Thanks for tuning in. i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, it is no accident that, as you were channel surfing, you stopped here. Hopefully you’ll sit a while with me to look a little deeper into the word of God, inspiring you to look further than simply seeing just paper and print. Sure, haven’t we all sort of been uninspired to even look further than the pulpit at one time or another. i think everyone suffers from a heart full of “don’t want to” occasionally, and for different reasons. Truly, people get tired and lose interest for a multitude of reasons. Often we well understand the good reasons to give pursuit to the Lord, but we just get tired of the chase and sit down, hoping God will re-invigorate our hearts, raise up our passion and inspiration towards Jesus, who was and still is passionate about our wellbeing, in hot pursuit of everyone who even might believe in His name. The son of God knows that if we don’t cling to Him, we have no other possibility but to cling to death, and i find that a very unattractive option, don’t you?
Here lately, i’ve had a thought which says, “i can’t think of too many things more frustrating than spending my time doing something which produces nothing.” i used to be the most frustrated person you ever met. i spent a lot of effort, i mean real physical and emotional capital trying to get somewhere that ended up being nowhere, and as a result, i was weary, frustrated, and short tempered. Sure, i’d wear the happy face at church, “Good morning! Praise God! Amen brother!” and i’d sing the songs with joy and a smile, raising my hands, closing my eyes in imaginary bliss…but inside, i was a mess.
How many of us have spent time on the phone with some company representative trying to square up a billing error, only to be run around and around and around. We labored to accomplish something, all that explaining, and talking, only to be no further along with possibly even fewer answers than when we started. Indeed, it is very frustrating spending time doing something which produces nothing.
Guilt, anger, fear, and blame produce no good fruit. i think we’ve really got to stop doing things which go nowhere and do nothing. All four go in a circle, and i bet you could ask anyone who is constantly assailed by the “horrible four” if they are tired of it all and they would answer, “Yes! i am exhausted!”
There are some things, we as the church, really need to talk about, and i don’t mean just hear a good sermon, i mean sit down in small groups and discuss more than once. There is a great conflict in the body of Christ these days that needs resolving, and it’ll take more than just doing church once per week to bring resolution. Are you up for those conversations? i don’t mean the kind of meeting where someone in amazing authority points out the faults of others, that just makes everybody mad and never solves any conflict. But the sort of conversations where we are honest with ourselves and look to the Lord to help us overcome our hurdles. Do you understand what i’m talking about?
So, forward we go into the program to discuss, in brief, guilt, blame, anger, and fear, the horrible four and the value of looking up to God instead of down to the ground.
Some of us are not only worn out, but maybe even physically ill from living life under the back-breaking burden of the horrible four – guilt, blame, anger, and fear. There are no pills or drug therapies to actually solve any of the four. The medication may knock off the sharp, cutting edges, but it doesn’t mean the root problem has been resolved. A medical doctor may attempt to give a diagnosis and then prescribe pills, but in the end, all things remain the same. Drugs don’t resolve it. Did you know that approximately 40 people, every day, die from taking prescription pain and/or psychotropic medications? And yes, the estimate is “every day”, and yes, i think that number is highly likely very conservative.
And how different are the crash symptoms when quitting the use of prescription meds as compared to suffering from guilt, blame, anger, and fear? The horrible four are powerful, and may very well be even MORE powerful than prescription medication.
When the horrible four have a firm grip on our soul, they can present as sleep disturbances, like alternating between insomnia, sleeping too little, or hypersomnia, sleeping too much. There are other evidences of their grip on us … eating too much or too little, anxiety and irritability, panic attacks, fatigue, we often just can’t seem to feel happy, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Interestingly, those are the same crash symptoms when someone stops taking psychotropic medications.
You may think i’m kidding around some, but absolutely not. i’d like us all to seriously consider to think carefully, and ask the Lord to help us start living a life which produces good fruit, to be more effective, and stop the wheel spinning caused by the horrible four.
Up until the last few weeks have i done much research into understanding a particular character from 2 Samuel 9 whose name was Mephibosheth. What an amazing example of guilt, blame, fear, and maybe even the anger of frustration this fellow represented. The attitude the man had towards himself was so destructive. Not only did Mephibosheth suffer from poverty of spirit and soul, but he also lived in Lo-debar, a sad, poverty-stricken place with a name which meant “no pasture”, “no word” or “no communication”, just a dead-end sort of place which went nowhere and did nothing. i would guess Lo-debar was probably a very frustrating place to live. i bet that if Mephibosheth lived in these modern days, some doctor would recommend he take psychotropic medications to deal with his guilt, blame and fear, not solve the problems, but suppress the problems, “oh, and be sure to make an appointment for next weeks so we can monitor how you’re doing”, yet nothing would actually be resolved.
