WHEN YOUR PRESENT IS OUT OF CONTROL

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When your future is out of control, you will have fear. When your present is out of control, you will have anger. People and circumstances just aren't doing what we want them to do and are out of control-the spouse or child who is out of control, the driver who just cut you off on the freeway, the water heater just blew up and your car has broken down-again!

In addition to the people and circumstances that are out of control, there is one more thing that continues to fuel anger in your mind. It might be called brain-chatter. Here is how it works. You can do the following: Expect the worse. Personalize everything. Live by the power of the "shoulds", shoulding yourself to death. Specialize in mind-reading games, thinking you know what's really going on. Take in criticism and block out compliments. See everything in terms of black and white. Compare, compare, compare. Over-generalize-always and never! Blame and attack. Insist that nothing be changed. You must always be right and never, ever wrong. Thinking this way is a guarantee to fuel your anger!

Anger occurs when you are frustrated with your present being out of control. And every time you try to control your life you are rejecting God's ability and willingness to control your world. There is a certain sense of surrender you must give in order to allow God to control your life.

Maybe the most important factor in surrendering the controls of your life in the present is the Spirit of Jesus Who now lives in all who are genuine followers of Jesus. Just to give you a sketch of what the Spirit of Jesus does in your life, check out the following:

(1) He is the seal of God in us (Ephesians 4:30). He is like an engagement ring that promises the fulfillment of marriage. The Holy Spirit's presence in our lives is our guarantee that God will continue to do His work in us until the return of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus-the presence of Jesus living inside us right now.

(2) He leads us to life. This work of the Holy Spirit is closely related to His sealing. Paul alludes to this work when he says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). Through this work of perfecting us God intends to "conform us to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). He's leading all believers to being like Jesus. In this work of leading us to life "the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).

(3) The Holy Spirit is our enabler (John 14:16,26). It's like spiritual adrenalin! There are times when His enablement is very clearly recognized for what it is, such as at the time of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers permanently). This would be a special enablement of the Spirit.

Many people feel the need to label the experience (the second blessing, the baptism, the filling, slain in the Spirit, etc.), seek it again, propagate it as an experience for everyone, and hold it up as a prerequisite for spiritual maturity. This kind of experience can become so important ("I can't know God's fullness without it!") that people will do anything to get it. Just keep in mind that "all the fullness of God dwells in Jesus in bodily form" and the mission of the Spirit of Jesus is to glorify Him.

(4) He instills desires in us. In Galatians 5:16-17 Paul says: "But I say walk by that which is spirit (reborn spirit), and you will not carry out the desire of that which is flesh (old sin nature). For the flesh sets its desire against that which is spirit, and that which is spirit sets its desire against the flesh". The reborn spirit has spiritual desires in contrast to the desires of the flesh.

(5) He intercedes for us. The Spirit "helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words" (Romans 8:26). He is our constant Helper in our finite efforts to relate to the infinite God of the universe.

(6) He illuminates the Word of God for us. The non-spiritual man (non-believer) "does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are (only) spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things" (I Corinthians 2:14-15).

(7) He gives us wisdom. "But if any of you lacks wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5). It's a wisdom "not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age" (I Corinthians 2:6). He will give us wisdom so that we can make wise decisions for His glory and our good.

(8) He works all things together for good. In the same context where the Spirit is said to be our prayer partner, one of the most popular promises of all is delivered: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). It's not that He'll work everything out to be good, but that He'll work everything (trials, tragedies, etc.) together with something else for good.

Once you surrender your will and the controls of your life over to the Spirit of Jesus one day at a time, then you have the possibility of turning your anger into a force for God and your good. Anger is a feeling that is neutral. You will have these feelings from time to time. There is nothing wrong with being angry.

There are two passages that offer great insights here. In Ephesians 4:26 it says: Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger. In other words, don't let this natural emotional expression of anger fester into resentment. And then in James 1:20 there is a warning: For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.

A lot of what triggers the anger with people who seem out of control in our lives is the tendency for us to judge in a condemnatory way. It's that old problem of wanting to be right and straighten out the rest of the world according to our standards.

