Posts Tagged ‘ GOD ’

“TWISTED” AUTHORITY

twisted_logo_thumb-1When I was growing up, one of the things that I hated the most was people telling me what to do. It seemed like everyone in my life thought it was there job to boss me around. Cut the grass, Clean your room, Do your homework… There was my mom and dad, my teachers, my coaches…

My grandparents were the only ones that seemed to want to let me do what I want to do… Me and my brothers would often go and stay with my Granny Davis after school. She would let us watch TV, play Nintendo, and she would practically force us to drink homemade chocolate milk, which had an extremely unhealthy amount of sugar in it, and eat fudge rounds, swiss cake rolls, and twix candy bars. Anytime that my Granny Davis told us to do something it was usually fun. Before I tell this story you have to understand that Granny Davis had been scratched by a rabid cat and had developed a hatred for animals… ALL ANIMALS… We would be sitting watching TV and she would run into the room and say “boys, come here, hurry. There’s a dog in the yard.” And she would give us little BB guns and she would slowly crack the screen door that opened to the back yard and tell us to shoot the dog. Not to kill it… Just to run it off. I know that seems cruel and I would never do that now, but at the time I found it strangely satisfying. And I realize that probably means that I could use some kind of therapy… But anyway back to what I was saying…

At times it seemed like everyone around me was controlling my life. I could not wait until I could be out on my own… Out from under all the rules… Making my own choices… Living my own life…

I’m sure that everyone reading this has felt that way at times. We get tired of all the rules and all the people telling us what we can and can’t do. The bottom line is that we don’t like having people in authority over us. What I mean by people in authority, are people who hold power or control over us. People who have a position in our life that allows them to make and enforce the rules. People like Parents, Grandparents, Bosses, Teachers, Police Officers, Coaches, etc… We don’t like Authority… UNLESS we are the ones in authority. We love authority when we are the ones in authority. We like being in charge, We like making the decisions, We like making the rules, and we like telling others what to do. We also love authority when the authority supports us. When something happens at school and the teacher or principal says we’re right and the other person is wrong… We love authority then. When we get in a wreck and the State Trooper says that it was the other person’s fault and their insurance has to pay for your car. In moments like that we love authority and are thankful for authority. But when the authority says we are wrong we want to rebel.

So apparently there are times that we like having authority in our lives and times that we absolutely despise having authority in our lives. But the bigger question is what is the proper response to Authority. Why do we have Authority. And are there times when it is appropriate to disobey Authority. Let’s take a few minutes to look at what the Bible has to say about authority.

1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4 For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. –Romans 13:1-5

You see, the bottom line is that God works through authority. He always has and he always will. Most everything around us works on the basis of chain of authority. When God made the world, he put man in authority over the animals. When God created the family unit, he put the man in authority over the family. In the church God intends for their to be a chain of authority. In the military, there is a chain of authority. In government, there is a chain of authority. In the animal kingdom there is a food chain. Even Jesus said that He was under His Father’s authority. Everything that God has ever created is intended to operate through a chain of authority. When that chain of authority is broken chaos breaks out. The simple fact is that God works through authority.

The TWIST that the devil has used when it comes to Authority is this. He convinces us to look at the WHAT instead of the WHO. He tricks us into thinking that we can evaluate whether or not we agree with WHAT we are being asked to do without any regard to WHO is asking us to do it. He deceives us into thinking that we should evaluate the RULE without considering WHO the RULE GIVER is. When we fall for the TWIST we begin to think: If I Disagree with a Rule, I will Disobey the Rule, Regardless of WHO the RULEGIVER is. So when our parents tell us to be home by 10:30 we evaluate whether or not we like the RULE. We think it is ok to decide if WE think the RULE is FAIR. If not we feel justifies in breaking the rule. We fall for the TWIST.

GOD SAYS: It’s not about WHAT, It’s about WHO. It’s not about whether or not we like the RULE. It’s about whether or not we are going to choose to obey the RULEGIVER.

