When You are Stuck in the Prison of Your Soul or I HATE to WAIT!!!

Genesis 41:1 "Two years passed…” After Joseph had interpreted the dreams of the baker and butler and the butler had been restored to his job, promising Joseph that if it all came true he would tell Pharaoh about him, the butler was reinstated and then...promptly forgot about Joseph—so the next verse starts with “Two years passed…” Two years! PASSED! While Joseph sat in prison!

Interesting that the Bible inserts those words. Two years passed. We have nothing recorded about Joseph’s life during those two years. We can only assume that it was lived the way the previous years had been lived because of what we see AFTER the two years. How had he lived? Gen 39: 20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. 22 Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. 23 The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

"But I don’t LIKE to wait." Neither did Joseph. "Well, if my story ended up like Joseph’s I wouldn’t mind the waiting so much." Joseph had NO CLUE how his story would end up. He just found himself stuck in “wait” mode. He must have wondered a million times if he would ever get out of prison and be able to fulfill some of his goals and dreams for his life…even if they were to be spent as a slave. He could at least work to be head of the household.

No. I think Joseph must have gotten pretty tired of the waiting. Two years passed. Two years! But God hadn’t forgotten about Joseph. He had greater plans and Joseph’s character would have to be equal to the task. Like a blacksmith forging his iron, or a glassblower who knows just exactly when to take the glass out of the flames, God knew what it would take to bring Joseph’s character to be strengthened equal to the task. He knew that Joseph would have to be able to wield power carefully. God knew that Joseph would have to be kind. He knew that Joseph would need to be wise and that ultimately, Joseph would be able to preserve his family instead of annihilate them because of unresolved hatred. God knew that Joseph would have to be able to forgive.

So maybe you find yourself in the waiting period. Nothing seems to be moving. Your career. Stuck. Your passion. Gone. Relationships. Stagnate. Two years pass. Maybe 5. And you wait. And wait. How do you deal with the wait?

I have been there. Waiting. My soul passionless. Sometimes even the food I ate tasting bland and grey. No aliveness in my soul nor song in my heart. Unable to feel all but the strongest of emotions: mainly anger. Waiting and praying that God would somehow, someway deliver me from the prison of myself. My job as a pastor was crushing at times, seeking to bring hope to those that God brought to me while the grey in my soul was eating me alive. Week after week, month after month, year after year, writing sermons, counseling, giving Bible studies, planning and executing mission trips to Appalachia, seeking to keep hope alive in my own soul and my spiritual nose above water.

To be sure, there were some times better than others. There were times when it seemed like I would be getting out of this soul prison. It would seem that the door were starting to finally swing open and new hope would spring forth, but just as quickly, something would happen that would slam the door in my face. The death of friends and family members through cancer, heart attacks, strokes, car accidents, plane crashes and sometimes, even old age, all of these stretched out on my life line to slam the cell door of my soul back in my face.

I read a story once, about Mother Theresa saying that she had gone 22 years without hearing a word from God. She called it her “dark night of the soul” experience. She was asked, “How in the world did you keep going when you felt God was so distant?” Her response stunned me. She reportedly answered, “I just kept going back to the last place I KNEW I heard God speaking to me and sought to be obedient to that."

So how do I endure the waiting, especially not knowing how long it will last? I think it is found in the same way. It is in my belief that God is in control and that it isn’t so much what happens to me, but IN ME, that matters. Somehow I keep going back to the time where I KNOW I heard God speaking to me distinctly and I, like Joseph, like Mother Theresa, seek to be obedient to that until I next hear God change my calling.

And so I continue to wait. Totally dependent upon Grace to help me administer grace to the graceless, hope to the hopeless, help me write sermons and give counsel and dispense wisdom that calls people back to God. Grace that gives me strength for the journey, not knowing if today I will be in the cell, or suddenly promoted to the palace. To be sure—I rest in HIS promise: 2Cor. 12:9 NLT Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Two years passed… how will YOU wait?

