Is the sound you are hearing the death knell or opportunity knocking?

Is the sound you are hearing the death knell or opportunity knocking?

death knell
Noun ….something that heralds death or destruction

Was the sound ringing in the ears of Abraham and Isaac the death knell or opportunity knocking? We know from history that opportunity was banging on the door so loudly that we can still hear it today. “Trust and obey and God’s blessings will follow as night follows day.”

Gen 22:
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad[a] and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide;[b] as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”


One of the challenges of living in difficult times is the fact that many of us are confronted with problems in many forms. Potentially stressful situations abound. We do not have to go looking for trouble. We seem to have a magnet that draws trouble to us. No sooner is one issue put on the back burner than another problem raises its head. Living these days is anything but boring. We are constantly engaged in a never ending struggle.

And so, for many of us the sound of the death knell is well known. It has a familiar tone to it. It goes off and when it does it dampens our mood and casts a dark cloud over us. We often struggle to keep our spirits high. The joy that is rightfully ours is put at risk.

Consider the fate of Mordecai that is presented in the book of Esther. There could have been the sound of the clanging of the trap door of his gallows ringing in Mordecai’s ears. The gallows that Haman had built for him. Yet, Mordecai somehow heard instead the soft tap of opportunity knocking on his door.

Esher 7:

1 So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther. 2 And on the second day, at the banquet of wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request, up to half the kingdom? It shall be done!”
3 Then Queen Esther answered and said, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4 For we have been sold, my people and I, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. Had we been sold as male and female slaves, I would have held my tongue, although the enemy could never compensate for the king’s loss.”
5 So King Ahasuerus answered and said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who would dare presume in his heart to do such a thing?”
6 And Esther said, “The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman!”
So Haman was terrified before the king and queen.
7 Then the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stood before Queen Esther, pleading for his life, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. 8 When the king returned from the palace garden to the place of the banquet of wine, Haman had fallen across the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he also assault the queen while I am in the house?”
As the word left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Now Harbonah, one of the eunuchs, said to the king, “Look! The gallows, fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke good on the king’s behalf, is standing at the house of Haman.”
Then the king said, “Hang him on it!”
10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king’s wrath subsided.

Sometimes the deafening sound of the death knell is masking the soft tap of opportunity knocking. Like Mordecai, we have to be alert and listen carefully. Be alert to opportunity even it just brushes your door! Don’t wait for it to pound loudly. It is far better to open your door in error thinking that opportunity had knocked than for it to have moved on because of your lack of preparedness and failure to respond.

On a personal note, for some time now I have had to be walking by an imposing gallows and to be exposed to the sound of the trap door flying open as the hangman uses sandbags to ensure that my gallows is in good working order. Ever so often the hangman sends out a reminder that my appointment with him is imminent. One such reminder was just received. This time instead of hearing the trap door I am faintly hearing another sound. It is not loud and it is not constant. But there is another sound. And as I tune my ears to the sound it becomes more distinct. It is I believe the sound of opportunity knocking.

The sound is conveying the message that like Abraham and Mordecai it is possible to still the sound of the death knell. As with Abraham and Mordecai – by responding in faith - it is possible that impending disaster could merely be the opening act of a play that has a triumphant ending.

Mark Twain after hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal was famously quoted as saying “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” We do not have to accept that the death knell is the only sound around. By trusting and obeying and by prayer and supplication we can produce the circumstances in which another sound comes more distinctly to our ears - the sound of opportunity knocking. We need to be still in our inner being and in that calmed state our hearing becomes more acute. It is in that state that opportunity knocks loudest. In our calm, faith-filled state there is an insistent pounding that comes from opportunity that points the way forward.

The way forward may appear on the surface to be far fetched. Abraham would not have foreseen the ram caught in the thicket. Yet, he listened from a state of inner peace because by faith he accepted that whatever God wanted was best for him.

Against huge odds Mordecai imagined that opportunity had knocked and opened the door to an amazing outcome. When you are in a tight corner and the sound of the death knell is drowning out all other noises you virtually have to imagine that you are hearing other sounds. Even Esther herself thought that Mordecai was hearing noises. She thought he was confused. ‘This is not opportunity knocking. What you are suggesting will bring the sound of the death knell to my ears.’

Many times the sheer volume and intensity of the sound of the death knell threaten to shut down our capacity to hear any other sound. We get caught up in accepting its inevitability and ultimately pay the price it demands. That is a tragedy that we must take care to avoid at all cost.

In stilled obedience and fervent, believing prayer the ever so faint sound of opportunity knocking becomes apparent to us. We need to survey our circumstances with the sense of calm assurance with which David quietened the deafening sound of the impending Philistine slaughter of Israel and instead paid heed to the faint sound of opportunity knocking that led to his slaying of Goliath.

The way forward may seem daunting. The prospects bleak and thoughts of hope appear fanciful. Yet, when opportunity knocks it is there. It is real. We have to be alert and be quick to open the door before it passes us by.

Consider Joseph – sold into slavery and given up for dead yet he heard the soft tap of opportunity and rose to the point where he was instrumental in effectively saving the very ones who hurt him from potential starvation.

In my own personal situation, we are going to have to go where we have never gone and attain heights that we have never achieved. We will need to do things that are new to us. And yet, there is no denying that the opportunity is there and it is very real.

In the final analysis our fate will be decided by the extent to which we are willing and able to fling the doors wide open and put on a mega welcoming feast for opportunity. The noise of the utensils clanging will drown out the sound of the death knell and in that assured, faith-filled state we can claim the victory.

You know what concerns you have at this time. You know the challenges that you face. You may not be in a death knell situation. Disaster may not be at your doorstep. It may be that things are just not working out the way that you want them to be right now. You may be challenged to make ends meet. Things that you really would like to see happen are just not moving fast enough. You are growing, impatient and weary. Whatever your situation, it is getting you down. You are really not comfortable where you are right now and it is somewhat frustrating.

The noises may be getting louder in your ears and you may be getting distracted. Feelings of frustration and even despair might be creeping into your consciousness. You might even be at the point where you are about to throw up your hands and give up.

But wait! Wait for a moment. Bring yourself to a place of inner peace if just for a moment. Right now. Close your eyes and let the tension in your body flow from the tip of your head down through your eyes, your jaw, your neck, your shoulder right down through your toes and into the carpet. Stay in that relaxed state for a while as you focus all your attention on these words: Matt 19:26 “with God all things are possible” Repeat.

In a moment, you are going to open your eyes and before you do that, one more time focus on the words “with God all things are possible” and this time say them really softly but with a sense of acceptance that they are as true as the fact that you are sitting in your chair.

After confirming this important truth, you have the choice of opening your eyes with a new burst of energy…a desire to high five your neighbour. A feeling that you can’t wait to throw open the doors for opportunity to enter. You can choose to open your eyes with the knowledge that you have not felt this good in a long time and you are not about to let anybody or anything take this wonderful feeling of excitement and empowerment away from you.

This is just too refreshing and empowering to give up lightly. You want to savour the freedom that you feel and you hang on to the empowerment you feel and claim it to be yours.

So, this last time, say the words of truth softly but with the deepest level of acceptance that you can muster: “with God all things are possible”

OK, now open your eyes and celebrate….Savour your new freedom and sense of empowerment. As you do so, listen….that faint sound you hear is opportunity knocking. Continue to hold firm to the fact that with God all things are possible and the knocking will get louder and more distinct.

The solution is at hand. It might be disguised as a problem and you might not identify it readily, but by accepting that all things are possible with God you will know when and how to open the door to let opportunity come pouring in. Be patient, be calm in your soul, be assured, ask believing and trust that God will make what you ask for possible for you.

When you ask in prayer, believing and trust God to make it possible you are actually giving opportunity a door bell. And if your faith is sufficient, you actually give opportunity a cell phone as a back up in case the door bell does not work. Knock, ring and call me…just do not pass me by! I know you are there. I am alert and ready.

I am listening out for you and through my believing prayer and faith in God’s ability to make all things possible I am tuning my ears so that I do not miss you.
In fact, so keen am I to welcome you that I do not want to take any chances while I ask in prayer, believing. So I have decided that while I pray, believing, I am going to throw my doors wide open so that you can just enter. No knocking needed…come right in.

Friends, I have an assurance of deliverance and success personally and for each of you at this time. I see the triumphant ending to the play. I can’t tell what twists and turns it may take before the end but I am assured it ends well.

I do not want to be rude but I must ask the realists among us to stay far from me. I do not want to know what the reality is. Leave me alone with this assurance that there are wonderful opportunities waiting for me and for each member of this congregation and the body as a whole. Leave me in the stillness of my bubble to hear even the faintest tap of opportunity.

Allow me like Abraham, Mordecai and David to distinguish between the sound of the death knell and the tapping of opportunity. Allow me the pleasure of seeing dark clouds turn to sunshine and doom turn to triumph.

