Transcript Slide 1

Emotionally Healthy
Spirituality:
The Missing Component of
Discipleship
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The Central Point
It is not possible for a Believer to be
spiritually mature while remaining
emotionally immature.
However, the majority of Believers live
as if the two concepts have no
intersection. The standard of what it
means to be “spiritual” bypasses
many glaring inconsistencies such as:
You can be a dynamic, gifted speaker for God in
public and be an unloving spouse and parent at
home.
You can function as a congregational board
member or leader and be unteachable, insecure
and defensive.
You can memorize entire books of the Bible and
still be unaware of your depression and anger,
even displacing it on other people.
You can fast and pray for years as a spiritual
discipline and constantly be critical of others,
justifying it as discernment.
You can lead hundreds of people in a ministry
while driven by a deep personal need to
compensate for a nagging sense of failure.
You can pray for deliverance from the demonic
when in reality you are simply avoiding conflict,
repeating an unhealthy pattern of behavior traced
back to the home in which you grew up.
You can be outwardly cooperative in your
congregation but unconsciously try to undercut or
defeat your supervisor by coming habitually late,
constantly forgetting meetings, withdrawing and
becoming apathetic, or ignoring the real issue
behind why you are hurt and angry.
A subtle message has filtered into our theological
thinking that to be human, to be emotional, is
somehow sinful or at least less than spiritual…
For many “being formed into the image of
Yeshua” has mostly spiritual connotations.
Trouble is… we are more than spiritual beings.
God made us whole people in His image
which includes physical, spiritual, emotional,
intellectual and social dimensions.
The Often Ignored
Discipleship Component
Physical
Emotional
Spiritual
Social
Intellectual
We too often elevate the spiritual side
of discipleship process beyond the
others.
BUT… ignoring any aspect of who we are has big
consequences…
 The Physical – who has enough time to take care of our
bodies? It will perish anyway.
 The Social – Don’t worry about relationships. Kingdom work
is what really counts.
 The Intellectual – Be careful of studying too much, you may
end up with no heart for God.
 The Emotional – Be wary of getting connected to your
emotions. You can become confused and not closer to God.
“In the minds of many today, the
repression of feelings and emotions
has been elevated to the status of Spirit
or virtue. Denying anger, ignoring pain,
skipping over depression, running from
loneliness, avoiding confusing doubts,
and turning off our sexuality has
become a way of working out our
spiritual lives.”
Scazzero, p. 55
“Ignoring our emotions is turning our back on reality;
listening to our emotions ushers us into reality. And
reality is where we meet God… Emotions are the
language of the soul. They are the cry that gives
the heart a voice… However, we often turn a deaf
ear through emotional denial, distortion, or
disengagement. We strain out anything disturbing in
order to gain tenuous control of our inner world. We
are frightened and ashamed of what leaks into our
consciousness. In neglecting our intense
emotions, we are false to ourselves and lose a
wonderful opportunity to know God. We forget that
change comes through brutal honesty and
vulnerability before God.”
 Dan Allender, The Cry of The Soul
Yeshua’s Experience of Emotions
He shed tears (Luke 19:41).
He was filled with joy (Luke 10:21).
He grieved (Mark 14:34).
He was angry (Mark 3:5).
He experienced sadness (Matt. 26:37).
He felt compassion (Luke 7:13).
He felt sorrow (John 11:35).
He showed astonishment and wonder (Mark 6:6,
Luke 7:9).
He felt distress (Mark 3:5, Luke 12:50).
1. Look Beneath the
Surface.
2. Break the Power of the
Past.
3. Live in Brokenness and
Vulnerability.
4. Receive the Gift of
Limits.
5. Embrace Grieving and
Loss.
6. Make Incarnation Your
Model for Loving Well.
7. Slow Down to Lead
with Integrity.
Seven Principles
For Being An
Emotionally
Healthy Person
Principle 1:
Look Beneath the Surface.
Pain as a motivator?
We change our behavior when the pain of staying
the same becomes greater that the pain of
changing.
