THE POUND
PROCLAIMER
Volume IV
April 2009
Number 6
Sing
to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day
to day. Psalms 96:2
OUR WORDS JUDGE
US DAILY
I don’t know how many of you consider
yourselves science fiction fans? As a school boy, I was fascinated with books
like; Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Martian Chronicles,
and others. There was one book that never really caught my fancy. It was George
Orwell’s book 1984. Even at a young age I did not like the idea of being
totally controlled and manipulated by government.
In his book, Orwell created something
called ‘newspeak’. This was the language used by Big Brother to confuse and
control the people. In other words, it was the way the controlling government
communicated its will to the people. ‘Newspeak’ was a way to change things
around where they were made to be the opposite of what they were. For example,
the use of words to manipulate the thinking of others such as war means peace;
freedom means slavery; ignorance means strength. While I do not think the book 1984
is prophetic, I am taken back by the actions of certain politicians today.
Christians who take a stand against rampant immorality are ridiculed. The
‘newspeak’ for our day is that morality is immoral. We are being told by
certain politicians that pro-life is an extremist position. Pro-life is the
moral position; the only correct position.
Some may ask, “What is the big deal?” It
is simply this. Words mean something. Speech should never be taken lightly;
especially when it pertains to the will of God. We have all heard the saying
that talk is cheap and, if I may add, talk can cheapen one by leading them down
an immoral path.
As in politics, many in religion are
being seduced by double talk that impresses the hearer. The eloquence of the
speaker does not automatically equate with truth. This is a lesson we would do
well to learn both in religion and politics. Man is not judged of God based
upon his eloquent speech nor his profundity when talking about spiritual
things. Man is judged of God based upon his life lived. It is a judgment
regarding whether one has obeyed God’s commandments.
There is power in words. It is the words
contained in the gospel of Christ that has power to save (Romans 1:16). It is by man’s words that he can both bless and
curse. James gives a timely warning about how one uses the gift of
communication by saying, “With it we
bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the
likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,
these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening
both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a
grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water” (James 3:9-12).
It is not uncommon for men to take the
Holy Words of God and twist them around to suit that which they already
believe. How many times have we heard men say that one does not need to be
baptized to be saved? When shown verses like Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:20-21, etc., they will go to
Paul’s writings where he says, “For
Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words
of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). They will stop at
the first of the sentence and will say, “See, Paul said he wasn’t sent to
baptize.”
It is at junctures like this that we must
emphasize the importance of context. When we read the surrounding verses we see
that Paul is condemning division. He is arguing against division by pointing
out that he did not baptize in his own name; hence, no one should be a personal
disciple of his or any other man. To place any other meaning upon Paul’s words
is dishonest, for he did baptize two there at
We must use words that properly convey
what is truth. We must never be guilty of confusing the hearer with double talk
that leads them down the path of spiritual destruction. Be careful, those of
you who would be teachers of God’s word (James
3:1) for our words judge us daily.
The Editor’s
Page
“I
Did It My Way”
The entertainer, Frank Sinatra, was one
of
The song exalts the characteristic of
being self-willed. This may explain why it is such a popular song. It seems the
dominant desire of human beings is to do things their own way. And that is
exactly how the song ends, “I did it my way”.
When my oldest son was approximately four
years old, I lamented to a fellow Christian about how self-willed and stubborn
he was. The brother replied by advising me to take control of my son. His point
was that I must break the self-willed spirit my son was exhibiting. He warned
that if I did not do it then I would never have him in control. His advice was
not popular then nor is it today. Many subscribe to the philosophy which says,
parents must never break the spirit of their child, even if it is a self-willed
spirit.
In man’s relationship to God, man’s way
is never right. Many adults approach religion on the basis of what pleases
them. It is my guess that these same adults were self-willed as children. It
should be every parent’s desire to rear children who grow into adults who are
faithful to God. How may parents accomplish this monumental task when the child
is self-willed?
