New Thoughts (2/1/02-2/2/02)
Such as God calls to the job are not just allowed to preach, they are required to. What a statement! Those whom God has called to the task of preaching couldn't help but preach. Like the prophets of old, the word burns within them, and must be allowed to come out. The Holy Spirit dwells in them, in us, but He's not under house arrest. He would have His freedom to work.
Yet, there are those who would preach without being called. Such as they are neither required, nor even allowed to preach. Their preaching, be it ever so accurate to the word, is yet rebellion and sinful. The chain of belief that Paul lays out here serves as a reasonable test for the preacher. Is he preaching from a calling, or is he preaching from his own desires? Only that first preaching is true preaching, and Paul shows us that such preaching can only come from one appointed by God. On the other end of the message, there can only be one result (for God's word does not return to Him void): those who hear will believe, and call upon the One who called the preacher to preach. True preaching will not go fruitless.
A second test of the preacher is also presented here: What is the testimony of their lives? The feet of the true messenger are beautiful. That beauty is seen in the holy dedication of their lives. Like Aaron, their attire declares to one and all that this man is holy unto the LORD. Unlike Aaron, most preachers today are not required to wear an outfit to identify themselves as servants of God. Rather, their very lives are called to show that separation unto the LORD.
"The holiness of ministers' lives is the beauty of their feet," writes Matthew Henry. In the economy of the New Testament church, we are all ministers, all kings and priests unto the Lord. As such, these tests we have seen for the preacher are our tests. We should find it impossible not to declare the ways of the Lord. We should live such a life that our very presence is the presence of one separated unto the LORD, and that separation is palpable to those around us. Our words should be such as bring the hearer to faith in Christ.
Lord, often enough I've prayed regarding similar concerns, but I must persist until You answer. The boldness I should have is not in me. The words that should pour freely from my mouth seem locked up. In entirely too many ways, my life does not declare that separation unto You. I want it to, yet I seem unable to do as I must for it to be so. I know it's not in my doing that I'll find the answer, it's in You, in the Holy Spirit. Why then, Lord, is it still so hard, so seemingly impossible? Why do I continue in weakness, when I know my strength is in You?
What Mr. Clarke brings up is a good point. We can profess ourselves Christians all the day long, we can declare to one and all that we serve the living God, we can shout out how much we believe our life, and our salvation to depend on Him alone. Yet, if we have not actually prayed with all earnestness and deep concern to this God we say we believe in; if we have not actually sought Him out in repentance, laying ourselves upon His mercy, and begging His salvation, our words are nothing. Our profession is then an empty and futile thing.
When we act in that fashion, we have fashioned a god in our own minds, to fit the desires of our own heart. To pray to such a god accomplishes nothing but further condemnation. This is not the only way in which we do such disservice to ourselves and to our God. Whenever we set aside His truth, whenever we neglect a part of Him that we are somehow embarrassed by, or when we restrict our view of Him to those parts that are most pleasing, we have ceased to think upon the true God. We are already well on the way into idolatry again. If we declare that God is love, and refuse to accept that He is also just, also wrathful, also holy, we no longer declare God, but an idol of our own creating. If we preach only His promises, and neglect His warnings, we do not preach His will, but our own wishful thinking.
If we do such things, we do no better than any new age believer. Like them, we are guilty of picking and choosing the bits and pieces of religion that suit our needs. We no longer serve the Creator, but rather look for something to serve us. We no longer honor God, we seek to be god. There can only be one supreme being. To be supreme is to be unique. It is to be penultimate. There can be no higher. If we take up the reigns, and attempt to control who our god is, then we have set ourselves in that supreme position.
In this is the most hideous idolatry, yet in this is perhaps the most common form of idolatry in our world today. Mankind has been seeking to take up that role of god maker ever since the garden. Satan whispered the idea into Adam's mind, and it's been passed from generation to generation ever since. If we would be holy unto the LORD, we must eliminate this habit from our thoughts. We cannot survive the repercussions of having served ourselves in the name of God. If the god we have prayed to is no more than our own creation, we have accomplished nothing. Faith is not in us. What we have called faith cannot save us, for it is no more truly faith than the god we have created in our minds is truly God.
Lord, how can one consider such a thought and remain free of concern? In this, I dare not trust myself, but I invite You to inspect me, to show me the truth. Am I guilty of this sin? Have I sought to change Your truth to fit my weakness? Have I attempted to fashion and control you because I fear certain parts? Have I attempted to gloss over facets of Your magnificence because they don't look beautiful to me? I pray that it is not so. I pray that, if there be any of this sin in me, that You would both reveal it to me, and remove it from me. I have no desire to worship any god but God. You are all I need. You are all I desire. Lord, show me that the You I seek is the true You. Let no falsehood cloud my view of who You are. Let no falsehood color my declarations of who You are. Be glorified in me.
