During the fifteen years I flew a private plane I gained a new perspective on smog. After spending most weekends in the clear, clean air of the mountains we would fly home at 11,000 feet with a 200 mile visibility. I never noticed the air at that altitude smelling clean, for clean air has no smell. It is odorless and invisible.
From the air the LA basin has the appearance of a lake filled with a yellow brown smoky substance, 1500 feet deep, and during descent you realize you will soon begin to breathe this into your lungs. As the plane would enter the top of the haze, the sensation was more like getting ready to submerge in a submarine, and my body would take a deep breath like you would before going under water. The instant you submerge the visibility immediately drops from 200 to 3 miles, and, if at night, the stars disappear as an orange haze illuminates the cabin and the sky. As the air pours in through the vents, you first sense the temperature change, then you wait to take your first breath. Then comes the stench, a musty chemical smell, something like burned oil, then tightness grips your lungs as your body gives its warning.
At cruising altitude, it is very peaceful. The plane is on autopilot and all I have to do is enjoy the scenery and watch out for occasional aircraft that, at night, I can see coming over 100 miles away. But, now things become very busy. The radio is active as I begin checking in with air traffic control. The reduced visibility keeps me on high alert watching out for air traffic as I follow my planned route to avoid restricted areas, and peering intently through the haze trying to locate the airport.
Fifteen minutes later, I am safely on the ground and take a deep breath -- AND SMELL NOTHING. It is not that the air no longer smells, but that I don't notice. I was so busy I didn't even notice the change. It is not just that I no longer smell it. I cannot smell it, no matter how intently I sniff the air.
You see, our senses are given to us to warn us of danger, but once the danger is accepted they automatically reset to a new level of sensitivity. The abrupt change in air one experiences in an airplane, sets off the alarm, yet I have driven the same route in an auto over the Grapevine into LA and never noticed the change in the air. When changes occur slowly, the senses cannot detect it unless we are playing very close attention, constantly sniffing the air for odors.
This situation is well known as the frog in the kettle syndrome which demonstrates that if a frog is placed in a kettle of water and gradually raised to a boil he will die in the water rather than jump out. Yet, he would jump out immediately if he was thrown into water was slightly over 100 degrees. Some of you have experienced this getting into a hot jacuzzi. You have to ease into the water to get used to it.
My point in all this is not to alarm you regarding breathing smog, but rather to point to a threat that is far more dangerous to your soul. It has become increasingly clear to me in recent weeks that God did not give us the Gospel to help us understand the world, but He created the world to enable us to understand the Gospel. The Gospel existed before the creation.
John 1:1-3
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
NIV
And, God designed His creation so that the visible would express His attributes, divine nature and power.
Rom 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
NASU
Col 1:16-17
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
NASU
This is not just some theological concept. God has given us precise images, called similitudes, throughout creation which perfectly represent spiritual truths if we have eyes to see them. And, God provides the sight to those who love, obey and seek Him. In the case of what we are discussing, let us consider the example of lung cancer. A cigarette smoker gets a strong warning from his body the first time he takes a puff. If he ignores it, the body increasingly tolerates the damage to the lungs as it focuses on the pleasure it gets from the nicotine. The warnings increase with wheezing, coughing up phlegm, and finally cancer of the lung which begins to spread death throughout the lungs and the rest of the body.
This physical world example of how the air we breathe can poison our body accurately portrays that which is also invisible in the air that is poisoning our soul. This was powerfully brought home to me at a men's retreat a couple weeks ago. The pastor was addressing the issue of the excuses we give for not memorizing scripture and asked us to complete the following sentence. "There she goes just a-walkin' down the street …" Most of you are already completing it in your head "singing doo wah, diddy diddy, dum diddy doo." His point was that we memorize things without intending to and we don't even have to know what they mean. Then, he asked us how many of us could name the twelve sons of Israel or the thirty miracles of Christ. The difference is exposure. We absorb what we are exposed to without thinking about it.
The truth of this almost knocked me off my chair. I had felt a little sheepish knowing the words to Doo wah, Diddy diddy, but at least that was a song. My sheepishness quickly turned to anger, however, when I realized I had been forced against my will to memorize "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." By exposing my spiritual lungs to the cultural airways, I have been forced to memorize the ingredients of a Big Mac and I cannot get rid of it no matter how hard I try. It is a part of my soul.
Now think of how the "word" of the culture has become a part of you. We even have a game for it -- Trivial Pursuits -- where we pride ourselves on how much irrelevant knowledge we have accumulated. Some you may be thinking, "well I see your point, but aren't you exaggerating a little when you compare this to lung cancer?" To that I just ask you to look at your kids, because we cannot see ourselves.
2 Tim 3:1-5
3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
NIV
Rom 1:28-32
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
NIV
Consider the following headlines in the context of these scriptures. All these headlines appeared on one day! Friday, June 14, 2002.