There are two points which parents of
self-willed children must never forget. Number one, the child must learn to
submit to another’s will. If the child consistently ‘gets his way,’ he will not
learn to subordinate his will to parents, or to God. Number two, parents must
think with their spiritual heart [mind], not their emotions. It is a difficult
thing to see our child unhappy. Because parents do not want their child to
experience disappointments or unpleasantness, they give-in to their every whim.
This mode of parenting is disastrous. So, what is a parent to do?
“Folly
is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far
from him” (Proverbs 22:15). “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent
to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24).
“Discipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on putting him to death” (Proverbs 19:18). “Do not
withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not
die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol” (Proverbs 23:13-14). “The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a
child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Proverbs 29:15). “Discipline
your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart” (Proverbs 29:17).
If parents listen to God, someday they
will look into the eyes of a faithful Christian where once stood a self-willed
child. If, however, they just can’t bring them self to inflict the discipline
necessary, they will be brought to shame by a self-willed adult who despises
God. While discipline isn’t pleasant for child or parent, it is absolutely
necessary.
WORKING FOR THE
MASTER
Red
Headed Angel On My Shoulder
I had been preaching for a few years and
was comfortably settled into a self supporting work. In these early years, it
wasn’t unusual for my sermons to be at the least an hour in length. The nature
of my sermons was like the crack of a whip. I was good at cracking the
whip. I was being complimented for my
preaching skills although my sermons ran for an hour on a fairly regular basis.
I took great pleasure in being a located evangelist with the reputation I had
acquired.
One Sunday evening before the service
began, my oldest son, who at the time was about four years old, asked if I was
going to preach that night. I responded with an enthusiastic, “of course I am
going to preach tonight.” Immediately his mouth gave a twitch and he slightly
dropped his head to one side, indicating his displeasure. I saw by his reaction
that he did not appreciate the privilege of getting to hear me preach. I
thought, as his father, I should bring this to his attention, so I asked,
“Don’t you like to hear me preach?” As I asked this question, I was looking
down into this round, chubby face topped with red hair and pitted with two of the
bluest eyes you ever saw. It was an angel’s face. While I was looking into that
angel face he answered my question by shaking his head, NO! Once I regained my
composure, I decided to shame him into submission. “Son, it really hurts to
hear you say that you don’t like to hear me preach. You shouldn’t tell daddy
you don’t like to hear him preach. I don’t like for you to tell me such
things.” It was at this point he looked straight into my eyes with that look of
childish innocence. I expected him to tell me he was sorry and he really did
know that I was a wonderful preacher. Instead, he said, “Don’t ask.”
“Out
of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of
your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger” (Psalms
8:2).
It has been thirty-two years since a red
headed blue eyed angel put me in my place. Now, whenever someone gives me a
compliment about a sermon, I imagine a little red headed angel sitting on their
shoulder shaking his head.
There is a very real temptation for
preachers to forget that they are servants. The work we do is important and for
that reason may give the impression of importance for the one doing the work.
I once told a fellow preacher that he
should take better care of himself because God needed him in the work. He
quickly corrected my thinking. He said, “I cannot get along without God, but He
can do just fine without me.”
Jesus illustrated the need for all
Christians [especially preachers] to humble themselves to serve rather than be
served (John 13:12-17). The willingness
to dedicate one’s life to moving from congregation to congregation, suffering
the slings and arrows of weak brethren, and forgoing the financial security
provided by secular jobs is a laudable attitude. However, it in no way makes
one ‘more’ righteous than those who sit in the pews service after service and
listen to our sermons.
Preacher, don’t let Satan deceive you “For everyone who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
THE LAST WORD
####################
WHAT MUST
I DO
Hear: Rom 10:17
Believe: Heb 11:6
Repent: Lk 13:5; Ac
17:30
Confess: Matt 10:32; Ac
8:36
Be Baptized: Ac 2:38;
22:16
TO BE
SAVED?
###################
FAMILY
MATTERS
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a page where you can download a program. The program is a weekly so there will
be a new program uploaded each week. We also keep the sermons updated as well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The Pound Proclaimer is published monthly by the Pound
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Editor: Glen Young
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