Darkened Understanding

“…you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”
Ephesians 4:17-19

In the passage above, Paul reveals the connection between insightful thinking, a tender heart, and actions that line up with God’s way of living. He starts by exhorting the Christians in Ephesus to no longer live as the Gentiles do, and he specifically identifies the problem: “the futility of their thinking.” He rewords this same problem a couple more times saying the Gentiles are “darkened in their understanding.” He exposes their “ignorance.”

All of this is a problem in the mind. Their thinking was skewed. They lacked insight and wisdom in the way they thought about things. Their minds were cut off from God’s revelation and truth. What is most interesting is Paul’s diagnosis. How did their minds and their thinking get so warped? How could they become so blind to the truth? Paul says that this happened because of the “hardening of their hearts.”

I find this fascinating!

The reason their thinking was so warped and their ability to embrace truth so damaged was because of a condition in their heart. They had “lost all sensitivity.” What does that mean? It means that, over time, if we don’t actively try to keep a tender heart, our heart will become hardened. If we aren’t actively forgiving those who hurt us, if we aren’t actively being sensitive to the contamination of sin and impurity, we will eventually become desensitized. Bitterness will become normal. We will stop feeling the pangs of conviction when we sin. Instead of feeling the natural guilt that comes from lust and perversion, we’ll feel nothing at all but justification for our actions.

When hearts become hardened to sin, our actions become unrestrained. Selfishness, indulgence, pleasure, and ego become king. Greed becomes normal, along with lust and jealousy, fear and hatred. And it’s not difficult to see how this works its way backward toward darkened understanding and futility in thinking.

When sin abounds in our life, our heart loses its sensitivity to conviction, its sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. And when our heart loses sensitivity over time, it becomes hardened, calloused, desensitized. Inevitably, the hardness of our heart prevents our mind from receiving truth, illumination, and revelation. We are cut off from the profound insights that the Lord wants to plant in our minds, and our thinking becomes darkened and futile.

So often we compartmentalize the wholeness of our being and we miss the deep connections between our actions, our heart, and our mind. Paul makes these connections clear to the Ephesians and to us. We all want to have profound, insightful thoughts, but most people don’t see the connection between how they’re living and how they’re thinking. We want to have illuminating thoughts without obedience. We want insight without self-discipline. But they are connected.

The more willing we are to surrender our actions to the Lord, the more willing we are to be obedient in our self-denial, then the more tender our heart remains. We want a heart that is sensitive to the gentle nudges of the Holy Spirit. We want a heart that is quick to embrace conviction of sin and quick to repent. This then keeps the door open and receptive for when God wants to download His thoughts into ours. This then keeps us ready to receive profound, illuminating thoughts that are thick with wisdom and insight.

Our actions change the condition of our hearts. Our hearts then change the receptivity of our minds.

Expensive Miracles

Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”
They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
“Twelve,” they replied.
“And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”
They answered, “Seven.”
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”
Mark 8:13-21

Jesus was warning the disciples against a worldview that put politics at the center (yeast of Herod) and a worldview that put religion at the center (yeast of the Pharisees). The yeast of Herod doesn’t want faith to come into the public square (Matthew 14:3-5). The yeast of the Pharisees was a form of godliness with no power (2 Timothy 3:5; Matthew 22:29).

But the disciples had minds that were still set on the wisdom of the world and not the wisdom of God. They thought Jesus was talking about the fact that they only had one loaf of bread and forgot to bring more.

Aware of this, Jesus reveals to us His expectations of the disciples. The disciples were there when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fed 5000. They were also there when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fed 4000. And because they had seen and experienced these miracles, Jesus expected a change in the way they processed things. Jesus expected those miracles to change their thinking, their faith, and their reasoning. He expected them to see now with different eyes and hear with different ears and, at the very least, remember what God can do with a little bread.

Bill Johnson says it this way, “Miracles are expensive because they require change. Miracles that are just observed and applauded but haven’t shifted my perspective have not had their full impact. They are supposed to actually change the way I deal with the situations of my life.”