I know what some of you are thinking. Your thinking in your head, so you mean that I have to obey every authority no matter what. But what if they tell me to do something that illegal or immoral? Then can’t I disobey that authority?

To that I would ask this question: “How often has someone in authority over you asked you to do something illegal or immoral?” For most of us the answer is NEVER.

But if that does happen, the first step is for you to directly tell them that you cannot do what they asked. And tell them why. If they still insist that you do it, you simply go to another authority. You appeal to the next authority over them. If the authorities over them insist you obey and what they are asking you to do is illegal or immoral, you must respectfully refuse and be willing to suffer the consequences.

For example, if a teacher at school tells you have to give a presentation on why you don’t believe in God. You should first go to the teacher in private and respectfully explain to her that you cannot do a presentation on why you don’t believe in God because you do have a relationship with Him. And offer an alternative subject. If she still refuses, then go to the principal who is in authority over the teacher. If the principal says you have to do the presentation, you can go to the superintendent. After appealing to every possible authority, they still say you have to do the presentation, you must be willing to suffer the consequences of not obeying. But most of the time the problem can be solved by simply appealing to a higher authority.

Now that we have dealt with that excuse, I want to share with you two reasons why you should stay under your earthly authorities.

1. If we train ourselves to evaluate the WHAT and not WHO when it comes to our earthly authorities we will do the same with God. If we take each individual RULE and decide if we agree with it instead of looking at WHO MADE THE RULE, we will do that with the Bible. You will begin to pick and choose what parts of the Bible you agree with and what parts you don’t agree with. That is exactly what Satan did in the Garden of Eden. He twisted the truth. He convinced Adam and Eve to look at the WHAT and not the WHO. He convinced them to look at the RULE and not the RULE GIVER.

2. God says, you cannot be out from under your human authorities and be under God’s authority. Once you choose to step out from under your earthly authorities, you also are choosing to step out from under God’s authority. Once you choose to step out from under the guidance and protection of your earthly authorities, you are choosing to step out from under the guidance and protection of your heavenly father. And that is a dangerous place to be. You can blame God all you want to for the consequences that you have to deal with when you step out from under your earthly authorities, but remember, you made the choice.

Don’t you want God to direct your life? Then you’ve got to stay under authority. Don’t you want to end up with the least amount of regrets possible. Then you’ve got to stay under authority. I can almost guarantee you that if you look back at your biggest regret in life. That night that still haunts you. That conversation that you wish had never taken place. That choice that you wish you had never made. If you were honest about it, you were probably disobeying some authority in your life when your biggest regret took place. And I can pretty much guarantee you that you weren’t obeying someone in authority over you when you made that big mistake. You definitely weren’t obeying God.

And just using a little common sense, don’t you think that if you would learn to trust that God works through authority you could avoid future regrets. I promise you that if you live by the principles and advice given in the Bible, you would have a much better life from here on out… In fact, I dare you to prove me wrong on that.

You see the devil has TWISTED the way that we see the Bible. We think that is a book of RULES intended to keep us “Under Control”. We think somehow God is trying to keep us from having any fun… That Is the TWIST. You see, in reality the Bible was intended to show us how to live life to the fullest. It is how the CREATOR OF LIFE shows us how to really LIVE LIFE. And one of the ways that the Bible says to live life is to live under authority.

2009
07/10
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Staying in Love

Recently, I was preparing for a message series called “Staying in Love”. It was all about how to not just Fall in Love but what it takes to Stay in Love. I began studying Philippians 2:4.

