View All | The Joy of Glory

As a pastor, I cannot tell you how often I hear these words in response to encouraging people to seek joy in Christ through the Scriptures. In a world where God has primarily communicated himself to us via written word, it would seem he has also primarily created people who do not enjoy the written word! Irony much?

Modern research into teaching/learning methods have only served to increase people’s justification for not reading. I hear things like, “I’m a tactile learner” or “I’m a visual learner.” These excuses are used both to explain why people don’t want to read their Bible and why they don’t want to listen to sermons.

Alas… what are we to do? Has God been so inept to provide us with the ineffective tools of Scripture and preaching?

Not hardly.

God loves words! He created them! In fact, he created through them! One of the first things we learn about God is that he is a God who speaks! He reveals himself through words. He draws us to faith through the Word of the Gospel! He transforms our lives by his Holy Spirit working through the Word to renew our mind! Even the greatest revelation of himself, his son Jesus, was known as the Word made flesh!

He gave us ears to hear words, mouths to speak words, and even eyes to read words!

If you’re thinking… “Yeah Jonathan, that’s all great, but I’m still not a reader!” I want to give you five simple things to think about and see if God doesn’t soften your heart toward pursuing him in the riches of his Word.

1. The reason you can read is so that you can read the Bible.
The history behind modern literacy rates is primarily rooted in Christianity. We are a people of the book and have always wanted others to be able to read that book! Most of the modern day university system has Christian roots that really can be traced all the way back to medieval monasteries. Christians have been responsible for developing written languages all over the globe and promoting literacy on the mission field… all of this for the ultimate purpose of equipping people to read the Bible. One of the main reasons so many people can read today is because of the efforts of Christians in the past who wanted you to be able to read the Bible.

2. The Bible was never meant to be read alone.
One of the reasons many people avoid or ignore reading Scripture is because it can be a difficult task. Let’s be honest… the Bible is not the easiest read. It is an old book, written in a variety of styles to which our modern sensibilities are not naturally attuned. To understand any given passage you have to mentally journey across time, cultures, geography, settings, etc. This can be an extremely tough task! I believe this is why Scripture is not meant to be read alone. I don’t mean that you should never read the Bible while sitting by yourself. By all means…do that! What I mean is that we should always take what we are reading in private and discuss it with other believers! In this way, we can help each other understand the scriptures. We can teach one another, disciple one another, etc. The Bible is a communal book. It was written to communities, for communities, to be read in community, preached in community, and discussed in community. The Holy Spirit works through the Word and through one another to help us understand the Scriptures! We are a body that works together for the good of the whole…this includes our reading of Scripture. If you find reading the Bible frustrating, then find people with whom you can discuss what you are reading. Especially look for people equipped to help you understand the word. You might just find yourself becoming excited about seeing more of Jesus through Scripture.

3. We read what we love.
You know this is true. You may not read very much, but if there is something you particularly enjoy, then you will read about that subject. Perhaps novels bore you, but you have a million issues of People magazine. Maybe history doesn’t peak your interest at all, but you can hardly wait for the next issue of BassMaster, Cosmo, or Sports Illustrated. We read what we love. The question is do we love Jesus? We have been promised that he will meet us in the pages of Scripture…and if we love him we will pursue him there…even if it is difficult. We are willing to work hard for the things and people we love. Have you seen the value of knowing Jesus? If so, then you know he is worth the effort of digging into Scripture. Reading the Bible is like mining for gold…the task is wrought with difficulty, but the reward is riches beyond your dreams. In fact…the treasures available in the Word are worth more than any amount of gold (Ps 19:7-10)! Love Jesus…and read about what you love.

4. Do not rely on your natural learning preferences, but on the supernatural teaching of the Holy Spirit.
When we say things like, “I’m not a reader,” we are not just underestimating our learning ability, but the Holy Spirit’s teaching ability! The Holy Spirit inspired the Word and speaks through it…do we doubt that he can actually do that? The fact that you are not a reader is actually all the more reason for the Holy Spirit to teach you through the Word because it will be even more obvious that he is the one at work! God loves to work through our weaknesses! Perhaps this is the reason he has chosen to primarily communicate through written Word when so many of us feel weak as readers! God has promised that faith comes through hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ! May we believe him and let that change the way we approach hearing and reading the Word.

5. What about people who cannot read?
Perhaps all this sounds find to you, but what about people who legitimately cannot read. While literacy is on the rise, illiteracy still abounds. Are non-readers doomed because they lack this particular skill? Absolutely not! Since it’s inception, the church has always had a large portion of its population who were illiterate. Even those who could read were not able to own a personal copy of the Scriptures until well after the invention of the printing press (circa 1450). This is why I always stress the studying of Scripture in community. For the majority of its history, the church has only been able to study the Word together. Brothers and sisters who cannot read today are still able to dive deep into the riches of God’s word through hearing it and discussing it in community. The ability to read a personally owned Bible can greatly enhance this experience and this is why we, the church, are still advocates for written language development, Bible translation, and literacy. The need is actually much greater than you think. There are almost 7,000 known languages in our world. About 500 of these have the complete Bible in their language. Many have portions of Scripture or a current translation project happening, but nearly 1800 languages still await the start of translation effort to bring them the Bible in their own tongue. Those 1800 languages represent about 180 million people! In light of this reality how could we ever look at the treasure of our Bible and say… “Nah… I’m not a reader!” Let us take up and read so that we may know Christ and make him known! Let us continue to take the Word to those who still don’t have it in their own language so that they many know The Word…Jesus! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ!

For more information about how you can be involved in Bible translation efforts click here.

Bonus Confession: I’m not a reader either!
This may sound strange and unbelievable coming from a pastor who has invested in a small library, but it’s true. I didn’t read a complete book until late middle school. Even then, all I read were comic books and sci-fi/fantasy novels until well into college. It took me years to read through the Bible for the first time and I was actually over halfway done with seminary before I completed the task. Ha! However, I now spend much of my time with my nose in books because I believe that within the pages of Scripture there is treasure far greater than anything this world has to offer! I don’t always enjoy digging for treasure, but I do enjoy finding it. Thus, I find myself reading more and more of Scripture and resources that help me mine its depths. So take it from one “non-reader” to another, not only is it possible to read the Bible, it is far more rewarding than you could ever imagine because within those pages and those words you actually encounter a person…the person…Jesus.

June 17, 2014

Father’s Day Encouragement…

At Shades Valley Community Church, where I pastor, we believe that one of the amazing ways God speaks to our faith family is through one another. This past Sunday (Father’s Day), God used Grace Wolnski to speak a powerful word of encouragement to all the Father’s in our church. I was so blessed by the Holy Spirit working through her that I wanted to share it with all of you.

I also shared a brief word of encouragement for everyone who struggles with Father’s day. Perhaps you had a bad father, no father, or you are a single mom with children bereft of a father… and Father’s day is always a struggle for you. I want you to know that there is hope in our heavenly father.

You may listen to both words of encouragement below and share them with anyone you would like. I pray God uses these words to continue encouraging his church all over the world.

A Word for Father’s Day…

*To listen online, simply click the link above. To download the file, right click the link and select save/download. To get this file as a podcast in iTunes, click here.

May 7, 2014

Organic, No Hormones, No Antibiotics, Grass-Fed, All-Natural Preaching (Part 2)

Yesterday, I tried to begin unpacking the problems with quick-and-easy application that seems to dominate the landscape of preaching today (at least in the western world). You can read that post here.

That blog concluded with me giving 5 out of 10 thoughts which help me to personally think through what it looks like to experience organic, no hormones, no antibiotics, grass-fed, all-natural application in preaching. Below, you will find thoughts #6-10.

6) Application begins with worship.
The central character of the Bible is God. The central purpose of the Bible is to lead us into a worship-relationship with God. Therefore, if application does not first and foremost drive you to worship… then we know our application is misguided.

I recently preached a series on the book of Job. As we applied our lives to this amazing text, we found that this story is first meant to give us a grand view of who God is! He is revealed as the sovereign Lord over all, the God who sees, the God who is with us, and the God who wins! Before we look at ourselves, we are drawn to gaze upon God and find ourselves in awe of him! It is only once we see these truths about the character of God that we can properly begin to think through our own suffering.

Application always draws us first to God in worship and changes the way we think and feel towards him… leaving us awestruck. Application is not merely after your actions… no… it is foremost after your affections!

7) Application continues in your actions.
Application changes what you do by first changing who you are! When your heart has been drawn into deeper worship and love of God, then you are ready to see how you are to act upon the truths you’ve learned.

In walking through Job and seeing the character of God more clearly, my congregation and I were able to see how and why we should trust God amidst suffering. We were able to affirm his goodness and stand upon the truth of his character to worship when it would normally seem like worship would not even be possible. We were more equipped to comfort those who are suffering. You see, because our affections had changed our actions followed suit.

Let me be absolutely clear that application does affect our actions! It does! But, as we have seen, that is not the place application begins… nor is it the place that application ends…

8) Application is not complete if it ends with you.
Part of the reason our current approach to application has contributed to a self-centered Christian culture is that it assumes the point of a sermon is me and the betterment of my life. We’ve already talked about how e are not the beginning point of application, God is, but nor are we the ending point of a sermon, mission is.

Everything Jesus taught his disciples was not merely for their personal benefit, but it was for them to pass on to others through preaching, teaching, and discipling. The same is true for us. Every time you listen to a sermon, you should listen (and take notes) as if you were going to have to re-preach it the next day… because that is exactly what you’re supposed to do.

Take what you learn from preaching and pour it into your kids. Have conversations with your friends about it. Discuss it with your family. Teach it to a younger believer. Application is not complete if you simply implement truth into your own life… no… it is only complete once you pass that truth along into the life of another. (For more on how to effectively listen to sermons click here).

9) The specifics of application are not the responsibility of the preacher, but the listener.
Even in small churches, a pastor cannot possibly apply the truths of Scripture to the specific situations in every listener’s life. The job of the preacher is to bring out the implications of the truth and demonstrate how they apply by way of example(s), but there still remains work for the hearer! We each must wrestle with the truths of Scripture within the context of our own lives. This part of what walking by the Holy Spirit looks like!

For instance, what should a Christian do with their wealth (if they have any)? Should they give it all away? Should they keep it all? Should they use it to help the poor, the sick, the homeless? Should they focus their help heavily on one of these groups or spread it thin to all people? Should they live in a small house so they can give away more money or should they live in a big house and let other people live with them? These questions of application are endless and there is not a one-size-fits-all answer.

A preacher can take truths from Scripture like money should not be our god, we shouldn’t be lovers of wealth, and we shouldn’t use our wealth for self-centered self-glorification… and tease out the implications of such truths, but concerning specific application… we each must hit our knees and seek the Spirit for how these things play out in our lives.

The only other option is for the pastor to create a new law which leads to legalistic action. “Ok, everyone, you must live in a 1000 square foot house or less to be obeying what God says about wealth.” In the short-run, that seems much easier. We can do that, check it off our list, and feel like a “good” Christian. However, such application is not being faithful with Scripture or with the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. No. It is time for us, the listeners, to do the hard work of application by praying, weeping, seeking, listening, and obeying as God applies his truth to the specifics of our lives.

10) There is nothing more practical than eternal transformation.
We live in a culture that desires things which are practical and useful. I’m afraid this is what has led to many of our abysmal application practices in preaching because we have gone to our culture and asked them, “What do you think is practical? What do you want to hear?” And we use such consumer-information to determine what we preach and how we preach it.

Instead of this, we need to reclaim the truth that God actually knows what we need! He knows what is most practical! We need to go back to the Bible where he has revealed what is most relevant to our lives… himself!

What is more practical/useful… temporary self-improvement or eternal transformation? That is not a difficult question. There is nothing more practical than being changed forever and such change does not come from centering on self, but from centering on God!

In order for our use of application to change… our goal of application must change! My wife seeks organic foods because her goal is not to find what is quick, easy, and cheap… but, to find what is healthy, lasting, and good. Likewise, our goal should not be short-sighting self-improvement which glorifies the self, but eternal transformation which glorifies the God over all!

So… Pastors… let’s not serve up junk food that looks good today, but lacks any lasting nutrition. Let’s give the pure-organic-hormone-free milk of the Word… the all-natural-grass-fed meat of Scripture.

And believers… may we all develop a taste for that which feeds our souls. Let’s yearn for application that leads us to worship, fuels our affections, so that we act out of loving obedience… and then pass on what we’ve learned. May we all become a hippie, crunchy, granola Christians when it comes to application and long for that good ol’ organic, no hormones, no antibiotics, grass-fed, all-natural preaching.

The Joy of Glory

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July 1, 2014