The Importance of Emphasis

One criterion of good Bible study and teaching is that we emphasize what the text emphasizes. Many preachers use the "springboard" method of preaching that starts with a premise outside of scripture. Verses are used to confirm this extra-biblical premise to validate it. This is the same as a builder constructing a building without a foundation. The building can be no stronger than the foundation: if the foundation is faulty, the building will not stand.

A preacher has a responsibility similar to the media in that he must hold forth the unbiased truth. The media does not always provide honest, hard facts. I was working at San Diego State University on the campus and watched a news team with cameras interview a group of people holding signs. One of the ten people of the group held a megaphone speaking out against "injustice," while five other people milled around with signs. It occurred to me that out of the thousands of people that walked by, the handful with signs would be on the Evening News. Though they clearly did not speak for the majority, their voice would be heard the loudest. It was not their position as much as their persuasion that grabbed attention.

I am saddened to think that this "springboard" preaching could be the norm rather than the exception. I have always attended a church that preached and taught through the Bible. I looked out a website today from an pastor and perused his video library. Messages included a series on the rapture, one series on numerical codes in the Bible, and the emergent church. I do not see how any of these topics even deserve a sermon title, much less a series! This is an over-emphasis of doctrine that twists the scripture out of joint.

Take the rapture, for instance. It would be fair to say the Bible does not emphasize the rapture. Reference to what we commonly call the "rapture," the "catching up" of the church to meet the Lord in the air is only found in two small portions of scripture: 1 Cor. 15:51-53 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18. Words intended to comfort no doubt confuse when blown out of proportion! The teaching of the rapture is held forth by scripture. There are also fewer things more divisive when people argue over when this will occur! The emphasis of scripture is to hold forth the truth of the rapture so all might be ready for it, not argue about when it will happen. When Jesus was asked by His disciples when He would return to set up His kingdom He said in Acts 1:7-8: "...It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. [8] But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Here we have Christ's emphasis: the time and date is not important, but their Holy Spirit-empowered witness in the meantime was very important.

In teaching, we must remember that we are messengers of God's truth. We are to deliver the message once delivered through the Holy Spirit. Jude 1:3 says, "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." Because the prevailing wind of false doctrine will threaten to move us from the foundation of Christ, we must contend earnestly to remain rooted on the truth of scripture. Should we pry into the misty subjective "doctrines" concerning numbers when Jesus did no such thing? Why go stumbling around in the dark when Christ has brought us such brilliant, vibrant light? The scriptures are intended to point a man to God and His glory. The devil would like nothing more than to take our focus from the Source of Life Jesus Christ.

I am on dangerous ground when I emphasize what the Bible does not! What a gross sin it would be to lead people to the rock at Meribah when we God has given us living water through the Holy Spirit without measure! God has made us fountains of living water through rebirth by the blood of Jesus, and man tries to squeeze water from stones! 2 Peter 3:10-12 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. [11] Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, [12] looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?"

The Day of the Lord is not the emphasis here. The emphasis of the passage is to cause all to consider what manner of people we ought to be in holy godliness, looking for the coming day of the Lord. Since all will be dissolved, how ought we to live for God while we still have time? There are plenty of well-meaning people who would love to spend a month of Sundays explaining all the hidden truth which explains when that day will come. I am reminded of the words of Christ in Matthew 15:14: "Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." It grieves me to see the wrestling that occurs in that ditch. I spent a good portion of my life in that ditch. But God in His mercy, pulled me from that pit! I am determined to stand clear of that ditch on the clear promises of God. It is He that has opened my eyes, and I choose to place the emphasis of my life upon Him.

The point of this post was not to "take shots" at anyone or decry a particular style of preaching. The point must be emphasized: we are to preach Christ, and Him crucified from all parts of scripture as the LORD leads. Beware of those who camp on issues not emphasized in scripture. Like a body needs healthy food to be strengthened, mature, and grow, we need the pure milk and meat of the Word to grow spiritually. If a doctrine takes your eyes from Christ, then it is not pure doctrine. All good doctrine elevates and magnifies Christ. Taste and see that the LORD, HE is good!

The Great Omission

Churches throughout the world place emphasis on teaching of the Word of God.  Modern-day sermons are vehicles to express themes that range from "God's best for you" to "Jesus loves you and has a plan for your life."  Though often sermons are the centerpiece of a Sunday morning worship service, I am amazed how infrequent God and His attributes are the centerpiece of those sermons.  If there is a cause for the disillusionment, ignorance and faithlessness of the modern church it is largely due to the shift from God to what a man can get from God.

When was the last time you heard a message that focused on God, like His perfection, justice, mercy, immutability (the fact He does not change)?  I feel the need to define immutable because it is likely you have never heard the theological term used by Holy Spirit-fired preachers of centuries past to try to describe God:  Malachi 3:6 says, "For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob."  Take in the wonder how God does not change.  What He has said He will do, and emotions will never lead Him from His prescribed course.  He does not have opinions that waver according to His approval rating.  God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and this will never change no matter how many people blaspheme His holy name.

