FOUR PRINCIPLES OF THE CLANGING CYMBALS

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When your life is out of control and your back is against the wall, you need a faith-lift. Your faith-lift will necessarily emerge from within your heart-inside out. This is why it's so important to get over yourself with that toxic pride and controlling attitude. You see, there is no room for this kind of toxicity, if you are practicing and experiencing the love of Jesus. In fact, without this kind of Jesus' love, nothing else much matters.

Paul spoke to this when writing to the followers of Jesus in Corinth. He said: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love must be present in everything we do and say. If the love of Jesus is absent, you may be saying and doing all the right things, yet sounding like offensive, clanging cymbals.

I want to address four primary issues of life that if handled correctly will produce the most beautiful expression of life's symphony ever-usefulness, fruitfulness, perfect perspective, protection from stumbling, and enthusiastic approval from your Creator. However, these same life issues if handled poorly will produce the most annoying and unsatisfying sound ever-the sound of ill-timed, ill-played, clanging cymbals. Cymbals require skillfulness to play, a symphony with whom to participate and a certain surety of the precise timing of when to strike.

Each of us has been handed a set of cymbals in life and must handle them with care. This four-part series will interact with the fine line between the enjoyment of playing your cymbals correctly and the irritation and embarrassment of holding a set of clanging cymbals.

As we examine each one over the next few days, you are eligible to receive four vital promises from the Creator-God, Himself. The answers to not becoming clanging cymbals and the accompanying promises are found in the first chapter of II Peter. Let's briefly take a look at the promises you can count on if you apply the principles over the next four days.

FIRST-The promise of productivity! Peter says: For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you embrace the four principles over the next four days for yourself and continue to grow in them, you will experience outstanding fruitfulness in your life.

SECOND-The promise of perspective! Peter says: For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. If you lack the four qualities or principles, you will be blind-not be able to see where you are, short-sighted-not be able to see where you're going, and forget how your sins have been forgiven-not be able to see where you've been.

THIRD-The promise of protection! Peter says: Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. If you not only embrace these four principles for yourself, but practice them, you will never, in any way stumble.

FOURTH-The promise of prosperity! Here Peter says: for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. You will be presented a special entrance into the Kingdom with all of its abundance.

There is no other biblical passage that is as clear as II Peter 1 about what promises you will receive, if you do certain things. The four principles we are going to examine are found in a few verses just prior to these promises:

Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply virtue, and in your virtue, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.

It begins with your faith and ends with love. But note one thing. He says be diligent to supply all these things to your faith-virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. The word "supply" is an interesting term. It means that you are to fully underwrite or sponsor these qualities to your faith. It was used in the Greek city-states and referred to a wealthy citizen who was asked to underwrite or sponsor the next big event for the city.

You aren't to pray for these things, but you are to do these things and practice them with your faith. You are to do them-virtue (an initial step of commitment), experiential knowledge, self-control (self-strength), perseverance (the ability to hang in there), then when you have been hanging in there through the difficult times, you will learn so much and acquire qualities of godliness. Don't try to do these things alone, but practice brotherly love and then supply unconditional love to your faith.

What's very interesting is that the same term is used in the fourth promise. Only this time, it is said that God will abundantly supply (underwrite or sponsor) a special entrance into the Kingdom just for you. The image here is an Olympic Champion who is welcomed home by making him a special door or gate named for him to honor him. In this case, if you richly supply these principles to your faith, God will abundantly supply this sort of special entrance for you. And it won't be just a gate to the city, but to the Kingdom of God. Over the next four days, do your best to embrace each of these principles for yourself.

GET OVER YOURSELF

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Are you a control freak? Really, are you? There is a basic tendency for all of us to want to be in control. At the heart of this tendency is the deadliest of the seven deadlies-pride! Pride is believing that you can actually control things in your life. It's when you push your Creator-God aside and take over the universe for awhile.

There's an old Jewish proverb that says: "Pride is the mask of one's own faults." It's when you know deep down that you are not able to control anything, so instead of admitting it, you put on your pride mask. The thing about this is that most people handle life in this way and therefore are playing the game along with you and protect themselves by not taking off that mask. However, pride has a way of showing itself with the destruction that is caused. This fits one of the most popular of proverbs about pride: "Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall." Your pride will be discovered by its damaging results. When this happens, you will be given another chance to be honest about yourself and abandon your attitude of pride. But even though the opportunity to come clean about yourself presents itself, it's very hard not to live in the state of denial in order to continue playing the game.

When I see the ugly head of pride showing up in my life and in the life of others, I just want to say: GET OVER YOURSELF! That's really what is happening. There is too much of yourself that preoccupies all of your thoughts and choices. When your life becomes "all about you", you are wrapping your life up in a very small package-insignificant and inadequate.

Jesus teaches the answer for this pride problem. He says: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) He uses the word "deny", but He is actually saying: GET OVER YOURSELF so there is room for Me in your life!

Denying yourself or getting over yourself is really what humility is all about. Humility is having a right evaluation of yourself before God. It's believing what God says about you is true and believing what God says about Himself is true.

The most interesting thing about humility is that the more you grow spiritually the more humble you will become. As you grow in your walk with Jesus you will see your life more clearly and will have a better handle on having a right evaluation about who you are before God. Paul, in his letters to the followers of Jesus actually seems to be growing backwards. As the years pass he goes lower; he grows downward! And as his self-esteem sinks, he sees God more clearly as the awesome One who owns and empowers him. He is able to understand what Jesus meant when He said: "Without Me you can do nothing." Check it out:

FIRST-Paul says in his early years: "I am the least of the apostles." (1 Corinthians 15:9) He sees himself as about 13 on the list of the ones Jesus chose to lead out in following Him. Thirteenth! Now that's pretty high up in the ranks of the followers of Jesus.

SECOND-As Paul moves into his middle years he says: "I am the very least of all the saints." (Ephesians 3:8) He now sees himself a little less on the totem pole of Jesus' followers. He is now no longer thirteenth, but he is the least of all of the saints!

THIRD-Then, later in Paul's ministry, his view of himself is even worse! He says: "I am the chief of sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15) Whoa! He has gone from thirteenth place to the least of all the saints and now he sees himself as the worst sinner of all! What a reversal! That is the great thing about humility. The more humble you are the more grace you embrace to become more spiritually mature. It is a faith-walk with your Creator-God!

Now, one of the most popular criticisms of a faith-walk of humbling yourself before God is that your faith is a crutch. "Oh, your faith in God is just a crutch!" Have you ever heard that? It's one of the most common attacks thrust against believers. I have come to realize that the accusation is absolutely right! Faith IS a crutch! But there is nothing wrong with that at all. It's a natural thing-even understandable! Let me offer two reasons for my thinking:

First, a crutch is good when you need it! If your ankle is broken or badly sprained, a crutch is absolutely necessary. You can't get around very well without one. When you see someone using crutches, you don't criticize them or belittle them for using them. Since they are hurting and have been damaged, it's natural, even wise, to use the crutches! The same is true about your life. When you are in need, hurt and damaged, it's natural to search for a set of crutches!

Second, a crutch allows you to become healed! Those who are in need of crutches and use them will find healing and relief over time. If you need crutches and don't use them, you just prolong your pain and prevent your healing!

If you have a pulse, then you have a real need for a set of spiritual crutches. In fact, humans don't work well when unplugged from a personal relationship with the Creator. Humility is based upon this personal relationship with your Creator-as I said earlier-a right evaluation of yourself before God. There is a wickedness and a wonder about who you are. You have within you a wickedness that is able to do most anything, any place at any time. When you see your need for God, you fall into line before your Creator and you are the created one. But you're not as bad as you could be! There is also a wonder about you! You have been created in the image of your Creator. When you have a right evaluation of yourself-wickedness and wonder, you take on a true humility.

This humility, then, is to spill over into your relationships, so that you treat everyone else as a fellow-created being. Without humility, pride and self-centeredness reign in your life! Pride is such a prevalent and prominent problem of the human condition-so much so that only a personal relationship with your Creator has the capability of diminishing this deadly, spiritual cancer. This is the reason for the following Biblical principle: HUMBLE YOURSELF & GOD WILL EXALT YOU! EXALT YOURSELF & GOD WILL HUMBLE YOU!

You can only secure your spiritual crutches by faith-faith in your Creator! So your faith is a crutch. You desperately need it! Maybe the image of crutches isn't strong enough. There have been many times when I have felt that my need for God is so great that it would be better to call it an IRON LUNG!

Hey, don't you think it's time to GET OVER YOURSELF? Think it over!

WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF OPTIONS

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Most of my adult life I have been practicing therapy-counseling people caught in every problem imaginable. When I first began speaking, it was on the university campus. I was the main speaker for many weekend retreats over a period of 6 or 7 years. The routine was always the same. I usually spoke 5 times during that retreat. On Friday night I always gave the same introductory message that set up the weekend for the other four messages I was slotted to present. Before delivering this message I asked the students and staff to take a 3x5 card and write out the three most important problems they wanted solved this weekend. They wrote them on the card, folded it and turned them in. I then read through the cards that night and prepared the next four messages to meet the needs they had expressed on the cards.

This introductory evening set up a constant stream of students and staff coming up to me to find counsel for whatever issues they were struggling with. Many retreats I was able to get only 4-5 hours sleep each night, because the need seemed so great. I realized through this early experience how people were desperately in need of help. What they were craving was to be able to talk with someone who was safe and who cared.

What I learned was that my counsel primarily consisted of listening to their problems and bringing a different perspective to the predicament. I was basically helping them discover more options to deal with what they thought was an impossible situation.

To be healthy, psychologically and spiritually, it's so important to have options. Those who are unhealthy find themselves running out of options. And, those who choose the route of suicide have run out of options altogether-ending it all seems like the only logical thing to do. Depression lingers in your life, when you feel you are out of hope and out of options-no light at the end of the tunnel!

When you're out of options, you will find yourself scrambling for security and inner satisfaction. When you run out of options, there is one option that is always available and that's what I want to share with you. Just thinking through a few people who ran out of options in biblical history, there are some interesting insights available to us.

In the Old Testament, Daniel certainly found himself out of options, when he was thrown into the lion's den. Jonah was a man faced with two distinct options-obey God's call to fulfill a mission or to disobey-to run alongside God or to run away from God. Well, as you know he made the wrong choice and ran away from God. Then he found himself in the belly of a great fish, marinating in its digestive juices. Now, that was a situation where Jonah was clearly out of options. Both Daniel and Jonah had one option open to them-turn to God. Daniel was persuaded to do this by the lions and Jonah was dramatically motivated into running back to God after running away by his experience in the fish.

In the New Testament, I think of the nobleman who came to Jesus to seek healing for his son. John records the story of the royal official, the nobleman, who had run out of options and believed Jesus possessed the only way for his son to live. Matthew and Mark share the story of the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, living in a ceremonially unclean state for all that time. She had run out of options and fought the crowd, where she was not allowed to be due to her uncleanness, and was determined to get to Jesus, believing He was her only option to be healed.

The story of Jesus apprehending Paul with the bright light on his way to Damascus is an interesting scene. In this case, it isn't that Paul had run out of options. He thought he was on God's mission, persecuting the followers of Jesus. But Jesus in a spectacular encounter put Paul in a position that he had no other option than to respond in humility.

Here's the principle: When you're out of options, there is always one last option available to you. It's not a belief system. It's not the counsel of a good therapist. It's not some secret you need to know. It's a person-Jesus. Jesus is always available as your last option and would like to be your first option. I've noticed over the years that most people come to Jesus by the process of elimination-nothing else works!

When you're out of options, remember to turn to Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life available to you.

There's one more thing here. When you're out of options, it's too easy for you to be overcome with worry, hopelessness and depression. Remember this: WHEN YOU'RE DOWN TO NOTHING, IT MEANS THAT GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING. SEEK HIM WITH ALL YOU'VE GOT! WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF OPTIONS, MAKE JESUS YOUR NEXT BEST OPTION!

WHEN IN TROUBLE, REFOCUS BY RECONSIDERING

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According to James in his early writings there are three ways to handle your troubles. The first way is to refocus by rejoicing in the product God is working in you. God is using your trouble to purify you and make you stronger-refocusing on the end result rather than the problem itself is what's required here.

The second way to handle your troubles again involves refocusing. This time it is to refocus away from your problems and request the wisdom of God necessary to get you through this difficult time.

Now, the third way to handle your troubles once more requires refocusing. As in the first two you are to refocus away from your problems and on to something else. This time it is refocusing by reconsidering your position before God.

Let's tune in to what James says here: Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation-since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. (James 1:9-11)

There are two kinds of positions mentioned here-a person of high position and a person of a low position of humiliation. First, those who are believers in Jesus who find themselves in humble circumstances are to embrace their high position with the Lord Jesus. No matter how poor you are, if you are in relationship with Jesus, you have a high spiritual perspective on life. You see things from His perspective-the vantage point of the highest, richest position of all-a position where there are no impossibilities. He says to take pride in the fact that you have such a high position with Him. If you are poor, refocus on your spiritual riches.

Second, those believers who find themselves rich from an earthly perspective must take pride in their humiliation. Believers who have a lot of stuff are also well aware that they are managers of what God has given them and they know how easily these blessings of riches come and go. If you are rich and you know these riches are temporary and fleeting, refocus on your humility before God.

Trials are the great leveler of both rich & poor! Everyone experiences trouble, no matter your position in life. We all find our joy and satisfaction in relationship with the Lord Jesus.

There is a promise that underlies this principle. I call this one the promise of great expectations. 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)

God promises to stick with you and "perfect" or complete His work in your life until Jesus comes back. It's too easy to give up, due to impatience on our part. God is continually at work in you to develop and grow you up spiritually. Let me caution you. The Lord will do His work in His way and in His time.

So, to sum up the message of James regarding how to handle trials and troubles in your life, he suggests three appropriate responses. REFOCUS: 1. By rejoicing in the end product and not the problem itself. 2. By requesting wisdom from God in order to make your way through your struggles. 3. By reconsidering your position with Jesus-whether rich or poor.

Trials and troubles don't have to be bad things in your life. Don't waste these trials; allow God to use them to strengthen your faith. I saw this on a bumper sticker many years ago: Faith is like a kite-a contrary wind makes it go higher! So, the next time a problem pops up in your life, treat it as a friend and allow God to do His work in your life in His way and in His time.

THANKSGIVING

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Erma Bombeck made a fascinating observation about Thanksgiving. She said, "Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not a coincidence." She may be on to something here.

Whatever the Thanksgiving season means to you, there is a most important direction for you to focus your thanks and that is to the God of gods. There is an interesting story where Jesus makes a point about being thankful.

The story is found in Luke 17:11-19: 11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

NOTE that Jesus was on His way from Galilee to Jerusalem to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the world and He travels on the border of Samaria and Galilee. The Jews and Samaritans were arch enemies. They would have nothing to do with one another. The Jews viewed them as lesser than or half-breeds. They certainly would never view any Samaritan as a good or righteous person.

Jesus encounters 10 lepers along that border. And it's interesting to me that they didn't ask for Jesus to heal them. They asked of Him the same as they have been asking all others as they passed by. "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" "Jesus, just show us some pity and compassion and contribute to our needs the best you can."

14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. This is such a different healing experience. Jesus didn't touch them nor did He pronounce them healed, but gave them something to do. Go to your priests and show yourself to them. You see, the only one who could pronounce these lepers clean was the priest. This was the requirement of the Law. What's interesting is that this was not a common occurrence that lepers were healed. In fact, the Jewish leadership had taught them that only the Messiah would be able to heal lepers.

These lepers listened to Jesus and did what He said. And then it literally says, "In the act of going, they were cleansed of their leprosy." When you do what Jesus says to do, you, too, will experience a healing of your "leprosy". Now NOTE what happens.

15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him-and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

All of the lepers were cleansed or healed of their leprosy, yet only one came back to express his gratefulness. And, Jesus makes it clear that the only one who came back to give thanks was not a Jew, but a Samaritan.

NOTE something here: We live in the same way. Even though we experience His cleansing and healing in our lives, it's so easy to take it all for granted. Only one out of ten are thankful. I think this is about right!

But NOTE, the one who returns to be thankful is not only cleansed, but Jesus says, "Rise up and go; your faith has made you well." "Made you well" is the word for salvation. Your faith-your act of thankfulness-has saved you. All of the others were healed, but only this one was fully saved and made whole.

This reminds me of the passage in the first chapter of Romans. Paul says, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools."

I think it comes down to this: GRATEFUL PEOPLE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN FULLY ENJOY ALL THAT GOD HAS FOR THEM. So today, are you thankful? Be sure to say so. Tell God and tell others you love how thankful you really are, then look out for God's fullness and wholeness in your life!