Author: Scott Chafee

Scott serves on staff at King’s Grant Baptist Church in Virginia Beach.

Defining Success

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Have you ever asked this question in a group of church people? “How do you know if the church is being successful?”

Generally there is silence and a perceived need for clarification, so let’s rephrase the question: “How do you measure the success of your ministry?” Generally more silence. Either people are afraid to say what they think, or they have no definitive answer.

We’re wired with a desire to succeed, whether it’s a relationship, the classroom, the marketplace, the athletic field, or ministry. Since success is so important to us, we should have a way to measure it.

Consider these four questions, which are intended for every believer, not just pastors and church staff, because God wants us all to pursue success as He defines it.

Question 1: Are You Being Faithful?
I read a book long ago called Liberating Your Ministry from Success Syndrome. In that book the author challenged the reader to step away from the numbers game. Pastors love to play this game at the Convention… “We grew by 55% this past year,” or “We baptized 30 new believers.” But the pastor of a small church who faithfully preaches the gospel, witnesses in the community and shepherds his local congregation year after year with little results, what about him? The numbers indicate that he is not successful like these other churches.

I suppose that we would declare the apostle Paul as unsuccessful… after all, he was a jail bird who was run out of town on several occasions, causing riots and turning the world upside down. But I suspect that none of us would classify Paul as a failure.

We all want to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Hearing those words would shout success. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), it’s profound to note that the master commended faithfulness: What did you do with what I gave you? The second servant received the exact same commendations as the first servant, even though he produced less of a return. Jesus is making the point that being a faithful steward of what you’ve been given is what matters most. Are you being faithful?

Question 2: Are You Bearing Fruit?
In John 15:1-11, Jesus taught that it’s God’s will that we bear much fruit. As we do so, God is glorified, and we prove to be Christ’s disciples. The New Testament speaks of two kinds of fruit:

  1. The fruit of Christ-like character (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Holy Spirit includes nine characteristics that should fittingly describe those who call themselves Christians.
  2. The fruit of Christ-like influence (Acts 10:38). We’re called to make a difference in the world in the name of Jesus.

So, are you bearing fruit?

Question 3: Are You Fulfilled?
My dictionary defines fulfill as, among other things, “to make full.” Is your life or ministry making you full of joy. Looking again at the parable of the talents, the master told his faithful servants, “Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:21, 23). Joy is one of the primary blessings of faithful and fruitful service.

This is exactly what Jesus indicated as He concluded His remarks in John 15 about fruit-bearing: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11). Jesus taught them to bear fruit so they would know His joy, and experience it in the fullest way. Are you fulfilled?

Question 4: Are You Making God Famous?
God wants us to be faithful, to bear fruit, and to experience fulfillment (his joy) in a way that makes him famous. Peter teaches that the faithful exercise of our gifts is “so that in all things God may be glorified” (1 Peter 4:10-11). Jesus tells us, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). Are you making God famous?

Imagine for a moment what your church or ministry would be like if every believer was successful in biblical teams: faithful, fruitful, fulfilled, and engaged in making God famous. While such an objective may not be as quantifiable as other measures, it’s worth pursuing because it’s God’s measurement of success.

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Minding Your Mind and Emotions

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The counseling process has been around a long time, and there are a lot of different methods, theories and procedures that are as different as night and day. Many begin with how the therapist views the nature of mankind, others focus on:

  1. The psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, understanding the Id, Ego and Super-ego and the role of the subconscious in our mental functioning, and using dream analysis to discover both manifest and latent content (hidden symbolic disguised messages);
  2. The transactional-analysis of Eric Berne tells us that life and relationships are full of scripts that run through our minds and these transactions are sent and received by the scripts of the parent, adult, or the child inside of us;
  3. Or the use of behavior modification techniques to increase or decrease the likelihood of a certain behavior;

There are so many directions one can take:

  1. The Rational-Emotive Therapy of Albert Ellis which focuses on how beliefs influence our behavior;
  2. The Client Centered Therapy of Carl Rogers which focuses on the belief that all people possess a strong drive toward personal growth, health, and adjustment (which he calls self-actualization);
  3. The Reality Therapy of William Glasser which focuses on the three Rs of facing reality, doing right, and being responsible;
  4. The Logotherapy of Viktor Frankl which focuses on mankind’s search for meaning in life.

Dr. Page Huff would be able to tell story after story of people suffering through life and the need for help in coping with stresses, hurts, pain, self-image, neuroses, psychoses, relationships, decisions…

The passage in Romans 12:2 challenges us to have a renewed mind. We are human and live in a fallen world so when Paul tells us that anyone in Christ is a new creation, the old is passed away and all things become new, we wonder why we continue with the same struggles, experience the same pains, and give in to the same vices as we did before we were saved. We are desperately seeking for a renewed mind, but how can we do it?

That which was available in the first century is still available to us today. With all of the science, technology, and counseling theories to help explain our thoughts and behaviors, sometimes getting back to the basics of Scripture can help a huge percentage of what ails us. Psychology has a definite place in our society, and is a great tool for helping people gain insight and awareness into the reasons for their behavior and thinking, but if we can get back to the time of the Bible to see how the spiritual side of mankind can help us cope with developing a renewed mind.

