The End of the World: Some Thoughts

By David Ryser

Jesus is coming.  Look busy.   (My all-time favorite bumper sticker)

One of the mixed blessings that comes with having the title of “doctor” in front of my name is that people ask me a lot of questions.  Normally I enjoy the interaction that comes from considering a thoughtful question.  At other times I am struck by how we Christians can be so concerned about things that don’t really matter.

For example, I am regularly asked about my opinion of the end of the world.

I don’t often get this question when the economy is robust and life is easy.  I usually get it when times are tough for the person asking the question.  I’m happy to respond to the question, but most people don’t understand the answer.

So before I share my answer, it may help to explain how I arrived at it.

It was March of 1997.  I had been in the professional ministry for 13 years.  And I was at the end of myself.  I was tired, burned out, fed up, and spiritually comatose.  My faith, once characterized by an intense love for Jesus, was on life support.  I was going through the motions, but had no passion for Jesus or the work of His kingdom.

I was, in short, a typical pastor.

Then one night I attended (somewhat against my will, I might add) a revival meeting held by people who had been mightily touched by God.  The congregation was made up of people who were passionate lovers of Jesus.  They prayed and worshiped with all their heart.  Their passion and intensity instantly convinced me of two things:  1) They loved Jesus, and 2) I did not.  I wanted to love Jesus.  I used to love Jesus.  Could I be in love with Him again?

And the service hadn’t even started!

The worship service was powerful.  The presence of God was so strong, even I could feel it.  I basked in Him.  It had been so long since I’d last experienced Him so tangibly.  How could I have lost Him?  Could I find Him again?

Then the preaching began.

But this wasn’t preaching like I had expected.

The simple country preacher humbly spoke about how he had encountered God.  This pastor had been broken, burned out, used up, and ready to quit.  In his lowest hour, God had come and restored his life and his strength.  Jesus became real to him like never before.  This man of God had come alive again and was living in the presence, love, and power of God.

And then this pastor asked us if we wanted what he had.

Did I want what he had?  Does a land animal crave oxygen?  Yes, I wanted what he had!  I didn’t know if I could get it, or even what “it” was exactly, but I thought I would die without it.

God finds that kind of desperation irresistible.

As I received prayer at the end of the service, I began to feel hope come alive in me.  The love and life of God began to be poured into me, displacing the disappointment, pain, and death.

And I began to fall in love with Jesus all over again.  In a moment…on that night…in that place…my world ended.

So when people ask my opinion of the end of the world, my response tends to be, “What world?”

Most folks find this response unsatisfying.  And they assume I’ve misunderstood the question.  So they reword it.  They ask, “Do you believe that Jesus is coming soon?”  And I tell them that, for me, Jesus has already come.

He came when my world ended.

You see, I don’t live in my world any longer.  I live in God’s kingdom.  I’m experiencing the truth of the words of John the Baptist and Jesus:  “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  It’s near.  It’s here.  And I’m living in it.

I experience the presence of God every day.  God’s kingdom, as with any kingdom, is where the King reigns.  If God lives and reigns in me, then I am in His kingdom.  If not….

It really is just that simple.  Of course, one should not confuse simple with easy.

It can be tough living in a kingdom.  Especially if you are full of yourself.  I’ve discovered that what I want is not always what the King wants.  And in a kingdom, the king rules.  He always gets what he wants.  I don’t always get to have things my way.

Jesus is the King of Kings.  He’s not the Burger King.

Do I believe Jesus is coming again to rule over a new heaven and earth?  Yes.  And I yearn to see Him and experience Him in ways not possible before.  To know Him as I am known by Him.  To reach out and touch Him as He goes by and hold onto His feet if only for a few seconds.  That would be heaven for me.

You can keep your mansions.  There aren’t any mansions, anyhow.  Read your Bible…and not in English.

Is the world coming to an end?  My world has already ended.  Is Jesus coming?  He has already come.  Am I looking forward to seeing Him?  More than you could ever know.

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

Not Everyone Who Kisses Your Butt is Your Friend: And Not Everyone Who Kicks Your Butt is Your Enemy

By David Ryser

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.  (Proverbs 27:6, NKJV)

Recently, a friend of mine kicked my spiritual butt.  I had missed God, and she called me on it…without bothering to use a whole lot of emotional anesthesia, I might add.  Are we still friends?  Of course we are.  If we hadn’t been friends, she wouldn’t have been allowed to kick my butt in the first place.

Perhaps I had better explain that.

This lady and her husband are dear friends of mine.  They held my hand and ministered the love of God to me during a very difficult time in my life.  They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.  As a result, they have earned the right to speak into my life.

What?  A person has to earn the right to speak into my life?  Well…yes.

Is that scriptural?  Perhaps a lesson from the book of Job will help here.