Boy of 17 hacks into missile secrets
WHO confirms Ebola cases
MARTHA'S PRISON EVERYDAY COLLECTION
American Taliban Says Interrogation Violated Rights
Bishops Back Off of Ousting Priests
Dying Grandmother Raped in Hospital Toilet
Senate Cloning Bill Faces New Setbacks
Girlfriend Arrested in Man's Torture - Buttocks Almost Cut Off
ABC Peter Jennings Vetoes Patriotic Song for July 4
Gangs, prison: Al Qaeda breeding grounds?
Bush mulls 'provisional' Palestinian state
Two female would-be suicide bombers arrested
Israelis 'betting on suicide bombings'
China Tackles Locust Plague
Murder Verdict in Infant Starvation
Buddhist Funeral Rites Held for Ape
Stand back and look at what these stories as a whole represent? View them as a collage, not one by one. Did your nose detect them when they appeared? If not, your sense of smell is already seriously diminished and there is some lung damage.
Once this occurs and your spiritual senses have reset, you lose the power of discernment. You will "see" these things, but not notice because they have become accepted by your soul. Paul refers to this as those whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. Other Christians may warn you about such things, (as I am now doing) but you will not see them to be very serious. You may say, "I see your point, but aren't you exaggerating a bit?" I know the feeling, because for thirty years I didn't see it either. I only saw clearly after being cleansed. Even now, there is probably much that I am missing. The only way you can tell if I am right or wrong is to cleanse your senses. You cannot discern polluted air until you breathe clean air.
You see, once you have lost the ability to smell, you cannot will yourself to do so. You are trapped. The only escape is to cleanse and reset your senses. We will discuss how the body and the soul can be cleansed and healed in The Lamp of the Body.
For Those Who Don't Know That They Don't Know
Mat 7:21-23
(21) "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
(22) "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
(23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
NOTE: Current selection is below introduction
Jesus ended what we now refer to as the Sermon on the Mount with these words. Few Christians have not heard them, yet I fear fewer still have taken the time to ponder the implications. Jesus is warning professing Christians, for they are the only ones who call Him Lord, that not everyone who call's Him Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father in Heaven will enter. Further, he warns that these will be many and these many will be very surprised. Look what they say: "Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name and do many wonderful works?" Jesus does not deny the works, He merely declares that He never knew them and to depart from Him. I believe that these are the most devastating words that anyone could ever hear, that they had been deceived or (more likely deceived themselves) with religion.
If you have put your trust in a doctrine or creed, a catechism, a baptism, or your assent to a "sinner's prayer" you may find yourself upset at what I have written here. But, is it MY writing your are upset with? I have merely pointed out the obvious that Jesus Himself said. However, if you are upset I fully understand how you feel, because I have been there and my question became "how do I know if I know?"
I grew up in a devout Baptist family. My parents believed what they understood of the scriptures. They believed the preacher and taught me what they believed. I believed them too. After all, I had good reason to believe them, for I cannot ever recall either of my parents ever telling a lie to anyone.I did what was required and expected of me. I walked the aisle at 11 and was baptized. I believed in Jesus by hearsay and thought nothing of it. I believed because I had no reason not to believe the teaching, but I did not know God, nor did I have any inkling that one could. Certainly there was no evidence around me that I could see that anyone else did. Except maybe the preacher. He said God spoke to him and I had been taught that preachers were special; that they were “called.”
I had been told that I was a sinner and that I was lost, yet Jesus had died on the cross for my sins and if I believed that and accepted Jesus as my personal savior that I would go to Heaven when I died. So I believed this, as I had no reason not to, and for the 18 years I spent in the Baptist church I heard very little beyond this basic message. Sure we should cheerfully give to the church, and do service in the church, but even if I didn't I was assured of my "salvation" and it could never be lost. If I was saved, I was always saved they said. So while further reading of the Bible and serving was a good thing, there seemed to me to be little point to it since I was already assured of going to heaven when I died.
Since it had been my habit since birth, the first two Sundays at college I showed up at the 1st Baptist Church where it seemed I was invisible. The third Sunday I slept in instead and then proceeded to do the same for 30 years, except when my parents visited. During those years I began to be schooled in the heart of man. As I said, I was raised to be very trusting and had little experience with deceit and betrayal.
That changed suddenly upon graduation when my first boss cheated me out of $4,000 that I had borrowed from my parents to invest in the company. Within two months I was a newly wed with no job and no money. The money was all spent before he even raised it. Confused, I confronted him. How could he do this knowing that I had to borrow this money from my parents? I never forgot his answer: “It was a business decision for business reasons.” He didn’t even blink. I knew then that if I was going to be able to play in this new game of business that I had some toughening up to do.
Thus, began 30 years of working for Laban. I learned that every contract could be disputed and breached no matter how clear the language. I learned that employees would kill profitable ventures for their company out of jealousy and I became convinced that I must be one of only two or three people in the country who could read and write with understanding. My sport and life was business and I meditated on it those 30 years day and night. Literally. And, I got pretty good at it and succeeded for many years on almost everything I put my mind to. I had complete faith … in myself. Then, in 1994, I entered into a new business venture that should have be the best of all, but no matter how hard I strove, the goal was always just one step out of reach. I was making bricks without straw but didn’t know it. But, I continued to labor, for I had never failed to achieve something that I set my mind on and this should have been a very good venture.