There seems to be a direct correlation between
the intensity level of distress in people and the
level of intensity they will bring to taking an honest
look beneath the surface if their lives.
If I am willing to go deep beneath the iceberg of
my present self, I have to be willing to suffer the
discomfort and pain that is part of pioneering new
parts of myself; the good, the bad and the ugly.
What’s it look like?
Four Components:
1. Awareness of what you are feeling and
doing.
2. Asking the “why’ (motivation) question.
3. Linking the gospel and emotional health.
4. Getting rid of our “glittering images”.
1. Awareness of what you are
feeling and doing.
Awareness can lead to doing life differently and
development of new healthier relational patterns.
Begin by listening to our body’s physical reactions in
situations.
Many people are self-conscious, but not self-aware.
Without doing the work of becoming aware of your
feelings and actions, along with their impact on
others, it is difficult to enter deeply into the life
experiences of others. How can we enter someone
else’s world when we haven’t entered our own?
2. Asking the “Why” or
Motivation Question.
“All men’s miseries derive from not being able
to sit in a quiet room along.” ---- Blaise Pascal
Involves taking my feelings and thoughts about
why I am feeling this way and bringing them
honestly to God.
Asking, “What does this represent? What might
God be saying to me? What do I learn about
myself in this? About life? About other people?
3. Linking the Gospel and
Emotional Health
The gospel says you are more sinful and
flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you
are more accepted and loved than you ever
dared hope because Yeshua lived and died in
our place.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for
us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).
3. Linking the Gospel and
Emotional Health
“God has given us the gospel to create a safe
environment to look beneath the surface. I
don’t have to prove that I’m lovable or
valuable. I don’t have to be right all the time. I
can be vulnerable and be myself even if others
do not accept me. I can even take risks and
fail. Why? Because God sees the 90
percent of the iceberg hidden below the
surface, and he utterly, totally loves me in
Christ.” ---- Scazzero, p. 85
4. Getting Rid of the “Glittering
Image”
The image we work so hard at
maintaining in order to win other’s
approval. (“Idealized Super Self”)
Behind it is the person we believe
others would reject.
Principle 2:
Break The Power of the Past
The realization that life is an intricate,
complex relationship between the kind of
person we are today and our past.
Numerous external forces may shape us,
but the family we have grown up in is the
primary and, except in rare
circumstances, the most powerful system
that will shape who we are.
Principle 2:
Break The Power of the Past
Like all families that descended from Adam
and Eve, their intent after the Fall was to
shield and defend themselves from God
and each other. This aim of protecting
ourselves from God and others
manifests in different ways – controlling,
fixing, fear, withdrawing, ignoring,
denying, pacifying, or loneliness,
anxiety, frustration, resentment,
blaming, and more.
Principle 2:
Break The Power of the Past
The hard part is that, unless we grasp the
power of the past on who we are in the
present, we will inevitably replicate those
patterns in our relationships with others.
Assessment Questions:
1. Describe each family member using two or three adjectives.
2. Describe parents marriage.
3. How was conflict handled in your family over 2 of 3 generations?
Anger? Gender roles?
4. What are some generational themes? (addictions, affairs, abuse,
suicide, divorce, depression, etc…)
5. How well did your family handle talking about emotions?
6. How was sexuality talked about? Implied messages?
7. Were there any family secrets? (pregnancy, incest, etc.)
8. What was considered “success”?
9. How was money handled? Spirituality? Holidays? Extended family?
10. How did your family’s ethnicity shape you?
11. Where there any heroes or heroines in the family? Scapegoats,
Losers?
12. Any addictions?
13. Traumatic losses?
Leads to Three Essential
Questions for Consideration:
1. What one or two patterns might emerge
of how your family has impacted who you
are today?
2. In what area(s) might you be shaping
your life and ministry according to your
past rather than Yeshua’s family?
3. What “hard work of discipleship” might
you have before you?
Other Influences:
Both traumatic and positive.
New Birth Into a Spiritual
Family
While we may still have a predisposition
towards certain behaviors, there is another
possibility and reality for us; a spiritual family.
The critical factor that most significantly
determines my new identity as a Believer is
not the blood of my biological family but the
blood of Yeshua.
