Be Ready
Preaching
Distinctively Different
I am sure that most of you shook the slats out of the cradle when you first heard the following story. But it is a good one and illustrates a point I would like to make. It seems that the young preacher pranced up to the pulpit prepared to preach his first sermon with no notes - no safety net. Prepared he was, he thought. As he looked over the congregation, his mind went into neutral, blank, tabula rosa! He could not think of a single thing! His confidence quickly turned to embarrassment. Sweat beads popped out on his forehead. He became desperate. The congregation stared at him with concern. Some began to elbow one another.
He was about to sit down when he remembered a scripture from the text, Revelation 22:7, where Jesus says, "Behold, I come quickly!" So, he struck the pulpit firmly and bellowed with renewed confidence, "Behold, I come quickly!" Nothing came! Still hopeful that the text would trigger additional memory, he tried it a second time. "Behold, I come quickly!" he shouted a little louder and pounded the pulpit more firmly. Still, nothing came! The perplexed congregation stared more intently.
Now panic stricken, he thought to himself, I am going to try this one more time. If nothing happens, I am never going to do this again. So, he took three or four steps backward and then ran to the pulpit, hit it as hard as he could, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Behold, I come quickly!" Sure enough, he did. He, pulpit, and all tumbled out into the congregation. The pulpit went one way and he landed in the front pew in the lap of a beautiful elderly lady, the picture of everyone's favorite grandmother. After being initially dazed, realizing what he had done, he began to apologize profusely, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" he said. "Oh, no, sonny, don't fret! It's all my fault. I should have moved. You told me three times you were coming!"
We are talking about the Second Coming of our Lord. He is coming again and some believe that he is coming quickly. Paul thought so as he wrote to the young church in response to their questions about the timing of the parousia. Paul says that our Lord will come suddenly like the labor pains upon a woman in travail beginning an irreversible process (v. 3). There will be no escape for anyone, no more than the woman can change her mind about whether to have the baby or not. Our Lord will also come unexpectedly like a thief in the night (v. 2). He will come when some are least aware. They will be caught off guard and unprepared. If his coming is so sudden and unexpected, how foolish of us to try to predict the time (Acts 1:7). If Jesus himself does not know, how could we? We must live in a constant state of readiness.
William Carter in his book, No Box Seats In The Kingdom, reports the Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their minds. After warning for decades that the world would end within this present generation, the leaders of the sect announced in December, 1995, that they have softened their position. Their reasoning is that Jesus' words in Mark 13 referred "to his generation and not ours."1 The conclusion by an ex--Witness was that if they ceased to believe that Jesus was coming back tomorrow they would have more difficulty recruiting members today. It is difficult to be critical of the Jehovah's Witnesses because they probably have become more like most of us. We, too, have lost our sense of urgency. We reason that it has been 2,000 years and he still has not come. Could it be that we, too, have lost our sense of immediacy, and our enthusiasm for his coming has waned?
Fred Craddock states that the problem with preaching of a generation ago was that it was poorly prepared. He goes on to state that the problem with the preachers of today is they preach as if nothing is at stake. Have we lost our sense of urgency?
One's eternal destiny is at stake! The first time we hear the gospel can be either the best day or the worst day of our lives. It can be the best day in that we have the opportunity to say, "Yes," to God's invitation and to inherit all he has for every child of God: grace, forgiveness, a home in heaven. It can be the worst day in that we have the opportunity to say, "No," to God's invitation and will have to bear the responsibility for that negative decision.
It is also true with the Second Coming of our Lord or death, whichever comes first. To some it will be the most glorious day of their existence. It will be a day of long anticipated reunions, the beauty of heaven, and claiming our inheritance as a child of God and a joint heir of Jesus Christ. To some it will be the greatest day of all because we shall see Jesus, bow at his feet, and thank him for his love and unmeasurable grace. It will be a day when everything wrong is made right. But to others it will be the most tragic day of their existence. Everything wrong will be made worse, and they will bear eternal responsibility with weeping and regret.
