Sunday, March 8, 2015

Kryptonite

Welcome! We are in the middle of our series entitled “Superheroes through Christ”. Today our title is “Kryptonite.” This is perhaps the first title in the series that requires a little bit of detailed knowledge about superheroes.

What is kryptonite? This goes back to one of the earliest modern superheroes, Superman. I have fuzzy memories as a little kid arguing with other little kids about who was the greatest superhero. Eventually we ended up arguing who was the greatest superhero other than Superman, because, at least in the small world of superheroes we knew about, nobody could touch Superman. He could do anything – even turn back time!

I think the writers of Superman realized that maybe they had made him too powerful, and that made stories about him kind of boring, so they invented kryptonite. Superman came from the planet Krypton (he had come from there to Earth as a baby), and for some reason I don’t remember, being in the presence of kryptonite, which was material from his home planet or solar system, made him become weak. In the presence of enough kryptonite, for a long enough time, he might even die! Of course, all the supervillains somehow managed to come up with kryptonite so that they could capture Superman (and so the stories could be exciting again).

So in titling this message “Kryptonite,” what I mean is that, although we are in some sense superheroes, superheroes through Christ, there is something that can render us incapable of doing superhero things. Our kryptonite, just like Superman’s, can immobilize us, and in some case, even kill us. So what is our kryptonite?

I thought about ways in which sin is our kryptonite, and although it is certainly true that sin separates us from God, separates us from His blessings until we repent of our sin and turn back to Him, I wanted to get more specific, and there is one sin that is, in a sense, the granddaddy of sin, and this is the sin of pride.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity calls pride “The Great Sin.” I want to quote from his book:

“There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others. There is no fault that makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.”

“The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility. You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the centre of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now, we have come to the centre. According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

The Bible is filled with warnings against pride. From James 4:6, quoting Proverbs,

God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. – James 4:6b

Proverbs also tells us

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. – Prov. 16:18

Do you believe this? I mean, do you really believe it? Do you believe it applies to you? Pride is what makes people believe that they can get away with sin – that they can continue to do what they want without consequence. Pride is also what causes people to think that they can dabble around the edges of sin without being sucked in further. In relationships, it is what makes them think they can fool around a little. In areas such as pornography it is what makes them think they can look at one marginal picture or video and not get drawn into something worse. At college, pride is what makes people think they can ignore the professor’s warnings to do the homework carefully and completely and instead just study the day before the test. Pride causes people to think they are the exception to the rule, that certain principles may be true for other people but that they can get away with it, by being careful, or attentive, or because they are special that way.

Paul gives a similar warning in I Corinthians 10:

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! – I Cor. 10:12

So how do we avoid this? Paul tells us in the verses leading up to this verse.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. – I Cor. 9:24-27

By saying this Paul implies that a first step is throwing away the notion that you can get away with what others cannot by being careful or attentive or simply because you are special that way. You aren’t! Paul says he isn’t either. He needs to avoid sin entirely just like everyone else. If he were taking a test, he would need to study hard and do the homework just like everyone else. He says that if he wants to win a race, he is not so special that he can do this without rigorous training; he needs to train just like everyone else. And so it is for us. Our kryptonite is believing that we can somehow avoid consequences of sin – this is pride. And we couldn’t be more wrong. Where hard work is required for others, we are no exception.

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. – I Cor. 10:1-5

Paul’s point here is that the Israelites were incredibly blessed to have God’s presence in front of them day and night. They saw Him perform miracles – from miraculous parting of the sea, enabling their escape and the destruction of the Egyptians to the noises and sights at the mountain where the Ten Commandments were handed down to them, to seeing the daily manna, and many other miracles. Despite seeing and experiencing all these things, despite being in sight of God’s presence, they still sinned in many ways, rejecting God, and the consequences were dire.  

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. – I Cor. 10:6-10

It’s a stark picture, isn’t it? Dead bodies in location after location, carcasses again and again. I’m afraid Christianity looks like this too. People fall away, people who never really let God be their all in all, people who never really gave their lives to Christ. And others, some even real believers, do actions which have tremendously negative consequences in their lives – lost jobs, ruined careers, destroyed families – carcasses scattered across the desert. And the cause? Ultimately, it is pride.

