Words of Wisdom
There is a right and wrong way to use words. The New Testament spends many verses discussing this principle. Sinclair Ferguson is preaching at Desiring God’s National Conference this year on this subject. This brief video, giving a taste of what is to come, is very challenging in itself. If you have never heard of Sinclair Ferguson, get to know him, listen to him, read him. There are many men that impact my life and ministry. Outside of my father there are three men alive today that stand out clearly, Eric Alexander, Peter Jeffery, and Sinclair Ferguson. I could list others that shape my pastoral ministry, but these men shape my theological and teaching ministry. There is a depth, soberness, and sincerity about their preaching that I long for in my own.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Oh that we hearers of this word would listen with the same seriousness, sobriety, and obedience of heart that this word is delivered to us by the servants of the Lord…great post Andy…and convicting to me, to be more fervent in my prayers for you and you dad as you prepare these words of life and instruction to us week in and week out. And that we would not only be hearers of this word but be swift to be doers of this word as well.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I have had a recent experience (today) that was, I believe, relevant to this post. I recently bought an item online, from an Ebay store, and it did not go as smoothly as it could have. To make a long story “short” I received a completely different item than the one I won in auction, I brought it to the attention of the seller and he told me to send it back and he would correct the mistake. So I sent the wrong item back (at my expense) and sent him and email to notify him. Some time went by and I never heard anything, so I sent another email to check on the status of my shipment…no response. At this point I was getting a little nervous because I had already paid for the item + shipping cost for the return. After looking into my options I was able to request his full profile so I could contact him in another way, which I did by phone. I got a generic voicemail greeting and left a message. Some more time went by, with no communication, and the correct item showed up at my door. I was relieved but concerned with the quality of customer service and communication I had just experienced. So in my feedback to the seller I gave him a neutral rating and stated that I had received the wrong item but that he did eventually correct the mistake.
In my email inbox this morning I received a message from the seller that completely shocked me. The message was venomous, calling me a name and telling me what I could do. I was at a loss for words, in fact the whole thing has been a burden to me this entire day. The thing that made this response so unbelievable/unexpected to me is that in both shipments, I received from him, was included a gospel tract. Now I realize that not everyone that proclaims the name of Jesus Christ is truly in Him and that it is effortless to hand out tracts and have no real, personal communication a person about the gospel, but this seemed to me to be perfect example of hypocrisy. His poisonous words have completely ruined for me any witness that he may have been trying to share. I can only imagine the opinion, of the church, an unbeliever would come away with in this same situation.
This whole thing has been a good lesson and I hope it will make a lasting impression on me as I interact with people in the future. Even if I feel slighted or abused I pray I will, by the grace of God, respond with that same grace. Knowing that there is nothing in this world worth discrediting and soiling the name of my Savior.
July 12th, 2008 at 11:42 am
“There is a depth, soberness, and sincerity…”
There is one more ingredient that came into play in my formative years as a new Christian, namely, the pastor truly cared for his hearers. I knew that Bob Fisher’s messages were not theoretical or abstract, nor a mere “proclamation of the Word of God”, but that he wanted us to understand and grow because he deeply cared for us, and loved the God of the Scriptures.
His sermons were compelling because he himself was genuine.