As my departure to begin seminary draws near, one question frequently asked of me is “so what are you planning to do with this education”. Of course, not always those words verbatim but the theme does prevail in most questions. While I can recite a list of multi ambitions (which I do have), my short answer is very simple. I want christians to undertand how to read their bibles. Yes, it does seem like a simple goal relative to the investment of time and cost to achieve 4 years of education. But, it is so foundational to understand our christian walk that how we approach the bible will make all the difference in the world.

I have heard many a preacher direct their listeners to just read their bible. Just do it! (as the title of post says). Read it and do what it says. The problem with this approach is that it does not give really give believers the tools to adequately understand what the christian life is about. It does not train the learner to adequately understand how all the books fit together. For it is the fitting together that creates the theme of this christian life - 66 books, written by 40 different authors over the span of 1,500 years in different genres of literature, divinely inspired to create a whole picture of what a loving God would want to communicate to us about Himself and about us.

The Just do It approach will encourage eisegesis through promotion of some passages over others. It will generate favored themes, that if left unchecked will deviate into misunderstandings of what the text is really communicating. Has this not been the case of many a cult? Even within evangelical circles, we can gravitate towards what seems appealing about christianity, because maybe that theme is not weighed against the whole counsel of scripture nor considered in its historical, cultural, grammatical context. One of the most egregious errors I have heard is scriptures ripped out of context to support an idea. Recently, I was listening to Joyce Meyer who was using Hebrews 1:9 to indicate that God was us to enjoy everyday life. Many people in the audience clapped. I cried and became a little angry. While she is one of the stronger deviants, it does demonstrate that had folks in the audience received adequate training in bible study methods, they would not have been clapping.

I think it is doing christians a major disservice to not teach proper bible study methods. We teach them to accept Christ and follow Him, to love God and to serve Him. But this necessitates having the foundation of what that means. And without the foundation of good bible study methods, I think we create a false dichotomy of knowing God but not really knowing God. If you were to write a book about yourself so people would understand who you were, would that picture not get distorted unless the book was understood as a whole? Good bible study methods give christians the tools to allow the bible to say what it says to get that whole picture. For in that, we learn about the nature and attributes of God, the necessity of salvation and the cross and life as we should live it. But people have to be trained in how to navigate through the 66 books to get the whole picture. And sometimes, its just training people how to read, how to follow the flow of thought and the theme of what’s being written. In fact, I think every church should have as a requirement for all members, a class in how to understand the bible.

One book that I shamelessly plug all the time is Living by the Book, by Howard Hendricks. If you are reading this post and have not read Hendricks book, I would strongly encourage you to read it. It provides the 3 components of approaching the bible:

1) Observation - what does it say

2) Interpretation - what does it mean

3) Application - what does it mean for me

If you are like me, you have probably asked and continue to ask the question “What is God’s will for my life?” In fact, I am of the opinion that every disciple of Christ should ask this question modeled after the apostle Paul’s encouragement in Philippians 3:12, To lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us. And laying hold of where God would have you to go requires an understanding, a discernment of when is it time to move like Abraham did in Genesis 12:1.

Most certainly, we ask this question through prayer, through Godly counsel and perhaps searching through the myriad of books written on the subject. So my purpose here is not rehash what others have already written but to provide my perspective through a personal anecdote and to ask you, the reader, how do you determine God’s will?

For 5 years, I was intricately involved with a ministry that was relatively new. Now I had come to this ministry, from a much larger well established ministry with a strong conviction that this was where God wanted me to be at that time. But a couple of years ago, I began to be confronted with some difficulties regarding biblical interpretation, doctrinal misalignment and principles rooted in extra-biblical concepts. My pastor was convinced that for where that church was going, I was supposed to be a part of it. In fact, there had been on some occasions, a generic public proclamation from the pulpit that if God had called you there and you leave before fulfilling what God had called you to do, you would be in disobedience and would not fulfill God’s plan. But as my discomfort grew, I was not so sure that staying was in my best interest. So I left.

After much prayer and research, I landed at a fantastic church, which provided much spiritual nourishment, friendly support and biblical teaching grounded in solid bible study methods. Although this church was quite different than my previous experience in that it was non-charismatic, I liken the transition to finding a spring well after traveling through a hot desert. The long and short of it is that this shift resulted in path I am now taking to seminary.

I recently had a very pleasant chat with my former pastor’s wife. And although it was not spoken, I could not help but wonder if she and my former pastor suppose that somehow I have missed the will of God for my life. When I consider my current direction a result of merging life experiences, spiritual gifting, ministry passions and interest towards helping others, I think of grain scattered on the table being scooped together over time and funneled into a single point. And that single point carries with it a strong conviction of God directing my steps towards seminary. Ultimately, I do not believe that I have missed God’s Will.

So I share this personal story not to criticize my former ministry for I applaud those that will march forward under divine directives to reach others with the good news of Jesus Christ. And while the question of discovering God’s Will has been framed in the context of my personal story, the broader application entails discovering your next steps as you ask the question of what is God’s Will for your life. Through my journey, I have discovered some key criteria that I would like to share for your consideration.

1) God’s Will won’t contradict His Word: I have heard this in many a sermon and would wholeheartedly concur, especially related to very obvious contradictions such as marrying an unbeliever or engaging in activity that the bible clearly outlines as wrong.

But another consideration, I believe, involves the faithfulness of our places of fellowship. Now I am not suggesting for an overcritical and carnal evaluation of what you don’t like about your church. There have been far too many church splits and personal disruptions over what amounted to be differences of personal preferences, interests and comfort. No church is perfect because it is filled with and run by imperfect people. Nor am I suggesting that you leave the minute you hear something you don’t like. It could just be the Holy Spirit convicting you of sin in your life.

But I am suggesting by faithfulness, a careful consideration of how our local assemblies align with biblical mandates regarding their purpose and function. And these would include:

• Sound teaching of Christian doctrine
• Evangelism
• Prayer
• Loving fellowship
• Pastoral care for the needs of the flock

And the purpose is so we will grow, mature and become equipped to lead others. Consider Ephesians 4:11-16 and 2 Peter 3:18. So if any of the above components are missing or skewed or if you are encountering friction in ministry to the extent that learning and ultimately growth is stunted, I believe contradict God’s Word.

2) God’s Will will most likely develop and utilize our spiritual gifts. We have been given spiritual gifts for the edification of the body (see Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12)

1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

God gives us gifts to use and there should be graduating of scope and frequency as these gifts develop. This doesn’t mean that we should expect promotions and platforms at every turn. God still does tests and train our ability to be faithful and submit to authority. But there should be an increased honing of these gifts that translate into making tangible impacts in the lives of others. So wherever He takes us should involve this increase.

And by the way, being a musician is not a gift - it is a talent. If you are involved in music ministry at some point and that direction shifts, it is no indication of missing His will (ok, that one is very personal)

3) God’s Will will ultimately bear fruit: We were once dead trees but made alive at conversion (Ephesians 2:1). At the point of salvation, spiritual renewal begins the process of producing fruit reflective of that renewal including God’s intention for our lives. Consider Ephesians 2:10:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them”.

Wherever God is leading us should result in the fruit of His “good works”, which is compatible with the utilization of our spiritual gifts and yields a positive increase in how we are impacting lives for Christ.

4) God’s Will may involve personal discomfort: Sometimes following God will take us to hard places. I admit, it was not easy leaving my former ministry. But I am mindful of God’s call to Abraham to leave the place of his birth, and undoubtedly, his comfort. And when we sense we are being led away from somewhere and more specifically, to somewhere, it begs the question of who do we need to please, God, others or ourselves.

5) God’s Will may not be immediately understood: In my case, I admit I was puzzled for awhile. If God had called me to this ministry, why then should I be leaving? What’s worse is that I had stepped down from ministry and it was during the course of that hiatus that I began to wrestle with differences. So the philosophy was that I should be restored to that position before leaving. But I knew that I had to leave. I did not get it at the time, but I also could not ignore the growing unsettlement.

I think it is unwise to limit God or think we have figured out how He does things based on our man-made formulas.

Isaiah 55:8-9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are My ways your ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”

6)_No one can really determine God’s Will for you: People mean well and may even have definite ideas about what you should be doing. But I believe that discovering God’s will is born of a strong conviction brought on by the Spirit that lives within us.

1 Peter 2:5 says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Believers are not responsible to pastor, mother, father, friend or foe. Their priesthood before God makes them accountable to God for every step they take. And those steps should be taken with much prayer, much humility and much surrendering. When we do this, I believe most certainly He will lead us to the place we need to go.

Consider what Paul says in Philippians 2:12-13:

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure”.

These considerations are based on my personal journey. Now, I ask you how do you determine God’s will for you life?