FAITH

"Abram."

"Wha... What? Wh.... Who is it?"

"I AM GOD."

"G...G...God? What do you want?"

"I want you to get up, pack your belongings and move."

"Bu....Bu... but God I am settled here. I like it here. There's plenty of land for my flocks. I've grown prosperous here. It's comfortable..."

"Get up and Go!"

"Go where, God? Do you have some place in mind?"

"I will show you...  Go"

     The writer of Hebrews makes the comment regarding the above conversation, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (Heb. 11:8).

    

      What was it that enabled Abraham to do such a thing? Was it courage? I don't think so. In fact, on several occasions Abraham was so afraid of what might happen to him that he coaxed his wife into lying in order to save himself. Was it personal initiative? No. There is nothing in the entire episode of his life to suggest that this was something that he initiated, He was not fulfilling a long-held desire or launching out on a personal endeavor for success. He was not trying to get ahead, move up the corporate ladder or increase his salary.

     This move was God's idea. Not his. There was no profit motive. No desire to improve his surroundings. No thought that his family would be better off or that life would be easier. It's hard to imagine the grass being greener on the other side of the fence when you don't have a clue where the fence is much less what's on the other side of it.

     But Abram left. He did not know where he was going. He did not know what was ahead of him. He did not know if he would ever see members of his own family again. He did not know . . .

     He only knew one thing.

     He knew WHO he was going with.

     Abraham's security was not found in a place. It was not found in being surrounded by the comforts of familiar surroundings and people. He significance was not tied up in his job. His calling was one of faith. He believed in God. He followed God. He obeyed God. It did not matter where that faith took him or what it called him to do. He believed and he lived according to that belief.

"What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Rom. 4:3).

     The late and esteemed preacher, N.B. Hardeman used to warn his preacher students about, "sitting down in a tub of butter." That was his way of reminding them that a life of faith is not without sacrifice. Abraham had his sight set on something much bigger than his current circumstances. "For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God: (Heb. 11:10). He was ready and willing to move onward to greater service and ministry in the Kingdom of God.

     And the result . . .

     "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Heb. 11:39-40).

     That's The Way I See It.

 
    

THE POWER OF PREACHING

I've just completed reading a short book by Willie Cato entitled, His Hands and Heart - The Wit and Wisdom of Marshall Keeble. I've had the book on my shelves for years. It was part of the collection that came from my uncle Larimore Austin of Nashville, Tennessee, following his death. Even though I've had the book for quite some time I have to confess that I've just now gotten around to reading it.

Marshall Keeble was a well known evangelist among churches of Christ during the first half of the 20th century. He was born as the son of former slaves in 1878 and passed away in 1968. He was still preaching and going strong at the time of his passing.  During the years of segregation between the races Brother Keeble preached to everyone regardless of their skin color. He baptized thousands.

One thing that impresses me about Keeble was his belief in the power of preaching the Gospel of Jesus. He was not interested in all of the "fluff" that characterizes many churches today. He often said, "just let me stretch out a tent somewhere and start preaching. God will do the rest."  Though Keeble did not complete a "formal" education he was certainly knowledgable of the Bible and believed strongly in Christian education. For a number of years he served as the President of the Nashville Christian Institute, a school which trained preachers.

On one occasion as he preached a white man jumped up from the crowd and struck Keeble in the face with a pair of "brass knuckles." Keeble fell to the ground but quickly got right back up and resumed preaching. On several occasions those who opposed his preaching were later baptized by him. He was determined to never allow resentment or bitterness to build up in his heart.

Cato tells of one interesting incident that broke the heart of the aging Keeble. Asked to preach at a large municiple auditorium Keeble had looked forward to the opportunity for months. Just before he was to speak word came to him that the organizers of the event did not want him to extend an invitation. "What?" Keeble shouted. Despite his protests the organizers were undeterred and Keeble respected their wishes. His message was noticably subdued and afterward according to Cato brother Keeble prayed openly for God's forgiveness at not going ahead and doing what he knew to be right.

I recently heard of a church where the preacher was told, "we don't want you to preach over ten minutes." The rest of the time was to be devoted to "praise and worship." Believe me when I say that I am all for "praise and worship." However, to subdue the preaching of the Gospel is to shut off the very "power of God unto salvation" (Rom. 1:16).

I'm glad I had some extra time this week to read this long neglected volume from my shelves. I wish more of our young preachers in training would be exposed to the courage, faith and fortitude of men like Marshall Keeble.

That's The Way I See It!

THE HEARTBEAT OF MINISTRY

Religious researcher George Barna  has compiled more infomation on America’s spiritual values and the growth of churches in our country over the past thirty years than anyone else I know of.  Here are some interesting comments from  Barna with regard to  the growth of a church.

“Many churches do not have a clear sense of God’s vision for ministry. Until that vision is clarified, articulated and owned by the congregation as their very heart-beat—as the thing they want to be most obedient to, as something they want to exude tremendous passion for—the church is really going to struggle. If there’s no such vision or mission, you become just a caretaker church. You merely put in your time. And we really don’t need that type of church.”

I think Barna's comments are applicable to many congregations today. Every church needs to regularly ask itself some identifying  questions, "What is our mission?"  "What is the reason for our existence?" "What do we have a passion for?"  "What is the heartbeat of our congergation?"

Many congregations have never articulated this. It's true that a lot of us have our own ideas of what the church should be about but somehow we've never come together to arrive at that common heart-beat that must define us.  

I don’t think we have to launch some extravagant or complex strategic planning session to arrive at the answer to these questions. Nor do I think its necessary to devise or develop some catchy phrase or slogan. The answer is found right before us in scripture. Listen as Jesus describes the works of his disciples in Matthew 25:31-45.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

When you boil it all down our mission, given by God Himself, comes down to one simple concept - "Honoring God through Blessing Others.” The old saying in indeed true. “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

That's The Way I See It