Why is it so important to renew your mind? Because of Proverbs 23:7 – “As a man thinks within himself, so is he.” NASB

Skip has mentioned this before, but today I want to expand on the idea that emotions respond to a signal sent to them by the mind.

Here is a wife and mother:  “Why do I feel so much resentment toward Harold every time he comes into the house?”  Her life and marriage were being destroyed because of the powerful emotion of resentment.  Her emotions were being produced by the thoughts within her mind.

Or how about you driving down highway when suddenly a glance into the rear-view mirror reveals that a highway patrol car is closing on you with its blue lights flashing.  Your heart leaps into your throat.  You feel nervous, uncertain, and the palms of your hands begin to sweat (perspire).  You begin to pull over, all the time wondering what you did, and contemplating receiving a ticket.  As you begin to pull over, the patrol car pulls on around you and keeps going.  Then you realize that he is not after you and your emotions return to normal.  What has just happened?

  • You thought you were going to be stopped and issued a ticket.
  • Your emotions responded to that thought.

You placed a wrong interpretation on one fact, the patrol car coming up behind you with its blue lights on. You did NOT think of other reasons why it was happening.  (Maybe the car ahead of you was his target . . . maybe he had received a call and was being dispatched to an accident scene . . . Maybe the Krispy Kreme doughnut sign was flashing hot and ready . . .)

  • Your distorted view and interpretation of that one fact produced your emotion.
  • Your emotions responded to the signal that your mind sent them.

Listen Carefully:  It is not the actual event but your perception of the event that results in changes in your moods . . . your emotions.

  • You determine your emotions by the choice of thoughts you hold and believe. Something happens and then you THINK before your FEEL.
  • Emotions are not external entities which enter our bodies arbitrarily like a germ. They are a part of our makeup form the very beginning and rise up within us because of what we THINK.
  • So, your emotions, regardless of their nature, are the product of your thoughts.
    • You re in the driver’s seat . . . You select your emotions when you select your thoughts.
    • You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are presently thinking.
    • The bottom line: change your thinking and your will change your emotions.

The Five Senses:  (Sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell) These are the doors to the mind . . . especially the eyes and the ears.

This is why we must be very careful as to what we allow to enter our minds through our eyes and ears. There is an old computer phrase that is very applicable to human beings… “GIGO” which stands for Garbage In Garbage Out.

The band Casting Crowns took that little children’s song and challenged the dads in our generation to stay pure by guarding ourselves from the negative things that enter our lives through the senses, “be careful little eyes what you see…” Garbage in, garbage out.

Let’s look at some biblical support for this concept:

  • Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
  • Galatians 6:7 – “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap.”

We must be diligent to lean toward purity, righteousness, and thinking, because sowing negative thoughts produce negative emotions, and negative behaviors and consequences.

Think Right to Feel Right:

Look at Proverbs 23:7 again – “As a man thinks within himself, so is he.” NASB

“How do you feel?”  The answer to this question depends on what you are thinking at the moment.

  • If you are thinking positive thoughts your response may be, “I feel great!” or “I have a positive outlook.”
  • On the other hand, if your frame of mind is negative you may say:
    • “I don’t feel so hot.” “I feel lousy.” Or “I’ve felt better.”
    • Like the old song, “Everybody hates me, nobody likes me, I think I’ll go eat worms…”

If you think negative thoughts, you WILL reap a crop of negative emotions.  If you think positive thoughts you will reap a crop of positive emotions. So, WHY do we dwell on the negative when there is an alternative?

Feelings Aren’t Facts!

In the police illustration at the beginning, the blue lights were NOT intended for you.  You felt at the moment that they were, but the true fact was that they were NOT for you.  Feeling they WERE for you did not make them be FOR you. Feeling are not facts.

Bill Bright, with Campus Crusade for Christ, developed a graphic called FACT, FAITH, FEELINGS Train. The fact is the engine, your faith is the coal car and the caboose is your feelings. Many times we reverse the order; we put our faith in our feelings. We say things like, “I just don’t feel saved” and we live in ambiguity and fear rather than conviction and assurance. The challenge is to change your thinking. Put your faith in the facts that we find in the Bible, and the fact that you have committed yourself to Christ. So when you don’t FEEL saved, it’s because of your improper thinking. Dwell on the FACTS so that you KNOW you are saved whether you feel like it or not.

Emotions respond to feelings whether the feeling is factual or not. Our minds will respond to the FACTS whether they feel like it or not.

Twisted Thinking:

Twisted thinking produces emotions that are also twisted. I worked with a fellow, a professional counselor, years ago and he told me about his philosophy of counseling. He mentioned that people with emotional problems will often listen to negative self-talk, which is rarely based on facts. They will play this tape over and over about how bad they are, how worthless they are, how trapped they are, how pointless life is for them. His goal was to help them to understand the truth (the facts) no matter how they feel. He needed them to get rid of their twisted thinking.

