Not All that Glitters is Gold: Do We Have More Good Sense than a Crow?

 By David Ryser

Successful living, according to the counsel of God's written Word, is seeking, knowing, loving, and obeying God. (Fil Anderson)

I have known Don for more than 40 years. He is one of the godliest people I know, a man of uncompromising integrity and a great love for Jesus. He has spent most of his adult life as an itinerant minister, traveling across the United States sharing the Gospel of Jesus in churches and other settings. In all the years I have known him, Don has never compromised himself or his ministry for fame, position, or money.

For example....

Early in his traveling ministry, Don found himself seated in front of a desk occupied by a high ranking denominational official. This man had heard of Don's ministry. Don is specially gifted to hear from God and speak the things of God...with an occasional miracle thrown in for good measure. He is one of a very few people I know with a genuine prophetic gifting, not to be confused with the frauds and charlatans all too common in the church world. This official had a proposition for Don. He offered to provide Don with all the speaking/ministry meetings he could handle if Don would restrict his meetings only to churches within this denomination. This would be a temptation for anyone in traveling ministry, especially early on, because the success of a traveling ministry rests, in great measure, upon having places to which to travel.

But Don desired to go where God led him to go regardless of denomination or tradition. So, Don respectfully declined the offer.

Later, at a church where I served on the ministerial staff, Don lovingly confronted the senior pastor concerning an area where the pastor's life was out of balance and urged him to make some behavioral changes to avoid the inevitable negative consequences of this behavior. This took courage on Don's part because this church supported his ministry with a sizable monthly contribution; in fact, this church may have been his largest monetary supporter. It would have been easy for Don to overlook this pastor's behavior and not risk the loss of support; but, as I mentioned earlier, Don is a man of uncompromising integrity and felt compelled to say what God was telling him to say to this pastor.

The church cut off monetary support for Don's ministry. And never reinstated it. There were many other such instances during Don's 35 years of traveling ministry.

 Don has seen it all in his years of ministry...the good, the bad, and the ugly. He has shared with me about how God moved powerfully and supernaturally in his meetings. He has also told me about some things...sad, dark, tragic, wicked, and even evil...I could scarcely believe would ever occur in any church. And even after all he has seen, heard, and experienced in his travels, Don has retained a childlike faith and innocence...without being naive. Don is a special human being and man of faith, and I am privileged to call him my friend.

Because we are friends, we speak often by phone. We visit by phone because Don lives a good distance from me, and he doesn't travel very much anymore. I look forward eagerly to each conversation, to hanging out with my dear friend and sharing about the things of God and our faith journeys.

During our latest phone conversation, we talked about something in the church world which very much disturbs Don. Don's whole life has been dedicated to God, and God has blessed him and provided him with everything he's needed whether spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or material. Don believes in God's promises, blessings, and provision; and he is living proof that God takes care of His people's needs. And Don is grateful to God for His blessings.

But Don is not in love with the blessings. He is in love with Jesus.

And Don finds it difficult to understand how some Christians can lust after, and pursue, the blessings of God without wanting to have anything to do with Him personally and intimately. Don is disturbed by how some seek to manipulate the principles of God's Word merely for the sake of material gain. He's not disturbed so much that the theology is wrong. He is disturbed because the theology is biblical, but it is being misused in an unbiblical manner.

Enter the typical televised megachurch.

This church puts on a good show and teaches the congregants...and the television audience...they can have all of the material things they lust after as they apply the spiritual principles found in the Bible, so they can live the American Dream in Jesus' name. And as an added bonus, they don't have to be inconvenienced by having an intimate relationship with God. They are told they can get God's blessings without having to mess with Him. Don is baffled by how people can subscribe to this foolishness.

As we spoke over the phone, Don and I considered the possibilities of why this sort of preaching and teaching would be so alluring to God's people. Could it be that supernatural signs and wonders were being performed in the church services under the conditions described in Matthew 7:22 and thereby deceiving the people? We decided that was probably not the reason. For one thing, this kind of stuff doesn't seem to be happening in these churches. It's dead religion, however much animated. There is no evidence of any supernatural signs and wonders being performed in these services. So, it's nothing supernatural; it's just a message that appeals to fleshly greed and lust.