I leave with the reminder from Eph 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

To be in Christ you must believe that He died so that you can be reconciled to God and make a commitment to now live a life that is obedient to His will. You must declare publicly that Jesus is Lord of your life and submit yourself to baptism for the remission of your sins. You are then in Christ and can walk in the newness of life.

With God all things are possible!

Taming the beast 2

Taming the beast 2

First some housekeeping (1): “Is the voice in your head the devil?”

No. The voice in your head is open to influences from God-connected sources and from dysfunctional sources. Left untrained, unrestricted and unobserved the God-connected influences tend to be heavily outweighed by dysfunctional influences. The things of this temporal world dominate the socialization of the voice in your head.

Mark 4: 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

So while the voice in your head is not the devil, the devil wields considerably influence over it. That then produces the challenge of trying to identify which source the voice is pulling from when it speaks. “Is this of God or of the devil?”
“When should I listen to the voice and which messages should I reject?”

Housekeeping 2: Is the core YOU the Christian persona? No. We enter with a built-in connectedness to God but without any identification with anything – no material possessions, no belief systems, and no attachments of any kind.

Christianity guides us as to how to strip away the cares and deceitfulness of this temporal world that inevitably become attached to the core YOU. It enables us through the power of Christ in us to become fully aware of the presence of the impostor SELF and to be able to readily identify it. It awakens your consciousness as to the difference between the CORE YOU and the false SELF with which it is so easy to identify and become attached.

Even as you seek to find out who you are and what is your purpose Christianity provides clarity as to who YOU are not and thereby takes you closer to the core YOU. It defines your purpose as that of coming to a state of BEING where connectedness with God is fully restored.

Now to new ground in our continuing journey:

The voice in our head has the ability to speak so loudly that what it is saying spills over to others and affects them as well. That is why a bubbly, ‘ray of sunshine’ spirit can lift the mood of others and an angry, mean-spirited feeling can transcend the individual who generated it.

The voice in your head then can be contagious and can influence the state of mind and actions of an entire group – maybe even a nation. Almost like the flu the ‘vibes’ from inside your head is spread quickly and unnoticed to others. They then exhibit similar symptoms without understanding how and when they got infected.

Families that live together are vulnerable to contagious diseases. Similarly, closely knit groups face the risk of having the mood of the entire group shaped by the ‘vibes’ that are put out by the voice in the head of one or more individuals.

A key test of personal and group maturity is the capacity to so train, chain and watch the individual and collective voice in the head such that it produces appropriate messages despite the presence of swirling negative ‘vibes’.

Our goal as individuals must be to produce a voice in our head that is so well trained and domesticated that it produces messages of hope, optimism and overcoming in an environment of mega-gloom, perceived impending disaster, and collective depression bordering on hopelessness.

We must strive to so chain and watch the voice in our head that it sends out still, calming, peace-making messages in an environment that is in uproar and filled with aggression and anger.

As a group, we need to be fully awake to the risk of being taken on a collective roller coaster ride. We have to find from somewhere within us a stabilising force that holds tight to the core. Anchors that are not moved by the prevailing winds of the many false SELFs that would have us collectively move in one direction or the other. The group has to develop the capacity to maintain its balance and keep its focus even as it provides solidarity and support and celebrates successes.

A failure to do that places the group at risk. We must be ever mindful of the fact that the voice in your head is not YOU. The Core YOU that has connectedness with God is NOT the impostor SELF with which we identify more often than not. The collective group SELF is also a composite of false SELFs.

The danger is that untrained, unchained and unobserved the voice in our head (individual and collective) is reflected in Gen 6: 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

The group then must have the capacity to recognize the havoc that uncontrolled voices in our heads can wreak on the collective body.

1 Pet 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil is too clever to run around in the hot sun seeking prey. Instead, he simply provides training for the voice in our heads and sends messages through it that brings us to him. Individually and collectively we have to seek to disconnect the devil-inspired transmissions or at least to screen out its messages.

The ease with which collective dysfunctional behaviour is achieved is testimony to the power of those dysfunctional transmissions in our collective heads. Mob violence can be sparked in an instant. People have been led to commit mass suicide. Families, work groups and congregations have been rent asunder by messages that were not screened. We have to be vigilant. We cannot afford to let us guard slip for a moment.

Remember that it is when we are out-of-step with our normal state that we are most susceptible to identifying with the false image of our SELF. When you are distracted by tiredness, stress, significant challenges, change of status, excitement, bereavement, success you may not pay as much attention to the fact that the voice in your head is not core YOU. You might even get caught up in treating it as if it were YOU and identifying with it.

Somewhere from inside or outside must come a heightened sense of awareness that recognizes the impostor and its actions and call it out. If you are to maintain and improve on your connectedness with God you have to somehow gain access to the core YOU and stop the noise in your head that is being made by your impostor SELF.

As a group, the same applies. By prayer and supplication and reliance on non-selective application of the Scriptures we have to expose the impostor and call the collective body to increased vigilance.

The group must find from somewhere a voice that maintains balance. A voice that protects it from being tossed to and fro by changing moods. The problem is that that voice is likely to be out of step with some strongly held views within the group. The voice might be cast in the role of being lacking in understanding, of being insensitive, maybe of even being uncaring. Yet the group needs a resolute, anchoring voice that keeps the collective body on track.

One of the clever ways in which the voice in your head deceives some people is by substituting the Group SELF for the individual SELF. This is a master-stroke. It allows the individual to feel very good about themselves and to earn the respect and commendation of others even while doing dastardly things.

For example, feelings of honour and pride can be taken from being the first person or being among the group of farmers who beat a crop or livestock thief into unconsciousness. This is being done in the name of the group. A similar philosophy permeates gangs.

A more noble application manifests itself in the willingness of men to risk their lives in battle for the benefit of their nation.

In the final analysis, SELF is even more developed and strengthened when it wraps itself in the group. It has the added benefit of having noble intent. It says: “See I have denied myself. What I am doing here is for others. Don’t look at me …this is not about me…that is bigger than me. ” This outlook and transfer of individual SELF to group SELF takes place from the national level right on down through the family level.

The danger is not readily recognized. It is usually only identified with mob behaviour. The real challenge is that the Group SELF is still about the individual SELF. The individual SELF gets its validation from the group. It gets strength from the legitimacy of the group.

However, the individual SELF is still in place and it warms to the scope for growth that is possible under the banner of the group. It readily identifies with this group-legitimized image of SELF. The group has the potential to lull you into loosing awareness of the fact that there is an impostor SELF that is not YOU. Unwatched the voice in your head gets more and more power. Attachment to groups – from family up through nation – tends to feed the impostor SELF.

If the collective voices in the heads of the group members are not adequately trained, chained and watched, they tend to send inappropriate messages. Members tend to get caught up with ideas, words and actions that are temporal and of this world. They get distracted and loosen their connectedness with God. But they are blinded to that reality because the group can so often evoke an almost missionary zeal. “I will give my all to this group – even my life.” All of this in the context of achieving self-denial and being caring and protective of others.

As we follow this thought we want to unveil an even slicker trick of the voice in our head. A scenario will make the point more effectively.

I am part of a Young People’s Group planning discussion. I want to encourage the group to go on a Buscapella. I make my case but in the final analysis it is decided that the group will have a Bible walk session. I come to the session and I show as much enthusiasm for the Bible walk as those who promoted it.

My “good spirit” is noted and I am held up as an example of the kind of spirit that we ought to display. Unobserved by my core, voice in my head sees this as an opportunity to strengthen SELF. It prompts me to make extraordinary displays of self-sacrifice. My willingness to deny self is widely discussed and recognized.

With each event SELF grows stronger. I increasingly identify with this martyr-SELF and get attached to that image of my SELF. In that state, I strive even harder to make sacrifices. I am so distracted by the voice in my head that I fail to realize why I am now making these sacrifices. I am now being driven by the respect and adulation of others.

The tragedy is that because of the reverence with which I am treated and the pious feelings that are prompted by that I find it really hard to even imagine that my connectedness with God is being loosened. The voices of others and the voice in my head combine to send me the message that I am close to sainthood. “You are a wonderful example of Christian living.”

Those thoughts and words take on a life of their own and before long the impostor SELF takes complete charge. Pride comes to the fore and the inevitable fall is not too far behind.

The fall might be manifest at the annual awards ceremony for the group and I note that I am not among the awardees. Voice in my head goes ballistic at this unjust treatment. Foul play and jealousy must be the cause of this unacceptable behaviour on their part. Unwatched, SELF has grown so powerful that it is hard to control and the voice in my head induces me to say and do things that finally show the true character of the impostor that has taken me over. Then comes the cycle of dishonour and shame and the pain that accompanies them.

1 Cor 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Getting us to do right things for the wrong reasons is one of the devil’s cleverest ways of loosening our connectedness with God. The more SELF abounds the less room there is for God. Inducing us to build up SELF in apparent acts of righteous behaviour is hard to detect and difficult to avoid.

