Are You a Flashlight in the Daytime or a Candle in the Evening?

April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 Leave a comment

What the heck kind of question is that?

Well, let’s see: what do a candle and a flashlight have in common? Right- they both put out light. And aren’t we told that we should be a light unto the world? (Matthew 5:14-16)

“Yes, Steve, that’s right, so if both are a light, why worry about the difference? Whether I am a flashlight or a candle, aren’t I still being “a light” to people?”

Yes, you’re still a light. But which is more effective?

That’s the point- if I shine a flashlight on something that is in the sunlight, how effective is the light I add? Obviously, it won’t make a very big difference, if any.

But a candle in the dark of evening can be seen by the unaided human eye from over a mile away! And the closer the candle, the more effective the candle light becomes.

Here’s what I want to say….many of us are doing our best at being good representatives of God, trying to be separated (i.e., holy) from the world while living in it (John 17:16), but we aren’t really going where we are needed to be a more effective light. It’s easy to talk with other Believers, and it’s easy (and safe) to hang out with all the people we know are righteous and trustworthy. But when we do that we are no better than a flashlight in the bright midday sun.

We need (and I am preaching to myself here) to get out into the darkness- to talk with people who do not believe as we do, to demonstrate the way the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) affects us and helps us be more like God, and to go where we are needed most.

Now, don’t get me wrong- I am not saying to go to the nearest biker bar and preach the Word, or to walk the streets at night in the worst parts of town and hand out tracts. That’s not being a light, that’s being suicidal!

What I do mean is that we need to have the courage to talk about God and our beliefs to people we meet everyday. Don’t become one of those “Bible Thumpers” who can’t hold a normal conversation, but do try to fit something God-related into the discussion every now and then.

For instance, when I know I can relate a biblical saying or story to the conversation, I just say something to the effect of, “You know, there was this book I read that said this…” or “I once heard a story about ….” and not even imply it’s from the bible. Then, when I am done, if I see so much as a spark of interest, I will ask if they know where that came from. Now they are leading me into the discussion, and I have their permission to talk about God, even though they didn’t necessarily mean to let me.

And when that happens, go slow. Don’t jump down their throats about God and Hell and all that stuff, just follow their lead and ask, “Have you ever heard that story? Where did you hear it? Oh, you heard it when you were a kid in Sunday School? Why did you stop going? Do you still go to church/synagogue? ” Again, don’t non-stop grill them, just let them take the lead, and dance them around to what you want to get to, which is how much God has helped you in your everyday life.

Missionary work is hard, selling is hard, and if you don’t like the idea that as a missionary you are selling, then you need to have an attitude adjustment. Read Og Mandino’s book, “The Greatest Salesman In the World” and it will make your missionary work much more effective.

Today’s message is really a simple message, it’s not too hard to understand, and it takes guts to act on it. We need to make sure that every moment of every day we are candles in the darkness, because being a flashlight in the sunshine is easy, but useless.

Here is a wonderful paradox: in the real world fruit can’t grow without sunshine, but spiritually you can only produce fruit in the darkness.

Think about it.

Science is the antithesis of faith

February 13, 2017 Leave a comment

What is faith?

When I want to know the meaning of something that matters to me, on both an eternal and spiritual level, rather than what Mr. Webster or Wikipedia may think, I like to go to the Manual (my ‘manual’ is the bible because I think it is the best User’s Manual ever created.)

So, to find the meaning of “faith”, the place I go to is Hebrews 11, verse 1:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

In other words, faith is believing absolutely in what has not been proven.

In science, things work a little differently; we start with an observation of an event, form a theory about why it happens, test our theory in a laboratory, and when we can manually recreate the event by doing what we theorized would cause that event, then the theory is considered scientific fact.

In other words, in science it is not considered to be true until such time as you can, in a controlled environment, create the event at will.

Therefore, since faith is believing in what we haven’t seen, and science doesn’t believe in anything it can’t see, you can “see” why I say they are the antithesis of each other.

If anyone wants to dispute the above by saying no one has seen quarks, or sub-atomic particles, or a Worm Hole, yet science accepts their existence, that’s because their existence is accepted based upon the visible effect they have on their immediate environment; whereas they are not visible, they can still be “seen” through their effect on what is visible.

What is interesting is that although science cannot accept the existence of God as fact, a form of science (archaeology) is providing, on a constant basis, evidence that the bible is historically accurate and verifiable. Archaeological findings have constantly demonstrated the biblical stories we hear of are true, therefore it is reasonable to accept that if the historical accounts are true, then the reasons given for their occurrence might be accurate, as well.

In other words, if the eye-witnessed description of an event happened as described, then the reason given why or how it happened should be just as believable.

The problem is this: God will never provide absolute, irrefutable evidence of His existence until it is all over. Why? Because salvation comes from faith, not from a test tube. Scientific “proof” of God’s existence works against faith, because faith is believing in what can’t been seen and science only believes in what can be seen. If we can “see” God, if we can “prove” His existence absolutely, then faith is not needed.

