BIBLE BOLDNESS

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.  (Acts 4:13)
 

Peter Cartwright was a 19th Century American famous for pointed sermons.   When his elders heard that President Andrew Jackson was coming to visit, they pulled the preacher aside and warned him to tone it down.  Peter got up in the pulpit that Sunday and his first three sentences were these. "I understand that the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson is with us this morning.  I have been asked to be guarded in my remarks.  Andrew Jackson will go to Hell is he doesn't repent."  Following the service, President Jackson grabbed Mr. Cartwright's hand, shook it vigorously and said, "Sir, if I had an army of men like you I could whip the world."

 

God, make us bold for you!

OUR TRIUNE TASK

 

to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. (2 Timothy 1:11)

Paul alludes to a triune task.  As God is one, but three persons, so we men of God have one call, but three assignments—each one essential and yet all interrelated.

Our triune task involves involves proclamation.  Paul said he was a preacher.  The word literally means, "herald."  The herald's responsibility in the ancient world was to go before the king and prepare the way for his coming.  He was to announce the coming of the King.  John the Baptist's ministry was described in these terms as he readied the people for the first advent of Messiah.  Today, we have the duty to get people prepared for the Second Advent of Christ.  That's why I prepare and present sermons.  I'm acting as a herald for the King.  If God has called you to Gospel ministry then you must preach—if you have to do it on a street corner or a rest home!

Our triune task not only involves proclamation, but penetration.  Paul referred to himself as an,  “apostle.”  The Greek word means, "one who is sent."  Paul was sent to penetrate the regions of spiritual darkness where the light of the glorious gospel had never shone.  In the strictest sense, there are no more apostles since the twelve passed into heaven.  Yet, in a broader sense, the man of God is a sent one.  Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, so send I you."   Paul, in the fourth chapter of this letter commands Timothy to, " do the work of an evangelist..." (II Timothy 4:5).  We are to penetrate every nation, as salt penetrates food and light penetrates darkness, for Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  I would remind you that salt is useless if it remains in the shaker and light is of no value if hidden under a bushel basket.  Our calling is to penetrate the community with the message of Jesus.  While we ought to share the Gospel in the pulpit, we dare not neglect taking it to the people.  A few sinners may enter our building, but most will not.  We are sent into the highways and hedges!

Furthermore, our duty involves preservation.  Paul noted that he was, “a teacher.”  He realized that his mission was not complete when someone was born again.  Birth was not the ending, but the beginning.  If the fruit were to be preserved, he would have to teach those new converts.  You see, gathering the harvest is no good, if the fruit spoils.  Too may times our churches are better at obstetrics than pediatrics.  We reach people for Christ, we baptize them, but before long they become spiritual casualties because we have not equipped them to stand against the onslaughts of the devil.  People must be taught doctrine.  Feeding them the Word of God is what enables them to put roots downward for nourishment and stability, spread their branches upward and outward in worship and influence, and produce fruit Godward and man-ward.

Let us joyfully recommit ourselves to this triune task.  God help us not to let any aspect of this assignment slip.  A three-legged stool cannot stand if even one leg is removed, and we will fail if we shirk even one of these dimensions of ministry.

 

THE FOUNDATION OF FAITHFUL AND FRUITFUL MINISTRY

 

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  (1 Timothy 4:12)

Timothy was able to stay true despite his timidity, while Demas fled despite his ability (2 Tim.4:9).  Peter, with all his failings, persisted while Judas, with all his skill, perished.  What makes the difference?  Character!  It is the indispensable foundation for faithful and fruitful ministry.  No amount of competence in pastoral skill can overcome character flaws.  We may be charming communicators, but if we do not seek to model the sermon as well as deliver it, then it is all hollow—and without the touch of heaven.  Balaam spoke the truth, but his heart was mercenary.  He was a hireling—a false prophet—not so much because he taught error, but his heart was wicked and that was the ultimate deception.  He knew the vocabulary of Scripture, but did not know the Author.  If the foundation is merely hearing the doctrine in seminary class, then it is sand and the storms of ministry trials will bring collapse—if not here and now, then on the Judgment Day.  To hear and obey is the solid rock of Biblical conviction that issue in true character and righteous conduct.

