Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Preach the Word

As a student in a Christian college I looked forward to the week of the annual Bible conference. Classes were suspended as we heard some of the nation’s leading Bible teachers expound the scriptures. My heart was warmed.  I remember thinking to myself, “That truth was there all the time. Why didn’t I see it?” Those gifted teachers made plain to us students what the holy scriptures were saying. This was soul-satisfying.

This was further reinforced during my student years as I was employed during the summers at World of Life camps and conference center in New York. I was privileged to hear outstanding Bible teaching there too. Those speakers were, like Apollos, “mighty in the scriptures” (Acts 18:24). I was developing the conviction that if I should ever become a preacher, then I must be an expository preacher.

The most significant encouragement in this direction during my seminary training came not from courses on preaching, but from my Greek professor, David Winget, who taught principles of biblical exegesis. Exegesis is the discovery of what the biblical text says and means (preferably from the original languages of the Bible). He demonstrated that sound exegesis is the foundation for a ministry of expository preaching.

Expository preaching seeks to explain the text of scripture in such a way as to help listeners understand its meaning and make relevant application of its truths to their lives. The authority in this communication rests within the divinely-inspired biblical text, not with the preacher.

I have had the high honor of serving as pastor of two great churches, Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky, and Metropolitan Baptist Church of Oklahoma City. In each place I was preceded by well-known pastors who were faithful and effective expository preachers.

The people of these congregations were wise enough, kind enough and mature enough not to expect me to fill the shoes of my esteemed predecessors. Instead, they encouraged me to be myself. They knew that I aspired to faithfully and systematically teach the Word of God. That was what they wanted. They had been nourished by sound Bible teaching in the past and they appreciated the fact that that was what I wanted to continue to do, by God’s grace.

In his book The Living Church John Stott wrote, “We do not occupy the pulpit in order to preach ourselves, broadcast our theories or ventilate our opinions. No! Our understanding of preaching is that it is essentially an exposition of the Word of God. In this sense, all Christian preaching is ‘expository’ preaching . . .  in the broad sense (it opens up a biblical text).”

He went on to say that biblical exposition is like building a bridge from the ancient biblical world to our contemporary setting. That bridge aims to cross a cultural divide of over two thousand years. “Authentic Christian preaching is a bridge-building operation. It relates the text to the context in such a way as to be both faithful to the biblical text and sensitive to the modern context.”

The famous nineteenth century preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon told young preachers, “I am sure that no preaching will last so long, or build up a church so well, as the expository. . . . I cannot too earnestly assure you that, if your ministries are to be lastingly useful, you must be expositors.”

So you will not be not surprised to read here that I believe that people need expository preaching Sunday after Sunday, from pastors whose hearts burn within them with passion for the truth of God’s Word. Here are some reasons why I say that.

!. The Sunday morning preaching event is the single most important moment in the life of any congregation. I use the word “moment” advisedly. The preaching of the Word of God is momentous! It centers the gathered congregation on God’s revelation of himself and his will for our lives.  It unifies the congregation  around a shared commitment to God’s revealed truth.

2. The Bible is truthful and trustworthy in all that it affirms. It is an infallible guide to a Christian’s belief and conduct. Expository preaching provides reliable instruction in what we are to believe and how we are to live to be pleasing to God.

3. Anything less than the healthy food of God’s word will leave people spiritually undernourished. It is both “milk” for infants in the faith, and “adult food” (“meat”) for the spiritually mature. Therapeutic pop psychology or social commentary cannot feed hungry souls. Without the teaching of the Bible, God’s people cannot grow spiritually.

4. The Bible is relevant for all peoples, all cultures, all times and all places. Wherever it has gone, the Bible has elevated civilizations, and advanced the progress of cultures. This is true in the local church. The preacher’s task is not to make the Bible relevant, but to show the Bible’s relevance to our lives, guided by the Holy Spirit.

5. The teaching of scripture leads people to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul reminded young Timothy that the holy scriptures were able to make him “wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 3:15). Jesus had told his disciples, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”(John 20:29). How would those who had not seen Jesus in person come to believe in him? It would be through the witness of those first-century apostles (John 17:20)! Their writings about Jesus became the New Testament scriptures. The scriptures proclaim the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

For these reasons, and others, throughout my pastoral ministry I made a priority of the study and teaching of the Bible. I wanted to be like Ezra, who “devoted himself to the study and observance of the law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Like Paul, I aspired to obey “the commission God gave me to present . . . the word of God in its fullness” (Colossians 1:27).