For me, faith is stronger than fact. After all, how many “facts” over the millennia have proven to be wrong? The earth isn’t flat, the moon isn’t made of cheese, cigarettes are not good for you, and because it is on the Internet it doesn’t have to be true.

I love science, I love knowing how things work and being able to make things happen. Even just adding alkaline powder to my hot tub to watch the water color change from an acidic yellowish to clear blue is really cool, but science is not my religion. Unfortunately, it has become a religion to many people. They use scientific theory as fact (evolution is the best example) and work under the system where if something isn’t palpable and repeatable then it isn’t real. God is real, all right, and can be palpable (if He chooses to be so), but we can’t make that happen. That’s totally up to Him, so to those who believe only what they can make happen, God is an unknown.

I wish I could find this book: I was once told Og Mandino compiled a book of essays by famous scientists, of all areas in science, that found the more they understood how things worked, the more they realized there had to be an intelligence that made it all happen. That is how science can become faithful, by understanding enough to realize that this all isn’t just an accident. There may be some level of happenstance, such as how quarks move at the sub-atomic level, but life didn’t happen by some quirk: God created everything. He designed it, He changed it, He let some die out and He let some survive. The DNA molecule is the very backbone of creation, yet it is made up of only 5 chemicals, and how they are combined in different chains of different sequences is what makes a snail a snail and a human being a human being (even though some human beings I have known are as slow as a snail.) Therefore, it only makes sense that when you have that strong a foundation to build from, you would find similarity in everything that exists based on that foundation. What I am saying is that just because the chimpanzee genome is nearly 99% the same as a human genome, it doesn’t mean we came from apes. The only conclusion science can accurately state is that humans and apes are closely related biological entities, but there is nothing to prove that chimps evolved into humans.

If you are confused about God and want some “sign” of His existence, keep asking for it in prayer, but also remember what Yeshua (Jesus) said about those that asked for a sign:

Matthew 12:39– “He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!””

Even so, Yeshua told them a sign would be given, which (even to this day) millions upon millions have rejected. So, ask and if God wills it to be done, you will receive a sign. The onus is on you to look for it and to accept it when you see it.

There are signs of God’s existence everywhere; we only need to accept them for what they are to substantiate our faith.

How to Give a Sleepless Sermon

January 26, 2015 Leave a comment

Sometimes I am both blessed and trusted by my Pastor and asked to deliver a Shabbat message. I am sure there are others out there who are not the congregational leader but also are asked to deliver a message now and then. Or maybe you are a congregational leader and you would just like to improve your skills at presenting the Word of God.

No matter what your title, when you give a message to the congregation, that’s when you want to know not just what you are talking about, but how to talk about it.

There’s the one about a new Rabbi, and he is giving his first Drash. He notices Mr. Greenstein, who he had talked with earlier, falls asleep during the sermon, but at the end of the day walks out shaking the Rabbi’s hand and says, “Good sermon, Rabbi.” This goes on for a few weeks, and finally the Rabbi says, “Mr. Greenstein: how can you say it was a good sermon when you fall asleep all the time?” The man replied, “Rabbi: if I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

Giving a sermon, or message, or Drash…whatever we call it, is both an honor and a responsibility. My mentor, Rabbi Jeff Friedman, taught me much about giving sermons. I was a pretty good talker before that but he really set me straight on what to do, and I would like to share that, as well as what I have learned from giving sermons and being in sales for many years (yes, a sermon is a sales pitch, or a sort.)

1. First of all, you need to stick to the Word. No one has a better message than God, and whereas human endeavors can fail or fall short, we know that the Word of the Lord never returns void. So keep yourself out of it, and let God give the sermon. That is easy enough to do- make sure everything you say is from the Bible and can be found, using proper Biblical interpretation tools (see some of the blogs I have done on that), in the Bible.

2. Remember that there are many people, with different attention spans, listening to you. Watch your audience and see if they are getting glossy-eyed. If you feel like you are driving with high beams on into a herd of deer, stop. The Word may not return void, but you should still give it a good chance to be heard. No one knows what you are going to say, so they don’t know how much you have to say. That means if it looks like it is time to stop, stop. Stay to your notes, but go with the audience.

3. That is another good thing to do- stay with your notes. Your notes are correct and accurate, but if you start to go off on a tangent, it had better be led by the Ruach or you need to stop. Once we start off on something, there is too good a chance we will start to give personal opinion. That’s when we start to misuse the position. People aren’t there to hear what we think, and we aren’t supposed to tell them what we think- we are there to tell them the Word of God. If you think you can say something more important or useful than what God has told us, then you shouldn’t be on a pulpit because you think you belong on a pedestal. If you have a personal thought that you really, really believe is sticking to the Word but your own opinion, make sure you tell the people that before you say it. Shaul was a godly man and spread God’s word, but when he gave a personal opinion he let us know that. We are there to give God’s message, not our own.