I love reading the words of preachers who long ago have been ushered into eternity because of the wealth of content and description found in their writings.  Over time we have seen the English language that once soared over the mountains plunge into the gutter!  Read the Declaration of Independence, if you can follow it.  Such highly wrought sentence structure today leaves us glazed-eyed and slack-jawed!  The church is the not only place we have seen this phenomena, but we see this reduction of complexity everywhere in the world.  We have grown accustomed to it.  Classic music composed for an entire symphony has been replaced by three men in a garage with electric amplification; grand paintings and portraits that took years to complete have been replaced with Photo Shop; acting in grand halls has been replaced by youtube clips; powerful speeches like the Gettysburg address have been replaced with "Married With Children" one liner cut-downs and tweets about eating lunch.  The Meaningful has been fully eclipsed by the meaningless, which is like a mirror that brings only ourselves into focus.  We become the breadth and depth of our existence, and that is a thimble half-full compared to the ocean that cannot even begin to quantify our Maker.  As you cannot quantify eternity in years, so you cannot sum up the Divine Infinitude that is GOD with a few meager words.

Could it be possible that the church has lost sight of God?  Is it conceivable we have grown apart from Him due to fads and passing winds of doctrine?  How long have we been drifting on the current of current events?  It seems the only things that fire up the church these days is an external fire when God intends we cultivate the inner fire of the Holy Spirit.  Moral issues like abortion and gay marriage, books like The Prayer of Jabez, The DaVinci Code, conspiracies like Y2K, fads like WWJD? and the constant upheaval in economics and politics stir the hearts of most churchgoers more than God Himself!  How about we turn our eyes upon Jesus?  How about we shift our view from the temporal to the face of the Eternal?  So much of our focus is the equivalent of sparking up strange fire like Nadab and Abihu.  The hearts of many would rather pay money to seek familiar spirits with King Saul than pay the price of devotion and obedience to wait for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

If our church experience becomes more about people than God, it's not church.  Jesus is the Head of the body, and we live to glorify and praise Him.  God must be the center of all that we do, for it is He who works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure.  I've decided that in my preaching I need to do a better job of making God the focus.  I need to emphasize who God is by magnifying His divine infinite attributes.  There is a benefit to observation, interpretation, and application, but God must be lifted up as the centerpiece of the discourse.  A sermon must be a scaffold to elevate the low mind of man to consider the holy infinite God, and  must never be seen as the building itself.  When you know what a man is like, you know how he will act.  You cannot trust in a God you do not know.  The longer we remain ignorant of our God, the weaker our faith and witness will be.  Thousands of years ago God was worthy of all glory, honor and praise.  Because He does not change He will remain worthy for thousands of years to come, from eternity to eternity.  Let us determine to know Him better!

Think on these things!

I brought a single book besides the Bible to Australia, A Body of Divinity by Thomas Watson.  It was originally printed in 1692, and the truth it contains remains to this day.  I would like to quote a paragraph from the book concerning the wisdom of God.  It's rather long, but as a gourmet meal is not prepared in 10 seconds, deep thoughts or a spiritual nature are rarely conveyed in a sentence.

The wisdom of God wonderfully appears in the works of His providence.  Every providence has a mercy or a wonder wrapt up in it.  The wisdom of God, in His works of providence, appears.  (I.) By effecting great things by small contemptible means.  He cured the stung Israelites by a brazen serpent.  If some sovereign antidote had been used, if the balm of Gilead had been brought, there had been some likelihood of a cure; but what was there in a brazen serpent?  It was a mere image, and not applied to him that was wounded, he was to look upon it only; yet this wrought a cure.  The less probability in the instrument, the more is God's wisdom seen. (2.) The wisdom of God is seen in doing His work by that which to the eye of flesh seem quite contrary.  God intended to advance Joseph, and to make all his brethrens' sheaves bow to his sheaf.  Now, what way does He take?  First Joseph is thrown into the pit; then sold into Egypt; then after that put in prison (Gen. 39:20).  By his imprisonment God made way for his advancement.  For God to save in an ordinary way would not so much display His wisdom.  But when He goes strangely to work, and saves in that very way in which we think He will destroy, his wisdom shines forth in a most conspicuous manner.  God would make Israel victorious, and what way does He take?  He lessens Gideon's army.  'The people that are with thee are too many' (Judg. 7:2).  He reduces the army of two and thirty thousand to three hundred; and by taking away the means of victory makes Israel victorious.  God had a design to bring His people out of Egypt, and a strange course He takes to effect it.  He stirred up the hearts of the Egyptians to hate them.  'He turned their heart to hate His people' (Ps. 105:25).  The more they hated and oppressed Israel, the more God plagued the Egyptians, and the more glad they were to let Israel go (Ex. 12:33).  The Egyptians were urgent upon Israel, that they might end them out of the land in haste.  God had a mind to save Jonah when he was cast into the sea, and He let the fish swallow him up, and so brought him to the shore.  God would save Paul, and all that were in the ship with him, but the ship must break, and they all came safe to land upon the broken pieces of the ship (Acts 27:44).  In reference to the church, God often goes by contrary means, and makes the enemy do His work.  He can make a straight stroke with a crooked stick.  He has often made His church grow and flourish by persecution.  'The showers of blood have made her more fruitful,' say Julian.  Ex. 1:10: 'Come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply.  Verse 12:  'The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied;' like ground, the more it is harrowed the better crop it bears.  The apostles were scattered by reason of persecution, and their scattering was like that scattering of seed; they went up and down, and preached the gospel, and brought daily converts.  Paul was put in prison, and his bonds were the means of spreading the gospel (Phil. 1:12).

