Called to Speak! Psalm 145:4-7

Why is social media so popular with the companies we do business with? Why are they always desperate to maintain a presence on things like Facebook and Twitter? Why do they have competitions now that you have to retweet lines or like products, or even sharing things on your Facebook page to get extra entries?

Because the best way to get the word out about something is through people who like what you have. TV, print and internet advertising might get people interested, but nothing excites people more than hearing from others who have experienced a product or service.

In my house I am known as the Kindle Evangelist – because I think the product is really really good. And I tell everyone who wants to know. Amazon love people like me – because I have used their product and love it! That is worth more to them than thousands of dollars of advertising – because people listen to what their friends have to say!

One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
(Psalm 145:4-7 ESV)

Coming back to our Psalm for the week – how does the Word of God spread? Through people telling others about it. For most people (not all, but most), their first and primary experience with the Word of God was when someone told them about it.

Just this week I had a conversation with someone at work. He’s only a few years out of school – and he knew absolutely nothing of the Gospel. He had really no idea about anything to do with the Bible, about Jesus, or even about history as a whole. He thought all Christians believed the world was 2000 years old, and that as soon as anything was considered ‘science’ we would reject it immediately no matter what. He said he knew he was baptized but doesn’t even know what that means! (A conversation around infant baptism maybe we should move to another day). So in a modern western nation, we have people who have lived their whole lives without any exposure to the Gospel. They know nothing of God, they know nothing of His Mighty Works. All they know is what they learned in school – which in many cases is not much!

So what are we called to do?

The first thing is that we need to be told of the wondrous works of God. The next thing is that we experience them in our own lives – I have experienced God’s hand directly in my life many times, and I could tell you experience after experience where my life was affected!

Next, we need to meditate on these things. We need to truly understand – deep in our hearts – how awesome God really is. Not just as a door to door salesperson who is just looking for their next commission, but as someone who has truly experienced God in our lives and are thankful and for Him! Going back to the Kindle – it is something I have experienced and can speak out of, rather than something I have to do but don’t want to.

And finally, when we truly understand what God has done for us, it is time to share. It becomes our responsibility to share that greatness with the next generation so that they too can experience the forgiveness and grace of our Lord.

Even now in western nations like Australia, America and Europe we can no longer expect that people even know what Church is, apart from the negative societal stereotypes found in modern entertainment (which just make our job harder!). To many of them, they don’t even understand what the joke is anymore, because they don’t know the first thing about God – they don’t even know He exists!

So what do you need to do? Meditate on the awesome things God has done for us – and we will not be able to keep it to ourselves! Instead when the opportunity arises, we will want to share not only who God is, but what He has done for us.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

So this week? Share the love and mighty works of God with someone! Just like in yesterdays passage Christianity is not a team sport, don’t leave the work of sharing the Gospel to the ‘professionals’, but let the goodness of God overflow out of your heart and touch others.

I will – Psalm 145:1-3

Have you ever been part of a team? Think of a football team, every player is working towards the same goal – to score more than the other team. The goal is to win, and everyone puts in to ensure that happens! Some people might do more (say, the coach and quarterback), and some will do less, but everyone participates.

Teams are a great thing – until we decide to start running our relationship with God the same way! The pastor is the coach and quarterback, and we are just a defensive runner, who occasionally pops out and does something! How many of us (me included at times), live this way in church? We call ourselves ‘part of the team’, then sit back and let the ‘better players’ do all the work. We justify it because they have all the training, they have the relationship with God, and really, they are paid to do it!

This is not how it should be! Take a read of the start of Psalm 145.

I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
(Psalm 145:1-3 ESV)

I will. I will. I will.

Every day, I will.

Our relationship with The Creator of the universe is not like a social club where we all get together and kind of know everyone, and a few people get to talk to the ‘big boss’ themselves. Our relationship is personal, intimate and unique. We are called personally to come before God, as we are. And not only personally, but regularly! Not just once a week, month or year, but with everything we are and everything we do.

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised!

If we could just get into our heads (mine included), some of the greatness of God, it would put the rest of our lives in such stark perspective that we could do nothing but praise Him! We could do nothing but take our every care and concern to Him, as He is the one that will help and guide us through it all.

Over the next few days I want to step through Psalm 145, and see what we find. But today, let’s just remember this.

I will.

Christianity is not a team sport, but a relationship with the Almighty Creator of the universe. Lets come before him every day, forever and ever, and magnify His name.

Straining Forward and Pressing On

When you were a child, did you ever run the ‘wrong way’ on an escalator? You know, your parents are standing idly, being carried up to the next floor, whilst you ran up the ‘down’ escalator to see if you could keep up or beat them? I know I did… If you did make it to the top, it was pretty hard to beat them sometimes!

I think sometimes the Christian life is just like that – running the wrong way on an escalator. The world stands merrily on the downward path, or even walks down to get there faster  - but we are struggling up against not only the general consensus, but the ground as well! If we strain forward – we make a little headway. But even if we stand still our gains are lost in no time, and we are rapidly heading back towards the bottom.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14 ESV)

What Paul here is saying is that there is effort on our part to become a more mature and complete person! Even as he was writing what we now read as Scripture, he proclaimed openly that he has never been perfect, that he hasn’t yet reached full maturity. He said quite clearly that even he had to stop looking back on his past (mistakes, failures and successes), and ‘strain’ forward, ‘press on’ toward the goal.