James 1:26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

Reflect on the words does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart. Is that not in essence failing to train, chain and watch the voice in your head to the point that you have been deceived into accepting the false SELF as YOU?

Luke 16: 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

We must test the spirits continually. Try to dig deep too find the motive for our actions. If they bring satisfaction, what is the nature of the pleasure or benefit that we derive?

Again, we can try to find out who gets the credit for the actions. If the credit abounds to SELF and we identify with that and get attached to it then we know that we are going down a dangerous path.

We may justifiably ask if it is humanly possible to live in this world and to shut down our false SELF. The voice in our head seems to have so much power and so many tricks how can we be expected to deal with it?

Matt 19: 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

The taming of the voice in your head is only possible when you are in Christ.

The process for putting on Christ includes the following:

We must hear the good news of Jesus, His atoning sacrifice for our sins and His resurrection. Rom 10:14. You must also believe the good news. Heb 11: 6
Faith is not enough. We are called to act on our belief and to make a decision to no longer let sin reign in our lives but to seek to live in obedience to God. This is the very important act of repentance. Luke 13: 2 You then have to confess Jesus as Lord of your life. This is a public declaration of your belief that Jesus is the Son of the Living God: Rom 10: 8-10 Another major step is that you must be baptized for the removal of our sins. Gal 3:27

At that point you have put on Christ and you are in Christ. Now you are empowered to experience the renewal of your mind and live a transformed life. Now the taming of the voice in your head can take place in earnest.

Through the power of Christ in us, we allow the voice in our head no latitude. The answer to dealing with the voice in your head starts with continually recognizing that it is not YOU. An impostor can only have sway if it is not recognized. Once you recognize it and call it out then the game is over. The undercover cop that infiltrates a gang is only effective if he is not recognized for who he is. Once we spot the false SELF and expose it, it loses its power.

So in order to effectively manage SELF we have to be continually vigilant. We have to screen every single thought, word or deed that we are prompted to embrace. When we do that we end up processing events differently. We see things from a totally different perspective. The blinkers of SELF are removed. Things that might have offended you are now deflected. Things that would normally have distracted you are now pushed aside. Successes that once would have disrupted your pattern are now taken in stride. Disappointments no longer have the capacity to cripple you.

The renewing of the mind is in fact largely about screening out messages that are produced by the dysfunctional promptings of the voice in your head. Once you consistently reject those messages and recognize that further training of the voice is required then you grow spiritually. That is the path to spiritual maturity.

If there was an end state to spiritual maturity it would manifest itself in the capacity to readily identify the difference between the voice in your head and the core YOU. You would intercept inappropriate messages and screen them quickly out of your thoughts, word and deed.

You would consequently reduce the clutter of thoughts and calls to DO that places us on a treadmill in this life. You would instead be centred on BEING closely connected with God. You would have avoided getting caught in the trap of endless acquisition of material wealth and status in the quest for security which is a never ending spiral.

You would also understand the price that is paid when you become attached to things that must pass away. You recognize that such attachment is the source of suffering and discomfort.

You would have mastered the ability to accept what is. You do not resist and question the fact that it is. “Why me?” is not on your lips. Instead, you accept what is and strive to maximize the opportunities that the new development now offers.

You would not be caught up in seeking to differentiate yourself from others. “I am not like THAT!” is not uppermost in your mind. Instead you strive to find common ground with others. With that spirit, loving your neighbour is not as difficult as it appears. Achieving that is aided by the fact that you always look beyond your impostor SELF and through the impostor SELF of others. You somehow manage to relate to others on the level of the core YOUs.

Taming the beast

Taming the beast

A man decides that he wants to have a lion as a pet. He gets a young cub. As an animal lover he does not want to restrict the lion’s freedom unduly. He wants him enjoy something of a normal lion’s life. The cub is even allowed to roam a nearby wooded area. No real effort is put into domestication and the man relies on the fact that he has been a consistent source of food to define his relationship with the lion.

Is this a dangerous adventure? How likely is it that the lion’s natural instincts to hunt will come to the fore at some point?

Untamed, unfettered and unobserved we see the potential for a tragedy unfolding.

The situation is very similar with respect to what we have been calling “the voice inside your head” – the prompter. Untamed, unfettered and unobserved the voice inside your head is a whole load of trouble.

You will recall that the voice in your head is not YOU. Making that distinction is essential. The voice in your head is a false sense of SELF that pretends to be YOU. Many persons never truly make the distinction and most of us confuse the two from time to time.

Today we want to spend some time getting to know the voice in your head better so that you can set about taming it, fettering it and observing it.

It is important to note that the voice in your head has been around from the very outset. Reflect on the very first act of disobedience recorded in the Scriptures.

Gen 2: 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

That is the earliest recorded action of the voice in your head. An examination of the case gives us important insights into just what the voice in your head is about.

The voice in your head is about SELF. Self is to be promoted. That is the ultimate goal. The nature of the promotion changes with circumstances but marketing SELF is the mission of the voice in your head.

In this case, the issue is that SELF is being cast in a role that limits its options. It is being fettered. It is being controlled by outside influences. Why should that be? - it wonders. Why must I be bridled?

The voice in your head objects to imposed restrictions. It points to what you are missing. It also highlights your subordination to something outside of SELF. It sees this as a blatant plan to undermine and fetter SELF. The voice in your head will have none of it. It wants to have its own way … to chart its own course…to march to its own beat. Is it surprising then that so many of us have a hard time doing what we are told to do or in obeying rules?

The actions of the serpent also highlight one of the key strategies of the voice in your head. The serpent sought to create suspicion about the motives of others with respect to SELF. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The message is that ‘God does not have YOUR best interest at heart.’ God wants to have something that makes Him better than YOU.

This wedge of SUSPICION is at the root of much of our inter-personal difficulties. Yet it is a constant message from the voice in your head. It constantly doubts whether others have SELF’s best interest at heart. The voice in your head thinks that since it is always looking out for its own interest, why should others be any different?

This philosophy makes achieving TRUST very difficult. If trust is consistently questioned and pushed aside then the need to keep SELF apart increases and is entirely logical. If I can’t trust you then I had better stay clear of you. In earlier presentations, we pointed out that separation was a key strategy of the voice in your head. SELF gains strength by being different. “I am not like that!”

Differentiation is at the core of effective marketing. One brand seeks to establish that it is different from other brands. It is not surprising then that the voice in your head seeks avenues to make SELF different from others as part of its promotional strategy. Being different and separation go hand in hand.

Left untamed, unfettered and unobserved this tendency to separation and the inclination to be suspicious of others actually fuels discord and enmity. This is another instance of the dysfunctional nature of the voice in your head. We need to see that its natural inclination is to move us away from connectedness with God.

Mark 12: 30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

God says: Love your neighbour. The voice in your head says: “Be suspicious of others. Don’t trust them. They are not like you. They want the best for themselves. They don’t have YOUR best interest at heart.” If that is true then what room is there for the love of others that God demands?

1 John 4: 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Like an untamed, unfettered and unobserved wild beast, the voice in your head is a bag of trouble when untutored, unchecked and left unattended.

Gen 6: 5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Proverbs 6: 13 He winks with his eyes, He shuffles his feet, He points with his fingers; 14 Perversity is in his heart, He devises evil continually, He sows discord. 15 Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; Suddenly he shall be broken without remedy.

The natural instinct of the lion is to hunt and to dominate. We see here that the natural inclination of the voice in your head is NOT to draw us closer to God. It is naturally inclined to lead us to dysfunctional behaviour. We must train it. We must chain it and we must watch it. That is the essence of Romans 12:2

Rom 12: 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So back to our objective of taming the beast:

The voice in your head prompts you to be suspicious of others. In fact, it is the voice in your head that needs to be viewed with suspicion.

1 John 4: 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

You have to screen every single prompt that comes from the voice inside your head.Ask: Is this prompt in accordance with the Word of God? Anything that runs counter to the Will of God must be identified, exposed and denied.

Another feature to note about the voice in your head is its ability to send messages that just seem to be right for you. It just seems the natural thing to think, say or do.

2 Tim 4: 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

In order to tame the voice in your head you have to be alert to your vulnerabilities. Try to remember that it will seek to take advantage of you when you are tired, or upset or excited. Be especially conscious when you are unsettled or off balance in any way. It is in that state that carefully crafted messages get through your defences. The thought so completely sums up how you feel at that moment that you identify with it. You fail to see that it is in sync with the feeling of the impostor SELF and not reflective of who YOU are at your core.

So far, in the effort to tame the voice in your head we have looked at shoring up your defences – essentially the chain it and watch it components of your strategy. However, you put yourself at a major disadvantage unless you devote attention to the train it component.