Being “a Believer” does not erase the past.
God does not give us amnesia or do
emotional/spiritual reconstructive surgery. God
does forgive the past, but he does not erase it.
“There is no
such thing as
deliverance for
immaturity.”
– David Seamands.
New Birth Into a Spiritual
Family
This highlights the need for discipleship
to include honest reflection on how
family and other events have impacted
us.
For leaders, the hard question is, “How
much of my family history is running the
ministry God has entrusted to me?”
Principle 3: Live In Brokenness
and Vulnerability
1. Developing a Theology of Weakness.
The two primary areas of the curse:
 Relationships (Gen. 3:16).
 Work (Gen. 3:17-19).
The curse is meant to drive us to God and
help us recognize our need for a savior.
(Gen. 3:21-24). But, instead of being broken
by the thorns and thistles of life and coming
to Yeshua we tend to flee, fight or hide.
1. Flee. Some of us flee by burying our pain
in some form of addictive behavior,
avoiding life by focusing on only a small
part of it.
2. Fight. Others become angry, bitter, and/or
violent because life is not going our way.
3. Hide. Still others build their lives in ways
that cover up how damaged, cracked,
fractured, frail, limited and imperfect we
are.
Two Kinds of People or Institutions
Proud and Defensive:
 I am guarded and
protective about my
flaws
 Focus on the positive,
strong, successful parts
of self.
 Highly offend-able and
defensive.
 Focus first of the flaws
and sins of others.
Broken and Vulnerable:
 I am transparent and
weak; I disclose myself
to appropriate others.
 I am aware of the week,
needy, limited parts of
who I am and freely
admit failure.
 Approachable and open
to input.
 I am aware of my own
brokenness and have
compassion/ am slow to
judge others.
Two Kinds of People or Institutions
Proud and Defensive:
 Give my opinion a lot,
even when not asked.
 I don’t get close to
people.
 Keep people from seeing
what is going on inside
me.
 I like to control most
situations.
 I have to be right to feel
strong and good.
Broken and Vulnerable:
 Slow to speak; quick to
listen.
 I am open, soft and
curious about others.
 I delight in showing
vulnerability and
weakness, that Yeshua’s
power may be seen.
 I can let go and give
people opportunity to
earn my trust.
 I understand that God’s
strength reveals itself in
admitting mistakes,
weakness.
Two Kinds of People or Institutions
Proud and Defensive:
 I blame others.
 I often hold grudges and
rarely ask forgiveness.
 When I am offended I
write people off.
 I deny, avoid, or withdraw
from painful realities.
 I give answers and
explanations to those in
pain, hoping to fix or
change them.
Broken and Vulnerable:
 I take responsibility for self
and speak mostly in the “I”
not the “you” or “they”.
 I don’t hold people in debt
to me and am able to ask
others for forgiveness.
 When I am offended I ask
questions to explore what
happened.
 I honestly look at the truth
under the surface, even
when it hurts.
 I am present with people
in their pain and
comfortable saying “I don’t
know”.
Two Kinds of People or Institutions
Proud and Defensive:
 I have to prove I am right
when wronged.
 I am demanding.
 I am self-conscious
about how others
perceive me.
 I see people as
resources to be used for
God.
Broken and Vulnerable:
 I can let things go.
 I assert myself
respectfully and kindly.
 I am more aware of God
and others than the
impression I am making.
 I see people as gifts to
be loved and enjoyed.
Paul’s Weakness
 Note that Paul argues for the authenticity of his leadership by
appealing, not to his visions and revelations from God, but to his
weakness. He writes how God allowed a “thorn in his flesh” in his
life to humble him.
 8 Three times I begged the Lord to take this thing away from
me; 9 but he told me, “My grace is enough for you, for my
power is brought to perfection in weakness.” Therefore, I am
very happy to boast about my weaknesses, in order that the
Messiah’s power will rest upon me. 10 Yes, I am well pleased
with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and
difficulties endured on behalf of the Messiah; for it is when I
am weak that I am strong. (CJB 2 Cor. 12:8-10)
 For Paul, his great weakness was his badge of apostleship and
authority from God – so much so that he boasted in it arguing that
this is when the real power and glory from Yeshua flowed through
him.