Even the best of us will struggle and sometimes stumble.  Let us not use grace, as a license to yield to temptation, however!  If we are born again, and God has called us into the ministry, may we not rationalize our surrender to sin as, “I’m only human!”  That is a lie!  If we are God’s child, then the Holy Spirit indwells us.  Yes, we are human, but more—we have become partakers of the Divine nature!  Read 2 Peter 1:2-11.

Clarence Macartney put it like this:

 

The better the man, the better the preacher.  When he kneels by the bed of the dying or when he mounts the pulpit stairs, then every self-denial he has made, every Christian forbearance he has shown, every resistance to sin and temptation will come back to strengthen his arm and give conviction to his voice.  Likewise, every evasion of duty, every indulgence of self, every compromise with evil, every unworthy thought, word or deed, will be there at the head of the pulpit stairs to meet the minister on Sunday morning, to take the light from his eye, the power from his blow, the ring from his voice, and the joy from his heart.

Character is the foundation of faithful and fruitful ministry.  Let us strive to be competent in the ministry we do, but chiefly let us seek to have character as the ministers we are!

FREE FROM FEAR

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.  But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.  (2 Thessalonians 3:1-3)

Satan is a roaring lion, seeking to devour us (1 Pet.5:8).  Can you imagine what it would be like to walk some wilderness path and hear the bone-chilling roar of a lion?  If you are in ministry, you have been confronted with this terror.  It may have been the snarl of a powerbroker in the church!  Lions sometimes masquerade as lambs.  The Devil does not always have to show up himself.  He is not omnipresent, but he has many assistants to aid his nefarious schemes.  Fright can lead to flight—and if I back down from the Word of God and compromise out of cowardice, then Satan has accomplished his purpose.  What army will remain in the fight if their general runs away?

The writer of Proverbs says that, “The fear of man brings a snare.”  (Prov.29:25a)  Are we imprisoned by the fetters of fear?  Each iron link is forged on the threat of what might be: we could lose our job; we could lose the financial support of some large contributor; we could have slander spread through the community—and on and on. 

Even such a stalwart servant as Paul knew the power of this temptation.  He had heard the lion’s roar, and had the wounds of his claws on his body.  The Apostle knew that he would not stand if he depended on his own strength.  He entreats the people of God to pray for him.  Let us humbly admit our frailty and beg the church to cry out to God on our behalf.  They expect us to pray for them—shall we not expect them to pray for us? 

He does not want the Word of God to be halted, or even hindered.  He wants the sheer freedom to proclaim the truth without fear or favor.  It is not about the glory of the preacher, but for the glory of the message that he desires this.  Paul has seen what happens when truth is unleashed—the Thessalonians were examples of this transforming power—and now he longs to see it in others.  We say we believe in the authority of God’s Word, but do we believe in the sufficiency of it?

There are unreasonable and unrighteous men.  The truth of the message is rejected because they have given themselves over to error—and are unreasonable—and they have surrendered to evil—and are unrighteous.  Their mind does not want to hear the truth because their thinking is warped, and their hearts do not want to heed the truth because their desires are wicked.  The world is full of them—and increasingly hostile toward truth.  Alas, some of these lions have joined our churches!  They may be Sunday School teachers, deacons, mission group ladies—they have many faces—but the same roar!

Never forget man of God, that God is faithful!  Men will fail us.  They may seek to frighten us.  We can be faithful and fearless because God is faithful to ground us and guard us.  May the Word of God be unfettered and unleashed from our pulpits!

DILIGENT AND VIGILANT

Be diligent to know the state of your flocks,

And attend to your herds….  (Proverbs 27:23)

The writer was referring to a literal shepherd caring for his sheep.  We do no violence to the text, however, in making a practical application to the pastor and his people.  Throughout Scripture, spiritual leadership is illustrated by the work of a shepherd and a repeated way of describing people is that of sheep.  The elders of the church are charged with leading, feeding, and caring for the flock of God.

The pastor is to be diligent and vigilant.  He must be diligently vigilant in knowing the state of his sheep, and he must be vigilantly diligent in attending to their needs.

