{"id":23804,"date":"2022-11-15T11:21:26","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T16:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/?p=23804"},"modified":"2022-11-15T11:21:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T16:21:59","slug":"the-preacher-said-something-i-disagree-with-horrors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/the-preacher-said-something-i-disagree-with-horrors\/","title":{"rendered":"The preacher said something I disagree with. Horrors!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026they received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so\u201d (Acts 17:11).<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I asked where he went to church, the man working on my house said, \u201cI used to go to church across the river.\u00a0 But the preacher said something I disagreed with.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was all I could do not to laugh out loud.<\/p>\n

But he was serious.<\/p>\n

After giving him a moment to elaborate, which he did not do, I said, \u201cMan, I would hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He seemed interested.<\/p>\n

I said, \u201cWouldn\u2019t it be terrible to have a preacher who said only the things that I know and\u00a0taught only\u00a0what I believe?\u00a0What would be the point of going to hear him if I already knew what he was going to say?\u00a0There\u2019s so much more to God than\u00a0what little I already know!\u201d<\/p>\n

Lord, make us teachable.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mark of maturity to welcome correction, to recognize and appreciate constructive insights to make our lives better. The godliest person comes to church hoping to hear something that blesses, something that corrects him, something that inspires her, whether\u00a0they had previously known it or agreed with it or not.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A quick scan of Scripture produces a long lineup of people who heard God calling their name, who made themselves available to Him, and then were told something they didn\u2019t want to hear!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2013Abraham: \u201cYou want Sarah and me to go where?\u00a0 And never come back? Are you sure, Lord?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Moses: \u201cYou want me to go to Egypt and do what? and tell who to let your people go?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Gideon: \u201cYou want me to attack the Midianites with torches and bugles? And with only 300 people? Is this a joke?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013David: \u201cYou want me to face that giant, Lord? to be the ruler over your people? to build that temple?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Amos: \u201cWait just a minute, Lord. I\u2019m a farmer, not a preacher.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t be comfortable going up to Bethel and preaching to that crowd.\u00a0 A fellow can get in big trouble that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Jeremiah: \u201cYou want me to be a prophet, Lord? I\u2019m just a teenager. Are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

A sure sign of the worldly, the carnal, and the immature is to want things\u00a0our way, to appreciate nothing that upsets, to resent anything contrary to our convictions and preconceptions.<\/p>\n

I doubt if you will believe this\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have heard people say, \u201cI\u2019m looking for a church that teaches what I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

I find that stunning for its shortsightedness.<\/p>\n

Such warped, self-idolizing thinking is what drives some to create their own religion.\u00a0 This is the guy who would write his own Bible. He\u00a0would then worship himself.<\/p>\n

Imagine someone lost in the jungle refusing to follow his rescuer because \u201cYou\u2019re leading me where I\u2019ve never been before,\u201d \u201cYou\u2019re disagreeing with me\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019re telling me something I never heard before.\u201d<\/p>\n

That would not happen.\u00a0 But it happens in religion all the time.<\/p>\n

As bizarre as it seems, many people throw out all common sense when it comes to their religious faith.\u00a0 They can make\u00a0sound decisions all week, build a business and earn a living and contributing to society. Then, they come to church and believe the strangest things.<\/p>\n

There are those\u00a0who base their eternity on the testimony of a charlatan that angels appeared with golden plates which he then translated through a miraculous glass.\u00a0 When he finished, the angels left, taking\u00a0the plates with them.\u00a0How do we know this is true? We have to take his word for it.<\/p>\n

If the founder of that religion was around today, his rich uncle in Nigeria would have left him a fortune in a bank account\u00a0and he\u00a0would be asking for\u00a0our help in getting to it.\u00a0 He\u2019d be on cable television urging people to\u00a0contribute money for his latest scheme, in return for which he will\u00a0be happy to send them\u00a0a small cloth over which he has prayed.<\/p>\n

P. T. Barnum, your\u00a0descendants are still on the job today.<\/p>\n

There are those who sit in\u00a0good sound\u00a0churches rejecting the message preached from the Holy Scriptures because\u00a0believing it would require them to change their ways, to believe differently, to make radical adjustments in their lives.\u00a0 And they cannot allow themselves to do that because a) \u201cthis is how I was raised,\u201d b) \u201cthis is what my daddy believed and taught us,\u201d or c) \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be comfortable doing it some other way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why some disbelieve\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For reasons known only to them, the smartest people often drop their brains off before entering their house of worship.\u00a0 They believe weird things and reject\u00a0God\u2019s truth\u00a0for the flimsiest of reasons.<\/p>\n

Listen closely and you will hear\u00a0things like these\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cWell, what I\u2019ve always believed is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cIt seems to me that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cI know what I believe is true because it gives me a warm feeling inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cI don\u2019t know what the Bible says but I know what I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cMy mama believed this and it\u2019s good enough for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cIf that were true, I\u2019d have heard about it before now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u201cNineveh would be\u00a0outside my comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Search the Scriptures<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We have not been left to our own devices, thank the Lord.\u00a0 We have the inspired word of God.\u00a0 \u201cAll Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work\u201d (2 Timothy 3:16-17).<\/p>\n

So, the solution to the problem is to get to know what God has said in this wonderful revelation to mankind.<\/p>\n

That means, first of all, read them!\u00a0Read your Bible.\u00a0 But begin with the New Testament.\u00a0 Sometime later,\u00a0after you have become familiar with\u00a0its message, you will want to drop back and read the\u00a0background material we call the Old Testament. Only by knowing the New Testament thoroughly, however,\u00a0will you be able to appreciate the riches of the Old.<\/p>\n

Begin by turning to\u00a0the first chapter of Matthew\u2019s Gospel and start reading.\u00a0 Don\u2019t stop. Read as much as you can at one time.<\/p>\n

Always begin your reading asking the Father to speak to you through His word.<\/p>\n

When you complete Revelation chapter 22, start all over again.\u00a0 You\u2019ll get far more the second\u00a0time through\u00a0than you did\u00a0the first. Repeat this as often as you find it helpful.<\/p>\n

When you come across concepts new to you, pay attention to them, think about them, ask the Father to help you understand, and then:\u00a0Keep on reading<\/em>. To repeat what we\u2019ve said several times above, you want and expect the Lord to say new things to you, insights you had never thought of, teachings and revelations far beyond where your thought-level had been.<\/p>\n

After all, doesn\u2019t it make sense that if the living God were to write a book, it would be better and stronger and wiser than any other book?\u00a0 That it would challenge us and rebuke us and teach us?<\/em><\/p>\n

Do not read commentaries (what others say about the Bible) until you are thoroughly familiar with the New Testament.<\/p>\n

Do not make the mistake of limiting yourself to a few verses here and a few verses there, in the manner of many devotional books.\u00a0 After you are familiar with all 27 books of the NT, you\u2019ll enjoy that. But not yet.<\/p>\n

You will want to sit under faithful teachers and devoted pastors.\u00a0 But there is no substitute for sitting at your breakfast table with the open Word and reading for yourself.\u00a0 Read it again and again until it sticks to you, stays in your mind, and becomes part of you.<\/p>\n

A wonderful new world is waiting for you.\u00a0 Get on with it. And don\u2019t be surprised if you emerge at the end of your very first reading of the New Testament a different person than when you entered. God\u2019s Word has a way of doing that to us.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the writer of the Psalms used hundreds of verses telling us how wonderful the Word of God is.\u00a0 (Look at Psalm 19 for starters.)<\/p>\n

You are about to find out now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c\u2026they received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so\u201d (Acts 17:11). When I asked where he went to church, the man working on my house said, \u201cI used to go to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,27,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conflict","category-church-leadership","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23804"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24871,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23804\/revisions\/24871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joemckeever.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}