A PRICELESS
STRING OF SPIRITUAL PEARLS
MIKE
CUNNINGHAM
SEPTEMBER 23,
2007
An hour or so before sunrise last Thursday on
the final morning of our three day vacation on the
Then I started thinking about this morning’s
message, which I had been developing on and off for a couple of days and which
I had been working on just before falling asleep the night before. There was
still a ways to go before it would be finished and my progress seemed to be going
very slow. When I thought about the other commitments I had to honor between
then and now I felt overwhelmed. A barrage of questions and suggestions suddenly
came gushing into my mind. How can you possibly come up with a meaningful
message in time, especially with everything else you have to do? Why do you
continually subject yourself to this kind of pressure in the first place? It
doesn’t get any easier, does it? Week after week you’re faced with the same
dilemma. It’s normal for someone your age to feel the way you do? Why don’t you
stop fooling yourself and leave the Gospel Ministry to younger men such as Guy
and Archie and Larry?
I finally took a hold of myself and asked God
to have mercy on me and to help me. I forced myself to turn on the table lamp
and began working on this sermon. I’m glad I did because as soon as I read the
second sentence of what would had been my opening remarks this morning, I
received that wonderful blessing I mentioned earlier.
The following two sentences are what I read from
my note pad and how I intended to start today’s sermon. “This morning I would
like to pick up where I left off a couple of weeks ago about the necessity of
you and me stifling that invisible inner part of us if we want to get ourselves
out of the dumps. In so many words I implied it’s as though our inner person
has been programmed to start chirping away with a non-stop monologue the moment
we awaken.” Those two facts awakened me to the reality of what I had been
experiencing that morning. It only took a moment for them to sink in. I
immediately felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted off my back and a
surge of energy reinvigorated me. And I couldn’t stop thanking the One through
whom that wonderful blessing came.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not
suggesting these one way conversations are wrong. They’re simply part of being
human precisely as our Creator intended.
However, if what we find ourselves listening to starts tempting us not
to trust or obey Him, then we must take control of our inner self and quickly
rattle off a barrage of whatever is true and honorable and pure and lovely and
excellent and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8). Then, instead of being down
in the dumps we will be able to rejoice in the Lord and experience the peace of
God which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:4; 7). You and I must
develop the habit of not worrying ourselves sick and instead immediately
silencing every assertion that perhaps God doesn’t care about us or that He
isn’t fair or know what He’s doing or have a handle on things, because nothing
could be further from the truth. Such perverted thinking emanates right out of
the Bowels of Hell.
In my last sermon I quoted Lloyd-Jones as
suggesting: “that we must talk to ourselves instead of allowing ‘ourselves’ to
talk to us! Do you realize what this means? I suggest that the main trouble in
this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that we allow our
self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. Am I just trying to be
paradoxical? Far from it. This is the very essence of wisdom in this matter. Have you realized that most of
your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself
instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment
you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start
talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is
talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s
treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts
talking to himself.
Psalms 42:5 (ESV) 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? He asks. His soul has
been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for
a moment, I will speak to you.’[i]
“The essence of this matter is to understand that this self
of ours, this other man within us, has got to be handled. Do not listen to him;
turn on him; speak to him, condemn him; upbraid him; exhort him; encourage him;
remind him of what you know, instead
of listening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down and depress you.
For that is what he will always do if you allow him to be in control. The
devil takes a hold of self and uses it in order to depress us. We must stand up as this man did and say:
‘Why art thou cast down? Why art thou disquieted within me?’ Stop being so!
‘Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance,’
He, ‘who is the health of my countenance and my God.”[ii]
I ended my sermon by saying; “Engaging in that kind of spiritual warfare my
friends is what I consider to be taking advantage of, metaphorically speaking, the most underutilized antidepressant.[iii]
In my opinion one of the greatest hindrances
to receiving this spiritual
antidepressant is the fact that all too many Christians don’t know
how to talk to God Biblically. And they don’t know how to talk to Him
Biblically because they aren’t all that familiar with what the Bible has to
say. And they aren’t all that familiar with what the Bible has to say for a
couple of primary reasons. One: The church they attend conducts the Sunday service
in which the eternal truths contained in the Bible plays second fiddle to
something or someone else. It may be music or some form of entertainment, or
perhaps a charismatic preacher proclaiming a health and wealth Gospel, or a
gloom and doom soon to be end of the world guy and his silliness, or some
social or political concern or a particular object which is the main focus of
the service. The second reason some Christians aren’t all that familiar with
what the Bible has to say is because they honestly aren’t all that interested
in what the Bible has to say. And I don’t know which of the two reasons I have
just mentioned is worse; do you?
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying
these Christians aren’t interested in what God has to say because they are.
It’s just that they tend to put more credence in their dreams or feelings and
or signs, or that inner voice that they use to guide them. Some actually close
their eyes and open the Bible pointing to a spot in it. When they open them
again they read what their finger is pointing to and consider that to be what
God is communicating to them at that particular moment in time.
After receiving that wonderful blessing last
Thursday morning I was so grateful and energized that I decided to compile a
list of things I was going to say about God to my inner self the next time
Satan conned that part of me into trying to get me to throw myself into the
dumps. I thought I would try to make it into a little booklet to keep inside my
Bible for quick reference.