2. Accepting Your Gift of a Handicap.
“Gift of a handicap is how The Message
translates “thorn in the flesh”.
Biblical Examples of the Kinds of People
God Uses That is Not Dependent on Their
Own Gifts or Resources:












Moses stuttered.
David’s armor didn’t fit.
John Mark deserted Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Hosea’s wife was a
prostitute.
Amos’ only training was
farming.
Jacob was a liar.
David had and affair,
murdered and abused power.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a persecutor.
Moses was a murderer.
Jonah ran from God’s will.
 Gideon and Thomas both
doubted.
 Jeremiah was depressed
and suicidal.
 Elijah was burned out.
 John the Baptist was a
loudmouth.
 Martha was a worry wart.
 Noah got drunk.
 Solomon was too rich, and
Yeshua was too poor.
 Abraham was too old and
David was too young.
 Peter was afraid of death,
and Lazarus was dead.
 Moses had a short fuse (so
did Peter, Paul, and lots of
Biblical heroes).
Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son
(Inspired by Luke 15)
From Henri Nouwen’s The Return
of the Prodigal
“Yet over and over again I have left home. I have fled
the hands of blessing and run to faraway places
searching for love! This is the greatest tragedy of my
life and the lives of so many I meet on my journey.
Somehow I have become deaf to the voice that calls
me the Beloved…There are so many other voices.
The dark voices of my surrounding world try to
persuade me that I am no good and that I can only
become good by earning my goodness through
making it up the ladder of success.”
Rembrandt’s Return of the Prodigal Son
(Inspired by Luke 15)
How can I know if I am the lost
older brother???
1. When I hold on to my anger rather than
process it.
2. When I find myself grumbling and
complaining a lot
3. When I have a hard time letting go of
offenses.
Becoming Like the Father
The fruit of choosing the unpopular, countercultural
path of brokenness and weakness is that people will
be drawn to us like they were drawn to Yeshua.
The Body of Yeshua is full of younger sons running
away every time God or someone else does not meet
their expectations.
The Body of Yeshua is also full of older brothers who
are angry and grumpy.
The great need is for Mothers and Fathers in the faith
who will embrace, love, empathize, be present and
forgive freely.
In this our faith families become communities of grace.
Principle 4:
Receiving the Gift of Limits.
Emotionally healthy people understand the
limits God has given them. They joyfully
receive the talents God has given them and
are not frenzied and covetous trying to live a
life God never intended.
Emotionally healthy congregations embrace
their limits with joy and contentment, not
attempting to be like another body of
Believers.
Un-Commanded Works?
“Spiritual burnout
is often the result
of doing Uncommanded
works.”
- Wayne Hillsden
For we are of God’s
making, created in union
with the Messiah Yeshua for
a life of good actions
already prepared by God for
us to do.
(Ephesians 2:10 CJB)
“Understanding and respecting our boundaries and
limits is one of the most important character
qualities and skills leaders need in order to be longterm lovers of God and others. This is important for
all of life – be it in the workplace, parenting,
marriage, singe relationships with the opposite sex –
but especially in this ‘new family’, the local
[congregation] into which we have been adopted by
God’s grace.
For this reason, at the heart of many problems in
our [congregations] is the conflict over properly
respecting and understanding limits in this ‘new
family’ called the [body of Yeshua].”
Scazzaro, p. 141.
Yeshua Embraces Human Limits
 The message of our youth… “You can be anything you
want.”
 As far as we know, Yeshua didn’t do any miracles the first
thirty years of his life. He as a faithful son, employee, and
participant in his community and synagogue. He
embraced the limits given by his Father.
 Immediately after his baptism Yeshua is tempted in the
desert by the devil. The essence of that temptation was to
transgress or cross over the limits God had placed around
him.
 Yeshua did not meet every need that was presented to
him, yet at the end of his life he prayed “I have finished the
work you gave me to do” (John 17:4)
Limits as our Friend?
