God in skin... This is how Sy Rogers would describe our purpose in serving God; to be as much as we can, God in skin, the personification of God, His character and approach to life - not sprouting Bible verses and frowning upon the pagans, but making a real difference in lives, acting in love and freed from the shackles of fear.
s
Sy's seminar was rich with God's everlasting truth, the latest scientific facts, a cogently real worldview, and an abundance of spiritual inspiration.
Sy's seminar was rich with God's everlasting truth, the latest scientific facts, a cogently real worldview, and an abundance of spiritual inspiration.
s
I want to focus on the following critical issues:
I want to focus on the following critical issues:
s
Jesus must be Lord of our sexual lives! By saying this, Sy means that when He is Lord, Jesus' love is enough for us not to look to false, reinforced and well-learned and worldly patterns of behaviour. He makes no apologies for the well established Christian values, like no sex before marriage but he tells us we must be more dynamic in our approach, not simply resting on the standard Christian parental lecture. We are to have a full appreciation of all the (9) factors that come into play. For instance, we must be fully aware that when a young couple come together, they must understand the powerful forces at play to tempt them into sexual sin. When they employ the principle of delayed gratification, however, choosing Jesus as the Lord of their sexual lives, so much more of God's available blessing will be made known to them, at the right time. The message: We must not covet something that God has not already chosen to give us!
Jesus must be Lord of our sexual lives! By saying this, Sy means that when He is Lord, Jesus' love is enough for us not to look to false, reinforced and well-learned and worldly patterns of behaviour. He makes no apologies for the well established Christian values, like no sex before marriage but he tells us we must be more dynamic in our approach, not simply resting on the standard Christian parental lecture. We are to have a full appreciation of all the (9) factors that come into play. For instance, we must be fully aware that when a young couple come together, they must understand the powerful forces at play to tempt them into sexual sin. When they employ the principle of delayed gratification, however, choosing Jesus as the Lord of their sexual lives, so much more of God's available blessing will be made known to them, at the right time. The message: We must not covet something that God has not already chosen to give us!
s
'God gives better bread!' This is an awesome nugget of truth. Whilst sin does give us 'bread', it is temporary and always brings pain. In Sy's experience having lived a life in what he termed as so sadly typical of thousands or even millions of others, that you 'can be re-railed' in choosing God as the lover of your soul. We must endeavour to 'paint a more redemptive picture of God', indeed, we must learn to 'run to Him.'
'God gives better bread!' This is an awesome nugget of truth. Whilst sin does give us 'bread', it is temporary and always brings pain. In Sy's experience having lived a life in what he termed as so sadly typical of thousands or even millions of others, that you 'can be re-railed' in choosing God as the lover of your soul. We must endeavour to 'paint a more redemptive picture of God', indeed, we must learn to 'run to Him.'
s
God's bread is so much better and fulfilling than that of any of the world's bread, but if you said this to anyone deeply rooted in the world they would think you were mad. Is God acceptable of the repentant sinner or not? We erroneously think He is pious and non-approving of us; He just wishes us to love him so He can help us! He provides way better bread!
God's bread is so much better and fulfilling than that of any of the world's bread, but if you said this to anyone deeply rooted in the world they would think you were mad. Is God acceptable of the repentant sinner or not? We erroneously think He is pious and non-approving of us; He just wishes us to love him so He can help us! He provides way better bread!
s
'Scars are evidence of mending' - it is blatantly obvious that one cannot be healed if one has never actually been scarred! Though, who among us is actually un-scarred? We all require healing and listening to Sy he is evidence that only God can heal completely. Only the love of Christ can do this, but the scars that carry on throughout the rest of our lives are a celebration, a testament, to the God-anointed healing that has occurred and continues to show itself over and over again!
'Scars are evidence of mending' - it is blatantly obvious that one cannot be healed if one has never actually been scarred! Though, who among us is actually un-scarred? We all require healing and listening to Sy he is evidence that only God can heal completely. Only the love of Christ can do this, but the scars that carry on throughout the rest of our lives are a celebration, a testament, to the God-anointed healing that has occurred and continues to show itself over and over again!
s
'Don't keep the secret with Satan' - this propels us toward the fact that the 'you tell on it (the sin) or it will tell on you!' philosophy actually works in life and describes the theory that all sin catches up with us eventually. It always does! Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, fear of the Lord is what? - The beginning of understanding and wisdom. To be wise is to be obedient to the Lord, to revere Him by loving Him is the ultimate protection, that even if we fall a little, we must confess and repent! It is best to be always repentant.
'Don't keep the secret with Satan' - this propels us toward the fact that the 'you tell on it (the sin) or it will tell on you!' philosophy actually works in life and describes the theory that all sin catches up with us eventually. It always does! Proverbs 1:7 and 9:10, fear of the Lord is what? - The beginning of understanding and wisdom. To be wise is to be obedient to the Lord, to revere Him by loving Him is the ultimate protection, that even if we fall a little, we must confess and repent! It is best to be always repentant.
s
'Jesus is all you need!' This is how to evangelise, right? WRONG!! So wrong... we are encouraged by Sy to be God in skin again. Sy illustrated this point by explaining how a pastor friend visited a couple grieving the loss of a family member. They don't necessarily want a Biblical answer to comfort them as much as an arm around them a willingness to share in their sorrow (mourn with those who mourn). We know this is not the answer for every given situation but it is the Spirit of God that dictates our heart response in the given situation, not some cold way of evangelizing which is classically de-void of love! We are to be real people to those we serve, God's anointed and appointed and indeed share our lives with those we serve (1 Thess. 2:8).
