The Gospel of Matthew - Chapter One
I come to this with some trepidation. Most of my blog site is full of my wit and is brushed with my own flavour of creativity but now I want to talk about something that is not my own and yet is mine to own and everyone's to share. Neither is this my achievement. It came to me some 17 years ago while I was sitting in my school auditorium watching some students rehearse something Shakespearian. At that time I was memorizing the Bard and had already had quite the theatrical background. But I also had this other life apart from School, and that was my growing spiritual side and my intimate relationship with the Lord and with his Word - The Bible.
As I sat there I started thinking, if I could memorize Shakespeare then what was stopping me from memorizing Scripture? At the time the thought seemed revolutionary but as I dipped my feet into the shallow end of God's pool of amazing words I was soon to realize that there was something more to this than just committing a few good ideas to memory. There was no "shallow end". I've started to see God's word for what it is, a force stronger than any Nuclear Weapon on the planet for "...the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12)
As a Christian I am called not to be "conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) A process that I know can only be achieved by committing yourself to the Word and seeking his face in prayer.
I have become aware of a believers responsibility to sharpen their knowledge of the Sword daily:
Joshua 1:8 - Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful...
Deuteronomy 17:18-19 - When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
Proverbs 4:5 - Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.
Without being aggressive, but rather stating a sad fact, Christians here in the West are standing in the midst of a great and terrible battle clapping their hands and singing songs with big grins on our faces while hordes of lost souls lie butchered on the battlefield around us and we seem perfectly oblivious to the magnificent sword dangling by our waists (or hidden among our TV guides), that if we would just take it out and swing it we might do some serious damage to the Devil's army that rips us to shreds without us even being aware of it...
I have done so little. But by the Lord's grace and the immense help of his Holy Spirit I have started the ball rolling and have memorized most of the book of Matthew with one hope - that I will get to preach this word to believers and non-believers alike. As Paul said in the first chapter of Romans - I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God, for the SALVATION of everyone who believes. I have not learned this to keep locked away in my head for my own pleasure, to win theological arguments or so I can pride myself at the next Bible trivia night. I have done this because with a little bit of skill I might be able to swing my Sword and watch the bowels of the Devil's demons spill out on the ground, and ultimately to wake up a sleeping generation of Church goers who, frankly, need a swift kick into action.
Its my prayer that this starts something.
If you are a Pastor or a church leader then my request of you is simple: please watch this video and ask the Lord this question: "Do you want this Gospel preached at my Church?" If the answer is yes then contact me.
Please pass this onto your friends, and ask them to pass it on. In my 32 years this is the most crucial and important activity that I have been involved in, and the only thing I want to be remembered for.
I hope to plant a seed in your heart that will grow into an incredible hunger for God's Word such as you never thought was possible.
God Bless
Kerin Gedge
As I sat there I started thinking, if I could memorize Shakespeare then what was stopping me from memorizing Scripture? At the time the thought seemed revolutionary but as I dipped my feet into the shallow end of God's pool of amazing words I was soon to realize that there was something more to this than just committing a few good ideas to memory. There was no "shallow end". I've started to see God's word for what it is, a force stronger than any Nuclear Weapon on the planet for "...the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12)
As a Christian I am called not to be "conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2) A process that I know can only be achieved by committing yourself to the Word and seeking his face in prayer.
I have become aware of a believers responsibility to sharpen their knowledge of the Sword daily:
Joshua 1:8 - Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful...
Deuteronomy 17:18-19 - When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees
Proverbs 4:5 - Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them.
Without being aggressive, but rather stating a sad fact, Christians here in the West are standing in the midst of a great and terrible battle clapping their hands and singing songs with big grins on our faces while hordes of lost souls lie butchered on the battlefield around us and we seem perfectly oblivious to the magnificent sword dangling by our waists (or hidden among our TV guides), that if we would just take it out and swing it we might do some serious damage to the Devil's army that rips us to shreds without us even being aware of it...
I have done so little. But by the Lord's grace and the immense help of his Holy Spirit I have started the ball rolling and have memorized most of the book of Matthew with one hope - that I will get to preach this word to believers and non-believers alike. As Paul said in the first chapter of Romans - I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the power of God, for the SALVATION of everyone who believes. I have not learned this to keep locked away in my head for my own pleasure, to win theological arguments or so I can pride myself at the next Bible trivia night. I have done this because with a little bit of skill I might be able to swing my Sword and watch the bowels of the Devil's demons spill out on the ground, and ultimately to wake up a sleeping generation of Church goers who, frankly, need a swift kick into action.
Its my prayer that this starts something.
If you are a Pastor or a church leader then my request of you is simple: please watch this video and ask the Lord this question: "Do you want this Gospel preached at my Church?" If the answer is yes then contact me.
Please pass this onto your friends, and ask them to pass it on. In my 32 years this is the most crucial and important activity that I have been involved in, and the only thing I want to be remembered for.
I hope to plant a seed in your heart that will grow into an incredible hunger for God's Word such as you never thought was possible.
God Bless
Kerin Gedge
Comments
Post a Comment