Plain Preaching (11/15/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 1 Cor 2:1-5.

 

    Paul the Apostle knew about the power of persuasive speaking.  He grew up in Tarsus, and one of the most popular Greek philosophers of the time made his headquarters there.  Paul would very likely have been influenced by this philosophy as he grew up.  He even quotes from some Greek philosphers in his biblical writings (Acts 17:28, Titus 1:12, & 1 Cor 15:33).  Paul was a well-schooled man, both in the secular and religious realms.  For him to set aside this indoctrination would most likely have been difficult, but we see he "resolved" to trust only in Jesus' crucifixion.  He was determined to overcome both his Greek and Jewish educations to know his Savior above all other philosophies and teachings.

    We're coming upon a new year when many people will make resolutions.  They often make them in hopes of improving their health, their finances, their lifestyle, their job situation, their love life, and on and on.  The problem with this is that the resolve to accomplish these changes depends on human inner strength and attitude.  Too many resolutions last only for the first couple of weeks of the new year, and then busyness or weakness gets in the way.  There just doesn't seem to be a large enough level of resolve to carry most people over the obstacles they encounter.

    The word for resolve used in the scriptures refers to a court decision being made and a ruling set forth.  The implication here is that the resolve Paul had isn't just his inner strength, but a definite choice has been made and a decision set forth to complete the action.  His resolve was to preach plainly and directly about his Lord and Savior.  He wasn't going to try to overwhelm his listeners with his eloquence or superior wisdom.  He was only going to present them the facts about Jesus and how the prophecies were fulfilled by his life, death, and resurrection.

 

    Eloquence means the use of profound and pompous words.  It's the attempt to speak over people's heads so they'll accept what you're saying because it is so profound and high-sounding.  It's a snobbish way to get people to listen to you, which is rather strange because in actuality you're trying to speak in a way that they don't understand.  It's possible to be eloquent without condescending, but this usage points directly to someone trying to bully their way to influence by overwhelming people with words or concepts beyond their capacity to discern.

    Speaking with superior wisdom is speaking in a way to show your superiority over others.  People are supposed to think you're authoritative because of your superior attitude and exalted speech.  Again it's relating to the snobbish way elitist individuals speak down to the "common folk."  It's all about control and manipulation when people use this way of speaking.  It's meant as a way to separate yourself from the masses and keep them from questioning you because they don't fully understand what you're talking about.

    How much better could we do in spreading the Kingdom of our Lord if we resolved to speak the plain truth about Jesus?  We should always make choices that improve our ability to become more trustworthy stewards of Kingdom power and authority.  It's not about a gaining of status for us, but for our Lord God Almighty.  We should also be so surrendered to our Lord Jesus that Kingdom power and authority aren't strange or unusual to us.  The use of them should be the norm.

    We need to purpose in our hearts, with our Lord's help and guidance, to make spiritual resolutions that pave the way for fresh expressions of Kingdom power, authority, and fruitfulness.  Our goal should be to become as effective as possible in sharing the Gospel of the Kingdom as we possibly can, to resolve to be very plain in our proclaiming of the Gospel so more people will be able to grasp what we're saying.  A. W. Tozer made the following five personal resolutions.  They helped him know Yahweh better, and can help us to gain spiritual balance and direction, too.

 

    1) Deal thoroughly with sin.  That may sound too simplistic, but our society has extremely watered-down the issue of our sin.  We use buzzwords and psycho-babble to cover or remove our responsibility for our sin.  We say we didn't sin, but that we made a mistake.  It's not a sin, it's a weakness.  You get the idea.  It's called minor, not something that actually denies our heavenly Father.  Instead of acknowledging our sin, we say we're made this way and can't really be to blame.  This denies that sin is rebellion against Almighty God.  This is blasphemy because it puts the blame for our sinfulness on our Creator.

    As a result, many people don't take their sin to the cross and seek Jesus' forgiveness.  The simple truth is, too many people continue to deal with their sin too lightly.  Brutal honesty is the best policy here.  Heb 4:13 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from Yahweh's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare."  We can't hide from Yahweh.  Open acknowledgement of our sin allows us to receive grace and remove spiritual strongholds and dominions from our lives.  This is the kind of plain and direct truth we need to hear.

    2) Never own anything.  This isn't talking about our buying habits, but our mind-sets.  What motivates our stewardship of what Yahweh has entrusted to us?  We own houses, cars, and lots of other things.  But the spiritual concept we're dealing with says: don't allow anything you possess to possess you.  We need to fully let go of "ownership" and grasp that all we possess actually belongs to our Lord.  It's his stuff, given to us for the furthering of his Kingdom.  Do we really understand that whatever we earn is a blessing from our Father?  Deut 8:18 says, "Remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth."

    3) Never defend yourself.  This one is very hard for most of us humans.  We're endowed with instincts for self-preservation and survival.  But Yahweh says we're to be fully surrendered and yielded to him.  Our life and our reputation are in his hands.  We can stop Yahweh from defending us by insisting on defending ourselves.  If we waste our efforts justifying and defending our personal positions, we're not thinking about spreading the Kingdom.  Let Yahweh defend you by standing and proclaiming his Truth and Kingdom.  Remember Phil 3:8.  "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

    4) Never pass anything on about another person that will hurt them.  Loving others is one of our primary responsibilities.  Yahweh places an emphasis on fulfilling this by placing it in the scriptures in many different places.  When we're trying to share the Gospel with unbelievers we may have to speak against their sin, but we shouldn't pass along gossip we've heard about them.  We need to be extremely sensitive to the Spirit as he guides us in speaking to their need of Jesus the Savior.  Don't be unnecessarily rough or crude, just obediently do the work of an evangelist.  True fellowship in the Body of Christ takes setting aside personal preferences and seeking the best for the whole body.  To be united in Christ will mean working at building and strengthening relationships.  This is common sense.  This is true and direct.  The shame of it is this isn't easy to follow.  Don't gossip and don't speak "the truth in love" selfishly or in a superior attiude.

    5) Never accept any glory.  Isa 42:8 says, "I am Yahweh, that is my name!  I will not give my glory to another."  These are strong words.  They should help us understand that all glory is Yahweh's alone.  When the Holy Spirit uses us to advance the Kingdom, we don't deserve any glory.  It's a privilege to participate with the Holy Spirit.  He's building a spiritual house and he's best able to use humble people in this process.  Yahweh blesses us in allowing us to be part of his mission to save the world.  We'll be glorified after we give our Creator all the glory.  Be very mindful of the words of our Lord Jesus in Luke 14:11.  "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

 

    Living out these plain and true and direct instructions would be good for all of us.  We need to speak the simple truth of the Bible so more people can hear and understand it.  Too many in our society and world see Christianity as complicated by rituals and doctrines.  It's up to us to show them the simple truth of a Creator God who loves them deeply and came to them in simplicity.  Our job isn't to be persuasive, but to be direct.  Show them Jesus.  Show them his Truth.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike