Successes and Failures

Two weeks ago I had a realization. In my car on the way home from the office I was turning over some events that had transpired. On one hand, we are getting a lot accomplished in the life of Round Lake Christian Church and this feels good. It feels like God is at work, we are moving in His Spirit, and our eyes are focusing on the light of Christ. However, I found that in some areas, my wife was unhappy. I might not be accused of being negligent, but I certainly could be doing better. On one hand we are succeeding at RLCC but on the other hand it feels as if many times these successes come at the expense of my family.

That same week a member of our church body went to be with Jesus. She was 89 and had loved Jesus very much. I was able to spend time with the family and prepare for the memorial service. It was a great opportunity for ministry. However, I neglected to inform a family in our church who was having a baby shower on the same day at the same time at the church building. It was shaping up to be quite an odd experience, what with a baby shower and memorial service on the same day. Again, success with the memorial service, failure with the baby shower.

So on the way home I'm thinking and this realization comes to me. "Every success in life requires a failure in some other area. And every failure in life means there is success in another area." It was both a sobering and uplifting realization. I am not perfect. I live and die by the grace of God. Even when I have blinders on and think that all is well, I am still a sinful human being. The war for my heart is not over, I need to continue to endure to the end. No matter how much success I may perceive at home, in the church, in my personal sanctification, in my devotional life, I need to realize that by nature I have still failed somewhere.

But the flipside is true as well. No matter how big my failures of sin and ignorance, there is always success in it. The success is that Jesus takes those things and produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope (check out Romans 5). Thanks be to God for failures because they give me a chance to recognize that I still need Jesus. He is my success, my hope, my great joy. I can say, like Paul, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:24-25)

Remember today that every success is a failure in some area of your life and that every failure is equally a success in another area. Trust God in that. Live in that. Grow from it.

Leadership Lessons from Charles Swindoll

Some really good insights from the latest email newsletter of PreachingNow. Just something for all of God's servants to consider:

SWINDOLL'S LEADERSHIP LESSONS

Chuck Swindoll was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at last week's Catalyst '09 Conference. During his presentation, he described "10 Things I Have Learned During Nearly 50 Years in Leadership." Here's the list:

1) It's lonely to lead. Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decision, the lonelier it is.

2) It's dangerous to succeed. I'm most concerned for those who aren't even 30 and are very gifted and successful. Sometimes God uses someone right out of youth, but usually He uses leaders who have been crushed.

3) It's hardest at home. No one ever told me this in seminary.

4) It's essential to be real. If there's one realm where phoniness is common, it's among leaders. Stay real.

5) It's painful to obey. The Lord will direct you to do some things that won't be your choice. Invariably you will give up what you want to do for the cross.

6) Brokenness and failure are necessary.

7) Attitude is more important than actions. Your family may not have told you: Some of you are hard to be around. A bad attitude overshadows good actions.

8) Integrity eclipses image. Today we highlight image, but it's what you're doing behind the scenes.

9) God's way is better than my way.

10) Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.

Blessed Are The Merciful

Am I merciful? Am I forgiving? These are extremely important questions. In fact, how we answer these questions has huge implications for the state of our souls. Listen to some words from the book of Matthew.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (5:7)

"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (6:14-15)

"It is not the healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (9:12-13)

"And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." (18:34-35)

Why is it that we can not receive mercy unless we have first been merciful? So that we don't misunderstand the text and think that God's forgiveness of us is based on our forgiving others, let's restate the point. Only those who know how much they have been forgiven are able to forgive others. And if this is true, then the inverse must be as well, which is, if we do not know how to forgive others, then we have not known forgiveness.

What a scary thing to consider. Are you able to forgive and let go of a grudge? Are you able to love the unloveable? Consider God's mercy in Jesus Christ. How rich, full, wide, and deep that mercy and forgiveness is. That while you were still yet a sinner Christ died for you. Not based on how good you are or what you have accomplished. Rather because of your lust, your lying, your hatefulness, your pride, your vanity, your dirty little secret, Jesus died for you. And yet we as "Christians" can be so merciless, so unforgiving. We get upset about another church's style. We get upset because we were slighted by a friend. We get upset because someone didn't like our ideas. We upset because that person caused us personal emotional injury.

What did you expect? They are forgiven, just like you. And if they are forgiven, it means they have sinned. And if they have sinned, until they become fully mature in Christ, they will continue to battle sin. But on the other hand, they are forgiven, just like you. And if you are forgiven, then you should in turn find it quite easy to forgive an equally sinful, equally forgiven brother or sister. I am praying that I can learn what real mercy is all about. That I could know the forgiveness that God offers so that I may extend that same forgiveness to all those who I come into contact with.

I'm going to be on TV

I don't normally write blogs about what's going on in my life, but this is an interesting thing that has recently happened to me. We have someone in our church who works at TBN, (yes you read that right), and has asked Chuck (our youth minister) and myself if we'd be willing to be interviewed. We both said yes. But what I am finding difficult is what I want to talk about.

This blog is based on the fact that I have the message of God burning within and I can't hold it or I will explode. These interviews that we are to do will be on the one "non-religious" programming that the FCC (not florida christian college) requires TBN to carry. Therefore, we are not allowed to talk at length about Jesus, the church, or things of a spiritual nature. My topic is to discuss family. So my concern is, how do I talk about family without talking about Jesus?

This is not an easy thing for me. I believe that Jesus is at the core of the family unit. I believe that without a proper understanding of God and His plan of creation and redemption, then we can not properly understand the dynamics of a family. I guess I did not realize how difficult the task would be when I agreed.

What I plan on doing is focusing my efforts on the externals of a family, how sin has caused the break down of the family (won't use the word sin of course) and what a proper family would look like. Please pray for Chuck and myself as we try to figure out how to be true to God in this task.

Who's Writing Our Sermons?

"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." I Corinthians 1:21-25

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." I Corinthians 2:12-13

Paul was very clear on this matter. He did not author this message of Christ and Christ crucified. Not Paul, nor any Jew, nor any Gentile had authored this message which Paul preached. It's too crazy to the world! How ridiculous does it seem to us that God, the master and creator of the universe would be willing to die for a creation that had rejected Him? How many husbands would naturally be inclined to welcome back a wife who had cheated on him multiple times and had never shown much affection for him? Better yet, what if your friend kept taking back a wife who had cheated on him multiple times? What kind of words would you use to describe that friend? Most of the words would have derived from one, "foolish."

Paul's message was so crazy, that it had to have come from God. Paul takes no credit for the message he preached. How can preachers learn from this? By asking the question, "who writes my sermons?" I am finding that far too often there is a tendency for preachers today to fill their sermons with the wisdom of this world. We begin with a need we see in the world and then search for that scripture which helps us to alleviate the pain of that need. We then get caught up in "writing" sermons, chocked full of ideas, stories, and advice.

But preaching is not a religious advice talk. It is not just another form of communication. It is the means by which God has ordained for the truth of the Gospel to be spread. It is by hearing that sinners are saved, it is by the power of the Word that the dead are brought to life. Life is inherent in the words of Christ and if that life is to be had, then it is the words of Christ that must be spoken in our sermons. We need to be sold out on the fact that God is the author of our sermons. He does the writing, we do the preaching. That's how it worked for Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Paul, Peter, Luther, Spurgeon, and all other faithful ministers of the Word. Where God spoke, they spoke.

So who writes our sermons? Do we spend more time digging for truth in the text or more time thinking of a creative way to explain the text? Is our energy in understanding and applying God's word to our own lives or in figuring out how to captivate people's attention? Are the sermons we preach full of scripture and the power of the cross or are they full of quotations and the power of the laugh? Who is writing your sermons?

