Sermon 31, Job 8:7-13
I found today’s sermon particularly easy to parse into very practical advice. The advice jives with much of the advice I have heard from secular sources, and much of it is self-evident. Never-the-less it is interesting that Calvin teases these things out of the present passage from Jon and I find it useful that the advice predates the secular sources that I have seen. I also have an eye on this type of advice as I am interested in making new year changes, especially positive new year changes.
Don’t procrastinate. Calvin says “…let us make haste inasmuch God does not want us to defer or delay coming to him.” Of course this primarily means that it is to our spiritual detriment to put off praying and seeking God’s wisdom. But why not apply it to all aspects of my life?
No excuses. Calvin has no qualms reminding us of the truth that we are sinners. “…when we come to God, we gain nothing by being our excuses”. I am already so bad that trying to explain away one incident or one remark is completely pointless. Again, why apply this to everything.
Read history, be reflective. This is an interesting one. I like history but I don’t really study it. Calvin’s point is that we have behind us, especially in Scripture, a set of examples of how God has worked and operated and we should know about that. But there is, I think, also a short term aspect in that I should be reviewing my own experiences. Maybe I should journal? I’m just bad at that. I’ve tried before. Anyway, more history, more reflection. Calvin says “God makes known to us so many things that we have no excuse, that we cannot say, ‘I did not think about it. God did not make me aware of that’.”
Use the past to think about the future. “…it is good to look farther ahead, for God gives us the means to for examining and learning from the past.” At the very least plan your next day. This is very practical. Recall the pre-mortem.
Don’t pay attention to social media or gossip and celebrity. “Woe to the man who trusts in man”.
We aren’t self-sufficient. This is an interesting one. I am a prepper. I define a prepper as someone who believes that when something happens, that is a natural disaster etc, no one is coming to help them. I don’t think that is an unhealthy approach. But, I have to recall that “…we have to receive all good things from His hand because we, for our part, possess none of them.” I think I prep and plan to the best of my abilities but then pray. And as for my salvation, well I have no abilities there!
Remember God. I don’t do a good job of this. I have a great time reading scripture and these sermons. But then I close the pages and go about my day and back to uninspired thinking. “Hypocrites, forget God.” Always seek humility (ASH) and recall S24 p287, the other people prayer (OPP).