Twisted thinking is your mind processing thoughts, not actual facts or events, and producing emotional responses such as fatigue, nervousness, anxiety, depression, loss of appetite, and a host of others ailments.

Twisted thinking can create problems for people. We move out on what we FEEL is true rather than letting the facts guide us.

Ever heard the phrase, “Just follow your heart?” I sense that following your heart is the single worst piece of advice that someone can give to another person. Now that I have you thinking differently, and you have the emotional response to support it, let me explain. Check out Jeremiah 17:9, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” So, when you follow your heart, you will end up with heartache.

Failure and negative thoughts, which produce twisted thinking, need to be ejected from our mind. Let me give you a biblical example. Saul, before his conversion, is a great example of twisted thinking.

In his defense before King Agrippa, he acknowledged the results of his twisted thinking.  Acts 26:9-10 – “So then, I thought to myself that I had to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them.”

The prime motivation behind Paul’s actions against the church, Christ and his followers, AND his emotions, according to his OWN confession, was his thinking.  “I thought to myself that I had to do. . .”

He was the product of what he permitted to enter his mind, the negative and false teachings about Christ and Christianity.

  • He thought both were wrong and needed to be eliminated.
  • Later, through proper instruction which he accepted, he was able to straighten his twisted thinking.

Apply this principle to people in a denomination and you will better understand that their feelings and emotions are based on what they THINK is right, even if it isn’t according to biblical instruction.  Churches may adopt unbiblical stances on hot topics and politically correct issues, but deep down that position cannot be condoned or supported through proper exegetical Bible investigation.

When people’s thinking is changed, their feelings and emotions will also be changed.

People’s thinking is NOT changed by dealing with feelings, but dealing honestly with their thinking.  You are not going to change their feelings until you change their thinking . . . perceived facts. This is why it is so important to have a renewed mind (Romans 12:2).

My friend’s counseling goal was helping them to hear positive, rather than negative self-talk. Stop playing the tapes of the lies we tell ourselves about us, the world and other people, and the world around us. So, the discipline of counseling helps correct their stinkin’ thinkin’.

Sometimes we need help to understand why we have this negative self-talk, or what triggers the negative thinking, but you know, all of us can search for the truth to know exactly what the Bible says about us, our behavior and the world around us.  This is why the matter of biblical authority is so profoundly important.

  • John 8:32 – “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
  • John 17:17 – “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”

What About the Truth?

  • Romans 1:28 – The truth can be suppressed.
  • Romans 1:25 – The truth can be exchanged for a lie.
  • Romans 2:8 – Truth that is not obeyed leads to unrighteousness.
  • Romans 9:1 – Truth can be told and taught to others with the authority of the Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Corinthians 13:6 – Truth can be rejoiced in.
  • Galatians 2:5 – The truth continues, remains or preserves.
  • Galatians 3:1 – Truth will not be obeyed by foolish people.
  • Colossians 1:5 – The truth is the gospel of Christ.
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:12 – Condemnation comes where the truth is not believed.
  • 2 Thessalonians 2:13 – The truth is involved in salvation.
  • James 3:14 – People lie against or cover up the truth.
  • 1 John 2:21 – The truth can be discerned from lies.
  • 3 John 3 – The truth can be confirmed to others and people can live by the truth.
  • 3 John 4 – The truth can be walked in . . . and lived.

It has been proven over and over again that the emotions do not know the difference between an established fact and an erroneous fact.

Illustration: Man received a phone call and thought the caller said his father was dying with a heart attack.  He got into his car and drove as fast as he could to his father’s house, only to be greeted by his father at the door.  The son almost had a heart attack himself.  His emotions were responding to thoughts the mind were holding as true, but were not actually true.  In his mind he believed his father was dying, thus his body acted accordingly.  Later he learned the caller had said “John,” instead of “Don.”  John was a friend of the family.

The Keys to Winning Over Stinkin’ Thinkin’ or the meat of the message, to Find God in Psychology.

We need to recognize that our thought patterns and habits can be changed for the better and we can experience release from twisted thinking, reactions and responses that eventually will defeat us.

1. Recognize that YOU are in control of your thoughts.  God created you with this wonderful ability to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

2. Don’t try to suppress your thoughts. Burying thoughts only reinforces the negative response demonstrated by your emotions. We must be alert to these thoughts as they come into our minds and say “NO” to them, and saying “YES” to a positive replacement.

3. When you are challenged by a twisted thought, ask yourself, “Why am I thinking this way?  What has triggered this negative thought?”  Determining the stimulus or root of the thought is a key to victory.

4. At the very suggestion of a defeating thought, eject it from your mind with a positive Bible verse. I don’t suggest this lightly, or because I’m a pastor. The New Living Translation of Philippians 4:8 reads:  “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Isn’t that a wonderful piece of advice  . . . It came from God through the Holy Spirit as penned by the apostle Paul. As a matter of fact, I plan to preach this passage on Sunday October 13, How to Fortify Your Mind.

