James MacDonald's Blog, page 12

5 Biblical Responses to Public Opinion

The sum total of human opinion is often very inaccurate—and we are neither as bad as our critics say, nor as good as our fans say. I like to make scriptural lists…and the one I brought to church with me last weekend was this list of five biblical thoughts on public opinion.

 

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Praying for Our President

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

What a great Scripture to put into practice, especially following the swearing in and inaugural speech of the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama.  Like most Bible-believing Christians, I can think of many biblical convictions that I wish our President had, and about which we must fervently pray.  But today I think I will focus on obedience to the above Scripture and cultivate the kind of thankfulness that leads to a quiet, peaceable life. Maybe God is calling you to pray, to really intercede–to get down on your knees, to pray for President Obama, his Cabinet, and our Congress; to pray for your country; to pray for your family.

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. (Romans 13:1)

That’s good to know, isn’t it? President Obama needs our prayers–for strength to maintain the convictions he holds which are in keeping with God’s will for our nation, wisdom to realize where his beliefs are not according to God’s plan, and then the courage to change. May he–and might we all–remember where power ultimately comes from, and seek the Lord daily for His will and everything we need.

 

Whatever is Pure

Pastors!  Are you practicing your preaching and knowing the peace of mind that comes from personal purity? Are you living inside the boundaries God has established?

Hebrews 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”

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The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear

It was Solomon who remarked that “there is nothing new under the sun” and age/experience seem to often confirm what youthful idealism might tend to dismiss. Spurgeon’s book Lectures to My Students is filled with content that reveals the commonality of pastoral struggles and the immense wisdom gleaned from the Scriptures and his experience. It is as helpful today as it was when spoken more than 135 years ago, wow. An Elder in my church suggested this chapter as worthy of review, and I read it to great profit and conviction. I hoped some highpoints may be helpful to a pastor somewhere today, right there in the church you are seeking to lead and learn from. May God grant to each of us a careful application of this wisdom and a diligent avoidance of the behavior which demands it of others. (I have highlighted some things especially convicting to me.)

From Lectures To My Students, Charles Spurgeon

A selection from addresses delivered to the students of the Pastors’ College, Metropolitan Tabernacle, 1875

Chapter 22, The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear

“But I, as a deaf man, heard not. I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.” Psalm 38:13

“Take no heed unto all words that are spoken: lest thou hear thy servant curse thee. For oftentimes also thine own heart knoweth that thou thyself likewise hast cursed others.” Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

You cannot stop people’s tongues, and therefore the best thing is to stop your own ears and never mind what is spoken. There is a world of idle chit-chat abroad, and he who takes note of it will have enough to do. He will find that even those who live with him are not always singing his praises, and that when he has displeased his most faithful servants they have, in the heat of the moment, spoken fierce words which it would be better for him not to have heard.

When a man is in an angry mood it is wise to walk away from him, and leave off strife before it be meddled with; and if we are compelled to hear hasty language, we must endeavor to obliterate it from the memory. If you must hear them, do not lay them to heart, for you also have talked idly and angrily in your day, and would even now be in an awkward position if you were called to account for every word that you have spoken, even about your dearest friend.

What can’t be cured must be endured, and the best way of enduring it is not to listen to it.The talk of the village is never worthy of notice, and you should never take any interest in it except to mourn over the malice and heartlessness of which it is too often the indicator.

Once begin to suspect, and causes for distrust will multiply around you, and your very suspiciousness will create the major part of them. When nothing is to be discovered which will help us to love others we had better cease from the enquiry, for we may drag to light that which may be the commencement of years of contention.

You must be able to bear criticism, or you are not fit to be at the head of a congregation; and you must let the critic go without reckoning him among your deadly foes, or you will prove yourself a mere weakling.

The best of people are sometimes out at elbows and say unkind things; we should be glad if our friends could quite forget what we said when we were peevish and irritable, and it will be Christlike to act towards others in this matter as we would wish them to do towards us.

Learn to disbelieve those who have no faith in their brethren. Suspect those who would lead you to suspect others. A resolute unbelief in all the scandalmongers will do much to repress their mischievous energies. “How few reports there are of any kind which, when they come to be examined, we do not find to be false! For my part, I reckon, if I believe one report in twenty, I make a very liberal allowance. Especially distrust reproaches and evil reports, because these spread fastest, as being grateful to most persons, who suppose their own reputation to be never so well grounded as when it is built upon the ruins of other men’s.” Because the persons who would render you mistrustful of your friends are a sorry set, and because suspicion is in itself a wretched and tormenting vice, resolve to turn towards the whole business your blind eye and your deaf ear.

