Episode 10: Refresh
When I read scripture I see people that despite not being perfect, could walk toward fire, lions, bears, corrupt religious leaders and ruthless dictators with courage and boldness. I want to experience the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, which performed miracle after miracle. The smaller unseen things, like the intimate guiding of individuals from one place to another, to the public acts of impossible healings that the medical tradition today still couldn’t equal.
I want to live a life where I feel complete every day because my hunger has been filled and my thirst has been quenched. And Jesus tells me that this is a reality! That this is not even just a possibility.
And I think most Christians feel the same way.
Something is missing! I’m not satisfied with only knowing intellectually what He can do, and not experiencing it for myself or my friends and family. If this Word is real, it must be real in us. If Jesus was able to turn around a man who was plotting to kill the very people He became, why can’t He change me? Why can’t He change my friends from their debilitating mental health issues? Or the people in my life who habitually disqualify themselves? The answer is He can. But it’s going to take people like you and me who will not settle anymore for a comfortable faith. Who is willing to tear away any preconceived ideas, any ambitions that stand in the way of God working through us. It’s going to take a generation of leaders, who are willing to give up the notoriety and quit playing church.
From the time I began to heal from my own church disillusionment, my life has been dedicated to this one thing. True transformation. I have chased after Him with all of my beings and discovered everything that I have presented to you so far and will continue to share as this revelation deepens in me. We need DEPTH in our faith. We will never find this kind of faith if we are skimming over the surface of passages and concepts. We never find this kind of faith in a concept! We find this faith when we are convinced that there is more and that we will pursue that more until we discover who He is. Not an intellectual knowing, but that gut knowing that you can’t hide. We find this faith when we are humble enough to recognise our own hypocrisy, and that we aren’t wholeheartedly living according to the doctrines we profess to believe. When we care enough to seek out our hypocrisy, with little care for the pride it might hurt...because we actually care that much about becoming Christ-like.
See you may not have noticed it, but there are a few overarching themes that I have been trying to underpin this podcast:
How we live matters
I enjoy talking about theological ideas, and biblical concepts. But this has never been the intention of scripture. It is not meant to entertain us. It is not meant to amuse. It is not meant to be weaponry for arguments. It is meant to change how we live, from the inside out. How we live in the real indication of what we believe. The fruit is the real indication of what is going on in the vine. The harvest is the real indication of the quality of the soil. Not the seed! Imagine if we were to look only at a person’s lifestyle, choices and actions to determine what they believe? What would your life say about what you believe? What would my life say about what I really truly believe? Now I realise we are all on a journey. And we should all have the grace to walk out that journey of becoming more like Jesus, without judgement or condemnation from others. I am merely trying to point out, that faith in Jesus is supposed to change EVERYTHING. Not just our opinions. Not just where we happen to be on a Sunday. Or how much scripture we can recite. As James says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) James is saying that we deceive ourselves when we think that the objective of our faith is to gain knowledge.
James 2:14 says:
“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions?”
What difference is there between us and the rest of this world, if our faith does nothing to change how we treat each other, or the rejects of society, or the way we use our money, or how we view our careers. There is no difference between us and those of this world if the changes that happen are skin deep. If faith can radicalise us, it is likely that this was Jesus’ goal all along.
How we live is one of the reasons Jesus died on the cross. It was this that caused the Israelites to so often forfeit God’s favour throughout the Old Testament. Let’s not miss this point, through the busyness of life and the many distractions that come before us. How we live matters.
Who we are matters
My wording for the last point was very deliberate. What we do is not nearly as important as how we do it. Because how we live demonstrates who we are and who we are becoming. There is nothing you can do, that is apart from who you are. Who you are, is what determines how you will act. Even if I am a two-face, that acts one way in my business world and another to my church community. It still reveals who I am and the true depths of my convictions. When we seek God, the primary goal is for who we are to become something greater than we were. We are renewing our minds, reorienting and healing our hearts, not just because it feels good and freedom is worth it. But because it matters what is within us. When the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 31 verse 33 spoke of the new covenant to come, he said “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” Our hearts matter. It’s where the Holy Spirit resides, it’s the place from which the Holy Spirit most intimately ministers to you. I say this because we can lose our way. We can assume that having more money will solve the issues within us. Financial security will not give us the kind of peace that the Holy Spirit can give to our inner being. The perfect job will not give us the kind of joy that is available via the Holy Spirit. Who we are is what determines how much the Spirit is able to do in us, and through us. ‘Who we are’ determines how deep the Holy Spirit can work in us and through us.
