This week's Bible Study - November 25, 2007
Make Up Your Minds
 Background Scripture:
Matthew 7:13-29
Quote of the Week:
“Don't you ever wonder maybe if you took a left turn instead of a right you could be someone different?”
Anonymous
It's nearing the Christmas holiday season once again. Some people have done all of their shopping and are prepared to handle other things in the coming weeks. Others will be doing most of their shopping as the date approaches. However, it is interesting to watch people shop, whenever they shop. Some people have a very specific goal in mind. They go to a store or a mall and head straight for a shelf and pull exactly what they are looking for and then they leave. Others have an idea of what they want, but they spend an inordinate amount of time in making a decision. Others have no idea of what they plan on getting and they go from store to store, seemingly wandering aimlessly.
As you watch people shop, you get an analogy of believers and how they approach life. When we are in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, and are seeking His will, the choices in life are much easier. We know the things that we should do and we know the areas of life that cause us problems - and knowing this and acting on this makes life much simpler. Others have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and they have an inkling of what life should be, but they spend a lot of time in deciding where they will go in life. At times, they make the right choices and at other times, they go the wrong way. Perhaps they have a desire to do the right things, but they don't always follow through. Then, there are others who hear the words of Christ, but live a life that is totally separate. Church on most Sundays, but anywhere else but where Christ wants them the rest of the week.
I believe this passage specifically speaks to those who are involved in churches. We can find examples of all types of people there, as we are all human. The church is truly the hospital for souls. Although many people act as if there are no problems, there are always problems in the church - sickness, job loss, relationship issues, financial problems, legal issues, etc. We'd like for none of these things to happen, but in our own lives, we have likely seen that we grow the most when we experience problems that indicate that we cannot handle life on our own. When we reach the end of self - that is where we can find Christ. At that time, perhaps we begin to take the words of Christ more to heart and follow them as intended.
Have you ever been in a crowd that was so large and had such momentum that you had to work hard to go your way, rather than the way they were headed? I'm a pretty big guy, in comparison to most folks - but I remember a time several years ago when I went with some friends to a St Louis Blues hockey game in downtown St Louis. We rode the Metro-link, so that we wouldn't have to worry about parking in the city. The problem was that once the game was over, everybody who rode the Metro-link, arriving on multiple trains, showed up at the platform at the same time. The number of people was so great and so tightly packed together that I truly believe that I could have lifted my feet off the ground and still made it on the train.
Sometimes in life there seems to be great momentum in heading in a specific direction. Everybody is doing it…. Surely you remember either saying those words to your parents or hearing them from your children. The usual reply was something like 'if everybody was jumping off a cliff, would you?' (Well, maybe if you are a lemming!) When you live by popular consensus, you'll find yourself going in many different directions. You likely won't end up in the place that you wanted to go.
Jesus told his followers that they were to enter the narrow gate. You can picture a field with two different exits. There is one that would accommodate many people and there is another that only few people can enter. We are all given choices in life, as to the decisions we make. From time to time, I believe we've all made choices that have aligned more with the wide gate than the narrow. As believers, we know that God has detailed the way of true life, but we may buy into the perceived 'truth' that the world has learned more. Even though we may fail at points in our lives, God is forgiving and offers mercy and grace to those who continue to seek Him. God's forgiveness, however, does not suspend the consequences that we may face due to wayward decisions. However, God gives us the chance to seek Him anew. Are you headed for the narrow gate?
A problem that has plagued believers throughout history has been that of false prophets. People tend to become devoted to teachers and churches and less attached to the Word of God. There are many good teachers and many good churches, but it is always dangerous to put more emphasis on any teacher or church than you place on God. In the past few weeks, I have flown to several different airports in the US. I've heard a few conversations on the side that spoke of books written by Christian authors and how they make the Bible come to life. One woman said something about how difficult it is to understand the Bible without having someone interpret it. While parts of the Bible are admittedly difficult to understand, it seems to me that the biggest difficulty is that most believers will not put the time and dedication into trying to understand the Bible. If it had something to do with what we needed to learn from our jobs or for a class, I feel that most people would spend whatever time and effort that is required to dig in and understand.
