Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever
things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever
things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue
and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8 )
Do we have hearts brim full of
hope? If so, then out of that reservoir,
we as preachers will share hope each Sunday—and how our people need it! They are beaten down daily by the desperate
conditions they find themselves in, traveling on Sunday morning—trudging might
be a better word—through the desert places of their lives, thirsty souls
looking for an oasis. Brothers, don’t
let your message be only a mirage! We
will share from our mouths what our minds have meditated on during the
week. Have we been obsessed with the
truth, the things that are majestic, focused on that which is just, morally
pure, satisfying to the senses in a way that creates awe, admiring that which
inspires, celebrating achievement and concentrating on that which glorifies God
and elicits praise? Paul, imprisoned in
body, yet liberated in mind and heart tells us to meditate on these
things! Make God, His glory and His good
news your magnificent obsession!
There will always be sins to
confront, false doctrines to expose, and a host of demonic evils to
battle. Yet, is that to be the continual
subject of our sermons? Should we focus
on the evil or the good? Do we curse the
darkness or light a candle. Bad news is
only meant to set the stage for the good news—and that is what the Gospel
is! Grace-filled and Gospel-focused
preaching is demanded!
Our flock faces plenty in the
world to depress them. Do we drive them
farther into that mental state? It is a
message that raises hope and inspires hearts that is called for, since God is
the God of hope, and Jesus is the bringer of hope—blessed hope He is!
I am not calling for some Osteen-ism—of
paste on a smile and think happy thoughts, and “think your way to prosperity”
nonsense. That is worse than nonsense—it
is heresy. Reality must be faced. The Old Testament prophets surely thundered
against wickedness. But, they didn’t
stop there. God would break the clouds,
and send a beam of hope’s light piercing through each time. If we must use Scripture as a scalpel to cut
today because some spiritual malignancy is present, even so, our object is to
heal, not to hurt.
Reality is not to be denied by “positive thinking.” But, I am positive that God is the ultimate
reality! This is what enabled a woman
whose darling son was dead to respond in faith to the prophet Elisha’s inquiry
about her state, “It is well.” (2 Kings 4:26b )
Do our sermons lead to worshippers raising their hands, or
worriers wringing them? Let’s go out
today and raise some hope!
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