Willing to speak and willing to shut up

Numbers 1; Psalm 35; Ecclesiastes 11; Titus 3

There are many sayings for a certain principle. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” “You cannot get a goal if you don’t take a shot.” “Better to aim for the stars and hit the woodpile than aim for the woodpile and hit your foot.” And this one from Solomon:

He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4)

I once had an art teacher who said that if he let the weather determine whether he should go out to paint, soon he would never go out. He realized that making excuses was a form of procrastination, even a disobedience to his giftedness. After a time it didn’t matter if it was -40 degrees with a wind or sunny and mild with a breeze — he went out anyway. He refused to always find something wrong with the weather.

Christians have a similar problem or at least I do when it comes to sharing my faith. “The words didn’t come to me.” “That person doesn’t seem interested.” “I’m afraid she will reject me.” The list goes on. But as the saying goes, I cannot expect others come to faith in Christ if they are not given opportunity to hear about Him and what He has done.

When Paul wrote to Titus, he told him to “Declare these things” referring to the gospel about Jesus Christ, and to “exhort and rebuke with all authority.” He added, “Let no one disregard you.” Then he goes on to outline what this pastor was supposed to say and what not to say:

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. (Titus 3:1–11)

I’m not a pastor, but this passage wipes out all those excuses that I’ve made. It tells me what to say, who to say it to, how to say it, and what not to say and who to avoid!

Remind them to obey authorities. Romans 13 describes how this applies to governing bodies even those that we don’t like. These days, this means follow the guidelines for Covid-19. We may not like them or agree, but they are for our protection. God may not rescue those who resist His commands!

Obey them myself, not putting others down or fighting with them. Be polite and gentle, remembering all my own struggles and resistance to God. I’ve been there, but He showed mercy. Share my own story including both ‘before and after’ yet backing up my words with the way I live.

I’m not to get into disputes or discussions that stir up division and warn those who do this. It is not like God to argue! If speaking to others about Jesus is going to bring me into an argument, it is wise to keep my mouth shut.

APPLY: Some days are very quiet in this self-isolation mode. Other days, I call people or the phone rings off the hook and people want to talk. I need to say whatever the Lord prompts me to say — with truth and in love. As the Word of God says, I cannot expect any kind of life and growth unless I am willing to plant seeds and water them, and practice what I preach.

This one thing I’m to do . . .

At the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus gave what has been called “The Great Commission.”

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20)

This morning I italicized all the verbs in this passage. I’ve been told that the main verb is not ‘make disciples’ but ‘go’ which could also be translated, ‘go, and as you are going . . . .’

I’m not a Greek scholar (and likely know just enough to be dangerous), but have read many commentaries on this passage. The main idea is that every Christian is to be involved in helping those who have believed to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ.

In other words, Jesus is not telling His disciples to go and save souls. As Chambers says, the salvation of souls is the supernatural work of God. I cannot do that job; it is totally beyond my skill set! Instead, I am to teach or make known to others what God has taught me, and I can do that by words and/or example. I do this by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ who promises to be with me as I obey Him.

The great purpose of God is that His disciples live as obedient examples to the world of what it means to be a child of God, living in His kingdom as His children and His servants. By my life I am supposed to stand out as holy (other than), giving people a small but genuine glimpse of Jesus Christ. This will arouse in them either one of two responses; interest or revulsion, a desire to find out what makes me tick or a hatred that can lead to various levels of persecution.

Of course the building of disciples by teaching them will only be accepted by those whose hearts are drawn to Christ. This is a work of the Holy Spirit. I cannot control it but I can count on Jesus to be with me all the time. If other people are affected favorably by Him, He will enable me to do what He asks. If they respond with the same resistance to me as they do to Him, He will give me what I need to deal with that as well. Some would say that we are co-workers with God.

For me, the challenge has always been to remember that Jesus Christ has not only the authority to tell me the purpose of my life, but also the power to make it happen. I find it far easier to drift along, forgetting that I am His ambassador and forgetting that I represent His presence in this sinful world.

This is why spending time with the Lord in His Word and in prayer is so important. I am on vacation right now, and it would be easy to just skip daily devotions and skip prayer. Instead of having the Lord speak to me and remind me of what I’m here for, it would be easier to go shopping, sight-seeing, and so on rather than keep my heart open to His leading. Yet He has taught me that taking the easy way is a slippery slope. By putting myself out of His will and ignoring His grace and blessing, my vacation would be spoiled with a horrid dose of conviction. That would ruin this wonderful time of loafing in the sunshine and being with family.

When Jesus said, “Go . . . and as you are going . . . .” He knew that no matter where I am, the needs of others never changes. A hunger for truth can always be in human hearts whether I’m on vacation or not, and if it is not, my life is supposed to stir it up.

God’s calling on my life . . .

Speakers and attendees at writer’s conferences usually talk about their calling as a writer, or that God called them to do this. One said that without this call, you should not be a writer. Another said that we must respond to the call and be persistently faithful in doing what God has called us to do. Another said (see yesterday’s post) that we are called to love and obey God and it might be writing today but something else tomorrow.

I’ve not heard any calling from God to be a writer or to focus on anything else. I continually wonder what I’m “supposed to be when I grow up” for I can do many things. Which is God’s “call” for me? This is perplexing and as I drove home yesterday, I was thinking that question. What am I called to do? God gives me an answer this morning. The problem is with my understanding of a calling.

Oswald Chambers says that the calling of God is not necessarily one of those ah-ha moments that I thought it was. I was looking for a lightning bolt from heaven, writing on the wall, a sudden revelation. But Chambers suggest something different. He even says, “If you can tell where you got the call of God and all about it, I question whether you have ever had a call.”

Chambers speaks of this calling being more the mystical, supernatural touch of God, a deeper yearning of the heart. He draws his thoughts from this verse . . . 

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16)

The call of God is more supernatural than I thought. While understanding can come with a sudden thunder-clap or with a gradual dawning, but has an “undercurrent of the supernatural that cannot be put into words” and is always “accompanied with a glow” which I interpret as a deep and rich knowledge of who I am and what I must do.

I understand what Chambers writes. It is that sense of this is the job for me. Paul’s words were not about salvation nor about becoming more like Christ and because of that, we should do this thing. He didn’t describe his calling in those terms, but as a necessity laid upon him.

I take that to mean that this was something he had to do. It was built-in, like breathing. For him, preaching was in total harmony with the way God made him. He couldn’t help it. He even said, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” This task had no competition in his life. It came first, was a necessity that he could not resist or change and was more important than anything else.

For me, that has always been sharing spiritual truth with others, not preaching but teaching what God says. For the past year since we moved, I’ve felt somewhat like a fish out of water. We moved to a new church as well, and that situation has an adjustment time, time to meet and know people, time to get “the lay of the land” and for the leadership of the church to see where I best fit.

I’ve also been in a wilderness of temptation and testing. God has shown me ugly things about myself and been at work changing my thinking and how I speak and act toward others. That seems a good thing, but for me, it has been realizing just how much farther I have to go to “grow up” and be mature as a Christian. Instead of greater confidence, God is far more concerned that I have a contrite and teachable heart, so needful no matter my “calling.”

Last week I was asked to teach again. This is actually a command from God for the Great Commission says I am to do this . . . 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19–20)

But this is also how He made me. In my heart, the most important thing for Christians is to learn about God, to think His thoughts, to grow in grace, to grasp what the Bible says and apply it to their lives. Teaching is His purpose for me and my purpose in the church. I have never termed this a “calling” but now I see that is what it is.

This weekend, several told me that they learned from me as writers, and were thankful. That was a confirmation, but I also look back at thirty years of teaching Bible studies and see how God has used the process in my own life. As Paul said, woe to me if I am not doing what the Lord has laid on my heart. It is a necessity.

The best way to learn

Anyone who has been a mentor to others knows the difference between instructing someone who is teachable and someone who is not. If a person thinks they know it all, or does not want to learn, or has no respect for the teacher or the subject matter, learning does not happen.

That said, teachers must also be teachable. I remember a science teacher from high school who was ‘never wrong.’ One day he made a statement or wrote something on the board that I challenged. I can’t remember what the topic was, but I do remember how angry he was when he had to admit that he made a mistake. Pride is an enemy for a good teacher.