Some Christians want to hold on to the world – all of it, including the things that are clearly opposed to God, clearly sinful, clearly evil. It was true in the desert with Moses, it was true in Corinth, and it is true today. Committing idolatry, immorality, testing the Lord, grumbling – all of these things are about seeing what you can get away with. In a real sense, they are about seeing how far away you can get from God and still get back. Shouldn’t the Christian life be all about seeing how close you can get to God, rather than how far away you can go?

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – I Cor. 10:11-13

And so here in context is our verse – if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! Don’t let pride blind you into seeing how far away from God you can go and still get away with it. The stakes are higher than you know.

Now a natural response to Paul’s warning is to say, “Yeah, but it’s tough! There are temptations everywhere! It’s too hard.” Many people choose to avoid Christian ministry such as sharing their faith altogether because they know they are hypocrites because of their continued indulgence in sin. Is that a good answer? No, because all you are doing is adding to your sin. We are called to engage in the world around us; it’s not an optional activity – it is indeed a big part of why we remain here on earth after being saved.

And some people use the “it’s tough” argument actually in a sort of false humility that is in reality a strange kind of pride. They say that you don’t know what they are going through, that their situation is special, that they just can’t do it. But Paul, inspired word for word by God, takes away this excuse. Your situation is not that special.  No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man. That doesn’t mean it isn’t tough, but it does mean that with Christ, as you seek to come closer to Him, rather than farther away, it is possible, and not only possible, but doable. You can overcome your patterns of sin. This doesn’t mean you will never sin again, of course, but it means that you can find freedom from the entanglements of sin, from the feeling that you are a slave to sin.

The single greatest impediment to this kind of spiritual growth is pride. Conversely, the single greatest aid is humility.

C.S. Lewis in “Mere Christianity” goes on to say the following:

“We must not think pride is something God forbids because He is offended at it, or that humility is something He demands as due to His own dignity – as if God Himself was proud. He is not in the least worried about His dignity. The point is, He wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble – delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life.”

The Bible repeatedly contrasts the results of pride with the results of humility. Another proverb I really like is the following:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. – Prov. 11:2

Back in I Corinthians, Paul writes,

My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. – I Cor. 1:11-15

Paul continues this division issue in Chapter 3:

Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? – I Cor. 3:1-4

This is another form of pride – boasting in one’s self based on one’s associations. In Corinth, people were boasting on who they followed, as well as on who baptized them. We do this too, with other associations – where we went to college (or whether we went to college), what kind of car we drive, even what church we go to. Even whether we prefer PCs or Macs! Actually this reminds me a little of my arguments as a kid over which superhero was the greatest.

Now, I say the following with tongue in cheek, but I started to imagine how disappointed Fred,  John, and I would be if we heard adults out in the hall comparing pastors – arguing about who was the greatest. “Mr. Baum can play the piano really well.” “Yes, but Mr. Farmer can sing.” “Yeah, but Mr. Custer can fix anything.” “So? Mr. Farmer can also fix anything and he can sing. He must be the greatest!”

But something like this was really going on in Corinth. I bring this up because of Paul’s humble response:

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. – I Cor. 3:5-7

The word used for servants, used repeatedly in the Bible, is referring to slaves, culturally in that time the lowliest of the lowly. Notice there is no hint of possessiveness, no hint of pride. And I love the analogy to farming. Imagine how ridiculous a farmer would sound if he tried to take pride in his crop as if he had somehow created it! We don’t create plants; we simply stick seeds in the ground, kick out the weeds, and perhaps add water. But God makes everything grow, not us. The miracle of life is God’s design, His work, and it is truly awe-inspiring and miraculous. In the same way, Christians are the work of God, not man. We who plant seed and water people stand amazed at the work God does in bringing people into faith. This is a proper, humble view of ministry. And indeed it is a proper, humble view of our entire lives.

