October 23, 2013 The Whole Counsel of God For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. —Acts 20:27 When I speak I try to keep it interesting. I try to keep it real. I try to keep it understandable. But I am not there to entertain an audience or to make people feel good. My job, if you will, is to exposit the Word of God. Because it really doesnt matter what Greg Laurie thinks about anything. My opinion isnt any better than anyone elses opinion. For me as a pastor, I have a responsibility to declare the whole counsel of God and feed the flock of God. That is the advantage of expository preaching and teaching. By expository, I mean taking the text and letting it unfold. We dont impose our views on the text; we let the text impose its views on us. It is not for us to add things to the text. Sometimes pastors use a text as a point of departure for their messages. A verse will be read, and then whoever is speaking will just tell stories. They might be good stories. They might be good jokes. They might be very entertaining. And as you leave, you might say, That was so good. I loved that. It was really good. You have no idea what he said, but you know it was fun. The apostle Paul told the Ephesian elders, For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). I think that is the most important thing. We need to get our minds oriented toward what the Bible says. Too often we build our opinions on our feelings. But it doesnt matter what we feel. What does the Bible say? Do what the Bible says, because feelings can mislead you. Dont base decisions in life on mere feelings. Base them on the Word of God. —Greg Laurie 26 © 2013 Harvest Ministries Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 15:09:34 +0000
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