'Jesus is all you need!' This is how to evangelise, right? WRONG!! So wrong... we are encouraged by Sy to be God in skin again. Sy illustrated this point by explaining how a pastor friend visited a couple grieving the loss of a family member. They don't necessarily want a Biblical answer to comfort them as much as an arm around them a willingness to share in their sorrow (mourn with those who mourn). We know this is not the answer for every given situation but it is the Spirit of God that dictates our heart response in the given situation, not some cold way of evangelizing which is classically de-void of love! We are to be real people to those we serve, God's anointed and appointed and indeed share our lives with those we serve (1 Thess. 2:8).
s
Sy's advice is full of practicality. He says 'God motivates - we re-train'... like how? First we must 'know the equipment we are dealing with!' This human brain of ours processes information at an incredible speed of between 1250-3000 words per minute -- far quicker than we can cogitate! No wonder we react to certain situations (stimuli) at almost the speed of light! When our 'button is pushed' the locked in patterns of response dictate our reaction automatically.
Sy's advice is full of practicality. He says 'God motivates - we re-train'... like how? First we must 'know the equipment we are dealing with!' This human brain of ours processes information at an incredible speed of between 1250-3000 words per minute -- far quicker than we can cogitate! No wonder we react to certain situations (stimuli) at almost the speed of light! When our 'button is pushed' the locked in patterns of response dictate our reaction automatically.
s
Sy advocates the 'however highway' of the mind. This recognizes a different, healthier response is possible, through the re-training of the mind... and praise God that He will give us plenty of practice opportunities to develop a 'deep ditch' of programmed behaviour (this is ironically a somewhat sarcastic comment -- because we know when we are re-training our minds there is a lot of discipline required -- it is true that God will give us plenty of opportunity through testing (James 1:12) to bed in the new pattern of behaviour.) His key to this is to 'not deny how you feel...' it feels uncomfortable, painful, awkward... but 'embrace it with the Lord!'
Sy advocates the 'however highway' of the mind. This recognizes a different, healthier response is possible, through the re-training of the mind... and praise God that He will give us plenty of practice opportunities to develop a 'deep ditch' of programmed behaviour (this is ironically a somewhat sarcastic comment -- because we know when we are re-training our minds there is a lot of discipline required -- it is true that God will give us plenty of opportunity through testing (James 1:12) to bed in the new pattern of behaviour.) His key to this is to 'not deny how you feel...' it feels uncomfortable, painful, awkward... but 'embrace it with the Lord!'
s
In paraphrasing Dr. Amen, Sy succinctly says 'change your brain, change your life.' Again, there is no better way to replace an old and ugly sinful habit than with a much more powerful and stronger, healthier habit. The 'however highway' in the mind can be used to substitute a sinful habit or behaviour with a more powerful, healthy behaviour - a road to blessing!
In paraphrasing Dr. Amen, Sy succinctly says 'change your brain, change your life.' Again, there is no better way to replace an old and ugly sinful habit than with a much more powerful and stronger, healthier habit. The 'however highway' in the mind can be used to substitute a sinful habit or behaviour with a more powerful, healthy behaviour - a road to blessing!
s
Sy's theory of the nine (9) factors that go into determining the depth of estrangement/healing in life are split into three areas: the Biological, the Emotional/Relational, and the Spiritual. The reason why most churches and ministries fail believers, in responding to the issue of dealing with sexual sin, is they often only tackle one or two areas of the nine that Sy advocates. Clearly, we need to be so much more cognisant of the multi-faceted nature of the causes of this type of sin!
Sy's theory of the nine (9) factors that go into determining the depth of estrangement/healing in life are split into three areas: the Biological, the Emotional/Relational, and the Spiritual. The reason why most churches and ministries fail believers, in responding to the issue of dealing with sexual sin, is they often only tackle one or two areas of the nine that Sy advocates. Clearly, we need to be so much more cognisant of the multi-faceted nature of the causes of this type of sin!
s
At the core of one's ability to resist sin, says Sy, is the place the person is at as far as how mature and secure (in their own skin) they are.
At the core of one's ability to resist sin, says Sy, is the place the person is at as far as how mature and secure (in their own skin) they are.
s
I found Sy a complete breath of fresh air in evangelising in a truthful and practical way. One thing that reduces our credibility is the jargon we use. Sy encourages us to get real on the way we speak of God.
I found Sy a complete breath of fresh air in evangelising in a truthful and practical way. One thing that reduces our credibility is the jargon we use. Sy encourages us to get real on the way we speak of God.
s
Other things Sy said...
- 'We are born with an 'empty cup' but we're full of potential...'
- 'Accountability is love... is proof of love'
- Much of the modern world is like 'Sodom with electricity.'
- Be deliberate about the process of mentoring and discipling in same gender groups.
- Resist Satan by obeying God - crucify the flesh!
Other things Sy said...
- 'We are born with an 'empty cup' but we're full of potential...'
- 'Accountability is love... is proof of love'
- Much of the modern world is like 'Sodom with electricity.'
- Be deliberate about the process of mentoring and discipling in same gender groups.
- Resist Satan by obeying God - crucify the flesh!
s
(Words/phrases in quotation marks (and inspiration) are direct from Sy Rogers on July 20, 2005 at the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia (now Vose Seminary) before ~50 students and faculty.)
(Words/phrases in quotation marks (and inspiration) are direct from Sy Rogers on July 20, 2005 at the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia (now Vose Seminary) before ~50 students and faculty.)
s
Copyright © 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Copyright © 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
"'Accountability is love... is proof of love'"
ReplyDeleteOr "Know the tree by its fruit..."
While loving action is usually the surest sign (or "proof") of love, IS love an action? Isn't love itself some sort of experience or motivation behind actions that do good? (I've been starting to think about what love is on my blog.)