Day 7/23 – Message and Messenger

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Message and Messenger
Day Two Hundred Four

“And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

Paul sought to make his life a reflection of the gospel; that is, make the messenger like the message. Just as the gospel appears weak and foolish to the world, so does the preacher. The foundation of your faith is not reason, but the wisdom of the cross. Paul, in his preaching, makes no reference to the inferiority of heathen gods or the folly of idolatry. Neither does he seek to give proofs for the existence of God. The power is not in the argument of the messenger, but in the message. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”274

Conversion comes solely through the gospel in all of its simplicity, not because of craftily formed arguments and logic. Proclaim the gospel from a posture of inadequacy and dependence. Don’t try to impress people through technique. You will not bring people to conversion by satisfying the needs of reason. They come because the Holy Spirit has transformed their hearts.

The gospel is eminently reasonable when you accept its presuppositions. But logic and reason cannot bring a person to acceptance. This marks the difference between the seeker and the skeptic. Reason may help the seeker, because God has already touched his heart, but it can do nothing for the skeptic. Human wisdom is not bad. It just cannot bring a person to God.

274 I Corinthians 2:2

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Psalm 33-34 Acts 24 (New King James Version)

Psalm 33-34
The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
33
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
2
Praise the Lord with the harp;
[a]Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
5
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6
By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
7
He gathers the waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.
8
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
11
The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
13
The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14
From the place of His dwelling He looks
On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15
He fashions their hearts individually;
He [c]considers all their works.
16
No king is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17
A horse is a [d]vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
19
To deliver their soul from death,
And to keep them alive in famine.
20
Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21
For our heart shall rejoice in Him,
Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22
Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us,
Just as we hope in You.
The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God
A Psalm of David when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34
I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
4
I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
6
This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7
The [e]angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no [f]want to those who fear Him.
10
The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12
Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
To [g]cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [h]have a contrite spirit.
19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20
He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
21
Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be [i]condemned.
22
The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 33:2 Lit. Sing to Him
• Psalm 33:7 LXX, Tg., Vg. in a vessel
• Psalm 33:15 understands
• Psalm 33:17 false
• Psalm 34:7 Or Angel
• Psalm 34:9 lack
• Psalm 34:16 destroy
• Psalm 34:18 are crushed in spirit
• Psalm 34:21 held guilty

Acts 24
Accused of Sedition
24 Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul.
2 And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and [a]prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, 3 we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. 4 Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your [b]courtesy, a few words from us. 5 For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, [c]and wanted to judge him according to our law. 7 But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, 8 commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him.” 9 And the Jews also [d]assented, maintaining that these things were so.
The Defense Before Felix
10 Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, 11 because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. 15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection [e]of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 16 This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
17 “Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, 18 in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. 19 They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. 20 Or else let those who are here themselves say [f]if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, 21 unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”
Felix Procrastinates
22 But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, “When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case.” 23 So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.
24 And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” 26 Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul, [g]that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him more often and conversed with him.
27 But after two years Porcius Festus succeeded Felix; and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound.
Footnotes:
• Acts 24:2 Or reforms are
• Acts 24:4 graciousness
• Acts 24:6 NU ends the sentence here and omits the rest of v. 6, all of v. 7, and the first clause of v. 8.
• Acts 24:9 NU, M joined the attack
• Acts 24:15 NU omits of the dead
• Acts 24:20 NU, M what wrongdoing they found
• Acts 24:26 NU omits that he might release him