TITLE: Shattering Life’s Illusions
TEXT: Luke 22:24-34
TOPIC: Reality, Faith, Sanctification, delusional beliefs
Preached by Louis Bartet at Point Assembly of God, March 16, 2003 at 11:00 A.M.
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An illusion is an erroneous perception of the way things really are. It is a false belief or concept based upon an incorrect inference about reality.
People who would never think of lying to those around them not only lie to themselves, but in spite of incontrovertible proof to the contrary they sustain their delusional beliefs. They defend themselves against reality and in Christian circles we do it in the name of God. It’s the old "flight or fight" response. Since we are unwilling to experience the pain of fighting with ourselves, we flee from reality into an illusion. We deny the truth in favor of our opinion, an opinion we strengthen with prefaces such as "God told me" or "God showed me".
I do not mean to imply that every "God told me" is fallacious. God does speak hope into our spirits and we should believe what He says, but when the majority of our life is based upon "God told me" rather than "It is written," something is wrong.
ILLUS: Bennie, on his way home from work, would drive his car into an empty parking lot and wait for God to tell him when to go home. When I asked him why he did this, he replied, "I’m trying to learn the voice of God." While I admired Bennie’s desire to know the voice of God, his method seemed a bit neurotic and suggested to me that he might be a person suffering from some type of mental disorder.
THE ARGUMENT
In Luke 22:24, the disciples were arguing about "which one of them was regarded to be greatest" (22:24). In essence they were arguing the issue of position and rank. Who among them held the highest rank and was the most important, second only to Jesus. Who among them had the right to rule the others or have authority over them?
Of course Jesus defused their arguments by stating that greatness in His kingdom is not determined by who has the most clout, but by service.
The basis for their argument was the delusional beliefs they held about themselves and their ignorance of the very nature of God’s kingdom.
Perhaps Peter claimed that his walk on the water gave him the right to rule. Whatever their reasoning, they were wrong.
In this same context, Jesus points out to Peter that he is about to go through the trial of his life. He says to Peter—"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when you are again headed in the right direction, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).
Peter’s response is not much different from that of contemporary Christians.
"And Peter said to Jesus, ’Lord with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" (Luke 22:33).
Although Peter accurately stated what he believed about himself, his perception was later proven to be incorrect. He falsely believed that he was a macho-man and that he would fearlessly follow Jesus even into the jaws of death.
If believing is the ultimate issue, then what we believe is given reality by virtue of the fact that we have believed it. If, on the other hand, what we believe determines the genuineness of our faith, then what we believe is as important as the belief itself.
Peter believed he was incapable of denying Jesus. If mere belief creates the reality, then Peter would not have denied Jesus. Peter’s belief did not create the reality. To the contrary, Peter’s belief was proven fallacious by the reality—He denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.
RELIGIOUS ILLUSIONS
Pastor Jones is sincerely seeking God for revival, souls, and laborers. His admiring congregation applauds his love for God and his determined pursuit of revival. What neither he nor they may realize is that instead of seeking God, he is seeking to be God.
It’s an issue as old as creation. Satan’s desire was to be "like the Most High" (Is. 14:14) and his promise to Eve was "you shall be like God" (Gen. 3:5). That’s a tough offer to pass up. Instead of having to serve, I get served. Instead of being dependent, I become independent. Instead of being the servant, I am the sovereign. After all, I am qualified.
When the congregation under Pastor Jones’ care goes through a tough time and diminishes by 50%, he leaves the ministry angry at God and feeling cheated. He’d paid his dues, so why didn’t he get what he paid for?
Was he genuinely seeking God or godhood? Are we seeking to know and fulfill God’s will or do we want sovereignty in the areas of health, life, wealth and notoriety. Are we seeking to serve God or to rule and reign in His place?
ILLUS: Dr. Jerome Frank at Johns Hopkins talks about our "assumptive world." What he means is that all of us make assumptions about life, about God, about ourselves, about others, about the way things are. He goes on to argue that when our assumptions are true to reality, we live relatively happy, well-adjusted lives. But when our assumptions are distant from reality, we become confused and angry and disillusioned.
Citation: Haddon Robinson, "How Does God Keep His Promises?," Preaching Today, Tape No. 130.