Prov 22: 6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

The voice in your head begins to be shaped very early in life. Some people say from in the womb. It is important that it gets a clear picture of the kind of messages that is expected of it from the very outset. This does not come naturally as its natural inclination is to produce dysfunctional messages.

There is an awesome responsibility on adults and parents to train the voices in the head of children from the earliest stages such that they produce messages that promote connectedness with God as against conformity with the world.

It is important to note that the voice in your head seems to take its cues more readily from what it observes as against what it is told. No need to wonder why Junior is so protective of his toy car and so unwilling to share it. He has seen how Daddy goes ballistic when he spills his drink in Daddy’s car. Mom also appears to be a different person when he forgets that he is not to drink on the couch. The message is clear - THINGS are very important. You have to defend things against people. In fact, things are more important than people.

Junior’s voice in his head quickly learns that it is to send messages that defend things against people. Junior identifies with the messages because Mom and Dad have shown him that that is the way he should be. Loads and loads of the messages that the voice in your head sends to you today were actually coded in your early years.

So what now? Can training of the voice in your head still take place in our adult state?

The renewing of the mind is in fact largely about stripping away messages that have been implanted into our minds by our life long experiences. Untrained, unrestricted and unobserved the voice in your head draws its own conclusions from each encounter from all that is happening around it and decides on the messages that it will send.

Rom 7: 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

As with so many passages, the personal implication of this one jumps out at you when you examine it in the context of the voice in your head and its battle to take over the core YOU. When the voice in your head is identified as the thing in me (that is, in my flesh) then the struggle is more clearly seen.

20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

This is where the distinction between the voice in your head and YOU is essential to a better understanding.

Now if I (MY FALSE SELF) do what I (CORE ME) will not to do, it is no longer I (CORE ME) who do it, but sin that dwells in me (=MY FALSE SELF represented by the voice in my head).

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1 Pet 5: 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

That roaring lion is not roaring in the wild but is actually the quiet voice in your head. Its aim is to devour the inward man: 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. It is consumed with warring against the law of your mind.

What can we do? Is there a way out? How do we know which voice to believe?

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

Matt 19: 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved? 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
John 14: 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

You can have no life outside of Jesus. You must be in Christ to have life. The taming of the voice in your head is only possible when you are in Christ.

A review of all the conversions in the New Testament and supporting passages point to the following process for putting on Christ:

We must hear the good news of Jesus, His atoning sacrifice for our sins and His resurrection.
Rom 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

You must also believe the good news.
Heb 11: 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Faith is not enough. We are called to act on our belief and to make a decision to no longer let sin reign in our lives but to seek to live in obedience to God. This is the very important act of repentance. You must commit to taming the voice in your head.

Luke 13: 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

You then have to confess Jesus as Lord of your life. This is a public declaration of your belief that Jesus is the Son of the Living God:

Rom 10: 8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Another major step is that you must be baptized for the removal of our sins. This is a step that is either left out completely or is comprised in attempts to make salvation more convenient.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.

At that point you have put on Christ and you are in Christ. Now you are empowered to experience the renewal of your mind and live a transformed life. Now the taming of the beast in your head can take place in earnest.

The domestication of any wild animal requires discipline, patience, diligence and persistence. Taming the voice in your head requires discipline, patience, diligence and persistence. You must use the Bible as the training manual. Today God speaks through His Word. In order not to be confused by the voices in your head compare what they are saying with what the Bible says.

The process of stripping away wrong messages and replacing them with appropriate messages has to be ongoing. There is no letting up. You have to be persistent.

You also need to be patient. Natural inclinations have a way of coming out occasionally even when they have been suppressed. Understand that and do not get frustrated. Instead, increase your commitment to further training and be more vigilant in your screening.

As you undertake this task of taming the voice in your head be encouraged by 2 passages:

Phil 4: 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Matt 21: 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

Beware the voice in your head!

Beware the voice in your head!

We are at the place where we established that YOU are not your self.

The challenge was that while you are able to separate your Bible and your clothes from you there was not as much clarity when you were asked to separate your self from YOU.

You agreed that YOU spoke to your self. That suggests that YOU and your self are not the same.

Why then was it so challenging to separate your self from YOU?

The point is that you have been lulled into accepting all that goes on within you to be YOU. The reality is that you are a victim of identity theft. An impostor has slipped in mostly unnoticed and taken up residence in you under the guise of being the real YOU.

The real problem is that the identity theft has been so slick that the vast majority of persons do not even realize that there is a false self in place. They mistakenly see this impostor as themselves. They think: “This is who I am!” They live that lie to the point where in some instances the two are undistinguishable to them.

The failure to recognize the impostor and to blow the whistle on the threat of identity theft gives the impostor more strength. The impostor thrives on the ignorance and lack of attentiveness and takes over more and more of what should be YOU.

The impostor is usually identified as the EGO. I like to bring it closer home by identify the impostor and identity thief as the voice in your head. That voice in your head seeks to control your every thought, word and deed. The voice in your head seeks to filter everything that comes into you through your past experiences and your natural tendencies. The voice in your head seeks to achieve nothing less than to shape your entire reality.

Mother goes to the pool with little Jimmy. She lays on her lounge chair and falls asleep. She is awakened later by a commotion as some other pool user has found Jimmy at the bottom of the pool.

What is your reaction to that story? Would you say that mother acted responsibly? Would you say that she was careless? Would you be stunned that an adult, parent could be so unthinking?

Single mother tells her 2 young boys that she has to go to a party. She is going to lock them in until she gets back. She shows them where the candle and the matches are in case of a power outage. The boys are at the stage where their curiosity knows no bounds. They are driven by the need to experiment and investigate. Risk and danger are not concepts that are at the forefront of their minds.

Not surprisingly, they manage to burn the house down with themselves in it. So again the question is: What is your reaction to this incident? What do you think of that mother? Is she criminally liable for the deaths of her children?

Yet another case: Parents of young teen need a night out. Baby sitters are not available. Mom is reluctant to go. Teen encourages Mom to go. She “needs the break and to connect with Dad”. He will be OK. He will not answer the door and will be alert to what is going on outside. Go!!!

Mom and Dad leave. Not long after young teen gets on the phone and calls his crew over for their own party. More adult things take place at their party than at Mom’s. When Mom & Dad get home things might not have been put back in order but they are in no state to notice anything. The remaining scent of something having been smoked is linked to the mix of tobacco and pot on their clothing. Mom scoots up to see her Angel apparently fast asleep in bed and gives him a loving smile.

Are those parents living in a fool’s paradise? Are they unconscious as to what teens are up to theses days? Do they need a reality check?

Friends, as you look on with disgust and dismay at these so-called parents and marvel at their lack of awareness and responsibility, I put it to you that these are parables and that you are those parents!

No way, you say. But substitute the voice in your head for the children and look at how you have been managing it. Are you not guilty and falling asleep while the voice in your head runs loose unattended - Where it gets you to think, say and do things that you would never think of doing if you were fully alert?

Have you not given the the voice in your head the equivalent of a blow torch for a present and left it unattended? You do this by thinking and acting in ways that give the voice in your head dominion over the real YOU.

Have you not been guilty of thinking that this voice in your head impostor is soooo cute? You just love this person that he says that you are. This is my Angel, my star… I just love this ME. We live out the identity that the voice in our head has created for us and mistake it for us. That way we give it total freedom to run wild and do just as it pleases!

That is how you are with the voice in your head. It is so slick that it lulls you into virtual unconsciousness and in that state you fail to identify it as being different from who YOU are. You fail to recognize it as an impostor and it grows in strength and makes its theft of your identity more and more complete.

Some of us get an awakening and we start to question the voice in your head. The level of this consciousness determines the degree to which we actively monitor and separate ourselves from the impostor self.

Make no mistake! An unrecognized voice in your head has greater potential for harm than any toddler or devious teen. Impostor voices in heads have been responsible for millions of lives through wars and murder, genocide. Unchecked false selfs have caused and continue to produce untold pain and suffering. A failure to identify and take control of this self that wants you to think it is YOU is a grave error.

No, it is a tragedy.
Matt 2:16 Massacre of the Innocents
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

Indeed, in its unidentified, un-tutored and un-checked state the voice in your head will lead you to lose your soul. The voice in your head is caught up with things, with thoughts and with emotions. That is what Christians understand to be the world.

The world is at one end of the spectrum and God at the other. Focus on the world – the things on which the voice in your head is consumed – leads to a lack of connectedness with God. There is no space for God in the thought processes because the mind is too busy with other things.

Matt 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

A failure to muzzle and bridle the voice in your head will also condemn us because it moves us away from being able to observe the two great commandments – Loving God and Loving our neighbour as ourselves.

Mark 12:30 And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The voice in your head is dysfunctional. It always has a hidden agenda. That is why Christ requires of us that we deny that SELF. Your salvation can only come when you recognize it for what it is and take care to separate your core, true self from it.

