THE ANTIDOTE TO OUR SIN– SOUND OR HEALTHY PREACHING!!

WE NEED PREACHERS TO SPEAK THE TRUTH!!

Recently someone told me that I am a hard preacher. This could be either good or bad, depending on what is meant by hard preaching. In context to the conversation, I took it as a compliment to my firm stance for my convictions.

Many people deplore hard preaching that may prick their consciences, but rather cry, “Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:10). They demand smooth things that will lull them into a spiritual sleep. They want easy listening sermons that will tickle their ears just as predicted by the apostle Paul: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (II Timothy 4:3-4).

Sometimes someone will say to me, “You sure stepped on my toes in your sermon.” My friend, if I step on your toes, I missed, because I was aiming at your heart.

In John chapter six, after hearing a sermon from Jesus in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum concerning His being the bread which came down from heaven and that those who would eat of His flesh and drink His blood would live forever, “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60). Yes, Jesus, the master preacher, was a hard preacher! Why should I consider it anything less than a compliment if I am accused of being a hard preacher, regardless of the intent of the one making the remark, because that puts me in very good company.

Peter was a Hard Preacher

When the first gospel sermon was preached in the New Testament on the day of Pentecost, Peter was talking to a group of Jews who had been guiltyof crucifying the Son of God. He said, “Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23). Peter could have preached any number of sermons to that audience and never have mentioned their sins. He could have preached the truth for a long time, he might have even held a gospel meeting in their midst and never mentioned the fact they had been guilty of crucifying the Son of God. But he didn’t do that. In the very first sermon, he said, “Ye have taken, and by wicked hands have. crucified and slain.” That sermon might have been good preached to someone who was not guilty about those who were, but that is not the place the apostle preached it. He preached it to those who were guilty and left no doubt as to what he was saying. He said, “Ye have taken.” They knew that he was preaching the truth and they knew that they were guilty. That sermon brought conviction to their hearts and converted them to the truth. Today the church is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18). People today can crucify the Son of God afresh (Hebrews 6:6), and when we begin to crucify the spiritual body, that’s worse than crucifying the fleshly body of Christ. And when we find those who are guilty in our audience and tell them that they are crucifying the spiritual body of our Lord Jesus Christ, that is hard preaching, but it needs to be preached just as firmly as the apostles did on the day of Pentecost.

Paul was a Hard Preacher

Paul went to a place where the cultured and educated people of the world had come together. In the city of Athens at Mars Hill, there was a group of philosophers and men who had nothing to do except tell and hear some new thing. They were the educators of the day. They were the ones who prided themselves on their wisdom and their philosophy. When Paul began to preach to them, he mentioned the fact that they were idolaters. He said, “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you” (Acts 17:23). Now Paul did not say that to a group of ignorant people, nor did he say it to people who were untaught concerning the affairs of this world. He said it to people who were educated and enlightened according to the customs of the day, telling them that they were ignorant of God. He said, “Him declare I unto you.” Today we must preach hard to those who do not know God and those who do not know how to worship God according to His will. It takes hard preaching to reach those who are conceited and vain in their wills.

Paul was a hard preacher in preaching to his own brethren. Peter had been acting a hypocrite with others. He had been teaching one thing in one place and practicing something else in another. Now Peter was a brother in Christ. Not only that, but he was a gospel preacher. Furthermore, he was an inspired preacher, and yet he was to be blamed. “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why cornpellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” (Galatians 2:11-14). So you see that Paul, when he found his brethren in error, corrected them—withstood them to the face! That was hard preaching! It takes hard preaching today to reprove and correct brethren who are in error. The instructions for doing this are found in our preaching manual: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (II Timothy 4:1-2). Also, “Them that sin [elders, gfh] rebuke before all, that others also may fear. I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality” (I Timothy 5:20-21). Hard preaching? Yes,indeed! These instructions scare the gospel preacher almost to death! However, it is his unpleasant duty to teach brethren who are in sin, withstand them to the face, before others, if need he. If we are preaching to an audience where hypocrites are to be found, we shouldn’t try to cover-up their hypocrisy and make their sin look respectful. We need to preach and teach against the sins of which they are guilty.