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

I heard Andy Stanley talk about how when you first fall in love with a person, you become interested in what that person is interested in. However, over time we begin to stop pursuing what our partner is interested in. In order to stay in love we must make the choice to continue to pursue the interests of our partner. I thought back to when I first met my wife. She was interested in Tennis. I didn’t even own a tennis racket. But all of a sudden, I became interested in tennis. I looked forward to playing tennis because we were falling in love. However, over time my interest in tennis began to fade. Typically we quit pursuing the interest of our partner once the initial excitement and newness of the relationship wear off. In order to Stay in love we must choose to continually pursue our partner’s interests. When I began to study this passage, I went out and bought my wife and I tennis rackets. What I have found is that as I have made the choice to pursue my wife’s interest in tennis I have genuinely grown to enjoy tennis. What I learned is that sometimes when we choose to pursue your partners interests they actually become our interests.

Then I began to think about a scripture that said:

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

Some people think that this scripture means that if you love God enough he will give you whatever your heart desires. But when I studied this passage I found that it really meant that when you pursue God and his interests overtime God will change your heart. Your heart will desire what God desires. It was just so amazing to me that the same principle that applies to pursuing the interests of our partner applies to what happens when we choose to pursue the interests of our heavenly father.

2009
06/03
CATEGORY
Dating
GOD
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Temptation

Our students watched a video about temptation last night. We learned that every time we are tempted, their is more at risk than what we see in that moment. There are ALWAYS repercussions. Giving into temptation can STEAL our FUTURE. We must learn to hit the pause button when we are tempted and look at the consequences that come with giving into that temptation… Giving into temptation can also STEAL our FAITH… Every time that we are tempted we are faced with the question: “Do I trust God and do I really believe he knows and wants what is best for me?” When we give into temptation we are telling God that we don’t trust him in that area of our life… We challenged everyone to write the following phrase on a notecard and place it somewhere that they will see it every day.

“TEMPTATION, You will NOT STEAL my FUTURE, You will NOT STEAL my FAITH”

2009
04/30
CATEGORY
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Shootings in Samson, AL

Many of you know that I am from Samson, AL. In fact many of my family members still live in Samson, including my parents. The shootings that took place Tuesday afternoon have taken a huge toll on our community. Most of you have seen the images and heard about the gruesome rampage that took place. In times like these people often ask “Where was God”. I would like to answer that question by saying that I believe that the heart of God is breaking for the family’s of the victims. In no way do I believe that what happened was God’s will. What took place was the result of a disease that we call SIN. Ever since sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, it has been reeking havoc on our world. In the case of Michael McLendon, sin had hardened and numbed his heart to the point that he took ten people’s lives and then took his own. The only cure for this disease is trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. He came to give us life by giving up his own. He came to defeat death and sin. In a situation like what happened in Samson, all I can say is that we trust that God can use something like this for the good of those that love him (Romans 8:28). I cannot even begin to imagine what it must be like to lose a wife, mother, child, or any other loved one in this way. But I can offer this encouragement for those who have put their faith in Jesus: We will see our loved ones again in heaven.

_45555745_jex_309357_de27-1As for the question “Where was God?” I would like to share with you that I know God was with my family while this rampage was going on. My aunt and little cousin had just left the gas station 5 minutes before the lady was shot and killed there. My mom works across the street from that gas station at Samson Banking Company. They had just closed the curtains and were preparing to leave when the gunman began shooting at the gas station. My dad owns Samson Hardware and Supply just a block down main street from the gas station. He had walked out on the sidewalk to see what all of the noise was. He said it sounded like fireworks. Then he heard the phone ring inside the store and went inside to answer it. During this time the gunman came by his store shooting out the windows across the street. If my aunt and cousin had stayed five minutes longer, or my mom had left work a couple minutes earlier, or if the phone hadn’t rung… God was with my family and I am thankful. My prayers go out to all the victims families.

2009
03/14
CATEGORY
AL
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Leadership: “Don’t Be That Couch” by Andy Stanley

stanley_250w_tnThese are some notes I took from Andy Stanley’s talk at Catalyst One Day. I hope they are helpful.

Introduction:
Programs should be an answer to a question or meet a need.

