Here’s a link to the whole series.
Last week I wrote about the first of several relationship principles for life and that was It’s Not About Me. Today I’m moving into Ephesians 4 for the next several principles for relationships.
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Based on 2 Timothy 4:6-8
ONE GREAT TRUTH: It is possible to live life without regrets, but only as we understand God’s unfolding plan of redemption in our lives.
I was deeply moved by today’s reading from J. Sidlow Baxter’s devotional, Awake My Heart. He speaks of the mysteries of life, what W. A. Criswell used to call “the imponderables of God.” Baxter mentioned birth, life, personality, human experience, Satan, eternity, etc. All of these are unexplainable. We can begin, but we can never conclude any definition of them.
Baxter goes on, however, to quote an unnamed old Puritan as saying, “Never let what you don’t know disturb your faith in what you do know.” Further, Baxter proclaims that “breaking into all this mystery comes a glorious, transfiguring fact which not all of these problems can discount: it is THE FACT OF CHRIST. He is a certified historical fact; a supremely significant fact; an experientially realized fact….”
We live in a highly skeptical age. To deny this is to prove that one has his proverbial head in the sand. We live in the age of the offensive atheist, exemplified by authors such as Richard Dawkins, who espouses a near hatred of conservative Christianity and writes it off as idiotic nonsense that should be put to an end. In the mix, Christians find themselves wavering and doubting.
So, what do we do with our big questions? I don’t know about you, but I believe God can handle our biggest questions. He has answers. Whether He will provide them or not is within the divine prerogative of God. But in the midst of all of the mysterious, imponderable concepts of spiritual, eternal things lie the rock solid, unbreakable truths of Christianity. In the words of Paul, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16)
This week is very monumental for me. I am preparing to begin preaching through the entire Bible this Sunday morning. It has been a ministry-long dream. Since reading the autobiography of Dr. W. A. Criswell, who preached through the Scriptures over an almost eighteen year period at First Baptist Church in Dallas, it has seemed an unreachable and impossible task. I can’t tell you how much I’ve thought and prayed about this assignment.
In my mind, I’ve tried to place myself into the shoes of my church members, some of whom may not survive to hear the end of it all in the Revelation. Won’t we get bored? Won’t we get bogged down in the law, the plans of the tabernacle, the genealogical tables? Will people really be interested? Will the messages be relevant to my life? Nobody has asked any of these questions yet, except for me, but they have lingered in my thinking.
Then I think on the positive side. God’s Word is the source of all the divine wisdom we have at our disposal. He grows people through His Word. My calling to ministry is a call to shepherd God’s people by feeding them the truth of God. No book is more special, no other subject matter is appropriate. Why not preach “all the counsel of God?”
One dominating thought, however, is “what if I mess this up?” What if I don’t cover enough material? Life is too short to rely on “do-over’s” and I will probably get only one or two shots at a series like this in my lifetime. From that thought flows the bottom line issue – I have only this life to spend for God’s glory. This may very well be the last series of sermons I ever preach. Will it be worth it in the end? Absolutely! My life and the lives of the people God assigns to me to shepherd will be forever changed and enriched by hearing the whole counsel of God.
The question I’ve come to grips with is, if preaching through the entire Bible in a single series was the only feat I ever accomplished, it would be worth it – I would have to do nothing in addition to it to have fulfilled my calling as a Pastor.
Already, I’ve become familiar with the greatness of modern science. Many Christians today are at war with the scientific community over evolution, the Big Bang, and other modern ideas. I’m not threatened by these, but rather encouraged, albeit for a strange reason. Both of these theories, hard to swallow as they are, actually substantiate the greatness of the Bible. Let me explain…
The Big Bang proposes that the universe is not infinite, that it had a beginning in time. Until 1913, the world thought the universe was infinite, that it had no beginning and would have no end. But because of the discovery that the universe is expanding rapidly, we can postulate that if you work backwards, everything was once together, before the expansion began. In other words, the universe had a starting point. What baffles modern scientists is, what then? What did things look like before the universe began its explosive expansion? To this the Bible says, in the beginning… God!