Striped Candy Worship

It is now common practice in most evangelical churches to offer the people, especially the young people, a maximum of entertainment and a minimum of serious instruction. It is scarcely possible in most places to get anyone to attend meeting where the only attraction is God. One can only conclude that God's professed children are bored with Him, for they must be wooed to meeting with a stick of striped candy in the form of religious movies, games, and refreshments.

This has influenced the whole pattern of church life, and even brought into being a new type of church architecture designed to house the golden calf.

So we have the strange anomaly of orthodoxy in creed and heterodoxy in practice. The striped candy technique has been so fully integrated into our present religious thinking that it is simply taken for granted. Its victims never dream that it is not a part of the teachings of Christ and His apostles.

Any objections to the carryings-on of our present golden calf Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, "But we are winning them!" And winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross carrying? To self denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To a despising of the world's treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total commital to Christ? Of course, the answer to all these questions is "no."

Quote from "Man: The Dwelling Place of God." by A.W. Tozer

When were these words written? Take a guess. I can't be exactly sure, but sometime during the 50's or early 60's when A.W. Tozer was editor of The Alliance. I'm sure the talk about striped candy tipped you off that they may have been written a while ago, but the part about how the church looks sounds eerily familiar.

I especially am drawn to the response of some when we confront them with talk of "golden calf Christianity." "But we are winning them," they say. And Tozer replies winning them to what? If anything makes my heart burn it is this. What are our churches winning people to? We see baptisms and memberships, but are these things our mission? Is that what we are here for?

Lately I've been listening to John Piper's sermon series on John. A thought from John, (the Gospel, not Piper) is pounding in my head. That there were a group of people who believed in the signs and wonders of Jesus, but Jesus would not entrust Himself to them. What is that all about? People were showing up in crowds and really believed that He could do miracles, but He was rejecting them. Why? Doesn't Jesus want everybody? Why would He reject those who come believing?

Because, it says in John 3, He knew their hearts. He knew that they were coming for the striped candy, for the miracles. And Jesus is no candy man. He is not a peddler of sweet satisfaction, but the Savior of sinners. We love to quote II Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." We focus on the wishing part and not the repentance. But what does Peter go on to say?

II Peter 3:10-11, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!"

We are not attracting people with striped candy. Our worship is not for them. Our small groups are not for them. Our churches are not for them. Our worship is backwards because our theology is backwards, and our theology is backwards because our worship is backwards. It begins, is sustained, and ends with the glory of God. Let us stop making our striped candy and start proclaiming the saving power and riches of Jesus Christ!

What Think Ye Of Christ?

"Ordained into the Church of England ministry in 1842, he (Reverend William Haslam) served conscientiously in a parish of North Cornwall. He was a Tractarian clergyman with a hearty dislike for dissenters, and an authority in things antiquarian and architectural. But he was not satisfied, having no spring of living water within him. Then in 1851, nine years after his ordination, while preaching the gospel of the day on the text, 'What think ye of Christ?', the Holy Spirit (in answer no doubt to many prayers) opened his eyes to see the Christ of whom he was speaking, and his heart to believe in him. The change which came over him was so obvious that a local preacher, who happened to be in church, jumped up and shouted, 'The parson is converted! Hallelujah!', at which hi svoice was drowned by the praises of 300 or 400 of the congregation. As for Haslam himself, he 'joined in the outburst of praise, and, to make it more orderly... gave out the Doxology... and the people sang it with heart and voice, over and over again.' The news spread like wildfire 'that the parson was converted, and that by his own sermon, in his own pulpit!' His conversion was the beginning of a great revival in his parish, which lasted for nearly three years, with a vivid sense of God's presence, and conversions almost daily, while in later years God called him into the most unusual ministry of leading many of his fellow clergy to a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ." (Stott Between Two Worlds pg 263)

Thought this was an interesting story of how the Holy Spirit can work in spite of the preacher... the exception rather than the rule, but interesting nonetheless.

Charles Spurgeon Quote From a sermon entitled "The Bible"

Can you imagine preaching like this today?

"Ah! you know more about your ledgers than your Bible; you know more about your day-books than what God has written; many of you will read a novel from beginning to end, and what have you got? A mouthful of froth when you have done. But you cannot read the Bible; that solid, lasting, substantial, and satisfying food goes uneaten, locked up in the cupboard of neglect; while anything that man writes, a catch of the day, is greedily devoured. "I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing." [Hosea 8:12]

Ye have never read it. I bring the broad charge against you. Perhaps, ye say, I ought not to charge you with any such thing. I always think it better to have a worse opinion of you than too good an one[italics mine]. I charge you with this: you do not read your Bibles. Some of you have never read it through. I know I speak what your heart must say is honest truth. You are not Bible readers. You say you have the Bible in your houses; do I think you are such heathens as not to have a Bible? But when did you read it last? How do you know that your spectacles, which you have lost, have not been there for the last three years? Many people have not turned over its pages for a long time, and God might say unto them, "I have written unto you the great things of my law, but they have been accounted unto you a strange thing."

Rejoicing Over What God Has Prepared

sermon manuscript from 7/19/09

From Darkness to Light:

There is nothing more devastating than an overwhelming sense of hopelessness. It is a sad human condition to feel lost and tossed to and fro. To have the flood of pointlessness and purposelessness destroy your desire to function morning after morning after morning. It comes like a slow tide, like a dark cloud pressing in on us from every side.

We feel it as individuals. We wake up one day and realize that we don't love our spouse, we don't enjoy our children, and we really hate the dog. We begin to dread the monotony of a job where we serve to do nothing more than earn money, so we can pay the bills, so we can keep the things that somebody else will claim when we die. Hopelessness invades us on every side like a heavy darkness, so heavy that we feel squashed under its pressure.

We feel it as a nation. The honey moon is over and we now realize that we have our problems just like every other nation that has ever existed. Darkness crowds in around us as we lose our jobs, our income, our houses. Our national security is not impenetrable, we see that we can be attacked. Other nations are catching up and even surpassing us in technology. People are finally beginning to realize that America will not be around forever. Hopelessness begins to set in as the darkness swirls over our heads.

But we feel it as the church as well. Pastors are sleeping with their secretaries and we're not surprised. Churches are backing down on the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to eternal life. Churches are realizing that we have relied on budgets and people for far too long. People are leaving our churches to try and find what they're looking for somewhere else. The church looks more like Wal-Mart or Golden Corral than the people of God. We find ourselves wondering where we can go to “hear the word of the Lord?” The church seems to practice a form of godliness without the power. It feels mundane, hopeless, almost as if there is a great darkness settling in on us that would keep us from rejoicing in who God is and what He has done.

Let me tell you something from God's word that will revolutionize the way you experience the darkness. If darkness and hopelessness has settled in, it is because God is preparing to shine His light and eradicate that darkness. When we're encroached by darkness we fail to see what God is preparing. And what God is always preparing is a sudden burst of light that pierces the darkness.

Some call it restoration

Some call it reform

Some call it revival

But whatever we call it when God reveals Himself in the midst of darkness, despair, and downright hopelessness, we need to Rejoice in what God is preparing. And then when He suddenly shows up, we need to rejoice over what He has prepared. Just consider some examples of God's mighty work in the midst of darkness.

When Abraham and Sarah were 100 and 90 years old and did not have the child yet that God had promised them, Sarah conceived and gave birth to the promised baby boy.

When the nation of Israel had been in captivity for 430 years in Egypt, slaves buried deep under the bondage of darkness, God suddenly swooped down and brought them out of bondage.

When Israel was massively outnumbered in the promised land, God went before them and wiped out their enemies.

When Israel was pinned down by the Philistines and a giant named Goliath, God stirred up a young man named David to march out there and slay the giant with one sling of a stone.

When Elijah prayed for rain, it rained.

When Hezekiah prayed for healing, he received it.

When Daniel was in the lion's den, God rescued him.

When the whole world was lost in sin, Jesus came down to this earth to die on a cross for us.

When there had never been a darker day than the day Jesus died, then three days later, at the crack of dawn, He was alive.

In the darkest hours, God is preparing to reveal to us His marvelous light. So are you in hopelessness this morning? Church, are we burdened under the weight of this dark hour? Then let us examine just one of the infinite examples of how God brings about revival during the times when it seems the darkest. Turn with me to II Chronicles 29.

The Darkness of the Reign of Ahaz:

Read II Chronicles 29:1-11. What incredible darkness and hopelessness Hezekiah sees oppressing God's people! And if you were to go back only a chapter, you would quickly discover that this darkness of despair had been brought about by his own father, Ahaz. See what Ahaz had done. Read 28:1-4; 22-27. For 16 years he sacrificed children, worshiped idols, sold pieces of God's Temple. He shut the doors of the temple in Jerusalem, symbolic of the fact that God's presence was shut off from the nation. For 16 years, the nation of Judah existed under the darkness of the sin of Ahaz. It was into this darkness that Hezekiah assumed the throne at the age of 25. What a burden to have placed on your shoulders.

But God raises up this young king to bring about revival among God's people. With the priests and levites gathered together, Hezekiah describes the hopeless state of the nation. He speaks of the sins of their fathers, the death and destruction of their families, the uncleanness of the temple. It is literally dark, as he says that the lamps have been put it out, but it is also spiritually dark as the people have turned their backs on God. But all during this darkness of the reign of Ahaz, God has been working to prepare something great among His people.

This is how God works. He is like a great baker, constantly stirring and adding and agitating. He is always at work to bring about the desired result. Like the baker who spends hours preparing the ingredients and tweaking the recipe, God can spend months, years, and even generations preparing His work. And when baking the baker takes the prepared eggs and flour and chocolate and vanilla and places it into the oven to sit. God takes the work He is preparing, the perceived darkness in our lives and He lets us sit under the pressure of our own sin and folly. But when just enough time has passed, not too much and not too little, the baker takes out the perfectly prepared cake for the customers to enjoy. And when God, in His providence and wisdom, deems the time right, He will bring about something so great, that the people will rejoice in what He has done. But the cake doesn't come without preparation and revival doesn't happen without darkness.

Now, don't be mistaken here. Just because God is at work in our darkest hours, we are not relieved of all responsibility. Like Hezekiah, we need to recognize the hopeless state of our lives, nation, and churches for what is really happening. When darkness and hopelessness set in, it is not just some arbitrary pain that we are going through. Sin is crouching behind that darkness. Ahaz was overcome by unfaithfulness and sin, so the nation was engulfed in unfaithfulness and sin. Hezekiah knew that the people needed to repent. And this is what he called them to.

Repentance of Hezekiah:

Look at 29:15-19. It was time to clean house! The temple in Jerusalem stood as an example of what was going on in the whole nation. God's presence was shadowed by the uncleanness of their hearts. So for 16 days, one day for each year of darkness, the priests and levites set out to remove all the filth from before God's presence. This is the work of repentance!

When darkness and sin entangle us, our tendency is to place blame. If our marriage is failing, we want to find a scapegoat. If we enter into an adulterous relationship, we blame it on our circumstances. If our church is in disarray, we blame it on others. Sin likes to remain hidden behind our own maneuverings. Sin finds a way to keep us shooting at one another, while we avoid the real issue. Hezekiah would have nothing to do with this. It was time to get into the temple and get things back to the way they were meant to be.

And repentance is thorough. It took them 8 days just to get to the porch! They left nothing unturned and made sure to restore every utensil, the altar, and the table of showbread. There is no doubt that many of us want to see spiritual awakening in our lives. But how thorough are we willing to be in repentance? This is the breaking point of the revival that God is bringing about. He is pushing us towards holiness. God's presence was removed from the people because sin had overtaken their lives. Darkness and despair set in where ever we have allowed it to creep.

If we read on in verses 20-24 we would see that not only did they cleanse the temple, but they offered sin offerings for the people. The stirring that God was doing in Hezekiah's heart had repentance at its root. This is how God works. He stirs us to repentance, to obedience to His word. If you want to see a great revival in your life or in this nation or in the church, then stop passing the buck. Take a stand against sin in your life. You can be assured that God is always calling us to that.

There is this bad habit of not taking responsibility for our own sin. We say things like, "I am a good husband, I wash the cars, do the dishes, give back rubs." But what about when she makes you really angry? What are you like in your darkest moments? It is then that your heart is truly revealed. What do you do at night when you are at your weakest? This will reveal to you your darkest secrets. Oh, when the church friends are over, hide the alcohol. But after they leave and I am all alone, it is time to drink away my sorrows. True repentance happens when God reveals those sins that few if anyone knows about. What is it for you? Where is God shining His light of truth on your dark heart?

Don't shut the doors of your heart in shame and guilt, like Ahaz shut the doors of the temple. Repent! Turn towards God. Start cleaning out the temple. We must work our way through the unclean thoughts, the dirty deeds, the overwhelming baggage. As each one of us begins our journey to the presence of God, we will see the glorious sight of God raising up a people ready to worship Him.

Temple Worship Is Restored:

Over the last months we have spent a lot of time talking about worship. We have defined worship as a lifestyle of loving God because of who He is and what He has done. But what happens when people are gathered together who have that lifestyle? How do they respond to the glory of God? Well we see very clearly in II Chronicles 29. Read verses 25-31.

Do you ever feel like you're forcing it when we gather together? Like its just a lot of work to put on the smile, sing songs, and act like every thing's ok? Maybe because we come expecting to see something that's not already happening in our lives. But look at the response of the people. They are moved to sing and to offer up sacrifices to God. They are bowing before God and worshiping Him as King. How powerful it would be to be there! But why must we relegate revival to stories in the Bible? Why must we pretend as if this is a nice fairy tale that happens elsewhere?

We do it because we do not have a big enough faith. If our faith was large enough, we would have no problem believing that God could really move us and shake us. Remember what these people had just experienced 16 years of. Children being sacrificed, the temple being closed, invasions from other countries, pure destruction on every side. They had no reason to trust in God. But because Hezekiah had big enough faith that repentance and obedience would be enough, you see a city set on fire for God.

Do you believe it? Then do it! Come worshiping, leave worshiping. When we sing, sing loud. Not because it's what we do, but because we're singing to the King. Don't hesitate to raise your hands in worship or bow before the King. Oh but we don't do that here! Well these people sure didn't hesitate to fall on their faces before God. What would you do if so moved by the Holy Spirit? What sacrifice are you going to bring today? Offer something up to Him, not because you have to but because He's so worthy. These people brought so many sacrifices, that the priests couldn't keep up. Oh to be in a church where the people were serving and giving so much that the leadership couldn't keep them all organized. What a wonderful problem to have! Get moved by God's Spirit.

Frank and Zarine Estelle, members from our church, felt led by God to go to the Apache people of the White River tribe. They didn't wait to make that decision, they were going no matter what. They didn't wait for my approval or the church's approval, they were going. Why? Out of obedience and worship.

Rob and Brooke have been with our church for a long time. They have been involved in youth ministry, children's ministry, and led the creative arts ministry. But not until recently did God move them towards something. They feel like they are being led by God to get involved with the poverty stricken families of the Appalachian mountains. They didn't wait for my approval or Dan's or the churches. God moved them and they are going. Brooke will be enrolling in Bible college in NC this fall and preparing to use her artistic ability and teaching skills. Rob has been blessed by God with the gift of craftsmanship. Together they are following after God in faith and trusting His leading.