One of the prominent Bible expositors I heard during my student years was Dr. J. Vernon McGee, whose recorded messages, long after his death, are now still heard on the “Thru the Bible Radio Ministry.” I remember a message he gave for the commencement ceremonies when my brother Steve graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary. It was based on the famous text which was the seminary motto: “Preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2).

During his talk he must have repeated that theme more than twenty times! I was reminded of the sacred privilege and solemn responsibility of my calling. I was both humbled and energized. And frankly, I couldn’t wait for the next great opportunity that would be mine to “preach the word!”

Pastor Randy Faulkner

Posted on

Gambling for a Seamless Tunic

During these weeks leading up to Good Friday, I am writing about the apostle John’s references to fulfilled prophecy. John points to several details about our Lord’s crucifixion which were prophesied in the Old Testament.

Of course anti-Christian antagonists deny this. I remember the publication of a controversial book by Hugh Schonfield in the mid-1960s. In The Passover Plot the author claimed that Jesus was a fanatical genius who thought himself to be the Jews’ Messiah. He brilliantly and subtly organized his ministry to make it appear that everything he did was a fulfillment of biblical prophecies.

According to Schonfield, this involved a plot to fake his own death. He included his disciples in this audacious strategy. They conspired with him to try to make it appear that he had died on the cross and to contrive an artificial “resurrection.” According to Schonfield, Jesus did not claim to be the divine Son of God, and he did not rise from the dead. He was merely a mortal man who believed himself to be the Messiah. His supposed death and resurrection were to bring about the launch of his reign as king of the Jews.

There are too many problems with this far-fetched theory to answer them all. One of the most obvious is how a group of uneducated Galileans could have persuaded Jesus’ enemies to go along with such an elaborate scheme. The powerful religious leaders of Israel were the very ones who wanted him dead and who turned him over to the Roman authorities!

John, in fact, was writing as an eyewitness to the events he described in his gospel. He was present at the crucifixion of Jesus, along with the Lord’s mother and a few other faithful women. What he wrote has the ring of truth. He recognized that these events fulfilled what the ancient Hebrew scriptures had prophesied.

He personally witnessed what he described in John 19:23-24: “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.'”

Then John adds this telling word: “This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, ‘They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.’ So this is what the soldiers did.”

Are we to believe that the dying Jesus would have contrived in advance for his Roman torturers to gamble for his clothing? These were people who had no knowledge of the prediction of this event in Psalm 22:18. They had no idea they were fulfilling a prophecy written hundreds of years before. Their actions showed contempt for the dying prisoner, not cooperation with his followers.

Psalm 22 is one of several Messianic psalms. It is the psalm which is quoted the most in the New Testament. It’s author is probably King David who was a prophet as well as a poet. The psalm begins with words Jesus spoke from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v. 1, Matthew 27:46). Surely one cannot read the opening words of Psalm 22 without thinking of Jesus.

This psalm, in verses 14-16, prophetically describes crucifixion. This was unknown as a method of execution at the time it was written. It graphically pictures a dying man who is being shamed by mocking, tortured by thirst and asphyxiation, an object of horror to all who look on his emaciated frame and nail-pierced hands and feet. Yet unlike other psalms, this one contains no prayer for retribution or confession of sins by its speaker, facts which align with the Lord’s righteous character and forgiving spirit.

Three spiritual lessons have been advanced based upon John’s citation of Psalm 22:18. First, fulfilled prophecy is evidence for the truth-claims of Christianity. No false pretender could have devised a plot which involved controlling other people’s reactions. The betrayal, false accusations, torture, and crucifixion of Jesus were all prophesied in scripture and were carried out by hostile actors, not co-conspirators. This includes the precise detail about his clothing being taken by the executioners. This happened as prophesied in Psalm 22:18, according to the apostle John.

Second, in dying on the cross for the salvation of sinners, Jesus endured public humiliation. E.A. Blum has written, “That Jesus died naked was part of the shame which he bore for our sins. At the same time He is the last Adam who provides clothes of righteousness for sinners.”

