When God Offends You

Looking back, I realized that my university days were when I was the most zealous for Jesus.

I would spend hours in the Bible, prayer and personal worship. I was active in a church worship band, evangelistic concerts and in music lessons, to hone my skills. And I would practice both the piano and the guitar a lot. I wanted skill, and skill that would last, so that I had more to use when serving in the worship ministry.

“Did you get any studying done those days, JJ?” Errr…

Ever since then I have gone down a lot. Life responsibilities, such as work and family, make me more like a normal Christian, who has to be seriously disciplined to seek God. Practice time is less (ironic for a music teacher, right?) so I have to make the best use of whatever little practice time I have.

Now I could be disappointed. Given the amount of zeal I had in those days, I was expecting that I would be a hard-core, effective servant of the LORD, teaching the Word and being used in healing the sick and all that kind of stuff. But even though I am nowhere near what I dreamed of in my university days, at least I am still walking with God. He has been holding on to me all these years.

And I am grateful!

Not all the people I knew from those days are still walking with the Lord. A few have fallen and are no longer serving God or walking with him.

And it bugs me. I remember looking at them, seeing how different they were from me in terms of personality and giftings, and yet sharing the same purpose: Glorify Jesus with whatever we had and in everything we could do. I was thinking things could only get better, and we would, working together but in our own unique ways, keep on serving God, achieving more and winning our nation for Christ.  

Then offences struck. And people stumbled.

Offences can come from men

Luke 17:1-2 (KJV) - Then said he unto the disciples, “It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.               

People in church can offend you. And to get a sense of what kind of offence we are talking about, the word used for “offences” is the Greek word from which we derive the word “scandal” from. It means to trip up, to stumble or entice to sin. Jesus said that it WILL happen.

Knowing that it will happen is our best defence. When we know that it will happen, we will not lose our faith just because people in church fail us. Guess what? If we set our hopes on people, rather than on the LORD, they will disappoint us.

Psalm 118:8-9 (ESV) - It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

So people disappointing us is no excuse. So what if your pastor is a hypocrite? So what? So what if your church people don’t love you as God commanded them to? So what? I mean, if love was so easy, God wouldn’t need to admonish us to love one another, right? Obviously, divine love is not nature to us in our fallen nature. Did God ever promise us that the rest of the believers will love us properly, as he desires? I don’t think so. So why let yourself be stumbled just because people in church let you down?

Offences can come from God

John 6:61-62 (ESV) - But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?

 

Again the same Greek word for offense appears. In effect, Jesus is saying, “Does this scandalize you? I am still holding back. You ain’t seen nothing yet!” Jesus then delivered his doctrinal bombshell.

John 6:65-66 (ESV) - And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father." After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

 

Maybe it won’t be salvation doctrine that offends you. How about the way God forgives and blesses sinners?
 

Luke 15:29-30 (ESV) – 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!'

 

When the Gospel, preached in its entirety, offends, some people turn away from God entirely. Sometimes they go doctrine shopping, looking for a church, religion or philosophy that excuses their pet sins or justifies their beliefs and preferences.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV) - For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,  and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

 

How do we hold firm when God himself offends us?
 

John 6:67-69 (ESV) – So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

 

Jesus has the words of eternal life, which means they cause us to know God, to perceive and be sure of him (John 17:3). His words are Spirit and they are life (John 6:63). But they are no benefit to us unless we actually let his words abide in us (John 15:7). We need to actual taste and experience God’s goodness (Psalm 34:8), especially through the Word (Hebrews 6:5). We start by believing that Jesus is the Holy One of God, then when we grow in our experience of his Word and his goodness in our lives, we end up knowing for sure.

My Faith Crash

I had a massive faith crash years ago.

It was so painful. I was experiencing the presence of God in worship and the Word. I had answered prayers and many significant signs that hinted that I was on the right track. I was returning back to serving God in ministry, and re-discovering the joy of setting my hand to the plough for the Kingdom of God and being fruitful in ministry.

And then the crash came. What I prayed to God earnestly for, I did not get. Even worse, I got the opposite of what I really believed God would give me. He brought me so far, why would he not complete it, right? I clung on in prayer, stayed faithful in ministry and in my own personal time of seeking God, and continued to experience his presence and even answered prayers.

