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.