A wonderful example of this kind of humility can be found in the life and ministry of John the Baptist. Now we find it hard to really understand him – he seems like a strange guy, with his camel hair outfits and bizarre food choices (locusts and honey!?). But he drew massive crowds with his preaching, and people repented in droves, willingly letting themselves be baptized even though they were already Jews. It was a symbol of humility, of genuine repentance, that their own pedigree didn’t matter; they were willing to do something typically done only by non-Jews who were choosing to convert. John the Baptist was famous – crowds came from miles around when they heard he was near. You would think this popularity might go to John’s head.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Consider this passage from John 3:

After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized. (This was before John was put in prison.) An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” – John 3:22-26

So Jesus and John, each with their disciples, are both doing similar things. They are calling on people to repent and be baptized. Previously John was the only one doing such things; now there are two. By the way, in John 4:2, it says that it was not Jesus Himself who baptized, but His disciples. Do you know why that was? I suspect it was over this issue of pride. Paul was glad that he hadn’t baptized more than a few people, because he saw how they became prideful over that; imagine how prideful one of them would be if they could say, “That’s nothing. I was baptized by Jesus!”

One other clarifying remark – in John 4:1, it says that Jesus’ disciples were now baptizing more people than John. That is, Jesus’ ministry and fame, relatively speaking, was increasing while John’s was decreasing. And so one of John’s disciples and, apparently, one of Jesus’ (or at least someone who was aware of Jesus’ increasing influence) get into this argument, and John’s disciple then goes to John and says, “Look what’s happening! People are leaving you and going to him!”  

How does John answer? Does he feel jealous? Is he worried? Is he angry? No. His attitude is the polar opposite. It is a marvelous model of humility.

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of Him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:27-30

John is full of joy, joy that doesn’t care about his personal circumstances but only cares about how Christ’s name and message is going forth. I love the word picture John gives here. Imagine a friend of a man about to be married who, instead of being happy when the bride-to-be arrives, expresses resentment and jealousy. That would be absolutely shameful behavior; such a person would be no real friend of the man about to be married. John says he is like the proper friend; he rejoices because the bride and bridegroom are united. This is a model of perfect humility.

I love what Peter writes:

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. – I Peter 5:5b-6

If pride is our kryptonite, what separates us from our power, makes us weak, and can even kill us, then humility is what makes us healthy, causes us to remain connected to our source of power, unites us with Christ. Peter says to clothe ourselves with this humility, to put it on like clothing. Just as we choose what we wear with regards to physical clothing, we choose what we wear spiritually. We can wear pride (and look annoying and creepy in the process), or we can wear humility, and look beautiful, with the beauty of Christ Himself.   

Can we be humble superheroes? Absolutely! This is not a false humility we are to wear, kind of like Clark Kent’s nerdy-ness, but a genuine deferral of selfish wants and desires.  Like John, we should desire that Christ’s name goes forth, that the gospel goes out, and not care about what happens to us.

Picture the minutes before the sun rises in the morning. What happens to the stars? They fade and disappear. The sun is so much brighter than the stars that the stars just vanish. We are the stars; the sun is Christ. This should be our mindset; this should be our heart. He must increase; I must decrease.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians,

For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. – 2 Cor. 4:5

The greatest thing we can do as superheroes is point others to Christ. The last thing we want to do is point others somewhere else, least of all to ourselves.

A saying I like is “False apostles hustle themselves; true apostles humble themselves.” How do we humble ourselves? Billy Graham has written about twelve great practical steps to do this; here they are (from http://billygraham.org/story/twelve-ways-to-humble-yourself/):

 1.      Routinely confess your sin to God (Luke 18:9-14). All of us sin and fall short of the glory of God. However, too few of us have a routine practice of rigorous self-honesty examination. Weekly, even daily, review of our hearts and behaviors, coupled with confession to God, is an essential practice of humility.

 2.      Acknowledge your sin to others (James 3:2, James 5:16). Humility before God is not complete unless there is also humility before man. A true test of our willingness to humble ourselves is willingness to share with others the weaknesses we confess to God. Wisdom, however, dictates that we do so with others that we trust.

 3.      Take wrong patiently (1 Peter 3:8-17). When something is unjust we want to react and rectify it. However, patiently responding to the unjust accusations and actions of others demonstrates our strength of godly character and provides an opportunity to put on humility.