5. Changing your thinking is an act of the will.

  • Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on things above.” Now are you beginning to see why the Bible teaches this? This imperative statement involves an act of the will . . . Who sets your mind . . .  YOU set your mind.
  • Colossians 3:5 – “Therefore, put to death whatever in you is worldly: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.”
  • Colossians 3:8 – “But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language…“
  • Colossians 3:12 – “Put on or clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

6. You cannot control what others say about you or think about you, but you can control how you react to it. If I’m having a bad day it is because I choose to allow the circumstance of that day to bring me down.

  • Proverbs 25:28 – “A man who does not control his temper is like a city whose wall is broken down.” Question:  What can happen to a city whose wall is broken down? It will be overrun by the enemy.

Our desire is not to rid ourselves of our emotions, but rather, learn how to control them with God’s help.

7. Pray to God for wisdom and strength.

We need to face life in the spirit of a man who lost his eyesight.  He rushed to the doctor.  The treatment by the physician made it possible for him to see again, but the return of his sight caused him to lose his memory.  He returned to the doctor.  This time he was treated for a loss of memory.  The man regained his memory but lost his eyesight again.  “Well,” said the physician, “we can’t cure both of them together, so you’ll have to choose between sight and memory.  Which will it be?”  The man answered, “Eyesight!  I’d rather see where I’m going than to know where I’ve been.”

It doesn’t matter that you have been plagued in the past with twisted thinking or warped emotions; the next step you take to handle it is what counts.

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The Curse of Self-righteousness

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I love reading A. W. Tozier, and here is something he writes concerning self-righteousness in the church:

Self-righteousness is terrible among God’s people. If we feel that we are what we ought to be, then we will remain what we are. We will not look for any change or improvement in our lives. This will quite naturally lead us to judge everyone by what we are. This is the judgment of which we must be careful. To judge others by ourselves is to create havoc in the local assembly.

Self-righteousness also leads to complacency and complacency is a great sin. Some have the attitude, “Lord, I’m satisfied with my spiritual condition. I hope one of these days You will come, I will be taken up to meet You in the air and I will rule over five cities” (like in Revelation 20:6). These people cannot rule over their own houses and families, but they expect to rule over five cities. They pray spottily and sparsely, rarely attending prayer meeting, but they read their Bibles and expect to go zooming off into the blue yonder and join the Lord in the triumph of the victorious saints.

“Lord, keep me from the curse of self-righteousness. Show me my sin and need for continued growth. If revival is to come, it needs to start with me, and it won’t start unless I’m constantly reminded of my need. Amen.”

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Why We Don’t Witness

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For years, I have heard church leaders bemoan the reality that the majority of Christians never or rarely share their faith with unbelievers. Though declaring the good new of Jesus to others is the responsibility of every Christ-follower, few people in our churches embrace the holy assignment. Why?

In his book, Contagious, author and professor, Jonathan Berger, writes about how thinking and social influence spread, or “why things catch on.” In one chapter, he shares insights from a study that sought to discover why some online articles are shared more than other articles.

Several insights were gleaned, but the strongest discovery was that articles that drove a sense of awe into readers were 30 times more likely to make the list of “most shared articles.” Readers are much more likely to share articles that evoke a sense of awe.

Quite simply, we can’t help but spread news that we find amazing.

Though the book is on every marketing professional’s shelf, the chapter was convicting for me as a believer in Jesus Christ.

According to the research, if I am not sharing the gospel, it is because I have lost my sense of awe and appreciation for it.

The reason the majority of the people in our churches don’t share the gospel is not because they haven’t been through a course. Nor is it because they failed to participate in a training seminar.

Not sharing the gospel reveals a loss of awe about the depths to which He plunged to rescue us. Not sharing the faith with others reveals a loss of amazement that He gave us His righteousness for our sin.

If we are still in awe that the holy and eternal God of the universe would pursue us in our sinfulness, humble Himself and suffer in our place, become the curse for our sin, and absorb our punishment to give us His peace, then we can’t help but share this news. If we are convinced that the news about Jesus is truly good news, we can’t help but spread it.

When the religious leaders asked Peter and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, to stop speaking about Jesus, they replied, “We are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Their hearts were filled with awe for Jesus and His work for them; thus, there was no way they could be silent.

When Jeremiah considered not speaking for the Lord, he realized he could not hold the message inside without exploding: “If I say, ‘I won’t mention Him or speak any longer in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail” (Jeremiah 20:9).

Whatever we find amazing, we share. We spread what we are in awe of.

By Eric Geiger

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How is the Bible God’s Word?

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How does one convince a nonbeliever that the Bible is the Word of God?

Before I try to answer that question directly, let me make a distinction that is important at the outset. There’s a difference between objective proof and the persuasion or conviction that follows. John Calvin argued that the Bible carries both persuasion and conviction in terms of its internal testimony—the marks of truth that could be found just by an examination of the book itself—as well as external evidences that would corroborate that substantial evidence to give solid proof for its being the Word of God.