Paul states that God has not appointed us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 9). It is time to be prepared. The University of Louisville Cardinal basketball team went to a tournament several years ago in Hawaii. At their first practice session in Maui, they discovered that the managers had forgotten to bring basketballs. They looked around in dismay and then heard a basketball bouncing outside the gym. They saw a young lad with an old battered, well worn basketball. They tried to buy the basketball from the young man. "Ten dollars?" "No!" "Fifteen dollars? Twenty--five dollars? Fifty dollars?" "No! I'll not sell my basketball." In the meantime one of the Cardinal players said to the little boy, "You know, fellow, you're dumb. You could have sold that basketball for fifty dollars." The little boy scratched his nose and said, "Well, mister, I may be dumb, but at least I'm smart enough to know that if you're going to practice basketball you need to bring a basketball!"2
Paul, in our text, tells us how we can be prepared for death or the Second Coming no matter when it may come. To keep us from dropping the ball, he states in verse 6 that there are some things we can intentionally and purposefully do. We can be watchful. We can be alert, aware, in a state of constant readiness. What does that mean? Be alert for "signs" of his coming? Be alert for the moving of his Spirit? Be alert for others? Do you know anyone that is unprepared? Have you said anything to them about it?
Recently the inhabitants of the Florida and Carolina coasts were bracing themselves for the possible onslaught of Hurricane Dennis. They were buying plywood, fuel oil, bottled water. Only a tiny fraction of those people ever needed those provisions. But they did not want to take a chance. Do you want to take a chance?
We must not only be alert, but also we must be self--controlled (v. 6). There is a phrase today which is getting common usage. When someone is about to get on the edge or say something they should not, someone might declare, "Don't go there!" "Don't go there!" If we are children of the light and day, then there are some places in darkness to which we should not go (v. 5). Don't go there. The preacher knew that he was on the wrong side of town. His excuse was that he was taking clothes to a needy family. He did not know that the woman was a cop. Solicitation was the charge. He lost his church. He lost his career. Don't go there!
She always liked to flirt. It was just harmless fun. Then she came on a little too strong and he came on a little too strong. Nothing really happened. But the friendship between two families was destroyed and the gnawing seeds of suspicion lingered for a long time. Don't go there!
Paul says that we are children of the light. We can be self--controlled. Or, better yet, we can be under Christ's control. The best avenue of preparation is to place Christ at the very center of our lives and to nurture our intimate and personal relationship to him each and every day. Be alert to his presence in our life. Don't go anywhere you would not want him to be with you. For he is, you know!
Paul states that we not only can be watchful, we also can be who we are (v. 8).
Beverly Roberts Gaventa in her commentary on 1 Thessalo--nians in the Interpretation Series, states that the syntax of the Greek indicates that we already wear the items of faith, love, and hope.3 They already are ours because we are already his children. We wear them because he does. These are not so much actions we take as they are characteristics of who we are. We are faithful because we believe in the power of the gospel to change people's lives. We are hopeful of his triumphal return and of our home in heaven. We are loving because his love dwells in our hearts. Yes, we intentionally do certain things, be alert and self--controlled, but we do them out of what and who we are. We are not afraid or surprised (v. 4) because we are children of the light and faith, hope and love are God's gifts to us. We cannot merit or earn these characteristics. They are his grace gifts to us - the gifts of his very nature.
Charles H. Spurgeon once received from Andrew Bonar a copy of the latter's commentary on Leviticus. Spurgeon thought it to be excellent and returned it to Bonar with the request that the author autograph the copy and place a picture on the title page. Bonar obliged with the following note. "Dear Spurgeon, Here is the book with my autograph and my photograph. If you had been willing to wait a short season, you could have had a much better picture. When I see Christ, I shall be like him!" The more and more we prepare, the more and more we become who or what we are.
Some things we can do to prepare for his coming and they come from what we are. But we are what we are because of what he did. "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him" (v. 20). He died for us. Because of his sacrificial death, we do not have to be afraid. We can anticipate his coming with joyful enthusiasm. We can be encouraged and be encouraging, because of what he did.
