HOW ARE MYTHS DEVELOPED?

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Now remember a myth is passed on so frequently that you blindly accept it as THE truth and it becomes a vital doctrine in your religious beliefs. Therefore it is, at best, a legend, a sort of spiritual fairy tale that has become a sacred belief for you and your community, yet it is really a well-intentioned falsehood or misunderstanding. For the most part, I don't think these myths we will examine were ever designed with evil purposes in mind. They have developed from one generation to another without questioning its veracity.

There is an old story that illustrates how myths originate and are passed on from generation to generation. It's about a family that always cut their turkey in half before they cooked it. This was certainly very odd by American tradition since everybody always served a whole baked turkey as the centerpiece for the Thanksgiving meal.

For many years this strange ritual went on until a child from the fourth generation decided he was going to find out why his family had such a very "strange" tradition. So he went up to his Momma and asked "why exactly do we cut the turkey across the middle whenever we cook one for Thanksgiving?"

Somewhat startled by such a sensible inquiry, the mother decided to ask her mom exactly the same question the youngest had put across: "Momma, Why 'do' we cut the turkey in half?"

Grandma for her part could only scratch her chin and reply, "to tell you the truth, I can't exactly tell why. All I know is that was how I saw my momma do it, and that's how I've done it all these years. Why don't we ask Great Grand Nanny!"

So they all huddled around the Matriarch as Grandma asked, Momma, why exactly do you always cut the thanksgiving turkey in half before you stick it in the oven?

Great Grandma sat her self up and with a look of disbelief she replied, "Did you never realize that our oven was never big enough to stick a whole turkey in? That's why I always had to cut those turkeys in two,"

Do you see how easily this happens? Now transfer this same understanding of myth development over to the world of spiritual things. Many times the myth emerges out of partial knowledge. You know there is nothing more dangerous than a person who has read only one book on a subject. From the basis of that book and that author opinions are formulated and become fact, until another person offers a different thought on the subject. I am reminded of the man who came to the conclusion about all native American Indians. He said, "All Indians walk single file, at least, the one I saw did." It's a partial perspective!

Myths also tend to be developed with a prejudiced perspective. Whereas a partial perspective is when you don't have all of the facts, the prejudiced perspective is when you don't want the facts. The facts might mess up what you already believe!

A man sat in front of his doctor, claiming that he knew that he was dead. The doctor assured him that he wasn't dead-depressed, maybe, but very much alive. Nothing would change the patient's mind on the issue. So, the doctor sent him on a research project to the medical library. The research would conclusively prove that "dead men don't bleed."

When the patient finished his research, he returned to see his doctor. The doctor asked, "What did the research say?" "Well," said the patient, "it is clear that the medical literature says that dead men don't bleed."

"Perfect!" replied the doctor. The doctor immediately went over to the patient, stuck a needle in his arm, and the man began to bleed. Without any hesitation the patient jumped up and proclaimed, "Dead men do bleed!" Now, that's a prejudiced perspective! Don't confuse me with the facts. My mind is already made up! Especially is this common within religious circles!

There is one other perspective that breeds myths. It's what I call a passive perspective. A passive perspective is when you have the facts, but don't act upon them. You are committed, but not involved in the behavior that the commitment requires. This is, by far, an epidemic in our society! Committed, but not involved! You know what to do in your marriage, but don't do it. You know what to do with your children, but don't do it. You know what to do in the midst of a conflict, but don't do it. You know what to do with your priorities, but you don't do it. It's like the kamikaze pilot who made 33 missions. He was committed, but not involved!

As we examine the person and teachings of Jesus we want to know as much as we can from Jesus, Himself. We want to examine Jesus and His teachings as objectively as possible. And, we want to examine Jesus and His teachings actively and not passively. This last approach can make the most difference. I don't want this examination of Jesus and His teachings to be just another intellectual exercise. It's one thing to know Jesus and His teachings and quite another thing altogether to do your best to follow Jesus: Follow Jesus because of His impeccable character and life. As you continue to follow Jesus, you will find His teachings to be most meaningful and fulfilling. And, if you embrace following Jesus as your lifestyle, you may discover how to relate to your Creator in a personal way.

HAVING EARS TO HEAR & EYES TO SEE

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There is a universal truth in the marketplace: "Only 5% think, 15% think they think and 80% would rather die than think." We live and move in herds. We go along and rarely question what we hear. This is especially true after hearing things over and over throughout our lives. The tendency is to accept without question whatever we hear that is attached to a Scriptural verse and delivered by a pastor, teacher, guru, priest, imam, or monk we trust. I call these blind beliefs "myths" that are passed on so frequently that they become THE truth and a vital doctrine in our religious beliefs.

Once we have embraced a given myth, we tend to use it to establish that we are more right than another. There is something in our humanity that works overtime to be right, which makes those who disagree with us wrong.

I have been caught up in a series of myths my entire life. After growing up in a Christian home, attending a Christian liberal arts college and a four year graduate seminary, I went along with many of the myths without questioning what I read or was taught. The result? My eyes gradually glazed over and I became hard of hearing.

I've spent most of my life seeking to understand how to relate to the non-churched, non-Christian world. My books and speaking platforms have all had a crossover flavor to them and I finally ended up at the peak of professional speaking opportunities on the largest platforms in addition to pastoring one of the early mega-churches.

During that season of my life I came to the conclusion that only Jesus could transform our lives. 1. NOT Churchianity 2. NOT Christianity 3. NOT conversion methods 4. ONLY JESUS

I came to the conclusion that in order to reach the non-churched world I would have to separate myself from mainstream churches and Christianity. So, I did that to a certain degree, but I still had to take up offerings to keep the church and its staff alive.

In the second season of my life Jesus apprehended my heart in a fresh way and poised me toward taking this same "Jesus plus nothing" message beyond the "secular", non-churched world into the 7 major cultures of the world.

So, now my focus and perpendicular learning curve have taken me to a simple understanding of Jesus and the Kingdom. I've spent so much time and energy unlearning a lot of my theological premises I received at graduate seminary while a student and professor. It's been a fresh look at Jesus and His message of the good news of the Kingdom. His message was not the church, but all about the Kingdom. He only mentions "church" on two occasions.

In this journey now we are working with the 7 primary cultures of the world-Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem, Jewish, Animist, Christian and Atheist/Agnostic. We don't present Christianity to them, but Jesus. We teach them to follow the teachings and principles of Jesus as the early disciples did. The results are amazing. Instead of further dividing the world into more warring factions, we are experiencing a new and supernatural unity in the name of Jesus. You see, Jesus unites and all else divides! I am now convinced that Christianity isn't the way; Jesus is!

One of the repeated themes and challenges within the teachings of Jesus is to have ears to hear and eyes to see. Jesus knows our human tendency to drift away, get off-message, become distracted, and to divide up and take sides. So, He warns us to be careful that we listen and see clearly.

We are going to make our way through 32 myths. These aren't the only myths, but seem to be some of the most common ones. It is not my purpose to shake up your faith in any way other than to strengthen it and refocus it on Jesus. As you read through each of the myths, remove your religious blinders, think and evaluate what you believe Jesus' teaching really is. Don't be afraid to go with His teachings, when they counter things you have believed all your life. It may be a little shocking at first, but when the light bulb clicks on in your head and heart, you'll know what is true.

Jesus without religious baggage is awesome, attractive and even irresistible! The only thing Jesus requires of you and me is to be interested-to have ears to hear and eyes to see.

If you are Muslim, know that your holy Qur'an teaches the uniqueness of Jesus and reveres Him most highly. If you are Buddhist, know that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, loves the teachings of Jesus and encourages people to study them and follow Him. If you are Hindu, know that there are millions within your culture who have come to love and follow Jesus as did Ghandi. If you are Jewish, do as your many scholars are doing and study this Jewish Rabbi for yourself. If you are agnostic, you may be better able to check this out for yourself, who this Jesus without religious baggage really is.

If you are Christian, you may have the toughest time examining these myths. It's because you think you already know Jesus. What I have found to be true is that many Christians seem to know a lot about Jesus, but don't really know Him and follow Him.