So, what could it be that was drawing people away from Jesus into crass materialism? As we considered the conundrum of why people would want to trade an intimate relationship with Jesus for mere fame, position, or money, another possibility occurred to us.

People love shiny things. And in that regard, we are just like crows. Crows are attracted to shiny things like bits of glass, gum wrappers, shards of mirrors, pieces of metal, etc...whatever they see that shines. They will pick up these things and take them to their nest. They treasure these things without regard for their lack of any real value. And no one can convince a crow that its shiny things are not as precious as it thinks they are.

Don't people have any more good sense than a crow?

It would appear not. Because by cherry-picking Bible verses, people have become convinced that they can have all of the shiny things they desire...apart from a relationship with God...if they can just gin up enough faith.

Faith in what? Or in whom?

So, Don looks at this mess and sums up the situation by saying, "They claim to be following the Book (the Bible). Do they not read the Book?" And he makes a good point, because the Bible has a lot to say about this kind of goings-on within the community of God's people.

Examples of this abound. Here are a few examples....

The Bible clearly states God's summation of this kind of non-relationship with His people when He says through the prophet Isaiah, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught" (Isaiah 29:13 NIV).

The Bible also warns us against the love of money and its consequences (1Timothy 6:10), teaches us that our faith for material blessings is in vain if we are exercising our faith with wrong motives (James 4:3), and cautions us that, even if we do get all we want and gain the whole world, it profits us nothing if we lose our soul in the process (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36-37).

So now Don and I are left wondering why some of God's people...who are people of the Book...would ignore the clear teachings of the Book to trade an intimate relationship with God for the shiny things of the world.

Just like crows.

Responses to this article are welcomed. You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com 

Ahoy, Matey!: Being God's Cruise Director (Part 2)

 By David Ryser

...then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not rise to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13b-14 NASB)

It was early in the morning before classes began at the School of Ministry. As was my routine, I had arrived a couple of hours early to put some worship music on through the sound system in the sanctuary of the church and spend time with God. The students were invited to join me in this time of worship, and those who wished to participate typically would arrive one-by-one beginning about an hour before class. When I am worshiping God in this sort of setting, I usually pace because pacing while worshiping gives my body something to do as I quiet my mind and spirit.

This was my normal routine, but I've come to believe there is no such thing as a normal routine when it involves God.

On this particular morning, as I was pacing and worshiping, I discovered there were places where I felt the presence of God particularly intensely. And these spots would not remain static, but would pop up in different places over time. What fun! It was like playing hide-and-seek with God, and it brought me the wondrous joy most often experienced by a small child...I've learned God enjoys playing with His children. Once in awhile, I would stop at one of these spiritual hotspots and linger for a time in the awesome presence of God.

And then the students began to arrive.

And when they did, I transitioned from spiritual cruise passenger to cruise director. As a student arrived, I would say, "Why don't you stand over here?" and direct them gently to one of the places where God's presence felt particularly strong at the moment. When the student reached the appointed spot, the presence of God would overwhelm them. I would continue pacing and worshiping, finding another hotspot for the next student. When the next student would arrive, this pattern would repeat itself until there were quite a number of overwhelmed students worshiping and basking in the presence of God.

What does an overwhelmed student look like, you ask? You'll know it when you see it. It looks a lot like it looked in the Bible.

During this time with the students, I was acting as a spiritual cruise director. I would sense where the hotspots were located, but I would not step into one. Why? Because if I did, I likely would be overwhelmed by God's presence myself and be unable to be attentive to the students. While I was alone...before the students began arriving...I felt the freedom to become lost in God, and I took full advantage of it. But once the students began arriving, my role changed. I was still very much aware of where the hotspots were, but this awareness was for their benefit and not for mine.

And that's what it's like being a cruise director.