Once we’ve seen miracles happen right in front of us, we lose the right not to believe it can happen again. Once we’ve seen people healed right in front of us, once we’ve seen people delivered from demonic oppression, once we’ve seen God supernaturally provide, we can’t go back to standard western Christianity. Jesus, having shown us our inheritance in the Kingdom of God, now expects us to think differently about how we do church and about how problems get solved.

Jesus expected the disciples to look at that one loaf of bread differently. Since they had seen the miracles of feeding the 5000 and feeding the 4000, He expected them to look at that one loaf of bread and see the potential for abundance rather than scarcity. He expected them to have eyes of faith, hearts that were softened, and ears that could hear what the Spirit was doing.

The apostle Paul said it this way to the Corinthians:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom…
1 Corinthians 2:4-7

Paul had shifted from human wisdom to God’s wisdom. He wasn’t interested in using reasoning that was common to the kingdoms of this world. He wanted to use reasoning that was common to the Kingdom of God. He wanted their faith to rest on the fact that the message of the gospel came with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. His desire was to declare God’s wisdom, not the so-called wisdom of the current culture that he was in. Paul had seen too much, he had experienced too much, to go back to thinking with human wisdom rather than God’s wisdom. He had seen too much not to expect God’s demonstration of power.

As Bill Johnson said, miracles are expensive. Once they are happening in our midst, we can’t go back to business as usual. Jesus expects more. He expects that they change how we operate in the world, that they change how we think and reason. If they don’t, we become like the Pharisees who saw so many of Jesus’s miracles and walked away with hardened hearts.

Inoculation

My friends and family who are now fully vaccinated are feeling a unique sense of freedom and empowerment right now. People they couldn’t go see they are now seeing. Trips they had delayed they are now taking. Teachers are now back in the classroom. Grandparents are buying plane tickets to see their grandkids. The vaccine has now given them a superpower against COVID-19. Even if exposed to the coronavirus, they have a 90% chance of not getting sick. And if they happen to be in the 10%, they will only get a very mild case that will resolve quickly.

If you are not yet vaccinated, imagine that feeling. The feeling of freedom and empowerment. The feeling of safety and security. The feeling of being at an advantage rather than a disadvantage to this pandemic.

Christians should know this feeling well. This should be the feeling we have about having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. We have been given a great advantage in this world, but many of us are not taking advantage of our advantage. We have been given an incredible dose of freedom and power, safety and security. We have the Spirit of living God living in us, changing us, freeing us from sin, empowering us to live as Jesus lived. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now lives in us.

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
Romans 8:11

Imagine someone gets vaccinated and yet still lives as if they are not. This is how some Christians are living in regards to the Spirit. Or imagine getting the first dose and never going back for the second. This is how some Christians are living who have the Spirit and are saved but who do not live filled with the Spirit. The Spirit reveals things to us that only God knows. We have access to the wisdom, the knowledge, and the power of God through the Spirit. But are we accessing what we’ve been given access to?

The apostle Paul tried to tell the Corinthians just how amazing it is that we now have the Holy Spirit.

…as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”^{[Isaiah 64:4]}—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:9-14

Do you know all that was given to you when you received the Holy Spirit? You are now a conduit of the Kingdom of God on the earth. You’ve been given power over sin. You’ve been given the right to be called a child of God. You are a vessel of God’s power to heal, deliver, and save. The Light of the world lives in you making you the light of the world. The wisdom of God for the problems of this world are waiting to be downloaded to your heart and mind so that you can bring answers that no one else has thought of.

The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?”^{[Isaiah 40:13]}
But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16

Maybe it’s time we revisit all that we’ve been given when we were given the Holy Spirit.