Public men must expect public criticism, and as the public cannot be regarded as infallible, public men may expect to be criticized in a way which is neither fair nor pleasant. To all honest and just remarks we are bound to give due measure of heed, but to the bitter verdict of prejudice, the frivolous faultfinding of men of fashion, the stupid utterances of the ignorant, and the fierce denunciations of opponents, we may very safely turn a deaf ear.

On the other hand, you were on the high horse in your last sermon, and finished with quite a flourish of trumpets, and you feel considerable anxiety to know what impression you produced. Repress your curiosity: it will do you no good to enquire. If the people should happen to agree with your verdict, it will only feed your pitiful vanity, and if they think otherwise your fishing for their praise will injure you in their esteem. In any case it is all about yourself, and this is a poor theme to be anxious about; play the man, and do not demean yourself by seeking compliments like little children when dressed in new clothes, who say, “See my pretty frock.” Have you not by this time discovered that flattery is as injurious as it is pleasant? It softens the mind and makes you more sensitive to slander. In proportion as praise pleases you censure will pain you. Besides, it is a crime to be taken off from your great object of glorifying the Lord Jesus by petty considerations as to your little self, and, if there were no other reason, this ought to weigh much with you.

Unfortunately liars are not yet extinct, and, like Richard Baxter and John Bunyan, you may be accused of crimes which your soul abhors. Be not staggered thereby, for this trial has befallen the very best of men, and even your Lord did not escape the envenomed tongue of falsehood. In almost all cases it is the wisest course to let such things die a natural death. A great lie, if unnoticed, is like a big fish out of water, it dashes and plunges and beats itself to death in a short time. Some lies especially have a peculiar smell, which betrays their rottenness to every honest nose. If you are disturbed by them the object of their invention is partly answered, but your silent endurance disappoints malice and gives you a partial victory, which God in his care of you will soon turn into a complete deliverance. Only abstain from fighting your own battles, and in nine cases out of ten your accusers will gain nothing by their malevolence but chagrin for themselves and contempt from others. To prosecute the slanderer is very seldom wise. Standing as we do in a position which makes us choice targets for the devil and his allies, our best course is to defend our innocence by our silence and leave our reputation with God.

Do not encourage disaffected persons in finding fault with their minister, or in bringing you news of evils in other congregations. When you meet your brother ministers do not be in a hurry to advise them; they know their duty quite as well as you know yours, and your judgment upon their course of action is probably founded upon partial information supplied from prejudiced sources. Self-constituted judges win but little respect; if they were more fit to censure they would be less inclined to do so. Many a trifling difference within a church has been fanned into a great flame by ministers outside who had no idea of the mischief they were causing. My counsel is that we join the “Know-nothings,” and never say a word upon a matter till we have heard both sides; and, moreover, that we do our best to avoid hearing either one side or the other if the matter does not concern us.

Is not this a sufficient explanation of my declaration that I have one blind eye and one deaf ear, and that they are the best eye and ear I have?

-Charles Spurgeon

God at Work through the Gospel

Nothing stirs my heart about faithful service to Christ and His church more than a fresh account of God at work through the power of the Gospel. Watch the story below, shared in our services last weekend, and be encouraged.

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Can You Do It Again, Pastor?

After another exhausting week, in a string of weeks so far back I can’t see the start, I have yet another day of high-pressure message preparation. No matter what has happened this week or this month, everything is about to fade into a blur over the next 24 hours until just this single responsibility weighs upon me, again. Only a pastor who preaches biblically for the glory of Jesus and the feeding of souls, week after week, can understand that pressure. It’s like finals week in college—but it happens every week. Explaining a Bible passage is child’s play compared to digging out a word from the Word about the WORD for your people.

Can you give your best to it again, Pastor? Can you breathe on a passage of Scripture that is now unfamiliar, until it bursts into flame by the faithful ministry of the Holy Spirit in response to your hard work? Can you stoke that fire until it is bursting within you to be proclaimed as the ‘Bread of Life’?