Third, The seamless tunic which the soldiers valued may have been the type of garment worn by the high priests of Israel. If this is true it suggests the priestly ministry of our Lord on behalf of his people as he now prays for us continually as our defender, advocate and friend at the Father’s right hand (1 John 2:1-2; John 17:20).

Pastor Randy Faulkner

Posted on

Jesus Predicted his Death

We have entered the season of the year when Christians worldwide call special attention to the death and resurrection of Jesus. We make preparations to observe Good Friday and Easter. In keeping with this tradition, for the next several weeks I intend to write on the apostle John’s use of the word “fulfilled,” in chapters 18 and 19. John wants his readers to remember that Jesus’ death was planned and purposeful.

For example, John 18:32 says, “This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.” What had Jesus said about his death? John records several statements of our Lord in which he explicitly predicted the purpose and manner of his impending death.

In his famous dialogue with the Jewish scholar Nicodemus, Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14). “Son of Man” was Jesus favorite term for himself. It denotes both his humanity (Numbers 23:19) and his messiahship (Daniel 7:13-14). “Lifted up,” in this context, signifies hoisting up on a stake, or a pole, or, as John intends for us to conclude, on a cross. The snake incident was an Old Testament event which Jesus used to illustrate  and foretell the death by which he would die (Numbers 21).

Jesus went further in John 8:28. “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” Jesus was not merely hinting about his death, he was explaining the manner of his death. He would be “lifted up,” a term that could also mean “exalted.” Not only was his death an agonizing public execution, but it was the first stage of his ultimate exaltation and return to the Father’s glory (Philippians 2:9).

In addition, Jesus foretold his crucifixion in John 12:32-34. “‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.” The lifting up of Jesus was his crucifixion. He is saying that his death will be for all kinds of people, without regard to nationality, race, social or economic status. It is significant that when Jesus said this he was in the presence of Gentiles (v. 20).

It was with these words, and others, that our Lord indicated the kind of death that he was going to die. These words were fulfilled in exacting detail. What does this mean?

For one thing, this is a demonstration of his divine nature. He foretold and fulfilled, the future, his own future, as only the Son of God would be able to do. In the same passage (John 10) where he claimed “I and the Father are one,” (v. 30), he also foretold his own death (v. 15) and resurrection (v. 17). “This command I received from my Father” (v. 18). For this, his opponents resolved to try to do away with him, because he was claiming to be God (vv. 31-33).

Also, his “lifting up” was necessary in order for him to fulfill his purpose in coming to earth. This term fulfills the prophecy of Psalm 22, an Old Testament description of crucifixion. But, going deeper, it means that he would die the death of an accursed one. Jesus did not die by the normal Jewish method of execution, stoning. He died as he had said he would, by being “lifted up.” In this way, “Christ delivered us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole'” (Galatians 3:13, Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Jesus died on the cross as an innocent sacrifice to bear the curse of the law in the place of sinful people. This was the plan of God  to provide salvation for those who will believe.

A final thing, people cannot understand the message of the cross without the convincing ministry of the Spirit of God. The very idea of one who claimed to be the Jews’ Messiah, being lifted up to be crucified as a criminal, was utter foolishness to Gentiles. It was a massive stumbling block to Jews. People whose reliance is on the mere wisdom of the world, will not be able, Paul said, to perceive the higher wisdom of the cross.

He wrote, “For since in the wisdom  of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe” ( 1 Corinthians 1:21). What seems like foolishness to unaided human wisdom is really the powerful logic of God’s salvation! “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Saved! It is possible to be saved from eternal judgment! This is the message of the cross. This is why Jesus was lifted up on the cross and why he talked so much about it. He wants us to be saved. “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Yes, you. My appeal is to you. Believe in him.

It is for this reason that the cross is to be the main theme of Christian preaching and worship. “For I resolved to know nothing among you . . . except Jesus Christ and him crucified” ( 1 Corinthians 2:2). This is why we rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to make this message plain to people. “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).

This is the reason Jesus repeatedly called attention to the kind of death he was going to die. And he kept his word. He was lifted up on the cross. It was for sinners like us.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

Posted on

“What is Truth?”