I would start by reminding my inner self that
on the other side of eternity there was only God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Spirit plus nothing or no one else. This Triune Being decided to
display the glory of His eternal power, and of His infinite wisdom and goodness
by creating the world and everything and everyone in it, whether it be visible
or invisible, and He would do this in the space of six days. When He finished
creating He would be able to declare that it all was very good. I would remind
my inner self of what the divinely inspired author of the letter to the Hebrews
wrote to his fellow Christians.
Hebrews
1:2 (AMP) 2 [But] in the last of
these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful
Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and
the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built,
operated, and arranged them in order].
Speaking of Jesus and His role in creation,
the Apostle John tells us: John 1:2-3
(AMP) 2 He was present originally with God. 3 All things were
made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even
one thing made that has come into being.
I would continue talking to my inner self and
reminding him that in the beginning: Genesis
1:2 (AMP) 2 The earth was
without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very
great deep. The Spirit of God was moving
(hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.
Job 26:13 (AMP) 13 By His breath the
heavens are garnished; His hand pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.
Job 33:4
(AMP) 4 [It is] the Spirit of God that made me [which has
stirred me up], and the breath of the Almighty that gives me life [which
inspires me].
Romans
1:20 (AMP) 20 For ever since the
creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and
clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His
handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or
justification],
Jeremiah
10:12 (AMP) 12 God made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and by His understanding and skill
stretched out the heavens.
Psalms
104:24 (AMP) 24 O Lord, how many and
varied are Your works! In wisdom have You
made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures. I
would continue speaking and reminding myself of some of God’s divine
attributes. For instance;
Psalms
33:5-6 (AMP) 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the loving-kindness of the Lord. 6 By the word of the
Lord were the heavens made, and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
Proverbs
3:19 (AMP) 19 The Lord by skillful and
godly Wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding He has established the
heavens.
Genesis
1:1 (AMP) 1 IN THE beginning God (prepared, formed,
fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth. Again,
speaking of Jesus, the Apostle John wrote:
John 1:2
(AMP) 2 He [Jesus] was present originally with God.
Genesis
2:1-3 (AMP) 1 THUS THE heavens and the earth were finished, and all the
host of them.
2 And on
the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the
seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 And God blessed (spoke good of) the
seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it, because on it God rested
from all His work which He had created and done.
Exodus
20:8-11 (AMP) 8 [Earnestly] remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and
dedicated to God). 9 Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to
the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your
daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the
sojourner within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made
the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the
seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set
it apart for His purposes].
Genesis
1:31 (AMP) 31 And God saw everything that He had
made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely.
And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
After once again reminding my inner person of
these eternal truths concerning His power and wisdom and the fact that everything He has created
belongs to Him, including everyone I hold dear and precious to me, and
everything that I possess; I would rattle off a barrage of additional
facts concerning my Lord and my God, and why I shouldn’t be worried or
depressed regardless of circumstances. For instance:
Psalms
23:6 (AMP) 6 “Surely only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love
shall follow me all the days of my life,” and that includes this very difficult circumstance I’m
experiencing at this very moment. I would continue speaking to myself and
reminding me of what I can do through Christ.
Ephesians
3:12 12 In Whom, because of [my] faith in Him, [I can] dare
to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved
approach to God with freedom and without fear).
Hebrews
4:16 I’m going to 16 fearlessly and
confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the
throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that “I” may receive mercy for “my” failures and find
grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed
help, coming just when “I” need it].
Can you believe this
awesome Being has invited me to break in on Him at any time in prayer just as I
did last Thursday morning while I was sitting in that dark motel room with my
Bible and note pad on my lap? I don’t need an appointment anymore than I did
when I finally got tired of listening to myself trying to drag me down into the
pit of discouragement. Listen to Jesus as He instructs us how to pray.
Matthew
6:6 (AMP) 6 But when you pray, go
into your [most] private room, and, closing the door, pray to your Father, Who
is in secret; and your
Father, Who sees in secret, will
reward you in the open.
We must remind ourselves of the fact that, even though we can’t see Him, He’s
close by.
Psalms
145:18 (AMP) 18 The Lord is near
to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in
truth. And
didn’t I experience the truth of that promise last Thursday before sunrise.
I can even approach Him during those times
when I’m listening myself trying to talk me into not trusting Him and worrying
myself sick; all I have to do is draw near to Him. And guess what will happen?
James 4:8
(AMP) 8 Come close to God and He
will come close to you. And I knew my Creator
was right there with me in that dark motel room. I have to echo the sentiment
of the Psalmist
Psalms
65:4 (AMP) 4 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom
You choose and cause to come near,
Psalms 16:11
(AMP) 11 You will show me the
path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy,
[such as my early morning experience] at Your right hand there are pleasures
forevermore.
Psalms
33:13 (AMP) 13 The Lord looks from
heaven, He beholds all the sons of men. And when I stopped listening to myself
ramble on and on with those discouraging suggestions; I drew near to my Creator,
and I’ll never get tired of telling anyone willing to listen how He drew near
to me and how He greatly He blessed me. So much so, that I diligently searched
the Scriptures to come up with these particular verses. I’m not finished yet.
There’s a lot more I’ve already tucked away. Please let me know of any
favorites you might have. By the grace of God, when I put them all together
we’ll have what I believe will be A PRICELESS STRING OF SPIRITUAL
PEARLS.