Whether Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, agnostic or Christian, Jesus will never ask you to leave your culture. Jesus supersedes all culture. As a Buddhist friend said to me: "Jesus trumps everything!" If you myth out on Jesus, you will find that you are missing out on life at its fullest!

WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT?

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As we move along in debunking several life myths we will spend most of our time with what I like to call "mything out on Jesus". There is a general myth that continues to emerge. For the most part, we have moved beyond the "mamby-pamby, meek-and-mild" Jesus that was pictured in the movies for so long. The Jesus in movies today is more rugged, yet he still has eyes that are set in a scary sort of way. You wouldn't leave your child with this Jesus. He is just a little weird and alien-like.

The genuine Jesus I want to introduce to all who will listen is attractive, irresistible and highly relevant in your life-personal, family and professional. Jesus and His teachings applied in your life will help you make sense out of life, make relationships work, make a difference in your world and make positive life changes as you face the struggles of life. This is why the old question of "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?" or WWJD? really is a most valuable measurement.

Recently, I have come to realize how relevant Jesus is in every dimension of life. Jesus fulfills all religious longings in every culture. Jesus reverses the direction of man's search for God. The good news is that God is searching for you. Jesus dissolves alienation at every level. He has also proven to be highly effective in global peace negotiations.

There is another dimension that we have found to be true and that is that Jesus knows your business best. Most people in the corporate world would never even have the thought that Jesus could have any business relevance to their particular skill or expertise. However, we are demonstrating that this is dead wrong. Now, having worked in the self-help world at the highest level with the best motivators-business, spiritual and psychological experts on making life work most effectively, I know that the principles used by these experts and gurus have come from one source-JESUS.

There is an incident where Jesus came to the shore where several of His disciples were. Let's check out what happened: Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, "Friends, haven't you any fish?" "No," they answered. He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Think about this situation. These businessmen (fishermen) were experts-highly skilled in their chosen profession. Jesus comes along, after they have been fishing all night without any success. He then offers them some professional fishing advice: "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." They took the advice from this non-professional bystander and found His advice to be most successful.

To me, this incident illustrates how effective Jesus can be in your profession, too. It isn't something that requires proof; it requires practice. It requires testing it out. As we debunk the many life myths that revolve around Jesus and His teachings, I am counting on you testing Jesus out in your life.

More than anything else, Jesus brings common sense into the world. This common sense is the result of living life according to the universal principles of life Jesus taught. When you follow these principles, your life makes more sense, relationships work, a significant difference is made in the world and in the midst of crises you will be empowered to make positive life changes to get you through the piles of life. To illustrate this common sense approach to life, I want to share with you one of my favorite stories that speaks for itself to demonstrate viewing life from a higher perspective:

An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, only a little while.

The American then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked, "but what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

To which the American replied, "15-20 years."

"But what then?"

The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions! Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Now, from this story do you get what's most important in life? Stick with Jesus and His teachings and you will see things more clearly and avoid a lot of unnecessary stress and pain. Oh, you'll still experience stress and pain, but you'll be able to tell what's really important!

THE PURPOSE OF BEARING FRUIT

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Jesus finishes up His teaching on fruitfulness in verses 8-11 where He sets forth a few results:
 8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." Two things of note here: First-God, the Father is uniquely reflected as we abide in Jesus and bear much fruit. I'm sure you have noted the progression in this chapter. We've gone from no fruit, fruit, more fruit and now much fruit. This progression of growth takes time, so enjoy the time.

Second-By doing this abiding in Jesus and bearing much fruit, we uniquely prove to be His disciples. Again, note that He is not saying that you are My disciples by knowing anything or following a list of do's and don'ts, but by abiding-hanging out with, connecting with, staying with-in Jesus as a branch abides and stays connected to a vine. Here is the formula, if you like, for being a disciple! There's no course or class! It's simply abiding in Jesus so that you are receiving your very life flow from Him. You in Him and He in you!
 
9 "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. 11 "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." 
 
Jesus delineates two more benefits to those who abide in Him and He in them: First-You will be loved by Jesus in the same way His Father loved Him, so that you can abide in His love. Second-You will be given the joy of Jesus-His joy may be in you-so that your joy may be made full! How incredible is that! Someone says joy is the inner quality of life that enables you to enjoy the scenery on a detour.

