 |
 Dale Meyer "From God; Not Us" Program #3322 First air date March 4, 1990 |
Biography
Dale Meyer serves as
speaker on "The Lutheran Hour," a radio ministry of the International
Lutheran Laymen's League. His messages are heard over 1,300 radio
stations world wide. Before taking on this job, Dr. Meyer was pastor of
Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois and taught at
Concordia Seminary, from which he graduated. [Biographical information
is correct as of the broadcast date noted above.]
"From God; Not Us" A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. I don't know if I've
used a thousand words yet or not, but my words have a purpose. And that
purpose is to alter the picture we started out with. We started out with
the picture of a common, empty clay pot. Well, the real picture of
today's message still has a clay pot but it has contents. The contents
are what excites our interest. I've talked about the weaknesses of
faithful ministers and Paul talked about his frailties. We do this, Paul
says, "for the purpose of revealing the knowledge of the glory of God in
the person of Christ." Or, as he said earlier, "for Jesus' sake." The
real picture is God, who reveals Himself to us in the Gospel of Christ.
That Gospel has extraordinary power.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I'm going to give you
both. The picture I want you to see is the picture of a clay pot, a
plain old clay pot. You know the kind. Flowers come in them. In spring
you go to a store or nursery and you buy the flowers that you're going
to plant in your yard. After you've planted the flowers, you have these
left-over clay pots. Many gardeners have potted plants decorating their
porches and sidewalks all through the growing season. These clay pots
are all over. You've probably got more clay pots around your house than
you'll ever use. Diane and I certainly do. We pile those extra clay pots
under the deck in the back of the house. Of course, some of them get
cracked and broken. We throw them away. Sometimes I'll even break one on
purpose. I use one of the broken fragments to cover the hole in another
pot. Hey, no big deal. They're cheap and inexpensive. After all, it's
just a clay pot. Got the picture?
Now listen to these words from St. Paul. The words come from 2
Corinthians 4:5-7.
We do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as the Lord, and ourselves
as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "let light shine
out of the darkness," has shone in our hearts for the purpose of
revealing the knowledge of the glory of God in the person of Christ. And
now we have this treasure in clay jars to show that its extraordinary
power comes from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:5-7; GWN)
The treasure of the Gospel, Paul says, is in clay jars. Paul and other
preachers of the Gospel are of little importance compared to the Gospel
which they preach. The Gospel is what's important!
Tell me, what could be more important than the Gospel, the Good News of
what God has done for us in Jesus Christ? The Gospel is not simply the
recognition that there is a God. No, the Gospel, the Good News is that
God not only exists but He is very much involved with the things going
on in this world — and in your life. "Oh, He is?" Yes, He is. The Gospel
tells us that God sent His Son to be one of us, true flesh and blood
just as you and I are true flesh and blood. God sent Christ to show how
involved He is in human life. But He sent Him holy, with no sin. That's
the way you and I ought to be, would like to be, but we aren't.
God sent a holy Christ into this world. His death and resurrection makes
you holy. They give you new life. That Gospel is a treasure, for it
brings into your heart the message that God is involved for good. Oh,
the world is a mess, but God is involved in this world and in your life.
He's your Lord. He saves you. He clears your conscience. He hears you.
He'll sustain you. He'll carry you. And, one day, because of Christ,
he'll take you to heaven. That's the Gospel. And, yes, that's what's
important.
Now Paul says we have that Gospel treasure in clay jars. I think of
those clay pots, almost a dime a dozen and there are dozens of them
under my back porch and maybe around your yard too. The good news of God
comes through people who are really insignificant. "Dust thou art and
unto dust thou shalt return." The dust of the earth makes clay pots and
it forms preachers, too.
Consider Paul, for example. He's the one who said, "We have this
treasure in clay jars." He was a very fallible human being. He had his
faults and they were outstanding. Before he knew Christ as the one who
brings the wonderful knowledge of God into the hearts of sinners, Paul
persecuted Christians. I mean persecuted. He literally went after
Christians. He rounded them up, and he hauled them in. Paul was also
somewhat sickly. He described his illness as a thorn in the flesh. We're
not sure what that illness was. It may have affected his facial
appearance, according to Galatians Chapter four.
Paul could be impetuous. There were times when he wanted to charge in,
but cooler heads would say, "No, better wait, Paul. This is not an
opportune time." And yet today we call him St. Paul. And deservedly so,
for he provides a model for Christ-centered life and preaching. But
people didn't call him St. Paul in his day. They knew very well that he
had his faults and frailties. He was, as he himself said, a clay jar.
We easily forget that when we fall to talking about modern ministers.
People have had a field day — actually field years — with many TV and
radio preachers. There seems to be a great pleasure in exposing their
sins and shortcomings. I'm not condoning the wrongs of the clergy. The
Old Testament prophets and some New Testament writings, like Timothy and
Titus, set very high standards for the clergy. I believe those standards
are not impossible and should be met. But how easily we forget that
ministers are human when we're talking about faithful ministers who are
committed to the cause of the Gospel.
Some families go home from church and have roast for Sunday dinner —
roast the pastor. "Well, I didn't like what he said." "The sermon was so
long." "Communion drags on and on." Or pizzazz. Everybody seems to be
looking for pizzazz in religion. My heart goes out to all those faithful
pastors who are serving faithfully and unspectacularly. They prepare and
preach their sermons. They have good Law and Gospel content but no great
pizzazz in delivery. They faithfully visit and care for their members.
They love their people, even though they may not have a million dollar
personality. Their church may be small and unimposing. No spectacular
choir. No extravaganza every Sunday. No religious pizzazz. Real clay
pots — who are preaching the Gospel!
The Gospel. People, that's where it's at. It's not the pizzazz of the
preacher and the parish program. It's the Gospel. The message that we're
sinners but God loves us. The message that we ought to die eternally but
God gives us life. The message that we can't earn God's favor but that
He gives it to us all as a free gift. The message that it's not the
things of this world that bring us closer to God but that it is
scripture alone which brings Christ and the knowledge of the glory of
God. The message that our natural abilities are corrupt and, yes, our
natural abilities are damnable because of sin, but God's grace forgives
and God's grace empowers us to live new holy lives. That's where it's
at.
We have this beautiful botanical garden in St. Louis, the Missouri
Botanical Garden. It's commonly called Shaw's Garden. They have
beautiful shows throughout the year that attract thousands of visitors.
What do the visitors say when they leave the garden? "Oh, I just went to
the orchid show. You've got to go see it for yourself. They've got
six-inch clay pots and then they've got some fantastic sixteen-inch
pots. It just took my breath away." Are you getting the picture? It's
not the pot. It's the flowers.
It's not the faults and foibles of a faithful pastor that should occupy
our thought and conversation. It's the Gospel he preaches. And I'm not
living in any fool's paradise about us ministers. We're not above proper
criticism. If the truth be known, most of us are probably more painfully
aware of our shortcomings than our critics are. Most of us know that
we're clay pots. Our hearts break when people — maybe you and maybe your
family — are more preoccupied with the messenger than with the message.
Listen again to what that former persecutor of the church, that sickly
man, that fellow whose resume wouldn't be accepted by some pastoral
search committees, listen again to what St. Paul says about himself.
We do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as the Lord, and ourselves
as servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of
the darkness," has shone in our hearts for the purpose of revealing the
knowledge of the glory of God in the person of Christ. Now we have this
treasure in clay jars to show that its extraordinary power comes from
God and not from us.
It Is not in the person of the faithful pastor, or in parishioners for
that matter. Our powers are ordinary. The extraordinary power is God's.
Consider it for a moment. God changes the relationships between people.
The ordinary thing is for people to disagree and then carry a grudge and
be hateful. That's ordinary. Happens all the time. The extraordinary
power of the Gospel reconciles people. It enables us to forgive one
another as God through Christ has forgiven us.
Or look at another example. The extraordinary power of the Gospel gives
a clear conscience and the ability to be sincere and honest in your
dealings with people. That's not our ordinary human way. The ordinary
way is to talk out of both sides of your mouth, to think you're being
"tactful," and then to know in your conscience that it really wasn't
tact but it was deceit. That's the ordinary way, but the extraordinary
power of God reminds us that He is Lord, we're not, and we don't have to
play games with one another. We can be sincere and honest.
Or look at another demonstration of God's power: Prayer. We have
problems and we attempt to solve them with human, ordinary solutions.
But in prayer we step out of this natural world and we ask for
supernatural help in our problems. It's an amazing thing and it
demonstrates the extraordinary power of God. And yet the greatest
picture of God's power is this: God raised Christ from the dead and He
will also raise believers in Christ from the dead to eternal life.
There's nothing ordinary about that. The ordinary thing is to assume
that dead is dead and we can't look too far down life's road with
confidence. That's ordinary. What's great about the Gospel is that the
power that raised Christ from the dead is also at work in us and we can
live with confidence and zeal.
Confidence and zeal. People, we've got a reason to live! Our purpose is
to share this extraordinary Gospel! Paul said that God "has shone in our
hearts for the purpose of revealing the knowledge of the glory of God in
the person of Christ." St Paul was a missionary. And so should we,
faithful pastors and faithful people, be missionaries. He had a cause in
his life. That cause was not to promote himself. Everything he did was
to bring Christ to the nations.