And what of evolution? Why in the world would I appreciate this crazy and impossible to believe prognostication? Because evolution is really a fragment of a larger idea that there is a logical progression to the development of life on this planet, and that development concurs with the first chapter of Genesis in its order and structure. The only differences are that what science assigns to billions of years really happened in six literal, twenty-four hour days. First the rocks, then water, then marine and plant life, then the beasts of the earth, and finally man. I was taught in Astronomy 101 that all of this took place over about thirteen billion years. The Bible declares God did it in six days. I choose the Bible, but I stand amazed at science’s validation of the order of creation. I’m no more impressed with the Bible, I’m just more impressed with scientists.
Ultimately, what I’m discovering is that Genesis was never intended to be a science or history textbook. It was not intended to stir up debate over the literal nature of the word “day” or whether there was a gap included for the geological ages. Rather, Genesis’ creation account is a hymn of praise to the Creator! Don’t miss this. The story of creation wasn’t given so that we might use it as a source of scientific data (though I believe its perfect, literal accuracy). It was given that we might know our Creator, be impressed with His creative acts, and choose to serve and glorify Him for eternity!
What an awesome discovery for me! I can’t wait to share it all with the congregation of Bethel Baptist Church. Please pray that I will have the necessary time to invest in the study of God’s Word so that I might not fail to present the whole counsel of God with pastoral wisdom and compassion. Pray that I’ll always see the relevance of each passage to our daily living. Pray that lives will be changed for the glory of God as we “journey through the word” together!
God is the great Creator of the entire universe and all that is in it. He created time and He creates every life that enters into the world. In short, God is extremely creative, so He loves creativity.
I agree with many modern church leaders that creativity, in and of itself, is glorifying to God, so long as what we create does not represent any form of idolatry or contradiction to the revealed truth and standards of God’s Word. I have two tables in my home made by my late grandfather. He made them to the glory of God, with excellence. That’s a kind of worship. I have three quilts my grandmother made. They too, represent a form of worship. Creativity is good, so long as its God-honoring (no huge astrological towers allowed – e.g. Babel in Genesis 11).
In recent days, I’ve felt my own creative energy stirred by the Holy Spirit, partly due to observing the methodology of such guys as Andy Stanley and Ed Young. Last Sunday, I took a Dremel into the pulpit to illustrate that faith is not a magic formula that does anything, rather it’s a tool that we must put into action. This Wednesday, I’m taking a fish net with me to illustrate how God caught Jonah in the net of chastisement and Jonah caught God in the net of prayer. To some, I’m sure these symbols may seem trite, but to me, they merely present a way of communicating a truth in a meaningful, visible, and memorable way.
I’m afraid that we often have a tendency to squelch creativity in Christianity. We frown on new methods, new technologies, and that which may distract us from a plain-spoken message. I’m all for the plain-spoken message for that is God’s chosen method of communicating the gospel to all the world – preaching. I’m a believer in the primacy of preaching, but I’m also a believer in getting life-changing truth into people’s lives in whatever way we find beneficial.
I’ve been challenged to think beyond the borders of what is “normal” for me, and I hope that you are challenged to do the same. No matter who you are, no matter where you work, no matter what you do, ask yourself, “what can I create for God today?”
I just finished reading Jim Cymbala’s book Fresh Power and it has again revived my thirst for God. One of the most impactful insights from the book is the revelation that if we can explain the success of our churches in terms of programs, personalities, or well-oiled machinery without the power of the Holy Spirit, then we’ve missed the point. Cymbala appeals to A. W. Tozer who proclaimed that if the Holy Spirit were removed from our midst today, most of our largest and most rapidly growing churches would continue as they are because their growth is attributable not to the powerful working of the Holy Spirit, but to a marketing structure, business plan, and organizational genius that is very humanly originated.