It has been said that we live in a post-truth world. If so, it represents the influence of postmodernism, a cultural shift away from reason, certainty, and absolute truth. Postmodernism sees truth-claims as tools used by those in power to control other people. This mood is expressed in statements like, “I cannot say with certainty that something is true. All I can claim is that this is my point of view. What is true for me may or may not be true for you.”

This denies the validity of any universal story or narrative that claims to explain the meaning of life. History is meaningless except for the meaning individuals impose upon it. In religion, all truth claims are said to be equally valid. The only belief that is not tolerated is intolerance.

In politics,  misinformation and propaganda get spread around through social media until they become the “truth” that consumers choose to believe. These “alternative facts” reinforce fear, prejudice and outright hatred toward political opponents. As we have seen recently in our nation’s capitol, this sometimes leads to political violence and domestic terrorism.

Another expression of the postmodern view is, “You  create your own truth.” It is like going to an art gallery. People see in the art what they want to see. “That’s just your interpretation” is another favorite cliche. It is often trotted out whenever the Bible’s standards of morality are presented to challenge people’s conduct. This can become an easy diversion from having to face the implications of belief.

A skeptic said to his Christian friend, “What you Christians say about Jesus being the only way to God, well, that’s just your interpretation.” His friend opened the Bible to Acts 4:12 and asked him to read it aloud:
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The Christian said, “I understand that to mean that Jesus is the one by whom we must be saved. How do you understand it?” His friend squirmed a bit. Realizing the weakness of his “interpretation” argument, he got up and walked away without a word.

It was in a world like ours that the apostle Paul wrote to his young disciple Timothy. Timothy lived in Ephesus, a marketplace of competing religious ideas and philosophies. It is refreshing to read Paul’s straightforward comments about truth. Truth is absolute, knowable, and trustworthy. It is centered in Jesus. It is to be safeguarded and proclaimed by the church.

“I am writing you these instructions so that if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He (Jesus) appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:14-16).

Among other things, Paul was describing the church as a family. Believers in Jesus are children of God, and the church is said to be his household on earth. The church will be at its best when it looks and feels less like an institution and more like a family, This adds to its credibility in proclaiming truth in a postmodern environment.

The philosophical ambiguity of postmodernism leads to instability. Uncertainty prevails. Institutions are unreliable, leaders cannot be trusted, marriages are impermanent, morality is negotiable and God is whoever or whatever we make of him or her. Paul flatly contradicts this. “The church of the living God” he says, is to be like a supportive pillar and foundation for the truth. These metaphors imply strength and certainty.

Then Paul composed or quoted a hymn to Jesus which is a wonderful creedal statement. “Beyond all question” is another way of saying that these truths are beyond dispute, universally acknowledged by all believers. The gospel is “great,” of sublime importance. These transcendent truths about Jesus are the common confession of the universal church.

“He appeared in the flesh” means that Jesus lived and died in a physical body. In his flesh he suffered on a cross to pay for our sins. He “was vindicated by the Spirit” most likely refers to his bodily resurrection by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11).

He “was seen by angels” is possibly a reference to our Lord’s ascension and exaltation in the heavenly realm where he now ministers to the church as our great high priest and intercessor (Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John 2:1-2).

He is being “preached among the nations” and believed on throughout the world. This means that his gospel is universally relevant in all cultures and nationalities. This contradicts the denials of postmodernism which say there is no such thing as an over-arching meta-narrative which is an absolute and final explanation of reality.

The Bible says that there is such an explanation of reality. It is not truth as I personally interpret it, or as I wish it to be. It is not one truth among many equally valid options. It is what Francis Schaeffer called “true truth,” the “truth that is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21).

This takes us out of the realm of propaganda and philosophy and lifts us to the higher realm of God’s eternal truth. Consider the following implications.

First, truth may be known and experienced. Truth was “revealed in the flesh.” Pilate may ask, “What is truth?” Truth was standing right in front of him! Pilate may crucify truth, but truth will be vindicated when Jesus rises from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. These historical facts validate Jesus’ claim, “I am the truth” (John 14:6).

Second, truth is universal. It is not a mere sociological construct. It is equally valid for East and West, South and North. The gospel has the same power to save in Asia as it does in Africa. It is proclaimed throughout all nations of the world.