Once you make the distinction, your responsiveness to the Gospel call becomes easy. The cares of the world no longer choke the Word and it bears fruit in your heart. You recognize that you are creature of Almighty God and that you are in a sinful state. You accept the need for you to take steps to change your status and to change your ways. You are willing and ready to announce to the world your belief that Jesus is Lord. You accept and are ready to put on Christ in water baptism for the remission of your sins and to walk in the newness of life.

As a baptized believer you have to be alert to the wiles of the voice in your head. It is my view that the voice in your head operates on the basis of text book marketing principles.

It starts out with a clear vision and mission as its charter. It gets it direction from that understanding of its mission. The vision and mission of the voice in your head is to seek supremacy for itself. The hidden driving force is always similar: Need to stand out, to be special, to be in control, to have power, to get attention, to get more. Alternately, the voice in your head feeds the need to feel a sense of being different. (I am not like that). “I am humble and shy. I am not like that at all.” It is the same game but a different approach. No one is to be left out.

A core principle of marketing is the need to differentiate your product or service from the others. The marketer’s role is to so position his product or service in the mind of the consumer as to make them accept that it is not the same as other products and service.

That is the role of the voice in your head . Its constant goal is to present its version of YOU as being different – even unique. You are not the same as others. The underlying principle is the same: If you are the same you do not stand out.

We will develop the voice in your head and marketing in a follow up session because getting clarity on that will help us to uncover some of the slick moves that the voice in your head uses to get us to do what it prompts us to do.

As you move to try to find out who you truly are, you reflect further on the voice in your head. The search for who you are is greatly assisted by knowing who you are not. You must understand that YOU are NOT the voice in your head.

I want to spend a few moments reviewing the Beatitudes (a charter for Christian living) in the context of this deeper understanding of the role of the voices in the heads of all of us.

Matthew 5
3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
To be poor in spirit is to refuse to accept and be identified with the enrichment of wealth, adoration, pride that is offered by your false self – the voice in your head. It is a refusal to rely on the lifts in spirit that we can get from attachment to the trappings that may bring happiness for while but inevitably fade away.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
This highlights the value of suffering as a pathway to more lasting comfort. Suffering also helps to bring us to accepting our reality. As we strip things and thoughts and emotions away or as we accept what is, the voice in our head loses it power and we renew our connectedness to God – that is why we are blessed. When we examine our suffering from our core self we no longer resist it. We accept it and in turn we understand it better and it becomes easier to bear. (See below)

5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
The tendency to meekness takes you in the opposite direction to where your false self would have you go. In the humble state of meekness the continuous search for more is brought to a halt. You are able to come to the realization that the only lasting joy comes from your connectedness to God. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Hungering after righteousness is to move toward God and away from things and ideas and emotions – the things that preoccupy the voice in your head. Those things can keep us so preoccupied that we shut out thoughts of our Creator and the respect and obedience that He requires of us.

John 4: 13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
Showing mercy is a natural outflow when we look past the voice in the head of others and look beyond the voice in our head. In that state, we recognize that whatever we think we need to be merciful about or to forgive is really nothing more than a need to see ourselves as different, or better, or aggrieved. It is part of the differentiation strategy of the voice in our head. When we operate at the core self level we are no longer distracted by the voice in our head and forgiveness and mercy flow naturally.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
A pure heart is not contaminated by the clutter of this world. It is not bogged down in past events and future expectations. The space that is left provides room for God to take up residence.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
One strategy of the voice in our head is to set us apart from others. The more apart they are the more unique we are. Carried to its logical conclusion the voice in our head actually seeks to make enemies of others. As a peacemaker, we seek peace not war and diminish the power of the voice in your head in our lives.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Persecution brings us back to the role of suffering in destroying the voice in your head and renewing our connectedness to God.

Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

One of the thoughts that the voice in your head fuels is the questioning of the need for suffering – “I should not have to suffer.” The voice in our head resists the reality.

If we examine further the issue of suffering and the voice in our head we gain additional clarity of Christ’s requirement that we take up our cross.

Recall that suffering reflects the loss of something to which we had become attached. In the context of our human existence it is desirable that we become attached to some things. A husband is to love his wife to such an extent that attachment is inevitable.

Parents become attached to their children. Life would be the worse off if those attachments were to be excluded.

It is clear then, that we WILL suffer. Christ says in effect that that is a pre-requisite for following Him. The key is our understanding of suffering and our attitude towards it.

One of the problems that the voice in our head has is a reluctance to accept what is. It constantly strives to resist reality. Resistance actually increases our suffering – it does not reduce it or eliminate it.

Suffering is caused by attachment to the things of this world. We feel pain when things to which we are attached are taken away from us. For this reason, suffering actually has the potential to destroy the voice in your head . When there is nothing left to identify with anymore, who are you then? There is then the opportunity to recognize the ultimate truth that who YOU are is not “I am this” or “I am that” but simply “I am”.

When we question our losses (suffering) we are in fact reinforcing attachment and building up the voice in your head. It does so by inducing the voice in your head to produce thoughts like “This is not fair.” “This should not be happening to me.” “If there was any justice this could not happen to me” or simply “Why me Lord?” or “Why now Lord?”

In that state you are adding emotions to disappointment and that produces more pain and more suffering. Unchecked and unbridled the voice in your head might even step up the rhetoric and the emotions a notch: “For something like this to happen the world must be dysfunctional. Who would want to live in this kind of world? What is point of striving and caring when things are so arbitrary? Why should I care anything about anything since in the final analysis it does not matter?”

Now to disappointment and anger & frustration is added the deeper emotions of resentment and even apathy. The pain and hurt that is caused to self and others in that state can be immense and can continue for a very long time.

Amazingly, that is a state that the voice in your head is happy to accept. For one, self would have taken pride of place. It is now the important consideration. Also, in that state self is guaranteed to receive a lot of attention. Others will pour in their love and self will not go unnoticed.

Simultaneously, self could achieve the objective of differentiation. I am already different from those who are not feeling my pain and in any event my pain could be worse than yours.
So especially in times of trouble and suffering we need to be very aware of the potential actions of the voice in our head.

In a heightened state of awareness, the core YOU is vigilant. YOU recognize what the voice in your head is doing. YOU know that resistance is futile and only extends and deepens the suffering. YOU decide to accept reality….what is. YOU embrace the fact that you are in pain because of your attachment to what you have lost.

YOU have 2 positive roads to travel from that point.

One is that you are pleased to bear the pain because you believe that the object to which you are attached is worth the pain. You also take care to accept that the loss is real and permanent. You are going to have to go forward without it. That is the reality. Skirting that fact prolongs and deepens the pain and suffering.

In that state of conscious acceptance you come to a fuller appreciation of the significance and meaning of your suffering. It makes it so much more bearable. It is a cross that you are willing to bear. You bear it without the toxic emotions of anger, frustration and resentment. You weaken the stranglehold of the voice in your head on YOU and you are now able to achieve connectedness with God and achieve lasting peace.

In another scenario, a second positive option is available. Your awareness of the voice in your head is awakened and you recognize that your suffering is caused by your attachment to something that is temporal. My hand bag has been stolen with all my important documents.” “I am inconvenienced”. “I am a victim”. “ I am angry.”

You might decide that you are not willing to go through suffering for a hand bag and some documents. You immediately consciously accept the loss. “I have lost my hand bag. I will have to replace the documents that were in it. That is the reality and I accept it.” Here attachment is cut off and when attachment is eliminated the power of the voice in your head is reduced.

By handling suffering in this manner we let go of more and more of our attachments or we consciously accept them (take up our cross) and we thereby weaken the hold of the false self – the voice in our head . Taking up our cross is synonymous with the conscious acceptance of suffering.

Christ’s call for us to take up our cross is a call to consciously recognize the source of our suffering to be an attachment to something that must ultimately be broken. Accepting this fact is a necessary step that we must take to achieve spirit maturity. We have to lose the things of this life in order to enjoy the life eternal that is in Christ.

Matt 10:38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

We have to accept that we cannot hang on to what we call our Life –one dominated by the the voice in our head and get the true Life that is in Christ. Painful as it may be, we must come to the acceptance that we will be torn away from some things that we treasure deeply. That brings us to the deeper truth that the only lasting peace, comfort and joy comes from a close attachment to Christ.

In that event, followers are not daunted by the circumstances that would normally be considered to be negative since those situations have the effect of leading them closer to the state in which the voice in your head is stilled that comes with being closely connected to God and away from the world.

I leave you with John 14: 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.


You can have no life outside of Jesus. You must be in Christ to have life. Anything else is a false shell that inevitably falls apart and produces negative emotions – fear, anxiety, anger, holding grudges, sadness, hatred, jealousy, envy. These are closely aligned with the works of the flesh that are listed in Gal 5:19 -21. The untutored, unattended voice in your head is the advocate of the flesh.

The YOU with an tutored and monitored voice in your head manifests the fruit of the spirit:

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.