In Job 1:1, we are introduced to Job who is described as a person who is blameless and upright, and who fears God and shuns evil.  And God has blessed him.  Job is a wealthy and great man (Job 1:2, 3).  Life is good for Job.

Until one day….

God has a conversation with Satan about Job (Job 1:6-8).  God brags on Job.  He describes Job in glowing terms.  What is Satan’s response?

Satan calls Job a whore.

Yes, he does.  Satan says, “Does Job serve God for nothing?” (Job 1:9).  And then he goes on to say that Job loves God because God pays for his love (Job 1:10).  He then predicts that if God would stop paying for Job’s love, then Job would cease to love Him (Job 1:11).

That’s quite an accusation.

God is not going to stand for Satan talking about His good friend Job that way, so He decides to prove that Job’s love is genuine (Job 1:12a & 2:6).  Soon, Job suffers great loss.  He loses his oxen, donkeys, and several servants to a Sabean raiding party (Job 1:14, 15).  His sheep are killed in what sounds like a terrible lightning storm (Job 1:16).  He has his camels stolen and more servants killed by bands of Chaldeans (Job 1:17).  His children are killed in a windstorm (Job 1:18, 19).  And then his health takes a turn for the worse.  He is covered from head to toe with painful boils (Job 2:7).

Job ends up sitting in ashes and scraping the pus from his boils with pieces of broken pottery (Job 2:8).  Not a pretty picture.

Some men hear of Job’s adversity and come to comfort him (Job 2:11).  When they see him, they are so overwhelmed by the picture of his suffering that they weep, tear their clothes (a sign of extreme grief in their culture), and sprinkle dust on their heads (Job 2:12).  Then they sit with Job for a week.

A week!  Without saying anything.   Not a word.

These men suffered with Job for a week without opening their mouths.  They earned the right to speak into Job’s life by suffering with him.  And the Bible says that these guys were his friends (Job 2:11)!  Even they had to be with Job for a time before speaking to him.

You see, speaking into someone’s life is done most effectively in the context of relationship.  Especially when what you need to speak to me is unpleasant for me to hear.  You don’t need to be in relationship with me to tell me how great I am.  I’m open to hearing that from anyone.  Relationship is for when you need to admonish me.

Relationship is for when you need to kick my butt.

If I believe you love and care about me, I will allow you to give me a swift kick in the rear…even if I think you are wrong.  But if I don’t believe you love and care about me, I’m unlikely to let you within kicking range…even if you’re right.

You must earn the right to speak into my life.  And I must earn the right to speak into yours.

You earn that right by investing time in developing a relationship with me.  You don’t earn it by virtue of having your name on the door of a church office.  You don’t earn it by having a title such as “prophet” or “bishop” or “apostle” or whatever.  Self-sent apostles are a dime-a-dozen.

No, thanks.

If you don’t have time to be in relationship with me, then I might not have the time to listen to your “word” for me.  You can take your “word” and stick it…oops…take it somewhere else.

Titles and offices are not suitable substitutes for relationship.

Are there exceptions to this rule?  Yes, of course.  But not as many as we’d like to think.

And, church leaders, please don’t bother to introduce yourself to me as “Pastor (whatever your name is).”  I’ll know what you are when I see how you behave around the sheep.

And who among us has not been beguiled by the smooth tongue and flattering lips of someone whose goal is to get something from us?  We think we’ve made a lifelong friend who loves and values us, only to have them reveal their true colors and betray us in some way.

Remember that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.  Not a slap.  Or a kick.

In truth, it is a shame that we are susceptible to flattery in the first place.  Do we have such a high opinion of ourselves?  We shouldn’t (Romans 12:3).  I’m not such a great catch apart from Jesus.  Or do we have such a low opinion of ourselves as to need constant affirmation…and that from people we don’t really know?

And whose opinion of us counts more than God’s?

Is His love not enough for us?  Is His praise not enough for us?  Are His presence and blessing and power in our lives not enough for us?  What about God isn’t enough for us?  Why do we desire the kisses of an enemy more than the kisses of God?

Actually, I’ve learned to appreciate my enemies.  They can teach us as much as our friends can.  God has used these people to show me a lot about of myself that needs a good God-makeover.  When I’m deceived and/or wounded by an enemy and I complain to God about it, He typically wants to talk to me about me…and not about them.

And the most valuable lesson both friends and foes have taught me is that not everyone who kisses my butt is my friend, and not everyone who kicks my butt is my enemy.

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

"Wolf! Wolf!": The Cry of Insecure Leaders

By David Ryser

Wolf!  Wolf!  (The sheep in the movie Babe upon seeing a sheepdog approaching them.)

I was reading an interesting article in which the author divided people into three categories:  sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.  Most people are sheep.  They are cute, cuddly, harmless, and clueless.  Wolves are predators.  And they are violent.  They take advantage of, and even harm and kill, sheep.  Sheepdogs are, to simplify a bit, wolves with a conscience.  Like wolves, sheepdogs are predatory by nature and are prone to violence.  Unlike wolves, sheepdogs use violence to protect the sheep.

