Zero Week: The Journey Begins

Discussion Board Entry #1
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Zero Week Activity Schedule:

Lesson Out: January 30th, 2005
Discussion on the Boards: Ongoing
Assignments due to Bud: Saturday, February 5th, 2005
Zero Week Chat: None scheduled by facilitator

Focus Verses: Isaiah 55:6-7; Phillipians 4:6-7

What one thing has the information from the course this beginning week shown you, or led you to experience for the first time, or just the first time in a while? Please share with the board.

As I begin the instruction of this course, I am led by the need to make some really important statements, even before the class begins.
There has been, in the not so distant past, quite a controversy broiling over the entire Jabez experience. I, having known the work and life of the author of the series for a very long time, have a natural bias. I have witnessed the dedication of this man to the purpose of Christ. That one dis-gruntled former associate who felt he was superior to the work, and the worker, set out to grub some sour grapes, and quite a few dollars for himself--that he chose to do this is lamentable--he chose poorly. But the true heart of a man is the reward he sees in this life, and the next. You would think that after what happened to Lucifer, this guy would have gotten a clue!

This course is an online, inter-active experience. I have chosen the title of "Effective Prayer" for a very particular reason. I do not wish, and will not permit, any facet of the "controversy" to take a postion in it. The nuggets of wisdom delivered here are, I believe, of the greatest benefit to those who will seriously apply themselves to the task. This is not an easy course, nor should it be.

But it is not a course about tough courses, either. The entire concept of having an effective prayer life is one of the most significant consequence. I said that I do not think that God is interested in answering your life questions. I firmly believe that to be true.

We talk about questions, and answers, and prayer. I made a bold statement to the course participants as to what I think God is, or is not interested in. I do not know the heart, or mind, of God. But I did want to shock perhaps a bit.
Most people, from my experience, have a very definite "opinion" about prayer, and their life in prayer. It has strange ways of showing itself. A few real life examples:

1. "I feel comfortable in my prayer life--it works for me."

Yeah, sure. It worked through the divorce, the adultery, the homelessness, the embezzlement, the abortion, and it sustained you through that crisis where your child fled from your home. It is your companion to, and from the bar. I really have no doubt that you ARE comfortable in this prayer life.

2. I've heard a Dad, in Counselling, desiring to know what to do about his gay son.

"I've prayed, and I've prayed about it, but he is still living a life of sin--an abomination to the Lord. I can't get him to change his "lifestyle". I just don't know what to do, but this boy is destroying my family!"

"So," I say, "what are you praying for? What do you want God to do?"

The Dad looked at me as if I had just landed.

"Well, I pray that God would deliver him from this evil sin, to deliver him from this abomination. I pray that this healing would come to my boy, and he would stop tearing my family apart over the whole, nasty, vulger, evil thing. But it's not working! I don't know what to do!"

Honestly delivered, intensely felt. And so far from God that it purely defies description.

3. I've stood by the bedside of a tortured body, containing a terrified soul.

"Why? Why would God do this to me? I've been praying for healing for months. Now it's too late. Why didn't God hear my prayer? Why didn't God answer my prayer?"

4. "I just don't know what to do! I am at my wit's end. The bills keep piling up, and the money just isn't coming in. I'm working two full time jobs, but I just can't make ends meet. I can't afford to go to School! God has completely let me down! I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed. I'm about to lose my apartment, there is no food in the refrigerator. I can't afford gas for my car. God let me down, again, as usual!"

And, perhaps the biggest one of all:

5. "There is no way that I would pray to a God who would let my child die of cancer. There is no God that would allow this to happen that I'm interested in praying to!"

Yes, they are real. Every one of them were statements uttered to me, in my face. There are many others that I could share with you, and I will as the course progresses. Stay tuned.



"Oh", you say, "I NEVER Blame God for anything!" Really? You want to bet?

How many of your present circumstances are you thinking that God won't fix?

Do you really think that God will just fly down, sit on your couch, look around for a minute, and then jump up and say "Oh here, let me get that for you!"



There is a huge chasm in the Bible. If you never cross it, you are lost. Period. It arrives very early in the Scriptures. And if you cannot find your way to get across the abyss, none of what will follow in this ten week experience will make any sense to you. If you are having problems now, I suggest you take a walk with me to the edge, and take a look.



Grab a Bible.

Open it to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis. (It's the first book in the Bible. I told you it happened early!)

Look at verse 1. (See, it really IS early!)