Yes, God continued give me what I asked for. Except for what I wanted the most, desired the most and had reasons to expect the most. For this part of my life I still have no answers, no resolution, no completion. I cannot come up with some spiritual-sounding lesson and say that I now understand why God did things that way during that season. I still don’t.

So what do I have? I still have God with me. Nudging me forward when I totally doubt that he was going to lead me where I am supposed to go. Answering prayers still. Meeting with me in my own personal prayer and worship time still. There is just only one matter, over which I wanted nothing but his will, worked out his way. And when I had finally come to believe I knew what it was, and that I was going to receive it, I didn’t get it. And the shame still remains. Did I ask God for the wrong thing? If so, how could I have missed it so badly?

Isaiah 54:4 (ESV) - Fear not, for you will not be ashamed; be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced; for you will forget the shame of your youth, and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

What kept me going? It was the eternal life of God. It was continuing to experience God, even when in one matter I was disappointed. I did get one lesson I can share from that season though: You don’t need trust when someone does what you understand. You need trust when that someone is doing a whole lot of things you don’t understand. That is when you have to decide if you will trust that the person knows what he or she is doing, and has your best interests at heart.

And when it comes to people, your trust can be misplaced. But not with God. He has shown his faithfulness to me many times before and many times ever since. Will I stumble and be offended with God over one matter, or will I look at his past faithfulness and trust, even when I don’t understand? 

Conclusion:

I know this is really long, and I have shared some personal stuff. But I hope that some of what I shared here will be useful to you or to those around you, who are struggling with God offending them. Be blessed!

Politick Biblically

This year, I have been reading through my Bible, aiming to read through the entire Bible in one year. For those who have never tried it, all you need is 3-4 chapters a day. You can finish the entireBible like this, and the dividends can be immense! This is my 5th or 6th time through, and one thing that I found myself noticing this time is how God’s people and the heroes of the faith navigated themselves with people of influence.

In other words, how people of faith do politics!
To many believers, politics is a dirty word. Take the phrase “church politics” for example. It usually makes believers think of scheming behind the scenes, flattery, deceit and exploiting God’s people for power, money or some other selfish benefit. 

So it was quite an eye-opener for me to actually see the political side of what the characters in the Bible have done. There are a few lessons that we need to consider in order to politick biblically.

1)    Remember the Big Picture.

Proverbs 29:26 (ESV) - Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the LORD that a man gets justice.

Power, money and revenge are selfish motivations for participating in politics, whether in the church, secular government or any other human society. Seeking justice, whether for ourselves or for the oppressed, is the right motivation.

But before we begin, we need to face the big picture. Ultimately, justice comes from the LORD. Therefore we are to conduct our political activities in this light, knowing that what we do has to meet with his approval and be conducted in faith in his justice prevailing.

2)    Work with Other People 
Oftentimes, we are unable to get what we want by directly approaching the people of influence and authority. Take Joseph, for example. He was stuck in prison and earnestly wanted to go home to see his father. But he was unable to, because of Potiphar’s charges against him that left him languishing in an Egyptian prison. 

So he approached the cupbearer of Pharaoh and asked him to intercede with Pharaoh on Joseph’s behalf (Genesis 40:14). It did not yield results immediately, but in the end it was through the cupbearer that Pharaoh came to know of Joseph. And this eventually led to Joseph’s promotion.

I remember the early days... 

... when I decided to return to worship ministry/training. Being out of the scene for so long meant that I had to network and promote myself. And that was not an easy thing to do! I had people criticise me for trying to promote myself, saying that I ought to just, pray, wait upon God for who to approach, and only approach that person. Since I did not do it that way (or even better, stay at home praying until people call me) to them I was obviously moving in flesh, operating carnally and depending on human efforts rather than trusting in God…

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t hear God as often and as specifically as I would like. That was then, and I haven’t improved much ever since. There are people who are guided THAT specifically by God, and I rejoice for them. For me, however, I have to follow the principles embodied by this Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 11:6 (ESV) - In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.

This passage takes an idea from farming, that you cannot predict the success of a specific endeavour. But you can expect that if you persevere some of your efforts will be successful. And so if you want to be assured of some results, you have to sow a lot of effort and probably make it more widespread. And this is what I did in my marketing efforts.  If you are not guided by God as specifically as you would like, this principle will stand you in good stead in the meantime!

Besides, I grew a lot from going out and putting myself in a position to be rejected over and over again. It was humbling, and I sometimes wonder if some of those stay-home-and-pray people do so because they are that spiritually astute, or if they are just deathly fearful of rejection and using spiritual-sounding words to avoid facing it!  

Sometimes we need people whom we would rather not depend on. Consider the case of Mordecai in the book of Esther. When Haman the Agagite wanted to destroy the Jewish remnant (Esther 3:6), Mordecai asked Esther to intercede for the Jews on their behalf. At that moment, there was no better person for the task. Haman already outranked everyone else (Esther 3:1), only Esther, as the queen, had a chance to persuade the king to relent.

But Mordecai was no longer the primary influence in her life, as he was in the days when he raised her. There was always the possibility that Esther had let her new-found wealth and power get to her head.  And since marriage usually leads to a woman changing her loyalty, there was always a chance that Esther no longer felt for her people. Finally, even if she chose to intercede with the king for her people, what assurance did Mordecai have that Esther was shrewd enough to do so wisely?

We all know how that story turned out. Things were so near to going wrong for Mordecai and the rest of the Jewish people. But because God intervened and subtly nudged things his way, everything all worked out in the end. The fact remained, however, that Esther was an unlikely candidate for rescuing the Jews. Mordecai had to really commit the matter to God’s hands and trust God to the utmost if he wanted peace of mind that God would work everything out!

That is also how it may be with us. A chance meeting with an unlikely person, someone who may not even be interested in our cause or in helping us, may be exactly what God planned for working out his purposes in our lives. Sometimes, our only hope is someone we would rather not depend on. And that is how we see if our ultimate trust is in God or in man.

Psalm 118:8 (ESV) - It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

3)    Grab opportunities to do good
One more thing that Joseph and Mordecai had in common, they did good first, and their reward came a lot later.

For Joseph, it was interpreting the dream of the cupbearer. For Mordecai, it was exposing a plot to assassinate King Ahasuerus. Both these men had the reason to feel that their good acts went unrewarded. For Joseph, he was forgotten, ignored and left to languish in jail. For Mordecai, it was even worse. The king whose life he saved had just authorised the extermination of his race. If I was in Mordecai’s place, I would have been wondering if I ought to have let the assassination proceed in the first place!

Romans 8:28 (ESV) - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

When you are struggling with the good you do being forgotten, ignored or misunderstood, you have to trust that God would work everything out in his time. For Joseph, if he was released earlier he would not have been around to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. For Mordecai, if he was rewarded earlier it would not have the effect of finally sealing Haman’s fate when Esther finally told the king what Haman was up to. 

Please don’t let yourself end up offended or bitter. Honestly, a political or church leader has loads of stuff on his/her plate. They usually count on assistants/secretaries/scribes to help them remember things, and sometimes things just slip through the cracks. Hey, I’m just trying to manage two sons, and sometimes I forget very important matters that I was supposed to settle. How much worse a leader with heavier responsibilities?

The verse from Ecclesiastes 11:6 about always sowing also applies here as well. In the earlier days of my ministry, I was often called upon to do favours for other people. Not all those favours were appreciated, in fact, some were taken for granted. But some did help move me along. And, like the marketing efforts I spoke about earlier, I grew from doing more, not doing less! 

Conclusion:
There are still other topics we can look at when it comes to this area, such as timing, how to manage expectations and making sure we communicate clearly. But this post is already getting long enough! And besides, if we 1) always trust God as our ultimate judge, 2) work humbly with other people, and 3) always seek to do good, I suspect we are going to manage well politically anyway, right?

Prosperity - The Challenge

This passage has been on my heart recently.

Psalm 118:22-26 (NKJV) – The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

The Hebrew word for prosperity in this passage is Tsalach (Strongs #06743). It has a wide range of meaning, including to advance, prosper, to make successful and profitable. In fact, the NIV translates verse 25 as “grant us success”. In this passage we see that the Scripture exhorts us to pray to God for prosperity and success in our undertakings.

In my own Christian life I have swung between extremes. Sometimes I have been the typical Word-of-Faith person, declaring by faith success in everything. Sometimes I have been more passive, just getting along with my activities and trusting God to prosper whatever he chose to. This isn’t wrong, by the way, we see this kind of attitude displayed in Ecclesiastes 11:6.

But this season, I’ve gone back to plain old asking. God, prosper the work of my hands, and grant me success! Driving this consistent prayer are two realizations:

1) We cannot afford to NOT prosper

When can you afford to not prosper? I cannot imagine. If you are a parent, prosperity means raising your children well. If you are a pastor, prosperity means taking good care of the congregation God has entrusted to your care. If you are a doctor, prosperity means your patients get better, not worse. If you are an employee, prosperity means you succeed at the tasks entrusted to you. If you are a worship minister, prosperity means you led the people into a powerful and life-changing encounter with the God of the universe, instead of wasting the time and the opportunity.

So when can you afford not to prosper? If your life is meaningfully occupied, you have no room in your life for not prospering!

2) We are called to prosper

New Testament believers are called to a priestly ministry…

1 Peter 2:9 (NKJV) - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

… and the priestly tribe, Levi, had a special calling to prosperity and success. We see that from the blessing Moses spoke over Levi.
If we take this prayer and apply it to our New Testament priesthood, it tells us that we are to pray that our skills (work, music or others) be blessed (successful) and that our works are pleasing to the LORD. We are called to prosper, but we have the obligation to seek God for it.

Deuteronomy 33:11 (NIV) – “Bless all his skills, O LORD, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more.”

And how will we know if we have it?

Consider the example of Joseph in Genesis 39.

Genesis 39:2-5 (NIV) - The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.

In the above passage, both “prospered” and “success” are the same Hebrew word, Tsalach, again. God’s prosperity leads to blessings with tangible evidence in our work, ministry and family. If we are truly walking in the prosperity of God, the people of the world can tell. It’s as obvious to them as it was to Potiphar in Joseph’s time.

Are you feeling uncomfortable yet? I am. I know that my life isn’t anywhere near that standard yet. And if God wants me to prosper in all to which I set my hand, and there is a spiritual calling upon my life for success, then it’s MY responsibility if it’s not happening. It’s MY responsibility to seek God for wisdom and direction, and then to take action as he directs.

And that is why praying for success is so important. Praying means an active communication and communion with God. When I pray, rather than just speak the success over my life or let God prosper whichever area he chooses to, I am putting myself in a position and frame of mind to hear God on the areas of my life he wants me to work on, to see the results he wants me to have.

Conclusion:

Of course there is a lot more to Biblical prosperity than just asking God for it. There is the meditation on the Word of God (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:3), the presence of God (Genesis 39:2), seeking the LORD (2 Chronicles 26:5) and other areas I probably haven’t realized yet. But I share this with you first to invite you to join me on this journey. Let’s grow in wisdom and understanding in the prosperity God desires for us, shall we?

The Fallback Worship Song

If you ever study Old Testament worship, you will discover that the most popular worship song there is "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." You will find that it appears at key points in Israel's history. For example;

1. When David brings the Ark into Jerusalem (1 Chr 16:34) and institutes a ministry of constant prayer and praise unto the LORD;
   
2. At the dedication of the Temple Solomon built unto the LORD, when the priests and Levites sang praises to the LORD and his glory filled the Temple like a cloud (2 Chr 5:13). When the people saw that they continued singing the same song (2 Chr 7:3);
   
3. When the armies of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir attacked Judah, King Jehoshaphat appointed singers who sang an abbreviated version of this song as they marched to the battle (2 Chr 20:21-22). And the LORD gave them a glorious victory.
   
4. When the people of Israel returned from exile and rebuilt the Temple of the LORD, they sang this song when the builders laid the foundation (Ezra 3:11) and it was so loud that it was even heard from far away.

So you can say that this is the fallback worship song, the song they sing whenever the common people want to declare the praises of God. This song was so ingrained into the souls of the people that you can easily unify their praises when you start singing this song. And when you unify the praises of the people, the glory of the LORD is comes upon us (2 Chr 5:13).

What are the Fallback Worship Songs of your church?

It is easy to dismiss the importance of the Fallback Worship Song. In this day and age we have mountains of worship CDs available, and we are totally spoilt for choice when it comes to the songs we have available for congregational worship. To make things worse, there are many people who take the Scripture's admonitions to sing new songs unto the Lord (Psa 33:3, 96:1) to mean that we should not be regularly and deliberately teaching and reinforcing the right Fallback Worship Songs to our churches.

I disagree with that.

I firmly believe that as we teach our church people new songs we also need to regularly reinforce some of the old songs, the ones that truly speak to our people's hearts, the ones that will be the timeless truths you want people to remember when crisis strikes and their faith is tested. In other words, we need to keep them familiar with the Fallback Worship Songs of your church.

When you do that, this is how your congregation benefits:

1)The Fallback Worship Songs become a familiar starting point from which they can learn new songs.

Consider the following passages:

Psalm 106:1-3 (NIV) – Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise? Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.

And

Psalm 107:1-2 (NIV) – Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say this — those he redeemed from the hand of the foe

Notice how the two Psalms start in the same way and yet continue differently? The people can ponder the goodness of the LORD and contrast it with their own sinfulness (the theme of Psalm 106) or they can ponder the goodness of the LORD and see it demonstrated in many ways in their lives (the theme of Psalm 107).

The beginnings of these two psalms show us that a Fallback Song can allow us to launch off into newer worship songs and give the people a context to remember them.

2) Fallback Worship Songs help shape their confessions of faith

Psalm 118:1-4 (NIV) – Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let Israel say: "His love endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."

What do your church people really believe about God? Depending on your denomination, they may tell me that they embrace the Westminster Confession of Faith, or maybe the Baptist, Scottish or Mennomite Confessions.

But I am not referring about a statement of doctrine here. I am talking about what they hold on to when the boss tells them they are fired, the bills are piling up on the table and the creditors are hounding them. I am asking about who God is to them when the phone rings and it is from the hospital about their kid, or the doctor takes out their medical report and asks them to take a seat before he/she continues.

Who is God to them then? THAT is their confession of faith.

The Fallback Worship Songs help shape their confession of faith. The newer songs just sung in passing in church and quickly forgotten, have little or no effect on it. Why do I say that? Because a genuine, dependable trust in God takes time to develop. Sometimes it can even take generations.

2 Tim 1:5 (NIV) – I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

The Fallback Worship Songs in your church arise when the worship leaders reinforce the songs that already resonate with the people of that church. In other words, the worship leaders must give time for the lyrics to sink into the hearts of the people. That takes time, patience and deliberate effort, like that of a farmer working his field for harvest.

3) Fallback Worship Songs remind the people of the faithfulness of God.

Ezra 3:10-11 (NIV) – When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD:

"He is good; his love to Israel endures forever."

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

Ever had those moments when you suddenly hear an old song and it brings back a flood of memories to your mind and heart? In the Old Testament, God had his people deliberately use this song for the purpose of telling his people that he has remained the same. The people have sinned and fallen so far away from God, ever since the time David brought the Ark to Jerusalem and Solomon completed building the Temple. And yet God has not changed. He has remained faithful to them, and true to the promises in his Word.

In my life, one of my Fallback songs is Through It All (Reuben Morgan, 2001 Hillsong Publishing, CCLI 3452774). I still remember vividly that it was the last song I used in the very last worship music class I conducted. I was leaving formal employment with that school then, and my future looked uncertain and bleak.

And ever since that time I have gotten and lost jobs, been humbled by my mistakes and failures and experienced the lowest valleys of my life. Yet in the midst of it all, God has remained faithful to me, picking me up from my mistakes, providing for me and my family, given me wonderful learning experiences and brought me to beautiful places of rest for my soul.

When we use the Fallback Worship Songs of our own churches, we remind the people that God has stayed the same, from the time they first learned this worship song up till now. They may have been exalted by the Lord since then or humbled by their own mistakes and failings, but the LORD still remains faithful to them.

Conclusion:

A farmer is deliberate in preparing his field and choosing the seed he will sow for his harvest. A pastor prays and seeks the Lord for the sermons he preaches to build up the faith of the flock God entrusted to his care. Let us, as worship leaders, be just as diligent to seek the Lord and sow the right Fallback Worship Songs into the hearts of his people!