“While our culture resists the idea of
limits, it is critical that we embrace
them. They are like a fenced in yard
that protects young children. They
are the hands of a friend, keeping us
grounded so that we don’t hurt
ourselves, others or God’s work.”
Scazzaro p. 146.
Discerning My Limitations
1. Look at your personality.
2. Look at your season in life.
3. Look at your life situation.
4. Look at your emotional, physical, and
intellectual capacities.
5. Look at your “difficult” emotions.
6. Look at your scars and wounds from you
family past.
Being Faithful to Yourself
Maturity in life is when someone is
living joyfully within their God-given
limits.
Much of burnout is the result of giving
what we do not possess.
How to know we have strayed from
our God-given life:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
I am anxious.
I am rushing or hurrying.
My body is in a knot.
I am doing too many things.
My mind cannot stop racing.
I am driving too fast.
I am not able to be fully present with people.
I am irritable about the simple tasks of life.
I am skimming over time with God.
Integrating the Gift of Limits into
the Congregation
1.
2.
3.
4.
Emphasize Self-Care of Leaders.
Set Limits on Invasive People.
Give People Freedom to Say No.
Teach Boundaries 101 and 102.
 101 – learning to be together yet separate.
 102 – respect in our togetherness yet separateness.
• We have the right to be different, to be taken
seriously, to be heard, to disagree. Take away any of
those and you have relationships dominated by one or
more persons at the expense of another.
Principle 5:
Embrace Grieving and Loss
Embracing grief is a way to become more
like God.
 Emotionally healthy persons understand
what a critical component of discipleship
grieving our losses is.
 It is the only pathway to becoming a
compassionate person like Yeshua.
“Catastrophic loss by definition precludes
recovery. It will transform us or destroy us,
but it will never leave us the same. There is no
going back to the past… It is not therefore true
that we become less through loss – unless we
allow the loss to make us less, grinding our soul
down until there is nothing left. Loss can also
make us more. I did not get over the loss of my
loved ones; rather I absorbed the loss into my life
until it become part of who I am. Sorrow took up
permanent residence in my soul and enlarged
it… One learns the pain of others by turning
inside oneself, by finding one’s own
soul…However painful, sorrow is good for the
soul… The soul is elastic, like a balloon. It can
grow larger though suffering.”
Gerald L. Sittser, A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss.
“Few [Believers] in North America and
Europe understand sorrow and grieving,
especially as it relates to God, ourselves,
and its vital importance to living in a
healthy community. But the degree to
which I learn to grieve my own losses
is in direct proportion to the depth and
quality of my relationship with God and
the compassion I can offer to others.”
Scazzero, p. 161.
How Forgiveness Factors into
Grieving.
The process of forgiveness always
involves grieving before letting go –
whether you are the person giving
forgiveness or asking for it.
Often we are tempted to engage in
superficial forgiveness in order to
avoid pain.
“You cannot
give to God
what you first
won’t admit to
yourself.”
Phase One: Paying Attention as
Part of the Grieving Process
Lessons from David: Three Distinct Phases:
1. Paying attention.
2. Waiting in the confusing in-between.
3. Allowing the old to birth the new.
Note that David is know as a man after God’s
heart (1 Sam.13:14, Acts 13:22), but few
realize how closely this characteristic is
related to how he repeatedly paid attention to
loss, disappointment, and threats of death.
Phase One: Paying Attention as
Part of the Grieving Process
Teach the Lament to God’ People.
 David orders that his song of lament be taught
to the men of Judah (2 Sam. 1:18)
David understands how important it is for his
people stay connected to reality and not to run
from pain.
Laments far outnumber any other kind of songs
in the book of Psalms.
Laments in Psalms pay attention to the reality
that life can be hard. They take notice of the
apparent absence of God. They notice
circumstances that seem to say God is not
good. They cry out to God for comfort and care.
Examples from Psalms:
“Tears have been my food day and night.” (Ps.