I Am A Soldier

I was reading an old book the other day about the Huguenots, the Waldensians and others that tried to remain true to the commands of God during the Dark Ages, and the contrast  between them and us is absolutely incredible. 

Thousands died cruel deaths; burned at the stake, hurled over cliffs, hung up with meat hooks, starved in prison, and yet very few, if any, turned back from following God. 

Yet today, it seems the slightest thing can turn many of us back from following Jesus.  Our feelings get hurt, so we quit.   Our leadership gets criticized, so we quit.  A pastor doesn’t come visit us at the right time, so we quit.   We don’t want to get involved, so we don’t.   We are afraid to make our neighbor uncomfortable, so we don’t share.  Church doesn't suit our tastes, so we stop attending.  At the slightest hint of resistance, we turn back.  Could it be that the worst enemy the church has is prosperity?

I mentioned this to a friend in another state, and he sent me this piece which I think needs to be our rallying cry.  Read it and see where you stand.  It is entitled, I am a Soldier.

I am a soldier.

I am a soldier in the army of my God;

The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer.

The Holy Bible is my code of conduct.

Faith, prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare.

I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by

adversity and tested by fire.

I am a volunteer in this army and I have enlisted for eternity

I will either retire from this army at the Second Coming or die in this

army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out or pushed out.

I am faithful, reliable and dependable.

If my God needs me, I am there.

If He needs me in Sabbath School to teach children, work with youth,

help with adults or just sit and learn, He can use me, because I am there.

If He needs me in church Sabbath morning, Vespers, Wednesday, revival or

special services, I am there.

I am there to preach, teach, sing, play, pray, work or worship.

God can use me because I am there.

I am a Soldier. I am not a baby.

I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or

pepped up.

I am a Soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me,

entice me or lure me.

I am a Soldier. I am not a wimp.

I am in place saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name

and serving in His Kingdom.

No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me

handouts.

I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for or catered to.

I am a Soldier, and I am committed.

I cannot have my feelings hurt badly enough to turn me around.

I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.

I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit,

When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing,

And if I end up with nothing I will still break even.

I am a Soldier, I am committed, I will win.

My God will supply all my needs.

I am more than a conqueror, I will always triumph.

I can do all things through Christ .

Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot

weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy

me. Governments cannot silence me and Hell cannot handle me.

I am a soldier. I am committed. Even death cannot destroy me.

When my Commander calls me from this battlefield He will promote me and

then bring me back to rule this world with Him.

I am a Soldier in the army and I am marching, claiming victory.

I will not give up, I will not turn around. I am a Soldier marching Heavenbound.

I am a Soldier. Will you stand with me?

If God is in it, you can do it.

2Tim. 2:3    Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.

2Tim. 2:14     Remind everyone about these things, and command them in God’s presence to stop fighting over words. Such arguments are useless, and they can ruin those who hear them.

2Tim. 2:15    Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.  16 Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.  17 This kind of talk spreads like cancer.

It's Everybody's Choice

It was a hot, humid Sabbath, back in the day before air-conditioning.  The windows were all open, flies buzzed in and out, fans stationed at strategic locations around the church churned the otherwise breezeless air.  I sat there with sweat running down my back, my forehead, my chest—pretty much any pore that could sweat was sweating.  I have no idea what the pastor said, for in my misery, his voice had long ago become little more than a drone in the background of my suffering.

I looked around and saw many other church members stirring up the air themselves with whatever they could get hold of, be it funeral home fans, camp-meeting fans, or just hymnals out of the rack, and trying to pay attention.  Others had succumbed to the heat and were dozing, some quietly, some not so quietly. Other kids, like me, were trying to simply endure to the end.  Some were watching the flying insects.  Some were counting ceiling tiles.  One had abandoned his seat altogether, and had crawled under the pew and was now laying on the cool tile floor right in front of one of the square box fans sitting on the floor.  He was fast asleep.  I privately envied him, knowing that death would be my fate if I tried something similar on my side of the church.