The chapter opens with David asking if there was anyone left around to whom he could show his kindness for Jonathan’s sake, with the idea of kindness being the extended hands of grace and unfailing mercy of God.
It is evident that David wasn’t doing kindness for Mephibosheh because he deserved it, and in the same sense the Lord is kind and gracious to us, not because we deserve it but for the sake of Jesus. It is because of Jesus we have favor and blessing, not because we are so worthy, not because we went and got it because of our personal merits, but for the sake of Jesus, the Lord extends us abundant life. He ardently practices forbearance towards us, meaning He allows us all to continue to live that we might repent. His kindness leads us to repentance, for the sake of Jesus. And in a prophetic gesture, David was extending kindness and grace to Mephibosheth like Jesus would extend kindness and grace to all mankind.
David’s servant told him there was one son of Saul around, but he was crippled in his feet, in other words, Mephibosheth didn’t have it all together, he had problems more than just his attitude in addition to have a physical malady. i think the young man could have asserted himself and claimed his right as a son of Jonathan, but instead, he just camped out in Lo-debar and the spirit of Eeyore lived with him day and night.
Incredibly, when Mephibosheth came into the king’s chambers, he fell on his face, saying, “here i am”. David commanded, in vs7 saying, “I’m returning to you all the properties of your grandfather Saul. Furthermore, from now on you’ll take all your meals at my table.” The young man’s attitude spoke volumes. In vs8, Mephibosheth’s words spoke loudly, he said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?”
God is extending us all salvation and redemption, yet like Mephibosheth, we have an “i’m no better than a dead dog” attitude toward ourselves? Why? Where’d that come from?
We cannot earn favor. When we are kind, merciful, or graceful to people, it is us giving to them what they have not earned or deserve. Similarly, when the Lord extends those same blessings to us, it is Him giving to us what we cannot earn and do not deserve. i’ve met more than a few really religious people in my years, and i can tell you they are all just tired inside from trying to deserve God’s goodness.
Do you believe your wellbeing is directly connected to your ability to get it right? i realize that is a kind of pokey question, but c’mon, be honest, what do you really believe and how did you come to that conclusion? For years i was convinced that i needed to get life right in order for the Lord to bless me, and if i wasn’t as blessed as i thought i should be, in my eyes, i had some sort of hidden sin holding me back, at least i was told that was the problem, and it seemed like a noteworthy possibility at the time.
i had no idea what that hidden sin would be. Oh, don’t you know i spent my days confessing stuff i hadn’t even done in order to try and cover the l-o-n-g list of potentially hidden sins i had taken special note of. And even then i would think to myself, “What if i’m guilty of stuff i can’t think of, which would mean i can’t confess it, and that means God still won’t bless me! What am i going to do?!?! What am i ever going to do?!?” i’m not saying we shouldn’t strive to do the right thing, of course, but if we think, somehow we’re going to get life right enough to make it to the next level, as if we’re in some video game, and we are wrong. God doesn’t see it that way. And if all things come to rest at the feet of God Almighty, King of the Universe, then we really need to see things from His perspective.
Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
i think, and this is just what i think, many of us need to leave out of our Lo-Debar and start knocking on the king’s door asking for what is ours by the blood of Jesus. i’m going to God in Jesus name, not my name, in Jesus name. My name never set anyone free, my name never delivered anyone, my name never drove off demons, and even less, my titles are worthless in Heaven. (My Titles) i believe people who need a title to operate are people who need to own something.
Listen up, you have every right to do everything God has asked and empowered you to do, in Jesus name, meaning you don’t need a title to accomplish God’s bidding. If the Lord said to do it, then you have God’s endorsement to accomplish the request of the King. If God made you an appointment, He will also make the provision to accomplish His request.
People need other people to have a title, yet God didn’t ask anyone to have a title in order to accomplish His appointment. If He told you that you can do something, then you can do it because He said so.
As long as we are only dating God, we don’t have the strength of His name, only when we are committed to His purposes do we get the power of the Name of Jesus.
