THE CLANGING CYMBAL OF BEING SELF-DIRECTED

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In the struggle to "get over yourself" it's important to examine what I call the four clanging cymbals. A clanging cymbal is when what you say and do is absent the love of Jesus and therefore is a cymbal that doesn't make a certain and attractive sound, but an offensive, clanging sound. The first clanging cymbal was self-doubt. Today's clanging cymbal is being SELF-DIRECTED.

As I have often said, most of my life I have lived life my way for Jesus. I was definitely the leader. I didn't have a handle on what it might mean to wait for Jesus to lead out so I could follow. In other words, I struggled with and was losing the battle over being self-directed.

What I've come to realize is that God wants us to be ON CALL to do significant things for Him-even showing up for divine appointments. But instead of being on call, the natural tendency is to live our lives in a position of not being able to hear His call at all-busy signals, disconnections, interference, off the hook or just allowing our machines to answer. Since we haven't been positioned to hear from God or be on call with Him, the result is confusion. Confusion leads to conformity-going along with the crowd-and then comes a sense of complacency-going it alone.

So, the clanging cymbal of being self-directed is based upon two diversions-going along with the crowd and going it alone. Going along with the crowd means that you have no personal convictions or standards worth dying for. Worse than that, you have very little to personally and uniquely live for. Going it alone necessarily emerges out of going along with the crowd. You see, going along with the crowd is a way of avoiding any personal interaction and relatedness. You simply move the way the wind seems to be blowing at the moment without much thought on your part. So, you are already alone.

Do you see the inevitable outcome in your life if you are always going along with the crowd and going it alone? You have no one else (personally) to rely on. You are all alone and therefore self-reliant. This is why people like to claim they are self-made, but when I hear this I am tempted to say, "You knocked off too soon!" There is so much more to living than limiting yourself to being self-reliant and self-directed. And when you are self-directed, it's too easy to be driven by people, places and things that limit your drive and fulfillment in life.

SELF-DOUBT was countered by faith and love. The problem of being SELF-DIRECTED can be countered by two qualities as well. The first is virtue. This is the quality that was to be first added to your faith. Virtue is making an initial commitment to follow-through on your faith. It's a personal commitment to stand alone on your own two feet-to think for yourself!

The second quality is brotherly kindness. You are to stand alone on your own two feet, living within yourself, as you learn to walk with Jesus, but you cannot go it alone and expect to be satisfied with your life. There is a great need in your life to not only walk with Jesus, but to walk with others. You need their support and they need yours. In a real sense you become the answer to one another's prayers as you walk through life together.

By the way, this is what's at the core of Jesus' teaching on what the greatest commandment is. When asked to give His opinion on naming the greatest commandment, Jesus was unable to isolate it to just one. The reason for the difficulty is that the greatest commandment must be two-fold-first, to love God with all your heart, and second, to love your neighbor as yourself. To love God with all your heart is to focus on what He uniquely wants to do with you-to fully express the message of God, which is your purpose in life. You can't do this and go along with the crowd.

To love your neighbor as yourself requires that you don't go it alone in life. You need the community of family and friends to fully do life together. Note in this case, if you don't love yourself, your neighbor is in trouble. When you can love yourself, you are better able to love others. A great reminder of this occurs before takeoff on every airliner: Put your oxygen mask on first, and then you can help your children with theirs.

For me, virtue and brotherly kindness are the best counters to the problem of being self-directed and these two qualities are best summed up in how you see Jesus.

FIRST-You must see Jesus in you! This is a sensing of His presence in you. When you are aware of Jesus walking with you and residing in you, it's easier to seek Him out for His direction. Knowing Jesus is in you gives you a confidence to stand on your own two feet-to not go along with the crowd, because you know He is in you. You also know you are not alone.

SECOND-You must see Jesus with you! This is a sensing of His power with you. Because Jesus is with you, you can count on His empowerment in your life. In a very real sense, as you connect with others and touch them, you are being Jesus to them. Just as Jesus took on flesh and became man, you are now the flesh Jesus is taking on. Jesus is in and with you! We are not to give away some message to the world, trying to get others to believe it; we are to give Jesus away, for He is the Gospel.

THIRD-You must see Jesus in others! This is a sensing of His potential of being in and with others as He is with you. Jesus gives us the best example here, too. Jesus never saw a prostitute; He saw a woman deeply hurt in need of inner healing with the possibility of being free. Jesus saw something of great value in the maligned tax collector by the name of Zaccheus and invited Himself to go to lunch with him. Jesus saw something special in the woman at the well who had several husbands and the man she was living with was not yet her husband. What's interesting is that Jesus is attractive to so many who are in need and I think it's because of the way He looked at them and welcomed them. He was so safe in an unsafe world.

