The Uncertain Sound

By James Ryle Ó2006
http://www.truthworks.org 

he apostle Paul wrote, If the trumpet make an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself for battle?(1 Co.14:8). By uncertain Paul means hidden, or indistinct. It seems that in many segments of both the European and  the American church world this is precisely what is happening. The four walls have become so sound-proofed that virtually nothing of what is said or done in the course of a typical Sunday morning worship service ever makes it out of the building. Thus, it is hidden. And, whatever wafting tones somehow do manage to drift beyond the vestibule at best they are indistinct. In other words, our trumpet is making an uncertain sound. And despite all the hullabaloo we can muster to entertain and edify the already saved, we are failing in effectively achieving our primary mission seeking and saving that which is lost.

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hill and everywhere. Remember that tune? Or, how about the old hymn that says, Make the message clear and plain Christ receiveth sinful man! And, oh yeah, didnt some guy back there somewhere (I think he was somebody important), once say Go into all the world and tell the good news to everyone, every where. Or something like that.

The evidence of our widespread ineffectiveness is displayed in the unchecked freefall of our untouched culture. Something just doesnt add up here. We are supposed to be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life (Philippians 2:15,16). Eugene Peterson puts it, Carry the light-giving message into the night. How clear is that?

Friends, we have gotten off track. Weve changed the mandate from going into all the world to separating ourselves from the world. Weve construed preach the Gospel to every creature as meaning, build a church on every corner. And, is it possible that we have ceased preaching Christ, and have settled instead for preaching Christianity. No less than five hundred thousand sermons were preached in America alone this past Sunday but no one seems to be listening. At least not in such a way that their lives are being evidently revolutionized by the Son of God. Could it be that there is nothing for them to hear because we are making an uncertain sound? One that is hidden and indistinct?

These are not easy questions to ask, and perhaps even more difficult to answer. But, we must. For fundamentally our mission is one of communication. And if the message -- that Jesus is the Savior of the World -- is having no perceptible effect upon those even in closest proximity to our houses of worship, let alone in the uttermost parts of the world,  then perhaps we are conveying another message altogether; a message that is completely meaningless to them. 

Some years ago I was invited to Canada to preach at a church in Edmonton, Alberta. I flew into Calgary, and made the connecting flight on up to Edmonton. On board I picked up a copy of the Globe & Mail, one of Canadas national newspapers. I browsed through it out of curiosity, looking for something that might be useful in helping me connect with the people I soon would be speaking to. A curious photo caught my eye, along with a strange headline.

The photo was of a large, odd-shaped thing mounted atop a building. It looked like someone had taken the Liberty Bell, turned it on its side, and fixed it to a post. As it turned out, what I was looking at was an air-raid siren. The headline said, Canadas warning system far from alert.

The article went into some detail explaining why the system was defunct; concluding that even if they could get the sirens up and running, the sound would not penetrate most of todays apartment buildings. The point was that there was no point in sounding the alarm, because no one could hear it anyway. Hmmm.

I arrived at the Edmonton airport and was met by my host, who drove me straight to the church for the evening service. You can imagine my amazement as we pulled into the church parking lot, and there on the corner of the church property was one of these sirens, towering up in the sky atop a huge pole. Hey, thats one of your air-raid sirens, I said. Oh, is that what that is? my host answered; Weve always wondered what that was.

Once inside the church I couldnt get it out of my mind. I felt there was some connection the Lord wanted me to make. So, during worship, I read the article again and noticed four things that were suddenly too obvious to dismiss.

First, the sirens were not working because the power lines had been cut by mice gnawing on the wires. Second, bees used the inside of the large sirens to build their hives, and the works were gummed up with honey. Third, squirrels found the bell-shaped horns to be a dry place suitable for storing their nuts. (Im not making this up.) And, fourth, hunters used the large sirens for target practice damaging them with repeated rifle shots.

I am writing this now because it certainly looks like the same could be said of so many churches in our country today. In some churches the continual gnawing of critters who have nested in the darkness have cut us off from our power source. And in other churches, people have been busy, busy, busy as bees buzzing about doing this and that, and storing all the honey in the sanctuary for themselves. And woe be unto any unsuspecting soul who happens to try and get some of the sweetness for himself. He is sure to be stung repeatedly.

And then there are those spattering of churches that are full of squirrelly folk who have turned the whole thing into a nut house. (Enough said about that.) And, as always, hunters continue to drive by and take shots at the church; emboldened in their brazen behavior by a pastors sordid affair with his secretary, or a treasurer stealing money from the offering, or a priest molesting a child, or a nasty church split. And on and on it goes.

I love the Church. Looking backward I love its history; looking forward I love its future. Looking inward I love its people; looking outward I love its mission. Looking all about I love its diversity. And, most of all, looking upward I love its Lord and Savior Jesus, the Light of the World.

I have served two congregations as pastor over the course of twenty-five years, and have spent the past seven years traveling far and wide in service to the Church at large. So my musings here are not the rantings of some embittered soul, but the genuine concern of a true friend. I know there are many great churches doing a very good work, but they are comparatively few in number. The overwhelming majority are woefully disgraceful; theres no other way to describe them. And ultimately their unbridled misbehavior is an indictment against us all. What I am saying is, we can do better than this. And, furthermore, we must.

Weve a story to tell to the nations, wrote Ernest Nichol in 1896, a story that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy; a story of peace and light. Weve a song to sing to the nations that shall lift their hearts to the Lord; a song that shall conquer evil, and shatter the spear and sword. Weve a message to give to the nations, that the Lord who reigns up above has sent us His Son to save us, and show us that God is love. Weve a Savior to show to the nations, Who the path of sorrow has trod; that all of the worlds great peoples might come to the truth of God. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright; and Christs great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light!

Still no king in Israel, and now its not even safe to stay outside after dark. In Judges chapter 19, we come across one of the most horrific stories in all of scripture. It has all the ingredients of a Hollywood movie; partying, adultery, fighting, rape, and dismemberment.

We are told once again that Israel had no king and we are introduced to another Levite. He was traveling and brought back with him a woman from Bethlehem Judah to be his concubine. But she was unfaithful and returned to her home. After four months, the Levite went to her home to bring her back. The woman’s father was very excited to see him and convinces him to stay for about five days. On their way home it is very important for Levite to find an Israelite town to stay in for the night. So they come to the town of Gibeah and rest in the square, but there was no one to take them in. An elderly man comes home from working in the fields and sees the strangers staying in the square. He invites them to stay with him and warns him that whatever they do, do not stay in the square. He took them home, washed their feet and fed their donkeys. Later as they were enjoying themselves, the men of the town came and surrounded the house. Beating at the door commanding the old man to give up the man who staying with him so that they could have sex with him. The old man stepped outside and begged them not to do such an evil thing. He offers them his virgin daughter and the Levites concubine instead. In those days women where very low on the totem pole. They would not listen to him. The Levite finally pushes his concubine out the door. The Bible tells us that the men took turns raping her all night long. At dawn they let her go and she crawled back to the house where her husband was staying. When her husband opened the door he found her there, lying face down, dead. He put her on his donkey and headed home. As if the story isn’t bad enough, the man returns home chops her into 12 pieces and sent a piece to each of the tribes of Israel.

If you are familiar with the Old Testament, this story will sound very familiar. We find a very similar story in Genesis 19:5. Although very similar, there is one main difference. The story in Genesis takes place in Sodom and Gomorrah, which was completely destroyed due to the sin of the people there. Here the exact same story only this time, it takes place in Israelite City. There was no king in Israel; this doesn't only mean that Israel had no one political monarch, but that they refused to recognize God's leadership over them and now Israel is as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah.

What about us, what about now? What exactly is the application for us today? “Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But those who endure to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-12 NLT)

“Pick up a newspaper or turn on the televisions, and you’ll be forced to conclude that this world is waxing worse and worse. A recent study revealed that violent crimes in homes is up twelve percent. Our homes are no longer havens for harmony and happiness but haunts of hostility and hatred. But what’s happening in our homes is an example of what’s happening on a larger scale in people’s hearts. As a society, we’re becoming more and more insensitive to sin, and this is reflected in the laws of our land. There are a lot of things that our courts consider legal that God considers sinful. Pornography is legal, but it destroys families. Gratuitous violence on the big screen is legal, but it’s hurting people in real life. Obscene lyrics in today’s hottest hits are legal, but they’ve trained society to be crueler, not compassionate. Without question, the world we’re living in is getting worse. At this point, you’re probably saying, ‘Thanks a lot, pastor! My life was tough enough before you painted such a bleak picture.’ I’ll agree that the outlook for this world is bleak, but take courage, Christian, because this sets the stage for the great and glorious truth that Jesus is coming back. Again, Jesus is coming back! God’s Word couldn’t be any clearer on this precious point. In fact, the New Testament draws attention to this single event over three hundred times! What we’re seeing today won’t last forever. Soon and very soon, the King of Righteousness will return, and under His rule, sin won’t be tolerated and grace and goodness will be enforced. As the world gets worse and worse, our longing for Christ’s return grows greater and greater, and as this longing grows greater and greater, the promise of His soon return grows more and more glorious.”(1)

“He who is faithful witness to all these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20 NLT)

With No king in the land both politically and personally, things will continue to get worse. What about you? Are you living with a king in your Heart? Are you inside where you are safe, or are you wondering around outside in the dark? Are you ready for the return of the King? Would love to talk with you more if you have questions. Please feel free to email me.