How will God move you to serve, to give, to sacrifice? Is it taking in a child who needs a home? Is it becoming a mother who shares God's word with her children daily? Is it selling your possessions to be able to give more? Is it giving to those who do not have? Is it abandoning your comfort to get involved in another families life so that they can see the love of Jesus? How will you surrender yourself to God and worship Him? Get on with it! When we are worshiping, God will show up! Our singing will not be forced, our posture will change, our giving will not be fruitless. Does the hour seem dark in your life, our nation, and the church? Become a full throttle worshiper of God. Then you will see what God has prepared.

29:36

Read verse 36. Let me be very clear about two things from this verse. 1st of all, revival does not have to take time. Do not fall into this lie. If we all surrendered ourselves before God this morning, and I mean truly surrendered, He could bring about revival in an instant. The people here rejoiced because for 16 years there had been darkness over the land, but in an instant God had turned their hearts back to Him.

And that leads me to the second part. Revival is prepared by God and we should rejoice while He is preparing it. God is also the recipient of our worship in being revived, therefore we should rejoice over what He has prepared when we are in a season of great renewal. But notice that it begins and ends with God. Revival does not come because we start some new program. It will not come because we hire a worship minister. It will not come because we buy a new bus. Revival only comes because God prepares it in our hearts. It comes through repentance and obedience. And we will know it when we see it and we will rejoice.

Here's what blows me away about this whole scene with Hezekiah and all the people. They just got back to exactly what God had commanded Moses and the people to do! If Israel had never strayed from what God had prepared for them, they wouldn't need revival! It is in this way that the life of the redeemed mirrors this situation.

Are you in darkness this morning? Is our nation feeling despair? Does our church feel hopeless? Then we need the same thing we needed 2000 years ago, 100 years ago, yesterday, and what we'll need tomorrow. We need the death of Jesus Christ to take our darkness, despair, and hopelessness away. Fixing your marriage will not bring revival. Being a more ethical business person will not bring revival. Better programs will not bring revival. A stimulus package will not bring revival. A worship minister or preacher will not bring revival. Only the blood of Jesus Christ will pump life into your cold dead heart. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can save this nation. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can give His church something to hope in.

It was Jesus' death and resurrection that saved you. And it will be that same death and resurrection that will save you tomorrow and for all eternity. So why do we pursue other means to bring about revival to our church? Let me pull this thing into perspective for you. When it is all said and done and this life is over, there will only be two camps. The camp of Ahaz and the camp of Hezekiah. There will be dark, dead, hopelessness and there will be bright, living, worship. The first camp will be full of people who lived this life trying to breathe life into their marriage, their home, their bank account, their experience. The second camp will be full of men and women who fully put their trust in the blood of Jesus. They will be those who rejoiced in what God has prepared. So where will you be on that day? I pray that you will be able to rejoice over what God has prepared.

Disturbed by God

(Picture of Isaiah 6)

So naturally we cherish the hope that through our Bible reading we shall be comforted; we have no wish to be disturbed. Hence we tend to come to it with our minds made up, anxious to hear only the reassuring echoes of our own prejudice... We have to be willing for God himself to lay down the ground rules, and to decide what he wants to say to us, however uncongenial we may find it. (Between Two Worlds by John R.W. Stott)

Have you been disturbed by God's word lately? I felt the punch of this quotation in my own devotional life. Often I have found myself looking for comfort from the scriptures that will support my beliefs. It is a good excuse to read the Bible any way I want, on my terms. I search and search until I find something that comforts me where I am at and then when I have it I say, "Phew! I knew it was in there. Thanks you God for showing me that I was right about this." Ah, Lord God! How many times have I skipped over the passages that upset my equilibrium just to get to the familiar?

This is a plea for us preachers and all believers to stop at the passages that confuse us. Dig there until God reveals something to you. Don't rush to get to the familiar. I have driven I-95 so many times, it almost feels that I am on cruise control just as much as the car is. I fear that we read, preach, and teach God's word the same way. "There goes that billboard I love", "For God so loved the world", "Finally, 'Welcome to North Carolina", "Finally, out of Leviticus", and on and on. How many times do you run to the passages of comfort that you have known for a long time? My guess is that the more you do this, the more you are removed from the truth expressed in them. Dare to be disturbed by the Word. Dare to have your theology rocked. Dare to read Leviticus or to study Romans or to uncover Habbakuk.

When men and women of scripture, like Isaiah, were confronted with truths about God, they were not immediately comforted. They were frightened, discouraged, disturbed. They pronounced their uncleanness or were struck with the horror of their unworthiness. Yet we come to the Word and hope to get a quick pick me up. But the Word reveals God to us. And at the same time it reveals ourselves. And when these two are set against one another, we must feel a sense of being disturbed. Then, like the comforter that He is, the Holy Spirit swoops in and reminds us of Jesus. It is in Jesus that we find our comfort.

So try to get disturbed by the Word today. Go somewhere you have not gone before, or at least in a while. Don't stay in your scriptural comfort zone. Let God lay the ground rules.

Quote from Augustine's "The City of God"

I know the language is tough... but focus in on what he's saying. Powerful indictment on the church.

"They [the religiously pious] abstain from interference [in the behavior of evil men], because they fear that, if it fail of good effect, their own safety or reputation may be damaged or destroyed; not because they see that their preservation and good name are needful, that they may be able to influence those who need their instruction, but rather because they weakly relish the flattery and respect of men, and fear the judgments of the people, and the pain or death of the body; that is to say, their non-intervention is the result of selfishness, and not of love."

There is a pervasive lie in our churches that by allowing the sins of infant Christians we are showing love, grace, and mercy to them. This is not love, but selfishness. Truthfully we are really more afraid of men than we are of God and His wrath.

Lord, please give Your church leaders the ability to love Your people with discipline.

Keeping the Word of God and the Spirit of God Together

Another way of putting the same truth is to say that we must keep the Word of God and the Spirit of God together. For apart from the Spirit the Word is dead, while apart from the Word the Spirit is alien. (John R.W. Stott Between Two Worlds, pg 102)

Oh what powerful implications for preaching this has! Far too often we see the caricatures of a boring type of preaching that feels antiquated versus a mindless rambling of "spirit filled" preaching which is nothing more than emotionalism.

The first is practiced every Sunday in a church near you, under the cover of "Bible based" preaching. In reality the Word of God has been robbed of all it's power and authority. In reality, it is not the commandments of God that are being preached but the traditions of men. It is boring, dull, and old, because there is no conviction that the Spirit is alive, that Jesus is alive, that God is active. We sit and wonder, for the few moments before we fall off into thoughts about what wonders lunch will hold for us, what in the world does this sermon have to do anything. It appears, either by the preachers life or his tone or his content, that even he does not believe what he is proclaiming. The Word of God has become devoid of the Spirit of God and it is dead.

However, flip on your television and catch one of the entertaining acts of religious programming. Full of "spirit" and activity, there is no chance that you will fall asleep while watching one of their acts. "But what about all the amazing things they do and how God has blessed them?" What about those things? All they have accomplished is to convince us that this individual who is preaching is quite charismatic and resourceful. But in actuality it has nothing to do with how God has blessed them. Certainly they have a "spirit" but it is one alien to the Spirit of God. And if there is any spirit alien to God's Holy Spirit, I will let you judge for yourself what kind of Spirit that is. I can speak like this because as you listen to these spiritual entertainers you will find a huge gaping hole where God's word ought to be. They might briefly mention a text of scripture, but only as a comma in the sentence of their great words. They will call on the name of Jesus, but I imagine, (as in Acts 19), the demons are saying "Jesus I know, Paul I have heard of, but who are you?" They do not handle the Word of God with any care and therefore practice bad, sick doctrine. And when a doctor handles a patient with bad medicine, they kill them. So, as many of these men claim, they are prophets, just of the false kind. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Aliens to the people of God.