To this I want to share something I heard many years ago: There's so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it's very difficult to decide just which of us should reform the rest of us. I think what we must do is to get over ourselves and to turn the controls over to Jesus. And the only way I know to do this is to surrender to the Spirit of Jesus who lives within you.

WHEN YOUR FUTURE IS OUT OF CONTROL

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Every day when you wake up, you are blasted with the message that there is something fearful out there that can harm you or bring on inevitable disaster for you and even the planet. I don't care what channel of news you watch; they are all the same. There is a feeding frenzy on the bad news and when the bad news begins to turn into good news, the news isn't worth covering any longer.

We just witnessed this with the fires here in southern California. When the fires are threatening, there is non-stop coverage to the point of layers of repetition. Or, if there is a slow day in the news-a day where nothing disastrous is imminent or a serial rapist is not on the loose or no asteroid is heading straight toward planet earth, then they still are bound to make something up and interview a man who once talked with a space alien.

Bad news is everywhere! When this stream of bad news is set before us, it is usually about something that is about to happen or could happen-in the future. This bad news always elicits fear. Fear occurs when your future is out of control. Remember years ago when we were in the gas crisis; the lines at the gas stations were amazing. Those who waited in line might have had gas in their tank, but they wanted to top it off. They were fearful that there would not be any gas tomorrow.

Fear is a horrible thing that can actually paralyze you and keep you from moving forward with your life. Fear of the future can also cause you to make bad or unwise choices. There are several common fears. There is the fear of missing out that we see demonstrated by Adam and Eve in the Garden. Moses feared being embarrassed when he was to go before the people of Israel and before Pharaoh. This was a sense of feeling inferior for sure. Paul probably suffered from the fear of being wrong and therefore lived a dogmatic life, attacking the people of the way who were walking to a different drumbeat. Fear is always about the consequences we feel we are going to face in the future. Those who fear the future are most likely to fumble the present!

By the way, have you noticed that many of your fears have nothing to do with you personally? Like when the fires are burning without any possibility of getting to you, it still generates fear. This is also true of the mighty hurricanes that rip through certain parts of our country or earthquakes anywhere in the world. Just like second-hand smoke; I call this second-hand fears. Whatever makes your future spin out of control, fear is the result. Fear turns out the lights in your life so that you are faced with darkness and doom in your future. Fear is the darkness where negatives are developed.

What's interesting is that you can't control the future. There is nothing you can do. It takes a certain amount of pride to think you can. So, what is the answer to this dilemma?

In the book of I John there is a great antidote given for fear-to actually cast it away from you. It says: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OR CASTS OUT FEAR FROM YOU! Perfect love is complete love. If we can experience this complete and full love, then fear will be cast away!

In this passage there are three kinds of love relationships referenced. FIRST-God loves you. This is the first step in casting out fear so that you don't have to experience its paralyzing hold on you. God loves you no matter what and He is not waiting for you to perform well enough to achieve acceptance with Him. This is the essence of the Good News of Jesus. Jesus came to communicate the love God has for us. You are to make the decision to receive God's unconditional love for you.

SECOND-You love God. You are to reciprocate God's love for you by responding to Him-actually focusing on God with a heart of gratitude and love for Him. Practically speaking, as you learn to follow Jesus, you show your love for Him by your obedience to Him-trusting Jesus with everything!

THIRD-You love others. You first receive God's love for you, then reciprocate this love back to Him and finally you are ready and freed up to release your love for one another.

Now think about this! If you are caught up in God's love for you, your love for God and then your love for one another, there is no room for fear. Therefore, fear has to go! When you are experiencing this kind of love in your life, you will find your faith muscle getting stronger and there will be no fear of your out-of-control future. You can turn your fears over to Jesus and let Him at the controls.

Try this on for size: When fear knocks at your door because your future is out of control, send faith over to answer it.

SO, HOW DO YOU HEAR THE VOICE OF JESUS?

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Yesterday I spoke of how important it is to hear and listen to the voice of Jesus, the Shepherd, rather than rely on a series of clichés or even your favorite passages of Scriptures by taking them out of context.

