Deliverance (with a little less banjo)

Reading through the story of Jonah again, I am blown away by some of the things that I have missed before. With such a short narrative, it would seem that studying over it many times would reveal all there is to know, but once again the layers of Biblical study have been opened up. There were quite a few things that stood out, but the most intriguing to me is Jonah's prayer, found in chapter 2.

There have been many children's books telling the story of Jonah, and some of those constructed as pop-up books, but they always focus on that great fish. Perhaps this prayer would be much more appropriate, seeing as it has the power to leap out of the page into the mind with such vivid imagery. However, even the imagery that Jonah expresses is not what hits me in the heart with such conviction. Being a perpetual pessimist, I put myself in Jonah's position of being in the belly of a great fish and I say "wow, this really stinks, God I'm sorry I'm running but I wish you would save me and get me out of here or just let me die."

Jonah does not do this, Jonah applies the past tense, for he "called to the Lord and he answered me." Jonah's focus while he is in the big, stinky, dark fish-belly is not "Lord deliver me now," but instead he is focused on the fact that God saved him from death in the ocean. He recognizes that God is the one who threw him into the water, and then immediately he professes that it was God who saved him. Now I do not believe that Jonah had no desire to get out of the fish, but what he came to realize was that he had done wrong, God called him on it, but God's punishment did not come in the form of death, and Jonah was delivered from his situation almost as quickly as he was punished.

The story of Jonah, as a whole, is actually not as storybook as we like to make it; make sure you read chapter 4 of the book, you won't find it in 9 of 10 children's books or sermons. Jonah completely understood that God is a merciful, gracious God, but Jonah was too unwilling to accept others and so he remained angry at the Lord's compassion after he preached to the people of Nineveh and God saved them. In his prayer, Jonah says that those who "cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs," so Jonah knows that his Saving God is not just another god, but is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. However, Jonah's desire is that God remain angry with those outside of grace, which is ironic because those within God's grace were at once outside of it.

Ultimately, what I take from the story of Jonah cannot be summed up in a single blog, but what I'd like to express is an understanding of grace. When I am in trials, if I look back to previous struggles I can clearly see God and thank Him for where He has brought me to, but looking forward I can trust that whatever happens is within His plan. With that, I look to Paul and admit that my only reason for living is in the fact that I have a life of service dedicated to God. "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Jonah got to the point of knowing that he had to live for God, but he missed something. Paul says in Philippians that because of his need to serve his fellow Christians: "I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me."

Paul's service was not for himself and his own gratification; Jonah did not understand completely that his service was for God first, man second, and himself perhaps at a distant third. In my own service, it is my prayer that I understand that I work for God, in order that His grace is shown to other people. Being "delivered" is a wonderful thing, but if every time I'm "delivered" I find myself distressed and worried, what am I learning? Has God not been there in times past, will He not show His face again? Forgive me Lord, for there are times I forget who you are, but with that in mind I ask for strength in service to know who is my master!

Power in the Word

"More important than any amount of grandeur of style to those of us who seek to be listened to with obedience is the life of the speaker." -Augustine, On Christian Teaching

I have just finished Augustine's book On Christian Teaching (Doctrine) and I acknowledge the worth of this text when read with conviction. Although some of the work is tedious and difficult to get through, if you can pick out the information that is useful, you will become a better teacher of the Gospel. The quote above is one which stuck out and acquired no thought on it's validity; instead it causes a person to examine one's life to see if you are demanding obedience through your actions.


The "loss of authority" in the "pulpit" is not due to any one thing, however, the contemporary preacher seems to be in constant danger from opposition. I would argue that this issue lays heavily upon the back of preachers who have fallen into the temptations of their old lives, but even so, the authority demanded by the Bible and by Jesus' teaching is not a suggestive authority. Many times, specifically in the Sermon on the Mount, we find Jesus quoted as saying something along these lines: "You have heard it said....but I say to you." The authority that Jesus held was due to the fact that He was the author of life, He is. We preachers are not God, but we have been charged to present His message with authority. But how is this done? We know that people do not accept hypocrisy, therefore, the greatest way to open the door of the Gospel is to live it! Did Paul not say the same thing to Timothy in his first letter to the young preacher:

I Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

Timothy's authority as a young man was found in his example; Timothy gained the respect and the obedience of the people in Ephesus not because he was the greatest speaker, the loudest yeller, nor was it because he was always quoting Bible verses and condemning people for their lifestyle. No, Timothy was to gain authority through his example, living out what was right, and he only knows what is right because of what God has revealed. People who live their life in a holy, separate way get noticed and people respect that.

The conclusion of this idea is found in this, the authority of the preacher is established in the way his life is lived, and the way his life is lived is determined by the scriptures; ultimately, the authority of the preacher is established in the authority of the Bible. I like the way Albert Mohler Jr. puts it in his book He is Not Silent:

"Preaching will cease to be Christian preaching if the preacher loses confidence in the authority of the Bible as the Word of God..."

God has given us the Word and the Word has been fulfilled, therefore, there is no reason to lack boldness or confidence in what we have to say, if we are saying what is under the authority of the Word. If I do try to preach a message based on anything but the Cross of Christ then I have ceased to preach, but if I preach a message from God, yet do not live out what has been said then what have I really done?