Consider the wisdom of God at work in your own life:  can you not see His great handiwork?  He is great and above all and uses the weak instrumentality of our flesh and the circumstances of this life to fulfill His purposes.  Rejoice in the LORD always, again I say rejoice!  The One who allows you to abound and lack will sustain you through the dry and rainy seasons alike.  The One who knows your frame also knows your feelings.  He knows your circumstances well, for it is He that ordained them.  He wants to use all things to refine and mold us into the image of Christ that He may be glorified.  Should we not glorify our God for these things?

What I did today...

Perhaps you're wondering how I'm spending my time over in OZ.  If I was staying in El Cajon with my family, it may not be quite as interesting.  People here put their pants on one leg at a time just like at home, but because it is 7,300 miles from home it garners interest!

I left San Diego at 8:50pm bound for Los Angeles and departed for Brisbane at 11:20pm.  The flight was about 13 hours and went very smoothly.  I arrived at 6:30am to find that the exchange rate had swung against the dollar severely.  In May when I handed the money changer $300 American I received $400 in Australian dollars:  this time I forked over $400 and received $412.  Unfortunately nothing is cheaper than before, but God has provided abundantly for me!

Since my arrival, I still have not been waked by the sound of my alarm.  I go to bed around 10pm or later feeling very tired and wake up at around 5am feeling very tired!  The beauty of life in AUS is coffee provided nearly all day, so there's no excuse to continue feeling tired.  The Landman family makes terrific coffee, and the teens in the house Louise and Johan informed me they have been drinking coffee since the age of two.

I started my morning with prayer and Bible reading, and at about 7am shared some "brekky" and coffee with Louis.  Brekky this morning was cereal with "full cream milk," which included prunes, strawberries, kiwi, and a mix of corn and bran flakes.  The "kiwi fruit" as they call it here looks no different but certainly has a mellow, sweet flavor unlike any kiwi I've ever eaten.

After eating we began the preparations for Joe to come over, a fellow immigrant and friend of Louis from South Africa.  Joe is a skilled electrician and Louis planned to install some canned lighting.  After laying out the lights over the kitchen area, Joe amazed me by accessing the work literally through the roof!  He removed some tiles from the roof to drill with the hole saw down through the sheetrock lid.  Louis snapped the 15 watt cans in place and the room received much needed illumination!

I spent the next hour trimming the hedges in front of the house.  Hedges are hedges wherever you are, but I had Louis take a picture just to prove that I actually did something productive here, not that you wouldn't believe me or anything.  Isn't it great that we can trim the hedge unto the LORD as well as preach?  After a minor "set-back" which involved a cord repair, things went in quick order.


After yard work and lunch Louis and I rode his scooter over to the hospital, where Louis' wife Sonja is recovering from a procedure.  While we were visiting her, we were able to meet with Phil and Linda White who brought her flowers.  It was a great to talk together, and riding onthe back of the scooter was quite memorable.  There we were, riding a scooter to "Woolies" (Woolworths) and the hospital at 80km an hour, wearing matching helmets and blue shirts.  When we stopped at an intersection, some little kids actually said hi to us, laughing in amusement.  We were quite a spectacle to be sure!

After arrival at home in the afternoon, I returned a call to Heath from Calvary Chapel in Canberra.  During our conversation I was blessed by his genuine love and support as he encouraged me to seek the LORD's will in everything I do here.  He was blessed to hear that God has put AUS on my heart, and he offered me a place to stay if God should lead me to visit.  I have no doubt that our paths with cross during this trip, and I trust that God will make the way clear.

Well, I'm off to the store to buy some fish with Louis, and I'll try my hand at some night driving on the other side of the road.  I have to hurry to be home by 7:30pm to catch the semi-final rugby match between the Brisbane Broncos and the  Melbourne Storm.  The winner will play in the final next week against the Eels.  Gotta love footy!  Be blessed in Jesus name, and continue to pray that God's will be done in earth as it is in heaven, in Australia, USA, and across the globe!