Be on guard, be alert. There is an impostor taking over your identity. Once you identify him and monitor him closely the scam is defeated and the TRUE YOU is able to present itself. This YOU is in Christ and is obedient to His will.

God bless YOU!

Who are YOU?

Who are you?

Have you ever spoken to yourself?

Please hold your Bible high for a moment. Now, I want to stand up and put your Bible on the chair behind you.

Next, I want you to remain standing and put your self on the chair beside your Bible.

Why is there so much confusion with that request?

You agreed that YOU spoke to your self. That suggests that YOU and your self are not the same.

Why then is it so challenging to separate your self from YOU?

The issue is that you have been hypnotized into accepting an illusion as YOU. The fact that you and that illusory sense of identity are NOT the same has become blurred.

You have no problem in establishing that your Bible is not YOU. Your chair is not YOU. Your dress or shirt is not YOU. Your self is also not YOU.

What we usually refer to when we say “I” is not who we are. The usual understanding of “I” is a misperception of a false sense of identity. That illusion of self is the EGO.

The EGOIC Mind is conditioned by the past – things that happened (content) and unconscious tendencies (structure). It forms the basis for all further interpretations of reality. It provides the filter through which we screen everything – thoughts, events, interactions, relationships. This illusion – Your EGO – shapes your entire reality.

People try to find themselves in the context of content. It is an exercise in futility. Content is temporal. It is never permanent. We get attached to something. It brings us satisfaction. That soon wears off and we have to search again for something that satisfies this false self – our EGO. And the cycle is repeated.

Spending time identifying how the EGO works so that we can recognize it when it appears is essential to achieving the transformation of our minds which is at the core of Christian living.

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

If you do not take care to recognize the EGO it will trick you into thinking that it is YOU. You will be lulled into failing to separate the two and to identify with the EGO as if it is YOU.

It is critical to recognize that we are NOT the voice in our heads – the prompter. That voice in our heads is the EGO. It is actually the motivation for dysfunction that you carry around with you and indeed, appears to be YOU.

Humans in the normal state are fundamentally defective and collectively dysfunctional….. Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Sin means to “miss the mark”. There is something in us that leads us to miss the mark…. We do not quite get it.

The core cause is this false sense of self – the EGO. The EGO is caught up with the physical, with thoughts and with emotions. That is what Christians understand to be the world.

The world is at one end of the spectrum and God at the other. Focus on the world – the things on which the EGO is engaged – leads to a lack of connectedness with God.

Mark 4:18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

One fundamental problem is that the EGO tends to equate HAVING with BEING. It produces this illusion of ownership. That is the idea that having gives us a feeling of security and makes us stand out. The EGO thrives on comparison. We compare ourselves with others and how they view us is how we see ourselves.

The problem is that things are temporal – they are not permanent and consequently the EGO inevitably leads to heartfelt dissatisfaction and a sense of incompleteness. There is a sense in which we are “not enough.”

There are some concepts that go to the very structure of the EGO. We grapple with them daily. “Me”, “Mine”, “More than”, “I want”, “I need”, “I must have”, “not enough”. It is critical that you identify them and their actions in you. Failure to do so will give them control over you and you will find yourself acting out the unconscious thoughts that are tied to those words.

It is important to recognize that none of the things that the EGO seeks will satisfy you as long as the Egoic Mind is in place. No matter what you have or get, you will not experience lasting joy. You will be constantly seeking after fulfilment.

Ecc 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Spiritual maturity is tied to our ability to clearly see and live out the reality that what I perceive, experience, think or feel is ultimately not who I am. Who I am cannot be found in things that continuously pass away.

1 John 2: 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

For this reason it is important to learn more about your self so that we can identify it in action. Once you recognize the EGO, it is weakened. It might survive and reoccur from time to time but recognition weakens it and its hold on you.

EGOS live on Identification and Separation.

We have looked at its identification with having things as a means of gaining satisfaction. There is also identification (attachment) with the human body. The EGO is clever enough to draw attention to itself by being concerned with physiques and external attractiveness. Bear in mind that the EGO can also strengthen itself by creating illness.

The EGO is also attached to thoughts and to emotions.

The EGO also thrives on separation. For the concept of egoic “I” to flourish it needs the opposite thought of “Other”. The further the distance of “Other” from “I” the more “I” stands out. This drive of the ego to be separate actually fuels a need to find fault with others and to complain about them. When we put down others it makes us feel superior. Fault finding is a core function of the self that you are at risk of thinking is YOU.

Matt 7: 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

Complaining and its emotional counterpart Resentment add energy to the false self. When we complain, we add emotions to it. We feel bitter, angry, aggrieved, offended. This strengthens self.
It has been observed that the egoic patterns that you react to most strongly in others and mistakenly take as their identity tend to be the same patterns that are also in you, but that you are unable or unwilling to detect within yourself.

The key is to recognize that the actions of the EGO is not who they are nor is it who you are. When you look through the EGO to the sanity that is in every one at their core essence you are able to go beyond the EGO in yourself and it also helps to correct the collective ego problem.
It is important to note that resentment is not limited to persons but also to situations which give the false self even more scope.

This capacity to look beyond and to avoid reacting to the Ego-driven actions of others is the essence of forgiveness. Forgiveness undermines a key strategy of the EGO. Forgiveness comes naturally when you recognize that the only purpose of grievance and resentment is to strengthen a false sense of self and to keep the EGO in place.

Whatever the behaviour that comes from the EGO, the hidden driving force is always similar: Need to stand out, to be special, to be in control, to have power, to get attention, to get more. Also, the need to feel a sense of separation (I am not like that).

The EGO is dysfunctional. It always has a hidden agenda. That is why Christ requires of us that we deny ourselves (that false self).

As you move to try to find out who you truly are, you reflect further on the EGO. The search for who you are is greatly assisted by knowing who you are not. We must understand that we are NOT the EGO.
Who you think you are is directly linked to how you think others are treating you. That shapes how you think about yourself. If you think that others are lavishing love upon you, you think that you are loved person.

One important consideration is that whatever you think the world is withholding from you, you are in fact withholding from the world! So, if you feel that you are missing something – start giving it. If you do not think that you have it – act as if you do and it will come to you. Then you give it and in turn you will receive it.

Luke 6: 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Parable of the Talents

The Parable of the Talents

Matt 25:14 ff

Today, we want to take yet another look at the parable of the talents. It is doubtful any new slant can be found. However, I want to bring focus to some areas of thought.

I want to start by looking more closely at the person who was given the 5 talents.
The point we want to make about this is that he did not become complacent because of his good fortune. Success sometimes inspires people to push toward even greater achievement. However, all too often, some people choose to rest on their laurels. They become complacent and lose their drive and their edge.

From my perspective, there is a marked tendency for professing Christians to embrace complacency and to lose the fire to be the best that they can be. This applies not only to their role in the Lord’s vineyard but also to how they lead their secular lives.

Today, I want to invite you to diligently conduct some self-analysis.

Could you honestly say that you have been producing a 100% return on God’s investment in you in your spiritual life?

When you look back to where you were when you became a Christian, what kind of growth have you shown?

What is it that you could put on the table as evidence that you have added value spiritually over time?

On another front, there is great caution in the brotherhood about discussing matters related to the material successes of Christians. It seems to be an unwritten rule that Christians are to mute discourse about their material gains.

How often have you heard a responsible preacher challenging hearers about the rate of return that they have been producing materially from God’s investment in them?

Why do we assume that God is not expecting high returns in material terms on the talents that we have been given?

Consider the fact that the Christian mission is to take the Gospel to all the world. Is there some way that this could be achieved without significant material resources? Where are those resources to come from?

If Christians fail to try to achieve high returns on God’s talents materially is that not effectively limiting or even sabotaging the mission?

Today, I want to ask that you re-consider what it is that you have been doing with the talents that God has given to you.

What more do you have to do in order to feel that you are producing 100% returns on that investment? What are the opportunities that have been open to you that you have let pass by? Are there areas in which you could do more if you extended yourself a little more?

Are you guilty of not putting enough energy into your daily activities? Have you given up on things without even really trying?

Are you achieving less than you should because of self-doubt and negative thinking?

Are you hamstrung because of limiting thoughts about your age, or gender, or education or family background?

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phil 4:13 makes a lie of all negative thoughts. Also Matt 21:22 “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

This is a call for us to wake up to the need to maximize the returns on God’s investment in us. No excuses! The persons who got the commendation: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ delivered 100% on the investment.

We now want to turn our attention to the anatomy of the buried talent.

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

My attention is drawn to the mindset of the person who received the talent. Here was someone who was blessed with an opportunity for growth. Yet his outlook was so negative that he thought that the best thing to do with the talent was to bury it. We have been emphasizing how important our outlook on life is to how it unfolds for us. This man was so negative that he could not get beyond his perceptions, fears and doubts.