You see, a cruise director accompanies the cruise passengers on their excursions, sees and experiences the sights and activities along the way, but does not participate fully in them. While the cruise director sees and experiences what the passengers are seeing and experiencing, his/her focus is on the passengers and not the delights of the excursion. So, the cruise director experiences the excursion differently than the passengers. His/her joy is not based on experiencing the excursion, but in facilitating the passengers' delight while experiencing the excursion.

If a cruise director wishes to get lost in the experience of an excursion, they need to book a cruise as a passenger. Being a cruise director is hard work. Even a cruise director needs a vacation.

Ministry is very much like being a spiritual cruise director. And by "ministry" I am not referring only to vocational ministry...or public ministry of any sort. Yes, I have been privileged to be used as God's cruise director in traditional ministry settings...in the classroom and in a church service...on numerous occasions. God would move powerfully during these times, and people's lives would be dramatically touched by God in their bodies, minds, and spirits. I would be very much aware of God's presence, but I would not be overwhelmed by it. I would be both a part of what was occurring and somewhat outside of it at the same time. Without losing a sense of God's presence and awareness of what He was wanting to do in that moment, I was also very much in touch with the person to whom God was ministering and rejoiced when they received what they, in many cases, desperately needed.

But not all, or even most, ministry takes place publicly.

Too many of us who say we want a ministry actually just desire a microphone. Ministry is not about being seen and heard. It is not about being noticed, approved of, admired, and idolized as a great minister. Ministry is not about the minister at all. It is about the welfare of the person being ministered to, and it is about glorifying God.

And most ministry takes place privately.

When you pray for a friend's physical healing, and the prayer administers God's healing power to them, this is ministry. When you are inspired by God to speak words of encouragement, comfort, and uplifting to another person with the result that they are powerfully touched by God, this is ministry. When you pray for a person who is in a difficult situation, and God moves to give peace of mind and provision to the person, that is ministry. On these occasions, the person may experience the presence of God in a very powerful, and even overwhelming, way. And you may not feel a thing.

Why?

Because you're not a passenger on this excursion. You're just the cruise director. God's cruise director.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com 

Ahoy, Matey!: Being God's Cruise Director (Part 1)

 By David Ryser

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.  (Jesus of Nazareth; John 4:24 NASB)

I was falling, plummeting from a great altitude. If I did not begin to beat my spiritual wings...furiously and soon...I was going to crash into the ground at a high rate of speed and burn.

Sounds like something out of a nightmare, doesn't it? I wish it was.

I was visiting with a friend in another state. We had not been together for quite some time, and I was very much enjoying the reunion as we hung out and enjoyed one another's company. Part of my visit was on a Sunday, and my friend attends a traditional church service on Sunday, so I honored our relationship by accompanying him to church. The church building was nice. And at the church I was introduced to some nice people, entered a nice sanctuary, and prepared myself to experience a nice church service. Everything was nice, but I really didn't feel as if I fit in.

Because I'm not nice. But I digress....

At the start of the service, a worship team, consisting of some very talented musicians and singers, came to the raised platform at the front of the sanctuary. They began to play and sing, intending to lead the congregation into the presence of God in worship.

And the worship got off to a great start.

The song the team had chosen to kick off the musical worship portion of the service was an excellent one. Even someone no more spiritual than I could sense the presence of God in that place, and the "wind" of the Holy Spirit blowing, as we joined our voices in song. We began to soar in the spirit, locking our spiritual wings and riding the powerful updraft of praise.

If you're going to lock your wings and soar, it's best if there is a strong updraft.

When it was time to transition to the next song, I eagerly anticipated the next "gust" that would take me higher in the spirit and into a greater experience of God's presence. The members of the congregation were fully engaged in the worship and obviously desiring to go higher. The next song began. It didn't connect well with the first song, and it became increasingly obvious as the "worship" service continued, that this loose collection of nice songs wasn't taking us anywhere.

The "wind" did not just abate. It stopped. It died.

And I was falling. The spiritual energy in that place had dissipated abruptly. I had been "soaring" in worship at a high altitude, and now I no longer had the support of the Spirit's "wind" to sustain me. I began...metaphorically speaking...to beat my wings frantically in an attempt to slow my rate of descent and come in for a soft landing back on earth. It was an unpleasant, and disappointing, experience for me.