So, what is being fruitful all about? What's the ultimate purpose bearing fruit? In a small gathering a few weeks ago we were discussing the parables of the Kingdom and focusing in on the sower and the soils. When I pointed out that the only action in the invisible form of the Kingdom is the sowing of the seed. One of the women in the group had a terrific insight. She said, "You know you have to be fruitful in order to have seeds to sow. Fruitfulness produces more seeds of the Good News of the Kingdom and then you sow these seeds from your life." Whoa! This blew me away! She's right!

This is why it is so important for us to be fruitful-bearing the fruit that Jesus, the Vine, produces in and through us. If we aren't fruitful, then we end up planting things other than the message of the Kingdom. We tend to plant seeds of traditions, denominationalism, doctrinal distinctives and man-made rules and add-ons. And, these seeds are unfruitful and useless with respect to Jesus and the Kingdom. What we want are the seeds produced in the fruit Jesus is producing.

Being fruitful is why we must seek to reach ourselves first. We get so bent on reaching the world that we frequently miss our own hearts. If I am abiding as a branch in Jesus, the Vine, then what I am experiencing can be given away or planted in the hearts of men and women around me. By the way, this is why Jesus was not concerned about "how many", but that the few really "get it"!

So, we are to be in the flow of planting seeds-the Good News message of the Kingdom seeds. And those seeds will naturally come out of our fruitfulness in relationship with Jesus. Note, in the Kingdom there is nothing said about "planting churches", only "seeds". This planting of seeds is most biblical as you read through the Acts of Jesus. The Good News message of Jesus and the Kingdom is planted in a new city or region. Sometimes those who were in the flow of planting these seeds remained there for a period of time and many times they kept moving on, after the message was received. Paul, Silas and Timothy spent 3 ½ weeks in Thessalonica and a major explosion echoed forth out of there.

Several years ago my wife's cousin committed suicide. I had met her and the family about a year before this tragic event. They were a prominent Catholic family in Lodi, California. Since they had a visiting priest from Asia who was difficult to understand, they asked if I would speak at the service on behalf of the family. We counted it a great privilege to participate.

The Catholic Church in Lodi is a large facility and with standing room only there were well over 1000 in attendance. My responsibility was easy and I was the only one anyone was going to understand, too. I spoke on behalf of the family and offered comfort only in the person of Jesus plus nothing. After the service, I met several people who were pleased with what I had said. One lady in particular still stands out to me. She came up to me outside and asked, "How long can you stay here in Lodi?" I quickly responded with, "Our flight is this afternoon, so only a few hours." She made it even clearer when she reiterated her question by saying, "I mean how long can you stay to continue teaching what you shared today in our homes here in Lodi?" Again, I put her off with our afternoon flight time.

On the way home it hit me like a ton of bricks! This woman was expressing to me a very large, open door to stay in Lodi for a day or two and continue the ministry with the people who were in such shock over this untimely death. I really blew it! I continually grieve over how I handled that encounter. That door was so open that anyone could have driven a Mac Truck right through it, but I had to catch a flight.

A NEW STRATEGY FOR THE TIMMONS-We are moving into a phase of our walk with Jesus and with others that is taking a little different twist. We call it THE LODI STRATEGY. We have friends in many cities around this country and beyond. We are seeking to visit these friends for coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner, taking friends with us from our local fellowship, to share and interact with our friends about this message of Jesus and the Kingdom or JESUS PLUS NOTHING. We are looking for initial small gatherings in these cities and then see what doors Jesus opens up. We may stay one day or we may hang out in that particular city for a few days.

In other words, we are looking for Jesus to open up the doors for us to continue in the flow of planting the Good News seed of the Kingdom. We're not looking to launch anything or set up any groups or organizations in these cities. We only want to introduce "Jesus plus nothing" to those who are interested. We believe the Jesus movement will explode in the hearts of men and women as we follow through with these old and new friends.

Pray for God to raise up interested people for us to visit! Pray about what this might look like in your city! Pray about helping to make this happen!

