So hey there, good to see you and to have you with us. If you are new thanks for giving us a shot and taking a chance on us with your weekend time. We hope that you really do bump into God in your time here with us this weekend and that you want come back and do this all over again with us real soon. (As always, we want to give a special shout out to everyone taking time to tune in online right now too. Good to have you with us.) If you haven’t been with us we are continuing on today in series that we are calling Build Your Core trying to chase down a way to make 2020 a different kind of year, a better year for each of us. What we’ve been leaning into in this series is this. God started telling his people thousands of years ago that the most important thing of all is for us to love him with all of our body, mind, and soul. Jesus repeated that a few thousand years later and called it the greatest commandment of all. So, that’s at the core of who God created each of us to be and that is the core that we are focused on in this series, building that core. So, we have talked about what it looks like to begin to love God with all of our bodies and our minds. Let’s shift gears today and spend our time talking about this somewhat mysterious thing we call our souls.
ILLUST> In his new book Get Your Life Back that comes out next month John Eldredge says this. “There’s a madness to our moment, and we need to name it for the lunacy it is. Because it’s taking our lives hostage. First, there’s the blistering pace of life. I texted friends an announcement that was really important to me. They replied with little thumbs up emojis. I think to myself, that’s it - you can’t even answer a text with a text. Email felt so efficient when it replaced the letter; texting seemed like rocket fuel when it came along. We’re moving so fast through our days that typing a single sentence feels cumbersome. Everyone I talk to says they feel busier than ever. He concludes with this. These are all symptoms of a soul pushed too hard, strung out, haggard, fried. My soul just can’t do life at the speed of a smartphone. But I’m asking it to, everybody’s asking theirs to.
We live in a world that teaches us to go faster and be more concerned about the condition of our cars, houses, careers, or our portfolios than the condition of our souls. In his book Immortal Diamond: The Search For Our True Self Richard Rohr says this. “Your soul is who you are in God and who God is in you. You can never really lose your soul; you can only fail to realize it, which is indeed the greatest of losses: to have it but not have it.” Think about the song that we just sang for just a second. It is Well With My Soul. Is it? What’s really going on in and with my soul as I sit here today? My experience has been this. Most people, even church people, aren’t all that sure about or paying all that much attention to this particular piece of the core of who we are. Here’s the problem, we can’t really talk about building our core without this piece. So, let’s jump back in and spend the rest of our time together today talking about it.
If you brought a Bible we are going to be in Daniel chapter 3 today. If you don’t have a Bible they are back on the back tables that you can grab right now if you would like if you close or on you can always grab one on your way out. As always you can hit our app or the YouVersion app too. Or you can ignore all of that and read along with me on the screens. So, let’s talk for a moment about the story that we are jumping into today as we are finding our way to it however you decide to do that. Here’s what we are jumping into. So God’s chosen people Israel are in captivity in Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzer has a golden idol made and issues an order that everyone in Babylon will bow down and worship it. Three Jewish young men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to do that so they are brought before the king. He says something to the effect of obviously you didn’t hear what I was saying and repeats his order to them. He ends with this, if you don’t you will be thrown into a blazing furnace. So let’s pick the story up there with their response. Here we go Daniel chapter 3 beginning with verse 16…
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’
Okay, so that’s a pretty boldsy response that doesn’t sit well with the King. He has his men stoke the fire 7 times hotter than usual, has these three bound up tight and thrown in. The fire is so hot that the flames kill the soldiers who throw them in. So before we continue on in the story I think it is important that we pause here for a moment. Last week we talked about the importance of renewing our minds, loving God with our whole mind and leaning into what God himself says is true. We are not backing up on that at all today. But where we are starting today points to something that we need to understand as we continue to pursue that. We see this in each of these three young men in this story. Here it is...
KNOWING A LOT ABOUT GOD IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REALLY KNOWING GOD.