John the Baptist was a Hard Preacher

The scripture reference is Matthew chapter fourteen. John had been imprisoned, and while he was in prison he had the opportunity to talk to Herod. Herod was living with his brother’s wife. Now John could have preached much truth and never mentioned the sin of adultery. But when he looked at Herod and saw the sin of which he was guilty, he said, “It is not lawful for thee to have her” (Matthew 14:4). In other words, he pointed out the specific sin that Herod was guilty of and said that it was not lawful for him to live like he was. He could have preached a sermon on baptism, or a sermon on love, or a sermon on any number of good things, and maybe would not have bothered Herod very much. But he preached on adultery! He told him he was living in sin. That one sermon finally cost John his head, but nevertheless, he preached the truth to those who needed to hear it. That was indeed hard preaching! Today, gospel preachers must do some hard preaching to those who are living in adultery. We should not skip over it and say maybe it will be all right (as many preachers are doing). We need to cry the same thing that John did long ago. We need to say, “It is not lawful for thee to have her” (Matthew 14:4; 5:32; 19:3-9).

Regardless of the consequences, we need to preach the truth today to those who need to hear it. To those who are guilty of some sin, that sin needs to be pointed out and specifically condemned when there is need. We need to say, as did John to those who are living in adultery, “It is not lawful for thee to have her.” That is hard preaching, but it may save a soul from being lost in hell.

When my preaching seems hard, it is not just because I want to he a hard preacher, but because I love you. Some of my brethren wish that I didn’t love them so much. My friend, I love you too much to see you lose your soul if there is any-thing that I can say to prevent it. If you are lost, I want to make hell so real to you that you can almost feel the heat and smell the sulfur.

 

WHERE ARE OUR PREACHERS? WHO WILL STAND IN THE GAP!!

When Hard Hearts Need Hard Words of Truth!!!

The preacher was all alone in his stand for truth and right because the assembly had become so worldly, and now he was the “troubler in Israel”. He was so discouraged that he decided to quit preaching. He was miserable when preaching the truth because no one wanted or appreciated the truth. He was despised and rejected. But, though he had been miserable preaching the truth, he also knew he would be miserable in relation to God if he compromised truth for the sake of peace. This moved him to the decision to quit preaching altogether. But, because truth is so needed and so important, and most of all, so powerfully embedded in his heart, it became a fire burning in his heart and conscience, and he found himself now miserable for NOT preaching that truth that could save souls. The man that was miserable, because the assembly had become too liberal and worldly and did not desire truth, was Jeremiah. The man that found he could not refrain from preaching is also Jeremiah. His struggles are the struggles of the conscientious preacher found scattered here and there across this land.

I remember from childhood hearing brethren make the comment that “a man should not preach if he can keep from it”. What he meant was that only conscientious, convicted, passionate, sincere men should preach the gospel. There are too many men peddling an empty, compromising message that does not challenge sin, and is all too ready to tickle ears for the sake of popularity. If it is not an overwhelming conviction and drive within you, you will likely compromise it under pressure of losing your income or your popularity among people you think more highly of than you do the word of God.

Conscientious preaching is likely THE most stressful occupation in the world. No conscientious preacher is ever paid what his message is actually worth. It is quite often the case that the conscientious preacher is looking for ways to address sin in the congregation because he passionately wants to save souls from death and keep down the leaven of sin in the congregation, and others are undermining his efforts behind his back, and set themselves to try to make him miserable until he decides either to leave or to quit addressing real sin. Some preachers should not be preaching because their message is always positive (peace, peace, when there is no peace) and never addresses the real needs of the church.

Jeremiah challenges us to go back to the covenant, ask for the old paths. The assembly needs to not only DESIRE that kind of preaching, but we need to DEMAND no less. Preaching is the Holy Spirit’s way of “convicting the world of sin” and to bring a worldly church like Corinth back to the standard. May God raise us up some more men like Jeremiah who are willing to “root out”, “pull down”, “destroy”, so that some real “building” and “planting” can take place in this age of the worldly “church of Christ”. May God raise up conscientious members who want the old paths and will take nothing less than sound, sin-exposing, and true salvation-offering gospel preaching. I heard a 93 year old brother tell me that he is concerned about the way churches are drifting today. With tears in his eyes he said he has seen once sound congregations in the drift away from the old paths. I’ve seen it too, and I know the feeling of Jeremiah when the majority in a congregation will count you as the troubler if you do not keep quiet and ignore the sins of worldliness that brethren intend to continue without remedy.