Next time we will watch as Israel goes to war with itself in defense of the Levites concubine.

reaching the world, one skater at a time,

Shelby

(1) Portions of this lesson were taken from, Living in... The Active Word daily devotional, Sept. 2005 Volume 2. Pastor Bob Coy. Page 5. check out www.activeword.org to view online or email, info@activeword.org to get your copy

Settling for less

Now in those days Israel had no king. And the tribe of Dan was trying to find a place to settle, for they had not yet driven out the people who lived in the land assigned to them.

Judges 18:1

Here we are introduced to the tribe of Dan. The people of Dan had been assigned a territory, just like all the tribes of Israel, but for whatever reason had not yet driven out the people that lived there. Israel was Gods chosen people, and as such He had given each of the tribes a land to dwell in. The only problem was that there were enemies in the land that the children of Israel were command to drive out. Dan had not yet driven out the enemies that inhabited their land. Maybe they were scared. Maybe their enemies were too great to overcome. Maybe they were just lazy. Maybe they were looking for the easy way out. Whatever the reason, here we find the tribe of Dan looking for somewhere else to go. Looking for a place to settle

Great story, but how does this apply to me today? Much like the tribe of Dan, you and I have an inheritance that God has given to us, but sadly enough how often do we not enter into all that God has given us because the enemies or struggles are too great, or maybe we are just too lazy to accept the discipline that comes with being a child of God, or maybe we are just too afraid to do what we feel God is calling us too. So we do we do? We settle. Because settling is easy. The tribe of Dan was looking for a place to settle because it was easier than dealing with the enemies in their backyard.

What about you. What is God calling you to do? Maybe its something simple, asking your friend to join you at a local bible study. Maybe its more complex, standing up for someone who is being ridiculed for his faith. Maybe it means witnessing to your parents. Maybe its being the only one in the office to stand up for what you believe. Whatever the case may be, each of us, as children of God have a land that he has given us to dwell in, but we have to be willing to go in and drive out the enemies. The choice is yours; settling is always easier, but with God all things are possible. Dont settle - share your struggle with a friend or pastor so that they can be supporting you with prayer. Lets go out and take back the land that God has given to us.

reaching the world, one skater at a time,

Shelby

"In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes."  NLT 17:6

In this chapter we read a story of two people, both doing what was right in their own eyes, because there was no king in their heart.

Micah was a would be thief who stole 1100 shekels from his own mother.  Micah decides to set up his eleborate worship.  First he creates a shrine or a church of sorts, then he makes an "ephod" which is the robe that the priest wore.  In addition to the ephod, Michah also created Household idols, smaller gods that were worshiped in hopes of gaining prosperity and guidance.  Finally, Micah establishes his own priesthood among his sons.  More than anything else we notice that all of this originates with Micah, not with God; this is a completely man originated and man centered religion.  We learn that with no king in his heart, Micah sought to please himself, not God.

Our second character is a Levite from Bethlehem.  We don't learn his name, but as a Levite he had cities to live in and a place established by God for him to minister, but instead, this particular Levite wanted to do what was right in his own eyes, because there was no king in his heart.  He went around offering himself as a "priest for hire"  So Micah looking to ligitimize he priesthood even futher hires the Levite.  For ten shekels and a suit of clothes the Levite sells out his God for the false religion of Micah.  This is a perfect example of a hireling, someone who serves God for what it can give him.  You know those people, its a poser in modern terms. 

Two different people, two different examples of what people will do when there is no king in their heart.  What about you.  Is there a king in your heart, or are you doing what seems right in you own eyes.  Like Micah, maybe your trying to please yourself rather than God.  Or like the Levite, maybe your trying to be something your not.  Running from the true call that God has on your life.  Tired of living life with no king, doing what seems right in your eyes?  Open your eyes and your heart to the king of kings and experience a totally different life.

Reaching the world, one skater at a time
Shelby