Third, the truth is to be believed. Jesus said that God’s word is truth (John 17:17). It is God’s grand narrative, the story of his mighty interventions in human history and his plan to claim a people for himself. It reveals the undeniable divine wisdom in the man Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus told Pilate at his trial, “The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37).

Paul’s great hymn is an invitation to you to enjoy the stability and clarity of God’s truth as you live in the uncertainty of postmodern times.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

Posted on

2021: Uncharted Territory

“The world in front of you is nothing like the world behind you.” This was the great lesson of the Lewis and Clark expedition. These explorers were commissioned in 1803 by President Thomas Jefferson to try to find a river route to the Pacific Northwest. What they discovered was that there is no water route to the Pacific. The way is blocked by the formidable Rocky mountains.

The explorers had to adapt. Their adaptive leadership of the Corps of Discovery provides the model for Tod Bolsinger’s excellent book on leadership, Canoeing the Mountains. This was one of the most important books I read this past year.

When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark came to the source of the Missouri River system, they realized they would have to ditch their canoes and find a way over the mountains. They were in uncharted territory. There is no map for uncharted territory. Leadership in this situation required different skills than those that had brought them thus far. They had to adapt or die.

Bolsinger weaves the story of the Corps of Discovery with his own experiences as a seminary professor, leadership consultant and local church pastor, along with insights of other leadership theorists, to provide a leadership vision for a new environment. I wish I could have read this book when I entered the ministry over fifty years ago. There were times when I said to myself and to the Lord, “Seminary didn’t prepare me for this!”

We face such a world as we enter a new year. I suspect that “normal”  will never again be quite what it was before 2020. We are changed and we are changing. As we try to understand this new situation, effectiveness will be measured by what Bolsinger calls “adaptive capacity.”

This is one of five vital lessons from the book. (1) The first task of a leader is to understand and interpret uncharted territory, the new situation “off the map.” (2) Trust is earned and built by a leader’s proven competency and character in familiar “on the map” situations. (3) Adaptation will involve loss, resistance, learning, and courage. (4) No longer can leadership be a solitary enterprise. A leader cannot go it alone. (5) The process of transformational leadership means that everybody, including the leader, will be changed.

What should not change is the core ideology and mission of the organization, whether it is a congregation, enterprise, team or institution. The DNA of the group is its unchanging set of core values. In the case of a Christian ministry what should never change are the biblical priorities and norms that define the group: “This is who we are.”

What must change are ineffective methods unsuited to the new environment. The transformational leader energizes the community to accomplish a shared mission in a changing world. This process involves discarding what is not essential to achieving the mission. It also means discovering what is essential and must be preserved at all costs.

Bolsinger studied how Lewis and Clark reframed their mission to align with the new realities they faced. There is a pattern in this for individuals and groups facing an uncertain future in unfamiliar territory. What was most helpful to me was his careful and honest delineation of the sometimes painful process of leading a community through loss, disappointment and insecurity to a shared vision for a new adventurous mission.

What I missed was an emphasis on strategic prayer as a part of the process. To be fair, this was probably assumed to be essential to Bolsinger’s Christian values. I think prayer could have been given a more prominent role as he described effective inspirational leadership. He did conclude the book with a statement of faith in Providence: “God is taking us into uncharted territory to transform us.”

Bolsinger emphasized his definition of leadership: It is “energizing a community of people toward their own transformation in order to accomplish a shared mission in the face of a changing world.” He says, “Perhaps the most unexpected, challenging and delightful work of transformational leadership is when it becomes the shared work of friends.”

I wish you well as you navigate  your uncharted territory in 2021.

Happy new year!

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

Posted on

Advent: Fear Not, Shepherds!

During the weeks of this season of preparation I have been writing about occasions in the Christmas story where ordinary people were told not to be afraid. Zechariah, Mary and Joseph received messages from heavenly visitors which caused them to be afraid. But the coming of Christ is no time to be afraid.

Fear does strange things to us. The heart rate goes up, blood pressure is elevated, and the body, sensing danger, produces a blast of hormones, inducing a fight or flight response. Other effects of fear might be hyperventilation, sweating, goosebumps or sleep disturbance.

Some other people were told not to be afraid. They are not identified by name in the Christmas story. Rather, we know them by their occupation. Like 7.4% of people in our population, they were night workers. These men took care of sheep.