It seems that many places need hard words of truth in order to penetrate the level of hardness of heart that has taken hostage whole congregations and has made the leaders worthless shepherds who can no longer protect the flock. Consider this, and examine yourselves whether you be in the faith, or whether we have settled on playing church. Who will preach all the truth without compromise today? I hope there are 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal, but sometimes it seems that the majority of church members are willing to compromise God’s word too easily and turn their heads when real sin issues need to be addressed, and too many preachers are willing to preach empty lessons of no substance that ever addresses the sinful hearts leavening the church.

Preach the word, all of it. Preach it to save your soul and those who hear you. God will judge us by the entirety of His word. Souls within and without need the truth desperately. Let us rise to the challenges before us with conviction. Love for God and for our souls and the souls of others demands it

 

MORE MONDAY MORNING MUSINGS!!

*I  THOUGHT  THIS  WAS  POWERFUL!!

Life is a journey – NOT a guided tour

The Old Phone When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it. Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was “Information Please” and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone’s number and the correct time. My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear. “Information, please” I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear. “Information.” I hurt my finger…” I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience. “Isn’t your mother home?” came the question. “Nobody’s home but me,” I blubbered. “Are you bleeding?” the voice asked. “No,” I replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.” “Can you open the icebox?” she asked. I said I could. “Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,” said the voice. After that, I called “Information Please” for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, Information Please,” and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, “Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?” She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, “Paul always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.” Somehow I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone, “Information Please.” “Information,” said in the now familiar voice. “How do I spell fix?” I asked. All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. “Information Please” belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me. Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy. A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, “Information Please.” Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. “Information.” I hadn’t planned this, but I heard myself saying, “Could you please tell me how to spell fix?” There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, “I guess your finger must have healed by now.” I laughed, “So it’s really you,” I said. “I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?” I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.” I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister. “Please do”, she said. “Just ask for Sally.” Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, “Information.” I asked for Sally. “Are you a friend?” she said. “Yes, a very old friend,” I answered. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.” Before I could hang up she said, “Wait a minute, did you say your name was Paul?” “Yes.” I answered. “Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.” The note said, “Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.” I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant. Never underestimate the impression you may make on others. Whose life have you touched today? Lifting you on eagle’s wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for. Life is a journey … NOT a guided tour

 

MORE MONDAY MORNING MUSINGS!!

things to make you laugh and think – page 2

Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited …. until you try to sit
in their pews.

Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

The good Lord didn’t create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come
close.

When you get to your wit’s end, you’ll find God lives there.

People are funny, they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road,
and the back of the church.

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door
forever.

Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn’t belong.

The phrase that is guaranteed to wake up an audience: “And in conclusion.”

If the church wants a better preacher, it only needs to pray for the one it
has.

God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should
you?

To make a long story short, don’t tell it.

Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

Peace starts with a smile.

I don’t know why some people change churches; what difference does it make
which one you stay home from?

A lot of church members who are singing “Standing on the Promises” are just
sitting on the premises.

We were called to be witnesses — not lawyers or judges.

Outside of traffic, there is nothing that holds this country back as much
as committees.

Be ye fishers of men. You catch them – He’ll clean them.

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Don’t put a question mark where God put a period.

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

God loves everyone, but probably prefers “fruits of the spirit” over
“religious nuts!”

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

He who angers you, controls you!

If God is your Co-pilot – swap seats!

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not
protect you.

We don’t change the message, the message changes us.

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

The best mathematical equation I have ever seen:
1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given

 

MONDAY MORNING MUSINGS!!

1. Give God what’s right — not what’s left.

2. Man’s way leads to a hopeless end — God’s way leads to an endless hope.

3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma–but never let him be
the period.

6. Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period.

7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.

8. When praying, don’t give God instructions ” just report for duty”.

9. Don’t wait for six strong men to take you to church.

10. We don’t change God’s message — His message changes us.

11. The church is prayer-conditioned.

12. When God ordains, He sustains.

13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

14. Plan ahead — It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

17. Exercise daily — walk with the Lord.

18. Never give the devil a ride — he will always want to drive.

19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

21. He who angers you controls you.

22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.

23. Give Satan an inch & he’ll be a ruler.

24. Be ye fishers of men — you catch them & He’ll clean them.

25. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

26. Read the Bible — It will scare the Devil out of you.