Drippings from the Honeycomb
More to be desired are [the rules of the Lord] than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)
This sermon was preached on May 5 at Jerseyville Baptist Church for their 200th anniversary, Mk 3: 20-21, 31-35. You have been praying about something, trying to discern God’s special/hidden will for you. (I.e. We don’t need to pray about whether or not to murder, or attend church or steel, etc—God has clearly revealed the answers to these in His general will, the Bible). Discern God’s special will is more circumstantial and revolves around, ‘what does God want me to be when I grow up,’ ‘who should I marry,’ ‘what job should I take,’ ‘where should I live,’ ‘what ministry is He calling me to,’ etc. Knowing we can mistake our desires for God’s, be unduly influenced by the world, and even be lead astray by demons—we must test the spirits (1 Jn 4:1).
Here are a few ways God can speak to us; how he might reveal His will. Sometimes many come together, like the Lord shouting an answer. All of them can be subjective and so much be beholden to the Word of God: 1.In prayer: Often when we are speaking to God, He speaks back. Are we listening? 2.Though God’s Word: When we read the Bible in context, the Spirit will often apply the message of a passage to us. Be read for the living Word to speak! 3.In the Church: As we are faithful in this means of grace the Lord may speak through song or a sermon. Let us be diligent. 4.Through the wisdom of Christian friends: Proverbs says much about many counsellors. Turning to a trust and wise Christian friends may reveal an answer. 5.By receiving an impression of heart: Sometimes the Lord simply impresses the answer deeply upon our heart or mind. 6.Through common truth/experience: As all truth is God’s truth, sometimes the Lord will use the strangest things (like a piece of music) to convict us of His will. 7.By reason: God gave us a brain to us, as we think through our question in light of God’s word things often begin to become clearer. 8.Circumstantially: If there are three options (A, B and C) when we go to bed, but in the morning only C, Providence has forced our hand. 9.Audibly or in Dreams/Visions: While less common, the Lord can speak or reveal an answer in a dream. However, despite all of these things, sometimes we must wait upon the Lord for an answer, doing His general will in the meantime; trusting He will direct us. If we embark on a certain course, believing it to be God’s will, we must remain open to re-direction. In all of these, we ultimately move forward in faith. Procrastination is when we put off something we know we should do, even when we know we will suffer as a result. It could be something as simple as not wanting to put out the garbage in the rain, then we miss the garbage truck and have to latter take it to the dump, but concerned about the cost of the dump we store it up at home and in time our house becomes a dump!
Psychologists note a variety of reasons why people procrastinate (low self [God]-confidence, anxiety [fear]). Some have even created two general behavioural types of procrastinators: anxiety and boredom/rebellion (that is they procrastinate so they get a thrill at the last minute or rebel and don’t want to do it).[1] We can procrastinate in coming to know and follow the Lord too, all to our harm. Why do people spiritually procrastinate? Why do they put off going to church, trusting in the Gospel, being baptized, joining a church? Why do they put off responding to a leader, calling to encourage someone, having that difficult conversation? Why do they put off reading their Bible, praying or any number of spiritual disciplines? Why do they put off killing that known sin in their life? Why do they do these things when they know they are wrong and they know they will harm them? It comes down to faith vs. fear and pride vs. humility in some form. God asked Cain a timeless question, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen 4:7) What is the spiritual reason for procrastination? The reasons may be complex but the Lord calls us to overcome them by rising to obedience in faith. How can we rule over procrastination or help others to do so? How to fight procrastination?
The same way the Lord deals with us, in grace and truth. We need to be gracious with procrastinators (remembering when we have and learning from this). We must be sympathetic and willing to listen for the reasons why someone might procrastinate so we can help address these. We need to seek to encourage folks to do right and offer any help we can in this regard. However, grace alone is not sufficient. We must also be truthful. We must seek to teach and spur and call and guide the procrastinator. All this is done in prayer. Truth graciously administered is the best medicine. So let us rise to trust the Lord and walk before Him in obedience and so overcome procrastination. [1] https://umsu.unimelb.edu.au/news/article/7797/The-Psychology-Behind-Procrastination/#:~:text=Psychologists%20have%20found%20various%20reasons,is%20emotion%20and%20mood%20regulation. WORTHLESS MEN. It is an Old Testament category of its own- and you don't want to be one! To be worthless can have two meanings: 1) perverted or wicked and 2) being good for nothing, useless, without profit or benefit. The first refers to not attaining to God's standards and the second to not contributing positively to your family or community. Question- Avoiding judgementalism, what caricature comes to mind when you think of a 'worthless man?' Look up the following Scriptural references and not what the context is and why the man/men are is being described as worthless. Use the following chart to summarize and expand. Job 11:11; Deut 13:13; Judg 9:4, 11:3, 19:22/20:13; 1 Sam 2:12, 10:27, 25:25, 30:22; 2 Sam 23:6; 1 Ki 21:10, 13
While worthless men certainly exist, is any man worthy? (Ro 3:23). Not referring to value as created in God's image, we are all worthless for we've not met God's holy standard nor aspired to His grand design for manhood.
Who alone is worthy? (Mk 1:7, Rev 4:11, 5:9). The worth of Jesus (axis) speaks of His tipping the balance, of His supreme weight of person and character. Through repentance and faith His worth may be imputed to us (credited righteousness) and His worth imparted to us through His Spirit and by His Word. Like David who gathered worthless men around him, we should seek to do the same in discipleship remembering those men eventually became leaders in his kingdom. As we are men of worth through Christ, like David, our worth becomes central to our witness in a world of worthless men. May the Lord save and transform many worthless men for His glory. What is a credible conversion? What ought we to expect of ourself or another who is converted so we might know who is saved and with whom we can have Christian fellowship.
While today ‘conversion’ has very negative connotations, biblically it is very positive. Conversion means to be transformed from one state (a sinner) into another (a saint). A key biblical word for this is metamorphosis (a glorious change), like that of an ugly worm into a beautiful butterfly. It is what happens to the believer who responds to the Good News of Jesus in repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). Like Faith and Following, repentance and faith are really flip sides of what we call conversion; they represent a change, a turning. Repentance means a change of mind, a sorrow over one’s sin and so a turning from it toward one’s only hope—the provision of forgiveness and new life in the Gospel. Faith (explored more in Saving Faith) means more than mere mental assent or belief (c.f. James 2:19), but an active trust, a crying out to Jesus for mercy, believing His promised offer of salvation to be true. It is personal trust in the Saviour. While the path to conversion may be very long (Engel’s Scale of Evangelism) and can even be parsed (Order of Salvation), conversion is always a moment (you can’t be 75% saved). The normative momentary nature is seen in across Scripture (e.g. Paul, Lydia, the Philippian Jailer). It is like the flipping of a coin; the sudden onset of a new season. However, sometimes conversion is more like a slow turning of a coin where someone grows in their realization of their sin and then imperceptibly in their faith in Jesus (e.g. the disciples. This can be true of children in Christian homes or an adult who has sat under the Gospel for some time). While it appears like a season of conversion, at some point there is a hidden moment when our heart believes. Whether in a moment or a season repentance and faith must be passed through, either consciously or evidently, for conversion to be credible. Do you have a clear understanding of the Gospel and a trust in it. Are you aware of your sinfulness, your need of and faith in a Saviour, and the assurance of salvation (Ro 8:13). (Have you been convicted, convinced and comforted?). Do you have a new softness of heart, a new love for God, regard for others, general humility, a desire to do God’s will. These were not present before but now by the regenerating and indwelling of the Spirit you are a ‘new creation’ (2 Cor 5:16). They are changed, permanently. Thus, repentance and faith are not just for conversion but the Christian life; they are traits of a truly changed person, “As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” (Col 2:6).
Reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984 there is some cause to question at least some of this advertisement. This is because a key tenant of the social-marxist ideology (woke) that drives the present government is bent on a disinformation campaign of its own. There is a perceptible campaign to condition people to its agenda and question other narratives (i.e. gender). The problem is that a key component of the campaign are emotional triggers (how convenient). However, there are lots of things that can trigger, be controversial, extraordinary or seem to good to be true.
Consider the Gospel; it is offensive (1 Cor 1:23; 2 Cor 2:16). Christ's death (and a host of other Biblical teachings, will be found to be offensive to our culture. It isn't because the Gospel is false that it is found to be an offense but because human hearts are proud and resistant to the truth. Might the Gospel become 'disinformation?' It is some places and has been in the past. There and back again is the subtitle to the children’s book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937). It is the journey of a small hobbit from Hobbiton in the Shire to the Lonely Mountain on the other side of Middle Earth. Along the way he passes through many dangers but in the end returns safely home.
Mark wants his readers to: a) repent and believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God and in His Kingdom (Mk 1:1; 1:15; Mk 8:29) for their salvation from sin (Mk 10:45); and b) to follow Him as a disciple (Mk 8:34). These are keystone verses in Mark that pain the picture of faith and following. To Mark, these are flip sides of the same coin. Let me explain.
Faith is not a noun or a spiritual force we tap into, it is a verb—an action. Faith means trust; it is more than mere good opinion of Jesus. We must exercise true saving faith. This faith is an active vs. passive faith that does more than merely assent, it recognizes who Jesus is, our need and His authority, trusts in Him alone for salvation, placing our very lives in His hands. It goes on trusting in His commands. It demonstrates a real loving preference for Christ’s Kingdom and commands. ‘Faith’ without following is dead. (See Paul and James on justification). Following is an unpopular idea today, though it is steeped in adventurous appeal. However, true faith in a person, necessitates that we follow. We step where He asks us to step. While just as it is possible that people who have ‘faith’ don’t follow, it is likewise possible to ‘follow’ without faith. However, the following Jesus has in view is not simply following Him as a good moral teacher. It is following Him as Lord. And here is the flip side of the coin. If we truly follow Jesus in a cruciform way (all the radical things that the Law of Christ commands), such following reveals that we have faith just as true faith is shown in the fruit of following. Following trusts the King and His good words displaying this in action. Jesus wants us to have faith in Him; He also wants us to follow Him. When we truly believe we follow; when we truly follow we show we have faith. Faith and following are both actions; they are flip sides of the same coin. May we persevere in faith and following the Lord Jesus. What exactly is the unforgiveable sin or “eternal sin”?
Some have thought it is suicide or homosexuality or killing a child or a whole host of things.[1] When the context is understood one doesn’t have to guess. Mark is seeking to show that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of God.” The first 3 chapters are filled with examples of who He is. However, many are confused. His family thinks He is insane and His opponents think He is Satanic. Neither of these responses allows for someone to join the new family Jesus is forming. In v. 28 Jesus assures that there are many serious sins that can be forgiven (“blasphemies”). To blaspheme is to curse God, a serious crime. In v. 29 blasphemy against the Spirit is what is unforgiveable. What role does God the Holy Spirit have? Jn 16 tells us He generally ‘convicts of sin’ (v. 8) and “glorifies” or point toward Jesus like a flood light. The eternal unforgiveable sin then is in v. 30—to persist in not recognizing who Jesus is and believe in Him. This is the sin the Pharisees were guilty of. The unforgiveable sin is ‘dying outside of Christ.’ Jesus can make the vilest sinner who repents clean. Those who think otherwise have too low a view of God’s character, an insufficient view of the work of Christ or too high a view of themselves. No one is beyond God’s grace if they would but turn and trust in Jesus. [1] If we persist in these sins rather than persevering in the faith this indicates we haven’t truly trusted in Christ and thus are guilty of the unforgiveable sin. A lovely crowd gathered with some amazing singing, all helped by other members of the church. I spoke on the first four verses of 1 Cor 15, Good News of Easter.
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