I have been confronted often lately by the cost of discipleship as taught in Scripture. I think it can all be summed up in five words. "Jesus must be your everything." Jesus is not someone you can pay homage to once in a while and then go on your way. It's not enough to sing Him a song on Sunday. When will we ever learn that it is not our religious expressions He desires? He wants our lives, heart, soul, mind, all of it! He will never be content just because you claim to belong to the religion that bears His name. Jesus must be worth more to you than anyone or anything else. The question is, Is He?
It does no good to give Jesus your songs if you won't give Him your self. It does no good to give Jesus your money if you won't make Him your Master. You can't give Jesus your love without giving Him your life. Jesus will not settle for being a part of your life. He wants to be your life.
"I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold. I'd rather be His than have riches untold. I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands. I'd rather be led by His nail-pierced hand, than to be the king of vast domain. Or be held in sin's dread sway. I'd rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today."
Jesus, please help me to love you more, more than family, more than friends, more than things, more than life itself. Please help me die to self everyday so that I may live for the glory of Your name. Help me to decrease so that you can increase. May You be my highest joy in life. May sharing Your Word and spreading Your fame be my supreme pleasure. Lord, please, grant that I may live to please You alone. All that I am, all that I have, all that I hope to be is Yours. Jesus, be my everything!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Preaching That Really Isn't, Part 3
Okay. Here is another example of what I call "preaching that really isn't." I heard this sermon preached last October. The text used was Isaiah 49:1-4. This is a part of the second of four Servant Songs in the book of Isaiah, all of which describe the Messiah. This particular text is part of a larger text, Isaiah 49:1-13, which describes how the Lord will restore His people and save the nations. The only part of the text that was a part of his sermon was the phrase "a polished shaft." I use the ESV and it reads, "a polished arrow." Now, in context the Servant of the Lord is being referred to as a polished arrow in the quiver of God. The point being that God will use Him to defeat the enemies of His people. The sermon, however, had absolutely nothing to do with the actual message of the text. The text itself was never explained. It was not really even referred to beyond the initial reading. The sermon was based on the phrase "a polished shaft." In the sermon the preacher likened the way Indians make an arrow to the way God calls and prepares preachers. Some of the points from the sermon were: the shaft is selected; the shaft is shaped; the shaft is smoothed; the shaft is straightened. You get the idea. For each point he described the process of working the shaft to make an arrow and likened that to what God does in the lives of His servants. It was interesting. Problem is his message had absolutely nothing to do with the Scripture he supposedly based it on. Not one of the main points from his sermon could be rightly drawn from the text he used without taking it out of context. Bottom line: he wasn't really preaching the Bible. He came up with an interesting, creative message and tried, unsuccessfully, to find a Scripture to go along with it.
There is nothing wrong with preaching that is interesting and creative. But God has called preachers to preach the Scripture and ONLY the Scripture. We must never misuse the text out of a desire to be creative. Listen preacher. Just say what the Bible says. That is preaching that God will bless. Stick to the text. You don't have to come up with a sermon. The text is the sermon. All you have to do is explain and apply it.
There is nothing wrong with preaching that is interesting and creative. But God has called preachers to preach the Scripture and ONLY the Scripture. We must never misuse the text out of a desire to be creative. Listen preacher. Just say what the Bible says. That is preaching that God will bless. Stick to the text. You don't have to come up with a sermon. The text is the sermon. All you have to do is explain and apply it.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Preaching That Really Isn't, Part 2
Many of you would know them if I called their names. Two preachers, both from Mississippi, both very well known. I had the occasion of hearing them both preach over the last year. I am sad to say that both sermons serve as examples of what I call preaching that really isn't. I want to take the opportunity to share these examples, without names of course, in order to highlight what true Bible preaching is, and what it isn't. For my preacher friends out there, may this serve as an example of what not to do.
The first sermon was based on Mark 3:13-19. This is the text where Jesus appoints twelve to be apostles. These are the men who would be with Him almost constantly and He would send them out to preach. The twelve men are mentioned by name in the text. The preacher pointed out that these were not high class men. They were lower class in many cases, many of them just common fishermen, uneducated men. One was even a tax collector who would have pretty much been the enemy of everyone. These are not the kind of men you would expect Jesus to entrust with such important work. The preacher pointed out all these things and was absolutely correct in doing so. The problem was in his application of the text. His sermon was about marriage. The primary idea of his sermon seemed to be that since Jesus was so accepting of men like the twelve apostles, we should be accepting of our marriage partner even though they are imperfect. That is a not necessarily a bad suggestion. The problem is that this text of Scripture has absolutely nothing to do with marriage. Marriage was nowhere in the author's mind when he penned this text. It may make a pretty good message, but it isn't Bible preaching. Here's why. What that preacher said is not what the Bible says. It was his word, not God's Word. He would say he was preaching God's Word, but in actuality he wasn't. That, ladies and gentlemen, is preaching that really isn't.
Contrast his approach to that text with that of well known Bible preacher and teacher John MacArthur. MacArthur also pointed out all the same textual data about the disciples being just ordinary men. He called them "remarkably unremarkable." The difference is in the way MacArthur applied the text. He applied it according to the intent of the author. MacArthur's central idea was that God uses ordinary people in the work of the kingdom. That is what this text is about, not marriage. The text demonstrates that when ordinary people meet an extraordinary Savior they become useful tools for God.
Hopefully this example of a misuse of a text of Scripture will help make us better preachers and better listeners. Don't be fooled by preaching that really isn't. Example number two next time. Blessings!
The first sermon was based on Mark 3:13-19. This is the text where Jesus appoints twelve to be apostles. These are the men who would be with Him almost constantly and He would send them out to preach. The twelve men are mentioned by name in the text. The preacher pointed out that these were not high class men. They were lower class in many cases, many of them just common fishermen, uneducated men. One was even a tax collector who would have pretty much been the enemy of everyone. These are not the kind of men you would expect Jesus to entrust with such important work. The preacher pointed out all these things and was absolutely correct in doing so. The problem was in his application of the text. His sermon was about marriage. The primary idea of his sermon seemed to be that since Jesus was so accepting of men like the twelve apostles, we should be accepting of our marriage partner even though they are imperfect. That is a not necessarily a bad suggestion. The problem is that this text of Scripture has absolutely nothing to do with marriage. Marriage was nowhere in the author's mind when he penned this text. It may make a pretty good message, but it isn't Bible preaching. Here's why. What that preacher said is not what the Bible says. It was his word, not God's Word. He would say he was preaching God's Word, but in actuality he wasn't. That, ladies and gentlemen, is preaching that really isn't.
Contrast his approach to that text with that of well known Bible preacher and teacher John MacArthur. MacArthur also pointed out all the same textual data about the disciples being just ordinary men. He called them "remarkably unremarkable." The difference is in the way MacArthur applied the text. He applied it according to the intent of the author. MacArthur's central idea was that God uses ordinary people in the work of the kingdom. That is what this text is about, not marriage. The text demonstrates that when ordinary people meet an extraordinary Savior they become useful tools for God.
Hopefully this example of a misuse of a text of Scripture will help make us better preachers and better listeners. Don't be fooled by preaching that really isn't. Example number two next time. Blessings!
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