What we are to find is a place where the preacher has come to the Word. Where in it he has found the Words of life and is seeking to have them abundantly. What we are to find is a preacher who relies upon the Spirit of God to do the work of growing the seeds he is planting. What will embolden our churches is a preacher who, like Paul, can say, "Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God." (Acts 20:26-27) Preaching is needed to send forth the glorious Gospel of God's salvation and His saving acts. But the Spirit is the teacher and power by which those things are understood. Without the Spirit, the sermon is dead. Without the Word, the sermon is demonic. But with the Word and with the Spirit, the sermon is the thunder and lightning of God almighty. The Word will penetrate the heart and the Spirit will ignite it like dynamite. That kind of preaching is powerful and effective. When God speaks to us through what He spoke in His Word.

Interesting Article on the State of the Church

Lover or Prostitute?

The Question that Changed My Life

By David Ryser

A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this: Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise. Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old--barely out of diapers--and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, "An enterprise. That's a business." After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha's raised hand, "Yes, Martha." She asked such a simple question, "A business? But isn't it supposed to be a body?" I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, "Yes." She continued, "But when a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?"

The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, "Wow, I wish I'd thought of that." I didn't dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class.

Martha's question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her question at least once every day. "When a body becomes a business, isn't that a prostitute?" There is only one answer to her question. The answer is "Yes." The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don't even know Him; and I mean really know Him.

What do I mean when I say "really know Him?" Our understanding of knowing and knowledge stems from our western culture (which is based in ancient Greek philosophical thought). We believe we have knowledge (and, by extension, wisdom) when we have collected information. A collection of information is not the same thing as knowledge, especially in the culture of the Bible (which is an eastern, non-Greek, culture). In the eastern culture, all knowledge is experiential. In western/Greek culture, we argue from premise to conclusion without regard for experience--or so we think. An example might be helpful here. Let us suppose a question based upon the following two premises: First, that wheat does not grow in a cold climate and second, that England has a cold climate. The question: Does wheat grow in England? The vast majority of people from the western/Greek culture would answer, "No. If wheat does not grow in a cold climate and if England has a cold climate, then it follows that wheat does not grow in England." In the eastern culture, the answer to the same question, based on the same premises, most likely would be, "I don't know. I've never been to England." We laugh at this thinking, but when I posed the same question to my friends from England, their answer was, "Yes, of course wheat grows in England. We're from there, and we know wheat grows there." They overcame their cultural way of thinking because of their life experience. Experience trumps information when it comes to knowledge.

A similar problem exists with our concept of belief. We say we believe something (or someone) apart from personal experience. This definition of belief is not extended to our stockbroker, however. Again, allow me to explain. Suppose my stockbroker phones me and says, "I have a hot tip on a stock that is going to triple in price within the next week. I want your permission to transfer $10,000 from your cash account and buy this stock." That's a lot of money for me, so I ask, "Do you really believe this stock will triple in price, and so quickly?" He/she answers, I sure do." I say, "That sounds great! How exciting! So how much of your own money have you invested in this stock?" He/she answers, "None." Does my stockbroker believe? Truly believe? I don't think so, and suddenly I don't believe, either. How can we be so discerning in the things of this world, especially when they involve money, and so indiscriminate when it comes to spiritual things? The fact is, we do not know or believe apart from experience. The Bible was written to people who would not understand the concepts of knowledge, belief, and faith apart from experience. I suspect God thinks this way also.

So I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God--much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don't care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ--that's pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don't even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes?

I was pondering Martha's question again one day, and considered the question, "What's the difference between a lover and a prostitute?" I realized that both do many of the same things, but a lover does what she does because she loves. A prostitute pretends to love, but only as long as you pay. Then I asked the question, "What would happen if God stopped paying me?"

For the next several months, I allowed God to search me to uncover my motives for loving and serving Him. Was I really a true lover of God? What would happen if He stopped blessing me? What if He never did another thing for me? Would I still love Him? Please understand, I believe in the promises and blessings of God. The issue here is not whether God blesses His children; the issue is the condition of my heart. Why do I serve Him? Are His blessings in my life the gifts of a loving Father, or are they a wage that I have earned or a bribe/payment to love Him? Do I love God without any conditions? It took several months to work through these questions. Even now I wonder if my desire to love God is always matched by my attitude and behavior. I still catch myself being disappointed with God and angry that He has not met some perceived need in my life. I suspect this is something which is never fully resolved, but I want more than anything else to be a true lover of God.

So what is it going to be? Which are we, lover or prostitute? There are no prostitutes in heaven, or in the Kingdom of God for that matter, but there are plenty of former prostitutes in both places. Take it from a recovering prostitute when I say there is no substitute for unconditional, intimate relationship with God. And I mean there is no palatable substitute available to us (take another look at Matthew 7:21-23 sometime). We must choose.

Dr. David Ryser

The Gospel

Watch this clip taken from the movie "Amistad." Stop it at the 3:28 mark. See the Gospel preached to two African men through the use of pictures. This scene brought a tear to my eye as I considered what God can accomplish through the various means of preaching His word. Oh that we would have a conviction to proclaim the gospel to those who do not know it!

Part of Thesis Proposal

This is a part of my thesis proposal. I left out some of the technical stuff. Please let me know what you think if you have any thoughts.

INTRODUCTION
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” These words from the book of Amos have been ringing throughout the ages. One can easily peruse the historical literature of any generation and find a longing for the word of the Lord to be proclaimed. Our day is no different.

In an age when all truth may be questioned and any form of authority is under attack, the role of the preacher is in limbo. Some are questioning whether or not preaching is valid. Others, less extreme, are trying to find “new” forms to preach the word of the Lord. Maybe we need more dialogue, more narrative, more transparency, more technology, more, more, more. A short visit to the local Seminary library or Amazon's website will let the preacher know that the material on preaching has certainly become over inflated.

But the question remains, even after the overload of books on the subject, “where can I go to hear the word of the Lord?” Maybe the problem in our day is the same as in the day of Amos. The lack of hearing the word of the Lord has to do with the lack of Godly prophets to proclaim it. Preachers are prepared to write sermons, to be creative, and to be aware of the changing tides of culture. But these are not the primary objectives of the preacher. Until the preacher has heard the word of the Lord, he has nothing to say. Until there is silence, the preacher can not hear the whisper of God's word to proclaim. Our preachers must first be transformed by the Lord God Almighty and then they may begin the task of preaching. God's work on the preacher is primary to the task of preaching.

Thesis Statement
When God is transforming the receptive preacher and establishing His authority in the preacher, then the potential for spiritual transformation in the hearers is increased.
Notice that the most important element in the condition is God. It is God who transforms the preacher into a receptor for His word. It is God who establishes authority in the preacher. It is God who brings about transformation in the hearers. God is the catalyst for preaching, the subject of preaching, and the force in preaching. This can never be forgotten.

As it concerns our studies here, the work that God does on and in the preacher is our major point of emphasis. For this reason, most of the material discussed herein will be about how God transforms the preacher and establishes authority in the preacher. The two key words in these sections will be “receptive” and “His”, meaning God. The preacher must be receptive to be transformed and the only authority that is of any good to the hearers is God's authority.

Finally, in thorough study of the Scriptures and the related reading on the subject, one can not deny the role that the spiritual receptivity of the audience plays in the preaching event. For this reason, the word “potential” is chosen. Most of the prophets did not receive a good hearing. Paul and the disciples were all persecuted in numerous and various ways for right preaching of the word of the Lord. Jesus was crucified for speaking the very words of life. It is critical to remember that effective preaching is not measured by how well the hearers receive the words of the preacher. Rather our only measurement for faithfully preaching the word of the Lord is the spiritual transformational work done in the life of the hearer. Outside the scope of this paper is the discussion of what the hearer needs to bring to the preaching to make it a holistic life transforming event. What will be discussed is how if the preacher decreases and the Lord increases, the hearers are more able to see Jesus and not the preacher. In this way, potential to be transformed by the Lord is increased.