43:3)
“Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by
the enemy?” (Ps. 43:2)
“Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has
his promise failed for all time? Has God
forgotten to be merciful?” (Ps. 77:8-9)
You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest
depths. Your wrath lies heavily in me; you have
overwhelmed me with all your waves.” (Ps.
88:6-7)
Phase One: Paying Attention as
Part of the Grieving Process
Pay Attention to Pain
 Our culture has adopted a pain-denying view of
grieving.
This has been institutionalized theologically in
some circles.
Jesus came to set us free to engage life fully, not
escape from its reality.
Most popular way in our culture to not pay
attention to our pain and losses is by medicating
ourselves through an addiction.
“Unhealed emotional pain
seeks to comfort itself with
pleasure”
– Harvey Brown.
Phase One: Paying Attention as
Part of the Grieving Process
Yeshua’s Experience of Grief
“Man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3)
At Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35)
 His lament over Jerusalem
“My God why have you forsaken
me?”
Phase Two: Waiting in the
Confusion In-Between
Consider the in-between time from the
Cross to the Resurrection.
Living as “Saturday People”.
Temptation to rebel during these inbetween times.
God transforms evil into good without
diminishing the awfulness of the evil.
Phase Three: Allowing the Old to Birth
the New
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be
comforted” (Matt. 5:4)
 As a result of grieving, we experience new, inner births or
changes:
 We develop a greater capacity to wait on God and
surrender. Grieving breaks something in our self-will that
wants to run the universe for God.
 We are kinder and more compassionate. Sadness softens
our defense and people find us safer.
 We are less covetous, less idolatrous. Life is stripped of
its pretense and non-essentials.
 We are liberated from having to impress others. We can
follow God with new freedom because we are not as
motivated to please people
Phase Three: Allowing the Old to Birth
the New
 We are able to live more comfortably with mystery and are
not afraid of saying “I don’t know.”
 We are characterized by a greater humility and
brokenness.
 We enjoy a new, vivid appreciation of the sacredness in all
of life.
 We have fewer fears and a greater willingness to take
risks.
 We sense the reality of heaven in a new way,
understanding more fully that we are sojourners on earth.
 We have a greater sensitivity to the poor, the widow and
the orphan, the marginalized and the wounded. We
understand them.
 We are more at home with ourselves and with God.
Principle 6:
Making Incarnation Your Model for
Loving Well
Emotionally healthy believers focus on
loving well. They recognize that the
indispensable mark of spiritual maturity is
not about recognition, numbers, spiritual
gifts or biblical knowledge. The essence
of a genuine spiritual life is to love God,
ourselves and others.
Learning to incarnate is
predicated on progress in the
previous five principles.
1. If we don’t look beneath the surface of our own
lives, how can we share parts of ourselves we
have never explored?
2. If we don’t understand how our own stories of
growing up and how they impact us, how can
we help others explore theirs?
3. If we are not walking in brokenness and
humility, we are loaded with defenses.
4. Our lack of boundaries and understanding of
our limits can lead to resentment of others.
5. How can we grieve with others in their pain if
we haven't grieved our own?
The Three Dynamics of
Incarnational Life:
1. Entering Another’s World.
2. Holding Onto Yourself.
3. Living Out the Third Dynamic:
Hanging Between Two Worlds.
Entering Another’s World
Learning to Listen, Learning to be Present.
David Augsburger on listening…
“Being heard is so
close to being
loved that for the
average person,
they are almost
indistinguishable.”
Holding On To Yourself
The greatest challenge in incarnation for
most of us is to hold onto ourselves and
not to lose ourselves when we enter
another person’s world.
While we are called to enter other’s worlds,
it is not necessary to lose our God-given
self in the process.
Remember Yeshua is our model. He
became fully man, but remained fully God.
Living Out the Third Dynamic:
Hanging Between Two Worlds
 The fruit of mature spirituality is to be an incarnational
presence to another person.
 Think of Yeshua’s time on earth. He was in perfect
communion with his Father, but also tasted suffering and
death. He hung between the two worlds of heaven and
earth.
 We also die in ways when we incarnate. Its costs us time,
energy and almost always is a disruption to our world.
