Leaving The Noticeboard

Jerry Sternin is credited with saying; “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking, than think your way into a new way of acting. His words were published in 2010 AD.

The apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the church in Rome; Chapter 12 verse 2; “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” He wrote that in the winter of 57-58 AD.

I think this when you ask; “Okay. So where is the connection? How can you draw together two strands of thought separated by almost two millenia? “ There is a lot more commentary and discussion centered around Paul’s words that Jerry Sternin’s. But hey. When your words have been printed more than a billion times and read, heard and remembered by more than a billion people for about 1960 years…well… that’s to be expected.

But to keep it simple, as the Gospel should be, the immediate question that Paul’s statement raises is this; how do we renew our minds. I have read many pages and listened to many people explain possible processes that can perform that change. Read your bible. Spend time meditating on what you have read. Pray. Pray again. Pray some more. Go to church. Associate with like-minded believers. But precious little of what I have read and heard involves action. And that is right where I would like to introduce Jerry Sternin’s sentiment. And I am going to encapsulate that compound sentence into a single word. “Action”.

As a Christian, and like many Christians do, I have spent too much time standing around the noticeboard. I attend church, listen to the message and take notes furiously. I study the truths of the Bible. And, incidentally they are usually wrapped in Love and that, in its biblical context, is a verb. It, by definition, involves taking action. Yet I absorb all this “godly “ wisdom and what do I do with it? Not enough. Not enough action.

I have heard it argued again and again that the biggest problem (some stretch that to sin) facing the church today is this: Lack of Belief. And that is a whole sermon by itself. Yet it is true. We do not believe what God’s Word tells us we are. We are sons and daughters, image-bearers of God Himself, imbued with the same power and the same authority as Jesus Christ Himself. And how do we use that power and authority? Are we chasing out demons? Are we healing the sick and infirm? Are we raising the dead? Or are we sitting on our comfortable couches “reading” another noticeboard; Christian television shows?

I enjoy t-shirts with pithy comments. And if those comments are Christian, I enjoy them even more. One t-shirt I wont soon forget read; “If your Gospel isn't touching others, it hasn’t touched you.’” Now there is a call to action. But then, the whole Bible is a call to action. It is time for us Christians to put down our coffee cups, step away from our noticeboards and mightily into the mission field. It is what Jesus wanted then, wants now, and what will always be his desire for His disciples.

John 14 v 12 is one of His calls to action….

“Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.“

Why do so many Christians baulk at the idea that we might do greater works than Jesus? The idea isn’t arrogant. It is exactly what Jesus said. It is exactly what Jesus meant. We need to cease limiting Jesus. We need to cease limiting ourselves. We need to believe.Well. Actually. We are told to believe.

And now you are asking; “How? “ Well God explained that too. He used Paul again in his epistle to the Romans. This time in chapter 8 v 11. The same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead lives in us. Let me repeat that. The same Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead lives in all believers. Is that enough power for you? You have it. God said so. And God neither exaggerates nor lies.

So this post comes down to a challenge. Let us take that step of faith and act. When we loose that power into the world the results are going to take our collective breath away. God will glorify Himself through our actions. All that is required of us is action. Let us step around that stumbling block of disbelief and act anyway. When we are able to turn around again, I can guarantee you the lack will have lost its lustre. The block will have been obliterated.

Amen.