GOSPEL FEAR...recovering a reverence for God in ministry

In light of the discussion from this past week... I humbly ask the readership here - where are the men of God who tremble at His Word; who preach it straightforwardly; who live it uncompromisingly; who walk circumspectly; who have a bold orthodoxy and a countenance clothed with humility; who worship in the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus and place no confidence in the flesh; who pray with expectancy; who lead with servant-authority; who are strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; who will not play politics with God and man; who are not swayed by the promise of financial gain; who will not be enticed by the temporal contingencies of men; who strive not for prominence, power, position, praise, or promotion; who do not consider their lives of any account as dear to themselves, so that they may finish their course and the ministry which they received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God?

Here the Word of the Lord beloved:

-from the prophet Isaiah:
Is. 30:10 Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.

Is. 66:2 “For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

-from the prophet Jeremiah:
Jer. 5:22a ‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do you not tremble in My presence? 

Jer. 5:24 ‘They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.” 

Jer. 5:25 ‘Your iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you. 

Jer. 5:28 ‘They are fat, they are sleek, They also excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; And they do not defend the rights of the poor. 

Jer. 5:30-31 ¶ “An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?

-from the Apostle Paul:
2 Cor. 5:11 ¶ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

2 Tim. 4:1 ¶ I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

-from the Lord Jesus Christ:
Matt. 7:21-29 ¶ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ ¶ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” ¶ When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Jeremiah Burroughs from Gospel Fear

"If this is such a disposition that God so looks at, it should teach the ministers of God who have to deal with God's Word that when they speak it, they must speak it in such a manner that it may gain fear and trembling, that the hearts of people may be struck with fear and trembling. They must not come to dally and to play with men's fancies, nor with their own wit; but when they come to speak the Word of God, in God's name, they should labor to speak it so that the hearts of their listeners may be struck with fear and trembling. For, indeed, there is such a way of speaking the Word of God that will bring it with majesty to the hearts of the people to whom we speak.

In 1 Corinthians 2:4, the apostle says there, concerning the ministry of the Word, 'My speak and preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' See here two sorts of preaching. There is preaching that is with enticing words of man's wisdom, upon which a preacher may be commended as being a brave man, a witty man, a curious man, or any of a hundred other such epithets. 'But', says Paul, 'we preach in the demonstration of the Spirit.' And look what follows: 'and of power.' So that the power of the Word follows upon the demonstration of the Spirit. When people apprehend a minister preaching only with his wits and his gifts, the heart of a man will condemn it. It may commend the man, but condemn the Word, for it has no power over the conscience; but when a minister of God comes in God's name, and preaches in the demonstration of the Spirit, then he preaches with power, such power as prevails with the consciences of men: the demonstration of the Spirit and of power. It is said of Christ in Matthew 7 that He did not preach as the Scribes and Pharisees, but as one who had authority, as one who spoke to the consciences of men. So the ministers of Christ ought to speak in the name of Christ as being backed with the authority of Christ, as men who have to deal with men's consciences and not with men's fancies. And certainly it is the best commendation of a sermon that the hearts of the people are struck with it.

Those who write of Basil and Chrysostom, those two famous preachers in their time, tell us that these men did not account their honors to be in the hums of people, in their applause, but in their crying out, 'What shall I do to be saved?' Here's the commendation of a minister. And ministers should labor that their ministry be such a ministry because the Lord has such a high esteem of a heart that trembles at His Word. There is matter enough in the Word of God to make any heart to tremble if it is delivered as the Word of God. What's the chaff to the wheat? 1 Peter 4:11: 'If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.' If any man undertakes to speak God's Word, it must be as the Word of God, the oracles of God."

This is what I pray for as I minister around the world, that the Lord would raise up men of God who will have a reverence for Him in all things concerning life and doctrine.

TO THIS ONE WILL I LOOK...God's men in ministry should be different than the world around them

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All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.

But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

-ISAIAH 66:2

The profane should never mark the pulpits of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Men of God used to tremble at God's Word, preach in the fear of the Lord as they sought to rightly divide His Word, and guarded their words carefully when calling others to be obedient to its truth. They treated sin as the Bible treats it; in that it took the Lord of glory to shed His precious blood on Calvary to propitiate the Father on behalf of the sins of the elect. They didn't consider it a laughable or trivial thing when speaking from the holy text and declaring "thus saith the Lord." They weren't promoters, they were prophets; they weren't showmen, they were shepherds; they weren't entertainers, they were expositors; they weren't popinjays, they were prayer warriors; they weren't stars, they were servants; and they weren't primarily men of the times, they were passionate men of the truth.

Now today the pulpiteers are different. They strut, mock, deride, promote the profane, use scatological speech. smutty humor, tell little stories, want to appeal to culture, and think of attending a live concert by Chris Rock as their best homiletics class they have ever been too.

No wonder the church in America is 3,000 miles wide and a half inch deep; and why it lacks power and stands to reason why 3,500 churches are closing their doors every year. 

"Like people... like priest."