 We remain faithful to who we are, not losing our essence,
while at the same time entering into the world of another.
 Just as Yeshua’s incarnation and death brought great life,
so our choice to do the same will bring about resurrection
life and much fruit in us and others.
“Making incarnation a
priority disrupts the
church’s priority and
definition of success.
It is not longer simply
doing more, ‘fixing’
people, or arranging the
world into something we
consider God-glorifying.
It is about loving well.”
Scazzaro, p. 199.
Principle 7:
Slow Down to Lead with Integrity
 “Like Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus, each of us
must somehow fashion a ‘desert’ in the midst of our lives to
cultivate our personal relationship with Jesus…When we skim
in our relationship with God, no program can substitute for the
superficiality and self-will that inevitably follow.”
 “When our life with God is not sufficient to sustain our
work for God, we too will find ourselves struggling with
our integrity…But work for God that is not nourished by a
deep interior life with God will eventually be
contaminated. Our experiential sense of worth and
validation gradually shifts from God’s love for us in Christ
to our works and performance. The joy of life with Christ
slowly, almost imperceptibly, disappears.”
Szazzaro, p.206.
My One Great Temptation in
Ministry:
“The temptation to
want to do
something for God
each day before I’ve
first spent time with
Him.”
—Samuel Logan Brengle
Nothing can take the place of our
Love for Jesus
The first thing which makes a true Christian
minister or missionary or evangelist or
preacher or Sunday School teacher, or leader
or Christian worker of any kind, is not learning,
not eloquence, not wisdom, not organizing
ability, not pleasing personality, not even a
‘passion for souls’, but a love-passion for Jesus
Himself. Nothing, nothing, NOTHING, can
take the place of that. All else without that is
like withered flowers.”
—J.Sidlow Baxter
Not Either/Or But Both/And
 Do You Love Me & Feed My Sheep
 The Great Commandment and the
Great Commission
 Passion for Yeshua and
Compassion for Others
 Mary (devotion) and Martha
(service)
 Lovers and Leaders; Worshippers
and Warriors
Some Keys:
 The Daily Office.
 Setting aside time to be with God
 All of time is God’s. This eliminates any division of the
sacred and secular in our lives.
 Will require giving a solid “no” to those around us.
 Sabbath Keeping.
 Stopping all the “have to’s” and “shoulds”.
 From this place of rest, our work is to flow.
 Rule of Life.
 “rule” comes from the Greek word for “trellis.”
 Rule of Life consists of the spiritual practices that provide
the structure and direction needed to pay attention to and
remember God in everything we do.
Specific Rule of Life:
Prayer
 Scripture.
 Silence and Solitude.
 Daily Office.
 Study.
Rest
 Sabbath
 Simplicity.
 Play and Recreation.
Work
 Service and Mission.
 Care for the Physical Body
Relationships
 Emotional Health.
 Family.
 Community.
Entering God’s Rest
Consider what the writer to the Hebrews
said:
“There remains then, a Sabbath-rest for
the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9).
The writer goes on to say:
“for anyone who enters God’s rest also
rests from his own work, just as God did
from His.” (Hebrews 4:10).
Entering God’s Rest
The key to entering God’s rest is not to
cease from all activity.
The key is to cease from labor that has its
beginning point with us. We rest from our
works.
Until we do this, we have not entered into
God’s rest and are subject to being
influenced by a religious spirit.
Entering God’s Rest
Consider Yeshua’s invitation:
“Come to Me, all you who are heavyladen, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke
is easy and my burden is light”
Matthew 11:28-30
Entering God’s Rest
We have lived the Believer's life like it’s a struggle.
Its not meant to be a struggle. Its meant to be a
rest.
We enter that rest when we learn to live as Yeshua
lived: from the life of Another within us and out
through us.
This does not mean that you won’t have fluctuations
in your thoughts and feelings. It does mean that
deep within you, you’ll be at rest.
The “Root” of the Problem:
The Two Trees
Tree of Life
God’s
Rest
Tree of the
Knowledge of
Good and Evil
System of
“Righteousness”
The Tyranny of the
Should and Oughts.