I. Whereas programming begins as an answer to a question, over time it becomes part of organizational CULTURE.

A. As culture changes, many of the questions remain the same, but the answers DON’T.
B. The tendency is to institutionalize our answers.
C. If we institutionalize an answer, the day will come when it is no longer an ANSWER.

II. We must continue to be more committed to our mission than to our PROGRAMMING or our MODEL.

A. Over time, sustaining the model can become the MISSION.
B. Over time, the model can work AGAINST the mission.

III. Points of Discussion

A. What have we fallen in love with that’s really not as effective as it used to be?

B. Where are we manufacturing energy?

“If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what would he or she do? Why shouldn’t we walk out the door, come back in, and o it ourselves?” –Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove

C. What are our organizational ASSUMPTIONS?

Leaders must bring the underlying assumptions that drive company strategy into line with changes in the external environment.

The assumptions a team has held the longest or the most deeply are the likeliest to be its undoing. Some beliefs have come to appear so obvious that they are off limits for debate.

2009
03/04
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LOVE TRIANGLE

triangle1Many of us are doing everything in our power to make our relationships better. Husbands want to grow closer to their wives. Wives want to grow closer to their husbands. Parents want to grow closer to their teenagers. Teenagers want to grow closer to the person that they are dating. Deep down inside, we all know that our relationships could be better. We listen to Dr. Phil and Oprah. We read books on relationships. But we just don’t seem to be making much progress. I would like to suggest to you that maybe we are working on the wrong relationship. I believe that as you and the person that you are in a relationship with grow closer to God, the two of you will grow closer to each other. It is what I call the “Love Triangle” (see picture). I also believe that the “Love Triangle” explains why many of your relationships aren’t working. Perhaps you are really growing closer to God and the person that you are in a relationship with is either not a Christian or is not growing closer to God. You are moving in different directions. You are actually moving farther apart from each other. This is why relationships between Christians and non-Christians rarely work out. I hope that the “Love Triangle” will help you better understand and evaluate your relationships. I would love for you to leave a comment about this post.

2009
02/19
CATEGORY
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Admitting the Truth

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” –John 8:32

This has to be one of the most quoted verses in the Bible. Most of the time it is used to encourage people to tell the truth about something. We love to throw verses at people don’t we? This is a great one to use when you want to guilt someone into telling you the truth. However, I believe that when you look at this passage of scripture you will find that it is much more than a one liner to use when it is convenient.

Jesus is talking to a group of Jewish followers and tells them that if they really are his disciples (followers), they will “hold to” or obey his teachings. Lesson #1: Don’t call yourself a follower of Jesus if you are not going to live by His words. Jesus was not looking to see how many people would “say” that they were his followers. He was looking for people who would do what he said even when they did not understand. Even when it cost them something.

Jesus said only after we choose to follow and obey his teachings would we even be able to know the truth and live in true freedom. The problem is that most of us don’t realize that we are living our lives based on lies. Lies that others have told us, lies that our culture has told us, and lies that we have told ourselves. We don’t understand that we are slaves to the lies that we have bought into. This is not a new problem… Even 2000 years ago when Jesus was talking to these Jewish followers they did not realize that they had bought into lies and those lies were causing them to live in spiritual slavery. Check out verse 33

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” –John 8:31-33

They are just like us. They didn’t even think they needed to be set free. The sad thing is they were slaves, physically and spiritually. Physically, they were under Roman rule and all throughout their history as a people they had frequently been been under the control of other nations. Spiritually, they had grown up in a religious system that taught them that if they were sick it was because of sin in their life or the lives of their parents. They grew up in a religious system that taught them that God was distant and impersonal. Jesus spent much of his time here on earth trying to correct people’s misconceptions about who God was and what He was like.