The Fear of Man

Vincent Kwok and I had just finished a band practice and were hungry. (not surprised, right?)

So we headed off to Plaza Singapura for food and as usual I began telling him my ah-peh stories. Somehow the topic turned to my wilderness years, the 2 years I went way out to avoid anything to do with a worship ministry.

And Vincent asked the logical question: Why did I do that?

Simply put, I was in a setting where I HAD to please everybody.
People, verily, I kiddeth thee not. And it was not unspoken rule or unstated assumption. I was explicitly told by my superior that I HAD to please everybody. He said that HE did it and therefore I could do it.

And I accepted that.

And set out to please everybody.

Needless to say, it was a dismal failure. First, I am NOT the sort of person who does that. God didn’t make me that way.

Then as I tried harder and harder to do so and failed, I prayed for God’s help. He didn’t help me. And I got unhappy with him over that. (Yeah, people, I am being very open with you here).

Looking back, it’s funny that I’d even dare to ask God to make me even more of what I am not and blame him when he didn’t. But it wasn’t funny then. And that was how I got burned out, frustrated and bitter with people and God.

Please don’t walk that path.

“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.” (Proverbs 29:25, NKJV)

I wish I remembered this verse during that season. It would have greatly sustained me and kept me from being bothered by the dislike of the minority.

1 Timothy 6:9 “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare…” (NKJV)

What I have discovered to that the fear of man is very closely linked with the love of money. It makes sense, if you stop and think about it. After all, money is powerful, but it only gives us power over other men. Try using money to bribe an attack dog to leave you alone. Doesn’t work, trust me.

So if you fear man and feel powerless to affect other people, it is very easy to fall into the love of money to try and gain influence over others. It doesn’t happen all the time, but often enough.

Likewise, if you are greedy for money, it’s very easy to feel into the fear of man, because you feel compelled to please your customers (and you start to see everyone as only a customer, rather than a sibling-in-Christ).

So how do we keep ourselves far from this snare? Trust in the LORD and you shall be safe.

If you feel that you MUST please man, and find that you are deeply affected when people dislike you, it means that you have insufficient trust in God. And you can grow to trust God not by beating yourself over the head with it, but by growing to know more about him through his word.

Psalm 9:10 “…those who know Your Name will put their trust in You, for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (NKJV)

“The LORD is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6, NKJV)

Now you people know that I am not talking about being rude and offensive to other people. I am talking about what happens within you when you face rejection or when people dislike you. I am talking about what happens when you gotta address an issue and you are tempted to compromise or ignore the issue because you are afraid that people won’t like you after that. (like me talking about worship conferences and seminars)

I’m only human, of course I want people to like me. But I want them to like the REAL me, not some fake, sanitized, dismembered, politically correct semblance of me. “Any resemblance to the real JJ is purely coincidental”.

And that is why I am so frank in all my emails and conversations with you people. I am giving you the room to decide if you like the real me or not. And if you don’t, well, I’d rather you dislike the real me rather than like a fake me. Get it?

Paul said “… we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives…” (1 Thessalonians 2:8, NKJV)

Why did he say that? Because the gospel of God permeated his whole life, affecting him in all he did, said and thought. Therefore it was impossible for Paul to impart the gospel without imparting the rest of his life too.

And likewise for me. I cannot divorce what I teach you about worship from the rest of my life, so it becomes such that like Paul I’ll impart worship to you together with my own life as well.

Yeah, it makes me vulnerable. Like it did for Paul. It leaves me open for rejection. Like it did for Paul. It doesn’t make business sense, because I am reducing the potential customers I can have because there’s more room for people to be offended or dislike me.

But it’s how God has made me to minister to you. It’s one of those things that I am here to do, to say things that need to be said.

Ok, I’ve gone on long enough about how I got burned out and into the wilderness. Next time I’ll share about how God brought me out. Stay tuned!

Prayer time: Looking at this issue made me realize how much I have been blessed by you, by the love and acceptance you people have shown me. I thank God for you people. You have been a blessing to me. Thank you!

Pray for me that I will continue to trust in God and be kept from the fear of man, so that I will not be tempted to compromise on the message God has entrusted to me for you. Thanks!