Yes – you are justified by faith alone. But that is only the beginning of the journey.

Do you want to grow to be a more complete, mature Christian? Then it’s going to take some effort, some ‘straining and pressing’ on your part, to get the job done.

That is an encouragement to me also. Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes prayer is tough. Sometimes reading the Bible is tough. Sometimes obedience is tough. But just because things are hard doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do them! Sometimes in these cases we are called to press on – we are called to ‘strain’, to put some personal effort into making sure we do the right thing, so that we can grow.

Remember the escalator. Only when you are pressing forward do you make any progress. Even if you stand still, you will be going backwards, so press on!

Stop Going to Church! Isaiah 1

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
(Isaiah 1:16-18 ESV)

Many of us know and have heard those verses above, especially the part about forgiveness. But what precedes it? What is the real context of this call to repentance and forgiveness?

The prophet Isaiah is calling out the people of Judah regarding their heart attitudes. They still go to the temple, they bring their sacrifices. They show up every Sabbath and ‘do the right thing’. And yet, God is not pleased. Why? Because they are not doing it out of a love for God, or even to get closer to God. They are doing it ‘because they have to’. And in doing so have moved far, far away from who God has called them to be.

How many of us see church as that drab building with the hard wooden seats (mine has plastic – but they are still hard) that we visit every Sunday because it is ‘the right thing to do‘. This isn’t what we are called to! Anyone can go to a performance and public speech! They can hear some songs, maybe sing along if they like the tune, and listen to an orator impress them with his public speaking skills and knowledge of his chosen topic. And they can even complain if the orator speaks too long, or about a topic they don’t enjoy, or maybe doesn’t nail the point that Sunday.

This is not ‘church’!

Church is the gathering of God’s people. As part of that gathering, all of God’s people are involved, all of God’s people take part in fellowship with each other, under the one pastor of the church – Jesus. When we fellowship with each other, we don’t attend as mute spectators of a performance, but as functioning parts of the body of Christ!

So next time you feel like ‘going to church because you have to’ – I have one piece of advice. Don’t! Instead re-frame your mind – the church is not a building, not a place to go and ‘keep up appearances’ for an hour, but a gathering of the real church – the body of Christ – where everyone is a part and is involved.

What can we say then?

Stop going to church, and start Being the Church!

Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
“When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
(Isaiah 1:10-20 ESV)

Temperance – Striving in the right direction

This is the second of our follow on posts from the video posted here - Unwelcome Words – Prudence and Temperance - if you haven’t watched it (just under 7 minutes long) pause here and take a look!. We want to look at both prudence and temperance (because they are different) – yesterday it was prudence, today, temperance.

Again if we look in the dictionary, we might find something like this -

Moderation in action, thought, or feeling; Restraint

 Though if we are to listen to the video from Dr Kinghorn, his definition of temperance is  ’pursuing things only to the degree that they are valuable – running harder after the things of greater value, running less hard after the things of lesser value’.

Temperance however has changed in meaning over time – it has since come to primarily mean abstaining from mainly alcohol - what we speak of here is a much broader meaning. I think what we are talking about, in context of both prudence and temperance, is a combination of self-control, restraint, and actively choosing the right thing (living intentionally for the Kingdom of God).

What does the Bible say about temperance?

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
(1 Peter 4:7-8 ESV)

A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.
(Proverbs 25:28 ESV)

What does this mean for my life and yours?

I think Dr Kinghorn summed it up well when he spoke of the value proposition of any given action. Taken in hand with prudence (actively choosing to do the right thing), it becomes part of the same decision. When a choice comes before us, we weigh its value in light of the Kingdom of God and the call of Jesus on our life. We see first if it is something that is directly against what we are called to – that instantly calls for prudence to move away from the wrong path. But then when the choice is less clear, we focus our efforts on those things that have a higher value in our lives – we focus on those things that have a higher value in the Kingdom of God.

Let’s go for an (almost) real life example.

Pretend for a moment that like me, you work in computers. You have three job offers on the table (I know, funny joke, stay with me!). The first one is to work for a printer – who is known to print some questionable material on a regular basis. The second is with a local manufacturing company that produces pipes, the third is with a large charity who needs someone just like you. In the first case, prudence might say to you that working for a company that prints questionable material, and you not having any say over that, might be a bad choice. So, you are left with two. There is nothing sinful about manufacturing pipes – they are actually quite useful. But, there is a better choice – to be involved with helping the poor and downtrodden. All things being equal, I know I would then choose the last option, even if there was some disadvantage over the other jobs, if I could – because in that position I am doing something I know God has called us to do – help the poor. No, there is nothing wrong with the other job, but the charity in this case had a higher long term value.

So let’s go back to the quote from our first post.

Prudence and Temperance are perhaps the most critical determining factors in whether we make wise and Godly decisions, day in and day out.

We are not going to make job decisions every day, or even be offered three jobs in a day on a regular basis! But every day we are called to make choices about our lives, about what to do with our time, choices about whether we are going to do one thing or another. Some of those choices will involve temptation to sin – and it is up to us to make what feels like the harder call and go with prudence, and resist. It is up to us to live intentionally for the Kingdom of God in every action, so that we might glorify God every day! But we are also offered much more mundane choices on a regular basis – what are we going to do with our time? There may be no answer, or there may be no right answer all the time – but often there is a choice between doing the thing of higher long term value, or not.

This is where prudence and temperance come in to our daily lives.