When I look at my own life and the people around me, I realize that we all need to open our eyes to the lies that are keeping us from living in the truth and freedom that Jesus was talking about. And the only way to do that is to study his Word, the Bible. Lesson #2: We all need to be set free

Here are some areas that I think we all need to look at and decide whether or not we are living in the truth:

How we handle relationships (Marriage, Children, Parents, Friends, Dating)

How we handle our money

How we spend our time

How we make decisions

2009
02/10
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When God is Against You…

A couple of weeks ago our small group was watching a message on DVD. Part of the message was about 1 Peter 5:5-7. As I listened to the message and later re-read the verses, I was blown away by the implications of what it said. Check it out:

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,

Most of us know that “humility” is basically “not putting yourself first”. In essence we all have our own dreams, hopes, and desires. Some involve the type of family or marriage “I” want, the type of car “I” want to drive, the size house “I” want to live in. It can even be something as small as what movie “I” want to see this weekend or where “I” want to eat tonight. Humility is putting what others want before what “I” want. Now look at why the Bible says we should do this.

because, “God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

Do you realize what that is saying? God “opposes”, resists, or works against people who are proud (People who put themselves first). I don’t know about you, but I don’t want God working against me.
I know that many of you are thinking, “If I do that, people will take advantage of me”. To be completely honest, people probably will take advantage of you if you live your life this way. But did you see what it said? “God gives grace to the humble”. Basically that means that God will give you what you need in the moment for the moment. He will be active in your life. He will work with you, not against you.
You may be thinking: “What about my dreams, hopes, and desires? Am I just supposed to forget about them?” Well, look at what it says next:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.

According to this scripture, if I live my life putting others first “in due time” God will lift me up. Maybe not in the timeframe I would like, but He will lift me up. He will take care of my dreams, hopes, and desires. And in the “mean time”, before the “due time”, look at what it says:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

God says, “I care about you”. “I really care about you”. Every dream, every hope, and every desire. No matter how big or how small they seem. God invites us to basically dump everything on Him. Tell him how you feel. Tell Him how it hurts to wait. While you are putting others first and waiting for God to lift you up, God says “unload all your worries and concerns on me.” All I know is that I want God on my side, not working against me.

2009
01/23
CATEGORY
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This Christmas

n37857008129_5382With Christmas only a couple of weeks away, many of us are looking forward to opening those gifts that are already collecting under the Christmas tree. We can hardly wait to see if we got what we wanted. When no one is looking we dig under the tree to find the gifts with our name on it. We feel how heavy it is. We shake it. We try to guess what might be in each box and bag. We wonder what surprises await us on Christmas morning. We all love Christmas and we all love gifts.
The question that I want it ask is, “what do you really want for Christmas?” Is it a CD, a computer, a car, clothes, shoes? What is it? How are you going to feel if you get it? How long will the feeling last? How long before it gets old? How long before it is out of style?
Maybe a few weeks. Maybe a few months. The truth is that most of the things that are on our Christmas list will not keep us happy for long. The excitement will fade and life will return to normal and we will be left empty and disappointed until next Christmas.
But what if there were some things that we could ask for that would really matter? What if there were some gifts that we could give that could change our relationships for the better? I think there are gifts like these.

Hope
Many of us HOPE that this next year will be better than this past year. Some of you are ready to put this year behind you. Christmas is a time of HOPE. A time that we look forward to a new start. Most of you would say that you HOPE that your grades will be better next year, your dating life will be better, your relationship with your parents would be better. I would be willing to bet that most of the people on your Christmas list would love to have HOPE that things will be ok. Most of your parents would probably love to have hope that their finances will be better, that their jobs will be better, that their marriages will be better, and their relationship with you will be better than this past year. Your brothers and sisters probably would love to have HOPE that their lives will be better next year, and so would your friends.

Peace
I believe that we all would love to experience PEACE this next year. Peace at home, Peace in our friendships, Peace with ourselves, and Peace with God. A peace that says everything is ok between us. That all of the arguing and tension would end. That all of the hurtful words would stop. That all of the guilt would go away. That all of the stress will go away. Deep down, we all want peace.

