The word of God is living, life-changing, and dynamic as it works in us. The demands of the word of God require decisions. We not only listen to it, we let it shape our lives. Because the word of God is living, it applied to these first-century Jewish Christians, and it applies as well as to Christians today. Most books may appear to be dusty artifacts just sitting on a shelf, but the word of God collected in Scripture vibrates with life.
The word of God penetrates through our outer facade and reveals what lies deep inside. The metaphor of the sharpest knife pictures the word of God cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires, revealing what we really are on the inside. Nothing can be hidden from God; neither can we hide from ourselves if we sincerely study the word of God. It reaches deep past our outer life as a knife passes through skin.
Two thoughts are presented by the phrase, everything is naked and exposed before his eyes. (1) We cannot give excuses, justifications, or reasons—everything is seen for exactly what it is. No one can deceive God. (2) We are exposed, powerless, and defenseless before God. The word refers to the paralyzing grip of a wrestler in a choke hold.
The word of God penetrates like a sword, exposing us to God himself to whom we must explain all that we have done. All people must give an account to God, but without trappings and rationalizations. These words give warning that believers must be careful not to drift away, but to obey God wholeheartedly. God is the final Judge. This verse paves the way for the following section describing Jesus Christ as our High Priest. With our lives laid bare before God, we would be hopelessly lost without Christ. Because he took our judgment and serves as our advocate with God, we can rest secure with God.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
One of the great problems in a lot of today’s churches is purposeless (is that a word?) preaching. So many sermons are words in search of a purpose. And if the purpose isn’t clear to the preacher, believe me, it’s not going to be to the listener. If there’s a mist in the pulpit, there’s a fog in the pew.
Without a clear purpose preaching is a misuse of the bible, it is a waist of time to the people and it is a frustration to the pastor. Our preaching has to be in harmony with God’s purpose. For the church, for our lives, for the world because if it’s not, the worst thing is we could be working counter to the purposes of God with our preaching. And the truth is, some evangelical preaching is actually counter to the purposes of God. To understand God’s purpose of preaching, we must first understand…
I. GOD’S PURPOSE FOR MAN
Now solid theology for preaching has to take into account God’s purpose for man, God’s purpose for the bible and God’s purpose for preaching.
First, what is God’s purpose for man? Roman’s 8:29 (NIV) says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
God’s purpose for man is very clear – to make us like Jesus. That has been God’s purpose from the very beginning. In Genesis 1:26 (NIV,) God says “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…”
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) says “as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.”
1 Corinthians 15:49 (NLT) says, “Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ…”
Now until you understand that this is the whole point of everything, to make people like Jesus, until you understand that, you aren’t ready to preach. What does it mean to be Christlike? Well there are lots of verses we could cover on that and we don’t have time to cover all those passages so let me summarize.
To be Christlike we need to be three things: To think like Jesus (Philippians 2:5), To feel like Jesus (Colossians 3:15), To act like Jesus (Colossians 3:17).
Now, here’s the implication. Since God’s number one purpose is to make us like Jesus Christ, then the goal of all preaching must be to do the same. Would you agree with that? It’s to make people like Jesus. Everything else is secondary in preaching. Nothing else really matters. If I haven’t done this, if it’s the end of the message and people aren’t more like Jesus in the way they think or the way they feel or the way they act, I’ve missed the purpose, I’ve wasted time, I’ve frustrated myself. That’s why we ask the question SO WHAT?
The objective of “SO WHAT” Preaching is to develop three things: Christlike conviction, Christlike character, Christlike conduct. Think, feel and act like Jesus. Convictions, character and conduct. Now the question is, how does God make us like Jesus Christ? How does He make my conviction, my character, my conduct more like Jesus? Well the bible is very clear that God does this. He makes us like Christ two ways.
Number one first, Through circumstances. Of course there are many many verses that talk about how God uses circumstances to make us like his son. Look at this verse, Romans 8:28 (NIV) “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Most people just stop right there.
