Episode #2 - Watered Down

Have you ever had all the ice melt in your drink, leaving it watered down and lacking substance? It's the worst - the only thing it's good for is to be thrown away. Well...it's time to throw out watered down preaching. We need good Bible teaching with substance, not shying away from speaking the truth, but with confidence we need to declare the entirety of the will of God. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

Welcome to the Set Your Mind Above podcast, where everyday, ordinary events teach us extraordinary eternal truths! I am your host BJ Sipe, and I’m so glad you’ve tuned in today! I am excited to share my life & my faith with you, and I sure hope you’ll do the same with me. 

(Ad lib any additional intro thoughts) I’ve got my notes, coffee, ready to go. 

For those that know me well, or maybe even know me a little bit, you probably know that I am a huge coffee drinker. My dad hooked me onto the sweet nectar of life when I was about age 13 and I never looked back, it’s been a daily part of my life ever since. In fact, coffee shops have become my favorite place to sit, study, and do my work as I am preparing for classes and lessons throughout the week. It gives me an opportunity to meet others, share my faith, and have open Bible studies with the people in our community. I would encourage all preachers and teachers to get out of their offices and get into their communities. Here in Danville my favorite coffee shop is called the Hub on Main Street. And no, this podcast is in no way sponsored by the Hub, but I will shamelessly promote them because they make great coffee with great service. Well, per usual, I found myself at the coffee shop again yesterday ready to get to work. My usual spot was taken so I nestled into a small table next to the adjacent bookstore and went up to order my drink: an iced coffee, two pumps of cane sugar, 1 pump of vanilla & cream. However this time I forgot to ask for lite ice, so it was filled all the way to the brim. I sat down, took a few sips, and got to work. Around that time, I got a phone call that took up about 40 minutes of my time and I had not had an opportunity to take another drink. By the time I did, all the ice had melted in my drink and affected the taste terribly because it was all watered down. There was more water than coffee in my cup, so I ended up dumping it out and going to get a refill (with lite ice this time). If you talk to baristas of major coffee chains, many of them will tell you that they are often encouraged to add more ice to the drinks they make. The reason for this is that you then put less milk, cream, or other ingredients into the drinks – so over time it adds up and saves money for the company. The customer pays the same for less. Isn’t that a dirty little trick? You add all this ice but really there is no substance to it, and soon it is just watered down and only good to be thrown away. 

While I certainly don’t enjoy watered down coffee, the thing that I am most concerned with in my life is watered down preaching & teaching. Consider for a moment Paul’s instruction concerning this matter to the young evangelist Timothy in his second letter to him and the fourth chapter, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” There is great responsibility in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yet sadly it can be done poorly by many teachers. The desire to be accepted & respected leads many teachers to preach messages that are never controversial in nature. They don’t want to scare away their audience, so hard truths surrounding things like marriage, parenting, church discipline, or matters of truth that stand contrary to what our culture believes are avoided altogether or hardly touched. As a result, they preach only what others want to hear, watered down messages that lack much of any substance of truth that will keep people comfortable. To do this is to fail to answer the charge given to us as teachers and preachers of the gospel. We are to preach the Word in its entirety, which means that while sometimes we must encourage with our teaching, other times we must warn or rebuke with our teaching. While we speak the truth in love, we still must speak the truth even if it is controversial or offensive to those who hear. To not speak the truth in fear of what others might think is in fact not loving at all. How many times did Jesus in his ministry have the multitudes leave him because they did not like what he was teaching? Yet Jesus never wavered, he continued on speaking all things from his Father, even when they were hard teachings to receive. 

This leaves us with several applications. First, to those who preach and teach: fulfill your ministry. This is not about you, it’s about the kingdom. Teach the whole truth of God, boldly declaring with love even the things that others might shy away from, even if you must suffer for it. No more watered-down preaching, it’s time to add some substance. Second, to those who seek out teachers to help them understand God’s word: do not seek out someone who says what you want to hear, or never challenges you in their preaching. Place yourself at the feet of those who will love you enough to share with you all of God’s Word, challenging you to grow in your faith & repent when you’re not in step with the Spirit. No more listening to watered-down preaching, it’s time to take in some substance. 

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. Tune in, Tuesday-Friday’s, as a new podcast episode will be uploaded each day. Also, be sure to follow the Facebook page for the Set Your Mind Above podcast for future announcements and weekly video sessions that are uploaded on Saturdays. As you have the opportunity, share these thoughts with your friends and family, and share with me what important lessons you are learning from everyday, ordinary events. Until next time know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each and every day set our minds above.