Time to Grow Up

A wise man once said “faithful are the wounds of a friend.” I need to tell you something that may hurt a little, because I care about you as a friend.

I think it's wise to seek prayer from friends for our problems, whether they're health-related, relational or whether they fall into some other category. Prayer is a powerful thing. But there are problems that cannot be resolved by the prayers of our friends alone.

I have many friends who suffer from chronic aches, pains and illnesses and I have other friends whose relationships have been blown to pieces. When everything seems to be falling apart, there's a temptation to cry out to friends to pray for our problems to be fixed once and for all. Let me reiterate that I am not against prayer, because what I'm about to say next could be misinterpreted as that.

Many of us have not yet learned how to stand against the enemy in our battle against recurring sickness and most of us are responsible for our own recurring relationship problems. Let's take a look at sickness first.

The battle against recurring sickness is something like how we might deal with a criminal who repeatedly breaks into our home. Jesus used this illustration when teaching about how and why demons return to a person after being cast out of them in Luke chapter eleven.(See Luke 11:21-26)

When a burglar breaks into our home, we have a couple of ways in which we can respond. One option is to stand by helplessly and let them take our property and beat us senseless while waiting for the police to show up. An untrained and ill-equipped believer who relies on friends or the anointed "man of God" to pray for them is like a defenseless homeowner at the mercy of a burglar.

Evil spirits are opportunistic, just like burglars. They size up their potential victims and evaluate their defenses. A burglar looks for signs of vulnerability. They look for alarm systems, ease of access, unlocked doors and windows, the absence of a dog, and the likelihood that the homeowner will be armed. They look for homeowners that are the least likely to fight back. Demons do the same thing.

People who refuse to be trained in spiritual warfare or who never learned how to exercise their authority over the enemy are like homeowners who refuse to secure their homes or fight back against an intruder. They make themselves easy targets for evil spirits and once word gets out in the demonic community that they're an easy target - they can expect to be harassed by even more evil spirits. That's the message Jesus illustrated in His teaching in Luke chapter eleven.

When it comes to healing - many of us are content to let someone else deal with the bad guys. It's easier to find the anointed man of God to pray for us than it is to learn how to withstand the attacks of enemy ourselves. The problem is that Jesus gave every believer the power and authority they need to defeat the enemy, without going to someone else for help. Recurring problems with sickness and disease are the result of us refusing to take our responsibilities seriously.

You can plead with your friends to pray for your healing all you want - but if you never learn to exercise the authority God has given you over sickness, you're never going to remain healed. The spirits that bring  sickness will continue to assault you until you learn to take authority over them yourself.

I have a friend who once asked the Holy Spirit "How do you see cancer?"

The Holy Spirit replied, "I can't see cancer because it's under my feet. I want it to be under your feet."

The enemy is going to continue to beat us up until we learn to put him under our feet once and for all. I'm preaching to myself here as my wife and I don't always do this ourselves, but we're learning.

My wife was recently healed of back pain when she finally understood that the things she thought about herself , about her symptoms, and about God's desire to heal her were allowing the enemy to continue to attack her and keep her in pain.

The first problem was that she couldn't bring herself to believe she was healed as long as she still felt pain. This is a bit of a murky problem because sometimes people feel pain in response to a physical problem, while other times the sensation of pain is due only to the presence of a spirit.  To further complicate things - she had an MRI that showed two herniated discs. You might think that as long as she has herniated discs, she must resign herself to living with the pain. We know of people who have an MRIs showing herniated discs but they had no symptoms of the injury. She began to ask, "If some people have herniated discs and don't have pain, why can't I be one of them?"

She also wasn't completely sure at that point that God wanted to heal her. One day she decided to believe that God really did want to heal her and she entertained the idea that perhaps she was already healed. She accepted the fact that it was her beliefs and not God's reluctance to heal her that was the problem. So she chose to believe that she was healed. She also chose to see the pain she was experiencing as a lie from the enemy. Once she got her thinking straightened out, it removed the power the enemy had over her and the pain immediately left.