Most of us have some lingering areas of negative thinking. These thoughts limit our progress and place a cap on what we are able to achieve. Some persons are totally overrun by their negative view of life. They condemn themselves to failure or mediocrity at best. Like this servant they somehow manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Given the chance to win they create ways to fail.

Take a moment to reflect on your outlook on life.

Are you usually expecting things to turn out well or do you usually feel that no matter how rosy things might look on the surface some dark clouds will appear?

Do you have a sense that in the main things have not gone well in your life?

Do you wake up with excitement expecting that great things are going to happen to you today or Do you start your days wondering what is going to go wrong today?

It is impossible to be the best that you can be if you constantly harbour negative thoughts. Positive growth thrives on positive thoughts.

We should also notice that the servant misread his master. He came to a decision about his master and how to please him that was badly skewed. Some of us blight our development by misunderstanding others. We consistently misread people and do things that torpedo our relationships.

Social intelligence is one of the keys to success in life. We need to work actively at development our capacity to relate effectively with other people. The idea that we do not care about making friends and that we are willing to be lone rangers is not conducive to achieving high returns on God’s investment in us. That mentality is directly in line with the philosophy of burying the talent.

If we are to do justice to God’s investment in us we need to engage the support of others and we need to proactively collaborate with others. It is difficult to understand how we can honour the need to love our neighbour as ourselves if we are estranged from them.

Today, the challenge is for each of us to work hard at getting on better with people. We need to put ourselves in a position to use our people skills to add value and to increase the returns on God’s investment in us.

Finally, the servant was AFRAID. Fear is a crippling emotion. We can take encouragement from Paul’s admonition to Timothy “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. 2 Tim 1:7

But back to the emotion of being afraid. Hear Daniel Lieberman - Get Anyone to do Anything: “It is in our nature as human beings to seek affiliation, to make friends, and to care about others. But sometimes it can be hard for a person to reach out and “expose” his or her true feelings. Most people want to like, want to love, want to connect, but they are AFRAID. Things get in the way of their innate desire, things like fear of rejection, vulnerability, ego and jealousy are but a few of the multitude of mixed emotions, attitudes, and beliefs that keep us from reaching out and bonding with others.”

I want to take time today to recount some basic psychological techniques outlined by Lieberman that are geared to simply influence a person’s natural state to emerge. Since it is natural for us to feel good when we give, when we love and when we help, the objective is to bring the submerged desires to the surface. It is not about manipulation of self or others.

What this is about is working to apply certain psychological principles and methodologies to bring out and develop a natural chemistry with others. The plan is to examine the traits and qualities that arouse feelings of friendship and likability.

We will explore 9 psychological laws and phenomena that affect, influence and alter what we think of someone so you can get anyone to like you.

1 Law of Association
If you want to be liked by a person, try being in communication with them when they are in a good mood or excited about something. Those feelings will be anchored and associated with you and the person is likely to have positive feelings toward you.

2 Repeat exposure
The greater the exposure, the more positive the response. Research by Moreland and Zajonc (1982) suggested that repeated exposure to any stimulus leads to a greater appreciation and liking (as long as the initial reaction is not negative). This is true of anything – a person, a place, or even a product. Advertisers know that and exploit it.

3 Reciprocal Affection
Countless studies (and common sense) have established that we tend to like more those who like us. When we find out that someone thinks well of us, we in turn are unconsciously driven to find him or her more likeable as well. “I appreciate you because…”

4 Similarities
Like attracts like. We are drawn to people who are similar to us, have similar interests or even similar experiences. It is the similarities and commonalities that generate mutual liking (even when there might be significant differences between the persons.)

5 How you make others feel
How someone feels about you is greatly determined by how you make them feel about themselves. Being the kind of person who makes people feel good will go a long way toward their finding you likeable.

6 Rapport
Rapport creates trust, allowing you to build a psychological bridge to others. The idea is to be “ín sync”. You may have noticed that family members, spouses, and close friends display a number of similarities in their mannerisms. That is so because we are driven to like a person if they “appear as we do.”

Key tip is to match posture, movements and speech.


7 Help them out
Studies in human nature show us that people dislike others more after doing them harm. This is in an attempt to reduce dissonance. Cognitive dissonance theory indicates that we feel uneasy when we do something that is inconsistent with how we see ourselves. Therefore to reduce this inner conflict we rationalize our actions to remain consistent with our self-concept. So when we hurt someone we seek to justify it by rationalizing that we really do not like them and they deserve it. The alternative is to accept that we are bad or careless and that cannot be so.

The reverse is also true. When we do someone a favour we are likely to have positive feelings toward them. So one key would be to have others do you a small favour as that will generate kind and warm feelings toward you.

The implications are there for being more open and willing to share the challenges that you are facing and also being more receptive of assistance from others. Allowing others to do something for us works to make us more likeable. In a sense, receiving kindness is more important than being kind in getting someone to like you.

The other implication is that if there are frequent and broad-based incidents of people helping people then inevitably you are going to end up having someone do something for you and have them produce positive feelings toward you.

8 He’s only human
Seeing someone you admire do something stupid or clumsy will make you like them more (Aronson, Willerman and Floyd 1966). While we like confident and self-assured people, we like people who do not take themselves too seriously. They should be willing to laugh at their own mistakes and to let others know that they are human. Remember Columbo?

9 Positive attitude
Nobody wants to be around a moody, angry and pessimistic person – even if that is how you are!

We all admire and want for ourselves a positive, happy outlook and perspective on life. Consequently, we are drawn to that attitude and to people who have it.

It may be true that misery likes company and that people who feel miserable might enjoy sharing their troubles with others who are feeling the same. That does not mean that they like those persons. Also, as soon as they hit a positive mood they seek to distance themselves from the bearers of doom and gloom.

So, those are the 9 principles that enhance our ability to maximize the returns on God’s investment in us – through better relations with others.

We have a responsibility to be mindful of the talents with which God has endowed us. We can produce positive gains on them and get the Well Done commendation or we can do little or nothing with them and face condemnation instead of commendation.

We should also strive to maximize the returns on the investment in us. We have to be the very best that we can be. This includes spiritual as well as material development.

We should also be aware of the fact that it is not possible to be the best that we can be without being effective in relating to others. Give attention to the 9 principles that will help us function better with others.

None so blind.....

None so blind…..

The world is a dangerous place. We are constantly at risk from human and natural sources. Yet despite the dangers to which we are exposed it is amazing how many persons go about life as if they are in control of their environment. They seem to be unaware of the frailty of life. It is as if they are blind and deaf as it relates to reality of death.

Death and its implications is a reality that all humans must face at some point. Yet, so many ignore that fact while others fail to fully grasp how they ought to respond to the reality of death.

The Church has been presenting a solution for dealing with the reality of death day-in-day out for centuries. The solution is available to anyone who wants to use it. But make no mistake about it many will in fact come face to face with death’s reality without the solution. The cold hard fact is that many will be found wanting because they were unprepared.

I have tried to put the people who will be unprepared to meet death into different categories.

Group I: None so blind and deaf…

There will be a group of persons who will so close themselves off from certain kinds of information that they will not take time to recognize the reality of death until it is too late. These people just go on through life without seriously giving thought to the fact that life will come to an end at some point.

Why is this so? Why will people opt to lose their souls rather than heed the warnings and take the easy corrective steps?

Well, there is one set that will put their souls in danger because they fall in the None so blind and none so deaf category. They shut themselves off from any contact with anything to do with the soul or God. [Sleep late Sunday or beach early…don’t want to be reminded that people actually go to worship. Avoid contact with anyone who is likely to say something about God. ]

There is one set within this None So Blind group that should be of great concern for some of you here this morning. Many Christian parents have been taking their children to worship with them from they are infants. The shocking thing is that many of those who literally grow up in the Church walk away from it and end up facing the reality of death unprepared.

The problem is that they close their minds to the solution that is being presented. In that state, they are really blind and deaf. And there is none so blind as those who will not see.

It is indeed scary to contemplate the possibility that all your efforts to expose your children to the Gospel and to the hope that is in Christ actually come to nought because they have closed their minds. We need to be alert to this possibility and not to take things for granted. We must engage children in meaningful dialogue about Jesus and the need for His saving power.

Group II: There is no need…

Some people are going to end up facing the reality of death unprepared because they will refuse to accept that you need a solution for death. They just believe that when you die that is it. The idea that Heaven and Hell are man-made ideas is very prevalent. There is also the thought that Heaven is right here on earth.

Some will argue that the world was really created by some accident – Big Bang – and no there is really no intelligent hand guiding it.

Many of these people are going to be in for an eternal surprise when they come to find that there is in fact life after death. And that examining the solution that the Church offers for the reality of death does make a difference!

Some will run the risk of the clear and present danger to their souls because they replace the Creator with something that is created. This might range from human idols – Jah – down through objects made by man or even Nature itself.

