4.1.25
Hey, Calvary Fremont –
The engine has been finely tuned by master mechanics. It roars like a lion and purrs like a kitten. Its chrome and brass parts have been spit shined and are dazzling to the eye. When you sit in the driver’s seat and press down on the accelerator, you can feel the power of the engine in your bones. You can’t wait to take this honey around the block. You lick your lips and adjust your seat belt and position your hands for the last time. You put it in drive with a rush of anticipation – but the car does nothing but kerplunk and limp down the road at 15 mph. Yikes! What’s gone wrong? There’s no air in the tires – they’re completely flat. If you have a perfectly tuned engine and completely flat tires, you’re not going anywhere. You’re going to get a lot further with a 30-year-old Volkswagen with torn upholstery and no sound system than the finest car with flat tires.
This is exactly the problem with the church today. We have perfect theology in our heads, but our souls are not filled with the Holy Spirit. We have perfect theology and flat souls. If you have prefect theology and a flat soul – you’re not going anywhere! Without the obedience of faith that comes through being filled with the Spirit, your Christianity is merely academic.
As a pastor, I’ve realized that much of my preaching is an attempt to fine-tune the already fine-tuned engines of my hearers. My preaching needs to pivot from fine-tuning the engine to inflating the flat tires of my hearers. You can’t drive down the road with a finely tuned engine and flat tires. You can’t live the Christian life with a perfect theology and a flat soul. It is impossible to do so. I need to inject my preaching with more rebuke, exhortation, correction, application, and narrative. May the Lord use my preaching to inflate the souls of my hearers with the Holy Spirit.
I’ve heard non-Christians say, “I don’t care if Christianity is true; I want to know if it works.” I used to think that this was a pretty ignorant thing to say – but I get it now. It’s like saying, “I don’t care if your car engine is finely tuned; I want to know if it can travel down the road.” People don’t care about your finely tuned theology – they want to see the power and life of Christ in you. If people can’t see the power and life and love of Christ in you – your theology may impress you, but it’s not going to impress them. People don’t care if your theology is true – they want to know if your theology works in everyday life. The real test isn’t how your theology roars like a lion and purrs like a kitten. The real test is where the rubber meets the road. May you have a finely tuned theology and a Spirit filled soul that is walking in obedience to Christ. That’s the whole package.
Stay healthy and be blessed and follow Jesus – Pastor Tim
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