Matthew 5:13 ESV
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”
If something is salty, it is sharp, clear, well-defined,
definite, clear-cut, distinct, precise, and in focus.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
It is not wishy-washy, light, and fluffy feel-good stuff
which leaves people feeling good about themselves and perhaps feeling as though
they did something religious or that they connected with God (or a god), but
which never pierces to the division of the soul and spirit, never discerning
the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
A Reminder This Morning
The Lord Jesus reminded me this morning of Rick Warren. So,
I did a search on my documents to see what I had previously written about him.
Some of the documents were missing, but others were not, and there were several
previous writings about him and about his purpose driven ministry. One of them,
in particular, stood out to me which you can read here (1).
Anyway, I wanted to see what was current with Rick Warren,
so I googled his name and it brought up his website (PastorRick.com). And so I read
3 of his most recent devotionals (9/30, 9/29, 9/28), which were very telling,
but consistent with who he is and where he has been headed all along.
In a total of 3 devotions, Jesus’ name was only mentioned
once. Mostly Rick Warren just said “God.” He said, “The apostle Paul’s life
goal—even toward the very end when he was dying alone—was for other people know
about Jesus.” But then Rick Warren didn’t talk about Jesus, and he didn’t help
us to know Jesus. What he talked about was mainly ourselves.
He quoted a passage from 2 Timothy 4:16-17 where Paul said, “But
the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good
News in its entirety..” But then Pastor Warren didn’t preach the “Good News”
and especially not in its entirety (the whole counsel of God).
Then, he said that Paul “focused on others because he knew
everyone needed to hear about God’s love.” He said, “He looked at what he could
do to help others. It kept him from being lonely, even when he was alone.” Wow!
Pastor Warren then went on to talk about loneliness and how we need to “build
bridges of connection to others.”
He mentions praying to God for help in connecting with
others, and then he gave an example prayer: “Father, help me be a friend to
people who need a friend.” He talked more on loneliness and then said we need
to look for creative ways to connect with others.
[Quotes taken from “Empathy Is an Antidotes to Loneliness”
9/30/2021]
But, then there is more. Next he quoted from Habakkuk 2:2
(GNT): “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be
read at a glance” (I don’t recommend this translation). So, then Pastor Warren
suggested that if we want to hear God speak to us that we should ask Him what
he wants to say to us and then write down God’s responses.
Then he talked about journaling our prayers and writing down
the lessons we have learned. And then he talked about the Psalms and how David
meditated on the Torah and then he wrote down his thoughts and they’re called
psalms. He suggested that David, in many of the Psalms, started by writing his
feelings and then ended up writing down what God said.
[Taken from “Try Writing Down Your Prayers” 9/29/2021]
And in this third one Pastor Warren quoted from Psalm 119:18
(GNT) “Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in your law." And
then he named several people mentioned in the Bible who received visions from
God. And he went on to talk about “visual thinkers” vs those who are not.
And then he asked, “How do you get God’s vision if you’re
not a visual thinker?” He mentioned reading our Bible and praying and
afterwards asking God some questions to see if there is anything God wants to
say to us. And then he quoted James 1:5 about asking God for wisdom, which he
said stated that God won’t correct us for asking. But he left off this part:
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (vv. 6-8).
Pastor Warren did say this about God’s word: “Every answer
to every problem you have is in that book. But you’ve got to read it, study it,
memorize it, and meditate on it as you seek God’s vision—for your life or even
just for today.”
[Taken from “Open Your Eyes to God’s Vision” 9/28/2021]
What’s the Takeaway?
So, what is the takeaway from all of this? Well, for one,
Pastor Warren quoted Scriptures out of their context and/or he used them out of
their context or in an incomplete thought which could possibly be misleading. Or
else the Scriptures quoted were not really discussed, but he used them as a
springboard to teach what he wanted to teach.
Even though some of the Scriptures he quoted mentioned
preaching the Good News in its entirety (the whole counsel of God), or looking
into the wonderful truths in God’s law, and even though he said Paul’s goal in
life was for other people to know about Jesus, Pastor Warren didn’t teach the “Good
News,” nor did he look intently into God’s commandments, nor did he help people
to know about Jesus.
Although he did mention reading the Bible and praying and
seeking God’s wisdom and counsel, and he did say that every answer to every
problem we have is in the Bible, and even though he mentioned “God’s love,” he
mainly focused on humanistic solutions, such as “building bridges to others.”
Do you know what “building bridges” means? To
build bridges means to cross over all barriers that stand between people
groups, which means we have to compromise our faith and convictions and not try
to win people over to the true gospel, for the true gospel truly does divide
(saved and unsaved, those bound for heaven and those bound for hell, those
still trapped in their sins and those walking in freedom from slavery to sin).
And he mentioned that Paul looked at what he could do to
help others and that it kept him from being lonely, which is not true to the Scriptures,
and how we should ask God to help us be a friend to people who need a friend,
and how we should look for creative ways of connecting with others, which is
also not biblical. And then he implied that God is the second way to get God's
vision but the first is if we are "visual thinkers."
But we are to be the salt of the earth. The messages we
speak are to be clear, well-defined, definite, in focus and biblical. They are
not to be mixed with the world and with humanistic philosophy or so generalized
that no piercing to the division of the soul and of the spirit takes place, and
to where there is no discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
If all we do is give out feel good messages which tickle
itching ears, then we have lost our saltiness, and what we talk about has no
eternal value. If we mention “the gospel,” but we don’t ever teach the gospel,
or if we mention looking into God’s commandments, but then we don’t talk about
his commandments, or if we mention making it our life goal for people to know about
Jesus, but then we don’t teach them about Jesus, what good is it?
Or, if we give them a generic “Read your Bible and pray,”
and then tell them that the Bible has all the answers to life’s problems, and
so we tell them to ask God what he wants to say to them, but we don’t give any
direction on how to do this or demonstrate how to do this, what good is it? Especially
if we are then coupling this with humanistic philosophy, what valuable purpose
does it serve? Are we even concerned if they even know Jesus first?
So, don't be wishy-washy. Be definite, precise, and in focus
when you teach or share the Scriptures. Teach the Scriptures in their context
and make them practical to our lives today, but not in a worldly way, and not
in a way that mixes God's word with the culture and with humanistic philosophy
and worldly thinking. Be true to the word of God and you won't lose your
saltiness, and God will speak through you to human hearts.
Donnie
McClurkin
Draw
me close to You
Never
let me go
I
lay it all down again
To
hear You say that I'm Your friend
You
are my desire
And
no one else will do
'Cause
nothing else can take Your place
To
feel the warmth of Your embrace
Help
me find a way
Bring
me back to You
Bring
me back, oh Jesus
You're
all I want
You're
all I've ever needed
You're
all I want
Help
me know You are near
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAnwBixzuNo
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(1)
https://runwithit.blog/2015/07/16/testing-our-faith/
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