BY STEVE DUNN
"And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him." - Hebrews 11:6
Man years ago, as a younger pastor, I stood at the door of the church
and soaked up the "That was a great sermon, pastor" accolades. We all
like affirmation. It is the way God wired us. I had hit a homiletic
home run and was reveling in the "atta-boys'."
But one of my elders waited until all had passed me by and then simply
said, "I perceive you are a people-pleaser." Trust me, that's not a
compliment. Before I could defend myself he said, "You work hard on
your sermons. You really like it when people tell you they like your
efforts. But here's the problem. On every given Sunday there is
someone in your hearing who should not like your sermon. They are in sin
or harboring a sinful attitude and if you are doing God's work, the
truth that you speak should make them uncomfortable, feel guilty, maybe
even angry. If everyone agrees with what you said, you are probably
being disobedient to God as a preacher."
Ouch!
But the more I thought about, he was right. And since then I have been
very careful that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
are God's words from God's heart, not mine. And if I speak the truth in
love, then I have to accept that the truth is convicting to a person
not living with God's heart. I need to be sure my sermons please God,
not the audience.
What pleases God? Truth, obviously. But faith in particular.
I have found that some people have a faith and others live by faith.
Some people have a set of beliefs that given them meaning, comfort, and
even a sense of order. Others live by faith -- they simply live in
daily obedience to the will and purposes of God--trusting that His will
is best and that He provides all things needed for those who live by His
will. There is simply no other option in their minds. They never
settle for any lower expectations.
The former can often reduce one to a fairly static walk with God, that
never really surrenders to His will because His will rarely is safe and
comfortable. His will takes us out on mission. "A faith" often allows
us to justify inaction because at least we believe the right things.
I think that latter is what Paul meant when he said, "The righteous will live by faith." - Romans 1:17.
Anything that doesn't lead you to pleasing God, even at the expense of
displeasing men and making yourself feel uncomfortable, is not faith.
(C) 2012 by Stephen Dunn
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