SITUATIONAL ILLUSIONS
ILLUS: A head injury left Sharon with many physical challenges. Trying to understand what she’s saying is like listening to a stroke victim speak a mixture of Swahili and English. She’s 59 years "old" and she’s turned her apartment into a casket, a prison cell where she waits for happiness to come knocking on her door. She spends most days looking out of her apartment window waiting for her estranged husband to come back so she can begin to live again. "I love him," she says, slurring her words and dropping important sounds, "and that isn’t wrong, is it? He keeps telling me he needs time to work through some things, but I’ve given him fifteen years to ’work through’ those things. Should I keep waiting? I read and reread what I’ve written in the margin of my bible and I believe he’s going to come home. I love him and that isn’t wrong, is it?"
God may have indeed spoken to Sharon about the return of her husband, but Sharon’s belief that life will begin when her runaway husband comes home is a thief. It’s robbing her of what she could have in the now.
In our conversation Sharon complained to me, "I continue believing God that my husband will come home, but I keep getting disappointed because the appointed time comes and goes and I’m still alone. I keep coming back to the same place all the time. Why? What am I doing wrong?"
Dear Sharon, if you’re constantly returning to the "same place all the time," then you might want to consider a different route or course of action. This is a bit tough, but instead of living by what you’ve written in the margin of your Bible you might want to consider giving place to what’s written in the columns. Instead of giving your desire the same authority as God’s word you might want to leave the return of your husband to God and get on with life. Life is something to be lived and shouldn’t be left to chance or some event down the road. Life is just outside the prison cell you’ve been living in.
Isn’t it time you made a choice to live.
The other night Tonya was preaching to all of us from her experience with blindness when she said the following:
QUOTE: "I spent a lot of my life surviving, but one day I decided to live. I’ve come to realize that it’s harder to live than it is to merely survive."
Tonya’s not denying God’s ability to heal her, she’s decided that this same God can and will help her to live life until her healing comes.
Some of us have put our life on hold until we win the lottery, get our sight back, grow another spleen or until our spouse comes to their senses, comes home and puts us on the pedestal we deserve. We’ve hung our happiness on a happening that might or might not take place.
Isn’t it time we, like Tonya, chose to live where we are and do God’s will with what we have?
Isn’t it time we take hold of life where we are and let God help us live the rest of our life instead of merely surviving?
TRANS: In addition to religious and situational illusions, we must deal with what one might call "Love Illusions."
LOVE ILLUSIONS
A man says to his fiancé, "I really love you." As long as she brings pleasure to his life he reciprocates, but if she fails to comply with his expectations…bang…he rejects her, blames her for the failure of their marriage and justifies a divorce. Did he genuinely love her or was he in love with an ideal? Did he love her or was she a means to meeting the needs in his own life?
All too often when we say "I love you," what we’re really saying is "you bring me pleasure" or "you meet a need in my life". What we fail to say is, "when you cease to bring me pleasure or meet this need in my life I will reject and replace you."
Although "love" is not an illusion much of what we call "love" is nothing more than selfishness in disguise. Selfish love, if there is any such thing, befriends others as long as the relationship with the other can benefit me. By association with the other self experiences enhanced social standing or financial benefit. It is a relationship based on selfish advantage.
Paul commanded his readers at Philippi saying, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" (Philippians 2:3-4). According to 1Corinthians 13:5, "love does not seek its own."
Perhaps John Ortbergs description of a world where Shalom prevails might also be descriptive of one where love prevails.
ILLUS: It would be a world in which "all marriages would be healthy and all children would be safe. Those who have too much would give to those who have too little. Israeli and Palestinian children would play together on the West Bank; their parents would build homes for one another. In offices and corporate boardrooms, executives would secretly scheme to help their colleagues succeed; they would compliment them behind their backs. Tabloids would be filled with accounts of courage and moral beauty. Talk shows would feature mothers and daughters who love each other deeply, wives who gave birth to their own husband’s children, and men who secretly enjoy dressing as men.
Disagreements would be settled with grace and civility. There would still be lawyers, perhaps, but they would have really useful jobs like delivering pizza, which would be non-fat and low in cholesterol. Doors would have no locks; cars would have no alarms. Schools would no longer need police presence or even hall monitors; students and teachers and janitors would honor and value one another’s work. At recess, every kid would get picked for a team.
Churches would never split.
People would be neither bored nor hurried. No father would ever again say, ’I’m too busy,’ to a disappointed child. Our national sleep deficit would be paid off. Starbucks would still exist but would sell only decaf.
Divorce courts and battered-women shelters would be turned into community recreation centers. Every time one human being touched another, it would be to express encouragement, affection, and delight.
No one would be lonely or afraid. People of different races would join hands; they would honor and be enriched by their differences and be united in their common humanity."
Is it too good to be true? Not really! It should describe every Christian home and every Church.
How do we get there? I don’t know all the answers, but one of the first dominoes that must fall is an illusion shattering honesty.
CONCLUSION
How many of us in this place are doing everything in our power to sustain our false perception of reality? How many of us are willing to allow God to shatter those illusions that have insulated us from the pain of admitting reality?
We continue to insist that we are seeking God, when in reality we are seeking to be God. We want godhood, not godliness. We want the sovereignty that uniquely belongs to God. We want to call the shots. At the very least, we want to be God Jr. and have the right to rule next to Him…to be the greatest among our brothers and sisters in the house of God.
We insist that we’re merely victims of circumstances that are beyond our control. When God restores my health I’m going to really serve Him. When my husband comes home I’m going to be happy. These delusional beliefs keep us from taking responsibility for where we go from here. It gives us an excuse not to live and take hold of what could be ours. You’re going to have a hard time convincing Josh Boudreaux and Tonya that losing your sight means you’ve lost your life.
We insist that we love others and that we’ve given up everything for them, but we reject them when they fail to comply with our demands. If the Church is to effectively reach our world then we must confront our selfishness and call it what it is.
ILLUS: In the 1999 movie "Instinct," Anthony Hopkins plays an anthropologist and primatologist, Ethan Powel, who is being held in a maximum security prison for the critically insane. Cuba Gooding’s character is an ambitious psychiatrist, Dr. Theo Caulder, who is asked to evaluate Powel. At one point in the movie, during a private session, Powel overcomes Dr. Caulder and holds him in a neck-breaking choke hold. Powel (Hopkins) demands that the psychiatrist tell him what he’s lost. Dr. Caulder responds by saying, "Freedom, I’ve lost my freedom." Hopkins character tightens his grip and says, "Wrong, Bougerious! You have one more chance to tell me what you’ve lost. What have you lost user?" Dr. Caulder (Gooding) responds like a man defeated by truth, "My illusion, I’ve lost my illusion."
Caulder’s freedom was merely an illusion. He was bound by his lust for success and achievement.
God isn’t going to grab us in a choke hold, but he will send circumstances our way that have illusion shattering ability.
We can spend our lives reconstructing and building stronger illusions or we can give place to the truth and the pain and healing its acceptance will bring.
Peter thought himself to be above denying Jesus, but he denied Jesus when he suggested that Jesus didn’t know what He was talking about. The crowing of the rooster shattered Peter’s illusion and brought him face to face with the truth Jesus had spoken to him hours earlier.
I can assure you that Jesus loves you and me as much as He does Peter, so rest assured He has a rooster ready to shatter our illusions…to bring us face to face with reality—with HIM.
Remember, Peter’s long night of remorse was followed by his encounter with Jesus on the seashore where Jesus commissioned him saying, "Feed my lambs" and "feed my sheep."
Please know that a joyous life awaits us beyond our shattered illusions.
Please know that our night of weeping will give way to a new and glorious morning in which God is God and we are His servants.
PRAYER
Jesus, I ask you to forgive me for seeking Your throne instead of Your heart and for being disappointed when You did not grant me godhood. Forgive me for wanting to reign in your stead instead of submitting to Your rule. I gave my goods to the poor, but only to get notoriety and acclaim, and make the poor my debtor. I prophesied, but without tears. I condemned the sinner without giving him hope. I have used others to meet needs in my life instead of using my life to meet the needs of others. I have believed you for what I wanted instead of believing what You wanted. I feed the poor, but only after they allowed me to preach down at them. Jesus, forgive me for being selfish and self-serving. Please give me a heart like Yours!! Please help me to give without expecting anything in return. Please help me to love without condition. Please give me a servants heart that serves without wanting recognition. Please help me to sacrifice for others without drawing attention to my actions or myself. Please help me to live in Your shadow. I acknowledge that You alone are God and that no one nor nothing else even comes close. I acknowledge that you alone are LORD and that I desire to be your servant—your humble servant. I do not demean who I am and what I am, but I am not worthy to carry your sandals. Even so, you call me Your son, your child. You want my fellowship. Oh God, what is man that thou art mindful of him or the son of man that you visit him. You are a gracious King, Oh, God and I give you praise! To you be glory and honor and power both now and forever more.