So here’s the thing...the more we see of God, the more we change. Our identity is intrinsically linked to who God is. That means if He were to change (which of course he doesn’t)...who WE are would also change. If we want to become more of who God designed us to be, our image of Him must change. That’s why when we realise that God has no desire to punish us, we feel freer. Because who we thought He was in those deep inner places, not what we profess to believe, or intellectually acknowledge about Him...changes how we relate to Him, and changes how we see ourselves. If you are struggling in life, there’s a good chance that some of your struggles relate to a distorted image of who God is to you. Who we are matters.
We need to get back to basics
The most important things in scripture are not grey. We have a tendency to say the Bible is clear about a lot of things. Until you realise that there are so many people that differ in their opinions to us. So surely there are things we think are clear, but they aren't clear. Because if it were clear, why don’t we all conclude the same thing? And this should not necessarily cause us to doubt scripture. It should probably make us doubt ourselves and how perfectly we can interpret any form of communication. And it’s strange that we don’t doubt our interpretation of communication forms on a daily basis anyway. I mean who of us is perfectly interpreting each other's behaviour and intentions in our day to day life? How many conflicts have started from a text message chain? We are not perfect at interpreting each other, and neither will we perfectly interpret scripture.
BUT there are many things that are crystal clear in scripture, that often takes a back burner to the debates centred around the unclear topics...and we neglect to deepen our understanding and comprehension of the things that are clear. Assuming that if it is that clear, that it has said all it has intended to say. Do you really think the gospel is only about a man dying on the cross, and rising again so that we could have eternal life? I mean that is awesome and incredible, but there is so much more to it than that. Especially in the difference, it can make to how you live. I assure you. It is good news. And if you can’t grasp that this good news changes everything, then you probably haven’t really comprehended how good the news is.
We are going to continue delving deeper again into some more ideas and concepts. Topics like unconditional love, the Holy Spirit, Justification, Shame, Guilt and many more. Some of these topics are going to require a bit more time, and may even need to be over several episodes rather than just one.
But I want to consider another parable. From Luke 6:46-
“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”
This parable contrasts two houses. One that is swept away, and one that stands firm against all the elements. The main difference, I am told between each is the foundation that has been built on. The foundation is critical. As children we grow up, accumulating whatever survival strategies we can to adapt to the predicaments we find ourselves in. We don’t know if that foundation is good or bad. We build because we don’t know any better. And unfortunately, the evidence of whether that foundation was good or not tends to be discovered later in life, after years of survival.
Now I once believed that the foundation in this parable is the only difference between the two people. But it is not. A key difference is what they are willing to do to find the right foundation. The first builder digs. And not just a little. He digs deep. Until he finds the solid rock. The other builder does not even try to find a good foundation for the house he builds. Now we might assume that all believers build on solid rock. And non-believers are the ones building on the sand. But that’s not what this is saying. It’s talking about the difference between those who listen and do, and those who simply listen. Non-believers aren’t really listening to Jesus. This is about us, the Body of Christ. There are so many of us every single day in the Body of Christ, who are building our lives on a Christian lifestyle. We do a little prayer, we read a devotional. We listen to a podcast or two. We come to church, and a small group and share our little nuggets of wisdom. We do Christian things. BUT, our life is not built on the revelation of who Jesus is. How could it be? If it was, we would be doing far more radical things than this. I’m speaking from experience. I was that person, and I know that the lifestyle I was living was serving myself more than God. And now I want to give it all away, and would truly go wherever He wanted me. Even if I was humiliated, shamed and judged by those I once wished respected me. All because I abandoned the Christian lifestyle to dig deep and find the revelation that truly makes my faith withstand the elements.
Now thank the Lord that He still meets us where we are at. He still speaks to us, he still loves us. He still guides us as best as He can. But Him meeting us where we are at doesn’t make for a solid foundation. The onus is on us to dig deep, to find the Jesus that would cause all other agendas in life to a secondary position. Because within Jesus is that kind of truth that could change even what we would desire out of life.
For this episode, I have written some questions that are intended to help you reflect on how the Holy Spirit might be uniquely speaking to you. Simply click on this link to access these questions.
But remember, transformation occurs in the deep places. Not on the surface.