Strike When The Iron Is Hot - HEART TALK

This preacher does a lot of thinking. My wheels are always turning. I have had more nights when sleep eluded me for hours because my mind was churning than I can remember. I’m always thinking…even when I sit in church. I can’t help it. I’m a preacher and obsessed with wanting to hear from God, to have the Spirit reveal truth to me. Such is the case with this HEART BEAT.

You have probably heard this saying before, just as I have. I have the idea that this saying came out of a blacksmith’s shop. I have watched as red hot metal has come out of the fire and the blacksmith has taken his hammer and started the process of shaping the red hot iron into exactly what he needs to make. The iron must be red hot, making it malleable, submissive to the blacksmith’s hammer. The iron will go back in the fire several times before the process is complete. The ultimate result of this process will be what the blacksmith set out to create. It could be a shoe for a horse (or a mule) used on the farm. It could be a part for a piece of machinery. The list is long.

The lesson is that the iron, until it has been put in the fire, cannot be molded and shaped into the needed and useable product. No amount of beating on the iron will be effective until the iron has been prepared for the hammer by the furnace. Our life is like the piece of raw iron…hard and unyielding. The furnace (fire) represents life and the challenges that we, as Christians, are bound to face. The apostle Peter addresses the subject in 1 Peter 1:7: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” In chapter 4 he speaks of the fiery trials of life once more – “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial (m. severe testing) which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (4:12).

One can only wonder what the iron (or any other metal requiring the softening process before it can be shaped) would say when thrust into the fire, placed in the vice, and then hammered on until the craftsman can create what he desires to create. The fire, the vice, and the hammer are vital to the craftsman being able to perform. So it is with our life. God, the craftsman, works to create in us the likeness of His Son. The fire, the vice, and the hammer are all vital to the process. We don’t like it, but this is the way it is if God is going to be able to bring us to “the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (m. mature) man, unto the measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). We do not like it, but the process is necessary if God is to create out of our fallen nature the vessel unto honor that He desires. Until we have been in the fire the dross will not be purged out. Until our stubborn will can be softened God’s hammer will not be able to effectively design that which will be pleasing to the Father. Therefore, let’s not fight the process. The finished product will be both beautiful and useful.

KNOW WHEN TO SET THE HOOK, OR WHEN TO DRAW IN THE NET

Any good fisherman will understand this statement. A good fisherman can tell what the fish is doing deep under water by “the feel”. He knows when the fish is just playing with the bait. He can tell when the fish is getting more serious about “taking the bait.” He knows when to “set the hook” and bring the fish to the boat where it can be “netted” and brought on board.

Knowing when to draw in the net is another term that is not familiar to what is known as “cane pole fishermen” or “rod and reel fishermen”. I have watched my brothers on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi toss the round net into the water. There is an art to it. I have tried it a number of times and simply have not caught on to how to effectively toss that net, getting it to open up in a near perfect circle. My brothers seem to know where to throw it.

It is exciting to watch that net settle down in the water, hopefully over a school of fish, and then to watch as Herschel and Chuck “work the net” allowing it to settle down and close at the bottom (around the fish) and then slowly work the net back to the boat. What a sight it is to behold fish thrashing around inside the net…caught because someone knew (1) how to cast the net, and (2) how and when to draw it in.

WHY IS THIS HEART TALK SO IMPORTANT?

It has been motivated because, once again, I have watched the Holy Spirit move in a service and the moment for striking the iron and drawing in the net was missed. RECOGNIZING THE MOMENT WHEN THE SPIRIT IS MOVING AND KNOWING WHAT HE WANTS TO DO IN A SERVICE…OR AN INDIVIDUAL’S LIFE…IS CRITICAL TO GOD BEING ABLE TO DO HIS WORK IN A LIFE, OR IN THE LIVES OF THOSE PRESENT IN A SERVICE. If I am grieved over these missed opportunities as I sit in church, waiting for the waters to be troubled, waiting for God to have the freedom to work HIS works of mercy, waiting for Jesus to be allowed to do what He does best…change lives, heal bodies and deliver His people, how much more is the heart of God and of Christ broken and grieved?

I have watched preachers totally miss it…talking on when it was time to shut up and call for a response. I have watched preachers totally miss it by singing on and on when it was time to call for a response. Sadly, too many just do not have the ability to discern when the iron is hot or the fish is ready to be caught. Being sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit should be at the top of every preacher’s list of what is most important in terms of his/her calling. I believe that many times just “getting on with the program” gets in the way of God being able to sovereignly invade a service. We tend to forget that it is HIS CHURCH and that we are to be nothing less than HIS BLACKSMITH…HIS FISHERMAN…eager to do His will, eager to rejoice in seeing the Spirit perfect that which God desires in terms of character development…eager to see the net drawn in with fish (souls) thrashing around in God’s net, caught by His love, ready to be saved by His grace.