If they were like David, the shepherd boy of Bethlehem, they must have been rugged, brave, and resourceful. You may recall how David protected his father’s sheep from predators, killing a lion and a bear. If the men we read about in Luke 2 were like David, we would not attribute fear to them. Yet when an angel appeared, it was a shock to the system. They were terrified.

Angels are all over the place in the story of our Lord’s birth. They appear unexpectedly with good news for the participants in the unfolding events. They are powerful beings who are sent to people as representatives from God. As these nocturnal field workers watched over their flocks, all of a sudden a brightness lit the night with the appearance of a mighty and awesome creature who spoke to them and said, “Do not be afraid.”

They may have been humble, anonymous working men, but they were not stupid. They knew a supernatural manifestation when they saw it! The angel might have surprised and scared them, but he didn’t paralyze them. They overcame fear by realizing this was a message for them and they had better believe it.

They made the message personal: “The Lord has told us.” What did the Lord tell them in the angel’s message? “Today, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). This is the good news of Christmas. God did not send his Son as a political reformer, educator or philosopher. He sent him to be our Savior, to deliver us from the penalty and power of sin. Like those simple shepherds, we need to make this message personal.

A friend of mine told me how she had done this. She attended a Christmas eve service at a church and heard the pastor bring a simple message on John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” She told me that during the singing of the Christmas carol that followed, she bowed her head in prayer and opened her heart to the Lord Jesus, receiving the promised gift of eternal life. That is the point of Christmas. She made it personal and so can you.

The story continues. They acted on the message: “Let’s go!” We are not told much about their feelings, but we do read about their direct and decisive actions. They were men of action. By obeying the message, they stepped out of obscurity and became internationally famous for what they did. They encouraged each other in obedience: “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” (Luke 2:15).

They did that. “They hurried off” (they were quick to obey the Lord) “and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger” (Luke 2:16). The angel had told them to look for an unusual sign (v. 12), a feeding trough! The baby he was speaking about, the Messiah, will be lying in a feeding trough for animals. Sure enough, they found him there, as the angel had said.

I believe their fear faded when they determined to make the message personal and act upon it. When the shepherds acted in obedience to God, they found his word to be true. It was “good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” as the angel had said. For us too, if we will believe it and act on it.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

Posted on

Proverbs for Presidents

The Bible gave sound advice for Israel’s rulers. A king of Israel should have a written copy of God’s law at hand at all times. He must read it regularly. This is so that he will learn to serve the Lord, follow the Lord’s word, and remain humble, not considering himself better than his fellow Israelites (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

America is not Israel, and we do not have a king or dictator. Our presidents are chosen by the people and are subject to the Constitution of the United States. But these wise words from scripture may apply to whomever is elected to be president for the next four years.

Many people have found it a good practice to read the book of Proverbs daily. It is well known that the book has thirty-one chapters. This makes it convenient to read the book through every month, a chapter a day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we knew that the President of the United States sought God’s wisdom from the book of Proverbs as he governed?

The book declares that it is by God’s wisdom that rulers govern effectively and successfully (Proverbs 8:15-16; 29:18). Reading Proverbs can make the wise even wiser (1:5). Proverbs states that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (1:7) and wisdom (9:10). What president doesn’t need these?

Here are some Proverbs that are relevant to the life and governance of a president.

Outcome of an election: “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (19:21). “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” ( 16:33).

Advice and counsel: “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisors” (11:14). “Where there is strife there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice” (13:10). “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed” (15:22).

Character of the ruler: “The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered” (17:27). “A lying tongue hates those it hurts” (26:28). “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (16:18). “Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness” (16:12). “Humility comes before honor” (15:33).

Criminal justice: “It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice” (18:5). “A corrupt witness mocks at justice” (19;28). “The wicked accept bribes in secret to pervert the course of justice” ( 17;23). “The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth does not betray justice” (16:10).

Economic justice: “If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will be established forever” (29:14). “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (14:31). “Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered” (21:13). “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all” (22:2).

War and peace: “Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance” (20:18). “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (16:25). “It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel” (20:3). “Those who promote peace have joy” (12:20). “A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel” (15:18).

