The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
October 21, 2007
In
This Issue:
What
Motivates You: Truth or Lies?
by
Steve Klein
Good
Sermon, Preacher!
by
Stacey E. Durham
What Motivates You: Truth or Lies?
Browsing the internet the other day, I found a couple of lists on the subject, "The Top Ten Ways to tell you that are not reading your Bible enough." Here are some of the better ways to tell:
10. You really can't remember if it was Moses or Noah that took the animals on the ark.
9. You fall for the old preacher's joke, "Turn in your Bibles to the book of Hezekiah," when there really is no book of Hezekiah.
8. You think Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob may have had a few hit songs during the '60s.
7. You're just sure that "Do not dance" and "Do not gamble" are two of the Ten Commandments.
6. You notice that the Bible that you've had for the past twenty years still feels and smells new.
5. You believe absolutely everything that the newspaper and television says, but you question the truthfulness and reliability of the Bible.
4. You open to the gospel of Luke and a World War II savings bond falls out.
3. Your favorite Old Testament hero of faith is Hercules.
2. The kids keep asking you too many questions about your usual bedtime story called, Jonah the Shepherd-Boy and His Ark of Many Colors.
1. The preacher announces the sermon is from Genesis and you have to check the table of contents.
Way number 5 jumped out at me. How true it is! The news media reports that man-made global warming is threatening the world's polar bear population. So, that is what is taught to our children at school, and they come home upset and on fire to save the polar bear and the world from global warming. But do we really KNOW that the polar bears are declining? And, IF they are, do we really KNOW that man-made global warming causes it? Maybe not. In a column last week, Mona Charen reported the following:
"&ldots;it seems that of the 20 subpopulations of polar bear, one or possibly two are declining in population. But more than half are stable, and two are increasing. Actually, the world population of polar bears has mushroomed over the past several decades, from some 5,000 in the 1960s to about 25,000 today, due to stricter regulation of hunting. As for those two subgroups that are declining in population, they live in regions in which the temperatures have actually been dropping over the past 50 years, whereas the subgroups that have seen an increase in population live in areas that have been getting warmer. "
On the other hand, the Bible says that the majority of human souls are going down a path that will lead to their eternal destruction (Matthew 7:13). Do we really believe it? Are we getting our kids fired up to serve the Lord by spreading the gospel of salvation to mankind? Do we care as much about the soul of our next door neighbor that is truly in jeopardy as we do the life of a polar bear that may not be in danger at all? What informs our thoughts and motivates our lives: God's truth or man's lies? And, how much do we really know about the truth of God that is found in His book?
-- Steve Klein
I suppose that no one receives more praise for his work than a preacher when he gives a sermon. Nearly every member of the church congratulates the preacher for a good sermon as they walk out the door after worship. Wouldn't it be nice if everybody was praised by their bosses, coworkers, and family members every time they did a good job in their work? As it is, most people take care of their responsibilities without much praise or recognition at all.
As much as a preacher appreciates the praise, he knows that his sermon cannot be effective for his listeners unless they will make the proper use of his lesson. The kind comments and praise that he receives are hollow if they are not followed by meaningful application of the message he has taught. Unless the listeners will do the things that are enjoined on them through the word of God and the preacher's sermon, the preacher is nothing more than a performer who provides entertainment for his audience.
Sometimes a preacher can relate to the watchman Ezekiel, for God told Ezekiel that the people would listen to his words, but they would not do them. Notice Ezekiel 33:30-32: "But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, 'Come now, and hear what the message is which comes forth from the Lord.' And they come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people, and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. And behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not practice them." The figure of a "sensual song" conveys the idea of God's messenger being regarded as nothing more than an entertainer. His words entertain for a time, but then they are disregarded in favor of worldly indulgence.
God's words through Ezekiel are very similar to the words spoken by Jesus (Matt. 7:24-27) and the words written by James (Jas. 1:22-25). Jesus compared those who hear His words and act upon them to a wise man who built his house on a foundation of rock, while those who hear His words and do not act upon them are like a foolish man who builds his house on a foundation of sand. James wrote that we should be "doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." In both teachings, we see that those who think they have accomplished something of value simply by hearing the word of God are foolish and self-delusional. Only those who do the word of God are counted as wise.
These teachings and our own logic tell us that in relation to the word of God, there are essentially three categories of people: those who hear the word and act upon it, those who hear the word and do not act upon it, and those who do not hear the word at all. Those who hear the word and act upon it are wise, for they please God and secure for themselves a place in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21). Those who hear the word and do not act upon it receive the same results as those who do not hear the word at all, which is failure to please God. However, those who hear the word and do not act upon it often feel as if they have accomplished more than those who have not heard at all. This is the self-delusion of which James wrote. In truth, hearing the word is of little value if it is disregarded, for the word becomes a wasted seed that never bears fruit in the hearer.
Therefore, we see that it is good to desire the hearing of God's word, but we have to love the doing of it also. Our ears may be stimulated by a "good preacher," i.e. a man who speaks eloquently and powerfully, but our souls should be stimulated by a preacher of good, i.e. a man who speaks the good word of God. Our emphasis should not be on the quality of the speaking but on the content of the speech. If we have learned to love the hearing of God's word, then let us make ourselves complete by acting upon the word of God also. When we have learned this, then we can say to the preacher, "Good sermon," and we can really mean it.
-- Stacey E. Durham