We do need to operate in the “fresh power” freely available from the Holy Spirit, God’s operative agent in the world today. We do need to continue the writing of the Acts of the Holy Spirit in our modern world. For the Brooklyn Tabernacle, which Cymala pastors, the secret of this abiding power and presence of God is not merely to be found in a great choir, great preaching, or great buildings. It is found in their Tuesday night prayer meeting which serves as the fuel source for all else that happens.
I believe my favorite chapter is the second, entitled Of Cemeteries and Insane Asylums. Pastor Cymbala writes about the two extremes of today’s Christianity. The insane asylums represent the excesses of the charismatic movement. It describes the counterfeit revivals, the get-rich-quick Christianity, the mass-miracle-crusades without discernment or validation. This is Christianity that has zeal but little truth. The cemeteries are those circles of modern Christianity much like my own denomination, which have so reacted against the charismatic movement that we’ve become boxes of bones with no life. We have our truth, and like Charlton Heston and his rifle, the world can peel it from our cold, dead hands. Shame on us!
What an atrocity that we are so closed to the potential activity of the Spirit of God that we completely deny the possibility that God would want to invade our space, enliven our worship, and move us to a new level of power-filled witness. How we desperately need a fresh infilling of His presence. As we seek a proper biblical balance in all things, let us seek the fullness of power of the Holy Spirit, and let us seek to defend the truth in a pluralistic age. God, may You enliven today’s church by Your mighty Holy Spirit, and may this work begin in me!
Today, Jesus got an ovation, and it was awesome! There is something about applause during a sermon that makes me extremely uncomfortable in my own skin, yet today it was highly appropriate. The verse was Revelation 1:7, a strange text for Christmas Eve, though very appropriate when the context is compared to the night before the first Christmas.
John relates the truth of the second coming of Christ to a lost world. Billions of Christ-rejectors will “wail because of him†on the day when “every eye shall see him.†Then John closes the verse with the words “Even so, Amen!†Jesus is coming. Everyone will see Him. Most will wail. Let it be so!
I can’t help but believe that we are on the eve of the second coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, I believe a heightened expectancy of His return should mark the committed Christian life. I would further describe this expectancy as anticipation, the kind you felt on Christmas eve just before going to sleep for a long winter’s night.
On the other hand, I realize the terror that will wash over the world when He comes. Imagine the turmoil of a world which lost millions of Christians unexplainably, especially considering that millions wearing the Christian label were also left behind and a few not found in church on Sunday vanished away.
Imagine a world that has experienced seven years of the harsh wrath of God toward sin. Economic upheaval, worldwide famine and disease, political tyranny will have dominated the news. Then… the sovereign God sends His Warrior-King to fully and finally disseminate His justice. The whole earth will issue forth a funeral lament. Why in the world would John say “Amen!†to this kind of an event?
Believers in Christ get to say “so be it†to the return of Christ because all of the injustices committed against us from the persecution of the Caesars to the Sudan will be avenged at last. Righteousness will rule. Our redemption, which currently “draweth nigh†will be full. And more than all of these, our Lord will be glorified when “every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of the Father.â€
We are on the eve of His coming, as was the world in 4 b.c. Do you want to applaud? Repent? Believe? Say Amen? It all depends on where you stand with the God of the universe. He’s coming tomorrow, why not invite Him into your life today? Receive Him and say, “Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!â€
“Turn… And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding…” -Jeremiah 3:14-15
The period of the prophets was marked with the terrible tragedy of a declining spiritual leadership. It was an age of false prophecies and empty messages. It was a duplication of the age of which the Apostle Paul speaks when he proclaims, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
Our supercenter generation today is begging for an entertaining, ear-tickling message as well. We don’t want to hear about sin, about repentance, and about hell. We’d rather hear about how to change diapers and how to get rich from the pulpits of America than to hear about our need to turn back to God in humble repentance. Jeremiah issued an amazing prophecy here. Turn… and then God will give you truthtellers, pastors according to his heart.
