When silence is not golden!
Commentary
The avalanche of dealings we have had these past weeks with sin, impending judgment and the call for the people of God to be so different from their neighbors in their values and conduct that they are a bunch of God's "weirdos" gets another installment today! Amos again leads off with his challenge to "Seek the Lord and live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour (it)." Paul follows him up by reminding Timothy that he has suffered for the truth he has taught often even at the hands of those one would have expected to support him (Cf. 2 Corinthians 11:21-29). Timothy is to "guard the truth entrusted to (him) by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us," no doubt because false teachers and deceitful brethren are out leading people to damnation with their corruptions of the good news. Jesus puts the capstone in the trilogy with his answer to the apostles' plea, "increase our faith!" (Greek pistin, "the power to hang on, the capacity to keep trusting.") Part of the secret of making it through the times of evil, or the times of testing, is to ride it out with the patience a mustard seed has as it grows toward its full stature.
Another component is to obey God and work like a servant (Greek doulo, "slave, bondsman"). Life never is a smooth-sail expedition for the believer. Nor does it ever get tedious because it is so protected by God that it is without challenge or outright threat at times. Peter is right when he warns, "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion some one to devour (1 Peter 5:8)." His declaration that suffering for the faith is a universal fact in every age, in one form, or at one time, or another, is also true, just as is his assurance that "the God of all grace ... will himself restore, establish and strengthen you (1 Peter 5:10)."
This all may help us understand the contests that engage us as we attempt to serve Christ and stay on the "narrow road" that leads to eternal life, while the parade of the folks around us seems headed down a broad and easy highway that is so much more alluring and immediate-satisfaction filled! But it doesn't cut out the inner turmoil, or quench permanently the inner hunger, that sin and its benefits for the moment dangle before us. Like the Snake in the Garden of Eden, the pitch continues to be, "Don't you want...?"
Perhaps that is why we have the persistence of the Bible in dealing with sin and its consequences. Sometimes it sounds like a record with a defective groove that keeps repeating the same words! But, then, that is simply an accurate reading of the true-to-life dilemma! Sin is found everywhere, and tugging at everyone of us constantly, in this disguise or that one. And to fend it off, and be ready for its next pitch we had better keep our eyes open, and our defenses up, and our faith exercised and fit. And as we do, get out the word to all that will listen, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love ... do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord." In times like these, silence is not golden!
OUTLINE I
Heavenly imbecile or holy lover?
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
A. vv. 6-7. Sometimes I think that God is almost imbecilic! He never seems to learn from his former failures! How often in the Bible he forgives Israel as a nation, and individuals in particular, for all sorts of sins against him and their compatriots, only to have them immediately repeat them! And what does God do in response? He calls them to task for what they have done, usually threatens to punish them for the deed, and sometimes does, then forgives them and sets things right ... only to have the newly restored go do something just as corrupt again. And that scenario is repeated over and over again. Just look at the script in the Book of Judges for yourself. When will God finally give it up? Well, not yet! To the corrupt, "who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth," he is still giving the chance to change and be saved, "Seek the Lord and live...."
B. vv. 10-13. Though he is tender-hearted, God is not ignorant! God knows (Hebrew yada, "to experience intimately") the extent and variety of their corruption. Transgressions (Hebrew pasha, "to rebel, attempt to overthrow God;" the most heinous sin in the Old Testament), and sins (Hebrew chata, "to miss the mark, be off target, fall short"), are so rampant that the prudent (Hebrew masehel, "insightful, comprehending, possessing unusual perception") have been silenced. But though at times God himself appears to have become tongue-tied, or absent, while the power of evil runs helter-skelter in society, he is neither! He is just giving even the worst among us one more chance to let God completely identify, and if possible, save them. Jesus reaffirmed that dimension of the divine love and patience with his own life, death and teaching (Cf. Matthew 13:24-30).
C. vv. 14-15. While it is only by the Lord's grace that any human right is saved, he does expect us to respond to his proffer! Right relationships produce right actions, "Hate evil ... Love good ... establish justice in the gate (lawcourt)." God wants to be gracious to those who have defied him. What he is pleading for is the chance to do it ... again!
OUTLINE II
Sharpening up the tools ... and using them!
2 Timothy 1:1-14
A. vv. 1-7. Every preacher should have a mentor, at least one professor/colleague, who cares/cared as much about them as Paul cared about Timothy. Throughout his ministry Paul prayed for him, instructed him, encouraged him and admonished him ... all signs that he always was on his teacher's mind and in his heart. And how fortunate is a congregation that has a preacher/pastor/priest who has them on his/her mind and heart constantly. When that is the case that preacher never just has a job, but a bond with those entrusted to his care. And that bond keeps them faithful in teaching and preaching the Word God has commissioned them to deliver to those to whom he was sent. To do that requires work! Gifts given need exercised and disciplined. Inspiration most readily is felt by those who have oiled the hinges on the door through which it must pass. Get on it, my friend!