Yes, you can—and when you have, you will be exhausted but deeply satisfied in what God will do in and through you as a result. And you will count the days until you GET to do it again. Watch this and get fired up to see God come down at church this weekend. You go, Pastor, do it again, and God be with you!

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Filled with Hope: When I Feel Afraid

Read It

Luke 1:30-33

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Listen to It Download audio file (03-Filled-with-Hope_-When-I-Feel-Afraid.mp3)

Live It

Notice in verse 30: “And the angel said to her, do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God.” Notice by the way the text doesn’t say Mary found favor with her parents. The text doesn’t say Mary found favor with her fiancé. It doesn’t say Mary found favor with her neighbors.

Who did she find favor with? She found favor with God.

I want to tell you something. Make the favor of God your focus and everything else will fall into place. Isn’t that right? Make the favor of God your total focus. Everything else will fall into place. Please God with your life. That’s the key.

The angel said to her, “do not be afraid, Mary.” Hey, Mary, you’ve found favor with God. When you get God’s favor, does that mean everything is going to go perfectly in your life now? Oh, it doesn’t mean that. But Mary found favor with God.

Discuss It

What are my fears?
Am I more fearful of what man thinks of me, or what God thinks of me?
The future is seen perfectly by God, but not by me. Will I let hope in Him meet me where I am?

Pray It

Lord, I am going to hope in you alone, and I’m going to keep waiting for You in all areas of my life. I will no longer worry about he future. I am going to be faithful today. I trust You give me all that I need to take care of each day as it comes.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

The Earth Stood Still

Like many of you, on the first weekend in December our worship services began celebrating the season of Advent and looking forward to Christmas. And let me just say, I love our church. We are blessed with many talented musicians and worship leaders who faithfully lead us, week after week, into the awesome presence of the Lord. And I hope we never take that privilege for granted.

Last weekend this song from worship leaders Meredith Andrews and Jacob Sooter (written by Future of Forestry), was so powerful in all three services, that I wanted to share it with you.

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Today

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Today is not a rehearsal for anything. Today is your life.

It’s who you are and who you’re following and what matters most and where you’re headed…today.

The person you will be is the person you are becoming today.

So don’t waste it.

The challenge you face today is your chance to conquer as Jesus did.

So don’t miss it.

The fear you feel today is your chance to be strong in the Lord.

So grab it!

The tempest all around is driving you out of the storm and onto your knees.

Don’t fight it.

Today matters more than you know. You don’t even know if you’ll have tomorrow.

So stop the excuses. No more delays.

It’s not about others. It’s about you. Today.

Today is the day to love the people closest to you and forgive the people furthest from you.

Today is the day to embrace the humanity all around—as Jesus would, if He were in your shoes. Because He is, in your shoes.

He asks you to put yesterday behind, because it can’t change today.

He asks you to forget about tomorrow, because it only cares for itself, not today.

Today is all that matters—this is your life, your chance to live like Jesus.

It’s happening right now. Today.

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Filled with Joy: When I Feel Forgotten

Read It

Luke 1:11-15

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.

Listen to It Download audio file (01-Filled-with-Joy_-When-I-Feel-Forgotten.mp3)

Live It

Do you have unanswered prayer? With everything else, I’ve got this one thing. And sometimes if we’re not careful we think, “Look at me over here God, I’m trying to please You and I’m trying to live a life that’s honoring to You. And time is marching on, God, and sometimes, I feel like…” what? Forgotten.

Instead of forgotten, I want to feel joy. I want to fill up on joy.  It starts here with God’s presence. In fact, I like when it says in Psalm 16:11, “In Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand is pleasure forevermore.” Where does joy come from? “In Your presence is fullness of joy.” It’s from God. Joy is a supernatural life in the Person of God, the purposes of God. I don’t just love Him. I love His ways. I love what He’s doing. When I see it and when I don’t, I trust Him. He’s awesome. It’s a supernatural delight in the Person of God, in the purposes of God, and then in the people of God.

Discuss It

How did Zachariah respond to his circumstances?
Can you think of a time in your life when you felt forgotten by God? How did you respond?
How does God want you to respond when you feel forgotten?

Pray It

Lord, You have been good to me. Forgive me for looking at things that I wish were true and failing to rejoice in what already is. I don’t have what others have. I don’t have what I’m going to have someday. But I have what you’ve provided for me. I ask You to fill me with joy when I want to be troubled and fearful. Help me to live in Your presence.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen