Pleasant words

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Honey was the great treat in the Old Testament era. Imagine, after days of fish and bread, how wonderful to taste fresh flowing honey. I imagine it was a refreshing, delightful experience. Solomon uses that image to get us thinking about the delightfulness of gracious words. God's people ought to have a sweet tooth for the pleasant and beautiful words of God. Unlike cake and ice cream, these sweets are good for you, body and soul. God invites his children to sit down and rest the soul and mind and be refreshed with the pleasantness of HIs Word.

Hearing and reading the gracious and kind words of God are good for your soul. There is so much anger and bitterness in the world. Lying on every hand and deceitful dealings fill the airwaves. Perverse and wicked words are spoken everywhere you go. We need to hear the gracious words of God to revive and refresh our souls. As pilgrims and foreigners in a this world, making our way to that heavenly city and journey to our Father's house, the soul can become weary. Tired of the battles, exhausted of the disappoints, worn-out with failures, the pleasant words of Zion are the life giving cool waters that restore the soul. Pleasant words are good for your health. Angry, hateful, mean-spirited people will spew their vile words like poison. Taking in and drinking in filth is bad for your health. Reading unprofitable posts, books, or articles can depress the soul. Listening to filth from the radio or television can make you angry and bitter. We need to be careful who we listen to and what we put in our mind. Do you fill your soul with sinful songs and sinful language and think that will have no impact on you? If pleasant words are good for the soul, certainly angry, sinful, bitter words are harmful.  God's Word is a delight to His people. A medicine to the anxious. A balm for the wounded soul. We can eat all we want of God's Word and it will give us strength for the journey.

Since we know pleasant words are good for body and soul, we ought to speak them to others. You should guard the words that come out of your mouth. You ought to consider the words you speak or write. Your snide comment may stick with someone for years and do much damage. Do you think about how you speak to the waitress? How about the customer service representative over the phone? How easy to be hateful towards those you don't know.  Ephesians 4:29, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." A Christian's words need to  gracious and with the purpose of blessing those who hear. Take in and share pleasant words.

A Little Inconsistent in the Objection

"A second objection [that the general call of the gospel is not a bona fide call] is derived from the spiritual inability of man. Man, as he is by nature, cannot believe and repent, and therefore it looks like mockery to ask this of him. But in connection with this objection we should remember that in the last analysis man’s inability in spiritual things is rooted in his unwillingness to serve God. The actual condition of things is not such that many would like to repent and believe in Christ, if they only could. All those who do not believe are not willing to believe, John 5:40. Moreover, it is no more unreasonable to require repentance and faith in Christ of men than it is to demand of them that they keep the law. Very inconsistently some of those who oppose the general offer of salvation on the basis of man’s spiritual inability, do not hesitate to place the sinner before the demands of the law and even insist on doing this." 

Systematic Theology – Louis Berkhof

Nothing New Under the Sun - Ecclesiastes 1:8-11

8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.

Not only does Solomon see vanity in the continual day in and day out of life, but he sees vanity in his work. Ultimately, his work doesn’t satisfy him. As one generation comes and goes, the new generation really isn’t doing anything that the past generation hasn’t already done.

There is no remembrance of former things. The great feats of history, the great battles of 100 years ago are forgotten today. How many Americans can tell you about World War I or give you a decent explanation of who the major players in the war were, and why the United States was engaged? That war shaped the United States and Great Britain culturally, spiritually, and economically so much the effects and ripples of that war are still felt today, and yet it is largely forgotten. Even the technological pioneers of the past are largely forgotten. Solomon considers that there won’t be any remembrance of what he does in a hundred years.

If all there was in this life, is what we do and live for in the “here and now” then yes, I would agree. What’s the point? As we have ended the first section, I want to point out that Solomon is correct. There isn’t any lasting, soul satisfying joy in the work that we do that can carry us to eternal happiness. We can give ourselves pep talks that our lives and our work will have meaning. But if we are honest with ourselves, we must see the vanity of our labor under the sun.

There must be something more. There must be more to life than the daily grind. We are just repeating what previous generations have done before and sometimes, we are not doing it as well. We might have technological advances, but this just means that we are doing the same things with different technologies. We laugh and are amused to see old movies with the telephone operators moving cables on the switch boards back and forth, and think how far advance we have become, that we don't’ use that old technology anymore. Then we call the call center for tech support on our phone and talk to one of the agents for assistance. Yes, the technology is more advanced, but I wonder how many more employees it takes now to make a phone call, than it did 100 years ago?