Research Significance
As stated above, there is always a need within every generation to fight for the right preaching of the word of the Lord. It is constantly being called into question, both in terms of the why and the how. But what ultimately brought about the concern for this subject was a noticed lack of emphasis on the work of God in the preacher in the literature and classes for preaching. Among the many books on preaching, most are really books on sermons, sermon writing, sermonizing, or how to do preaching in a new way. If there is anything about the work of God on the preacher, it is usually left to a small chapter at the beginning or end and then forgotten throughout the rest of the work. As far as classes go, I could not remember discussing this subject much at Florida Christian College in my foundational preaching classes, so I went back to the syllabi. Much to my dismay, I found an introductory lesson on the subject of the preacher and his inner life. From that point forward it seemed quite lacking.

In short, the significance of this work is to raise awareness that the most important work in preaching is God's work. God's work on the preacher. God's work on the hearers. God's work before the sermon. God's work during the sermon. God's work after the sermon. There are enough sermonizers, creative story tellers, moralistic teachers, and social justice promoters. There is a great need for a renewed generation of preachers who are shaped by God to proclaim His word with His authority so that lives will be transformed. I am quite concerned that the most important part of preaching, God, has been taken for granted in the current state of preaching. If the statements made throughout appear obvious to the reader, then praise be to God.

Research Scope
Most of the scope has been discussed within the defining of the thesis statement, but there are several other important things to consider. God will be used throughout the paper in various ways. In researching this topic, it becomes quite apparent that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all play a role in the preaching of the word. Therefore, as is appropriate each one will be discussed in how they work in the preacher and the preaching event. If a distinction is not made, it is to be understood that the whole Godhead is in view.

Also, the preacher will be spoken of in the masculine third person throughout. This paper is not meant to discuss the roles of women and men in preaching. The assumption of the author is that men are to proclaim the word of God in the preaching event. Although this is an important issue of debate, in order to be efficient in both time and space, those discussions need to be had elsewhere.

The preaching event refers to any setting where the word of the Lord is proclaimed by the preacher to an audience of hearers. The number of hearers is not significant, but in view is certainly not a discussion between two friends over coffee. It needs to be understood that there is certainly a Biblical distinction of “crying out” or “proclaiming” the word of the Lord versus discussions or dialogues in scripture. This issue will be dealt with marginally in the last section of the paper. Both believers and unbelievers could be present at the preaching event.

Transforming and spiritual transformation will be discussed in greater detail in the paper, but it needs to be said up front what is not meant by these words. Emotional responses, moral changes, and intellectual understanding may very well happen as a result of the transformation being referred to here, but they are not the goal. The idea behind transformation is the transformation into the new life in Christ. The goal is to become what God wants us to become, His children, His people, His bride.

God's Whisper

"What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops." Matthew 10:27

"Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance." Psalm 42:5 NKJV

"The word of God at the ear is a whisper, at the mouth it is a shout." Preaching by Fred Craddock

What is all this talk about whispering and shouting?First, let us begin with the whispering. I realized something today in a bit of study. The rabbi's used to ask a question about the creation account in Genesis. What did God do before He spoke in Genesis 1:3? The natural conclusion would be that He was silent. I do not even pretend to understand the depth of this, but I think it can teach me something. When God speaks, things happen. His Word is powerful, transformational, creational. When God opens His mouth and His Word comes forth, it will bring men to their knees. But His word has power because of His silence. His silence is just as authoritative as His word. Can you imagine the agony of God's silence? It is difficult enough for us to find 1 minute of silence in our world today and not feel uncomfortable. But can you imagine the consuming agony of experiencing divine silence? I would venture to guess that it feels a lot like death. That when we perceive that God has been silent, we need to realize that there is death in that. What a scary and fearful thought that we would not be able to hear God.

And yet, we see from the scripture that when God speaks, we may not hear it because of our own loudness. Psalm 42 carefully uses the word disquieted. That sounds very old english, but break it down. The word literally can just mean LOUD! I can't hear God because I'm too LOUD! Unless we are still and quiet before God, we can not hear Him. If we are making too much noise with our lives, then we will not hear the whisper that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 10:27. This is also the paradox of the Gospel. Many are called, but few are chosen. Hearing they do not hear and seeing they do not see. God has spoken to us in His Son and yet there are so many who did not, do not, can not hear it. Why? Because they do not have ears to hear the voice of God in a simple whisper. We want the shouting of signs and wonders. We want Him to write it in the sky or send us a flashy email. We like our word from God in a shout and yet He gives it to us in parables. But the problem is not that God is not speaking up, the problem is that we can not hear. He has given enough word, enough signs, enough manifestation. We should not need any other thing than Jesus, the Word.

Now, here is the magnificent thing. Once we have heard that whisper of God, we then are told to shout it from the rooftops. Wait a second, I thought God spoke in whispers? No, God speaks in shouts, we hear in whispers. Remember when Jesus was in Jerusalem and the Father's voice thundered from heaven? Only Jesus understood the words. Remember when Paul was on the road to Damascus and there was a great flash of light and Jesus spoke to him? But only Paul, not his traveling companions, heard what Jesus said. When we preach the word we shout, not necessarily in form of course, the revelations of God to His people and to the world. We can do nothing about whether they hear the whisper of God in that or not. All I can do is to proclaim the truths of God and pray that one lonely, lost soul might hear the voice of the Good Shepherd in that. I plant seeds and hope that it finds good soil, knowing that most of it will be scattered on the path. I proclaim the gospel with all my might, hoping that they hear whatever it was Elijah heard in the cleft of that mountain. I shout from the rooftops, because I hope that somebody might hear what Jesus whispers:

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, 
calling for you and for me; 
see, on the portals he's waiting and watching, 
watching for you and for me. 

Why should we tary when Jesus is pleading, 
pleading for you and for me? 
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies, 
mercies for you and for me? 

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing, 
passing from you and from me; 
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, 
coming for you and for me.  

O for the wonderful love he has promised, 
promised for you and for me! 
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon, 
pardon for you and for me. 

God, be merciful to me, the sinner!

God, be merciful to me, the sinner!
Though I was shrouded in darkness,
Your everlasting light shone through.
Though the eyes of my heart were blind,
You have granted me sight.

God, be merciful to me, the sinner!
There is no greater sinner than I.
Is there anyone who has offended You?
Then I have done it just as much!
Praise be to God that You take me just as I am.

God, be merciful to me, the sinner!
When all seems lost
And I feel the enemy crouching in around me,
Swoop in and bear me up on Your wings.
God, be merciful to me, the sinner!

Spiritual Receptivity (it's not digital or analog, it's spiritual)

Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days. (p. 66 The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer)

What a beautiful thing to be tuned into God! Can you imagine having our spiritual bunny ears raised in such a way that we catch God's transmissions throughout our lives, that we are constantly aware of what He is doing. But is it really possible? Do I really think that God would let me get tuned into His station? (And I'm not talking about TBN.)