ILLUST> Can I be really honest with you without you judging me, screaming, and running out the door? Are you ready? I knew a lot about God but I didn’t really know God much at all when I blew up my life and ministry 15 years ago even though I was a pastor and had been in church my whole life. My counselor Rob was a great guy and counselor who helped me a ton with my story but he wasn’t equipped at all to help me understand what it really means to know God. John Eldredge’s books began to open my eyes to that and what was really possible for me. My first Bootcamp in February 2008 helped even more. My friendship with Craig McConnell helped me most. Here’s the thing. It wasn’t because of what he did, it was because of what he refused to do. He refused to be the crutch, the go to, the answer for me. He was there for me, cared for me, prayed for me, talked with me but he didn’t let me run to him. When I would, we would run to God together. He taught me what a personal, conversational, intimate relationship with God could really be. It often frustrated me at the time but looking back I realize that it really was the greatest gift he could give me. I had a relational foundation to stand on when he lost his battle with Leukemia and could no longer be there for me.
There is nothing like the bonds that occur and relationships that form when we go through tough stuff together. It happens with soldiers who fight side by side in combat together, sports teams that compete, there are lots of examples. If you have experienced it you know how special it really is. It happens when we send our men to Crucible and our women to Beauty Revealed or Soul Beauty too. We had 16 DCC men go through Crucible together last weekend. Never alone and lean on me are mantras for Crucible. There’s a brotherhood and that’s a good thing. We need each other. We just can’t allow others as great as they are to be a substitute for God himself. It is a very natural thing to do. It’s great that these 3 guys in the story have each other but there are certainly limitations on what they can do for each other in the midst of the fire.
ILLUST> Every time that I think of this line in the sand moment for these 3 Jewish young men in Babylon I think of the lyrics to the Mercy Me song Even If You Don’t. They go like this. “They say sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some and right now, right now I'm losing bad. I've stood on this stage night after night reminding the broken it'll be alright but right now, oh right now I just can't. It's easy to sing when there's nothing to bring me down. But what will I say when I'm held to the flame like I am right now. I know You're able and I know You can save through the fire with Your mighty hand but even if You don't my hope is You alone.”
Where does that kind of trust come from? Not from their time together. That comes from their Time with God. It comes from what God has done and is continuing to do in them as a result of the relationship He has with each of them. This boldness, courage and strength is not coming from what they know. It is coming from who they know. We often settle for religion, God is always after relationship with us. We are getting ready to see it. Watch this…
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, Your Majesty.’ 25 He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’
So, there are all kinds of options available to God here after all He’s God. Why this? I think that he needs us to see this. Yes, I can fix this, I can make the problem go away from a distance but I prefer to jump right into the middle of the mess, the middle of the hurt and pain with you. If you think about that it’s exactly what he did when he sent Jesus to rescue us. Yes, God could change their circumstances but He decides that what’s best is for them is for Him to be in the midst of the circumstances with them. See, in moments like these I think it is really helpful for us to come back to this...
RELIEF HELPS ME NOW, RELATIONSHIP HELPS ME FROM NOW ON. So, when problems and challenges hit our lives, when bombs drop in and on our lives, when the fire rages, what do we want, what do we ask for, what do we pray for? We ask for relief, nothing wrong with that, it’s what we should do. But God’s promise to us is not the absence of fires in our lives. He promises to see us through it. Jesus tells us in John 16 that we are going to have trouble in this world. I have spent my entire life asking for relief. I still do. What I have discovered over the course of my life is this. There is nothing like living in a story that is full of moments where there is no explanation for what happened except for God. God showed up, he made a way, somehow someway he saw me through. Our immediate want is relief...make it go away. God is always after redemption, restoration, and relationship.
So many times when I am asking for a demonstration of God’s power I realize that what I get instead is more of his presence. It has taken me a long time to get this. Rather than depending on God to help me avoid or get out of the mess I need to start learning to look for him and what he is trying to teach me in the middle of my mess. Even when I think I know what I need I have to learn to trust that God knows what I need most. Sometimes God doesn’t put the fire out, instead he teaches us to dance in the middle of it like these 3 men in the story. Richard Rohr says this. “Until we are led to the limits of our present game plan, and find it to be insufficient, we will not search out or find the real source, the deep well, or the constantly flowing stream.” Relief might help us now but relationship is what truly helps us from now on. Let’s finish this verse 26...
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’ So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisors crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
What would it look to trust God like that? How do find that, develop that, get that? Trust takes time, time and relationship, time in relationship. Could this be where this is breaking down for us. sIf you really think about it there is a common characteristic that exists in every one of the deepest and most meaningful relationships that you have or have ever had in your life. There is no substitute for it or way around it. That characteristic is time alone together. So, if we are serious about building our core it’s important that we not miss this...
SOLITUDE AND SILENCE STRENGTHEN MY SOUL. Many of the things that we do together are really helpful. Walking through processes that help us continue on our healing journey and group soul work is really helpful. There are lots of resources out there and we should pursue them. As we do, we can’t miss this. Dallas Willard says it this way in his book The Spirit of the Disciplines. “Life in tune with God is actually nurtured by time spent alone. It is solitude and solitude alone that opens the possibility of a radical relationship to God that can withstand all external events up to and beyond death.” I don’t know about you but this is one of the parts of life with God that I have often struggled with most.
So, this is a photo of my workspace at home. It’s where I I write 98% of my sermons these days. My Crucible sticker, Lead a church change the world, and my combat medic carrying another wounded soldier, and my live to rescue sticker are right in front of me as I write every single week. That keeps me centered and reminds me of who I want to be, who I have been created to be. While that is true none of it happens without this. It’s the sticker that my buddy Morgan gave me, a quote from Dallas Willard. You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in your everyday life with God. In other words there is no substitute for silence and solitude with God. You may not to put reminders in front of yourself like that. I do. In this crazy busy mad world we live in if I really want to live this stuff out, I have to.
ILLUST> Not too long ago I was reading in my journals from when I was a pastor in North Carolina about 15 years ago. Here’s what I found constant guilt, shame, and disappointment in myself for not spending more time in my “quiet time” with God. It was something that I felt like I was supposed to, it was something that I had to do. One of my favorite quotes from my friend and mentor Craig went like this. Don’t teach men to gather wood and build ships. Tell them stories of the seas. That is what he did. He told lots of stories of what life with God could be. I will never forget a special moment with Craig over at our old building at Barnes and Powers. At the end of his sermon the band closed the service with the song The Great I Am. I looked over and there was Craig, in a room full of people his body falling apart more every day face down on the floor worshipping his God like I had never seen anyone do before. His body was failing but his soul was strengthened as he continued to make more and more time for solitude and silence, for alone time with God in his life. I watched his soul continue to get stronger as his body got weaker. Craig not only told me stories of the sea, he showed me what life out on the sea with God could really be. I used to never journal much Wednesday through Sunday. That is sermon time, to time. That has changed. 2 weeks ago on Saturday morning where I would have normally jumped into final sermon prep God started downloading some stuff to me. I journaled for about 2.5 straight hours. Time alone with God is no longer something I have to do or am supposed to do. It is something I get to do, something that I look forward to.
When we look at the life of Jesus here is what we see. He spent little time trying to draw or please crowds or pleasing crowds and lots of time trying to get away from them. He often withdrew to lonely places to spend time alone with his Father. It was in those times, those moments, that he found the strength to carry on. If Jesus needed that it just makes sense that we will too. That is exactly what Jesus invites us into. Listen to this, let’s close with this Matthew chapter 11...
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
I think it would do all of us a lot of good to sit in that before we get out of here today. So here is what we are going to do. We are going to take a little time to pause and turn down the noise in our lives for just a few minutes. Hey, please don’t leave, everything in the service has been building toward these last 10 minutes. You don’t want to miss this. I’m going to pray for us and then the band is going to sing for a few minutes as communion is being passed. So, a little cracker and cup of juice is going to be passed to you representing the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for all of us his body and blood. After it is passed you will have a few minutes to take it whenever you are ready so no need to rush. If you aren’t in good space today or don’t want to take it just pass it on to the person next to you. As people take communion around the room you are going to hear some people cracking those little cups. It is a reminder of what Jesus said on the cross when he said it is finished. My sin, yesterday’s, today’s, tomorrow’s gone because of the blood of Jesus. God’s forgiveness is an indication that the rules he have put in front of us are not as important as the relationship he wants to have with us. Whatever the fire or furnace looks like for you today, that place where you are scared, weary, and burdened, Jesus says bring it to me and you will find rest for your soul. We just sang that Jesus alone is the cornerstone, weak are made strong in his love. We sang I will call upon the Lord for he alone is strong enough to save. Let’s do that. Let’s spend our last few minutes together leaning into that before we walk out of here today. Let me pray for us.