Is this subject of value? It definitely is! Have I touched on a problem that needs to be solved? I have! Does this need to be fixed? Absolutely! Otherwise, why waste our time calling ourselves Christians…and especially those called of God to ministry? Why bother to open the church doors, turn on the lights, or heat and/or cool the building? Why bother? As preachers, our job is to always be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit. That means that we will discern exactly what God is desirous of doing in the lives of the people and we will tread softly, yet resolutely, in calling the people forward and allowing God to miraculously intervene in their life. The preacher is God’s blacksmith. The preacher is God’s fisherman. We are not showmen. We are not to be actors.

In closing, I can only wonder how wounded the Savior’s heart is when His preachers fail to discern the moment when the iron is ready to come out of the furnace to be molded and shapen? I wonder how many tears have splattered on the steps to His throne as He weeps over the “ones that got away”? And, I wonder how many souls have gone into eternity…lost…because the moment was missed through a lack of discernment or being bound by the “order of service”? May God help us! May God forgive us! God help us to understand that God has a purpose for our going to church and the preaching of the Gospel. Somehow, or so it seems to me – as I have done some deep thinking – that His disciples today, like the twelve Jesus had to deal with – JUST DON’T GET IT! And, look at the great loss. Now, it is your turn to do some thinking. Now, it is your turn to make some changes. Just musing, that’s all.

As a final thought, it occurs to me that many preachers simply do not walk in the Spirit to the degree that they can discern when it is God’s time to sovereignly move in meeting the needs of the people. One cannot give what one does not have. Still musing, that’s all. – Dr. Jerry A. Jones

New Gospel of Mark Commentary

Happy to announce a new commentary by Pastor Jerry Jones. Contact us to receive one and to inquire about many other available materials.

Light in the Church

Several centuries ago in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. He made a good decision. He decided to build them a church. No one was permitted to see the plans or the inside of the church until it was finished. At its grand opening, the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. Everything had been thought of and included.

It was a masterpiece. But then someone said, “Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really dark in here. How will the church be lighted?” The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. “Each time you are here,” the nobleman said, “the place where you are seated will be lighted. Each time you are not here, that place will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church some part of God’s house will be dark.”

That’s a poignant story, isn’t it? And it makes a very significant point about the importance of our commitment and loyalty to the church. The poet Edward Everett Hale put it like this:

I am only one,

But still I am one.

I cannot do everything,

But still I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything

I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

What if every member of your church supported the church just as you do? What kind of church would you have? What if every single member served the church, attended the church, loved the church, shared the church, and gave to the church exactly as you do? What kind of church would you be? Think about it! Pray about it! Do something about it.

Do I Still Believe?

With all of the craziness – craziness at least to this old preacher (about to reach age 75), that has grown up believing that worship should be pure and emanate from a heart that is pure and directed in absolute humility to Creator God, I openly confess that my belief system has been severely attacked and seriously questioned.

As I sat in a church service (not that long ago) with a lot of the contemporary kind of so-called worship blaring in my ears, I asked myself the question, “Do I still believe?” I took the church bulletin and on the back scribbled my response to the question. I am driven to share my response with you. By the way, from my attendance in a number of churches since retiring from full-time pastoring, Mrs. Jones and I have come to believe that senior citizens really don’t matter to church leadership very much anymore. Our worship preferences really don’t matter, or so it seems. It is no wonder that so many just drop out of church and go to church from their couch in front of the television set. Here is what I wrote down as I sat in that service with the keyboard and drums blaring and the praise leader with her microphone driving her shrill voice through my head like sharp arrows.

In spite of the “whoop and holler” – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the slamming and jamming – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the noise and lack of poise – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the casual attire, coffee drinking in the sanctuary, and general slouch in God’s house – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the absence of the hymns, replaced with 7/11 music…seven words

sung eleven times – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the monotonous and repetitive music – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the dance and drama – I STILL BELIEVE!

In spite of the tobacco using, social drinking, movie going, one hour a week in church people that make up most congregations today – I STILL BELIEVE!

What do I believe? I believe that GOD is still on the throne and that HE will ultimately have a people that understands what true worship is. I must remain true to my old-fashioned belief in this God.

What do I believe? I believe that there is a famine in the land, not of food and drink, but of the Word of God. I must continue to keep my faith resolute in the promises of His Word for it will not return void.

What do I believe? I believe that my old-fashioned convictions are all that will work for me and if I have to seek GOD alone and in a lonely place in order to maintain my “up close” relationship with HIM, that is what I will do.

What do I believe? I believe that it is not the whistle that pulls the train, but rather the power in the locomotive that pulls the train down the tracks, up the mountains and around the curves. Noise is not the answer! Singing louder and longer is not the answer! Wriggling and dancing, strutting and prancing, are not the signs of a penitent heart. A meek and quiet spirit God will not despise. I believe – and I know – that this is what will work for this preacher. These are some of the reasons why I STILL BELIEVE.

