Welcome!
Date: Friday, October 29, 2010
Today: Preach the truth and nothing but the truth!
Passage: Gal 1:10-12 NIV
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. (emphasis added)
Today’s message is a little longer, but you may find it worth reading. Thanks
Paul received the revelation of the word directly from God. The other apostles would not accept him easily, and there was no proper setting/school he could attend, where the word of God would be taught in the power of the Holy Spirit
As a worker of God, Paul is sure that his primary goal is to please God, while ministering to the people
His second commitment, is to the people; Paul mentions that in many places
By “not pleasing people”, Paul does not mean he would ignore them or intentionally hurt them
Elsewhere, Paul says that he became all things for all people (1 Corinthians 9:22)
The essence of what Paul is saying is this:
There is no compromise on the message. Whatever God puts in his heart, he preached, even as the people considered it foolishness. But on the other hand, he was willing to go to any extent of sacrifice, to save a man. If his eating or habits could affect the other person, he would even abstain from meat and such things, and become a vegetarian, to not offend the other person
Paul’s ministry was a demonstration of God’s power, never compromising on the message of the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:18- 2:5)
He sacrificed all his knowledge and learning, to just lift Christ and Christ alone
Whatever theology or apologetics we learn, never sacrifice or compromise the word for the sake of “impressing” people; God doesn’t want that!
Today, many churches and preachers are going too far, in pleasing people
They don’t mind compromising on the message and making people comfortable, even at the expense of hiding the truth of the gospel
The power of the gospel is missing; all you see is a show of power (not of God), but of individuals and organizations
Unless our primary commitment is to God and His word, we will fail in being effective messengers of the gospel
See what Paul the apostle has to say:
13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from birth[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. (Gal 1: 13-17, NIV – emphasis added)
When Paul got this revelation, he first decided to spent time with God and learn from God. Everything else was secondary
The other apostles had difficulty accepting Paul
Paul did not disregard them; he worked together with them later
But when it came to his convictions and preaching, he consulted God first
There was no compromise on the content of his preaching
He did not dilute it, nor adulterate it with his own stuff (be careful with both)
People working in operation theaters know how important it is to keep the sterility of the place and to stay away from anything that would contaminate
Are we dealing with the word of God like that?
The word of God is surgical; it pierces into the person! (John 15: 1-4, Heb 4:12, 13)
A qualified surgeon does the surgery; those who cannot handle the word correctly, must first learn how to use it and preach it (2 Tim 3:16)
You don’t give the surgical knife, to a child just like that!
The receivers of the message come from all types of background
The messenger of the word is responsible to have a life style that confirms to the word which he/she preaches, and be faithful to the word of God
Then, we will see the effective working of that word, in the people
Otherwise, it will be like: “operation successful, but patient died”
Many are “dying” spiritually in many churches, even with all kinds of teaching, preaching and ministering
God bless you; have a blessed weekend!
BG
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to be committed to you and your word, dealing with it responsibly and faithfully. Make me a true witness of the word, delivering the exact and complete message of the gospel. Amen.