Karl Barth said, "Precisely when we realize that we are sinners, do we perceive that we are brothers (and sisters)?"4 When we truly understand that we are all sinners, we realize that we all are in the same boat. We need what only Christ can do. How thankful we are that he died for us. A. M. Hunter reminds us of a scene in Richard Jefferies' book, Bevis, The Story Of A Boy. The boy Bevis had a Bible with pictures in it, one depicting the crucifixion. The picture disturbed him very much. The cruel nails, the horrible mixture of sweat and blood, the pierced side, the marks and the lashes of the whip, the mockery of the crown of thorns, all threw him into anguish. After looking long upon the page, he cried, "If God had been there, he wouldn't have let them do it." "If God had been there...!"5 Oh, but he was there! He was more there than he has ever been anywhere! He was there and he did let it happen - to show how much he loves you! He was there to show us how much it cost to save a world of sinners! "He that spareth not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him, freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
The morning was not far spent when the weary pastor made her way across the hospital parking lot. The night had been long as she prayed with, comforted, and then tried to console a young couple as their small child left this world for the loving hands of its heavenly Father.
Her heart was heavy with things eternal when she almost bumped into a mother and her small daughter. "Please forgive me, I'm sorry," she said as she sought to be on her way. "I know you," the little girl declared. "Aren't you that preacher? Aren't you the preacher in that big red church?" "Why, yes, honey, I am," the pastor responded. "Tell me something, preacher," she said. "Where is heaven?" "I beg your pardon!" "Heaven, how far away is heav--en?" the little girl asked. "Let's see, honey, place your hand over your chest and tell me what you feel?" "My heartbeat," she responded. "I feel my heartbeat!" "That's just how far away heaven is, honey," the pastor responded, "one single heartbeat!"
____________
1. William G. Carter, No Box Seats In The Kingdom (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1996), p. 61.
2. Preaching, Volume IV, No. L, July--August 1988 (Jacksonville: Preaching Resources, 1988), p. 34.
3. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Interpretation: First And Second Thessalonians (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1998), p. 72.
4. Frank Stagg, The Book Of Acts (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1955), p. 70.
5. A. W. Hunter, Preaching The New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1963), p. 92.
He was about to sit down when he remembered a scripture from the text, Revelation 22:7, where Jesus says, "Behold, I come quickly!" So, he struck the pulpit firmly and bellowed with renewed confidence, "Behold, I come quickly!" Nothing came! Still hopeful that the text would trigger additional memory, he tried it a second time. "Behold, I come quickly!" he shouted a little louder and pounded the pulpit more firmly. Still, nothing came! The perplexed congregation stared more intently.
Now panic stricken, he thought to himself, I am going to try this one more time. If nothing happens, I am never going to do this again. So, he took three or four steps backward and then ran to the pulpit, hit it as hard as he could, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Behold, I come quickly!" Sure enough, he did. He, pulpit, and all tumbled out into the congregation. The pulpit went one way and he landed in the front pew in the lap of a beautiful elderly lady, the picture of everyone's favorite grandmother. After being initially dazed, realizing what he had done, he began to apologize profusely, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" he said. "Oh, no, sonny, don't fret! It's all my fault. I should have moved. You told me three times you were coming!"
We are talking about the Second Coming of our Lord. He is coming again and some believe that he is coming quickly. Paul thought so as he wrote to the young church in response to their questions about the timing of the parousia. Paul says that our Lord will come suddenly like the labor pains upon a woman in travail beginning an irreversible process (v. 3). There will be no escape for anyone, no more than the woman can change her mind about whether to have the baby or not. Our Lord will also come unexpectedly like a thief in the night (v. 2). He will come when some are least aware. They will be caught off guard and unprepared. If his coming is so sudden and unexpected, how foolish of us to try to predict the time (Acts 1:7). If Jesus himself does not know, how could we? We must live in a constant state of readiness.