It is helpful to learn from others, but our true source is the Bible and if we are not aware of what it says, we are at risk in regard to false prophets. False prophets tend to mix a bit of truth in with the lie. For those who don't understand the truth of what they believe, these false teachers seem legitimate. I remember a speaker who came on spoke on cults at our church years ago. He went to other churches each week and talked about what the cults believed and how it differed. At one church, a lady (church member) came up to him and said that she was very interested. He question was if what he was talking about was what she believed or what the cult believed. Do you see the potential problem? So many church members are simply treading water. Their knowledge of Scripture may be limited to Veggietales or other children's stories. What if an engineer only knew engineering, based on cartoons? What if a doctor learned how to operate with the old game of 'Operation'? What if a banker learned banking from the game of 'Monopoly'? Most people will purchase books to learn their craft - we'll spend countless hours reading the paper or sports magazines or home improvement magazines, but we struggle to find 15 minutes in a week to read the Bible. Is it any wonder that so many believers fall for false prophets? It sounded right….
These false prophets may look good, but their lives tell a different story. Jesus says that they are inwardly ferocious wolves, with specific plans to throw others off track. He said that you could recognize them by their fruit - fruit is consistent with the tree or bush that produces it. Again, it is important to know the fruit of the Spirit, which we learn in Scripture. In Galatians 5, we learn that the fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and temperance. A believer does not have a single fruit, but these in combination characterize the walk of believers. As we grow, rough edges are sanded down and, though we still make mistakes, God continues to mold us, according to His word. It is by the fruit of believers that they are recognized. This is the key missing component to the false prophets - they speak the words, but their lives are inconsistent with the fruits of the Spirit.
Jesus issued a stern warning to those who appear to be in Christ, but are really far away. It is possible to do the things, but be far away. People tend to want to have the list of things that they need to do, without really making a true change in life. Our society has become much of a results oriented society, so that as long as people make things happen, the rest doesn't seem to matter. We see it in the area of professional athletics - if a player can succeed in their sport, by scoring or playing defense or whatever they do - their lives outside of the sport matter little. We've seen so many athletes that have made major mistakes off the court and are not really concerned. This attitude has permeated the church in many ways. Make sure you do the work at church - teach a class, work with the children, sing in the choir, etc - but live totally different outside of Sunday - and it's all fine, apparently.
Jesus indicated that many would call him Lord and speak of the things they did in life - their results, as it may be. Some of these were apart from Him, as they changed Christianity into doing what they wanted, and being less concerned of doing the will of God. Sometimes, we allow circumstances of life to override what God has called us to do. We justify our decisions based on other things that happen. You've done it - I've done it. This isn't what we've been called to do. This should cause us all to think for a bit about why we do what we do. Are we really seeking to do God's will, or are we coming up with the plans of what we will do and assuming that this is what God wants? Even if we do things in the context of a church, this does not necessarily indicate that we are in God's will. Are we seeking God's will and acting, or are we doing our will and hoping that God goes along with us? Jesus makes it clear that those who know him are less about results and more about the relationship with him and being in line with the will of the Father.
Jesus concludes this passage speaking about wise and foolish men. Interestingly enough, both the wise and foolish men in this passage heard the words of Christ. The words of Christ can come through many means - by reading the Bible, by hearing a pastor speak, by being involved in Bible Study with others, through circumstances in your life and so on. But, the words of Christ are always consistent - if your circumstances do not line up with what the Bible says, this is not from God.