Yet the last thing people would want is a book telling them they are in desperate need of repentance and of a changed life and of bowing in humility before Christ. We don’t want that book to be the truth. Calvin claimed that there is a tremendous bias and prejudice built into the human heart that only the influence of God the Holy Spirit can overcome. Calvin distinguished between what he called the undicia—those objective evidences for the trustworthiness of Scripture—and what he called the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit, which is necessary to cause us to surrender to the evidence and acknowledge that it is the Word of God.

But I think this is a critical issue upon which so much of the Christian faith depends. The Bible makes the claim that it is the unvarnished Word of God, that it is the truth of God, that it comes from him. God is its ultimate author and source, though indeed he used human authors to communicate that message.

In speaking with people about this, we have to go through the laborious process of showing first of all that the Bible as a collection of historical documents is basically reliable. The same tests that we would apply to Herodotus or Suetonius or any other ancient historian would have to be applied to the biblical records. The Christian should not be afraid to apply those kinds of historical standards of credibility to the Scriptures, because they have withstood a tremendous amount of criticism from that standpoint, and their credibility remains intact.

On the basis of that, we come to an idea. If the book is basically reliable, it doesn’t have to be inerrent or infallible; it gives us a basically reliable portrait of Jesus of Nazareth and what he taught.

We move from there in linear fashion. If we can on the basis of general reliability come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ did the things that history claims he did, it would indicate that Jesus is more than an ordinary human being and that his testimony would be compelling.

I would move first to a study of the person of Jesus and then ask the question, what did Jesus teach about Scripture? For me, in the final analysis, our doctrine of Scripture is drawn from the teaching of Jesus and from our understanding of who he is.

From That’s a Good Question! Copyright © 1996 by R. C. Sproul.

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The Willow Leadership Summit

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I recently read about this list the 10 transformative insights from the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. The insights are mostly paraphrases from each speaker’s respective talks, with their names in parentheses.

Margin: Make margin and Jesus will throw stuff in. (Bob Goff) Bob made me ask myself if my busyness sometimes hinders Jesus from throwing some really important stuff my way. Or, my busyness causes me to miss what He has already thrown my way.

Perspective: See people for who they are becoming. Jesus called Peter, even with his impulsive nature, the rock upon which the Church would be built. He did not view him as a wuss. (Bob Goff)

Courage: You can either choose courage or comfort. (Dr. Brene Brown) Wow, what a powerful quote.

Leadership: I’ve never told anybody “That’s an order.” (General Colin Powell) This one made me think that if we as pastors must remind others that we are in charge, maybe we aren’t.

Optimism: Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. (Colin Powell) There’s a lot of brain science that supports this one.

Vision: Every vision God gives you will face resistance. Many visions die a silent death and are aborted because of fear. Visions from God are holy commodities and must be treated as such. You can’t wait for everybody to get it before you move on your vision. (Bill Hybels) If I live for my own generation then my vision will die with that generation. (Oscar Murio)

Staff culture: Staff culture is only as healthy as the senior pastor wants it to be. (Bill Hybels) This statement reminded me that we can’t delegate to somebody else our responsibiity to take the lead to create a healthy staff culture.

Quitting: Some of the most rewarding experiences come late in the marathon of leadership and life. (Bill Hybels) This reminded me that of Peter Drucker’s 39 books (he’s considered the founder of modern management) he wrote 2/3’s of them after his mid-sixties.

Developing others: Multipliers get on average two times more productivity than what diminishers get from their followers. (Liz Wisemen) Perhaps the challenge in growing churches is not simply to hire more staff, but for leaders to hone their skills as multipliers, thus increasing their current staff’s productivity.

Influence: The size of the harvest depends on the number of leaders. Otherwise, my reach of influence will be limited by my capacity. (Oscar Murio) This one challenged me to up my investment in rising leaders.

by Charles Stone of Stonewell Ministries

How Old Will We Be in Heaven?

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I received an interesting note on the back of one of our Connection Cards this month:

Out of a discussion in our Sunday School lesson, when a person dies and their soul goes to heaven (whether as a baby, teenagers or senior adult) how do they all worship God and relate to each other? How is a soul of a baby different from a soul of an adult? How would they relate or communicate?

I thought this question might have something to do with our ages in heaven, so I decided to check out Billie Todd’s book called, What About Heaven. I found only a reference on page 43-44 stating that “when our spirit leaves our body it seems that our identity and our basic personality will be the same.” She goes on to say that “there will be a joyful innocence and we will have a new clarity of spiritual understanding. In heaven we will be the essence of ourselves; except, with sin removed, we will be like Christ.” On page 48 she re-emphasizes that “our personalities will still be the same, without the sin nature.”

So, I did not find this too helpful in the proposed question. Maybe Billie will include this new content in revisions of her book.

I have discovered that the Bible does not specifically answer the question about age in heaven. Will babies and children who die still be babies or children in Heaven? What about elderly people who die–do they remain elderly in heaven? Some have guessed that babies are given a resurrection body (1 Corinthians 15:35-49) that is “fast-forwarded” to the “ideal age,” just as those who die at an old age are “re-wound” to the ideal age. This would indicate that there won’t be any children or elderly people in heaven.