Maryland By The Numbers

Get wisdom, get understanding;
    do not forget my words or turn away from them.
Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
    love her, and she will watch over you.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
    Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
Proverbs 4:5-7

As we all process how to respond to the coronavirus and the reopening of our states, we all need an extra dose of wisdom. This is especially true for those of us leading organizations, businesses and churches. One way to avoid living in fear is to look at the actual numbers instead of the media putting their spin on the numbers. No one reads a boring headline, so nearly all news spins data in the most inflammatory and fear-filled way possible. Their income depends on it.

Different states are experiencing different realities. New York and New Jersey are by far experiencing something different than the rest of the country. This is why when we look at numbers, we should look at local numbers, not national ones.

So here are some of the numbers for Maryland. I think after seeing these, you’ll be encouraged. Fear is a liar, and fear has been lying to most of us about the risks and dangers of this virus. If you want to look at them for yourself, find them here.

The total population of Maryland is about 6 million people. We’ve only had about 41,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus. I believe that in time we’ll discover that many more people had this virus and just didn’t have very bad symptoms so they were never recorded in the numbers. But for now, we’ll work with “confirmed cases.” Even still, these numbers mean that 0.7% of Marylanders have been confirmed as having the virus.

Let that microscopic number sink in. The numbers in Maryland are astronomically low.

So, of the 0.7% of Marylanders that have been confirmed as having the virus, who has died from it?

In the 0-9 years old category, no one has died from it. In the 10-19 years old category, one has died from it. Again, let that sink in. For school-aged kids who actually got the virus, almost no child in Maryland died from it. Are we still not going to reopen schools in the fall?

Parents, you can all take a deep breath. The chances of any child dying from this virus is astronomically low. They are more likely to die as they walk to school, ride in the car, or ride the bus–all things that you never think twice about.

Of the 20-29 year olds that got the virus, 0.18% died from it. That means 99.82% of twenty-year olds in Maryland who got the virus recovered just fine. Are we still closing colleges for this in the fall? Again, they are more likely to die in the car on the way to college than from coronavirus.

These numbers continue to stay ridiculously low in the next two age groups. For the 30-39 year olds who got the virus in Maryland, 0.3% died from it. For the 40-49 year olds who got the virus in Maryland, 0.7% died from it. The chances of you dying in a car accident are somewhere around 0.9%, yet we drive everyday.

If you are under 50, are not immunocompromised, and are still freaking out about dying from COVID-19, you are not understanding the facts. You are living in fear. Part of you living in wisdom is knowing the facts. In Maryland, 96% of the deaths from coronavirus were people 50 and above.

For those 50-59 years of age in Maryland who got coronavirus, 2% died from it. That means if you are 50 to 59 and get the virus you have a 98% chance of recovering. You’re still way more likely to die from cancer or heart disease. We aren’t really in the danger zone until we get above 60. In Maryland, 89% of the deaths from coronavirus were of people 60 and up.

For those 60-69 years of age in Maryland who got coronavirus, 6% died from it. The decade of our 60s is a time of increased risk for nearly all diseases. This virus is no different. But even if you get it, you have a 94% chance of recovering from it.

For those 70-79 years of age in Maryland who got coronavirus, 15% died from it. So your chances of getting the virus and recovering from it are 85%. Most people in their 70s would love those kinds of percentages for nearly every other disease they face, like cancer, heart disease, stroke, etc.

As we would expect, the 80+ demographic is most at risk. Again, this is true for every disease and every condition that exists. The 80+ folks have already gone past life expectancy numbers and are vulnerable to this disease. In Maryland, of those who got coronavirus, 30% died from it. So if they get it, they have a 70% chance of surviving it.

What these numbers mean to me is that for everyone under 60 years old, we need to stop living in fear. Your kids will be fine. You will be fine. Doomsday predictions are nonsense. The chances of you dying from this virus are incredibly low.

The point for those of us under 60 is not to try to avoid getting the virus. The point now is trying not to spread it to our more vulnerable populations. We need to stop thinking, “How can I avoid getting the virus?” Living through the lens of this question will unnecessarily paralyze your life. Instead, we need to be mindful of not spreading it to older populations and at-risk populations. But herd immunity is our friend, whether that comes from a vaccine or from getting the virus through contact. We all need anti-bodies to this thing and we need them yesterday.