But was it just me? Or were others experiencing the same thing?

I looked out into the congregation. What had begun as a group of fully engaged worshipers was a congregation becoming increasingly disconnected from the musical show still in progress on the stage. I observed the congregants as, one by one, they came "back to earth" and could read the disappointment in their deflated body posture and expressions of sadness on their faces.

And the show went on...at least on the stage.

I was now watching what Steve Gray has termed a "platform revival" in which a musical team is fully engaged in worship...and totally oblivious to the congregation...while the congregants become progressively disconnected from the worship. Not only did the congregants not receive anything positive from this experience, they were in some ways worse off than before the church service began. Because now, they were both disengaged and disappointed...and maybe even a little angry.

Imagine going on this spiritual roller-coaster week, after week, after week, after week, after....

You see, this worship team had forgotten they are not passengers on this spiritual cruise ship...they are cruise directors. The job of a cruise director is to see to it the passengers on the cruise get to where they are supposed to go and experience all the things they are supposed to experience. A cruise director goes with the passengers to the places they go, and is exposed to the things the passengers experience, but the cruise director is focused on the passengers rather than the sights and activities. The cruise director sees and experiences the cruise events, but is somewhat disengaged from them as well. If a cruise director wishes to be totally immersed in the cruise experience, they would be well-advised to book a cruise as a passenger.

Ministry in worship...or any other ministry for that matter...is very much like being a cruise director.

The function of a worship team is to take people into the presence of God...to lead them there. This requires they know where they are going, know how to get there, and take the congregation with them. And the exact formula for accomplishing this will vary from service to service, so there is no single method or procedure for accomplishing this. So it is a good idea to hear from God about how to approach each worship experience.

There are, however, some general principles in regard to leading worship which might be helpful.

For example, it might not be wise to string together a loose, random selection of Christian Top 40 hits and expect this song list to take the congregation anywhere. The songs in a worship service typically are most effective when they build upon one another and facilitate the congregation's journey into God's presence. And where does God want that journey to end? On the mountaintop? In the stillness of a lush valley?

Ask God where you're going and the best way to get there.

And please don't forget to take the congregation with you. This means attention must be paid to them as well as to God. Are they coming along with you? How are they doing while on the excursion? This will dampen your experience of the worship, but you're a cruise director and not a passenger.

And one other thing.

Please do not forget that you are pouring out while ministering on a worship team. Pouring out, not filling up. You are emptying whether it feels like it or not, no matter how much exhilaration you are experiencing during worship. And if you continue to pour out without filling up, you will eventually run dry. So, it would be wise to take the time to fill back up whether in a time of private worship or in a corporate worship setting in which you are not a part of the worship-leading team. Do it for the sake of the ministry. Do it for yourself.

And, please, do it for me. I never again want to have another worship experience like the one I had at my friend's church.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com 

Lawful Use of the Law: Some Thoughts

 By David Ryser

But we know that the Law is good if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person...  (The apostle Paul, 1Tim 1:8-9a NASB)

The rabbi at one of the messianic synagogues in town was a guest speaker at the School of Ministry where I served. Among the many enlightening thoughts he shared that day was a statement which I will never forget, "Torah is not law in the legal sense. The word torah is better understood if it is translated as instruction." From that time, I have increasingly come to believe it is a mistake to impose the modern western concept of law onto the ancient Israelite culture into which the Law was given.

And if we don't understand what the Law is...and how to use it properly...it's a virtual certainty we will misapply it, misuse it, and even abuse it (1Tim 1:6, 7).

One day, while I was teaching a class at the School of Ministry, I drew an octagon on the whiteboard and wrote the word STOP in the center (this is the limit of my artistic ability). I then asked the students, "When you come to a T intersection and see this sign, for whom is the sign posted?" Now, the students had been with me in classes for several months, so they...correctly...assumed this was a trick question. Therefore, they didn't answer right away. I continued, "The sign applies to everyone, but for whom is it posted?" They thought about this question for a few seconds before I answered it. "The sign applies to everyone, but it was posted for the person who would not have stopped if it wasn't posted. The person who would stop if the sign wasn't there doesn't need it."

