Stage 4
We’ve been looking at the stages of spiritual journeys.
We’ve covered the first three steps:
Recognition of God
The Life of Discipleship
The Productive Life
We said
Stages were cumulative: one builds upon the other
Stages were also fluid: we moved back and forward throughout our lives.
Those things are readily apparent when we recognize God meeting us along the journey and in the discipleship process. We will never fully understand or have complete knowledge of who God is. He reveals himself to us new everyday. That’s why it’s called “revelation knowledge”. Our mentors along the road will change. We will never get to the point where there isn’t something new someone can teach us.
A difficulty arises when we move into the arena of working for God. And that’s probably why the discussion last week wasn’t as lively as it has been. Many people in the church today do not see their contributions of time and talent as working for God. The person who unlocks the doors and turns the air conditioner on is just as valuable to God as the person who preaches from the pulpit. Jesus died for them both.
In the same way, God judges both of their labors based on the intent of their hearts. Are they doing their task because they love God and want to serve Him by serving his people? Or are they doing it for esteem in the eyes of their fellow man?
When the action is based on right motives, willingness, and obedience the task or job becomes a productive life. You are in stage 3 - working for God.
Before we move on to stage 4, I‘d like to say something about promotion. Trust me on this; I have walked around this mountain more than once.
Here it is: God promotes in God’s time.
When we put ourselves in the position to be promoted before we are ready, or expect to be promoted and we’re not, we are just setting ourselves up for heartache.
We are putting ourselves in the path of pride. When that happens, we lean on our own understanding. We become double minded. James 1:8 says: a double minded man is unstable in all he does.
Pride can destroy a man. Proverbs 16:18 tells us: Pride goeth before a fall.
Remember last week, we looked at the account of the sons of Skeva, “Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you?”
The point is: just because you have the knowledge or training, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are ready for promotion.
We have a freebie rule in our house. Generally we make our own decisions. If we ask each other for input we have the freedom to accept or reject the other’s advice. We do this because we believe that too many people today do not accept responsibility for their own actions, and we are trying to teach our son and those under our authority that they are accountable for what they say and do.
However, we also serve a gracious God. And there are times when we need to dispense grace. The freebie rule gives us the right to say, “Trust me, been there, done that, and paid a heavy price for the mistake. Don’t go down that road.”
With that said, here’s a freebie, I’d like to share with you regarding promotion. I have learned the hard way that
If a man or woman does not humble themselves, God will.
And when God humbles, he does it in a public venue. We have all seen Bill Clinton’s dirty laundry. We saw Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Baker fall. We know how powerful they thought they were at the height of their popularity, and we know just how human each of them actually are.
Paul warns us in Rom 12:3
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
When God call you into his service, there are no small jobs. No matter what task he asks you to perform, it is important to him. And it is equally important that you do the job with humility.
That takes us to Stage 4 – the Journey Inward
In stage 1 we met God personally - one on one.
In stage 2 we were discipled in a church or a group.
In stage 3 we either serve in front of people or behind the scenes, but we didn’t do it alone.
In stage 4 we meet God again one on one,
Only this time it’s not a natural awe inspiring event. God isn’t meeting a need. We are coming face to face with God and bringing our preconceived notions of who we think He is with us.
In stage 4 we are forced to put aside our religious understanding and get God out of the box we put Him in.
Stage 4 is almost always precipitated by a life or faith crisis. Someone dies, gets seriously ill, loses their job after long years of faithful service, divorces…
What ever the case, the person in crisis feels that his faith is simply not enough. They feel immobilized, unsuccessful, hurt, and ashamed -- God has not provided what they needed to be soothed, healed, or fulfilled. God didn't answer their prayers. He did not fulfill their wishes. He did not change their circumstance or solve their problems. And as faith servants, true disciples, workers in His kingdom – it shouldn’t happen that way. Wait a minute God, that’s not fair.
For some people it is more crisis of faith than a personal crisis. This is common for people raised in the church with a clearly defined belief system. Perhaps a faith block crumbled. They discover that some teaching they had been taught and believed for many years was not true. Or person of faith whom they idolize fell from grace. Wait a minute God, why did you let that happen? How could you let that happen?
This period is plagued with gnawing questions. And these questions are too loud to ignore.
A biblical example of some one in Stage 4 would be Peter. Peter had left his family and home and business to follow Jesus. In front of Jesus and all his friends he boldly confesses that Jesus is the messiah. Suddenly on Good Friday, he finds that the answers he has, do not add up anymore. The arrest of Jesus placed all of Peter’s beliefs in crisis. Peter felt so abandoned that he actually denied any knowledge of Jesus. Peter faced a crisis of faith.
We know what eventually happened. Jesus is resurrected and the angel at the tomb tells the women “Go tell Peter to meet Jesus in Jerusalem.”
Unfortunately for us, our experiences in the stage 4 will not be remedied in three days. Stage 4 may last years.
In this stage the quest for knowledge and understanding becomes insatiable. Those with a strong educational background will find that their answers do not come from books. Those who have relied on the instruction of their mentors will find that their mentors do not have the answers. Those who come from a strong ritualistic religious experience will want to return to those rites and exercises. What used to work, no longer works.