One of the major lessons we've learned is that the enemy only has the power over us that we allow him to have. Being healed and keeping the symptoms from returning is a battle. Most of the warfare is done on the six inch battlefield between our ears. Now let's take a look at problems with relationships.

Many of us cry out to our friends or to God to have our relationship problems fixed, rather than take an honest look at ourselves and admit that we're the ones responsible for our problems. God is not going to take away the consequences of our bad decisions. As we sow, we shall also reap. Many of us are reaping the consequences of manipulation, co-dependency, selfishness, immaturity and a failure to walk in our God-given identity.

Relationship problems are cyclical. The habits we've developed over our lifetime create the same dynamics (for good or bad) in all our relationships. When the same problems arise repeatedly, instead of  blaming others or crying out to God to fix the other person, we need to look at why we are bearing bad fruit. The fruit of our relationships is determined by the condition of our heart. It is only by changing the way in which we relate to others that the cycle of relationship problems will end. It's a sign of spiritual immaturity to blame others for our problems or to expect someone else to fix them. We must be the one who makes the change.

Most of us have a lot of growing up to do. It's time to take the training wheels off and learn how to live as mature children of God.

The “Law of Undulation,” or the Way of the Wilderness

“We didn’t count on suffering…we didn’t count on pain…but if the blessing’s in the valley…then in the river I will wait…” – Delirious

            Christians often speak of “seasons.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…”  One of these seasons is what Screwtape calls the “trough.”  In letters eight and nine of The Screwtape Letters, the elder demon, Screwtape, writes to his nephew, a novice demon, about “The Law of Undulation.”  This law is a major principle in the Christian walk.  While Wormwood, the novice, is thrilled about this condition of spiritual dryness, the trough, Screwtape is much more cautious, and writes at great length about how God (The Enemy) uses the trough to His advantage.  Screwtape’s terminology is of “troughs and peaks,” but Christians often refer to “wilderness” or “desert” seasons, and to “hills and valleys.”  It’s all the same concept.  All Christians, at some point, go through these ups and downs.

            While Wormwood is eagerly planning the ways he can use his “patient’s” trough to his advantage – and in fact, the demonic can use troughs to their benefit – he gets a stern correction from his uncle:  “Now it may surprise you to learn that in His [The Enemy’s] efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than the peaks; some of His special favorites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.”  Consider Moses, who spent 40 years in the wilderness with the Israelites, but who remained faithful throughout.  Or Job, who had all kinds of horrible things happen to him, but still declared, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 15:1).   Or David, who often felt abandoned by God, and did not hesitate in saying so.  In Psalm 22, he cries out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?  Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent…” Perhaps even Jesus was in this trough, when he echoed David’s words on the cross.  Certainly these are good examples of God’s beloved experiencing deep valleys, or troughs, as Screwtape calls them.   Screwtape also says “Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”  All of the aforementioned people prove Screwtape’s point.  Despite their trials, their pain, or what seems like God’s absence, they ultimately remained faithful, and what’s more, they remained obedient.

            Troughs, or valleys, or wilderness seasons, generally do not constitute the fun part of being in relationship with God.  In these seasons, it is harder to hear God’s voice, feel His presence, or even see evidence of it anywhere.  Doubt and depression often enter in.  Screwtape harps on this when he encourages Wormword to get his patient to think in terms of “phases.”  We wonder if we ever heard God, if He was ever there, if we really witnessed those miracles.  We can even begin to wonder if we are really “saved.”  These are the times where we must rely on what we know to be true, not what we feel is true.  It doesn’t matter what the trial is.  What matters is our response.  Are we going to give up on God, write our whole relationship off as simply a “religious phase,” as Screwtape would like? Or are we going to take advantage of what God has for us in the wilderness?