Isaiah 53:4, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;”, and vs10 says, “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”
Jesus bore our griefs, and made an offering for our guilt, and the will of the Lord shall prosper, SHALL prosper in His hand. We need not carry around the “i’m just a dead dog” attitude, defiled by shame, burdened by the millstone of guilt which is hung around our neck.
Let us declare, in the mirror, while looking ourselves in the eye, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, even while we feel guilty, shameful, stupid, angry, or afraid. Let your mouth join with God in His declarations and promises. It is true, we can’t do anything about the events of our past, but we certainly can do something about cooperating with God concerning the future. Amen?
Hebrews 5:13, “…for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” Many years ago i attended a small rural church and there came a need for an additional deacon. There were two men that applied for the position. One had been a believer for 30 years, and the other about 10. When the church board made a decision, they picked the man who had been walking the walk for 10 years. The other fellow was furious, absolutely furious, and wanted to know what the deal was, after all, and these are his words, “i have been a Christian for 30 years, and in light of my long standing, why did the board pick the guy who “only” had 10 years in Christ?” Well, the board was reluctant to answer because they knew it would hurt the mans feelings, but he insisted, insisted they give him an answer. So, they did. They told him, “It’s a point of maturity. Yes, you’ve been a believer for 30 years, but you’ve been a 1 year old Christian for 30 years.” By that example of a real situation we can draw a very important question: Some of us have been at this a long time, but were we just marking time, being religious? What a waste of time, and there you have it, spending our time doing something which produces nothing, like living in Lo-debar with an “i’m just a dead dog” attitude. Have we gotten down to business with God, doing the work of being honest and being honorable? You know, i really believe God is raising the bar on honor, and with honor comes respect and dignity. And of special note here, respect and dignity are two different words in both Hebrew and Greek.
With an elevated position comes leadership, and with leadership comes the constant crossroads of divine power or corruption and righteous leadership has to choose to be kingdom builders instead of empire builders. Before dignity should be honor, God given honor, in that God given honor is grace as a door of life, and as God grows honor in us, He gives dignity to lead well. Self-gotten dignity, a platform of our own making, that manufactured persona which requires an “image management program”, is possible, meaning dignity before honor is probably the idea behind pride goes before a fall. If we’ve been at this for a while, and our concern is far more focused on our elevated position and significance, but we have neglected honesty and being a person of honor, that is the very definition of being religious.
Maybe this is part of what Paul was addressing in Hebrews 5:12, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God …”
Let’s stop living by our feelings and start living by what we know down deep in our heart. There is inherent power in the word of God, it doesn’t necessarily change the way we appear, and it may not change our feelings right away, but it does change the foundations of our heart which influences everything else about us. Never, never let your state define your standing. i may feel undone and frazzled today, this week, or for the last few months, but that doesn’t change my standing in Christ. I know i have been made right with God by the power of His word and the blood of Jesus, and even if the devil comes pounding on my door, intimidating me to cower, whispering defeat and depression through the windows of my house….am i going to believe the God of the Bible, or am i going to believe my feelings? Are you going to assume you’re worthless and no good, just a “dead dog” because it’s how you feel, or are you going to grab your Bible and believe what God says?? Much of the time how i feel is of low importance, not of “no importance” because “feelings” are part of life, but not nearly as important when compared to what God has to say. i know i’ve been made right with God by the blood of Jesus Christ. i believe emotions are important, but when emotions grip our very being, especially when they come out of woundedness and brokenness, we can easily be swept to a whole new depth that can challenge our everyday life of staying encouraged. Never let your state define your standing.
Somehow, we find it easy to justify feeling guilty, afraid, fearful, and angry, especially guilt and blame. With just a little self-examination and honesty, who doesn’t see that they are guilty of missing the mark, and are to blame for feeling blamed? i was brought up, in my early years as a Christian, to think it was necessary to at least feel guilty about myself a little. The unspoken teaching was “what kind of self-respecting believer doesn’t feel guilty about themselves somehow?” And the moment you start trying to not feel so guilty and blamed by declaring God’s promises about yourself, along come someone to set you straight, reminding you how your armor is slipping a little and they are just the special one to make sure you get it right. Oh, it’s true, you could have gotten it right but you didn’t and that special person felt it was their mission to make sure you get it right. Presto-change-o, guilt and blame have just found a way back into your life. Then comes the fear we’ll never be right enough to be right with God, and then comes the wave of anger, born out of the frustration of just going in circles, the frustration of spending time doing something which produces nothing. Boom! Back to Lo-debar on a rocket sled!