Makes sense to me because when I think about Adam and Eve in the Garden, I picture them at age 20-something, not as children, teenagers or as old people.

What is the ideal age? Some believe it to be around 30; mature yet not worn out. Some guess 33 since that is approximately the age of Jesus when He died. First John 3:2 declares, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

So, after thinking about it, THAT is exactly what Billie Todd wrote about. Our ideal selves, at an ideal age; babies become who they were meant to be and older people are transformed into themselves at their best.

One thing is for certain. Whatever age we appear to be, we will be gloriously perfect. Our entire person will be remade flawless, wholly and completely Christ-like. We will lose all trace of human fallenness, wearing the white robes of purity, holiness and absolute perfection. So whatever age we are, it will be the age of complete and total perfection.

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The Jethro Principle

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This is a VERY practical story, EARLY in the community life of the recently freed Israelite nation. Do you recall the occasion in Exodus 18 when Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, paid him a visit and found Moses hard at work? He certainly couldn’t accuse his son-in-law of laziness. He was busy, busy, busy! (Does that sound familiar in your life?) Moses was attempting to “be there” for everybody. He was on call for any and all occasions.

But, since Moses was working from morning until evening (Exodus 18:13) Jethro warned him that what he was doing was NOT good (Exodus 18:14, 17). In time, he was only going to wear himself out. Perhaps he was speaking from personal experience, but in any case, Jethro realized that as leaders grow weary, they risk burnout. Inevitably, we lose the joy of service we once knew.

Jethro’s advice to Moses represents what is known as the Jethro Principle for leaders. That is, no leader is called or gifted to do everything. It’s the wise leader who understands their limits.

The wise leader will ask the question, “What are the two or three things I do that are most valuable to the Kingdom and my church?” Then delegate the rest. The result is we will work out of our strengths while delegating our weaknesses to those whose strength is in that area. I’m not saying I have all this figured out, but it is a worthy goal of all leaders to listen to the wisdom of Jethro.

If you are NOT the leader, how are you stepping up to take the burden off of your church staff or other leadership? (Exodus 18:24-26)

Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you’re productive or effective. I can look at my busy calendar and at the end of the day still wonder what I did for the kingdom. I want to do things that will yield an eternal investment, not just stay busy. The real return on our life’s investment is realized when we work through our God-given strengths. May each of us find our strengths and allow God to work through us.

Living Life on Purpose

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The subtitle of this message is How to Avoid Being a Fool, which will become obvious as you read much further:

Proverbs 13:4 is my key passage, which helps us seek a remedy to foolishness.

Sometimes things just happen. They are called accidents when they are negative, like a car wreck or spilling Mountain Dew all over your computer keyboard. But when things happen that are positive, we might just call them a coincidence or a blessing, something happened that we did not expect but we’re happy it turned out that way.

A powerful theme throughout the book of Proverbs is, “How in the world can we be successful in life?” How do we stay on the right path? How can we avoid being foolish? Let’s look again at the verse for the morning…

The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, But the soul of the diligent is made fat. (NASB) New American Standard Bible

Lazy people want much but get little,
but those who work hard will prosper. (NLT) New Living Translation

The lazy will not get what they want,
but those who work hard will. (NCV) New Century Version

The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied. (Amplified)

No matter how much you want, laziness won’t help a bit, but hard work will reward you with more than enough. (CEV) Contemporary English Version

I believe THAT is what we all want out of life, to get what we want, to have more than enough, to have abundant supply, to have prosperity, and for our “soul to be made fat” (NASB)… (but not the rest of us to be made fat).

The point of this message is to wrap up the current series called, Wisdom From Above. Skip has guided us through the book of Proverbs with topics like: running a wise household, a priceless pursuit, speaking words wisely, the discipline dilemma, avoiding self-centeredness, being a wise guy, dealing with friends and enemies, anger, dishonesty, stewardship and how to guard your heart. The proverbs have so many words of wisdom, because “the wisdom found in Proverbs” is from above.

One thing that sticks out to me in the Proverbs is the obvious contrast between right and left, black and white, right and wrong, wisdom and foolishness, prosperity and ruin, laziness and productivity. There is also a fact to remember, that no one ever becomes wise by accident. We don’t wake up one morning only to discover that we have become wise, or righteous, or full of integrity, or that we are sinning less than we did last week. If we are not constantly and intentionally making progress in our spiritual growth, then we are on the road to becoming foolish. Just read the news and see what people are doing out in the real world, and for most people we meet on the street, there is only one word to describe the human race… foolish.

I am also sad to say, that we find a lot of foolishness INSIDE the church. Much of what we might find deals with the masks that we wear. We hide our true selves, our struggles, our hurts and our habits. We hope that others will believe that we “have it all together,” that we are “holier than what we really are,” because we don’t want to be judged and probably more accurately, we don’t want to change. We think the life we are living will bring us happiness and wholeness, but at the end of a foolishly lived life is heartache, brokenness and death.