            Looking through the Scriptures, it is interesting to note how often those in the wilderness are led there.  They didn’t just find themselves there, completely by accident.  The Israelites were led out of Egypt into the wilderness.  Not only were they brought out of slavery, but they witnessed miracle after miracle, like the parting of the Red Sea, bitter waters made sweet, manna sent from heaven, and water brought from the rock.  It might be safe to assume that God was with them.  And indeed He says “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand.  He knows your trudging through this great wilderness.  These 40 years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked for nothing” (Deut. 2:7).  Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He countered satan’s tempting with the Word (Matt. 4, and a good lesson for us).  And then there is Hosea 2:14-16, which is perhaps the most moving passage about the wilderness in the Bible. 

14)”Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

Will bring her into the wilderness,

And speak comfort to her.

15)I will give her vineyards from there,

And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.

She shall sing there,

As in the days of her youth,

As in the days when she came up from the land of Egypt.

16)”And it shall be, in that day,”

Says the Lord,

“That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’

And no longer call Me ‘My Master.’”

           

While we may not see, hear or feel God in the wilderness, in the trough, in the valley, it is in this place that we are schooled in His grace, His provision, and His love.  The Israelites – though they complained bitterly – lacked for nothing, with all the miracles they witnessed and lived on. Job had everything restored to him.  David continued to offer that “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15,) and was considered “a man after God’s own heart.”  And I don’t need to describe what Jesus did.  In the trough, we have to walk by faith, and not by sight, which we as Christians are called to do, anyway. (2 Cor. 5:7).  We have to trust that God is with us, even if we can’t hear or feel Him.  And we know that He’s with us, because He promises to never leave or forsake us. While we may enjoy the mountaintop experiences, or the peaks, we grow in the wilderness, in the troughs.  Screwtape himself says, “It is during such trough periods, that it [the human] is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be.  Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best.”  In the trough we learn to rely on God and on His promises.  We learn to seek more diligently after Him, and in doing so, can be rewarded with the some of our most intimate and rich moments with Him.  Look at what He says in Hosea:  He will “allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.”  Comfort in the wilderness?  Yes, it is possible.  And in verse 16, He says “You will call Me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master.’”  What a picture of intimacy!  On the mountaintop, or on the peak, to use Screwtape’s word, we tend to become self-sufficient.  In the trough, we are unable to be self-sufficient.  We may find ourselves stripped of all that we once relied on, meaning that we must depend solely on God.  In this time, it helps to remember that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).  And in the trough, we are indeed quite weak.

I don’t mean to paint such a glorified picture of the trough.  It is not an easy season to be in, and we can be quick to resent it, and resent God for it.  But as I said before, it is not simply our being in the wilderness that matters; it is what we do with our time in it that makes the difference (and often determines how long we remain there).  It can be a time of real intimacy with God and tremendous growth in our faith.  It can also be a time of depression, doubt, and even worse, self-pity.  This is when Screwtape and company can really enter in and rob us of what God has for us.  Doubt can destroy all the good God had planned for us.  Wormwood is advised about this:  “Do not let him [the human] suspect the law of undulation.  Let him assume that the first ardours of his conversion might have been expected to last, and ought to have lasted, forever, and that his present dryness is an equally permanent condition.”  It is easy, when in the trough, to see it as permanent, and lose hope, and even worse, lose faith.  Screwtape continues:  “When you have caused him to assume that the trough is permanent, can you not persuade him that his ‘religious phase’ is just going to die away like all the previous phases?”  We need to be like Jesus in the wilderness, responding to the devil’s taunting with the truth, the way Jesus responded with “for it is written…” each time the devil tempted Him.  And the truth is that the trough is not permanent; God’s love is.

