(Law, Gospel and Rest on Sunday Worship Series) "Preaching and the Tired Soul"

 "Ano bang saloobin mo tuwing sumasapit ang araw ng linggo? Katulad din ba ito ng sa trabaho na marapat mong gampanan upang ang gantimpala ay makamtan? Anong pagkakaiba nito mga ibang araw na dapat ikaw ay nagtatrabaho? Kung ang Araw ng Panginoon ng pagpapahinga, saan nakapagpahinga ang kalooban mo? Kung puro utos lang ang naririnig mo lingo-lingo, di bat natural lang na magalala ka at maligalig tungkol sa mga bagay na dapat mong abutin o tapusin? Nasaan ang kapahingahang dulot ni Kristo sa mga napapagal at nabibigatang-lubha?" -- Rev. Lance Filio​ 

 I think it must be in the mind of every Sunday preacher that the congregation who will come to church is a congregation of tired, weary souls -- like a cavalry battered by the lance in jousting. 

You need rest after that battle, as any member of the congregation who experiences the battles of daily life at work, school or at home -- or at the commute or MRT!!! 

But I'm not talking about physical tiredness. I'm talking about soul tiredness. The Bible calls this as a downcast soul.   Symptoms of a tired soul can be felt in our thoughts, heard in our word and seen in our deeds. And then we punish ourselves for being too sinful -- as if lancing ourselves in a one-man joust. Confronting ourselves is a good Christian activity but what if our mind is just filled with pain and our soul is just tired? Either we condemn ourselves further pinning ourselves to the ground or . . . go to an idol of the heart like lust, greed, anger, etc. to overpower the feeling of despondency. At times we try to repair ourselves by creating more things to do, never meeting them, and then fall to greater despondency. 

The thing is, our soul at this point wants rest, not additional things to do. We need rest so we can return to those things we want to do with zeal, strength and affections for God.

Man knows how to rest their bodies by retreat, sleep, relaxation etc. But how do our souls find rest? We know physical rest, but what about our souls?

While physical rest has a lot of means like the ones I mentioned above, the rest of souls according to the Bible seems to have a solitary means: Christ.

Solus Christus in another light right there.

Yes, in Christ alone. Say that again: in Christ alone. You write that in marble and vow never to forget by God's grace for Satan would want to take that thought away from you. 





So back to the minister. The pastoral duty for ministers is to help the congregation remember Christ who said, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mt 11:28). Christ is the rest of the believer.However, this is in and of itself a difficult task for the preacher; for what does finding rest in Christ means? Baka ang lumabas utus-utusan mo lang na naka append ang pangalan ni Kristo like, "Maglingkod ka kay Kristo!" Actually, because the pastor's goal is to help in the maturity of the congregation, a preaching on "Maglingkod ka kay Kristo!" is a necessity, but such law would have to be attained by a people whose souls are rested in Christ. A tired laborer would continue to create low-grade results, if not no-grade. 

It has to do with what the Puritans call as "considering" or "remembering" -- considering what Christ has done both in Scripture and in your life [I'll talk about this in the next blogs]. This is the Christian's chocolate. The Christian's dopamine kick. This the preacher's ministry to his congregation every Sunday. 

Personally, by the time it is weekend, I feel like this:

As the deer pants for streams of water,    so my soul pants for you, my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.    When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1-2)

So remember, every church member that enters those church doors is a tired soul. They just want to get a glimpse of the glory of Christ who promised to them "you will find rest for your souls."

UPCOMING BLOGS:

1. Disordered Love and the Idols That Rob Us of Rest
2. Preaching and the Gospel that Naturally Flows from It 
3. The Special Role of the Law(s) on Sunday Preaching
4. The Gospel as an Indelible Feature of Preaching
5. Gospel and Law Distinction for Sunday Preaching
6. The Ugliness of Moral Therapeutic Deism in Sunday Preaching
7. Biblical Theology of the Tired Soul
8. The Downcast Soul of Psalm 42 and Psalm 43