So, how do you hear the voice of Jesus? I want to offer 5 essentials to prepare you for hearing and listening to the voice of Jesus:

FIRST-Immerse yourself in the Scriptures. Read, reread and meditate on the Scriptures as you would a love letter, not a research paper. Always search for Jesus wherever you are reading, not getting sidetracked with anything else. Remember it's the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. This was the mistake the religious leaders who confronted Jesus made and He was continually correcting them. They were so wrapped up in Bible memory and organizing the Scriptures into doctrinal systems that they missed Jesus in the process.

It is fascinating to me to think about what the Scriptures were that were around when Jesus was working with His disciples. It was the Law or Torah, the Writings, which included the Proverbs and the Psalms and then the Prophets. When Jesus was confronted and tempted by the devil in the wilderness, Jesus quoted Scripture to resist the evil one. He quoted verses out of Deuteronomy. Then we see Jesus walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus and He did something that blows me away. In Luke 24:27 it is recorded: He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. Jesus walked them through the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms in order to open their minds about Himself.

Then Philip had a very special divine appointment with the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the scroll of Isaiah in his chariot. In Acts 8:35 it says: Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Philip used the Old Testament to teach this interested official about Jesus.

SECOND-Be aware of the Jesus themes throughout the Scriptures. In order to seek Jesus in the Scriptures, especially the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, look for the major themes about Jesus there. For instance, there is the theme of the glory or the Shekinah glory-the visible presence of God-throughout. Beginning with the presence of God in the Garden, the burning bush, the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day that led the children of Israel through the wilderness, the star of Bethlehem and then Jesus is the ultimate Shekinah glory-the visible presence of God-on earth. Check out the many times the Angel of the Lord or the Angel of Jehovah appeared in the Old Testament. Most think this was actually Jesus. The theme of the Messianic deliverer of those who are surrendered to be His people is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. The theme of the suffering Servant, the Son of Man and the Son of God is embodied in Jesus and clearly presented in the Gospels. Jesus was the uniquely born one-the holy one of Israel-born of a virgin by the Spirit of God.

Jesus fulfilled and gave meaning to every mark and letter of the Mosaic Law. Jesus fulfilled every longing of the heart of the Psalms-to dwell among us. And, Jesus also fulfilled the many Messianic prophecies. The Scriptures all speak of Jesus and find their culmination in Him, so look for those themes that find their way to Jesus.

THIRD-Count on His wisdom. If you are seeking to hear and listen to the voice of Jesus, ask for His wisdom as you live your life the best you can. In one of the early writings of the New Covenant-the book of James-there is a very insightful passage: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. Those who doubt should not think they will receive anything from the Lord; they are double-minded and unstable in all they do. (James 1:5-8) I ask for wisdom every day and sometimes many times a day and I count on it as I make decisions, wanting to hear the voice of Jesus as I move through the day.

FOURTH-Be sure to seek Jesus within the context of a few. One of the most important ways for you to hear the voice of Jesus is to operate within a supportive community. It's learning to practice the "one anothers" in the name of Jesus. Remember, it's when two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus that Jesus will show up and make His presence known. When this happens, you will recognize and hear His voice.

FIFTH-Discipline yourself to listen when you pray. When you pray, don't just do all of the talking and asking; take the time to listen for an answer. This seems so simple, yet it is very difficult to do. It takes some painful discipline to sit quietly and listen.

You will find these 5 essentials to be most helpful as you seek to hear the voice of Jesus in times like these.

There is one more thing that seems vital in hearing and listening to the voice of Jesus. It may be the most critical dimension of all! In John 6, Jesus was asked: "What must we do to do the work of God?" Jesus answers this most simply with: "The work of God is this: TRUST THE ONE GOD HAS SENT." Or, simply put: learn to trust Jesus with everything-your security, your family, your business, your future-everything! When you have the courage to trust Jesus with everything, believe me, you will hear and listen to what He has to say. This is the ultimate expression Jesus is looking for as you learn to respond to His most revolutionary words ever: FOLLOW ME! I think Jesus is saying to each of us: "Can you hear me now?

WHEN YOUR BACK'S AGAINST THE WALL

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The world is in a funk and the spirit of depression is in the air. It's everywhere! I sense it no matter where I go-parties, dinners, at religious gatherings, breakfasts, coffees, riding on the airplane, at the car wash, in the neighborhood and at family events. The depression of the day is financial, yet to most people this is not the worst problem. The worldwide financial crisis is horrendous and affects all of us, but it serves to reveal even deeper and more menacing problems and stressors.

So, where do you turn in times like these? What is it that you can hang on to, when you find yourself saying, "Why?", "Why me?" or "Why Now?" How do you obtain a sense of guidance?

You can turn to clichés, yet moral maxims are confusing. One of my favorite teachers, Bruxy Cavey, started me thinking on how fickle modern clichés actually are: · Better safe than sorry OR nothing ventured, nothing gained. · Absence makes the heart grow fonder OR out of sight, out of mind. · Look before you leap OR he who hesitates is lost. · If at first you don't succeed, try, try again OR don't beat your head against a brick wall. · Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today OR don't cross that bridge until you come to it. · You're never too old to learn OR you can't teach an old dog a new trick. · Many hands make light work OR too many cooks spoil the broth. · The early bird gets the first worm OR all good things come to those who wait. · Birds of a feather flock together OR opposites attract. · The pen is mightier than the sword OR actions speak louder than words. · Some things need to be untied and not cut OR others need to be cut and not untied.

Clichés and moral maxims are only descriptive, not necessarily prescriptive or guides for life. You can use these clichés to excuse or rationalize anything you want to do.

So, what about turning to the Bible? Not necessarily. The Bible gives specific guidance to a specific people in a specific context and is not an instruction for you to apply literally for you in a different situation. Not just flipping open the Bible. It's not a matter of click, drag and drop it into your situation today. To take a "proof-text" or your favorite Scriptural promise and to count on this for your guidance from the Lord may not be the best thing to do. There's something more to be learned here. There is a better way to obtain guidance.

If your approach to guidance is to use what we call "proof-texts" to find your guidance, you may find the wrong guidance, not fatal or maybe not hurtful, but not precisely appropriate-what God intended. For instance, early in the Gospel of Luke Jesus tells His disciples not to worry about carrying their wallet or packing their clothes or planning for what they might eat. If you tried to apply this as a disciple of Jesus today, you won't get very far-to anywhere. Later on in Luke Jesus tells the disciples to pick up their wallets and clothes.

Or, when Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come to His disciples and bring all things to their remembrance, this is not for us to apply today. He was speaking to them in a specific context at a specific time, so that they could write down the words He spoke.

The Jabez prayer has some terrific insights in it, yet to pray it as a spiritual charm or to specifically apply it to you right now, today, just may not be what the Lord has in mind. Apply the principles, but don't claim them as your promise from God.

Or, take the popular passage used by Christians to pose a challenge to our country: If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. This is not for the USA or any other nation today, but was specifically given to Israel in a particular context. Again, there are some good application principles here, but it is not there for us to hang on to for specific guidance to our situation so that God will do with us the same thing He did with Israel.

In Jeremiah 31 we have an insight into the difference in the way God works with people today versus the way He did in the past. Listen to it: "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. This is essentially the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant God has made with mankind. Principally, God is spirit and must be worshipped and related to in spirit and in truth.

You can turn to the written code of Scripture, but there is a whole new way that is not like the rules set up in the Old Covenant. It is a new covenant that is not written down, but operates inside out from your minds and hearts. Instead of the Law of Moses, today we are to live under the law of Christ.

The Ten Commandments have become most highly regarded out of the Old Covenant. All are good, but Jesus transformed them. Remember when Jesus was asked to state the greatest commandment? It didn't come out of even the big 10 and He couldn't give just one. You see, obtaining guidance when your back's against the wall will not come out of a written code, but is relational with Jesus.

You see, the "word" became flesh; the "word" did not become a book or more words or a system of beliefs or doctrines. Our guidance comes in relationship with a person-Jesus.

