June 4, 2002
Most of us would flunk if our pastor quizzed us on last week’s sermon, so it amazes me that I can remember one I heard more than twenty years ago.
The topic was knowing and doing God’s will. The pastor explained God’s will is twofold: moral and incidental. The first is simple to figure out, but less easy to follow. God’s moral will is in the Bible. We can know how to be in His will through the Ten Commandments, Jesus’ commands to love God and love our neighbors, and other clear directions for living our faith.
The second aspect of God’s will is not as easy. Suppose you are faced with non-sinful choices such as which job to accept, which school to attend, which person to marry? How can you know God’s will for these? The pastor showed us five Scripture passages that clearly state the will of God, then added a sixth to show us the answer to that question.
The first passage was in 1 Timothy 2. It says, “God wants all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. . . .” It is God’s will that a person is a Christian. We cannot expect Him to reveal His will to people who disregard His offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
The second verse came from 1 Thessalonians 4. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.” Sanctified means to give your life to God rather than sin or selfish pursuits. It includes sexuality, as in this verse, but also all areas of life. He wants to save our souls, but also wants us to be spared from a life of sin.
The third verse is in the next chapter. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” God wants those who are saved and sanctified to also be saying thanks. A careful reading of Romans 1 shows that thankfulness is the first thing to go when a person denies or rebels against God. Saying thanks is His will.
Then, 1 Peter 2:15 says, “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” Serving others is another important part of God’s will. The pastor told us when he played football he noticed what happens when a player is on the bench. First he criticizes the coach, then the other players. If he stays out of action too long, he will be secretly rooting for the other team. Serving God keeps us from resentment and taking shots at the family of God.
1 Peter 3:17 goes on: “It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.” Sometimes Christians think if we do the right things, our lives will be peaceful and people will love us, but God says people may not like the good things we do. They may persecute us for our faith. He wants us to know that suffering for doing good is not outside His will.
Then the pastor read Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” He explained God will not give us anything we desire, but this means if we make Him the focus of our lives we can expect Him to put right desires in our hearts.
This is an important part of decision-making for Christians. God wants us to be holy, thankful, obedient people, but He gives us the freedom to follow our hearts regarding non-sinful choices.
So, if we want to make a decision that fits into the will of God, we need to check: Am I saved, sanctified, saying thanks, serving, and perhaps even suffering, for Him? If we can say yes to those five, and have eliminated any sinful options, then as the pastor said, we can do whatever we want!
Showing posts with label clear message. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clear message. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Speaking His words, not mine .......... Parables 604
July 21, 1998
David Prowse wore the Darth Vader suit in the Star Wars movie and spoke all of Vader’s lines but in the final version, all his words were dubbed over by James Earl Jones. Prowse must have been disappointed. Even though he was playing the role of an imaginary person, he expected to hear his own voice in the theater.
Prowse was playing a role, but saying someone else’s words could also be plagiarism. I once heard a speech that was almost identical to another one delivered by a more famous speaker. Because I recognized it, the second speech was a great disappointment.
Sometimes people say someone else’s words because they are delivering a message for them. For instance, we send one child to tell the others that “it is suppertime.” We expect them to deliver the message promptly and repeat it as it was given.
I’m not sure how we can define what James Earl Jones was doing. He delivered Vadar’s lines (an imaginary person) using Prowse’s moving lips (without his permission). In some ways, he was delivering a message but imagine words coming out of your mouth that are not your words and someone else is saying them!
Being a “mouth” for another person’s words is not a far-fetched idea for a Christian. When the first disciples of Christ came together for prayer, Acts 4:31 says “they prayed and the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
These men and women were talking — but their words were not their words. They were not actors playing a role, nor were they committing plagiarism. They were delivering a message, given to them by God, a message He wanted them to pass on to others without changing or adding to it. Further, passing on a message from God is a more incredible responsibility than telling someone supper is ready. The destiny of the listeners depended on fidelity to the original.
Besides that, giving God’s message has an added twist. Merely reciting verses from of the Bible, even reciting them accurately, does not necessarily do it. God did inspire the writing of Scripture, but delivering a powerful message for God is not reading — instead, it is God-driven.
God-driven describes a person controlled by the Spirit of God rather than by personal motivations. This person is usually willing to speak, however God is not restricted by human resistance or indifference. If He chooses, He can speak through whoever or whatever He wants (even a donkey (see Numbers 22).