Another enemy is failure to check your sources. Sometimes I’m in a hurry and think that the definition from Wikipedia sounds good enough. Sometimes the source agrees with my opinion so I assume it must be correct. Either way, I should always double-check or do whatever I must do to ensure my information is correct. I don’t want to make a mistake, or worse yet, teach others something that is incorrect.

Today’s devotional reading uses Psalm 25:4-5. “Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day.”

When I read those verses, I thought of how reliable the Word of God has been in my life. While people say it is archaic, not relevant, or just too difficult to understand, I find it up-to-date and far more relevant to my life than anything else I’ve ever read. As for the understanding part, that totally depends on whether or not I’m willing to learn.

The psalmist who wrote these verses (David) was obviously teachable. He wanted to know God’s ways. He’d learned that his own ideas only brought sorrow and trouble into his life. He wanted to walk as God wanted and avoid the mistakes of his past.

For Christians, becoming teachable takes time. I started out life running after the dictates of my own desires and dreams. Isaiah said we each “go our own way” and he rightly called this the very essence of sin. While my own way might not put me into the same mess that David’s own way did (adultery and murder), in the mind of God, sin is sin. My own way is contrary to God’s way and sinful. He does not measure sin by degrees as sinners tend to do.

After becoming a Christian, I began to see that my own way was not only sin but hazardous. I wanted to learn and walk in God’s way. That desire to learn, that hunger for truth became my new life, even as it takes time to overcome the habits of doing my own thing.

I’m also realizing that in spiritual matters, Christians can get stuck in a rut. Instead of being teachable, I can still drift into a my way is right attitude and stop learning and growing. This not only hinders me but hinders my ability to teach others.

There is yet another danger too for the seeking mind. I could fall into never being content with what God has already taught me, and begin seeking continual new revelations, new stuff. For this, my devotional reading offers such wonderful words that I will simply quote the last few sentences.

I want no new revelation. Day by day I seem more satisfied of this, and more established in it—that all saving truth is in the Word of God. I seek no visions, I desire no dreams, I want no airy speculations; but when my heart is brought to lie at the footstool of mercy, this seems to be the panting and breathing of my soul—to know experimentally and spiritually the blessed truths that my eyes see in the Word of God, to have them opened up to my understanding, brought into my heart, grafted into my soul, applied to my conscience, and revealed with such supernatural and heavenly power that the truth as it is in Jesus may be in me a solemn and saving reality, that it may bring with it such a divine blessing as to fill me with grace, enlarge my heart into the enjoyment of the gospel, gird up my loins with spiritual strength, give and increase faith, communicate and encourage hope, shed abroad and draw forth love, and fill me with joy and peace in believing.

I need to be teachable, but when God does give me truth, I must not too quickly look for the next new thing, but stop long enough to rejoice in what He teaches me—and let it sink in and change my life. This seems slow, but it is the best way to learn.

From my perspective

During my seminary studies I noticed that commentaries written on some Bible passages were often cultural in their perspective, or reflected the bias or occupation or spiritual gifts of the author. While usually sincere, these writers reveal more about themselves than what the Bible actually says.

For instance, many commentaries written in North America during the first half of the last century were heavily biased against women in ministry. As men went to war and women began doing their jobs back home, a level of respect changed attitudes towards their value, not only in factories but also in the church. After the second great war, the commentaries changes.

Nevertheless, personal bias and perspective needs to be considered when interpreting a passage of Scripture. This morning, I notice myself seeing some verses from my perspective. I was even looking for commentaries that agree with me.

My gift is teaching: gathering information and passing it to others. I like it when someone asks me to do some research for them. When the Internet became available to me, I was afraid to sign up thinking I might never ‘come home.’ Yet I do want my teaching to be correct as well as thorough.

Today I’m reading from Galatians 6:7-10. It says, “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

After looking at commentaries on verse 6, I noticed that only one said that the things shared with teachers may not be material things. Every other commentary writer figured this verse was about paying the pastor. (Were they all pastors?)

Reading it from the perspective of a teacher, I think it says, “If a teacher goes to work to learn things then passes them on to you, you better share in what they have learned. Don’t stick up your nose at God and refuse to listen. If you do, He may stick up His nose at you because one of life’s principles is that you get back what you put into things. If you are only worried about your fleshy life, the result will be pollution and corruption, but if you care about your spiritual life and allow the Spirit in you to be fed by spiritual truth, then the result will be spiritual growth towards eternal life. Don’t get tired of being teachable; this is a good thing. Some day all that you have learned will pay off. You will benefit if you don’t give up. So while you have opportunity, do the best you can, particularly toward other believers (and don’t forget teachers!)”

The bane of teaching is a student who is not teachable. What good it is to share the wonders of God’s Word to a post or a stone? Teachers want responders. Nothing gives me more delight than to see a person’s eyes light up because they have heard something from me that has been affirmed by the Holy Spirit in their heart. They know. They don’t just know the facts, they know this is true, that God has spoken.

Actually, it really doesn’t matter to me if I said it or someone else in the class said it. What matters is that someone ‘got’ it. They are sharing in the good things with him/her who teaches!

Of course this means that the teacher must be teachable too. If I hear God speak and do what He tells me, I’m qualified to pass it on. It doesn’t say so in this passage, but I know in my heart that if I am not doing what God says, I’ve no credibility in the classroom or even in casual conversation. ‘Do what I say, not do what I do’ cannot rule in my life; I must be teachable also.

That also means I need to be careful about getting from a passage something that feeds only my point of view. Galatians 6 actually could be about sharing my cash with the people who teach me!

Advice and teachable moments

The speaker at last night’s bridal shower called family and friends ahead of time to gather words of wisdom for the bride, then wove them into a delightful and humorous ‘advice about marriage’ presentation.

Afterwards, during lunch, I overheard a teenager say to her mother, “When I get married, I don’t want any marriage advice at my shower.”

North American culture encourages individualism and independence. While this has some merit, it tends to foster a me-first, don’t-tell-me-what-to-do attitude. This attitude is part of our sinful nature that resists putting others first, and resists wise instruction.

It is not limited to teenagers. I also tend to feel uncomfortable hearing a bride-to-be get bombarded with “this is how to do it.” I know that most people learn as issues come up. We rarely hold to a piece of advice until we actually need it. Most of those tips and hints, except perhaps the really funny ones, will be forgotten. Life is like that.

Educators know that learning best happens at a ‘teachable moment’ when a problem hits hard and the ‘student’ is most aware of their need for an answer. This is why Jesus’ method of instructing new Christians is through discipleship. Spend time together. Be there when those teachable moments occur. Advice given in advance will get tucked away somewhere, but advice given when it is needed has far more likelihood of being heard and followed.

It works the same at the point of mistakes. I know very well that I’m not supposed to do certain things. I’ve read and heard all the advice. However, nothing brings it home like the first time I mess up in one of those things, and my mistake is followed by a caring rebuke.

Giving a caring rebuke is an art though, an art not very well done by most of us. When someone sins against me (or does anything wrong), I have to curb the urge to gossip about it. Jesus says instead of talking to everyone else, I’m supposed to go to that person in private and tell him or her what they have done. He says, “If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”

Unlike gossip, this is a respectful, loving way to express concern to another person who has slipped into sin and needs help getting out of it.

Some children do believe that the stove is hot from mother saying so, but how many of us have to touch it to find out the hard way? We seem to be people who do not respond to a warning ahead of time. A warning didn’t stop Peter from denying Christ, and it doesn’t work for most hard-headed, I-can-do-it-myself people, like me. My first reaction to such advice is “I won’t have that problem, so don’t talk to me about it.” I am much like Peter who said something like that to Jesus before he crashed and learned the hard way.

After the crash, a face-to-face rebuke usually works. If not, and the person insists, “Who are you to tell me what to do?” Jesus says what to do next. “If he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church . . . .”

A group agreement to care and do something about the sin of one person in the group is so important that Jesus added, “I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father I heaven. For where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Jesus is in godly, caring rebuke, even if we don’t like giving it. While He also wants us to wisely instruct one another (we did give the bride-to-be a ton of that), He knows that offering all this to her beforehand is not nearly as important as being there for her with the same respectful, loving wisdom when she messes later on—and she will; we all do.