"Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal...This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." - John 6:26-27, 29
Jesus had a large crowd before Him (5,000) and He felt compassion for them. He then miraculously fed them all and had food to spare. Now many from this great crowd were following Him - but only because they wanted their bellies filled. So Jesus, not wanting them to miss the point, confronted them with the Gospel, saying, "I am the bread of life, He who comes to me will not hunger." He had told them they are coming to Him for the wrong reasons - to fill there temporal needs. What they needed was eternal life. But many began to grumble and say, "This is hard teaching -who can listen to it?" As a result, many of His disciples withdrew and walked with Him no more. But our Master had declared to them everlasting life but they walked away from Him. Was Jesus too harsh? Do you think He had regretted saying those things? Did He have a lot to learn about being a politician? Perish the thought!
He spoke the hard truth - that unless they believed in Him they would perish. What love! A true friend always speaks truth - in love - but the truth is spoken.
I recently inquired about a churches outreach ministry. They have a benevolence fund (what a time for it) and give generously to the needy that come to our church seeking help. Be it a gas card, help with rent, help with a car payment, or help with groceries - they give as they could to the needy. They even have established follow-ups with them and provide financial planning and other helps. This is a wonderful thing to do. They are being good Samaritans. Or are they???
I asked how they share the gospel with all these people that come to the church seeking help, and was sad to discover that they do not share the gospel "with words" but through their actions. In other words, they thought their good deeds were "enough".
My friends, faith comes by hearing! The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation! We are commanded to teach, to preach the gospel and to baptize, and to proclaim repentance in His name for the forgiveness of sins. I am not saying we shouldn't help the needy, but use this to start a conversation about the greater Hope - Jesus Christ Himself. But I am saying that without the Gospel, we are handing them a cup of cold water on their way to hell. Not only that, but our silence preaches, "Peace! Peace!" when there is no peace.
Think of the message you preach to them! What will they think when they walk away: "What nice people, surely they must be going to heaven because the are such good people!" Is this the gospel: do good to others you will be a friend of God?
Be bold and compassionate by feeding the body and the soul. Proclaim the bread from heaven. Some (if not many) may grumble and walk with you no more, BUT His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him, and like Peter say, "You have the words of eternal life."
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Modern Day Preaching
"Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you..." - II Peter 1:10
As a husband, I'm ignorant of a lot of things. For example, when my wife wants to "talk". I'm not sure how to listen properly without wanting to take corrective action. She just wants me to listen. In this case my ignorance probably isn't going to be fatal. Or when the fridge has a leak, I don't have a clue on how to fix that. In which I can get a repair man to help me and again, this ignorance probably isn't going to be fatal.
Consider all the warnings in Scriptures to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. They are put there to either give us assurance or to show us that we're lost. This ignorance fatal. Its consequences are eternal.
Just listen to most preaching these days! To enter in at the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13,14) you have to face the reality that you are a guilty criminal in the sight of God. As a wretched and vile offender of His perfect righteousness, holiness, and justice, you must find a way that you can stand in His awesome presence for all eternity. That's the biblical picture of God and natural man as His enemy. But the preaching of today will offer you 10 Steps to improve your life. Sermons like these will never bring you despair of your position before the King of Kings! The call to come to Jesus these days is to "just accept Christ" or "come to this alter and repeat a little prayer." And if you did that, "Praise God you are now His child for ever."
This is the common "method of salvation" in American Christianity. But it is unbiblical and is no where in Scripture. Because we've all suffered from this idolatress preaching of a god who is just loving toward us and a god who never judges or even cares about right and wrong. And we're told to just come to Jesus because He's the best thing that you can add to your life. But compare this god with the God of the Bible! Compare these gospel invitations to Jesus (love incarnate) when He invites us to come. He does not call us to "ask" Him into our hearts, but commands us to count the cost (Luke 14:28), repent (Mark 1:15), deny yourself (Matt 16:24), bear the cross (Luke 14:27).
If the preaching doesn't bring you to the point of "hungering and thirsting for righteousness" (Mat 5:6) it's simply not a biblical call to salvation. And you will come lacking genuine repentance, and with out repentance you can't be saved (Luke 13:3)!!
Much of the felt needs preaching of today doesn't make anyone tremble of fear the Lord. Initial fear of the Lord is needed to make a sinner "hunger and thirst" for Christ. What do we do in the church today? Let's preach to them 'stuff' that going to help with their daily life. This way you will come back next week and maybe join our fellowship.
How about you dear reader? Have you ever trembled before the throne of God as a helpless guilty criminal - casting yourself on His infinite mercies? Have you seen the Lamb that was slain for sinners, Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Do you know Him? Humble yourself today and cry out to God that He might save your soul!
How about you dear preacher? Do you say, 'peace, peace' when there's no peace? May God have mercy on you. Stop loving self and church attendance! Turn to face the Chief Shepherd and follow Him as a true under-shepherd, so that your flock (which God has given you that you will answer for) will follow you to Christ.
As a husband, I'm ignorant of a lot of things. For example, when my wife wants to "talk". I'm not sure how to listen properly without wanting to take corrective action. She just wants me to listen. In this case my ignorance probably isn't going to be fatal. Or when the fridge has a leak, I don't have a clue on how to fix that. In which I can get a repair man to help me and again, this ignorance probably isn't going to be fatal.
Consider all the warnings in Scriptures to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith. They are put there to either give us assurance or to show us that we're lost. This ignorance fatal. Its consequences are eternal.
Just listen to most preaching these days! To enter in at the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13,14) you have to face the reality that you are a guilty criminal in the sight of God. As a wretched and vile offender of His perfect righteousness, holiness, and justice, you must find a way that you can stand in His awesome presence for all eternity. That's the biblical picture of God and natural man as His enemy. But the preaching of today will offer you 10 Steps to improve your life. Sermons like these will never bring you despair of your position before the King of Kings! The call to come to Jesus these days is to "just accept Christ" or "come to this alter and repeat a little prayer." And if you did that, "Praise God you are now His child for ever."
This is the common "method of salvation" in American Christianity. But it is unbiblical and is no where in Scripture. Because we've all suffered from this idolatress preaching of a god who is just loving toward us and a god who never judges or even cares about right and wrong. And we're told to just come to Jesus because He's the best thing that you can add to your life. But compare this god with the God of the Bible! Compare these gospel invitations to Jesus (love incarnate) when He invites us to come. He does not call us to "ask" Him into our hearts, but commands us to count the cost (Luke 14:28), repent (Mark 1:15), deny yourself (Matt 16:24), bear the cross (Luke 14:27).
If the preaching doesn't bring you to the point of "hungering and thirsting for righteousness" (Mat 5:6) it's simply not a biblical call to salvation. And you will come lacking genuine repentance, and with out repentance you can't be saved (Luke 13:3)!!
Much of the felt needs preaching of today doesn't make anyone tremble of fear the Lord. Initial fear of the Lord is needed to make a sinner "hunger and thirst" for Christ. What do we do in the church today? Let's preach to them 'stuff' that going to help with their daily life. This way you will come back next week and maybe join our fellowship.
How about you dear reader? Have you ever trembled before the throne of God as a helpless guilty criminal - casting yourself on His infinite mercies? Have you seen the Lamb that was slain for sinners, Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Do you know Him? Humble yourself today and cry out to God that He might save your soul!
How about you dear preacher? Do you say, 'peace, peace' when there's no peace? May God have mercy on you. Stop loving self and church attendance! Turn to face the Chief Shepherd and follow Him as a true under-shepherd, so that your flock (which God has given you that you will answer for) will follow you to Christ.
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