Men of God... do you hear the heavenly charge of your office ringing in your ears this very hour? That charge is not to be relevant; it is not to relate to the culture; it is not to be ribald in your speech; it is not to enlarge your own reputation; it is not to wrest the Scriptures to satisfy the itching ears of restless rebels of the gospel. 

Hear the word of the Lord:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. -2 Timothy 4:1-5

Oh for men of God whom are serious, solemn and sober-minded to do be that kind of pastor once again. 

Yokefellows of the gospel: may I humbly encourage you to preach each week from the sacred desk for an Audience of One; and then trust the Lord that HE will add to His church daily such as to be saved. Amen?

It is as John Gill has rightly said when expositing 2 Cor. 4:2, 5:

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty...
Or "shame"; this is a further account of the conduct of the first ministers of the Gospel, and very worthy of our imitation, and in which the apostle strikes at the different manner of behavior in the false apostles: this may respect both doctrine and practice; they abhorred and rejected everything that was scandalous and reproachful to the Gospel of Christ; in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, they had their conversation in the world; they were open and above board, both in principle and practice; the same men in public, as in private; they used no art to cover their doctrines, or hide their conversations; everything of this kind was detestable to them; whereas the false teachers took a great deal of pains to colour over both their sentiments and their lives; and "a shame it was to speak of the things that were done of them in secret," Ephesians 5:12.

Moreover, they were not walking in craftiness;
they used no sly and artful methods to please men, to gain applause from them, or make merchandise of them; they did not lie in wait to deceive, watching an opportunity to work upon credulous and incautious minds; they did not, by good words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple; nor put on different forms, or make different appearances, in order to suit themselves to the different tempers and tastes of men, as did the false apostles:


not handling the word of God deceitfully.
They did not corrupt it with human doctrines, or mix and blend it with philosophy, and vain deceit; they did not wrest the Scriptures to serve any carnal or worldly purpose or conceal any part of truth, or keep back any thing which might be profitable to the churches:



but by the manifestation of the truth, commending themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God;
that is, they with all plainness and evidence clearly preached the truth as it is in Jesus, presenting it to, and pressing it upon the consciences of men; where they left it, and to which they could appeal; and all this they did, in the sight and presence of the omniscient God, to whom they knew they must give an account of themselves and their ministry.

For we preach not ourselves...
These words contain a reason why the apostles behaved themselves in the manner described, 2 Corinthians 4:2 and serve to explain in what sense this inspired writer is to be understood, when he calls the Gospel our Gospel, 2 Corinthians 4:3 and most clearly proves the Gospel to be a glorious one, which he had asserted, 2 Corinthians 4:4 since Christ, and not themselves, is the subject of it, "for we preach not ourselves." They did not preach any doctrine of their own devising; they did not set up themselves as lords over the faith and consciences of men; nor was their view in preaching to set forth their learning, parts, and eloquence, or to amass wealth and riches to themselves; nor did they assert the purity of human nature, or the power of man to do anything of himself that is spiritually good; or that justification and salvation are by works of righteousness done by men.

To do any, or each, or all of these, as did the false apostles, is to preach a man's self: but so did not these faithful dispensers of the word, but they preached Christ Jesus the Lord; that is, the doctrines respecting the person, office, and grace of Christ; as that he is truly and properly God, the eternal and only begotten Son of God, God and man in one person, the only Mediator between God and man, and the Saviour and Redeemer of lost sinners; that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the true Messiah; and that this Christ is Jesus, a Saviour, the only able and willing one; and that this Jesus Christ is "Lord" of all, especially of the saints; not only as Creator, but as their head, husband, and Redeemer; that peace and reconciliation, pardon and righteousness, life and salvation, are only by him: and they also declared themselves the servants of the churches, and ourselves your servants. The apostle does not say they were the servants of Christ, though they were, and esteemed it their greatest honour to be so; for he had no need to observe this, since this is included in their preaching him as "Lord": nor does he say they were the servants of men, or menpleasers, for then they would not be the servants of Christ; but he asserts them to be the servants of the churches: and which must be understood, not with respect to things temporal, with which they had no concern; but with regard to things spiritual, particularly to the ministration of the word, and administration of ordinances: and this they professed to be, or Jesus' sake; either for the sake of preaching Christ unto them; or because they were chosen and called by him to this service, and in which they were willing to continue, for the sake of his honour and interest.

May we pray for a new generation of godly men who will take seriously the Word, the pulpit, His church, and the ministry once again.

NOW THIS IS A PASTORAL PRAYER BEFORE POLITICIANS THAT PLEASED GOD AND FEARED NO MAN

This event actually happened in the Kansas House (not Senate) in Topeka on January 23, 1996. Joe Wright is the pastor of Central Christian Church in Wichita and was guest chaplain that day. He prayed a prayer of repentance that was written by Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. According to an article in the Kansas City Star from January 24, 1996, his prayer did stir controversy and one member of the legislative body walked out. Others criticized the prayer. The controversy didn't end there. Later that year in the Colorado House, Republican representative Mark Paschall angered lawmakers by using Joe Wright's prayer as the invocation. Some members there also walked out in protest.