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen.1:1) NKJV

Stop!

We are at the edge. Be careful, I'd hate for you to fall. Let's take just a baby step back, shall we? I don't like being as tall as I am, and that's a long drop!

Pull up a stone, and let's talk a moment.

The distance to the next verse takes forever to walk across. In fact, you just couldn't do it.
Are you thinking I have lost my little mind?

Perhaps, let's see.

No, don't look at the second verse. It doesn't matter. Just close your Bible for a minute, and sit with me and consider verse 1 for a minute, okay?

Works will not get you across the never-ending canyon. You can't "Do" anything that will force some secret panel to open, releasing a moving sidewalk. No helicopters are coming. You can't create one. If you work every moment from this one, to your last one, you will not create a way across the chasm. And, I must tell you that my two pals gravity, and HIS pesky sidekick inertia really don't care whether or not you believe in them, either. They still do what they do, just like they were created to do, every single time. If you step off the edge there, you are going to fall. You just won't stop falling.

Oh, and by the way, there's no secret word to utter, either. There's no secret password, or handshake to get across.

You see, it has to be a really big, deep, wide chasm. Why, do you think, that is?

Just think about it a minute, ok?

You really want a clue don't you! I can tell.

Ok, but just one. Don't tell anybody I told you this, ok? Promise? YOU SWARE??




To who? Who is it that you swear to? Your promise, I mean?
The name of this course is "Effective Prayer". That's the clue.

Now tell me the truth. Were you about to tell me that you swear to God? Really?
That's a lie.

How do I know? Easy. Take a minute, and look down at your feet. Where are they?
Right here, right? I mean, right here where you and I are. On THIS side of the chasm.

"The earth was without form, and void." (Gen.1:2)NKJV The chasm, defined.

You see, my friend, the chasm has to be large enough to hold the entire earth. All of it's people that were, are now, or ever will be will wind up there. All of our industry, our parks and streams, and our skyscrapers. Our roads have to fit in there, too. Everything that has been, or ever will be invented, or created by man has to fit in the chasm.

Of course, that includes our hopes, and our dreams, too. Our thoughts and our fears, our pain and our joy has to go into the chasm. Everything on Earth. Even our prayers have to go into the chasm too. Well, most of them, anyway. Some of them don't.

Our sin has to go in there too. Every one of them. Every unkind deed gets tossed into the mix inside the Chasm, too. There is nothing that we count as worthy that won't wind up there. Not our jobs, or our "stuff". Nothing. Well, almost nothing.

Okay, before I beat a dead horse beyond recognition, let me ask you a question.

Do you think that we can ever hope to get across the chasm, to the other side? Is there anything, based upon what I've said so far, that holds out any, even one hope for us to get across this never-ending pit?

In the Zero Week lesson, I told you that we must do something very specific. What was it? Well, let's look back at the lesson material. Oh, believe me, we've got time.

One of the comments that I've already received from one of the course participants is the noticed absence of mentions of Jesus Christ. A member of the class was somewhat surprised, and a little angry. Good! Great! Huzzah! More on that in a minute.

Very early on in the lesson material I said, and I quote me:

"Effective Prayer is dealing with God on God’s terms."

God is, before there was a was. And, here we sit, right at the edge of the chasm. In this moment, we are the accumulated compilation of all we have ever been. You, and I. We sit here, side by side, looking as hard as we can, and we cannot see the other side of the Chasm.

Who cares? Why does it matter? What's the big deal?

Well, it's really simple. Everything which follows verse one is on the other side of the chasm. And God, being God, says that if you and I don't play by HIS rules, we don't get to play at all. "My Game, My Rules!" And if we want to go any further on this journey, we have to get across the chasm. It would really suck to be stuck over here for the rest of forever, dontcha think?

How's that for hopelessness?

Yet, that's where we are. And until we figure out the clues, this is where we are gonna be stuck. God says so. It's His game. Read verse 1 again.

Perhaps we are ready to think about getting off of this starting spot, this "Zero" Position, and start the Journey. Take as much time as you want to. God's got forever. Do you?

Again, back to the lesson. I made a statement that one member has already taken me to task for making. I said, we should pray only to God. I then said that God alone answers all prayer. I stand by my statements. Right here. On this side of the chasm.

With you. Not with God, with you.

God isn't here.

Oh, about that praying stuff. There's lots of prayers in the chasm too. They never made it across. Why? Because they were not effective. They didn't have the trajectory, the speed, or the proper direction. Into the chasm they fell.