Diplomacy and international relations: “To answer before listening — that is folly and shame” (18:13). “A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy brings healing” (13:17). “When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them” (16:7). “Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit” (26:24). “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land” (25:25).

Speaking the truth: “Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right” ( 16:13). “The righteous hate what is false” ( 13:5). “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy” (12:22). “…Sayings of counsel and knowledge, teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth” (22:20-21).

The ultimate Ruler: “In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him. A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart” (21:1-2)).

A prayer for the president: Heavenly Father, you are the great Sovereign of heaven  and earth and we look forward to the day when your kingdom will come. Your son Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. In his name we pray for our president and for his family. Please protect and guide him. Give him the wisdom that he needs for the solemn responsibility of leading our nation.

May he trust in You with all his heart and not lean on his own understanding. May he submit to you in all his ways so that in your kindness and mercy you may make his paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

May your will be done in the coming election. May your people pray for the president and for all who are in authority, whomever is chosen for the next term in office. We pray for a clear and decisive result and for an end to unrest, suspicion and division in our nation. Please forgive our many sins and heal our land that we may glorify you. Amen.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

 

Posted on

Old Testament Lessons for Today

I recently read a book review in a religious magazine. The book’s author, a prominent pastor, claimed that the Old Testament is not as authoritative as the New Testament. Perhaps he meant to say that it is not as applicable, or relevant as the New Testament. But to say that it is not authoritative is to question its truthfulness and value, something no Christian should do.

The New Testament plainly says that Christians should study the Old Testament and apply its lessons to our lives. Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

In 1 Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul based his teaching to New Testament Christians on the experiences of Old Testament people. In verses 6 and 11, he repeated the phrase, “These things happened to them as examples, and were written down as warnings for us.”

When Paul wrote to Timothy that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching” (2 Timothy 3:16), he was not saying that every Old Testament Scripture is equally useful or applicable to Christians today. But he was saying that it is useful and practical for what it teaches about God, his will, his mighty acts in history, and how he worked in the lives of his people in the ancient past.

One example might be the life of King David. When he was at his best, David provides a model for us in how to live with a heart for God. When he stumbled morally, his story is a solemn warning about the consequences of sin.

David provides an example of a warrior spirit, courage and boldness. He discovered that if he obeyed God’s will, the Lord himself would be with him (1 Samuel 16:18). When the youthful David fought the Philistine hero, Goliath of Gath, he recognized that he was facing more than a military problem. This was a theological problem. Goliath was insulting the Living God! And you know what happened to Goliath.

We are tempted to think of our problems as financial problems, or psychological problems, or interpersonal problems, or health problems. And to us they are. But on a deeper level they reveal our opinion of God. If we, as David did, recognize God as “the Living God,” then we are in a position to entrust our problems to him, as David did.

On the other hand, when David sinned, his story is a warning to us about the terrible cost of disobeying God’s moral law. Even though David confessed his sin and repented, the natural consequences of his failure brought devastation to his family and to the nation of Israel. Hundreds of lives were lost in the civil war that ensued. David’s sons fought among themselves and brought grief to the heart of the king.

One of the timeless lessons from this part of the Old Testament is that God’s children cannot get away with sin. Our heavenly Father disciplines his children. His correction is always because of his love (Proverbs 3:11-12).

Another lesson from the Old Testament story of David is that it is possible to be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God. David’s psalms teach us that, especially Psalms 32 and 51. The sorrows that followed David’s great sin changed him and prepared him to resume his role as the anointed king of Israel. He passed along a legacy of faith to his son and successor, Solomon.

The theme of David’s life was that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Psalm 89). I think this means that at the core of his being, David’s heart was compatible with God’s. Surely this is what we want to be true of ourselves. We learn these lessons from the Old Testament.

It is truthful, trustworthy, practical, applicable, divinely inspired, and, yes, it is authoritative. These lessons from the life of David are proof of what our Lord Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'” (Matthew 4:4). Every word, the Old Testament as well as the New.

Pastor Randy Faulkner

Posted on

Alternatives to Worry

People are worried. Parents are worried about sending their children to school. Teachers are worried about the health risks of being in the same classroom with children who might carry infection. Many people are worried about unemployment. Everyone seems to be worried about the economic consequences of the pandemic.