B. vv. 8-11. The gift given is to be used to do the task for which we were given the holy calling. We are not called to gimmick the church, or to dazzle them with the-latest-down-the-pike fads. I suspect that one of the reasons so many of the main line churches are falling apart these days is that they have become "ashamed ... of testifying to our Lord." What they think is needed to prop up their sagging enterprise is more with it emphases, or slick programming. And all the while those who come to the churches are looking for the undergirding and freeing news of "the grace which he gave us in Christ ages ago." Our gifts need to be honed and used to open the way for this greatest of all gifts to be given and received! "Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you ..."
C. vv. 12-14. Eventually every person wants to know if the preacher believes what he or she proclaims! Do they know the One about whom they have preached? Are they sure that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to them? If not, then it is no wonder their flock is underfed and famished ... and go looking to others to provide that without which life disintegrates. We proclaimers do not have to dig up a mission, nor concoct a message! Paul reminds Timothy of that when he tells him, "Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me ... and guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (Cf. Matthew 28:18-20)." Good advice, gift-sharpeners!
OUTLINE III
Uprooting and planting
Luke 17:5-10
A. v. 5. Jesus doesn't always answer the question that he is asked, have you noticed? A case in point is here. The apostles come up with a request, and a good one, "Increase our faith!" Jesus responds with a statement that must have left them scratching their heads! If they have a speck of faith they can uproot a sycamine tree (which I have seen growing to a height of more than 40 feet around Jericho) and plant it in the sea? Oh, really? Rip up a monster tree, and plop it into salt water and make it grow? Sounds impossible, doesn't it ... especially if you obviously are having trouble getting what seems to be insufficient faith into gear with more common-place challenges! So what is Jesus' point here?
B. 6-10. Perhaps it is this ... faith is not something poured into your head or heart by someone else, even God! Faith is something that develops as you do God's will ... like a servant sweating it out in a field, or rounding up the stock. Like muscle, it takes shape and bulk in routines, sometimes hum-drum routines you would rather not endure. But it is in little exercises, doing things that your Master commands, like putting food on tables, or pouring water for one thirsty, or taking care of whatever crops up in the course of the day that reveals a lack of this or that which you can supply, that faith expands! Oh, really? Yes, really! It is as you do ordinary things for those ordinary folks about whom Jesus said, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:40)," that you can see mighty acts of God taking place as lives are reformed, and sick souls are healed, and down-and-outers walk, and the lost are brought back to the One searching for them. And if that is not enough to give you a spurt in faith-growth, I wonder if anything else really could. That is the kind of faith-seed Jesus wanted the apostles to work at watering, rather than expecting to have it dropped on them from on high!
Another component is to obey God and work like a servant (Greek doulo, "slave, bondsman"). Life never is a smooth-sail expedition for the believer. Nor does it ever get tedious because it is so protected by God that it is without challenge or outright threat at times. Peter is right when he warns, "Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion some one to devour (1 Peter 5:8)." His declaration that suffering for the faith is a universal fact in every age, in one form, or at one time, or another, is also true, just as is his assurance that "the God of all grace ... will himself restore, establish and strengthen you (1 Peter 5:10)."
This all may help us understand the contests that engage us as we attempt to serve Christ and stay on the "narrow road" that leads to eternal life, while the parade of the folks around us seems headed down a broad and easy highway that is so much more alluring and immediate-satisfaction filled! But it doesn't cut out the inner turmoil, or quench permanently the inner hunger, that sin and its benefits for the moment dangle before us. Like the Snake in the Garden of Eden, the pitch continues to be, "Don't you want...?"
Perhaps that is why we have the persistence of the Bible in dealing with sin and its consequences. Sometimes it sounds like a record with a defective groove that keeps repeating the same words! But, then, that is simply an accurate reading of the true-to-life dilemma! Sin is found everywhere, and tugging at everyone of us constantly, in this disguise or that one. And to fend it off, and be ready for its next pitch we had better keep our eyes open, and our defenses up, and our faith exercised and fit. And as we do, get out the word to all that will listen, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love ... do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord." In times like these, silence is not golden!
OUTLINE I
Heavenly imbecile or holy lover?
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
A. vv. 6-7. Sometimes I think that God is almost imbecilic! He never seems to learn from his former failures! How often in the Bible he forgives Israel as a nation, and individuals in particular, for all sorts of sins against him and their compatriots, only to have them immediately repeat them! And what does God do in response? He calls them to task for what they have done, usually threatens to punish them for the deed, and sometimes does, then forgives them and sets things right ... only to have the newly restored go do something just as corrupt again. And that scenario is repeated over and over again. Just look at the script in the Book of Judges for yourself. When will God finally give it up? Well, not yet! To the corrupt, "who turn justice to wormwood, and cast down righteousness to the earth," he is still giving the chance to change and be saved, "Seek the Lord and live...."