Rom 1 tells us that we have no excuse in knowing about God because He can be seen from the things around us.

Rom 1: 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Still others will not accept the role of Jesus the Christ in the protection of the soul. They will present sophisticated arguments to downplay the relevance and importance of Jesus.

John 14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

So, many will lose their souls because they fail to be accept the central role of Jesus in matters of the soul.

Group III: Soon come…

There is another set of people who will not be ready for the reality of death not because they were not conscious about death. Not because they did not accept its reality. Their problem is that they put off doing anything about it. They will decide later to do something about it. Maybe next week. When next week comes…well next week … and then next week.

I call these the Soon Come group. They will be lost not because of unbelief. They will be lost because of procrastination.

They may well accept that Jesus is the way but still lose their souls because of procrastination. “I am going to become a Christian you know, but I have to do this or that or something else first.” They fail to fully grasp the urgency of the need to put on Christ! And then tragically – it is all too late –eternally!

Any case of someone who is lost is tragic. However, the next groups that we will look at will be truly sad.

Group IV: It is too inconvenient…

There are persons who will face the reality of death unprepared even after they actually make an attempt to get the solution. They will go to Church or attend a campaign. They will see the need for the solution. But they may think that baptism is not really convenient at this time or something else turns them off from actually making the commitment to get the solution. They do not see that facing the reality of death without the solution is much worse than any perceived inconvenience or problem that they could face.

A big part of this group is made up of people who are too attached to things in their life to make the change. Many are in relationships that they are not willing to give up or change. Some are kept away because of their friends. Far too many because of their parents.

Yes, people who have seen the light will still end up losing their souls. This by the way is a nice way to say “end up in hell.” They will lose their souls because it is not convenient to put on Christ at this time. Make sure you are not one of those!


Group V: I am OK.

Regrettably, some persons are going to come face to face with the reality of death unprepared because they will believe that their healthy lifestyle prepares them for death. They are kind, they try to be honest and they try to be good. They believe that their “goodness” should be enough to allow them to face death with confidence.

They fail to understand and accept that there are things that need to be done in this life to ensure that the transition into the next life goes well. They fail to accept the need for the solution.

They will lose their souls because they believe that they are in such good order. They think they that are living such a good life. What then could be wrong with their souls?

If I want to study at a tertiary institution, I have to meet certain conditions. If I want to drive legally in this country I have to meet certain conditions. If I want to travel I have to meet certain conditions. If I want to put my money in a bank I have to meet certain conditions.

Why is it then that we could assume that there are no conditions attached to moving from this life to the next?

All through this life, what we do at one stage plays an important role in what happens to us in the next stage. Why do we believe that it really does not matter how we live in this live? It’s just a matter of personal preference, we say.

I might be able to drive well, but I do so outside of the law unless I meet the conditions laid down for getting a driver’s licence.

Rev 20:12 The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

There are conditions attached to saving our souls. It is not a free for all. What happens to us in the next life will be dependent on how we live this life. And that should not come as a big surprise to anybody.

There is a good reason why good behaviour is not enough:

Rom 3: 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.


1 John 2: My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.

The real issue is that God is light and in Him is no darkness. A righteous God is unable to accept man in his sinful state. There is a need to reconcile man to Him. However, a just God needs to not only act justly but also to demonstrate justice in His actions. It is for this reason that Jesus had to be sent as an atoning sacrifice for man’s sin. And it is for that reason that our only hope of reconciliation to God is through the atoning blood of Jesus.

That is why to protect our souls in response to the reality of death we must put on Christ. This is vitally important not only for the next life but in this life.

Eph 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Friends, in this life and in the next it makes sense to follow the correct procedure to put on Christ. It is not wise to think that it is OK to live your life on the basis of what you think is OK.

Group VI: What’s the difference?

This is a hard one to take, but it is occurring all the time.

Sometimes when trouble or illness steps in some people will be in a mad scramble to find a solution. They are not discerning and accept things that they should have questioned. Others are just not careful. Still others are led astray.

This group includes people who will claim that they are very “spiritual”. You will have others who are very religious and are even fearful of God. Some are fervent in worship. There is a school of thought that we serve a loving God who is full of grace and so He is not particular about how we serve Him. Punishment is not a part of His loving make-up.

Governments insist that procedures that are laid down ought to be followed in a just society. Justice cannot be arbitrary. Why would we expect a just God to be less concerned about the consistent application of rules and regulations?

No matter how much good you are doing and how pure you think your heart is and how much zeal you are putting in serving your community, you will still be exposing your soul to danger unless you follow the correct procedures to put on Christ and to be in Him.

Rom: 10 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

God is particular and specific. You can’t just serve Him the way you feel like it.

Lev 10 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

Is it likely that a God who has never been late for a sunrise or a sunset for thousands of years will be careless and arbitrary about something as vitally important as to how we can put on Christ and be reconciled to Him?


Friends it makes a difference how we seek to serve God. I think it is critical to emphasize the need for all of us to put on Christ.

Jesus says John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command."

Check the facts for yourself. Don’t rely soley on people like me who stand before you. Search the scriptures for yourself and ask questions.

There seems to be a tendency towards convenience salvation. It is too much trouble to follow the pattern laid down in the New Testament. God knows everything and so He will know that you agree with all the steps but because of time and convenience you have had to leave out some.

How many of us listen to the disaster preparedness plan of action and decide well, I will buy a flashlight and battery radio but I can’t be bothered with taping up the glass and securing the things that might be blown away?

If we take a logical approach to such matters, why would we not approach the critical matter of how to protect our souls – eternally – in a similar manner? Should we not examine all the examples of persons who have put on Christ that are presented for our learning and try to pattern what they did?

SO HOW DO YOU PUT ON CHRIST?

You are here and you are convinced that you no longer want to expose your soul to the clear and present danger that threatens it. You want to enjoy the spiritual blessings that are to be found only in Christ.

A review of all the conversions in the New Testament and supporting passages point to the following process for putting on Christ:

You must hear the good news of Jesus, His atoning sacrifice for our sins and His resurrection. Rom 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

You must also believe the good news.
Heb 11: 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Faith is not enough. We are called to act on our belief and to make a decision to no longer let sin reign in our lives but to seek to live in obedience to God. This is the very important act of repentance.

Luke 13: 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

You then have to confess Jesus as Lord of your life. This is a public declaration of your belief that Jesus is the Son of the Living God:

Rom 10: 8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Another major step is that you must be baptized for the removal of our sins. This is a step that is either left out completely or is comprised in attempts to make salvation more convenient.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all sons of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.

At that point you have put on Christ and you are in Christ. Many opportunities are now opened to you. One is that you are added to His Church. There you are able to access the exclusive blessings that are in Christ. Now your soul is protected by the atoning blood of Jesus, the Christ. Now you are ready to face the reality of death.

Baptism comes from the Greek baptizo which means to immerse. Sprinkling and immersion are not the same thing. We have to ask if God who is fussy about the kind of fire that is used to light sacrifices to Him and who will punish one of His leaders for using a tried and proven method to get water for his people will notice the difference. Is it worth it to take the chance? Why not just do what He commands, however childish and petty it may appear to our human minds?

Baptism is also for the remission of sins. Therefore, baptizing infants who are without sin does not appear to fit the pattern laid down for us in the New Testament.

Ez 18: 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

If you are here today and you are in any doubt about whether you are in Christ, do not delay, do something about it now.

If you have questions as to whether the process for putting on Christ that you have gone through is in keeping with what I have just outlined, make a commitment to investigate your status fully. We are willing to have someone go through any questions you may have.

If you have not been immersed for the remission/removal of your sins, then I urge you to do so before it is eternally too late.

This next group is the real tear jerker.

Group VII: Over exposed

As we come to a close, we have one category of persons whose souls are in clear and present danger that we need to touch on briefly. These persons have actually gone through the correct procedures to put on Christ and yet they are in critical danger of losing their souls.

These persons overexposed themselves to the world and have got too caught up in it. Also, in many instances they stayed away from the fellowship for so long that they have lost out on the benefit of the Word and the support of the brotherhood.

The key is that when you find yourself in a spiritual rut NEVER stay away from the fellowship. Let the world call you a hypocrite. That is their problem. Draw near so that you can access the support that is available.

Today, I remind you of the story of the prodigal son who recognized the folly of his ways and returned to his father. You know the blessings that are available in Christ. You know that whatever it is that is keeping you in the world and away from Him is like fool’s gold. It only glitters on the outside. Deep inside you feel the frustration that accompanies the life of those who have put their hands on the plough and then turn away.

You feel the emptiness that once was filled by the joy that comes from knowing Christ.

I say to you today, enough is enough. Come back to truth that you accepted in the beginning. Come back to the peace that is only possible when you are firmly grounded in Christ. Set aside the human factors that led you to stray from the path and set your sights on the prize….. the crown that awaits you. Make the commitment to be once again proud to be called a Christian!