The pastor, in his dark suit, with the coat on and buttoned, literally had rivulets of water pouring down his forehead, which he swiped repeatedly with an already soaked handkerchief as he continued to preach.  I don’t know how he did it.

And somewhere in the middle of my agony, the question came clearly to my mind.  I had no answer for it that day, and I’m not sure that I  have a much better answer for it on this day.  The question?  Why do we do this?  Why do we come to church week after week when nothing ever seems to change?

On that day for me, as on this day for some of you, the answer was that I was there because I had to be there. My parents had insisted I be there, so I was there because I had to be.  But others had actually chosen to be there.  What was that about?

In that day and time, a person was measured in the church community, as well as the society at large, by their behavior.  It seemed to be externally focused.  Look good…you are good.  Look bad…you are bad.  It didn’t seem to matter what a person was really like on the inside.  If you didn’t look or act just right on the outside, you were judged harshly.  So maybe many of them came to avoid judgment.  Or perhaps they came because they wanted to move up in the church community.

Or maybe from my perspective, I was the one being a bit harsh, because there probably were some there because they truly loved Jesus.  I mean, there had to be some there because of that.  It’s just that it seemed like nothing ever changed in that church.  Week after week, summer, spring, winter and fall, we would all be there, and outside of a few amusing incidents, I can’t really remember anyone changing.

Miss C, an old maid spinster, was still mean outside of church.  Mr. R. still yelled at little kids who didn’t go right into church, asking them if they wanted to go to hell, because that’s where they were headed if they didn’t get right into church…which is where some of us thought we were on those hot summer days IN church.  The story was that Mr. B would beat his kids if they didn’t sit still during church as well as their one-hour family worships, and the two older ones often came to school with bruises on their legs and arms.  Mrs. M. gossiped about everyone to everyone.  And it was widely known, probably through Mrs. M, that Mr. H was making political moves towards being nominated head elder so that he could run the church the way he thought it ought to be, and that included maybe even getting rid of the pastor, if need be.

Then there was the pantry patrol, a group of ladies who would go to the homes of others in the church to make sure that they didn’t have any “forbidden’s” in their pantry or refrigerators.  No sugar. No pop.  No mustard.  No vinegar. Nothing that would be against the health message they touted.  Moderation was not part of their vocabulary.  Nor was kindness.  As strict vegetarians, they also sought to make all others vegetarian, and woe be unto you if they found some meat in your fridge.  Eggs, somehow were ok…but not chicken.

The gospel preached back in that day emphasized more the hardship of following Jesus, and how much you had to do, or not do, and how much you were supposed to give up. It was about conquering all known sin, at least any that people could see. It was about passing out tracts and literature, distributing articles of clothing and Bible studies given.  It was about getting your Ingathering goal…not giving it, and it was about making sure that others knew that you had done your part for the church, whatever that may be.  It seemed to be all about externals—but though people did some pretty whacky things, like the pantry patrol, it never really seemed to make a difference in their day-to-day lives.  It just seemed like people were working like mad to get to heaven.

Gradually, the pendulum began to swing back the other direction.  People actually acknowledged that one could be saved by grace, through faith, and not from the works they were doing.  But as pendulum swings go, it kept going through its swing until we get down to now, where we are on the other side of the pendulum swing.

We’ve opted now for such a grace orientation, that we almost never talk about Christ's life and death and resurrection giving us the victory over sin anymore.  We’ve just accepted living with it and repeating a pattern of sin, feel guilty, ask forgiveness, sin, feel guilty, ask forgiveness, etc.   We’ve actually settled for sin management, instead of sin conquering.  Which is not new either.

That started back in the garden.  Check out  Genesis 3:6,7  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

We get pretty hard on Adam and Eve for plunging us all into sin, but the fact is, they had never heard a lie before, and they had no clue that all beings weren’t totally honest.  They did not know that deception existed.  They had only had truthful dealings with God.  Everything He told them was true, and they had no reason to doubt.  Isn’t it logical then to assume that in their innocence, they would have no reason to doubt what the serpent said? Satan knew this, and used it to his advantage.  But once they had bitten on the lie, innocence faded away.