We cannot reason our way out of the wilderness, the valley, the trough.  We may remember with longing the joyous feeling of being on that mountaintop, and work our hardest to get back up there.  But if we don’t pause, seek God and see what He has for us, we miss the potential for so much.  We might miss blessings, miracles, opportunity for growth, and worst of all, true intimacy with God.  Though it may be dark, the fire by night will guide us, and we will lack for nothing.  God will be with us, even if His presence is not as readily apparent as it once was.  It may seem like He’s gone silent, or even worse, left us.  It may seem like we are being punished for something.  This is not the truth.  The truth is that the wilderness – though difficult and often painful – is when we get to mature as followers of Christ, to learn to rely on God rather than people or things, to stand on His promises and not be swayed, no matter what may come against us, and above all, to really draw near to Him, knowing that He never has and never will leave us.  In the trough, if we respond well, Screwtape’s fears will be justified, and we will become just the sort of “creature” God wants us to be. 

by Kim Mitman

Evangelism and Discipleship - A Parable

There was a certain man named Jim, who lived in the dense jungles of a faraway place. The land Jim lived on was a vast piece of property bordered by a river to the south. The river went for hundreds of miles in both directions and cut a deep canyon through the land, which made it nearly impossible to cross over to the other side, except at the few bridges that had been built by missionaries years before.

Jim had never been to the other side of the river. As a boy, his parents warned him not to cross over to that wild and dangerous place. Growing up in this region, everyone knew the stories about the odd customs and beliefs of the strange people on the other side and few dared to cross over to see for themselves.

Jim had a friend named Robert, who had been to the other side. Robert had many good things to say about what took place across the river. Out of respect for his friend's wishes, Robert didn't ask Jim if he wanted to go across. They talked about other things. The two men took many long walks on the dirt paths that criss-crossed the jungle floor. Over the years they had become good friends and Robert, having great wisdom, took to counseling Jim through the difficulties of his life and Jim's respect for Robert grew as the years went by.

From time to time, Jim walked a favorite trail that led to the river and ended at one of the bridges to the other side. Without fail, every time he wandered that way, just to gaze across the canyon or to relax while tossing sticks into the raging waters below, someone from the other side would invite Jim to come across the bridge. Jim's answer was always the same; "No thanks."

Two years earlier, Jim's friend Mary decided to cross over. The person that invited her talked about the wonderful things that she would see and experience across the river. And when Mary got there, she wasn't disappointed. It was beautiful. The people seemed pleasant and the streets were well maintained. It was like living in another world. But she found it hard to make friends. People on this side were somewhat cold and distant. They smiled often and knew how to be polite, but they guarded their speech and kept to their own affairs and weren't very friendly. The man who invited Mary to cross over never contacted her again after that day.

Many who crossed over lived in loneliness and isolation. Some crossed back over to the jungle from which they came. But there were always some who invited the jungle people to cross over the bridge, promising them paradise.

One day, while walking, Jim and Robert came to the bridge and stopped.

"You've been my friend all these years Robert. You've stayed by my side and helped me whenever I needed it. I see wisdom in you and it's benefited me, when I took your advice. I desperately need to know what's on the other side. Something is pulling on me to cross over. But I've heard stories about being abandoned. Robert, I trust you. Please tell me you'll stay beside me if I cross over."

Robert looked at his friend and said, "Jim, the one I serve gave me a promise; 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' I make that same promise to you."

The two men crossed over and Robert began the journey of exploring the kingdom of God with his friend. He kept his promise. They remained friends for life and walked together, sharing many adventures.

Many of us are excited to bring others across the bridge into the kingdom of God. That's how we win souls. And he who wins souls is wise. But Jesus asked us to make disciples. Discipleship requires something different. It's a daily walk with others as we pour into them what Jesus poured into us. Discipleship requires a commitment and faithfulness to the ones in our charge. It's not a one time deal. It's for life.

Let us win souls, but let us also mature into people who are able to make disciples. This is the fruit that lasts into eternity.

Apostolic Transformation - Kris Valloton

Kris Valloton explains that the function of the apostle is to transform culture. He contrasts this with other goals within the church, such as changing laws. He concludes that laws and values are determined by mindsets and that an apostolic ministry must first change the mindsets of the culture if it is to be truly transformational.