Proverbs 14:12 tells us that, there is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. This is such an important fact that Solomon repeats the phrase, word for word in Proverbs 16:25. We are blind to our own self-destructive tendencies. We are blind to the fact that we are fools professing to be wise.

While none of us is perfect, or has the right to judge others, it IS the responsibility of Christ followers to confront a professing believer who is wandering down the wide path of destruction. It is one thing to mistakenly start down the wrong path, but it is totally another thing to know the difference Christ makes, and willfully choose to walk in rebellion and self-deception. People in this category KNOW their true spiritual condition and sincerely believe that they are doing only what God requires of them… church attendance, a twenty in the plate every now and then, and a fish symbol on the back of my car.

The truth is that we ALL have a long way to go. I firmly believe that one reason we don’t progress toward spiritual maturity is because we believe it happens through osmosis, believing something like, “I’ll just come to worship, play the game, put on my mask, knowing the whole time my life stinks, is falling apart, and I don’t care who I hurt.”
Those who choose NOT to live with purpose, and are NOT diligent about living a life of honor to God, are frankly… foolish. Although Proverbs mentions a lot about foolishness, I thought I would expand our topic of foolishness to include much more of the Bible.

I hope that each of us today will ask ourselves a very disturbing question. Are we fools? If we don’t live a life of diligence, on purpose, we must admit to living life as a fool.

1. The Bible says that atheists are fools (Psalm 14:1, Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God”). While most people are smart enough to NOT call themselves atheists, but they can easily be called practical atheists because while they admit that God MAY exist, they live life as if there was no God. Hey, there are even Christian Atheists, those who are confident of God’s existence yet choose to live as if he doesn’t exist. (Romans 14:10-12, these people are sadly mistaken. Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.’” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.)

2. When we are filled with pride we are called fools (Romans 1:21-25, Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools… So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired… They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!)

A sure sign of a reprobate mind is that they call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). This point is such an indictment on our modern society, just read a newspaper or watch the news on TV; many things that the Bible calls sin, is now acceptable, encouraged and politically correct.

3. When we walk in consistent disobedience we are called foolish (Matthew 7:21-27, Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”)

The rain and wind WILL come into your life, and into your family; and we must be ready to hear and obey God and his Word. It is foolish self-deception to hear God’s Word and not do it. (James 1:22, Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.)

4. When we trust in the world’s riches we are called fools (Luke 12:15-20, Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’)

5. When we have a quick quarrelsome spirit we are called fools (Proverbs 20:3, It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. And then in Romans 14:19, Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.)

6. When we walk through life carelessly we are fools (Ephesians 5:15-17, Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.)

7. When we despise parental discipline, we are fools (Proverbs 15:5, A fool spurns a parent’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.)

Not only is this an awesome responsibility for children to respect their parents and the godly discipline they provide, but it is an indictment on parents who fail to raise their children in the knowledge and ways of God. The Christian faith is caught more than it is taught. Parents need to live out what they profess to believe. I sense that nothing will bring on disrespect in a teenager more than seeing someone living a life of hypocrisy. But for the majority of us here, children will often rebel against their parents for nothing more than selfishness, independence issues and their not wanting anyone to have authority over them. For THAT, the Bible calls you a fool.

8. When we mock God we are fools (Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”)
Pharaoh was in obvious mocking mode. He thumbed his nose at the creator of the universe and had open disrespect for God and his authority.

If we profess to know God yet don’t live for God, or live a life that is NOT pleasing or honoring to God, we mock him, and we are no better than Pharaoh.

At some point in our lives we will have regret over living a life of mocking God; and the sad truth is that we will not arrive at the end of life unharmed… (Galatians 6:7-8, Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.)

9. When we are unprepared to meet God, we are foolish (2 Peter 3:10, 14, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare… So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.)

We CANNOT go through this life unprepared to meet God at the end. This life IS preparation for the next.

It was this truth that brought me into a relationship with God back in high school. I was saved not only because I had friends that encouraged me to get involved in church, but because I was haunted by the question regarding the purpose of life. “What was the point to live some 70-80 years on this planet only to die and decay in the ground?” Why are we here? What difference does it make? I realized that the point of this life is to prepare us for the NEXT life.

If we fail to get prepared to meet God (and bring as many people with us), there is only one place where God will not be present, in hell, which is total and eternal separation from God, and all he represents… which is love, hope, peace, pleasure, comfort, safety, security and Joy. A place without these qualities is by definition, hell. Don’t let this earthly life and our common enemy (the devil) distract you from your purpose in life.

So, if we want to be on the positive side of the Proverbs “wise/foolish” equation, we MUST be diligent. It’s hard work to follow after God and do the right thing. Prosperity, wisdom, doing what’s right does NOT happen by accident. The word diligence means to work hard, attentiveness, thoroughness, carefulness, and persistence. Can you use ANY of these words to describe your spiritual pursuit of God and his will? Or do you use words like, casual, comfortable, convenient, or inconsistent?