An amazing number of people walk through each day with the millstone of guilt, blame, and shame around their necks. Maybe we have not done the things we should have, or, we’ve done things which should never have been done. Truly, we cannot undo the past, and the memory of our own hurtful deeds can cause a lifetime of pain. For many, the seemingly harmless sins and offenses of our youth can weigh on our consciences forever and in the mind of others. Those same conflicts of our youth stick like super glue. Don’t you know the enemy uses offense to wound us all and we are so very available.
The burden of blame, shame and guilt is crushing. Within blame, there is an accusatory thrust who’s nature is to surround and bind our minds and hearts. Blamed and shamed people tend to blame and shame other people, and if there is no one to blame, they shame and blame themselves, even though there are no grounds for it. OH, how well do i know this! Our downward spiral needs to stop and we must stop the bleeding.
Hebrews 5:13-14, “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
Read your Bible and spend time talking to God. We’ve got to know God’s word and have a working relationship with Jesus, exercising our powers of discernment which trains us by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. “Trained” is a key word there. It means “to make of sound mind, to fill the hand, to be set apart dedicated to learning a particular skill through practice and instruction over a period of time”. Yea, i like that definition!
As we’ve said before, if we’re not being trained in grace and the word of God, what are we being trained in? Trained in how our guilt can be more effective, trained in letting fear get a better grip in our lives, trained in how to justify our anger, trained to be more exact with our aiming finger of blame? You may laugh, but that is what the enemy will train us in if we let him.
Ask yourself, where does all that ungodly training go eventually? Play the whole movie. Does that training add up to God’s training? It is all spending our time doing something which produces nothing, nothing but more of the same. Are you tired of it yet? Are you exhausted from living a life in the grip of the “horrible four”, blame, guilt, fear, and anger? What does God say? We have to put on righteousness and stop bowing down to feelings. When you wake up in the morning and all that ugliness is in your ears, speak the word of the Lord, right out of your Bible and change the inclination of the day ahead. Once we start deflecting the love of God, our only recourse is to take up with the world’s standards to prove to ourselves we are unlovable and have no value, and that never ends up in a good place. Put on righteousness. In light of that, if Christ is our armor, how did you take that armor off in order to put it back on? And why would anyone want to take it off anyway? Think about it.
Let us extend our hands to those who are hurting. Get your hands out of your pockets and put to good use the grace and kindness God has given you.
Isaiah 52:7-10, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.” The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” Wow!
For a large part of my life i think i was just mad, ”It’s not fair”, “Why couldn’t i just be like other kids”, “They owe me for all the stuff that i didn’t get”, “i’m just mad and somebody is going to pay!” That’s living in the downward swirl of being a certifiable victim which goes nowhere and does nothing. Friends, we don’t live by feelings, we live by the Word of God. i just have to do this and that because they did such and such to me. Yea, that’ll teach ‘em! Listen, that was then, this is now and what is past needs to stop being so powerful in your now. Let your past be past and stop revisiting it just so you can taste all that bitterness and hurt again. Stop being such a victim. Surely you don’t really need all that drama again, so cut it out! You know, chances are good you weren’t the only one wounded, let it go and start breathing again.
i was just mad, wounded, guilty, blamed, and angry, until … i met Jesus who said i’ll make you one of my own, I have done what is more than fair and you can have it all. It doesn’t matter what you didn’t get or didn’t have if you’ve got God in your corner. Some of us need to get over what didn’t happen in our childhood and get on with what the Lord has laid out as our destiny. C’mon, get over it. Again, we can’t do anything about the history of our lives, but we certainly can do more to cooperate with God concerning our future, and take off that necklace of blame, guilt, fear, and anger. It never helped or encouraged you. Put on Christ who is our peace, strength, and hope and never allow yourself to wear the adornment of the horrible four again. Amen?
i’m Social Porter and this has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, just for you, right where you sit, where ever you’re sitting.
Be strong and courageous this week. God’s got training available for everyone who wants to participate. Get to know Jesus and study your Bible, the Lord will never steer you wrong.
Learn to relax and breath, speak life to yourself and others, and we’ll meet again soon. Amen, and amen.