We may not always know exactly how God will use our obedience.
But what we do know is that although our obedience doesn’t always make sense.
And we may never see or hear about the impact it makes.
Our uncomfortable obedience will always be used by God to fulfill his great purposes.
You can listen to the audio message: https://www.kingscrosschurch.us/sermonsdata/kingscrosssermons2020-tyl4b-9288h-fp9ab-r8fdt-38497-9fjkx-zyysl-wnjkw-7nnkx-xl85c-2tlps-bgrzp-tlawp-5skj6-nd4nf-9knsn-jw2er-za83l-7sfy2
I shared some personal discouragements with someone the other day, only to have them present me with a long string of Bible verses, pat answers, and Christian clichés; it came so quick, that I wonder if the person was ever listening to begin with.
On another occasion, I was with a friend who disclosed to me a lot of their weaknesses and failures. They confessed faults that you would not expect from a person of such “spiritual stature.” There was no real resolve, or Christian “zinger” to make the story end well. Just an old-fashioned complaint, couched in real angst, almost permitting me to feel human. Imagine that.
I long for my conversations to look like the latter example. Sometimes they don’t. There are a lot of ways to “bless” someone into a deeper grief; I am beginning to realize more and more that what I crave most in difficult times is two-fold: a listener, and a safe environment to be real.
How about you?
SOURCE: http://doctrineontap.com/2013/08/02/lessons-in-not-listening-pt-2/
Scripture can be understood externally and/or internally. It can dwell on the shallows, or deeply.
Unbelievers can understand, to a certain degree, the external clarity of Scripture. The Pharisees in the Bible are a good example of this. They were experts in the Scriptures, but failed to know that the Scriptures were all about Jesus. That is why they refused to believe Jesus’ testimony about himself. Many value the Bible for it’s wisdom, principles, history, stories et cetera. But that is it. Their appreciation stops there. It has no effect on their lives because there is no internal clarity.
To the believer, there is more. There is an internal clarity they experience from Scripture as well as an external. The Spirit which dwells in every believer, brings about this inward understanding. It goes beyond the surface.
Martyn Luther believed this distinction to be true. His perspective is explained by Bernard Ramm:
To Luther there was an outer and an inner clarity of Scripture. By the usual laws or rules of language, a Christian could understand the Scripture as a written document. This is the external clarity of Scripture. Due to man’s sinfulness he needs an inward assist so that he might grasp the spiritual Word of God as the Word of God. The Word of God is a spiritual entity and can only be understood in faith with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is the internal clarity of Scripture.
Soren Kierkegaard, illustrated this point in this way:
Kierkegaard poses the question how a lover reads a love letter from his lover when they happen to speak two different languages. The first thing the lover must do with the letter is to translate it. He gets out his dictionary of the foreign language—perhaps even a grammar—and goes to work. He translates it word by word, line by line, paragraph by paragraph, until the entire translated letter is on the desk before him. But doing all that hard work of translating that letter into his language is not to read the letter as a love letter. Now that he has the complete translation he relaxes, leans back in his chair, and reads the translated letter as a love letter. So it is with Holy Scripture. We cannot avoid all the hard work of looking up Hebrew and Greek words, puzzling over constructions, consulting commentaries, and other such helps. But doing this careful academic job of translating and interpreting Scripture is not to read the Word of God as the Word of God. Unfortunately that is where the professor stops. But to read Scripture as the Word of God he must read it the second time. Now it is no longer an academic task but it is a case of letting God’s Word get through to man’s soul as God’s Word. It is in the second reading of the letter that the Holy Spirit, the Hermes from heaven, enters into the process of understanding Holy Scripture.
He illustrates his point a second way:
A little boy is to be spanked by his father. While the father goes for the rod, the boy stuffs the bottom of his pants with several table napkins. When the father returns and administers the whipping the boy feels no pain as the napkins absorb the whack of the rod. The little boy represents the biblical scholars. They pad their britches with their lexicons, commentaries, and concordances. As a result the Scripture never reaches them as the Word of God. Having nullified its power by shielding themselves with their academic paraphernalia, they thus never hear the Scriptures as the Word of God. If they would unpack their books from their britches (which are necessary rightfully used, as illustrated in the story of the love letter) then the Scriptures could get through to them as the Word of God. Allowing Holy Scripture to get through to us as the Word of God is the special work of the Holy Spirit.
These block quotes were clipped from Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, which is available to purchase HERE.
Illustrations are a key part of every sermon. If done correctly, they make the sermon interesting, understanding and memorable.
Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, was a master at how and when he used illustrations in his sermons. He described what illustrations are and do in a sermon in the following way:
A building without windows would be a prison rather than a house, for it would be quite dark, and no one would care to take it upon lease; and, in the same way, a discourse without a parable is prosy and dull, and involves a grievous weariness of the flesh. . . . Our congregations hear us with pleasure when we give them a fair measure of imagery: when an anecdote is being told they rest, take breath, and give play to their imaginations, and thus prepare themselves for the sterner work which lies before them in listening to our profounder expositions.
What are your natural inclinations when it comes to leading others through conflict? Some are controlling leaders. They fight fire with fire. Below are several characteristics of the controlling leader.
Tends to be proud, self-absorbed, and forceful; successful at extinguishing opposition.
Prefers to attack conflict (and people) head on; quick to speak, slow to listen.
Skilled at behind the scenes maneuvering, recruiting allies, and using political structures. Tends to polarize people and trigger factions (“You’re either for me or against me”).
Success means eliminating opposition, even if they leave the church deeply embittered.
Church typically pressured to maintain appearance of unity even though it may be highly polarized beneath the surface; people often fearful of voicing differences.
Conflicts may be suppressed for years, but many controlling leaders are eventually consumed by a conflict they could not control.
Source: True leaders must be peacemakers, by Ken Sande.
Happy to celebrate Juneteenth today in light of current events.
This day came about because courageous men and women didn’t turn a blind eye to injustice around them.
They saw that loving their neighbor was not “embracing another gospel”.
That some stopped using the Bible and Christianity to enslave people but used to it love their neighbor.
They caused the right kind of division. Division against hundreds of years of oppression. Somebody did something.
Today we honor those who were considered rebels because they no longer wanted to be dehumanized. We honor those who sacrificed much because they knew they were made in the image of God.
Jesus… Accused of rebellion against the spiritual leaders. Beaten by his authorities. Misunderstood and mistreated. He knows and walks alongside us. Because of His great love for us we can all be fully forgiven of sin which is our greatest need. We can be with him in heaven where there will be no more pain. No more striving for people to understand. No more misuse of truth. No more. Maranatha
“Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” — Proverbs 25v20