After four years of this, about 2:30 in the morning I suddenly woke up with a start as I heard a voice say “It’s time.” My heart leaped with inexpressible joy (that is the best I can do, for I have nothing else to compare to it) and I felt a warmth flow over me from head to toe leaving a coolness in its wake. I remember weeping and saying “It’s all true.”
The first thought that hit me was that my dad had died and was on his way to heaven. I was so convinced of this I fully expected the phone to ring from my mother informing me of such, but when the day dawned there was no call. This still amazes me, but when that call did not come, it was like this experience never happened. I remembered it, yet here I had just had the most profound and unique experience of my life but when what I had reasoned it to be did come about I paid it no further attention. This is what happens when faith is not present. The experience alone is not enough.
Two months later, I was laid low with an extreme case of bronchitis. I was very weak from lack of sleep and I began having a series of night visions and other experiences which I have no name for, except they were more real than “real” and had something to do with the Kingdom of God and Christ's coming reign on the earth. At the end of this week I was hospitalized. When I got out I was humbled and shaken.
The doctors explained my experience as a hallucinatory side effect of my anti-biotic, but I could not shake the notion that all these things had something to do with God. I was like Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind where he cannot shake the vision of the mountain. He is drawn there even though he does not know what to expect and goes even at the threat of death. He MUST go. This is the state I was in when I reentered “the Church.” Something had happened to me. I was sure God was involved and I was looking for answers in the church and in the Bible. I became like Dreyfuss sculpting his mashed potatoes into the vision of the mountain. I had seen, but men looked like trees walking around. I needed a second touch. I had to know.
This began what I call my tour of the seven churches, the first stop of which was an apostate Methodist Church where I quickly saw that the pastor had no clue. I would ask him questions about the Bible and was greatly alarmed to learn that he knew less about the Bible than I did and I had not cracked it in 30 years. Weren't these guys "called?"
So I began to move from one high place to the next seeking the true church. I had no awe of men any more, church leaders or not, and I began reading the Bible for myself. As I did, I began seeing that virtually every familiar passage had its meaning twisted out of context. These were not difficult passages either. I found great distortion and disagreement on the most elementary teachings. I thought "if they are wrong about the things that seem so simple, why should I think they are right about the deeper things?" And, as I read, I found voluminous material that I had never heard discussed, much less preached from the pulpit.
Yet, ironically, as my distrust of religious men grew, my trust in God grew, for it was clear that He was the One showing me the error. I knew Him. He was now my Teacher and I needed no other. He was real and present. When I prayed, there was a Presence and my prayers were answered. Some before I finished speaking. There seemed to be a new life stirring within me. I could feel it, like a woman with child feels her child stir. He opened my eyes and I could see that He was directing my path, in real time, and I wanted Him to do so. Even when the path got exceedingly difficult, I had wanted to stay on it. Where else could I go?
There was a time when I was very reluctant to share my experience. I figured most won't believe it and I was afraid that the ones that did might have their faith upset if they had not had a similar experience, but now I don't think that was of the Lord. You see, there is a big difference between a belief that is the product of reason and that which is received by faith. If we have seen Him and have received that by faith by revelation, we cannot be shaken by the discrediting of a doctrine or teaching.I began to read some of the writings of godly men who have already gone on with the Lord, and found their testimonies to be similar. Consider this quote from A.W. Tozer:
If you have to be reasoned into Christianity, some wise fellow can reason you out of it! If you come to Christ by a flash of the Holy Ghost so that by intuition you know that you are God's child, you know it by the text but you also know it by the inner light, the inner illumination of the Spirit, and no one can ever reason you out of it.When I was a young man I read most of the books on atheism. I had my Bible and a hymnbook and a few other books, including Andrew Murray and Thomas a Kempis, and I got myself educated as well as I could by reading books. I read the philosophy of all the great minds - and many of those men did not believe in God, you know - and they didn't believe in Christ. I remember reading White's Warfare of Science with Christianity, and if any man can read that and still say he is saved, he isn't saved by his reading, he is saved by the Holy Ghost within him telling him that he is saved!
Actually, many of those philosophers and thinkers would take away all my "reasons" and reduce me to palpitating ignorance. On the basis of human reason, they would make a man just get down and walk out and toss his Bible on a shelf and say, "There goes another one!"
Do you know what I would do after I would read a chapter or two and find arguments that I could not possibly defeat? I would get down on my knees and with tears I would thank God with joy that no matter what the books said, "I know Thee, my Savior and my Lord!"
I didn't have it in my head - I had it in my heart. There is a great difference, you see. If we have it in our heads, then philosophy may be of some help to us; but if we have it in our hearts, there is not much that philosophy can do except stand aside reverently, hat in hand, and say, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty."
This my purpose for writing this, that you should know that you CAN know and once you know there is no teaching can ever shake it, for you no longer trust in WHAT you believe but in WHOM you believe and like Paul you can say, "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He can keep that which I have committed unto Him until that day." We have an unspeakably rich inheritance awaiting us in Christ, but many, like Esau, are trading it for a bowl of soup.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
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