And sheep typically have difficulty distinguishing between sheepdogs and wolves.  To sheep, a predator is a predator.  All predators look alike.

What does all of this have to do with the Kingdom of God?

A common theme in Christian preaching and teaching has to do with wolves among the flock.  Insecure church leaders use this as an opportunity to warn their parishioners against people who will come into the congregation from the outside and try to scatter the flock.  To steal them away and/or kill them spiritually.  Such sage words of warning are typically accompanied by guidelines to assist the sheep in recognizing wolves.  During one such church meeting, the pastor told his congregation that wolves never come from among the church leadership; but rather, from among the other worshipers.

This is a convenient teaching.  Especially if, in fact, church leaders can be wolves.  But why even suggest such a thing?  A wolf wouldn’t lie…would he?

Anyhow, when I read the article about sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs (an article, incidentally, that appeared in a non-Christian magazine), I began to be curious about what the scriptures have to say on the subject.

As it turns out, there are very few scriptures (only 13 verses) that even speak about wolves at all.  And even fewer speak of wolves in the way the Church speaks of them (a mere 4 verses).

In Ezekiel 22:27, the term “wolves” is applied to the princes of Israel.  Leaders.  In Zephaniah 3:3, the word “wolves” is used of the judges of Israel.  Leaders.  In Matthew 7:15, “wolves” refers to false prophets.  Leaders.  In Acts 20:29, Paul warns a meeting of believers about “wolves” who will come “in among you” and do damage to God’s flock.  So who is the “among you” being referred to here?  Acts 20:17 tells us that this was a meeting of church elders.  Leaders.

Do you see a pattern here?

And don’t even try to play the “Absalom card” on me.  Absalom was a member of the royal family.  A leader.

Now I’m not saying that there should be no leaders in the Church.  God has placed people with leadership giftings in His Church to guide, protect, and nurture His sheep.  I am in favor of godly church leadership.

They are God’s sheepdogs.

But I also know that sheepdogs sometimes go rogue.  When they do, they run in packs as wolves (and even sometimes with the wolves), terrorizing and killing sheep.  The Church is not immune to this phenomenon.

And if I were a rogue sheepdog, I would want to “take out” the true sheepdogs.

I have long contended that the most common and most persecuted gift in the local church is the gift of pastor.  People with this gift are naturally drawn to the “sheep” and the sheep are drawn to them.  Those with a pastoral gifting are loving and kind with sheep, but can be quite violent toward those who would harm them.

They are sheepdogs.  And insecure church leaders loathe them.  And persecute them.  And try to get rid of them.

Perhaps you’ve had this happen to you.  I have.  I was once part of a large church where the leadership did not value relationship and actually discouraged relationships among members of the congregation.  The stated fear was that “wolves” would take advantage of false friendships and draw the “sheep” after themselves to harm them.  Those who ignored this teaching did so at their own peril.

I knew it was dangerous to love people in this church, but I couldn’t help doing it anyhow.  I just find sheep irresistible…they’re so darn cute.

People need to be loved.  They need to feel valued.  They need someone to listen to them.  I was happy to accommodate them.  And it wasn’t long before I had lines of people waiting to visit with me after every service.  It got to the point where a young lady in the church printed up numbers (as a joke…she never used them) to hand out to people wanting to talk with me.

Of course, this got the attention of church leadership.

The persecution began with warnings in sermons about wolves in the congregation.  My behavior didn’t change.  So the warnings became more pointed.  Friends would come to me after the church service and say, “Do you know that the pastor was preaching about you?”  At first, I didn’t.  I could not imagine a person as gifted, talented, and anointed as our pastor being so insecure as to be threatened by the likes of me.  But over time, I was forced to concede their point.

So what could I do?  The scripture encourages me to love God and to love people.  I did my best to do both without offending those in leadership, but was not willing to stop loving.  Eventually I felt it best to leave the church because of a piece of gossip that seemed to confirm the fear that I was going to lead a coup of some sort.

The ironic thing about this is that the pastor preached vigorously against gossip in the church.  It turns out that the right kind of gossip was welcomed.  Only the wrong kind of gossip was frowned upon.

Don’t ask me to explain it.  I don’t understand it either.

I no longer attend traditional church services.  If I did, I would love God and love the people.  If that was a problem for the church leadership, then it would be their problem.  I would love the people without fear of consequence.  I simply refuse to violate scripture, and quench the life and love of Jesus in me, for the sake of insecure leaders.

Love God.  Love people.  If God has made you to be a sheepdog, be what you are.  Watch yourself…don’t go rogue.  Most wolves in the church were once sheepdogs.  If persecuted, guard your heart.  If you can continue loving people without regard to the persecution, do it.  They need love more than you need to be comfortable.

And pray for your leaders.

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