B. vv. 10-13. Though he is tender-hearted, God is not ignorant! God knows (Hebrew yada, "to experience intimately") the extent and variety of their corruption. Transgressions (Hebrew pasha, "to rebel, attempt to overthrow God;" the most heinous sin in the Old Testament), and sins (Hebrew chata, "to miss the mark, be off target, fall short"), are so rampant that the prudent (Hebrew masehel, "insightful, comprehending, possessing unusual perception") have been silenced. But though at times God himself appears to have become tongue-tied, or absent, while the power of evil runs helter-skelter in society, he is neither! He is just giving even the worst among us one more chance to let God completely identify, and if possible, save them. Jesus reaffirmed that dimension of the divine love and patience with his own life, death and teaching (Cf. Matthew 13:24-30).
C. vv. 14-15. While it is only by the Lord's grace that any human right is saved, he does expect us to respond to his proffer! Right relationships produce right actions, "Hate evil ... Love good ... establish justice in the gate (lawcourt)." God wants to be gracious to those who have defied him. What he is pleading for is the chance to do it ... again!
OUTLINE II
Sharpening up the tools ... and using them!
2 Timothy 1:1-14
A. vv. 1-7. Every preacher should have a mentor, at least one professor/colleague, who cares/cared as much about them as Paul cared about Timothy. Throughout his ministry Paul prayed for him, instructed him, encouraged him and admonished him ... all signs that he always was on his teacher's mind and in his heart. And how fortunate is a congregation that has a preacher/pastor/priest who has them on his/her mind and heart constantly. When that is the case that preacher never just has a job, but a bond with those entrusted to his care. And that bond keeps them faithful in teaching and preaching the Word God has commissioned them to deliver to those to whom he was sent. To do that requires work! Gifts given need exercised and disciplined. Inspiration most readily is felt by those who have oiled the hinges on the door through which it must pass. Get on it, my friend!
B. vv. 8-11. The gift given is to be used to do the task for which we were given the holy calling. We are not called to gimmick the church, or to dazzle them with the-latest-down-the-pike fads. I suspect that one of the reasons so many of the main line churches are falling apart these days is that they have become "ashamed ... of testifying to our Lord." What they think is needed to prop up their sagging enterprise is more with it emphases, or slick programming. And all the while those who come to the churches are looking for the undergirding and freeing news of "the grace which he gave us in Christ ages ago." Our gifts need to be honed and used to open the way for this greatest of all gifts to be given and received! "Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you ..."
C. vv. 12-14. Eventually every person wants to know if the preacher believes what he or she proclaims! Do they know the One about whom they have preached? Are they sure that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to them? If not, then it is no wonder their flock is underfed and famished ... and go looking to others to provide that without which life disintegrates. We proclaimers do not have to dig up a mission, nor concoct a message! Paul reminds Timothy of that when he tells him, "Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me ... and guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us (Cf. Matthew 28:18-20)." Good advice, gift-sharpeners!
OUTLINE III
Uprooting and planting
Luke 17:5-10
A. v. 5. Jesus doesn't always answer the question that he is asked, have you noticed? A case in point is here. The apostles come up with a request, and a good one, "Increase our faith!" Jesus responds with a statement that must have left them scratching their heads! If they have a speck of faith they can uproot a sycamine tree (which I have seen growing to a height of more than 40 feet around Jericho) and plant it in the sea? Oh, really? Rip up a monster tree, and plop it into salt water and make it grow? Sounds impossible, doesn't it ... especially if you obviously are having trouble getting what seems to be insufficient faith into gear with more common-place challenges! So what is Jesus' point here?
B. 6-10. Perhaps it is this ... faith is not something poured into your head or heart by someone else, even God! Faith is something that develops as you do God's will ... like a servant sweating it out in a field, or rounding up the stock. Like muscle, it takes shape and bulk in routines, sometimes hum-drum routines you would rather not endure. But it is in little exercises, doing things that your Master commands, like putting food on tables, or pouring water for one thirsty, or taking care of whatever crops up in the course of the day that reveals a lack of this or that which you can supply, that faith expands! Oh, really? Yes, really! It is as you do ordinary things for those ordinary folks about whom Jesus said, "As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me (Matthew 25:40)," that you can see mighty acts of God taking place as lives are reformed, and sick souls are healed, and down-and-outers walk, and the lost are brought back to the One searching for them. And if that is not enough to give you a spurt in faith-growth, I wonder if anything else really could. That is the kind of faith-seed Jesus wanted the apostles to work at watering, rather than expecting to have it dropped on them from on high!