Love
More than anything, I think we would all say that we would like to feel loved. We would all want to know that the people closest to us really love us. Despite our mistakes and despite our flaws. We would all want to know that the people we love the most love each other. For many of you, you would want to know that your parents love each other.

The good news is that Christmas is about all of these things.

HOPE
Christmas is all about HOPE. HOPE that through JESUS things can be better. HOPE that He is in control. HOPE that He knows our future. HOPE that He knows our heart. And HOPE that HE knows what we need.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. –Jeremiah 29:11

PEACE
Christmas is all about PEACE. In fact, without Christmas, there would be no peace. JESUS is the only way that we can experience peace at home, peace in our relationships, peace with ourselves, and Peace with God.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. –Luke 2:13-14

LOVE
Christmas is all about LOVE. In fact, Christmas is God’s first step in showing us His love. And we when understand what real love is, then and only then can we experience love in our other relationships.

“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” —which means, “God with us.” –Matthew 1:23

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. –1 John 3:16

Will you accept these gifts of HOPE, PEACE, and LOVE

Will you give these gifts of HOPE, PEACE, and LOVE

2008
12/10
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GOD VIEW

godview-main_02I think somewhere along the way we end up believing two things about God. First, we tend to think that God’s primary goal is for us to be good. Do you know what I mean? I think many preachers could save us all a lot of time if they just got up in the pulpit and said, “Be good. See you next week!” Isn’t that really all we think they are trying to say anyway? To me, it seems the message always comes back to that one thing: Be good. It makes God seem like some old man in heaven who just wants to make sure we are doing all of the things we are told to do. It seems like the most we can expect in life is to follow a set of rules and behave.

The second thing we tend to think is that God’s other primary goal is for us to be happy. I don’t know if this is necessarily stated by a lot of Christians, but I have always believed this. God’s goal really is for me to be good, and if I am good, then God will reward me with happiness. Why else would I try so hard to live differently, right?

The problem with both of these views is what happens to our faith when we aren’t good or when we aren’t happy. What happens when we mess up? What happens when God doesn’t do what we expect Him to do? When God isn’t what we expect God to be, or when we aren’t what we think God wants, we just walk away.

It’s interesting to me that we think God wants us to be good and to be happy. Are those two things even true? Where did that come from? The Bible is filled with stories of people who followed God and did what He asked, but I’m not sure they were always completely happy. Moses had to wander a desert for something like 80 years. Jeremiah got stuck in the city sewer. Paul got shipwrecked and abused so many times, I lost count. And then there’s Jesus . . .

What about being good? God always doles out punishment and reward according to our actions, right? Noah got drunk. David had a child out of wedlock. Jonah preached to the Ninevites but was still resentful. Yet God was still able to use them for good. And then there was Mary, who was so good that she got stuck trying to explain how she got pregnant as a virgin.

I have to wonder, do we need a different Godview? There are many of you who need to listen to what we’re talking about because you aren’t happy. Maybe God didn’t do what you asked. He didn’t come through. Or maybe you need to listen because you are on the verge of walking away, knowing you are not really good. You have guilt about things that you’ve done. And instead of feeling guilty, you would rather just indulge in being bad and walk away from a God who would make you feel guilty. If either of those sound like where you are, then you desperately need to listen because you desperately need a different Godview.

What we are going to say is going to shock many of you. God’s ultimate goal isn’t for you to be good. And it isn’t for you to be happy.

Let’s look at a story together from the book of Matthew. This is a fascinating story because it’s a glimpse at communication between Jesus and someone who was extremely important to Him. This person had a very unique role in Jesus’ life and in the gospel story. This person was actually born around the same time Jesus was born. He was Jesus’ second cousin, and he spent the first part of his life teaching about Jesus and preparing the way for Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus was ready to begin His ministry on earth, He went to this person first. And this person had the very special privilege of being the one to baptize Jesus. For those of you who have grown up in church or have read the Gospels, you might already recognize him. The person we are talking about is John the Baptist.

In this passage that we are about to look at, John has already baptized Jesus, and Jesus is traveling and teaching all over the region. Jesus has selected 12 men whom He called apostles and to whom He had given authority. Jesus has given sight to the blind and healed a paralytic man. Jesus ate with the outcasts of society and preached comfort for those who mourned. But His second cousin, John, was stuck in prison.

So John sends some of his followers to go find Jesus. And that’s where we pick up the story:

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3 NIV).

What a crazy question for John to ask! John’s whole life had been dedicated to proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. What was it that made John start asking these kinds of questions all of a sudden? It would be like a math teacher questioning the quadratic formula. But I think Jesus knew exactly what John was asking. I think Jesus understood John’s uncertainty. John knew a lot about Jesus, but he didn’t know everything. And John’s present circumstances were shaking his view of who Jesus was—he needed some reassurance.

Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me’” (Matthew 11:4-6 NLT).

Everything that Jesus mentions is something most of us would call “good,” right? If you were blind and you received sight, you would be pretty happy, wouldn’t you? Or if you had leprosy and you were cured, you would have a huge grin on your face all the time. But Jesus’ last statement is a contrast to all of those wonderful things: “God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.” Essentially, He’s communicating that even if the “good” and “happy” things don’t happen, the person who follows Him no matter what life brings is blessed.

What was Jesus doing? He was adjusting John the Baptist’s Godview. He was basically saying, “You need to see Me differently. Where you are now doesn’t change who I am, but your view of who I am does need to change.”

Sure, Jesus is capable of doing things that make us happy—and He sometimes does—but His ultimate goal is not our happiness. The Bible is full of stories about people who did not get what they wanted all the time.

We often think that if we do the right Christian thing then everything will be fine every time, but the Bible is the story of people like John the Baptist, who did the right thing and still never got what they originally wanted. For a while they must have felt like everything had fallen apart. But even the horrible things that happened to them were not the end of their stories. From what Jesus said, apparently He was not overly concerned with His followers enduring difficulty. He knew both good times and hard times would come. So anyone or any gospel that tells us following Jesus and doing what He says will ensure 24/7 happiness—it just isn’t true. We should reject it.

But Jesus asks us to walk this difficult path that He has already taken. He lived it out too. He lived His life not in pursuit of happiness, but in obedience to God—the same God who allowed Him to endure suffering and a painful death.

The problem isn’t Jesus. The problem is that people often present Jesus as a source of happiness and as someone who just wants us to be moral because it is nice and clean and it sounds good, doesn’t it? But like John the Baptist discovered, eventually life isn’t nice and clean. It’s messy. We quickly realize that God isn’t a formula or set of principles for better living. He hasn’t come to fix our lives and our problems. And eventually, if we have a Godview that relies on a God who wants us to be good, happy people, our faith will fall apart. We will have a moment, like John the Baptist when we are left asking God, “Are You the One or should I expect someone else?” Or, “Why won’t You act how I want You to act?”

Faith isn’t about trusting Jesus to make you happy. It isn’t about following Jesus in order to become the best, moral version of yourself either. We may come to Jesus because we are miserable or because we aren’t good and we are looking for something different—but if that is all we came to Jesus for, we will surely be disappointed. Instead we have to learn to follow a God who is bigger than our expectations. We have to come to the foot of the cross, to the person of Jesus, and surrender the things we have clung to for happiness in the past that haven’t been Him. When we come to Jesus with a posture of surrender, we discover that anything we have held on to is up for grabs. For some, it is a group of friends, or maybe an addiction; for John the Baptist, it was control over a difficult situation.