When will this craziness end? I do not know, but I do know that I have settled the question in my heart – I STILL BELIEVE, and I will forever believe that GOD is in control – grieved, I believe – but still in control and HE will have the final say on Judgment Day.

What do I believe? I not only believe, but I know, that most will criticize me for holding to this unwavering position, but this is quite all right. I WILL FOREVER BELIEVE IN THE GOD THAT DECLARES, “I AM THE LORD…I CHANGE NOT!” I must stay the course! I must always hold to “what thus saith the Lord” – to me personally! Yes, after more than 56 years of preaching, my faith was, is, and I believe, will continue to be attacked. I must not allow the contemporary so-called style of worship to destroy my faith. I have come too far and eternity is too long for me to lost. For myself and Mrs. Jones, we feel so out of place and rather lost as we try to find traditional music and “rock solid,” “revelation preaching” – messages direct from the heart of God, Spirit-revealed and Spirit-anointed. It hurts! But, I have settled the matter for me personally – I STILL BELIEVE! I WILL FOREVER BELIEVE! Though my faith be tested and I battle with my frustration over the carnival atmosphere in today’s praise and worship format – I WILL KEEP ON BELIEVING! Maybe, just maybe, things will turn around. Maybe we can once again find the “old paths wherein is the good way” (Jeremiah 6:16) and “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

HEART TALKS - BOOKENDS

Everyone knows that books do not stand up by themselves…THERE MUST BE BOOKENDS on both sides in order to make it possible for them to remain upright. Otherwise, they fall in both directions and normally knock some other things down as they do. As important as the books are and as much knowledge as they might contain, they are dependant upon the bookends to keep them in place. These can be medical books, legal books, financial books, school textbooks, religious resource books…it doesn’t matter…they are dependant upon the bookends to keep them together and in place.
People are like that! WE NEED BOOKENDS! We do not stand up very well without bookends to keep us from falling down and probably knocking someone else over, even breaking their spirit and causing them pain and suffering. We all require being held up, held in place. WE ARE TRULY CO-DEPENDENT! We do need each other. We’re different, all of us. It is called “individuality”. We all have different information (called talent and experience) that to the other books are important.
There is something else interesting about the books between the bookends. Everything in those books may not be the best information. Bad things happen! The human element is flawed…every one of us. And, some of what is in the books is of no real interest or value to us, but it is there. THINGS HAPPEN and everything that happens over the course of a person’s life isn’t good or beneficial. We would like to go back and undo some of the painful history in the history book (journal) of our life, for instance. We would all like to undo the hurt that we have caused others, even something as seemingly trivial as hurtful words and/or the denial of the love and affection that we did not receive. THE JOURNAL OF OUR LIFE IS BEING WRITTEN EVERY DAY! We should all be thankful that we have others in the library of life who stand side by side with us to help hold us in place when we fail, or when discouragement drives us to quit.
What about the bookmarks? From the Christian perspective (and this is really important) WE HAVE THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA AS THE BOOKENDS TO THE RECORD OF OUR LIFE…THE VOLUMES WE HAVE WRITTEN BY OUR THOUGHTS AN DEEDS. His name is JESUS! We cannot eradicate the bad things in the book of our earthly life…BUT HE CAN…and that is what really matters most. WHAT HE FORGIVES HE FORGETS…never to remember it against us anymore. Maybe the big challenge is to strive with every ounce of energy we have to be like Jesus and also FORGIVE and FORGET.
I close with the thought that we can always count on “Our Bookends” being there for us, holding us up, cleansing when called upon, and making it possible for us to endure to the end and ultimately be saved. Think on these things! -- Dr. Jerry A. Jones

Another Heart Talk

It’s How You Say it that Matters

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
What he had written was: “TODAY IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND I CANNOT SEE IT.”
Do you think that the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told the people they were lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be thankful for what you have. Think differently and positively. Invite people towards good with wisdom. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life you have 1000 good reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future with fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don’t believe your doubts and do not doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Life is wonderful if you know how to live it.

THE DUCK AND THE DEVIL - Heart Talk

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck. On an impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved.
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen. Then she whispered to him, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.” Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?”
After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY AND EVERY DAY HEREAFTER: Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done, and whatever the devil keeps throwing in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. How long will the devil’s “Sally” hurl what God has forgiven in your face? Sometimes the devil comes in human form (more often than not, actually). And, I wonder how long Christians will unwittingly allow Satan to use them in this unforgiving way. When will be love as HE loves, forgive as HE forgives, and forget as HE forgets? Just musing, that’s all.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved. WHEN HE DIED ON THE CROSS HE WAS THINKING OF YOU.

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DR. & MRS. JERRY A. JONES
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e-mail: his2u@charter.net