Paul had a strong opinion about this when he shared his experience with the Philippians (3:4-14). He said: If others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

So, where can you get the guidance you really need from the Lord? This guidance can only be found in your relationship with Jesus. You know Him and know what He wants. We would rather have a good Bible verse or rule to follow, but Jesus doesn't want it this way. Jesus reveals this kind of dynamic when He says, "My sheep hear and know my voice." So, are you getting to know Jesus better and better? And, are you listening to His voice? Why would Jesus say this is true, if it weren't? Why does Jesus refuse to give a code or a passage from the Law when asked to present the greatest of all the commandments. It's because He was giving to us all the relational answer we need to hear-"Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself."

GUIDANCE. Take the word GUIDANCE and you have the answer. It's G-U-I-DANCE. Or maybe you could say it this way: G-God, U and I DANCE. GOD, YOU AND I DANCE TOGETHER in a personal relationship with Him through Jesus and Jesus will guide our lives.

JESUS' DISCIPLE HAS TWO PRIMARY ROLES

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Matthew 5:13-16

Now that Jesus has described what it means to be a happy, blessed and fulfilled follower, He uses two dynamic terms to position us in this world-salt and light.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

NOTE Jesus says, "You ARE the salt of the earth!" It's not that you might be or you could be, but you ARE. Salt was used as a preservative to counteract the decay in meat. In order for the salt to be effective it must be out of the salt-shaker and applied to the meat. Salt is the invisible presence of God. It must be sensed! You're the salt in the world around you-the invisible presence of God among those you touch. Just by your presence there ought to be a preserving of purity, honesty and fairness.

NOTE that salt represents the inner quality-the being of the equation. Therefore, salt is the best tag to place on the first four beatitudes-poor in spirit, mourning, meekness and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. These snapshots are all about being, not doing. They describe your relationship with the Lord.

A saltless disciple is good for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled under foot. Jesus uses the term tasteless. The original Greek word is MORAINO, which means to be foolish, to play the fool, insipid, dull, flat or deficient-literally to be a MORON.

In Rabbinic literature salt is associated with wisdom-a foolish disciple has no impact on his world. In a sense salt is a warning against being good for nothing. Also, salt adds flavor to things. Jesus is to life what salt is to food. Jesus and the Kingdom lend flavor to life to be a difference-maker. The world is changed by flavoring it with your salt-like presence. It's like a thermostat; you set the temperature.

It was Saint Francis who said, "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words." This is precisely what it means to be salt. You are the salt of the earth.

Now for the second image-light. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

NOTE again Jesus says, "You ARE the light of the world!" Salt has a powerful invisible nature to it; light has more of the visible presence of God. Salt must be sensed-light must be seen! Light counteracts the darkness.

The visible presence of God consists of the energy of salt and the expression of light-IT MUST BE ATTRACTIVE AND AUTHENTIC! The core of this light can be found in loving your neighbor as yourself.

We are beyond the point where mere talk-no matter how sound-can make an impression. Demonstration is required. We must live what we talk, even in places where we cannot talk what we live. We stand again at Mt. Carmel (I K 18:20-40). THE TEST IS REALITY-AUTHENTICITY-THE GENUINE!

Whereas salt was a warning against being good for nothing, light is used to show us how to be good for something. It is the outer or doing side of these two images used by Jesus. Light is the best tag to be placed on the second four snapshots-merciful, pure in heart, peacemaker and rejoicing in persecution.

You ARE the salt of the earth and the light of the world; you are the invisible and visible presence of God on planet earth. Don't become tasteless as salt and don't dim out or cover up your light! Allow Jesus to be sensed and seen in you.

More than twenty years ago E. Stanley Jones, the great Methodist writer and missionary to India, was asked to name the number-one problem in the church. His quick reply was `Irrelevance.' Not that the church was inherently irrelevant, but that followers of Jesus were failing to show in concrete ways and to tell in cogent understandable terms how the Jesus is relevant to all of life in the twentieth century.

So, how can this be done? Salt and Light.