The wise man is the one who hears the words and puts them into practice. When we do this, we are truly seeking him and we are like a man who builds his house on the rock. In the event of rain and floods and winds and storms that beat against that house, the house stayed steady, because of the steady foundation. As opposed to the man who built his house on the rock, the foolish man built his house on the sand. Great - beach front property? When the rain came and the streams rose and the winds blew - the house fell with a great crash.
How many times have you felt as if you have heard a word from God in a service or in a class, but have found yourself forgetting what you intended to do before you hit the parking lot? It has happened to all of us, I believe. When this becomes a pattern of behavior, and we end up put words from God on the same level as what we see in movies, we've missed the boat. It is akin to getting the best advice from experts on how to do anything, but then doing whatever we wanted to do in the first place.
Can you imagine being in the crowd when Jesus was talking? His words carried an authority that they couldn't find in the synagogues or schools or elsewhere. When Jesus spoke, those words rang true of life. The same holds true today. We may hear great orators or those who seem to carry authority, but who holds a candle to the Creator of the Universe?
The real question is why we ever follow anything different? I've made plenty of mistakes in my life where I've followed by own thinking and disregarded what God had said. It never puts you in a better place, and sometimes you are faced with daunting consequences.
Closing
Every person makes decisions in life - it doesn't matter whether they are Christians or not. It may be based on some moral code or whatever seems best for them or whatever the prevalent thought of the day is. However, as believers, our decisions should be based on a non changing standard - the Bible. We shouldn't be following the crowd and mindlessly making decisions based on what everyone else is doing.
There is a wide gate and a narrow gate. The wide gate is being accessed by all sorts of people - don't get caught in the flow of following conventional wisdom of the time, because it will only get you so far. And, where you end up is not likely to be where God would have you be.
Are you an easy target for a false prophet? If a co-worker or a friend starts speaking about Jesus, do you know Jesus so well that you can tell if they are speaking about the real Jesus or another one? I believe that there was a second baseman that played in professional baseball with the first name of Jesus. Note - this is not our Jesus! There are so many television programs with 'Christian' emphasis - teachers, preachers, etc. Are you so well equipped that you can tell the fake? I bet that most of us can identify when someone is wrong in talking with regard to our jobs. We have studied that. What areas of your life have you dived deep and become an expert in? Have you given this type of priority to what really matters in life? Know what you believe and why you believe - then you can identify the counterfeit.
Would you call yourself a results oriented person? This may be what the corporate world wants. They want the people who can make things happen. How they do it, as long as it is legal (or they don't get caught), matters little. This is not what Christ is calling us to be. Should we be concerned about results? Sure, we need to have goals. However, Jesus is calling us to follow the process and take it where it leads. It's not the action, but it's the motive. Are you willing to be a process person in regards to your faith?
Where is your foundation? Are you building on the rock, or are you pursuing the beach front property? That house on the beach looks really nice, until the hurricane comes. Have you seen the areas of the world that have been devastated by hurricanes, cyclones, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, fires, mud slides, etc? Not every home in these areas is a mansion, but every home is susceptible to major damage. It is interesting to see that these major catastrophies occur and yet people go back to the same place. In the St Louis area, we had a large flood in 1993. Chances are you saw pictures and videos on the news. Houses were picked up and carried away by floodwaters. It is interesting to see that, in the areas that had major flooding - there has been new construction - businesses, homes, etc. Levees have been built to 'solve' the problem. Some are not so sure - a billboard I drive past each day states - There are two types of levees - ones that have failed and ones that will. Our lives are much the same. Do we learn from our mistakes or do we go right back to where we were? God uses many means to get our attention. He gives us many words that area applicable to our lives. Are we listening?
Some people live lives of little responsibility. They make messes and go on, assuming that they will take care of themselves. It is a very lacadaisacal way to live. In our Christian walk, we need to take care and decide that we will follow what Christ has given us. As the year begins to close out, are you willing to consider anew what you will do in your life? What is your driving factor and what comes into play when you make your decisions? I urge you (and myself) to seek Christ anew.
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