Paul Harvey did air the story and the prayer. He got such a large response that a phone number was set up to handle the calls. He's aired it a couple more times since.

A real example of the story as it has been circulated:

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today to ask Your Forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ''Woe to those who call evil good,'' but that's what we've done. 

We've lost our Spiritual equilibrium. We've inverted our values. 

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word in the name of moral pluralism. We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism. 

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle. 

We have exploited the poor and called it a lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. In the name of choice, we have killed our unborn. In the name of right to life, we have killed abortionists. 

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it taxes. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. 

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today. Try us. Show us any wickedness within us. Cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of the State of Kansas, and that they have been ordained by You to govern this great state. 

Grant them your wisdom to rule. May their decisions direct us to the center of Your Will. And as we continue our prayer and as we come in out of the fog, give us clear minds to accomplish our goals as we begin this Legislature. For we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

The response was immediate. 

A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on "The Rest of the Story" on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.

THE HOLINESS OF GOD...preach the Word with fear and trembling and do not treat it as a humorous thing or of your own opinion

When a man of God enters the pulpit and stands behind the sacred desk to preach God's Word, he should do so with humility, brokenness, urgency, and under the charge of heaven to preach the Word, in season and out of season - and nothing but the Word. His aim is not to tickle ears, or appeal to the congregation, to raise the level of their yearly offerings, to increase attendance, or relate to the culture. His duty is God to proclaim His Word cut straight and to call people to live in obedience to its truths.

If a man does not Preach the Word rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15) and is only offering his opinions on any given passage, then he has not preached the Word. The people do not need to hear a man’s “take” on a given passage, but to actually hear and know the Word itself - to understand the sense of it; what it actually means; and what it says (Neh. 8:8). If a pastor has wrongly divided God’s Word according to only his own proclivities, moorings, and opinions and not according to the consistent truth of Scripture, and has declared his message to be, “thus saith the Lord” - then that man, regardless of the response of the hearers, is under God’s judgment (James 3:1; 2 Peter 3:16).

How awesome the task for any of us who proclaim the gospel and preach God’s Word to rightly divide it as workmen unashamed, approved unto God; not offering our opinions; but declaring it as it is in fact, the very Word of God (1 Thess. 2:13).

When Isaiah saw a right view of the holiness of God in Isaiah 6, he also saw a right view of his own sin and sinfulness. His first response was not to be funny, cute, witty, jovial, culturally relevant, hip, trendy, etc. The Scriptures tell us that he “came undone”; he pronounced eternal damnation on his sin sick soul when he said in agony “woe is me…” He was brought low and trembled with reverence and godly fear before the one true Lord God of all to whom he would (and you and I as well) would give an account. Is it any wonder, when he was given forgiveness for his sins and was restored to ministry, that this same prophet declared these words: “to this one will I look; who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My Word.” (Is. 66:2).

We don’t see much trembling in the pulpit these days do we beloved? We see men of God strutting; wanting to mimic Chris Rock, be culturally relevant, humorous, on the cutting edge, etc. - but void of true heaven sent power in their preaching. They are drawing crowds, these self made prophets, but heaven is as brass to their easy, smooth words (Isaiah 30:10-12).

“Oh Lord, bring revival to the pulpits of our churches once again. Let these men, called by You, charged by heaven to preach the Word in season and out of season. And may they preach not themselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord! Amen.”

Preach the Word

Neh. 8:8 They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.

2Tim. 4:1 ¶ I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2Tim. 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

Is. 6:1 ¶ In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
Is. 6:2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Is. 6:3 And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.”
Is. 6:4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
Is. 6:5 Then I said,
“Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Is. 66:2 “For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

2Cor. 5:11 ¶ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

2Cor. 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
2Cor. 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
2Cor. 4:7 ¶ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

Wisdom and Insight on What the Content of Christian Blogging Should Aspire...by puritan divine: John Flavel

"Oh sirs, deal with sin as sin, and speak of heaven and hell as they are, and not as if you were in jest."  -JOHN FLAVEL

"Oh, that I might live to see that day when professors shall not walk in vain show; when they shall please themselves no more with a name to live, being spiritually dead; when they shall no more (as many of them now are) be a company of frothy, vain, and unserious persons, but the majestic beams of holiness shining from their heavenly and serious conversation shall awe the world, and command reverence from all who are about them; when they shall warm the hearts of those who come nigh them, so that men shall say, 'God is truly in these men!'"  -JOHN FLAVEL

"Oh, study your hearts, watch your hearts, keep your hearts! Away with empty names and vain shows; away with unprofitable discourse and bold censures of others. Turn in upon yourselves, get into your closets, and now resolve to dwell there. You have been strangers to this work too long; you have kept other vineyards too long; you have trifled about the borders of religion too long. Will you now resolve to look better to your hearts? Will you hate and come out of the crowds of business and clamors of the world and retire yourselves more than you have done? Oh, that this day you would resolve upon it!"  -JOHN FLAVEL