Upon studying John 3:1-21 and I Corinthians 1-4, a thought that has been gnawing at my soul for a while now is starting to consume me. If the kingdom of God is only visible to those who have been born again, and if I can only enter that kingdom by being born of the water and the spirit, then I have to decide whether I can see this thing called the kingdom of God. And according to Paul in I Corinthians 1-4, the station that this world is picking up, wisdom, God calls foolishness, and the station that God is sending out, the cross, the world calls foolishness. So what are we more receptive to, the flesh or the Spirit? Because that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Take a moment to consider what you "see." What are you most receptive to? Up until a few years ago, I was way more receptive to ESPN, pornography, crude humor, "doing" church, and things that this world calls wisdom than to the power of God, Jesus Christ. Recently though, I've adjusted my dial. The more I die to my own desires, my own wisdom, the more I "see" the kingdom of God as a reality. I hear it in my conversations, I see it in those around me, I speak it to my children, I experience the great joy of knowing my Creator and my Redeemer! I find that I don't want to change the channel, that I only want to be tuned in to whatever God is putting out. I WANT to read His word for an hour longer, sing one more song to His glory, clean the house to show my wife I love her, submit to authorities, be a servant of all. I find that when I am tuned into the power of the cross, I want the things that He wants. And in this I find great joy and He gets all the glory and the honor and the praise, forever and ever, Amen.

So what, does this mean for preaching? Well, what if the preacher had his spiritual receptivity cranked up? And what if the church had her spiritual receptivity cranked up? What if we were all tuned into the same station when God gathered us together? Can you imagine the beauty of that? When the Spirit spoke His words through me, it would illicit feelings of great joy from deep within you. I would be able to perceive the works of God being wrought in you and my joy would be made complete. God would be speaking and moving and prodding in magnificent ways. I want what Paul talks about in I Corinthians 2:6-13:

"Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words."

Is All Authority Created Equal?

(That's a joke for those of you who think I'm being serious.)

"And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ “But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves." Luke 22:24-27

I am wrestling with a major part of my thesis right now. It is the question of spiritual authority in preaching. And by authority I mean, "what power source does the preacher draw upon to give him the right to say the things he says?" Why should I listen to him? Is it because he gets paid? Because he's a good person? Because he wears a suit or clerical robe? Because he's behind a pulpit? Because he has a doctorate? Why should we listen to the preacher?

Based on my postings, I would hope that it has become evident what my answer to this question would be. The preacher has authority only if he has "been with Jesus." The only thing that gives the preacher an anointed authority is if Christ, the only truly "anointed one", is bursting forth in the sermon. This was Moses' power base, Joshua's, David's, Isaiah's, Jeremiah's, the 12, the 70, and Paul's. They had authority only because God had given it to them as a gift (check out Acts 8:4-24 for an interesting discussion on authority as a gift.) But here is my dilemma. The most common word in the NT for authority is also used to refer to men like Pilate, Caesar, and the Jewish authorities. So do they have the same kind of authority as the 12, Paul, and David?

This has really been a tough question for me. If we just examine the word usage and texts like Romans 13, it is clear that governing authorities are established by God and used as His servants. But in the Luke verse above, it seems clear that there is a clear cut distinction between this kind of authority and real authority in the kingdom. Like in Matthew 7:28-29, when the people realize that Jesus was teaching as one having authority, not as their scribes. How did they recognize this distinction? The scribes certainly had a positional authority, but Jesus had something else.

I think Matthew 23:1-12 helps us to begin to unpack this idea. I will quote verses 11-12 because they summarize the overarching point.

"But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."

God is the one who grants authority. If we accumulate and abuse position and authority, then we will be humbled. Let us submit to the real teacher, father, and master and from Him receive authority. In reality it is His authority, we are all slaves under that authority, representing it. Each preacher has to give an answer for how they represented the authority of Christ, the anointed one. Because if we are preaching the word, then we are preaching Him. And if we are preaching Him, then we are His ambassadors and heralds. And how would a king react to a servant that misrepresented His authority? Well check out Numbers 12, 16-17, the rest of Matthew 23, and James 3.

I have no authority, I only want to submit myself to the authority of my king, Jesus.

Preaching With Silence

I have been doing an overview of the corporate worship of the nation of Israel in the OT for an Elder's retreat that begins this evening. Something has captured my attention in this preparation. God always takes the initiative. With Abraham, God did the calling. With Moses, God started the fire on Mt. Horeb. With the nation, God came down onto Mt. Sinai. With Joshua, God revealed the sin of Aichan. Even when David had the idea to build a Temple, God says, "we'll do it on my time." Josiah found the book of Law. Nehemiah was sent back to Jerusalem. All of these initiations by God were either the formulation of corporate worship or the start of great revival among the people. God did something to make them bow low, He spoke, and then the people were to act. What if we functioned more like this?

When was the last time you searched out God to just speak to you? Not to speak to you about this decision or that decision or this idea or that idea, but just simply allowed God to speak. I feel that our Sunday morning gatherings are so full of our own words and speaking, that God is hushed so that we might hear what we have to say. Our own competing ideas about singing, our own creative initiatives using art, our own lengthy prayers, our own fascinating sermons that captivate the audience. But what would God say? I wonder if He closes His ears to our noise, just like He did in the days of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest of the prophets.

I am convinced that we should spend much more time in quiet submission before God than we should in saying anything to Him. Let God speak first, then we may respond when the time is right. In preaching, God should always be the initiator of a sermon. Until God has spoken, then you don't have anything to say. "But what if God does not speak to me that week?" Then either you have not been in His word or you should keep your mouth closed. I am completely struck by how many times Israel returned to the word of the Lord and they responded to the truth. Outward reforms did not accomplish much, but when God's word was read, things happened. You don't need more outward reform in your life. What you need is for God's word to be inscribed upon your heart. Then, and only then, will the words that we speak have any weight to them. Silence first, then preaching.

The Dead Flies Of Preaching

"Dead flies make a perfumer's oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor." (Ecclesiastes 10:1)

I am coming to believe more and more that the basis for true spiritual authority in preaching is the spiritual formation in the life of the preacher. Spiritual formation has been described in many ways. Some say that there needs to be evidence that these men "have been with Jesus." Others might say that they have devoted themselves to the spiritual disciplines. Some might call it ministry "experience." I think Solomon would have us to see that spiritual formation is the abscence of dead flies.

Jesus and Paul figuratively call it leaven. Solomon calls it dead flies and folly. The Bible expresses this great obstacle to spiritual growth with many words and images. But they are all pointing us to the same stinking heap of garbage known as sin. It is the "fly in the ointment", the leaven in the dough. And the more that sin is mingled into the life of the preacher, the further he gets from true spiritual authority, which only comes from Jesus and who entrusts it only to those who have been with him. So how do we become a perfumers oil that does not smell like dead flies?

We must first realize that nothing we do will get the sin out of our life. The more we try to fight that battle, the more flies get in the ointment. Surrendering myself to Jesus and to His atoning death will be the only way that the decisive battle over sin will be won in my own heart. Does that feel strangely elementary to the doctrines of christianity? Of course it is, but what else is there! This is THE greatest truth that man has ever known. That God Himself might give Himself to us so that we can behold His glory, power, and authority. Why would I want anything else? No matter how elementary we perceive this truth to be, it is also the most forgotten truth. We tend to think things like...

"Now that I am in the ministry, I should be able to fight these sin battles on my own. I will hide my struggles. God and I will both fight the battle of pornography (or gossip, or homosexuality, or drug abuse, or pride, or hatred, or any dark thing that we hide away in our corners.) We'll beat this thing together."

What lies Satan uses! You can not beat the sin in you. Jesus' death alone defeats that sin. How arrogant I have been in thinking that I can defeat Satan and sin all on my own. Jesus is our dread champion, our Christus Victor. He is truth and life and we defeat sin in no other way but through Him.