But the first part of Romans 8:28 doesn’t make sense until you read Romans 8:29 (NIV). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son…” So God makes us like Jesus through the circumstances of life.
The second way God makes us like Jesus is Through applying His word to our lives. Applying His word to my life. And this is what we’re going to talk about in this seminar. Acts 20:32 (NAS) says, “Now I commit you to God and to the Word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
John 17:17 (NIV) says “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”. What does sanctify mean? Just a big word that means ‘to make like Jesus’. That’s what it means to sanctify. It means to be made like Jesus Christ.
Now one day we’re going to become like Jesus Christ the moment we see him in heaven. The bible says we will be instantly transformed to be automatically like him. 1 John 3:2 (NCV) says, “We know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him, because we will see him as he really is.” Underline, “see him as he really is.” The moment you see Jesus Christ face to face without any reflection or screen, you will instantly be changed into his likeness. The bible says. But in the meantime, right now, none of us see Christ face to face literally. So what about in the meantime? We’ll look at the next verse - 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NAS). “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
That’s a very interesting verse. I use the New American Standard because it gives the literal meaning of the phrase. It says ‘beholding as in a mirror’. Underline that. Beholding as in a mirror. It says, right now we don’t see Christ face to face but we see his reflection like as if we see it in a mirror. This is an interesting word.
That phrase ‘beholding as in a mirror’ is a Greek catatrism-menoid, which is only used one time in the entire bible. The only time that Greek word is used is in this passage right here. It’s one word and it’s translated ‘beholding as in a mirror’. What is means is “as we see the reflection of Christ”. You see, right now I don’t see Jesus Christ face to face. I only see his reflection. So what in this verse is the mirror? It’s this, its God’s word. God’s word is the mirror. As I read, as I study, as I memorize, as I meditate, as I think on God’s word I don’t see Christ face to face, I just see his reflection as I read about him in the bible. But as I look at his reflection in the word I am slowly transformed. I am changed from one degree of maturity to another. As I look at his word. The word of God is the mirror that we look just not at ourselves and see God’s reflection of what needs changing but we see Christ.
Look at the next verse. James 1:23 (NIV) says “Anyone who listens to the Word but does not DO what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”
Now this is a very very powerful important verse for preaching. It says that when we get people to look at the word but more than just look at it, to remember it and more than just remember it, to do it, they are inevitably changed! That’s our task as teachers and preachers.
When we get people not just to look at the word, not just to study it, but to remember it and to do it, then they will be changed. But there is a major problem in our world today. Most pastors are using a method and style of preaching that doesn’t do that. Most pastors are using a method and style of preaching that gets people to look at the word but not remember it and certainly not do it.
That’s the number one problem in our churches. Most teaching, most preaching is producing hearers of the word but not doers of the word.
They may be bringing notebooks, they may be full of facts and information, they may be familiar with all kinds of Greek and Hebrew terms. But the truth is, a lot of preaching is just historical lecturing with a little bit of Greek grammar thrown in. Nobody’s life is being changed and as a result, the churches aren’t growing, lives are not being changed. Marriages are not being changed. Families are not being changed. Communities are not being changed.
People walk out of thousands and thousands of churches every weekend informed but not transformed. They’re informed. They’ve looked at the word but they haven’t remembered it and they aren’t doing it because it wasn’t taught in a way that makes it doable. I am absolutely convinced that the problem is not the people. I believe the problem is in the pulpit. It’s a method and style. You know, a while back George Gallup did a survey here in the United States and he came to this conclusion “Never before in the history or the United States has the gospel of Jesus Christ made such inroads while at the same time making so little difference in how people actually live.”
Folks, that’s a tragedy. Something is terribly wrong with how we’re preaching and teaching the word. God’s purpose for man – to make us like Jesus. Make sure that purpose is clear in your mind and heart.
I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course. ENDURE!
No comments:
Post a Comment