This ends the introduction to the book. There are answered to these questions and they will be answered by the end of the sermon.

Astonishing Preaching

A preacher sat in the lunch room at a fellowship meeting, but he wasn’t eating.  Despite appeals to dig in, he would say, “No thanks. I preach this afternoon, I can’t preach after I eat.” A friend responded, “You just can't preach. Doesn't matter if you eat or not.” Whether this man could preach well is a matter of debate, but there is no doubt, Jesus could preach.

Matthew 7:28-29 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Everyone that heard Jesus preach the Sermon on the Mount was blown away. Jesus is the greatest preacher who has ever lived and this message left the people astonished. Jesus sermon astounds because God’s truth is amazing. Whether it be the plan of salvation, the condition of man, or the truth about sin and the world, God’s revelation of these ultimate truths is astonishing. The "big questions" about life, why we are here, what happens after we die, what's the meaning of life –  God has revealed the answers. The illustrations Jesus used, the metaphors and parables, the explicit doctrine, all were perfectly explained to reveal divine truth. Every illustration was on point. Every example was spot on. Every teaching was theologically accurate.

Jesus preached with clarity. Clarity can be a difficult to obtain. How much more difficult when covering such a wide array of information, speaking in the open air, correcting established (though wrong) teachings with no one in attendance confirming what you believe. It’s much easier to preach to the choir than to preach to people who you know disagree with you. And with unwavering clarity, courage, and conviction, Jesus astonished his hearers. It’s common to hear a man say a mouthful, but know one understand what he said. Jesus, with ultimate wisdom, condescended His Words and His Wisdom so the people He spoke with could understand Him. Jesus spoke with the courage of clarity.  And it’s a simple sermon. It’s not hard to understand, but the depth is amazing. You can come back to the sermon over and over again and never master his teaching or never come to the end of these truths. Something you can read in 20 minutes but take a lifetime to study.

Jesus preached with boldness. He preached with liberty and strength, and with kingly authority.  Everything He said was 100% unadulterated truth and He spoke with unflinching power. He didn’t suggest. Jesus didn’t speculate. Jesus didn’t find a favorite preacher and copy his mannerism and his message.  The scribes quoted each other, Jesus declared. The scribes based their teach from what other men had said about God. Jesus declared what God had said. Jesus is the greatest preacher, the prophet of prophets. What excuse do you have for not listening to Him? It's the height of folly to acknowledge Jesus as the greatest preacher, and not do what he says.

The Sun Also Rises - Ecclesiastes 1:5-7

5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. 6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. 

The sun also rises and sets, then the night passes quickly and it happens all over again. The wind doesn’t blow off into space, but follow their wind patterns according to their wind belts. It’s a continue loop. The rivers are always moving, the water flowing downstream until they all verge in the sea. But does the ocean get full? According to the National Park Service “At New Orleans, the average flow rate [for the Mississippi River] is 600,000 cubic feet per second.” Yet, does the Gulf of Mexico fill up? No, the water levels stay the same, only changed by the tide. Water evaporates, it rains, it fills the rivers, and sends it back down again.

We might use the illustration of a hamster in his wheel or a man on a treadmill. Always busy, always moving, but never making any progress. Solomon sees life under the sun as life on a repeat loop. You wake, work, sleep, and do it all over again until you die. When you die, someone else will step in and take your place.

Blessing of a Dirty Crib

Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

The secret to keeping a barn pristine is not having anything in it, but the crib is for the animals, not the animals for the crib. In the days before John Deere, the ox was the tractor of choice, and if you want the strength of the ox for plowing and hauling, you have to take the whole package, which means cleaning up the mess it makes. Agrarian fantasies of waking up early in the morning, drinking coffee on the front porch as the sun rises over the farm before driving the truck through the fields to check on their livestock and their crops are pleasant for coffee commercials and Hallmark movies. But reality is waking up with sick kids, and walking outside when it’s already 90 degrees and you have to skip breakfast. The tractor won’t start. Your fence is down, and when you start to fix it, it starts to rain. And you have to get it fixed because you need to go to the courthouse, and then the bank, and then your sister calls and needs help with her kids, and there’s church tonight.