Isn’t it interesting that when the abrupt realization comes that they were not innocent anymore, and that suddenly they find themselves vulnerable and naked, they instantly start trying to manage sin?

They sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, caused by their transgression.  Now here’s the real interesting thought.  Adam and Eve had never heard of deception before.  They were innocent and had no knowledge of evil, or lies or anything…they were led to sin because they trusted a serpent to be honest with them, even though the serpent contradicted God.  Their doubt, their desire to be like God, and their acting on that desire caused them to fall, though they had never seen sin or lies or evil before.

We, on the other hand, have known about deceit almost from birth.  We know of evil and disease.  We have a written history of how it started.  We have the story of sin and of redemption.  We know that Jesus has made a way out for us when He died on the cross.  We know all of this, and yet we still sin.  And we still make excuses.  And in our teaching today, we have actually made it all ok.

See, whenever we teach that salvation is by mental assent, or intellectual belief, that doesn’t also include transformed behavior, we have given ourselves permission to keep on sinning.  And we make excuses.  We sew fig leaves.  “Well, that’s just the way I am!  I can’t help it.”  “I was born with a red-hot Irish temper—so I can’t help it.”  “My dad had a problem with chasing other women, so I guess it just comes naturally.”  That may be the way you are, but it is not the way Jesus wants to leave you.

How much longer will we go on pretending to be Christians, while doing everything the world does?  When will we realize that to do everything the world does, would actually make us non-Christian?  When will we realize that to do so is really fraudulent of the church at large?  That we are actually telling people we are what, in fact, we really aren’t?

Rom. 12:1,2  Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,(a sacrifice is a total giving up of something—here Paul is saying to offer yourself as a sacrifice) holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship.  2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

God is calling you this morning to a transformation.  It is true that Jesus loves you just where you are…but He loves you too much to leave you that way.  He wants you to become just like Jesus.  And if you are not becoming more and more like Jesus, you are not truly a disciple. 

If you are not being transformed into the image of Jesus, then you are not truly following as a disciple.  If your temper problem is not more under control today than it was when you first started following, you haven’t truly given it to Jesus.  If you still lie, or gossip or steal, then you need to bring those things to Jesus and let Him begin the transformation process.  If you don’t love others more now, than when you first started with Jesus, then you haven’t been doing the discipleship coursework.

Accepting His gift is one thing.  It’s the first step.  That’s what we call justification.  But walking in His steps is the second step and the third…and so on, until you become like Jesus.  That’s sanctification.  Your faith becomes obvious in your life by the changes that take place due to your obedience to Jesus.

We’ve got to rearrange our goals from being successful, or wealthy or even noble and instead, make our goal to be a committed follower of Jesus.  Until we do, we will lack passion, and perspective and priorities and perseverance to follow Jesus.  And we won’t see the fruit of the Spirit growing in our lives.  And we won’t tell others about the kingdom, even though we know that Jesus asked us to.  And we will be weak, spineless, Christ-less Christians, which are really not Christians at all.  And as a result, because the individual members lack those things, the whole church will be weak, spineless and Christ-less, which means that we really aren’t a Christian church, no matter how much we may identify ourselves that way.

It all goes back to a choice.  It’s everybody’s choice.  Each of you have to make it.  A choice, not only to take the first step with Jesus…which many of you did last Sabbath by accepting His grace and forgiveness in your lives, but also a choice to take the second step, by accepting His grace and leadership into your lives.  He not only wants to forgive you, He wants to transform you into His likeness.  He wants to change you from who you are to who He wants you to be.  He wants to help you overcome your sin and bad habits and He wants to rule in your heart.  He wants you to talk and act and think and become Just like Jesus.

God calls us to more than just a mental assent to the truth.  He calls us first of all to repentance.  And then He calls us to live the life of Jesus.  To believe what Jesus believed. Live as Jesus lived. To love like Jesus loves.  To minister like Jesus ministered.  To lead as Jesus led.