4. This is a sales pitch. You aren’t selling knives, or laundry detergent, but you are selling the idea that people have to do as God says. And for non-Believers you need them to want to “buy-in” to salvation. Og Mandino wrote a series of stories, and the first one is called, “The Greatest Salesman Who Ever Lived.” If you haven’t read any of his work, that’s the one to start with. We need to use the basics of a good pitch:

A. No Negative Selling: fear is a lousy sales tool. Get off the fear of suffering in hell and stick to the wonders of salvation that bring peace and joy to you NOW. People don’t care about the future but they want what they want N–O–W. Stay with the present to get them to buy into the future.

B. Don’t tell Them They’re Wrong: people believe only half of what they hear, but 100% of what they say. Don’t argue against their beliefs, but ask questions that will make them second guess their own statements. If you want them to believe you, you first need to get them to doubt themselves, and that will only happen when they hear themselves question their own statements. Don’t lead off with your beliefs, but ask them leading questions to get them to doubt theirs. Most people I have met believe what they have been told because they are too lazy to research it themselves, so it is fairly easy to get them to doubt themselves. They don’t really know why they believe, other than that’s what they’ve been told.

C. Maintain a Sense of Urgency: we have until our final breath to accept Messiah Yeshua and ask forgiveness through His name. Therefore, we can wait until the last second, but unless you know exactly the moment you will die, you don’t know how much time you have. If you want the peace and serenity that God offers to us on Earth, and you want that during your lifetime, you’d better not wait. After all, why put off having something that you really want now? (here would be a good time for the parable about the man who wanted to be saved but had all these other things to do first. If you don’t know which one I am talking about, it’s in the Gospels- go find it.)

D. Don’t Talk After the Sale: Don’t shove it down their throat, and when they are asking questions answer them truthfully and with short, to-the-point answers. And give it time to sink in.

E. Always be Selling: When you are taking with someone and they are starting to see the light, with each point you make confirm that this is something they would like. If their life seems overwhelming, and they ask about the peace that the Ruach can bring, tell them about your life and others you know where the Ruach has brought you peace (third party testimony is strong), then confirm that with the question, “Doesn’t that sound like what you want in your life? Wouldn’t you like to have that right now?” Every statement should end with a confirming question.

F. Be in Control: the one who is in control of the conversation is the one asking the questions. You will need to answer their questions, but do the “Jewish” thing- answer a question with a question. Why? Why not? The person asking questions is the one controlling the conversation, so make sure you answer their questions truthfully and without going on forever- then finish with a leading, confirming question, like,”Isn’t that what you told me you were looking for?”, or “Does that sound like something you would want to have in your life?”

4. Keep It Short, Keep it Simple, and Be Entertaining. If you are talking to a crowd of people you have, maybe, 15- 20 minutes to keep their attention, then it’s sleepy-time. Oh, yes, there are those high-spirited Believers who will call out, “Take your time! No rush! Preach it, Brother! You tell it, Sister!” They make it hard on everyone else who have already had their fill. Yes, they have had their fill. We are humans, not spirits. We live within a linear time frame and can’t really be expected to stay alert and attentive for much more than 20 minutes. So be entertaining, and don’t be afraid of a little interaction with the crowd. I used to give sales pitches in the home that took 4-6 hours. The best compliment I received wasn’t just a signed contract, but the people would look at their watch as I was finished and say, “Oh my! Look at the time- I didn’t realize we kept you here so long.” They thought they kept me there! The truth is that I kept them at the table and for hours, yet they thought it was nothing. That’s good selling and why I was a very successful salesman. I also have had a lot of positive feedback to my sermons. I was given a gift of being able to use humor and serious, stinging statements that reach right into your heart and grab you by the soul. This is from God. I used and honed it when selling products, and have turned it into selling His Word. When you sell the Word of God you have the perfect product. Everyone needs it, everyone wants what it offers, and the only reason everyone doesn’t have it is because the Enemy is also a very good salesman. What he sells is a lie, but one that is so tempting that most people fall for his pitch. If you can use humor, a good laugh (even just a chuckle) will buy you another 5 minutes or so. And when you use humor correctly, as both a way to relieve tension and to open up feelings, you can be very convincing and effective.

5. Practice, practice, practice. Remember the Rule of the 6-P’s: Prior Preparation Prevents Piss-Poor Performance. Know your topic, know your sermon, and talk through it for at least 5 or 6 times before you give it.

6. Show how this applies to their life. At the end of the message, leave time to show ways to apply what God has for them in their life, now. Whatever the meaning of the sermon, give them ways to use that in their life. If you talk about peace of spirit, tell them how to use that to relieve stress. If you are talking about forgiveness, tell them ways to forgive and offer opportunities for them to do so. Don’t leave things with what God says, but leave them with what God says and how to use it.

7. Trust in the Lord and His Ruach to lead you. Yeshua told His Talmudim (Disciples) not to worry about what they will say because the Ruach will guide them and give them the words they will need. Pray for God to guide your words, and to always give glory and honor to Him through your sermon. Let God be the wind and you be the instrument He uses to make beautiful music.