I think the reason we fear surrendering our happiness is because we fear surrendering our control. When we have control, we feel happy. Everything in our world tells us how we can have more control. Whether that’s having more money or getting someone who annoys us to do what we want, we all fundamentally believe that having control means having happiness. In the middle of that is Jesus. He upends our craving for control, and following Him means we start surrendering our need for control over people, places and things. This is where Jesus enters in—not to make us happy or even good; He enters to teach us how to surrender that which wouldn’t satisfy us anyway.

This is where we begin to see God as a Father in our Godview. We call Him a Father, but we usually don’t think of Him as we would a real father. I don’t know how you think of your earthly father, but God is the picture of the perfect Father.

If you were playing with your PlayStation as a little kid, and it was getting in the way of doing your chores or obeying your mother, what would a loving father do? Let you keep playing? No. He would take it from you, no matter how angry you became. If you had a grandparent die as a child, and you didn’t understand what was going on, what would a loving father do? Would he make up some story about your grandparent vacationing on a faraway island, or would he hold your hand through the pain and be there for you in the tough moments? Would a loving father keep you from pain and hurt? Would a loving father always give you what you want? No. He would help you change what you could control, and cope with what you can’t.

Maybe God isn’t acting the way you want Him to. Surrender control. Get down to who God is and who He isn’t. What is the issue? Isn’t the issue, and the ultimate problem you and I both have, that we aren’t God? We don’t have control over people, places or things. We are limited. God doesn’t promise us we are going to be happy. God does promise He is going to be God. That is what has to become sufficient for us. You can keep scheming and trying to get control, but you will never be happy until you accept that you aren’t God. It’s in the moments when things seem to be out of control and nothing is going according to our plans and expectations that we most need an accurate view of God. That’s when we most need God to be God. Jesus demonstrated this in Matthew 26:42 when He prayed in the garden on the night of His arrest. He was about to endure what no man ever would want to. And His prayer in that moment was: “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (NIV).

How often is that our prayer? “Father, may Your will be done. God, I surrender control. God, I ask that Your will be done. Not mine. I will not turn away because of You.”

How differently would life look if you saw God as a God whose primary goal wasn’t your happiness? This means becoming content to rest in the truth that God is God, and praying, “Father, not my will, but Yours.”

We are all like little children in the eyes of God. We want things that we think are good for us, not knowing that they aren’t good for us. When things happen that cause us pain, we can’t see anything but the pain we are in. In those moments we don’t need to get our way; we need the tenderness and love of a Father we trust who is holding us in the middle of what doesn’t make sense and isn’t going our way.

God wants to help us change what we can control and cope with what we can’t. You can cry out to Him. You can scream at Him. You may need to get it all out there before Him—the parts that you are holding back, the distorted view that this life is all about your happiness. Your feelings of anger, sadness and frustration are completely valid. The Bible, especially in the Psalms, documents God’s people crying out in anger, people who are very upset towards God. God is not threatened by our doubts, anger and uncertainties toward Him. God actually encourages it. It’s the place where we get honest and real. And our anger, doubts and tears are part of changing our view of God.

I seldom pray for God to take control. I usually only pray because God isn’t acting the way I want or because I am not acting the way God wants. Our prayers aren’t usually for surrender to a loving Father. They are usually for us to get more control. If what we said over the course of this series is true, that our view of God determines how we respond to Him, imagine how much differently we would respond to a God we truly believed was a loving Father. Wouldn’t we begin to see our fingers loosen their grip on the things we hold so closely?

I don’t know where this lands for you.

Maybe you’re trying to be good to get what you want from God. Eventually you will discover God doesn’t work that way—God’s primary goal isn’t your happiness. Maybe you have been frustrated because God won’t give something to you. Maybe you are like a small child longing for that PlayStation. What stands in the way isn’t a mean father, but a loving one who knows what is best.

Imagine if for the rest of your life you saw God this way. You would handle every disappointment and every hurt with the attitude that God is a God worth trusting no matter what the outcome.

2008
11/25
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