I completely understand the fear of spreading it to loved ones as my parents are in the 70-79 category. We need restrictions in place to reduce the spread of this virus to our older populations. But we cannot keep living in fear of this virus. Know the numbers in your state. Know the numbers in your county. Stop listening to numbers that are dramatically skewed by New York and New Jersey. Stop feeding your fears with news that gets more clicks and more money the more fear they foster.

Listening to Wisdom

…the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.

They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
1 Kings 12:3-8

King Solomon had just died and his son, Rehoboam, was appointed to take the throne. Before he did, the people called on Rehoboam to lighten the heavy work load that had existed since the time of Solomon. Rehoboam decides to seek wise counsel from his elders.

The elders advise Rehoboam to become a servant leader. They advise him to listen and be in submission to the elders. They encourage him to lean into humility and compassion rather than pride and hard-heartedness. But Rehoboam arrogantly rejects their advice and seeks out the advice of his best friends and buddies that he grew up with.

He goes to his entourage, his friends from high school and college, and asks them what they think. They, of course, tell Rehoboam he was right to reject the wisdom of the elders. Instead of encouraging servant leadership, humility, and compassion, his buddies tell him that he needs to become even harder on the people. They tell him that to get these people in line he needs to become a tyrant. This advice aligns with Rehoboam’s arrogant view of himself and further puffs up the pride that was already swelling inside the soon-to-be king.

When Rehoboam announces that not only will he not lighten the load of the people but will make it heavier, he loses all but one tribe of Israel. Eleven tribes break away from Rehoboam’s rule and make Jeroboam their king. Only the tribe of Judah remained under Rehoboam’s rule. The kingdom of Israel was divided in half from this point on.

Rehoboam’s friends told him what he wanted to hear. They told him what soothed his own self-image and pride. Only the elders, the one’s with more experience and wisdom, were willing to tell him the truth. Only they were able to see clearly a way forward. Rehoboam’s inability to humble himself and submit to those with more wisdom was his ultimate downfall.

This is an important story for anyone leading an organization, business or church. Listening to the elders, the decision-making body, or the one’s with more experience is absolutely essential to leading well. Taking the posture of a servant leader–in humility and compassion–is essential to being an effective leader.

As leaders we must be grateful for our friends and their support, but we must also have the wisdom to see that they are often biased in their desire to advocate for us. It’s okay to go to our buddies from high school and college when we need encouragement but not necessarily when we need wisdom. In moments when we are in need of wisdom, we must seek out those with more experience, those who are older and have seen more than we have. Youthfulness has its advantages but wisdom isn’t often one of them.

Rehoboam could have ruled the whole kingdom of Israel. He was one act of humility away from keeping the kingdom united and ruling for generations. His own pride got in the way. His unwillingness to listen to the wisdom of the elders was his downfall. As leaders in our various spheres of influence, let’s not let this become our story. King David and King Jesus are two great examples of leading with humility and compassion. Let’s imitate their life of leadership.

One Wish

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
1 Kings 3:5

Solomon had just become king over the people of God. This huge responsibility weighed on him. Then God came to him in a dream one day and essentially gave him one wish.

If God did this with you, what would you ask for? Or, in an attempt to say the “right” thing, would you assume that in humility you shouldn’t ask for anything?

Solomon did ask for something. He understood the difference between real humility and false humility. False humility doesn’t ask for anything, assuming that’s the right thing to do in this situation. Real humility doesn’t shrink back from asking for God’s blessings and gifts, but asks for things that will benefit others.

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
1 Kings 3:7-9

Remember that Solomon is asking for this in a dream. We can’t fake it when we are standing before God and especially not in a dream. Solomon was in a situation where God was seeing the true contents of Solomon’s heart. What Solomon truly wanted was a discerning heart so that he could rule over the people with wisdom and justice. God loved this about Solomon.

