on an unsatisfactory sermon

I am sure the other preachers out there know what I am talking about. The sermon that looks golden in the study and tastes like sawdust in the mouth. Wednesday night was one of those.

The topic was excellent, the material superb (it is the Word of God!), the content was orthodox and the delivery was dry. Ashes, ashes, ashes... Perhaps this comes of depending too much on the intellect and not enough on the Spirit.

At any rate, our through the New Testament series took us to the last three chapters of the book of James for a summary type message. I chose the text Jas 3.13-18, the passage on 'the wisdom from above' to summarize the whole. The main concept of the message was that James (and the Lord) wants us to really live our testimony of wisdom and understanding - 'Who is wise and understanding among you?' Show your wisdom! The message is that the disciple of long standing ought to be wise. He ought to be understanding (a word that implies expertise as the result of long experience.) So why the trouble with the tongue? (3.1-12) Why the trouble with quarrels and strife? (4.1-12) Why the boastfulness? (4.13-17) Why the greed? (5.1-6) Replace it with the wisdom from above, patient endurance, fervent prayer, concern for others (5.7-20). Live your wisdom, just as James urges us to live your faith in ch. 1-2.

I don't know why excellent material sometimes seems like such dry technical sawdust in the mouth. In the dead of the rainy winter here, I frequently feel this way, though I don't often preach this way. May God help us depend only on his Spirit for power in the pulpit! Get self out of the way and let our dear Lord be seen.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

on an opportunity to rejoice with them that rejoice

And that would be me, my wife, and starvin' kids.

Well, they're not 'starvin', but three of them are in University. The adjective just sounded good.

Almost two years ago I purchased a duplex for the purpose of subdividing it into two titles and reselling it. Along the way the place would need extensive renovation. I little knew how extensive it would be. My projected six month job stretched into two years. One little surprise for me was waiting in the crawlspace - six inches of standing water, i.e., drainage problems. So we hired a contractor to dig up the sidewalks and decks and install new perimeter drains. The city also ended up requiring me to remove the old firewall in the crawlspace and install new, cover the floor of the crawl space in 6 mm poly, and install a sump pump on each side. I think we have the drainage problem as licked as it is going to get.

I had to install exhaust fans in the bathrooms (4 of them), upgrade the insulation in the attic to R-35 value, install gable vents and 'whirlybird' vents in the roof. In the renovated side we replaced all bathroom fixtures, the kitchen cabinets, all the flooring and painted. We put 'click' flooring in the family room and dining room. We build two decks. And on and on... I am sure there are other smaller things, and of course fixing our mistakes too! (I recall ruining one of my interior doors by shortening it too much!)

All in all, many hours were spent on this project, working a day or two a week for about a year and a half.

Last Wednesday, the city gave me approval for the subdivision. I put the sign in the lawn. Came down for prayer meeting. One of my men prayed that the pastor would get a quick sale. We walked out of our meeting room and my phone rang. The next night I had a written offer from a nice young couple - Christians, it turns out. Today before supper they called to let me know the financing has been approved and everything is unconditional now!

I spent eighteen years all told as a realtor. I have never had a sale happen that easily! Praise the Lord for his grace and goodness.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

on the place of wit

I mentioned earlier that I recently finished reading the book The King James Bible Translators by Olga S. Opfell. The book is an excellent source for brief sketches of most of the translators.

One of them, Sir Henry Savile, was a member of the Second Oxford Company, responsible for the translation of Matthew-Acts and Revelation. He held two positions when the translation work was done, warden of Merton College and provost of Eton. He was a strong disciplinarian and from Opfell's description sounds like an agressive, ambitious leader. In Opfell's account of him, this little gem falls from his mouth as an evidence of his philosophy:

Like the students at Merton, the Etonians were subject to Savile's strict discipline. Once when somebody recommended a young scholar as a good wit, Savile retorted, "Out upon him ... give me the plodding student. If I would look for wits, I would go to the prison [Newgate]; there be the wits." p. 79

There is a good deal of wisdom in that statement. We live in the age of the cheap laugh. Low comedy fills the television hours, coarse and profane humour is proffered by the great wit of the job site, laughter and scorn is on the lips of the indolent youths hanging out at our local coffee house. The sober-minded and serious are hard to find.

Now I would not advocate that the Christian leader be humourless. Good humour can relax tense situations, if deftly used. Good humour makes the parson seem somewhat human. But humour and wit is in plentiful supply these days. Better that we be known for love of God and thoughtful spiritual leadership than for our wit.

I recall talking to some of our then teens about their favorite camp speaker over the years. They liked the ones who were funny best. The preachers who seriously exposed the word made little impression, but the clowns were liked. And the lives of these teens reflected what their hearts delighted in.

Let us be known rather for our witness than for our wit.

Proverbs 10:23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Proverbs 26:18 As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, 19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

on the move of the church out of Jerusalem (sermon summaries 11.5.06)

Sunday was a day where we saw several unsaved visitors. I knew some of them were coming ahead of time and one of our messages involved a clear presentation of the gospel and what conversion means. I had written the message before the news of their plans to attend, so it seemed clear to me that the Lord was directing our paths once again. So far we have no more than 'friendly' comments from those who visited. In a way, I would rather have some tension, since that would indicate conviction of sin, but at least it is a step and an open door to further contacts.

The first message covered Ac 8-11 and four conversion scenarios. I entitled it "Unlikely Converts". The proposition was: The living examples of life-change (and church-change) recorded for us in Acts are samples of the kind of change possible for anyone who is not a Christian. (Kind of an unwieldy sentence, I think! I need to work on that. The introduction to this message was too wordy also.) The message involved highlighting the dramatic changes that occured in the lives of various peopel, starting with the Samaritans (from demonism to Christ) with possibly a conterfeit convert in Simon the sorcerer. Next we covered the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, a high government official who gladly humbled himself to the rite of baptism as a testimony of his faith in Christ. Next was Saul, from persecutor to preacher. And last was Cornelius, opening the door of his heart to Christ from a background of paganism, and participating in the opening of the gospel to the rest of hte world. The theme of this message was change, the possibility of change, the variety of change, the need of change in the most desperate to the most high in society.

The second message centered on Ac 12, but reviewed aspects of the preceding chapters as well. It was called "To the Uttermost Parts" as I showed how the Lord was moving the church out of Jerusalem. First, we reviewed the foundational ministry of the apostles for the church. In Ac 8, Peter and John are sent to validate and confirm the work of Philip in Samaria. Peter uses the keys to the kingdom and through his prayers the Holy Spirit is sent to the Samaritans. Then when Saul is converted, Peter meets with him (see also Gal 1) and confirms the work of God in Saul's heart. Later, Peter follows in the footsteps of Philip (trace the geography of Philip's movements in Ac 8, compare with Peter's in Ac 9-10), apparently again in a supervisory and confirming role. In this work, Peter again is employed in using the keys to the kingdom in opening the door to the Gentiles. I pointed out here that the apostles are seen as the foundations of the city of God, the bride of the Lamb (Rev 21) and that the Lord gave them this role in Mt 16.19 in announcing the keys to the kingdom, the binding and loosing, etc. All of this foundational ministry occurred while the apostles were centered in Jerusalem from Ac 1-12. After Ac 12, the apostles are mentioned as a group on only one more occasion, the Jerusalem council, Ac 15-16. They are never mentioned as a group again. It appears that they may have been called back to Jerusalem for the council. In Ac 12, events occur that appear to be driving at least some of the apostles out of Jerusalem. James the brother of John is killed. Peter is imprisoned and slated for execution. On his release, he realizes he has to leave town, sending a message to 'James and the brethren'. Who are 'the brethren'? It could be the other apostles, but perhaps it is not. Perhaps, like Peter, they are now on their way out of Jerusalem for their own safety and future ministry. At any rate, it does appear that they are eventually no longer needed in Jerusalem. In Paul's last visit to Jerusalem, he meets with James and the elders, no mention of apostles (Ac 21). This leaves James, the Lord's brother, as the head of the church of Jerusalem, and it is in this context of persecution and trouble that he writes, probably in the next year, that most pastoral of epistles, the epistle of James. He is ministering to the needs of saints under pressure as they are being scattered all over the world.

The last message of the day, then, turned to the book of James. We covered just James 1-2 in a message entitled "Faith Under Trial". Proposition: The Christian needs real, living, practiced faith in order to stand for God in times of trial. First, we covered The testing of your faith (1.1-18), then The living of your faith (1.19-2.13), and last The reality of your faith (2.14-26). The general thrust of the message was on genuine conversion. You can't just talk, you must do, you can't just say you believe Christ, you must live like you believe Christ. This message seemed the strongest of the three, yet there are hearts that still seem hard to it. May God's Holy Spirit use the words to bring conviction.

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

P.S. Here is the link to the notes from last Wednesday night's message.