What I'm going to say now nay not apply to you. It may not apply to your
congregation. You're going to have to use the old rule here, "If the
shoe fits, wear it." It seems to me that many churches and many
Christians have no missionary zeal, no urgent cause that dominates their
life. How many of us would describe ourselves as "servants for Jesus'
sake," the way St. Paul did? You visit churches, you talk to Christians
and there's little evident zeal for the cause of bringing Christ to his
nation, let alone all the nations. Many Christians are more caught up in
mundane, clay pot issues, than in the content of the Gospel.
I've been in church meetings where, if you weren't there for the opening
and closing prayers, you'd never know that it was a Christian meeting.
Plenty of talk about budgets, income, expenses. Plenty of talk about
policies and procedures. Plenty of talk about new carpets and new roofs
and what all else. Plenty of talk about clay pot issues and little or no
talk about God and Christ and the extraordinary power that only they can
give! I remember a meeting where I was asked to say the opening prayer.
"Fine," I said, "I'm glad to pray. But, before I do, I have one request.
As you discuss items on your agenda, would you please make a conscious
effort to talk about God and Christ and His love, His will, and so on.
Please do that during this meeting." Well, I said the prayer, sat down
and we never heard a word about God until it came time for the closing
prayer.
Maybe that's why a lot of churches aren't growing. Clay pot issues,
ordinary human issues are dominating peoples' interest and little time
or talk is being given to the Gospel, except of course for an hour on
Sunday mornings. I know, you've got to deal with deficit and you've got
to pick a color paint for the fellowship room and all those ordinary
things. In the same way, you do need the clay pot to hold the flower.
But the real picture is the flower, not the clay pot, and the focus of
pastors and laypeople has to be the Gospel, the extraordinary power that
comes when God reveals the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus
Christ.
People are waiting to hear that Gospel. They're waiting to hear a
powerful Word of God. Pornography, lotteries, euthanasia, corruption,
drugs, abortion and on and on it goes. A lot of people caught up in
these things are looking for meaning. They're frantically trying
anything that will make them feel good about themselves and give purpose
to their life. You might say that some of these people are on a
religious quest. They're looking! And you know what? We've got it. We've
got what so many people are looking for. We've got that extraordinary
power of the Gospel that changes lives through the knowledge of the
glory of God in Jesus Christ. We have a cause, a cause that should
preoccupy our thoughts, our conversations, our meetings, our worship,
our everything. Our cause is to bring Christ to this nation and to all
the nations. Like St. Paul, we should think of ourselves as "servants
for Jesus' sake."
And that brings me to the end of today's message. We said a picture is
worth a thousand words. We started with the picture of a common,
breakable clay pot. I hope we are ending up with the picture of pastors
and laypeople who look beyond themselves and are excited about the
extraordinary power of God at work in our lives through the Gospel. That
extraordinary power of God at work in the Gospel is the only thing that
can change every one of us again and again and again and again. Amen.
PRAYER
We say a heartfelt "Thank You" to You, our
heavenly Father. You have revealed yourself to us through Jesus Christ.
What we hear in the message of Christ, His death and His resurrection
for us, gives us an extraordinary power for living. It's the kind of
power this world cannot give, but You do. We confess that we have our
faults, frailties and sins. Not only do we have them, but so many times
they distract us from occupying ourselves with the extraordinary power
of the Gospel. Instead we let ourselves get all wrapped up in ordinary
things. We so easily "major in the minors." We thank You, Heavenly
Father, for your forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We pray that Your Holy
Spirit will work on each of us through Word and Sacrament that we be
more zealous in the cause of your Gospel and in the proclamation of your
extraordinary power in our lives; through Christ our Lord, we pray.
Amen.
Interview with
Dale Meyer
Interviewed by David Hardin
David Hardin:
Dale, if you could convince people in your radio broadcasts of just one thing,
what would that be?
Dale Meyer: That God has spoken to us and
His message is a message of love and hope in Christ. That is a message we need
to apply to our daily living.
Hardin: In other words, take God more
seriously and trust that.
Meyer: I think most people believe in the
existence of God and surveys show almost 90 plus percent of Americans believe
that. I really don't see the demonstration that He is relevant to the daily
decisions and lives of so many people. He is out there some place.
Hardin: They can't quite connect personally
as they should. Speaking of polls, there is some evidence that there is an
increasing interest in religion. Are you aware of this? Do you sense this?
Meyer: All the time. It may not be an
organized religion but everyone is asking religious questions. Whatever kind of
person they are, whatever their life style, they are basically asking religious
questions. Is God involved? What is the meaning of life? Questions about
happiness, sorrow, etc.
I was in California a couple of months ago and I was told a directory of cults
is published that is almost as big as the Chicago phone book. People are dealing
with religious questions. Life is one religious quest and I thank God that He
has revealed something to us about being into the quest in Christ.
Hardin: There are some powerful forums like
Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, which is really quite a powerful church in
its own way.
Meyer: Yes.
Hardin: People are taking the divine
seriously, taking God seriously, taking Christ seriously.
Meyer: It is a very ripe time for our
message.
Hardin: The use of the media by Christianity
in this country is sort of a mixed bag. What is the most effective way of using
the media to get this love of God across?
Meyer: I think the church and Christians
need to be involved in the media — print, radio and television. I don't think we
have come to the realization that every media is different. Television is not
the same as radio and neither one of them is the same as a live appearance in
front of an audience. Television, especially commercial television, exists to
bring an audience to an advertiser. There comes an entertainment commercial
element in there that sometimes can distort religion. I very much enjoy this
program and it serves as a stimulant to thought. I do not think that religion is
best done on television. Rather, we stimulate people into a congregation, a
community of believers, and there they pursue it in flesh and blood ways.
Hardin: When you came up to be with us, you
also had a chance to do some preaching in churches around here. You obviously
have a lot of demands on your time. How do you maintain your spiritual life in
the middle of all the pressures of the world?
Meyer: When I am at home in Southern
Illinois, at six o'clock every morning I am up; I buy the paper; come home and
make the coffee and I will take about 45 minutes to an hour for my devotion.
Nobody else is up and that is treasured time. I believe God works through His
Word. He not only exists but He communicates to us and gives us strength and
power through that Word. That has been the way I charge my batteries up.
Sometimes when I am on the road, it is a little more difficult to get that time.
But, I really treasure it. It is done also to keep the stress levels lower than
they would be.
Hardin: One of our speakers earlier was Fred
Buechner, who talked about our sacred journey. He said that if you want to learn
how God is working in your life, look at your life, look at the events. What
have been some of the events in your spiritual journey that have been important
to who you are now and what you are doing?
Meyer: I have always wanted to be a pastor.
I was raised in a church home down in Chicago Heights. I went to a parochial
school and have always had my eyes set on the ministry. I don't know if there is
one event more than others that stands out. It has been a continual thing. As I
look back, the hand of God has been guiding me very silently. There are no
dramatic conversions. I am just a normal person.
Hardin: Who are the people who have had the
most influence on your spiritual development?
Meyer: My parents. They did a lot of shaping
of my character day in and day out. The pastors of our congregations had a lot
to do with it and our school teachers, too. There has been a community effort.
Hardin: Let me digress a little bit. In
recent elections, we have had a number of Christian religious figures running
for office. How do you feel about the involvement of the church in the political
arena? How do we operate there?
Meyer: You are really putting me on the
spot! There has to be some interaction. I don't think that the pulpit gives a
pastor the privilege to pass judgment on every thing that is happening. The
other side of the coin is that Christians shouldn't be ostriches. The things
that are going on in this country, for example, are things that need to be
addressed with God's Word. I think there are powerful times when a pastor can
bring the light of God's Words to what is going on. We are not simply a people
who are bound for heaven but we have our feet in this world, though we are not
of it. I think Christians are to be salt and light and I see nothing
inappropriate about their commenting on what is going in society.
Hardin: I think having the courage to commit
yourself to things is where Christ would want us to be. It's like Mary Nelson's
talk about her mother confronting the Trident submarine. (Mary Nelson gave a
Statement of Faith on this broadcast) That is a rather remarkable and gutsy
action. I am sure there are people who would argue with that. I think she was
saying clearly, "This is where I am and this is where I am because of Christ." I
guess the church can be a place where people find the courage to be who they
have to be. Would you go with that rather than the church taking absolute
positions?
Meyer: One of the most powerful images in my
mind is when I come to the end of my life, stand before my Creator and render an
account for my life. I'll do that with my arms thrown around Christ and His
death for me. When I do that, I want to be faithful to Him. It doesn't matter
what anybody thinks about me as long as I have been faithful. Sometimes that
faithfulness will take different expressions. This is not a popularity contest;
it is a faithfulness adventure.
Hardin: How do you balance family life with
the demands of a busy career?
Meyer: Not always so well. I have a
wonderful wife, two loving daughters and they are very patient with me. I thank
God that they forgive me when I fail and I ask for His help to be better.