Here in Oklahoma there is considerable worry about whether or not there will be football on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. Ryan Aber, writing in our local paper said, “A fall without football, or even more a full school year without football, could be devastating to college athletics in the short term.”

Speaking of devastating, the effects of worry itself can be devastating. I am privileged to serve on the board of directors of  a faith-based counseling ministry. Throughout the last several months, our therapists have been busy caring for many clients who have been struggling with the emotional effects of anxiety.

Jesus’ words have been on my mind. To those who trust in him as savior, to those who call themselves his disciples, he said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?” (Luke 12:25) In other words, if we do not have the power to control a few minutes of time or a few inches of stature, it makes no sense to worry about the great issues (such as a global pandemic) that lie beyond the scope of our control.

In  a few sentences in this discourse, the Lord Jesus Christ repeated the statement “Do not worry” three times. As an antidote to worry, the Lord told his followers to think about God and to acknowledge his ultimate control over our lives. If we do this we will recognize that the God who feeds the birds and gives the flowers their beauty, is perfectly capable of caring for those who trust in him. “How much more valuable you are than birds!” Jesus exclaimed.

This is a reason to be thankful. “Your Father knows” (v. 30) what you need. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, commenting on the Lord’s Prayer, reminds us: “The preface to the Lord’s Prayer, which is ‘Our Father which art in heaven,’ teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father able and ready to help us; and that we should pray with and for others.”

I need this encouraging word from Jesus.  “Your Father knows.”The collection of prayers called Valley of Vision has a simple prayer that is meaningful to me: “Teach me the happy art of attending to things temporal with a mind intent on things eternal.” That is a prayer worth praying, especially when life is full of distractions, disappointments and disruptions. “Your Father knows.”

So today I invite you to read Luke 12:22-34. Read it again as if for the first time. Our Lord’s words offer real alternatives to worry: meditating on God and his loving care for his children and thankfulness for his faithful provision for our daily needs.

“Thou hast given so much to me/ Give one thing more — a grateful heart;

Not thankful when it pleaseth me;/ As if thy blessings had spare days,

But such a heart whose pulse may be: Thy praise.”  (George Herbert)

Pastor Randy Faulkner

Posted on

The Main Thing

Recently I was part of a friendly conversation with a group of men. The talk drifted to the subject of local churches: who attended where; which congregations were holding services during the pandemic; what worship is like when you try to participate through a computer screen.

There was general agreement among the men that the nameplate on the church building is less important than the message being proclaimed. Someone said that the main thing is the gospel. To that sentiment I offer an “Amen!”

The apostle Paul would agree. A reading of his letter to the Galatians emphasizes the point that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of grace, not works (1:6-7). The gospel is not of human origin; it was revealed by Christ himself (1:11-12). It was the same message consistently proclaimed by all the apostles (2:2). Paul was especially called to bring the gospel to the Gentiles and Peter especially to the Jews (2:7).

The gospel is the message of the cross of Christ. It was so important to Paul that he said, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (6:14). Paul relied upon and proclaimed the message of the cross because of what it accomplished in his life. Jesus“gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according the will of God” (1:4). This is the gospel.

It is not surprising, then, that Paul warned against departing from the gospel. In Galatians 1:6-7 he wrote to caution the believers against those who pervert the gospel, turning people away from the grace of Christ to “a different gospel.” The word he used in the Greek language means “another of a different kind.” The NIV correctly translates the next phrase: “Which is really no gospel at all” (6:7).

The difference between a church that faithfully proclaims the gospel  and one that offers a substitute message, is the difference between a truly Christian congregation and one that is departing from God himself. “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ” (1:6).

The New Testament is clear. There is only one gospel. There are not many from which to choose. Paul vehemently and repeatedly denounced in Galatians 1:8-9 those individuals that preached any message as a substitute for the gospel of grace (“no gospel at all”). Any ministers or congregations or denominations calling themselves Christian that omit, dilute, or deny the gospel are not really Christian at all. They are guilty of religious malpractice and are under the judgment of God.

The nameplate on the church building is not the most important thing. The message of the gospel is the most important thing. But choosing a church is a very serious matter. Make sure your church is one that in its worship practices, preaching, studying, and outreach keeps the main thing the main thing: the glorious gospel of grace revealed in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Pastor Randy Faulkner