 4.      Actively submit to authority…the good and the bad (1 Peter 2:18). Our culture does not value submission; rather it promotes individualism. How purposely and actively do you work on submission to those whom God has placed as authorities in your life? Doing so is a good way to humble yourself.

 5.      Receive correction and feedback from others graciously (Proverbs 10:17, 12:1). In the Phoenix area, a local East valley pastor was noted for graciously receiving any negative feedback or correction offered. He would simply say “thank you for caring enough to share that with me, I will pray about it and get back to you.” Look for the kernel of truth in what people offer you, even if it comes from a dubious source. Always pray, “Lord, what are you trying to show me through this?”

 6.      Accept a lowly place (Proverbs 25:6,7). If you find yourself wanting to sit at the head table, wanting others to recognize your contribution or become offended when others are honored or chosen, then pride is present. Purpose to support others being recognized, rather than you. Accept and look for the lowly place; it is the place of humility.

 7.      Purposely associate with people of lower state than you (Luke 7:36-39). Jesus was derided by the Pharisees for socializing with the poor and those of lowly state. Our culture is very status conscious and people naturally want to socialize upward. Resist the temptation of being partial to those with status or wealth.

 8.      Choose to serve others (Philippians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Matthew 23:11). When we serve others, we are serving God’s purposes in their lives. Doing so reduces our focus on ourselves and builds the Kingdom of God. When serving another costs us nothing, we should question whether it is really servanthood.

 9.      Be quick to forgive (Matthew 18: 21-35). Forgiveness is possibly one of the greatest acts of humility we can do. To forgive is to acknowledge a wrong that has been done us and also to further release our right of repayment for the wrong. Forgiveness is denial of self. Forgiveness is not insisting on our way and our justice.

 10.  Cultivate a grateful heart (1 Thessalonians 5:18). The more we develop an attitude of gratitude for the gift of salvation and life He has given us, the more true our perspective of self. A grateful heart is a humble heart.

 11.  Purpose to speak well of others (Ephesians 4:31-32). Saying negative things about others puts them “one down” and us “one up.” Speaking well of others edifies them and builds them up. Make sure, however, that what you say is not intended as flattery.

 12.  Treat pride as a condition that always necessitates embracing the cross (Luke 9:23). It is our nature to be proud and it is God’s nature in us that brings humility. Committing to a lifestyle of daily dying to ourselves and living through Him is the foundation for true humility.

Before I close, I want to mention that if the kryptonite of pride is leading you or someone in your family to struggle with pornography, our association of churches recently sent a list of free filtering tools with descriptions. This information is copied below.

1. Open DNS - FREE router filtering tool

This tool is nice because it puts the content filter on your router. That means that any computer that uses your router for internet will automatically be filtered. However, if your computer is hooked up to an alternative internet source (such as a hot spot) this filter will do nothing. I like to use this along with a filter on my individual computer.

There are a few other router filters (like Netgear) but Open DNS is by far the best out there and the only one I would recommend.


2. Family Safety - FREE. Windows PC filtering tool

Microsoft Family Safety is nice because it’s integrated with Windows and allows multiple options of filtering (block adult content, all websites, monitoring emails, etc.).


3. K9 Web Protection - FREE. Works with Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone

A solid 3rd party tool similar to Family Safety.

4. Mac Parental Control - FREE built in Mac PC tool

Built into Mac Operating systems. The instructions will differ a little bit depending on which OS you have.

5.Norton Family - FREE (basic). Works with Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone

I have not used this tool but it has been consistently ranked one of the top web filters out there.



6. Qustodio - FREE. Works with Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone

Another useful tool.
Other lists of Top Choices

http://parental-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/596-best-parental-control-apps.html 

http://listoffreeware.com/list-of-best-free-parental-control-software/

 In closing, I implore you to seek the path of humility, of honesty before God, of running towards Him rather than away from Him, of setting everything right in your relationship with Him, and in keeping Him first and making knowing and loving Him more the goal of your life. As my dear but departed niece Emily has reminded me, our lives on Earth are short; let’s not waste another minute of them. God desires to use us as superheroes, but it is impossible for God to really use us until we repent of our pride and draw near to Him.
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