How do people enter Stage 4?
The stage 4 believer craves something more personal, more fulfilling. He realizes that he can not approached God in the same way he did before.
Stage 4 is a time of crisis -- stage 4 is the time to move.
The movement is not foreword but deeper - to know God and all of his fullness.
Now you may be saying, that’s okay, I want more of God. I want to go deeper in God. Remember we started this message talking about humility. Part of humility is being honest about your motives. To go deeper in God, you must be honest about where you are.
In getting to know more of God, you will also discover more about who you are. In stage 4 you will become vulnerable and virtually spiritually naked before God. You will discover that God is not who you thought his was in that nice little god box you had created fro him. At the same time you will discover that you had put limits on what you would do and how you would serve him. You will discover the box you had created for your faith.
When God breaks out of his box, you may want to run. You may want to throw in the towel and quit. You may experience depression. You may want to leave the church. You may want to turn your back on God.
Now I'm sure you're thinking this doesn't happen to great people of faith.
Turn with me to 1 Kings 19. The Prophet Elijah has just slain 500 prophets of Baal following a miraculous display of God's power after he consumed a sacrifice doused with water.
Elijah runs to Mount Horeb enters both a cave and deep depression.
Verse 9b God comes to Elijah and asks
“What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah responds in self-pity and he whining
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
Elijah conveniently forgot all God had done up to that point. For him life had no relevance. Even God seems so far away for him at that point. Elijah felt totally alone.
If we jump back up a few verses 1 Kings 18 we discover that Elijah had been told earlier by Obadiah that there were 100 other prophets hidden in caves. But because Elijah was experiencing his own Stage 4 crisis, he couldn’t trust the truth.
What are the cages in Stage 4?
1. Always questioning rather than coming to the truth. Looking elsewhere and elsewhere for an answer that suits our God-box image.
2. Self betterment: only looking to improve what we do well rather than honestly examining and overcoming our shortcomings and faults.
3. Isolation: refusing to ask for help or show vulnerability.
4. Shutting God out completely.
How do I get out of the cage?
1. Be honest with God and yourself.
2. Be confident that God will totally take care of you.
3. Put yourself on God’s timeline and throw away your own plans for advancement.
4. Be willing to commit to God’s will.
What is the crisis that moves a person from Stage 4 to Stage 5? The Wall
You’ve heard the expression “Hitting the wall”. It generally refers to an athlete in a long distance race like a marathon. When a runner hits the wall, their legs stiffen and hurt and they have to work much harder to lift their legs. With each step it becomes more and more difficult to move forward. Eventually the body sends the mind a message that says it will go no further. At that point a seasoned athlete has 2 choices: to stop or to will their body to go on. Notice I said seasoned athlete, not a novice.
The wall does not move. You can not climb over it or crawl under it. You cannot go around it. The only way to experience the wall is to go through it. Like other stages in the journey going through the wall differs for everyone.
Hitting the wall spiritually represents our will meeting God’s will. Because it usually happens following a life changing event, the ramifications of stopping can have eternal consequences.
Not everyone goes through the wall. Some stop or get stuck at earlier stages and never get to the wall. Others decide at the wall to return to an earlier stage. Still others get stuck in front of the wall not wanting to submit to God.
Types of cages at the Wall
1. Strong egos: people who believe they control their own destinies and fail to acknowledge that God is ultimately in control.
2. Low-self value: people who believe they are not worthy of God’s love.
3. Guilt/shame: cannot leave the past in the past, but rather relived painful memories. Refuse to let God heal them spiritually and emotionally.
4. Intellectualization: doubt whether there really is a wall, prideful and arrogant, believe in their own self-sufficiency or refuse to accept thinking other than their own.
5. Misappropriation: substituting our own will for God’s will. Believing they are one in the same. That is not saying that you want God’s will. It says that what you want is God’s will. So if I want a million dollars, I would say, its God’s will for me to have a million dollars.
How do I get through the wall?
1. Brick by brick. It takes time.
2. Realizing that we cannot fix every situation. Man is dependant on God. For us to allow anyone to believe that we control their fate is to make us idols in their eyes. Last week we read Jesus’ warnings to the Pharisees about the responsibility that must accompany the position of a mentor. Those in authority will be held accountable for what they teach.
3. Accept our inadequacies and realize that we are not perfect creatures. We are works in progress; God is not finished with us yet.
4. Surrender: We must learn to accept God’s will without feeling the strain of wanting to debate it or reason with God.
5. Forgiveness: forgiving ourselves and others who have hurt us.
What moves us through the Wall?
1. Getting closer to God: allowing ourselves to become so naked and transparent in our relationship with God. Neither He nor our image of Him is bound by the boundaries of our perception of who He is. Both God and our perception of who He is are out of the box.
2. Allowing God to lead, and deferring our own judgment.
3. Solitude and reflection: setting aside time to walk with God, to listen to God’s voice, to meditate on His word, to feel his presence, and to reflect on our new relationship with God.
Discussion Questions
1. How has you image of God changed from earlier times?
2. Have you ever experienced the wall or a time when you came to the crossroad and needed to decide it was God or nothing?
