Regeneration and Renewal

Articles

Lance Byers
12/28/24 - Topical Study

Time to start that New Year’s resolution! This year will be different!

A few weeks ago, a man who was not a preacher, or had gone through any formal training, began temporary work as a preacher in a local church. He had done some fill-in preaching before, but never anything regular until now. He has a business as well that is his “regular” job because this preaching engagement was not enough to really pay the bills. As a friend and a fellow preacher, he came to me with a frustration weighing on his heart: his ideas for sermons were running dry. He knew that I had been preaching for over a decade now and asked how I kept coming up with innovative ideas. This is not the time I had been asked this, and I am sure that many other preachers experience the same question. When I told him the answer, he nodded his head and said that the others he had asked said the exact same thing. (At least I am not the only one!)

Before I reveal my answer, it is important to remember what the preacher said in Ecclesiastes 1:9:

“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.”

This is a truth that cannot be avoided. If preachers came up with something truly new, then that would be an addition to the Word, and that would not go over well. Every lesson any churchgoer has ever heard that is truth has been said before and will be said again.

This might even sound lazy to say that we, as teachers, reuse lessons repeatedly. Paul did this in his letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians for example. Jesus did this with what is commonly called the “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:7-13 and again in a different instance in Luke 11:1-4. Does the value of the lesson diminish? No. Was it told in a slightly different way but brought the same message? Yes. My friend was reusing lessons he had attended in the past, and ones he had used at other congregations and was starting to feel guilty about it. The message is good, no matter what, and that is what we are all here for.

The truth and final say in the matter is that he needed more time in the scriptures. My father, whom I do not speak of much, did not attend church. His excuse was that he never got anything out of it. In the end, we only get out of it what we put into it. My friend needed to do one thing: study more.

There are so many Christians out there today who never investigate the bible. The depth to God’s Word is unfathomable! By reading and immersing yourself into the bible, and writings about the bible, and listening to more sermons, and thinking more about the bible, so much is revealed that could never be seen by a simple look. Jesus teaches us this when He explains the parables to the disciples in Matthew 13:10-17:

“Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.

‘But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.’”

He was saying that those who chose to understand the riches and depth of the parable would find the riches enclosed within while others would simply hear the words. Jesus told us to, “ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9) He also said that, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6)

Maybe you are not a preacher, and that’s fine. A Christian should never be satisfied with his knowledge of the truth. There is always more to learn, and always more to study. Take the time to truly study. Spend time with the Word and spend time with God in prayer. You will find the ideas flow which will enrich your life, your teachings, and your salvation.

Happy New Year!

Lance Byers

12/28/2024