How can we meet their needs without knowing them—and how can we know them without personal engagement?  We live in a day when evangelicalism heralds the model of a talking head on a TV screen—and calls this a pastor.  He may truly be a shepherd to some—to the staff, or several others, but it is impossible for him to be the pastor of the people gazing at the screen.  He would not know the sheep if he saw them on the street and they only know the preacher in 2-D.  I want to say that many of these viewing stations have local pastors who minister to that congregation—but they do not feed them and lead them.  I am not questioning the intent—nor that good may be done.  I am just saying that the teaching elder is only that, in such a case, but is not the pastor for he cannot know the state of the sheep.  Is this then the model we want to pursue?  Let each man be persuaded in his own mind.

It is likewise true that past models have not necessarily worked any better—where a local pastor was really just a chaplain instead.  In many traditional churches, the pastor-chaplain did little feeding of the flock.  He knew them because he was with them from the womb to the tomb.  He was there after they were hatched to bless them, there after they were matched to bind them, and there after they were dispatched to bury them!  Socially, he was involved; administratively, he was engaged; ministerially, he was effective—but, in terms of making disciples—not so much.  Does pastoral care need to happen?  Of course!  Yet, if simply running up and down the roads, staying for every minute of every surgery, counseling for hours upon hours, becomes the pattern, there is no time left for the study, and the preaching is without power.

I have heard this remark, “Dr. Snodgrass is a great preacher, but not much of a pastor.”  Then, I have heard this, “Rev. Smiley is a great pastor, but not much of a preacher.”  It is a false dichotomy!  If a man is to feed the sheep, he must know the flock.  Otherwise, all he can do is fire off a buckshot sermon and hope the general application will hit someone.  Knowing the sheep enables you to take a rifle and hit them directly in the heart!  If a man is to provide pastoral care that goes beyond getting him a pat on the back, he must not fire blanks!  If lives are not being transformed by the power of the Word, then what is the point?  As for me, I will seek to be both diligent and vigilant.  I want to be personally involved with the sheep in order to feed them.

POWER IN PREACHING

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.  (1 Thessalonians 1:5)

Good news can be presented in an orthodox form—and it should be—and remain only a form, resulting in no conversion or false confession.  So, Paul, in exhorting young Pastor Timothy spoke of those, “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”  (2 Tim.3:5a)  The Apostle rejoiced that his preaching had not been so received by the Thessalonians, evidencing that there was power accompanying the proclamation!

What makes for power in preaching?  Two things are essential:  divine energizing and demonstrable example.

Concerning divine energizing, the key phrase is, “in the Holy Spirit.”  This is more than the Spirit in us—apart from that we are not converted ourselves!  This is our being in the Spirit—apart from that we cannot see others converted!  In the former, the Spirit is resident, and in the latter, He is president.  This comes in a dependence on God—seeking Him for spiritual power.  It is a refusal to rely on professionalism, rationalism, or emotionalism.  Rather, it is casting yourself upon God in faith, letting Him bear you up and carry you along in the act of preaching.   Think in terms of how God inspired the writers of Scripture, “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”  (2 Pet.1:21b).  Certainly our preaching will not be on the level of infallible inspiration, but we must honor that sacred revelation by preaching it in spiritual reliance.  Brother, on Saturday night, get naked before God—confess your utter helplessness—and then on Sunday morning, be clothed in power before you dare to enter the pulpit!  You can then speak with assured authority!

Pertaining to demonstrable example, this is a stressed by the phrase, “you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake.”  Power in proclamation must ever be linked to practice.  To demand in others what we are not willing to demonstrate is hypocrisy!  That is the kind of preaching the Pharisees did—and Jesus condemned it in forceful terms.  As you look at the qualifications for the pastor in 1 Timothy 3 it is quickly apparent that character is as vital as competence.  There are things we must do—there is nothing commendable in incompetence and indolence—but, there is also the matter of who we are—and that is integrity.  Failing to model the message short-circuits spiritual power.  The verbal proclamation from our lips can never be divorced from the visual pattern of our lifestyle.

When these are present there will be power in preaching—and this is the result: “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.”  (1 Thess.1:6-7)  This is fruitful reproduction: realignment to God’s will, “you became followers of us and of the Lord,” reception of God’s Word, “having received the word in much affliction,” rejoicing in God’s work, “with joy of the Holy Spirit,” and replication in God’s world, “you became examples to all.”