You have a choice. You can choose to be self-directed where it's all about you or you can choose to be directed by Jesus. He will direct you to stand on your own two feet with confidence (that's virtue), not going along with the crowd and He will lead you into relationship with others where you can experience brotherly love to counter going it alone.

The clanging cymbal of being self-directed can only be countered by being tied to Jesus while touching people-that's virtue and brotherly love. To sum it up, think in terms of: 1. Practicing the presence of Jesus in you! 2. Practicing the power of Jesus with you! 3. Practicing the potential of Jesus in others!

Then, you'll know Jesus is supernaturally directing you, where you will find freedom and infinite possibilities. Stick with being self-directed and you will be limited to your self.

THE CLANGING CYMBAL OF SELF-DOUBT

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In the struggle to "get over yourself" it's important to examine what I call the four clanging cymbals. A clanging cymbal is when what you say and do is absent the love of Jesus and therefore is a cymbal that doesn't make a certain and attractive sound, but an offensive, clanging sound. Today's clanging cymbal is SELF-DOUBT.

There are several words that are translated doubt. Doubt is to be perplexed, at a loss, uncertainty as to which way to take, standing in mid air or to hold in suspense-all accompanied by an anxiety and lack of confidence. The Chinese have a great word picture on the word "doubt". It's when you are standing on a dock with two boats awaiting you and as you step off in mid air, you are indecisive as to which boat to choose for your landing. Now, that's doubt! By the way, doubt also includes distraction, because of your state of indecision.

I have two primary concerns with the clanging cymbal of self-doubt. First, there is a personal concern. Here we sit with the message of the love of God, yet most seem to be bent on performing for God's love rather than confidently enjoying it. There is little personal satisfaction here. It's not a certain sound, but a clanging cymbal!

Second, there is a relational concern. Here we sit with the love of God, yet it doesn't seem to be getting through. Those who are believers in Christ are known more for their judgment and condemnation than for loving one another. This, too, is an offensive clanging cymbal.

How can people who claim to have a personal relationship with God live in a spiritual coma? It's like when the Indians were discussing their problems with the white man. One asked, "What went wrong?" Another answered, "Apparently, when we smoked the peace pipe, somebody didn't inhale!"

The process of religiosity works like this. You are drawn to the free gift of Jesus-the Good News-and long for Him to help you with your fear, anger, guilt and shame. Just as soon as you receive the free gift of Jesus, you are shifted into a new gear-a new reality. You are told you must get your act together-sort of a turn or burn attitude to living for Jesus.

Then comes the list of secrets or keys to living your life for Jesus in order to travel in first class on your spiritual journey rather than coach. The list is a series of "If only": If you only had enough faith, if only you read the Bible more, if only you knew the Holy Spirit better, if only you were baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit, if only you understood the gifts of the Spirit, if only you were part of a small group, if only you knew how to worship, if only you were giving more and if only you could perform your walk better, THEN you will achieve a certain level of spiritual perfection.

Your faith walk then turns into a message of condemnation. Comparison and division over who is right and who is wrong is the constant conversation. Now, here's where your faith noticeably falls apart. Since you cannot achieve the perfection that is taught, you learn to fake it-show up at the right church, carry the right Bible, and join the right groups. Others, rather than fake it, they just flake out. They couldn't find a way to walk this walk that is required.

So, the process of religiosity is based upon the spirit of condemnation; the process of relationship is based upon the spirit of covenant with Jesus. Instead of "Wash your hands and mommy will love you"; it's "Mommy loves you, now go wash your hands." It's important to read and meditate on the Scriptures, to pray and to operate in a community of believers; it's not doing it because you have to, but rather it's because you want to. It's not a spirit of condemnation, but a spirit of relationship-not a failure mode, but a faith mode.

The clanging cymbal of self-doubt grows up in the soil of perfectionism and condemnation. This religious combination produces nothing positive, but only the negative and that negative is guilt. When you wrestle with guilt, you will suffer from self-doubt.

Self-doubt is countered in two ways: a confident, personal faith in Jesus and a compassionate love for others. These two counters are based in the Scriptures. John says (3:17-18) Jesus didn't come into the world to condemn it, but to convince the world of the love of God. Paul makes an incredible statement about condemnation as he wrote to the followers of Jesus in Rome. He says: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Jesus." Later in that same letter to the Romans (8:35-39) he says: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The clanging cymbal of self-doubt is not personally satisfying and not publicly attractive. Only the faith to receive God's gift of Jesus and the love to give Him away will prove to be satisfying and attractive to you and the world around you. Try this on and you fight the clanging cymbal of self-doubt: FEED YOUR FAITH AND YOUR DOUBTS WILL STARVE TO DEATH!

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!