I hear your slight objection. Certainly we must do something. I would say not SOME thing but ONE thing. Pursue wisdom and honor. Or more plainly, pursue Jesus. Do not spend one second of your day not captivated by Him. Run to Him with full force. Wake up praying, drive listening to His words, sing about Him, talk about Him, look for opportunities to be an extension of Him, but just cling to Him. Flies get into the ointment because we leave it exposed to the outside conditions. If we flee every form of immorality and close ourselves off to only be exposed to Jesus, sin has no opportunity to lay ahold of us. Do not give sin the opportunity. Spiritual formation is simply this, to have been with Jesus and no one else. That was always Jesus' call to discipleship. If a preacher lacks true spiritual authority, you can almost certainly be guaranteed that he has been with something or someone besides Jesus. Let Jesus pick out the flies, then close the lid and be with Him for the rest of eternity.

Wake Thy Slumbering Children

"Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest”—
Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man."
(Proverbs 6:6-11)

How often has this been used as a banner to wave about the need for God's people to be hard workers? I don't disagree that we should be hard workers, but let us consider for a moment the spiritual depths of this proverb. It has huge implications for our churches and for the work of preaching.

Indelible Grace music released a CD entitled, "Wake Thy Slumbering Children." Besides this being a great collection of puritan hymns with a modern twist, there is obviously a message embedded within the album. And verses 9-10 of Proverbs 6 captures that meaning. When God's people fall asleep, they must be awakened.

We run to I Thessalonians 4 and are comforted by the fact that those who have died believing in Jesus Christ are only "asleep" until His return. And what comfort this does bring us. It is because of this truth that I no longer mourn the sleeping of my grandparents. But there is a kind of sleep in scripture that brings us no comfort whatsoever. It is a spiritual sleep. It is the kind of sleep that causes indifference, inactivity, and ignorance. This spiritual sleep has fallen upon our churches in America like a great plague. We are the slumbering children.

Sometimes sleep comes because we are too comfortable. Sometimes it is because we have been overfed, like at Thanksgiving. Sometimes sleep is a result of being lazy. Sometimes sleep comes upon us because we are not alert. But I Thessalonians 5:6 declares, "so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober." Alert means to keep watch and sober means to be self-controlled. The disciples could not keep watch with Jesus for even one hour. In this last hour, before Jesus returns, can we keep watch? Or will we be lulled to sleep by work, family, recreation, comfort, America, or any other thing? The role of the preacher is to shout from the rooftops, "WAKE UP SLUMBERING CHILDREN!!!" We are a city on a hill, the light of the world. If the light house workers fall asleep, what happens to the ships? If the watchmen in the city sleep at their posts, what becomes of the city? I will pray to God, along with the men and women of indelible grace music, that He will wake His slumbering children. And in the mean time, may I never rest until that final year of Jubilee when Christ returns.

Trinitarian Preaching

"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;"
Genesis 1:26a

In the last week, I have done a lot of thinking. I have been looking into the power of the Holy Spirit in preaching and I think that is an important piece of the preaching puzzle. But I realize that God is much bigger than just power in preaching. The Holy Spirit is hovering over us, just as He was in the beginning of creation. But let me bring some other things to the forefront of our minds.

The Spirit of God hovers over and empowers and strengthens and enlightens our preaching. But what good would the preaching be without the Word? I find it eternally fascinating to compare John 1 and Genesis 1. Jesus is the Word and all creation came into being through God speaking. Consider that for a moment. Stop and meditate on that for a day. When God speaks, Jesus comes out. Can we say the same for our preaching? Our material in preaching is really like a broken record. Or as Derek Webb has stated, we are like mockingbirds with no new songs to sing. It is Jesus. Jesus yesterday, today, and forever. The power of the Gospel comes alive in the Spirit, but truthfully the power of the Gospel is Jesus. So when we preach, the power and the force in the room might be the Holy Spirit, but the foundation (corner stone) for that power is the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. What happens in our spirit when we hear preaching matters, but what comes out of the mouth of the preacher matters just as much. And if it's not the Word, then it ain't preaching. (Yes I know that ain't ain't a word.)

But now consider this. Preaching doesn't just end with the Word and the Spirit. God sent Jesus to bring us back to God. His coming wasn't just so that we would fall in love with the man Jesus, but that we would fall in love with the God who was manifested in the man Jesus.

"Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

That is why I preach. To be an ambassador, a herald if you will. But why preach the Word and why do it in the Spirit? To beg you on behalf of Christ, "be reconciled to God!" God sent the Son to reconcile the world to Himself. He sent the Spirit to teach us and guide us to Him. All of this to the end that we might know Him. If preaching doesn't seek to reconcile you to God, through the work of Christ Jesus and by the power of God's Holy Spirit, then it ain't preaching. So that leaves the question, how trinitarian is our preaching?

From my own personal observations, it seems that preaching has become something of a topical mess. Most preachers use their time to proclaim moral encouragements, logical arguments, or exciting entertainment. But very little of what is today called preaching is seeking to reconcile people to God through Jesus. Sure there is often an invitation offered at the end to invite people to believe. But when the sermon is all about how to be a better you, the Gospel becomes muddled and people have nothing to respond to. Do you want to know if preaching is trinitarian? Look for these things. Is Christ magnified? Is He made much of? Does the preacher want you to hear the cross, hear the Word? Does the preacher seem to be speaking in the power of the Spirit? Does it seem that God is using the words of this mere man to communicate great truths? Are you convicted in your own spirit by God's? And finally, has the whole goal been to be reconciled to God? Have you been influenced to move closer into relationship with God? If these things are happening you might be involved in trinitarian preaching. And may God pull you close to Himself through it.

The Holy Conversation of Preaching

Homily (from which we get our area of study, homiletics) is a word at its most basic definition meaning discourse, dialogue, or conversation. This is what preaching is. It is discourse, dialogue, and conversation. But the question needs to be asked, who is engaged in the conversation?

When we encounter a sermon or preach one, we are so often tempted to think that this is a conversation between the preacher and the audience. That is why preachers have so many tricks up their sleeves. In this understanding of preaching, it is my job as the preacher to engage the audience in the hearing of God's word. So I must be charming or condemning, creative or logical, funny or serious, and so on.

As a listener, I expect to be engaged by this preacher. He is to make me think or laugh or bore me or whatever I might expect him to do with our conversation. And not only is there just one of these listeners, but many. They all bring their various expectations and desires to the conversation. Some are broken inside and need to be lifted up, others are joyful and just want to be encouraged, and even others are confused and need answers. What a complicated mess this conversation has quickly become. How is the preacher to know all the needs of his listeners? And when does the listener get their chance to engage in the dialogue? Maybe by text messaging?

Let me suggest this for our thinking. The conversation of preaching is not two way. There is a third party involved. This is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts as comforter, teacher, guide, and power supply for both the preacher and the audience. When the preacher has spent time with the Holy Spirit, the conversation lines will be open from his side. When the audience has been held captive by the work of the Holy Spirit, then they will be ready to hear the power of the Gospel. Consider the implications of that for our preaching. The Holy Spirit is the force in the room when the preaching begins to speak. It is a power that flows and is felt.

Two things to consider. One, as preachers, are we speaking in the Spirit? Have we opened ourselves up to the power of the Holy Spirit wherever that may lead us? I'm willing to bet that if we did this, we would enter the pulpit with a sense of the "numinous." The awe-inspiring greatness of God. We would find ourselves amazed at what God can do with a sinner like us. Secondly, as an audience, are we listening in the Spirit? Are we prepared to hear the words of God spoken to us? If you feel that power is missing from the preaching in your church, don't immediately blame the preacher. What if he's tapped into the Spirit and you're not? Community is not God, but God is communal. You are involved in this sermon just as much as the preacher by the power of the Holy Spirit. Examine yourself for power outages in your own life.

Wherever preaching lacks power to transform lives, I am almost certain that at least one member of the conversation is not tapped into the Holy Spirit. If only our churches would reconnect with the power of God's Spirit and allow Him to draw us in to Himself, what amazing conversations we might have!