Notice God’s response. God doesn’t say, “Because you were humble and didn’t ask for anything…” No, God didn’t have time for that kind of false humility. God loves that Solomon truly wanted a gift from God that would ultimately benefit all of the people of God and not just himself.

The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.
1 Kings 3:10-13

So what would you ask for if God let you pick one thing? We all could use a little more wisdom, but we’re not all kings, so wisdom may not be the thing that would be most beneficial. Would it be more love? More grace? More power? More authority?

When we start talking about God’s power and authority many Christians get squeamish. I’ve noticed that people get skeptical about those who would ask for more of God’s power or more of God’s authority. People automatically assume poor motives when power and authority enter the conversation.

If someone asks you, as a follower of Jesus, if you want more of God’s power and more of God’s authority, do not shrink back into the lie of false humility. Many Christians think they are being humble and holy by saying, “Oh no, I’m not interested in getting more of God’s power or authority.” But this is the epitome of false humility.

The purpose of God giving you more of His power and His authority is not about you; it is for the sake of others. With an increase of God’s power and authority in your life, you will be used to help set others free from things that oppressively hinder their life with Christ. It could be sickness and disease. It could be demonic oppression. Whatever it is, you’re going to need all the power and authority you are able to carry in order to help that person get free. By shrinking back in false humility, you’re essentially saying you have no desire to help others get free.

Imagine that a group of people are being held captive, and you’ve been assigned the mission to help them get free. Then someone comes up to you and says, “Before you go in there, I want to give you the gear that will help you accomplish the mission. I want to give you these weapons and this armor. Further, I want to deputize you as a federal marshal so that everyone understands you are operating in the authority of this government. All of this is going to greatly increase your chances of getting those people free.” Now imagine your response to that is false humility. Image you say, “Oh no, I don’t want all of that. I just want to stay humble.” Can you see the problem here?

The truth is that when God gives a person more of His power and authority, it is an incredibly humbling experience. Just as there is a weight to carrying heavy armor and heavy guns for the sake of other people’s freedom, there is a heavy weight to walking in the power and authority of God. It is a huge responsibility. But God is looking for those willing to take up the challenge.

So, if God asks you what you want, don’t be afraid to ask for more of His power and more of His authority. One of the most humbling things you can do is to ask for more power and authority because you know that, if He gives you more, it won’t be for you. Your life is not your own. You will now be commissioned to go and help others get free. Just know that whatever you ask for will come with its own weight, its own responsibility. God’s gifts are not toys for self-glorification. They are expressions of His love and weapons of spiritual warfare.

Glorious Riches

I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:18-19

The Philippians were faithful to give generously to the work of the gospel. Because of this, Paul was confident that God would meet all of their needs “according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.” Literally in the Greek, the phrase reads, “according to the riches of Him in glory in Christ Jesus.”

What exactly are these riches that are “in glory” that can be found in Christ?

In a discussion with the Romans about why most of Israel rejected the gospel and many Gentiles had accepted the gospel, Paul asks the question, “What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy…?”(Romans 9:23). At the end of wrestling with this mystery, Paul declares, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”(Romans 11:33).

To the Ephesians Paul wrote:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s gracethat he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ…
Ephesians 1:7-9

Then he explained:

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:6-7

And finally:

Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people,this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery…
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
Ephesians 3:8-9, 16-17

And once more to the Colossians, Paul writes:

the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 1:26-27; 2:2-3

Over and over again we see that the glorious riches in Christ are the grace, forgiveness, power, wisdom, and understanding that come from knowing the mystery of the gospel. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ, and Christ has now been revealed through the gospel. Christ is now “in us,” which is the hope of glory. Christ dwells in our hearts by the Spirit through faith in Him.

Having a relationship with Christ unlocks the riches of the Kingdom of God–the wisdom, knowledge, power and grace of God Himself. Not only is God pleased to meet our material needs through the provision of the resources of the Kingdom, but He’s pleased to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom to us through Christ by the Holy Spirit.