And that is the exact point the apostle Paul was making in the scripture passage in First Timothy chapter One quoted above.

Paul goes on to list some of the sorts of people to whom the Law was given. It's not a pretty list, and it's not anywhere near a complete list. It can, however, be summarized rather simply. To be succinct, the Law was not given to righteous people; it was given to unrighteous people. The Law was given to control their unrighteous behavior...if they obeyed it...until they didn't need it anymore. The Law was an instructor...a tutor (Gal 3:24, 25)...whose proper use was to bring us to Christ. Having been brought to Christ, we no longer need a tutor.

Simple. Very simple. As simple as stopping at a T intersection even if there is no posted STOP sign.

And this is not merely a New Testament phenomenon. No one has ever been justified by observing the Law. Paul gives two Old Testament examples of people who were justified apart from the Law...Abraham and David...in the 4th chapter of Romans. In the case of Abraham, he was declared righteous by God on the basis of faith...which is a good thing for Abraham because he couldn't possibly be justified by observing a Law which had not yet been given, and which would not be given for several hundred years (somewhere between 400 and 600 years). In David's case, he was born after the Law was given, and he was a dead man walking if he was attempting to be justified by keeping the Law. David's sins of adultery and murder were unforgivable under the Mosaic Law (as were any other intentional sins), and he should have been executed for them. Instead of death, David found forgiveness apart from the Law by putting his faith in God and receiving God's mercy.

In addition to not being executed, David wasn't even removed from being the king (which is something of a moot point, since his execution would have effectively relieved him of his kingly duties). There were consequences resulting from his sins to be sure, but not the consequences spelled out in the Mosaic Law.

But now Christ has come, and we no longer need the tutor...the Law. By faith we live in Christ, and His life in us produces a righteous life that does not rely on external rules, regulations, or laws. Christianity is not a religion; it is an intimate relationship with God entered into by faith. Law is no longer needed except by those who are not living in Christ. For those persons, the Law is given (if followed) to rein in their behavior and protect them from destructive living. To quote Wayne Jacobsen, "If you don't have Jesus, you'd better have Law."

But what about the 10 Commandments? Don't they apply to Christians? Well, yes. Sort of.

Let's look at the 10 Commandments. Eight of them are commands not to do something. To summarize, we are commanded not to: worship other gods, create idols, profane God's name (God is not His name, by the way), murder, commit adultery, steal, commit perjury, and yearn to possess what belongs to someone else. These commandments apply to everyone, but are they given to everyone? Not according to Paul in his letter to the young apostle Timothy.

In fact, I've begun to view these 8 commandments not so much as prohibitions, but as promises. Promises? Yes.

Who needs to be commanded not to worship other gods or create idols? Someone who desires to worship multiple gods and create idols. Who needs to be commanded not to profane God's name? Someone who desires to profane God's name. Who needs to be commanded not to murder? Someone who desires to murder. Who needs to be commanded not to commit adultery? Someone who desires to commit adultery. Who needs to be commanded not to steal? Someone who desires to steal. Who needs to be commanded not to commit perjury? Someone who desires to lie under oath. Who needs to be commanded not to lust after what belongs to another person? Someone who lusts after what does not belong to them.

But what if I don't desire to do these things?

For me, these commandments are beginning to take on the characteristics of promises rather than prohibitions. They are promises that I won't be the kind of person who would do these things, or even desire to do them. Whether these commandments convey the idea of "don't do it" or "you won't do it" depends very much upon the person receiving the commandments, don't you think?

If you don't do something...or even desire to do it...you don't need to be told not to do it. You might even find the promise that you won't do it to be somewhat of a comfort. I know I do, especially when I am practicing walking according to the Spirit and manifesting in my behavior the life of Christ that dwells in me. And it's really not all that hard to do.

It's no more difficult than stopping at a T intersection that does not have a posted STOP sign.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com