Life is hard and full of messy situations. The more you have, the more responsibility you have in caring and for and maintaining it. If you want to breeze through life without any problems to deal with, or without any “drama” then you want a sad, empty, selfish life without the joy and the “strength of the ox”.  Living care free is not the goal. Take responsibility, work, build something, do something, lead someone, and live for the glory of God and the good of your neighbor.

The more responsibility you have, and the more people you have in your life, the messier life gets. Is the house for the kids, or the kids for the house? The more people who live under a roof the more work to keep it clean. But don’t begrudge the inhabitants of the house for living. There is much strength in the family that lives together, eats together, that dirties floors, laundry, dishes, and rooms like a small army of unkempt chimpanzees on a sugar high. Young mother, you can have a quiet house, with no dirty dishes, no clothes in the floor, no smudges on the wall. You just need an empty house. And when the house is empty, you are missing out the strength of the family.

You can have a "clean church" if you run off everyone that doesn't think like you do. The only way not to have any church issues is to be the only member. With more people comes more problems and more responsibilities and more messes. But there is also more fellowship, more friendships, more opportunities to share burdens and more opportunities to bear burdens. 

You can have an immaculate crib, or the strength of the ox, but you can’t have both. When you take on your God given responsibilities and engage with people and love people, you are going to get messy and have to do things you don’t want to do and have problems thrust upon you to fix. But that’s where you are going to find the blessing of responsibility and taking on the work of the Lord.

Willingly Ignorant

1 Corinthians 10:1-11  "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant…"

Ignorant means lacking knowledge, so Paul didn't just insult the church here. Paul doesn't want the Corinthians to be lacking knowledge in important truths. Despite characterizations to the contrary,  Christianity is the thinking religion. Mystics tell you to stop thinking, to empty your mind and get peace.  That's not Christianity. God never tells you to empty your mind. Other religions have a list of rules and you blindly follow them. That isn't Christianity either. Some religions don't want you to think too hard about why you do what you are supposed to do. If there is contradiction, just ignore it and do as your told. Humanism says it wants you to think, but think poorly.

God has called us to think about Him. We are to know and be aware of God's law, but also to know the purpose of the law. Faith is not blind faith, but faith is knowing what God wants us to do and trust in him as we do it. God has called us to meditate, or deeply consider divine truth and fill our heads, not empty them. Fill your mind with truth and roll it around and think deeply about God's Word. Don't question God, but if you have questions, examine them in light of the truth.

Christianity is the reading religion because our God has written a book. God expects you to read. You don't have to read fast, and you don't have to read a lot, but what a treasure you have, a book from God! It's Satan that wants people ignorant of the truth. In times past, he tried to prevent people from having Bibles. Many people have been put to death through the ages for owning a part of God's word. Many have died translating God's word into other languages. But the Word of God will not be bound. God's people are reading people and it is Christianity that seeks to promote knowledge and understanding.

Christianity is the Truth Religion. The truth looses nothing in examination. You can be hardhearted and want to be unbelieving, but if a person truly has questions, and truly desires to understand, the truth looses nothing if you examine it. If you examine a lie, then eventually you'll see the contradictions. But the truth is consistent.

Don't be ignorant of the truth. In our day, we have Bibles everywhere. You can read the Bible on your phone. You can read it on the computer. If you don't have one, you can go just about anywhere and someone would give you a Bible. You can get online and listen to a professional voice actor read the Bible to you. Instead of a famine of the Bible, we have a people willingly starving themselves of it, filling our minds with junk instead of the Word we so desperately need. It's sad to be ignorant of the truth, it's sinful to be willingly ignorant.

The Vacation by Wendell Berry

Once there was a man who filmed his vacation.
He went flying down the river in his boat
with his video camera to his eye, making
a moving picture of the moving river
upon which his sleek boat moved swiftly
toward the end of his vacation. He showed
his vacation to his camera, which pictured it,
preserving it forever: the river, the trees,
the sky, the light, the bow of his rushing boat
behind which he stood with his camera
preserving his vacation even as he was having it
so that after he had had it he would still
have it. It would be there. With a flick
of a switch, there it would be. But he
would not be in it. He would never be in it.