William Carter in his book, No Box Seats In The Kingdom, reports the Jehovah's Witnesses have changed their minds. After warning for decades that the world would end within this present generation, the leaders of the sect announced in December, 1995, that they have softened their position. Their reasoning is that Jesus' words in Mark 13 referred "to his generation and not ours."1 The conclusion by an ex--Witness was that if they ceased to believe that Jesus was coming back tomorrow they would have more difficulty recruiting members today. It is difficult to be critical of the Jehovah's Witnesses because they probably have become more like most of us. We, too, have lost our sense of urgency. We reason that it has been 2,000 years and he still has not come. Could it be that we, too, have lost our sense of immediacy, and our enthusiasm for his coming has waned?
Fred Craddock states that the problem with preaching of a generation ago was that it was poorly prepared. He goes on to state that the problem with the preachers of today is they preach as if nothing is at stake. Have we lost our sense of urgency?
One's eternal destiny is at stake! The first time we hear the gospel can be either the best day or the worst day of our lives. It can be the best day in that we have the opportunity to say, "Yes," to God's invitation and to inherit all he has for every child of God: grace, forgiveness, a home in heaven. It can be the worst day in that we have the opportunity to say, "No," to God's invitation and will have to bear the responsibility for that negative decision.
It is also true with the Second Coming of our Lord or death, whichever comes first. To some it will be the most glorious day of their existence. It will be a day of long anticipated reunions, the beauty of heaven, and claiming our inheritance as a child of God and a joint heir of Jesus Christ. To some it will be the greatest day of all because we shall see Jesus, bow at his feet, and thank him for his love and unmeasurable grace. It will be a day when everything wrong is made right. But to others it will be the most tragic day of their existence. Everything wrong will be made worse, and they will bear eternal responsibility with weeping and regret.
Paul states that God has not appointed us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 9). It is time to be prepared. The University of Louisville Cardinal basketball team went to a tournament several years ago in Hawaii. At their first practice session in Maui, they discovered that the managers had forgotten to bring basketballs. They looked around in dismay and then heard a basketball bouncing outside the gym. They saw a young lad with an old battered, well worn basketball. They tried to buy the basketball from the young man. "Ten dollars?" "No!" "Fifteen dollars? Twenty--five dollars? Fifty dollars?" "No! I'll not sell my basketball." In the meantime one of the Cardinal players said to the little boy, "You know, fellow, you're dumb. You could have sold that basketball for fifty dollars." The little boy scratched his nose and said, "Well, mister, I may be dumb, but at least I'm smart enough to know that if you're going to practice basketball you need to bring a basketball!"2
Paul, in our text, tells us how we can be prepared for death or the Second Coming no matter when it may come. To keep us from dropping the ball, he states in verse 6 that there are some things we can intentionally and purposefully do. We can be watchful. We can be alert, aware, in a state of constant readiness. What does that mean? Be alert for "signs" of his coming? Be alert for the moving of his Spirit? Be alert for others? Do you know anyone that is unprepared? Have you said anything to them about it?
Recently the inhabitants of the Florida and Carolina coasts were bracing themselves for the possible onslaught of Hurricane Dennis. They were buying plywood, fuel oil, bottled water. Only a tiny fraction of those people ever needed those provisions. But they did not want to take a chance. Do you want to take a chance?
We must not only be alert, but also we must be self--controlled (v. 6). There is a phrase today which is getting common usage. When someone is about to get on the edge or say something they should not, someone might declare, "Don't go there!" "Don't go there!" If we are children of the light and day, then there are some places in darkness to which we should not go (v. 5). Don't go there. The preacher knew that he was on the wrong side of town. His excuse was that he was taking clothes to a needy family. He did not know that the woman was a cop. Solicitation was the charge. He lost his church. He lost his career. Don't go there!
She always liked to flirt. It was just harmless fun. Then she came on a little too strong and he came on a little too strong. Nothing really happened. But the friendship between two families was destroyed and the gnawing seeds of suspicion lingered for a long time. Don't go there!
Paul says that we are children of the light. We can be self--controlled. Or, better yet, we can be under Christ's control. The best avenue of preparation is to place Christ at the very center of our lives and to nurture our intimate and personal relationship to him each and every day. Be alert to his presence in our life. Don't go anywhere you would not want him to be with you. For he is, you know!
Paul states that we not only can be watchful, we also can be who we are (v. 8).
Beverly Roberts Gaventa in her commentary on 1 Thessalo--nians in the Interpretation Series, states that the syntax of the Greek indicates that we already wear the items of faith, love, and hope.3 They already are ours because we are already his children. We wear them because he does. These are not so much actions we take as they are characteristics of who we are. We are faithful because we believe in the power of the gospel to change people's lives. We are hopeful of his triumphal return and of our home in heaven. We are loving because his love dwells in our hearts. Yes, we intentionally do certain things, be alert and self--controlled, but we do them out of what and who we are. We are not afraid or surprised (v. 4) because we are children of the light and faith, hope and love are God's gifts to us. We cannot merit or earn these characteristics. They are his grace gifts to us - the gifts of his very nature.
Charles H. Spurgeon once received from Andrew Bonar a copy of the latter's commentary on Leviticus. Spurgeon thought it to be excellent and returned it to Bonar with the request that the author autograph the copy and place a picture on the title page. Bonar obliged with the following note. "Dear Spurgeon, Here is the book with my autograph and my photograph. If you had been willing to wait a short season, you could have had a much better picture. When I see Christ, I shall be like him!" The more and more we prepare, the more and more we become who or what we are.
Some things we can do to prepare for his coming and they come from what we are. But we are what we are because of what he did. "He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him" (v. 20). He died for us. Because of his sacrificial death, we do not have to be afraid. We can anticipate his coming with joyful enthusiasm. We can be encouraged and be encouraging, because of what he did.
Karl Barth said, "Precisely when we realize that we are sinners, do we perceive that we are brothers (and sisters)?"4 When we truly understand that we are all sinners, we realize that we all are in the same boat. We need what only Christ can do. How thankful we are that he died for us. A. M. Hunter reminds us of a scene in Richard Jefferies' book, Bevis, The Story Of A Boy. The boy Bevis had a Bible with pictures in it, one depicting the crucifixion. The picture disturbed him very much. The cruel nails, the horrible mixture of sweat and blood, the pierced side, the marks and the lashes of the whip, the mockery of the crown of thorns, all threw him into anguish. After looking long upon the page, he cried, "If God had been there, he wouldn't have let them do it." "If God had been there...!"5 Oh, but he was there! He was more there than he has ever been anywhere! He was there and he did let it happen - to show how much he loves you! He was there to show us how much it cost to save a world of sinners! "He that spareth not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him, freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
The morning was not far spent when the weary pastor made her way across the hospital parking lot. The night had been long as she prayed with, comforted, and then tried to console a young couple as their small child left this world for the loving hands of its heavenly Father.
Her heart was heavy with things eternal when she almost bumped into a mother and her small daughter. "Please forgive me, I'm sorry," she said as she sought to be on her way. "I know you," the little girl declared. "Aren't you that preacher? Aren't you the preacher in that big red church?" "Why, yes, honey, I am," the pastor responded. "Tell me something, preacher," she said. "Where is heaven?" "I beg your pardon!" "Heaven, how far away is heav--en?" the little girl asked. "Let's see, honey, place your hand over your chest and tell me what you feel?" "My heartbeat," she responded. "I feel my heartbeat!" "That's just how far away heaven is, honey," the pastor responded, "one single heartbeat!"
____________
1. William G. Carter, No Box Seats In The Kingdom (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 1996), p. 61.
2. Preaching, Volume IV, No. L, July--August 1988 (Jacksonville: Preaching Resources, 1988), p. 34.
3. Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Interpretation: First And Second Thessalonians (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1998), p. 72.
4. Frank Stagg, The Book Of Acts (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1955), p. 70.
5. A. W. Hunter, Preaching The New Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1963), p. 92.
