paradoxum

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!"

I had an interesting conversation with my dad the other day. We were discussing why so many churches and pastors were focused on exhorting their people "to do" or "to be" and he said that he had been meditating on the Psalms and how much David talked about exalting the Lord. He then went on to say that he felt we spent so much time exhorting our people because we spend so little time exalting the Lord.

Think about it. The point of most sermons are to get people to do better or to be better Christians/people. I mean, it's either educate with facts or focus on "how to" tips...or both. Yet, I think, in so many cases, the preacher never lets Scripture do what it was designed to do: point us to God and the good news of Jesus Christ. We exhort but usually, fail to exalt.

Now, seriously, there is no preacher in America who will admit they do this, but after visiting more churches than I care to remember in the past year and a half, I can assure you, American evangelicalism knows how to exhort (educate or give good advice - Dr. Phil meets history instructor), but few know how to exalt.

Interestingly enough, the times when I visited churches who knew what it meant to be "God-focused" and "Gospel-driven" (from the songs to the preaching) were times when I came away with my affections for Christ stirred and I experienced the freedom to love and obey. On the other hand, when I walked out of a service thinking more about what I had to do than what he had done, I felt dead...and very tired...already.

If you want to exhort every week - well, then keep on exhorting every week, and I expect you will have a very tired congregation (most churches). If you want to see your people moved to love and freed to obey (from the heart), then spend your time EXALTING.

The deepest questions I face are these: will I be God focused or man centered? Will I be Gospel driven or law beaten?