I love growing churches. I believe God can use megachurches and there are some great ones in existance today, teaching the truth and making disciples. At the same time, the current wave of huge churches which teach only half of the Bible’s truths is an indicator of our times. We are stuck on having relevant teaching at the expense of truthtelling. May God give us hearts of repentance, that we would turn and seek His truth!
“But (God) hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior.” -Titus 1:3
When preachers preach, they do so as frail and fallible human beings, holding forth the precious words of eternal life. There is, however, a sense in which the preacher communicates on God’s behalf. Only when his words match the content or the intent of Scripture do they carry any heavenly authority, but when he faithfully pronounces God’s truth to the masses, he is God’s spokesman, God’s chosen means of carrying His perfect message to the world.
The prophets of old set the standard with their “thus saith the Lord.” Jesus stated emphatically on God’s behalf, “Verily, verily I say unto you…” The apostles marched boldy into the temple to preach to the people “all the words of this life.” America needs preaching! Our thirsty souls need preaching just as our parched tongues need water. Preaching is being diminised today, relegated to the back burner of ministry. Oratory is almost all but lost in exchange for professional speaking. But God still chooses spokesmen and He still speaks volumes through them Sunday after Sunday in pulpits across America.
Let us as the church today return preaching to its rightful position at the forefront of worship. Let God’s Word remain the centerpiece of our services. Let the pulpit be a place of freedom where God’s men may stand and boldy proclaim God’s will for the world.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” -Romans 10:17
What do you think of preaching? For some, the word “boring” instantly popped into your mind. You’d rather be watching grass grow. Ask yourself, why did the Puritans sit in church services for three to four hours hearing a twenty-seven point message and demand more when it was over? I’ll tell you my opinion – they didn’t have TV!
Today, we have our choice of entertainment from an array of captivating nothingness. From soap operas which make the drama of our own lives seem dull, to “reality shows” which really just capture the most controversial forty-five minutes of the previous week for a group of people, detective shows which portray to us the most degrading side of humanity, citcoms that trivialize life’s most serious issues, and even adolescent programming that heightens every pre-teen’s social sensitivity a few notches. Preaching simply can’t compete… or can it?
For the Christian, hearing the preaching of the word of God is like an oxygen line to a firefighter in a burning building. It is the steady diet of meaty substance which carries us through difficult weeks. Without preaching, life becomes trivial. Without preaching, we live on spiritual cotton candy, but we need meat, we need substance. That’s simple one reason why hearing the Word of God expounded is a significant need for every human being. But consider something else…
Preaching is God’s chosen central feature of Christian worship. It is through hearing the Word of God that our faith is increased. When we hear the Word of God expounded, real worship happens. W. A. Criswell explains:
This is worship at its highest; all the faculties of the mind and all the power of the soul are raised to their highest use. It becomes an offering up to God of the truth proclaimed in his name. Ritual is no substitute for reality; ceremony cannot displace consecration… Faith cometh by purification? by candlelighting? by incense burning? by liturgy repeating? No, but by hearing the word of the Lord.
The next time you’re tempted to skip out on the preaching of God’s Word and opt instead for watching football, heading to the lake, or simply sleeping in, realize that the God of the universe wants to speak directly to you. The Bible is His “thus saith the Lord” for every area of your life. He’s given you a message that contains all you need to survive and thrive spiritually, but you must open it, read it, study it, soak it in, and hear it preached. God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to counfound all the wisdom of the world. Jesus Christ is our object of worship and the Bible is our manual of worship. Let’s return to hearing the Word of God, loving it, “Amen”-ing it, and living it out loud.
Brandon is first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ. He's a husband to Angie and a Dad to Ella Grace and Samuel David. He's a Pastor to Bethel Baptist Church, Editor of Fuel Your Blogging and also a logo and web designer.
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