So how can we be diligent in our sanctification? Sanctification is a fancy church word for becoming more like Jesus Christ, to become holy, set apart for a purpose. When we first come to Christ and we receive him as Savior and Lord, he forgives us from all that we have done in the past, all the mistakes, all the sin. We are declared righteous before God the Father. This is what we call justification. Think of it this way, when we come to Christ, he sees us just-as-if-I’d never sinned.

Coming to Christ is the easy part, now comes the harder part, sanctification. This is the life-long process of conforming to the image of Christ. Hopefully, we strive to live according to the principles we read in the Bible, but it takes diligence to allow God to transform our lives from our path of self-destruction to his pathway of life, meaning and purpose.
So, I thought it would be good to literally spell it out for us this morning, you see “diligence” spelled out as an acrostic in your outline:

D – Discipleship over Drifting: the point is that we enter into this new relationship with Christ, and we learn from him what it means to be a follower or disciple of Jesus, and THEN we apply his teaching to our lives. To be a disciple is to be a learner, so we must learn from Christ, through his Word given to us, the Bible. The alternative is to drift through life just hoping for the best. When we have no focus, we WILL drift in any direction, tossed by the waves of society, pop psychology or wind of doctrine.

I – Intentionality over Ambiguity: When we are focused, we will also become intentional in our transformation. I suggest you look for someone around you who exhibits the moral character and spiritual qualities and disciplines that you want to develop in your own life.

L – Love in Word and Deed: Let’s be diligent in love. Love is not simply an emotion, but it is an act of the will. It shows itself through not only the words we say but the deeds we accomplish for other people. Love is NOT love unless it is demonstrated to the object of our love.

I – Integrity with Self and Others: The Christian life is to be lived honorably, in truth, in authenticity, without the mask we so often put on when we come to church. The mask must be removed if we are to walk with integrity. We don’t impress anyone with the fake-face of pretending to have it all together. People are drawn to Christ when they see honesty and integrity as they watch believers live out what they say they believe.

G – Godliness as a Goal: This is nothing more than living according to the life principles given by God. The Bible not only teaches us what to believe, but it teaches us how we are to live for God in the real world. The Bible is not learned until it is applied. Application of spiritual truth is a sign of a disciplined life. I am convinced that we in the American church are educated far beyond our obedience.

E – Eternity in Mind: We know that this life is NOT all that there is. We live in the light of eternity. As Maximus, in the Gladiator once said, “What we do here echoes in eternity.” What we do here is preparation for the next life. Life is to be lived for the glory and honor of God. We are to please him in everything we say and do because we ALL of us will one day give an account for what we do in this life.

N – Newness of Life: Paul writes to the Corinthians, that anyone who is in Christ has become a new creation, a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! We are able to be set free from the sin, hurts, abuses, addictions, habits and hang-ups of our past. Perhaps THIS is what you are seeking this morning, and today is the day that you say you have had enough of living life on your own, and will surrender your life to Christ. In a moment, I will ask you to pray about the decision you need to make.

C – Character Development: God doesn’t want to just change our behavior; he wants to change our character. Character is what we are when no one is looking. When your character is under the lordship of Jesus Christ, your behavior will follow. The real you needs to be under the control of the Holy Spirit, not that “fake you” wearing a mask. Your transformation begins when you admit that you have a need, a problem, a sin, and then begin to follow the one who can literally change your life.

E – Enemies into Friends: This phrase comes from the message Skip gave the other week on friends and enemies. Jesus said to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. But this is NOT something we can do in our own strength. This point regarding diligence is that THIS element is the foundational teaching of Jesus; that we were once enemies of God but those who are in Christ are brought near to God as friends (John 15:14), those who were once dead are brought back to life (Ephesians 2:1-5). If you desire to live a life of prosperity, virtue, success, health, peace, meaning and purpose, you CANNOT leave out this part of the equation. Be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:21). It is time to AVOID living as a fool.

Conclusion: the time to decide on how you will live is now. Are you up for the challenge to live your life on purpose, in all diligence? Is it time to get serious about your relationship to Christ? Is it time to join this church in membership or through baptism?

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Praying for Volunteers

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If prayer is a regular part of the Christian experience, I had to ask myself a penetrating question: How many volunteers have I asked God for this week?

We all know that prayer should be the foundation of our recruiting efforts. I mean, every leader knows that, right? But often, in our busyness, we forget this important step, or we don’t know where to begin, or we feel presumptuous asking God to help with something so obvious. Whatever the excuse, (I mean, reason) a prayer plan can empower the process to involve more people in ministry.

This quick (and Scripture-rich) prayer pattern will not only help you pray with more focus and purpose; and it’s a great way to get the entire leadership team involved in praying for new volunteers.

Ask God to send the right people: “… O Lord, you know every heart. Show us which of these… you have chosen” (Acts 1:24)

Pray God would give them a willing heart: “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do” (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

Believe they will be obedient to God’s call to serve: “I am confident as I write this letter that you will do what I ask and even more!” (Philemon 1:21)