This is ACTS 29 in action! The purpose of bearing fruit is to continue the planting of seeds in the hearts of men and women everywhere.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF ABIDING OR NOT

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In John 15:1-11 Jesus gives the three primary relationships of life-your relationship with Jesus, your relationship with other disciples of Jesus and your relationship with the world. Each relationship builds on the other. The first is the most important of all and it pictures the disciples as a branch attached to Jesus, the vine. So, Jesus is the vine and His disciples are the branches who have the natural purpose of being fruitful. I want to work our way through the first 5 verses today and then the rest of this section tomorrow. 1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Jesus begins speaking of two kinds of branches-one that is not bearing fruit and one that is bearing fruit. Note what is done to each one. First-the branch that is not bearing fruit. It says in most translations, "He takes away". At first glance, it sounds as if the unfruitful branch is somehow removed from being a branch. I don't believe this is what is meant here. The word used here might just as easily be translated "to lift up." TO LIFT UP THE BRANCH. Now that makes more sense to me! We're dealing with branches and a common problem with branches is when they droop down and touch the ground. Touching the ground will surely destroy the branch and its fruitfulness. So, God, the vine-dresser, when He sees a branch drooping and touching the ground, lifts up that branch and places it where it can be fruitful again. I love this! The Lord is so committed that we become fruitful that He is in the vineyard looking for those who have drooped to the ground.

Second-the branch that is bearing fruit. On the other hand, the branch that is bearing fruit must be pruned in order to increase its fruitfulness. That pruning is painful, because the pruning process requires that not only the dead parts are cut off but also part of the living parts as well.

So, have you ever been one of these branches? Have you ever been drooped down so low that you have become unfruitful? Or, have you found yourself questioning some of the painful experiences in your life? Either way, be assured that the Lord is more devoted to your fruitfulness than you are! He will do anything to bring you to Him and then to make your life meaningful and fruitful-anything!

It seems that there are two bottom-line requirements from Jesus here. FIRST-He requires that you be interested-interested enough to lean in with your heart and seek more from Him. SECOND-He requires that you cooperate with being a branch. He'll do the rest. You can't produce fruit; only the Lord can do that!

Jesus continues to describe this unique relationship between the vine and its branches and explains how it all works: 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you." This is the most dynamic principle you'll ever encounter! It's a reciprocal relationship! You abide-remain, stay with, wait on, hang out with, continue with-Jesus and Jesus remains, hangs out and continues with you. Are you getting this? Jesus, the Son of God, created you to be completely inhabited by Him!

Jesus goes on to say: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." Jesus goes on to say something that blows my mind! I have read this over and over and talked about it more than most passages of Scriptures, but Jesus is speaking of a daily, moment-by-moment reality. Just as a branch is unable to be fruitful on its own, so we cannot do anything without hanging on to our relationship with Jesus. But wait a minute. Does He really mean I can't do anything!!!??? What Jesus is saying is that we cannot do anything without recognizing, depending and drawing our strength from Him. Can this be true? Is it true in your life?

Dr. Dallas Willard, a friend and marvelous professor (USC) says on this subject: "However we may understand the details there can be no doubt, on the biblical picture of human life, that we were meant to be inhabited by God and live by a power beyond ourselves. Human problems cannot be solved by human means. Human life can never flourish unless it pulses with "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe." (Eph. 1:19) But only constant students of Jesus will be given adequate power to fulfill their calling to be God's person for their time and their place in this world.

There is no better visual for all who want to walk with Jesus. Note that He doesn't say "If you abide in Me, you can be a more faithful believer." He doesn't give any alternatives to being a branch. He doesn't give any other option than being a branch. He gives absolutely no wiggle room at all. We are expected to be positioned as a fruitful branch, intimately connected with Jesus, the vine.

These words resonate with me: "Abide in Me and I in you. Without Me you can do nothing." Do you believe this? Do you see the power of this image of a branch and a vine? There is no way you can bear fruit on your own and there is no way you can do anything that really matters for the Kingdom, UNLESS you hang on to the vine for your strength, nurture and power. Do you want it? I want this with all my heart. Let's go for it together! Let's make like branches and abide in Him!