God informs His people, even commands us, that we can say His words: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). Imagine the difference in our speech if we knew God was using our mouths!
Most importantly, speaking for God is a type of service for Him. Peter goes on to say, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.”
Speaking for God is not for self-aggrandizement. In fact, selfish motives must be put aside. When a person (or a donkey!) actually does it, God is using them in a living and active way. He is present and very intentional; these words are important to His plan.
In the minds of Star Wars fans, no one thought about David Prowse’s lips moving, or that they were hearing sounds made by James Earl Jones. For them, Darth Vadar was speaking. It is like this when God speaks through His people. The voice may be a preacher, a Christian neighbor or whoever He decides to use, but those willing to hear God will know it is Him.
David Prowse wore the Darth Vader suit in the Star Wars movie and spoke all of Vader’s lines but in the final version, all his words were dubbed over by James Earl Jones. Prowse must have been disappointed. Even though he was playing the role of an imaginary person, he expected to hear his own voice in the theater.
Prowse was playing a role, but saying someone else’s words could also be plagiarism. I once heard a speech that was almost identical to another one delivered by a more famous speaker. Because I recognized it, the second speech was a great disappointment.
Sometimes people say someone else’s words because they are delivering a message for them. For instance, we send one child to tell the others that “it is suppertime.” We expect them to deliver the message promptly and repeat it as it was given.
I’m not sure how we can define what James Earl Jones was doing. He delivered Vadar’s lines (an imaginary person) using Prowse’s moving lips (without his permission). In some ways, he was delivering a message but imagine words coming out of your mouth that are not your words and someone else is saying them!
Being a “mouth” for another person’s words is not a far-fetched idea for a Christian. When the first disciples of Christ came together for prayer, Acts 4:31 says “they prayed and the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”
These men and women were talking — but their words were not their words. They were not actors playing a role, nor were they committing plagiarism. They were delivering a message, given to them by God, a message He wanted them to pass on to others without changing or adding to it. Further, passing on a message from God is a more incredible responsibility than telling someone supper is ready. The destiny of the listeners depended on fidelity to the original.
Besides that, giving God’s message has an added twist. Merely reciting verses from of the Bible, even reciting them accurately, does not necessarily do it. God did inspire the writing of Scripture, but delivering a powerful message for God is not reading — instead, it is God-driven.
God-driven describes a person controlled by the Spirit of God rather than by personal motivations. This person is usually willing to speak, however God is not restricted by human resistance or indifference. If He chooses, He can speak through whoever or whatever He wants (even a donkey (see Numbers 22).
God informs His people, even commands us, that we can say His words: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:11). Imagine the difference in our speech if we knew God was using our mouths!
Most importantly, speaking for God is a type of service for Him. Peter goes on to say, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.”
Speaking for God is not for self-aggrandizement. In fact, selfish motives must be put aside. When a person (or a donkey!) actually does it, God is using them in a living and active way. He is present and very intentional; these words are important to His plan.
In the minds of Star Wars fans, no one thought about David Prowse’s lips moving, or that they were hearing sounds made by James Earl Jones. For them, Darth Vadar was speaking. It is like this when God speaks through His people. The voice may be a preacher, a Christian neighbor or whoever He decides to use, but those willing to hear God will know it is Him.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Language changes — but God’s Word is still the same! ............. Parables 354
January 26, 1993
“Oure Fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name; thi kyngdom comme to; be thi wille done as in heuen and in earth; gif to vs this day oure breed oure other substaunce; and forgeve to vs oure dettis, as we forgeve to oure dettours; and leed vs nat in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.”
No, my fingers are not on the wrong keys. That is the Lord’s Prayer as it reads in English, about A.D. 1350. Three hundred and fifty years earlier, it looked like this: “Faeder ure thu the eart on heofonum; si thin name gahalgod...”
Today, most of us know it as “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...” In another 300 to 700 years, who knows what it will sound like, at least in English.
Languages change over time. They also change from place to place. Consider the confusion an American gas jockey might feel if an Englishman drove up and asked him to fill the tank with petrol, check under the bonnet, clean the windscreen and check the spare in the boot!
These days, the primary issue concerning words and their meanings centers around sexist and racist terms. Newspapers and other publications have lists of taboos. For example, most do not permit the use of pronouns that stereotype male or female roles. There are also Bibles with inclusive language, including at least one that refers to God as “our mother.”
This raises a question--can we be sure how the Lord’s Prayer or any portion of Scripture should read in English? After all, the original copies of the documents that make up the Bible were lost a long time ago. The answer is that there are thousands many copies of those originals still in existence, thousands in fact. Translators use them to determine what the originals said. Each Bible version is an attempt to translate these Greek and Hebrew documents into the language of the day.
In 1611, that language was similar to what we see in the King James Version. This translation has been in use for such a long time that many people think it is the only reliable one. Some are suspicious of newer versions and even say we don’t need modern English Bibles.
Interestingly enough, that was one of the criticisms against the King James version when it was first translated. Many people wanted to stick with their older translations. However, King James of England did not like the marginal notes in some of them and suggested a new translation, in the language of the day, with minimal notes in the margins. He wanted a version every person could read.
Translators are still trying to keep the language of the Bible clear and current. Most of them try to be as true to the Greek and Hebrew as possible. Some are what might be called dynamic translations: they retain the sense of the meaning but are not word-for-word renderings. The goal, in most cases, is to help people better understand the Word of God.
When I first read a “modern” translation, I was fearful that it might not be very accurate but after a semester of learning how the manuscripts have been used and translated, I have a strong confidence in most of our Bible versions. Some translations may not be as good as others, but whether I open up the King James Version or Good News for Modern Man, accurate scholarship insures dependability.
Even more assuring is the fact that the Spirit of God uses His Word to reveal Christ and to demonstrate how He meets our spiritual need. How important that we not only can read it in our own vernacular, but that we do read it.
“Oure Fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name; thi kyngdom comme to; be thi wille done as in heuen and in earth; gif to vs this day oure breed oure other substaunce; and forgeve to vs oure dettis, as we forgeve to oure dettours; and leed vs nat in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.”
No, my fingers are not on the wrong keys. That is the Lord’s Prayer as it reads in English, about A.D. 1350. Three hundred and fifty years earlier, it looked like this: “Faeder ure thu the eart on heofonum; si thin name gahalgod...”
Today, most of us know it as “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...” In another 300 to 700 years, who knows what it will sound like, at least in English.
Languages change over time. They also change from place to place. Consider the confusion an American gas jockey might feel if an Englishman drove up and asked him to fill the tank with petrol, check under the bonnet, clean the windscreen and check the spare in the boot!
These days, the primary issue concerning words and their meanings centers around sexist and racist terms. Newspapers and other publications have lists of taboos. For example, most do not permit the use of pronouns that stereotype male or female roles. There are also Bibles with inclusive language, including at least one that refers to God as “our mother.”
This raises a question--can we be sure how the Lord’s Prayer or any portion of Scripture should read in English? After all, the original copies of the documents that make up the Bible were lost a long time ago. The answer is that there are thousands many copies of those originals still in existence, thousands in fact. Translators use them to determine what the originals said. Each Bible version is an attempt to translate these Greek and Hebrew documents into the language of the day.
In 1611, that language was similar to what we see in the King James Version. This translation has been in use for such a long time that many people think it is the only reliable one. Some are suspicious of newer versions and even say we don’t need modern English Bibles.
Interestingly enough, that was one of the criticisms against the King James version when it was first translated. Many people wanted to stick with their older translations. However, King James of England did not like the marginal notes in some of them and suggested a new translation, in the language of the day, with minimal notes in the margins. He wanted a version every person could read.
Translators are still trying to keep the language of the Bible clear and current. Most of them try to be as true to the Greek and Hebrew as possible. Some are what might be called dynamic translations: they retain the sense of the meaning but are not word-for-word renderings. The goal, in most cases, is to help people better understand the Word of God.
When I first read a “modern” translation, I was fearful that it might not be very accurate but after a semester of learning how the manuscripts have been used and translated, I have a strong confidence in most of our Bible versions. Some translations may not be as good as others, but whether I open up the King James Version or Good News for Modern Man, accurate scholarship insures dependability.
Even more assuring is the fact that the Spirit of God uses His Word to reveal Christ and to demonstrate how He meets our spiritual need. How important that we not only can read it in our own vernacular, but that we do read it.
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