Maybe, right about now, you can make out some movement in the air. You feel that breeze?
Yeah, it feels good. You know, like when you open your eyes, and feel good after you pray?
Friend, that breeze you are feeling is an ill wind.

It is carrying every single prayer that is headed into the Chasm. Look up, and see if you can make out any that you might recognize. Are there any you can make out? Are any of them yours?

There is only one way across the chasm, but there IS a way. Turn around here with me for a moment, and let's look at verse 1 again. "In the beginning, God..."

Is it just usual, normal, human intuition that causes you to want to cross the chasm? Are you just plain ole nosey? Does not knowing something just make you crazy?

Or is it something else? Maybe you are hurting. Maybe you are lost, and don't know how to find your way home. Maybe you are dying. Maybe, just maybe, you are just plumb wore out.
God doesn't care. He really doesn't.

Whoa! Now That's a statement! Pretty bold, dontcha think?
Nah, it's easy. I can guarantee it.

How? Cause we are standing on this side of the chasm, friend. God has absolutely nothing to do with anything on this side of the Chasm. We, standing here on this side of the great abyss, represent to God every single thing that God completely despises. Whatever you can name that God hates, it's over here. And, if you can't figure out the way across, that's where you are gonna spend a really long time. Yes, God really IS that viscious, mean, heartless, evil, ugly, vengeful, and completely torqued. Towards you? Me? Yep, you bet.
How can that be?

We're over here, and we are NOT over there, that's how. It is really entirely that simple. There is nothing that follows that. And, until you deal with that, there is not gonna be any change in your life.

So, what is the way across the chasm?
Jesus can't get you across it. Satan is over here where we are. He obviously isn't going to help. He's really kind of hoping you don't figure it out.

Look, I told you in the lesson we had to go back to the beginning. Here we are. At the very beginning. Finally, here we are.

God declares that He, alone, is the Creator of Heaven. God declares that He, alone, is the Creator of Earth. As long as you dance around that, you are dancin' on the wrong side of the dancefloor. And God doesn't care. You really need to get it. He doesn't care. It's not about you. It's not about me. It's about God!

"I don't believe the Bible is the inerrant, literal, Word of God! It's just an adventure story! It's just words, created by man, for man's purposes. I don't have to believe in God, and I sure don't have to believe that this 'Buy-Bull' is His Word."

Go ahead, dance! Actually, you are pretty good at it.

"I believe parts of the Bible. But there's stuff in there you can't prove. And, until it is proven to my satisfaction, I'm just not going to take it as Gospel!" Really? Interesting Choice.

"There's whole different bunches of ways to believe. As long as it's right for me, it's true. I don't believe in absolute truth!"

Gosh, you've got just gangs of energy. Keep dancin'. God doesn't care. But when you finally get all danced out, do me just one little favor, would ya?






Look down. Look at where your feet are.



And, when you get so weary from dancin', and whistlin' in the wind, let me know.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth." (Genesis 1:1)

You've just memorized all the Bible you will ever know. And, at this rate, you are going to spend the rest of forever remembering it. God just doesn't care.

Why not?

Good question. Have a seat, and let's talk about it.



Until you have, within your soul, the absolute conviction of the truth of Genesis 1:1, God doesn't care. Jesus doesn't matter. Paul holds no meaning for you. John's revelation is nothing more than the very first Science Fiction Novel. Calvary didn't happen. No garden, no boat, no angels, no promises. No hope.

But, if you ever get to that moment in the center of all that you are, or ever hope to be, that you must get across the chasm or die, don't let me know. I can't get you across the distance. Jesus can't either. In fact, he won't even lift a finger to help you. There is no one in the entire universe, except you, and God. So, I guess you have a pretty simple choice. You can talk to yourself, and whistle in the wind. Or, you can talk to God. There is no one else.

And, if you decide to talk to God, don't worry. You don't have to yell loud enough to carry your voice across the vast expanse of the chasm. Just whisper. He knows His own name. He doesn't love to hear His name spoken. He doesn't care.

But, Boy, Howdy! Does God love it when you whisper His name. You see, God can tell by HOW you call his name. That is the moment when God knows it's all about Him. He's God.

And, when you whisper His name, He comes at a full gallop, until He is suddenly all the way across the chasm. Hey, He's God. He can do it. And, He will, every time. When He hears you crying out to him over here, where you are, He comes arunnin' as fast as anything, just to get to you. And He will talk with YOU! And, then, just watch what happens.

When you just vomit all the stuff that is the entire compilation of what you are into the chasm until there's nothing left, then and only then can you get across the chasm.

You see, nothing that belongs in the chasm is allowed over there, on the other side, on the Genesis 1:3 side of the hole with no bottom. That's God Country over there, and He keeps it clean. Spotless, in fact. And, when you are so very tired of all the stuff over here, and you fully know in your Heart that Genesis 1:1 is undeniably true, God Himself will carry you across the chasm.

And, the most amazing thing will begin to happen. As you fly across the chasm of Genesis 1:2, God sets you gently down on the other side, right at the beginning of a love story He wrote just for you, in this very moment. It starts with God telling you what to expect. He's gonna show you around all the stuff that He made, just for you. You get to hear about it right where you land, in Genesis 1:3, and for every single verse after that.

Don't worry, friend. He gives you all the time that you need to empty your pockets, and even throw your pants and shoes into that nasty, ugly place. (Hey, He's God! He created you, and He loves what He created. That's the whole garden scene, remember? "They were naked, and yet were not ashamed.") (Genesis 2:25) NKJV (That means you can look up the verse yourself, and see what it says, and talk to God about what it really means.)

And, when you are fully ready, you, and God, will walk squarely into Genesis 1:3. And God, so happy to be with you, will begin showin' you around the place. He will show you what He created just for you. He will walk with you, and sit with you, and just BE with you.

And, everything back there--you know, in the big dig? Is there anything you really would bring? Really?
Funny thing about Dad. He never stops you from going back to the edge. Most people (well, just those with belly buttons, actually) do visit the hole from time to time. Just to remember what was, for some stupid reason.

I wouldn't waste so much as one breath, one heartbeat--not one moment there. God doesn't go there. He doesn't care. He cares about what came across. And He becomes "Dad". He smiles a lot, laughs loud, and hugs like you just simply cannot conceive. He delights in the hearts of His children. His kids are his very best work.

Ummm, that's you.

And, that is effective prayer. It is, for every one of God's kids, our very FIRST effective prayer. It reaches across the chasm, beyond the stars and thunders into the very throneroom of the King of Creation.

It makes a noise louder than a fart in Church. (Sorry.)

Everybody there hears it, but there is only One who can recognize it as the sweet voice of a child. And what Dad can hear the small, still, sweet voice of their child crying "Daddy? I need You!" and not come running as fast as he can, crying tears of the broken heart?

How much moreso, then, will God come to you? Where you are? And give you the desires of your heart?



Jabez knew it. Do you?



That is the purpose of this course. It's about you, it's all about you and God. And if you can, after all this, still dance "over there", you are choosing poorly.

Mohammed hasn't been seen in these parts since he died. Buddha is a bust. There's not gonna be any stampedin' cattle, Holy or otherwise. The universe won't fill you with happy thoughts and waft you carefully across the chasm. The Koran will not magically spit out a magic carpet. Diana ain't in the building. You can't beg, barter, or trade anything you have to get across. God, and God alone is the only way across the Chasm.

Only when you fully understand, and agree in the very center of your soul, and your forever, that it's all about Him, will you get across that endless realm that is even huge enough to contain all your "I think"s, and "I believe"s, and every thing that is not "THOU art the God of Creation!"

Sorry, but that really is the very simple truth of it. Anything that does not look like just that, just has to come from "over there". And, "over there", on the Genesis 1:1 side of the chasm, ya know? There is no such thing as effective prayer. Except one. That's why we are talking, my friend. If you want to get to the other side of the chasm, you first have to realize that you are NOT ON the other side of the chasm. And, sometimes, that takes some real hard work.

You see, that is the first secret of effective prayer.

You might want to make a list you can keep for this course. There are several we will look at and others I will mention as we journey on, toward effective prayer.

Secret Number 1: Effective Prayer comes from the center of your heart, and goes directly to the heart of God. It is your cry to God. That IS prayer. And, God comes running to you. and THAT is EFFECTIVE prayer. The focus verses for "Zero Week" tell us that we are to pray, to God. God commands it, and He hears it.

"And Jabez called upon (cried out to) the God of Israel..." (1 Chronicles: 4:10a)NKJV

Spend as much time as you need "over there". I got gardens to play in with my Dad. But, when you are REALLY ready, I hope you will come play with us. We just really do love it when new kids come to play.


May You Be Blessed, Indeed!

Bud Fields
New Albany, Indiana