By Brother Matthew Henson
The world is filled with data. Whether the data is accurate, well-presented, or factual is open for debate. No matter the subject, a person can search a topic or idea and discover videos, articles, podcasts, and blogs. There are numerous presentations written by people who claim expertise or accuracy without any accountability or checking of facts. Trudging through the data can be difficult and tiresome.
In this age of data, it is easy to become distracted from what is important. We share the videos and articles in hopes of getting people’s feedback or in hopes of influencing people’s thoughts on certain subjects. The talking heads garner the clicks they desire, and it induces more products and perspectives.
In E. Stanley Jones’ book The Christ of Every Road: A Study in Pentecost, he outlines “four pillars upon which Christ’s gospel rests: his Life, his Cross, his Resurrection, and his Coming into the lives of men and women—Pentecost” (66). In true Jones style, he simplifies the very concepts we make complex. He strips away the fat to get to the prime meat of the gospel. In the early days of Brother Stanley’s ministry, he discovered a need to disentangle Christ from western ideas to present the untrammeled Christ to people throughout the world. He needed to be so engaged in the pillars of the gospel and Christ, so the ideas of culture, people’s perspectives, and the world’s ideas did not cloud the Truth of the gospel.
Later in the book, Brother Stanley writes, “The philosophers may enlighten me, the moralists may instruct me, the prophets may inspire me, but my need is deeper. I need a Savior” (73). When we begin with Christ and stay engaged in his Life, his Cross, his Resurrection, and his Coming into the lives of men and women, we can better apply God’s Word to our lives. In 1 John 4:1 we read, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
As we continue to wait with great expectation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we need to prioritize the voices we allow to speak into our lives. We need to strip away the voices who try to push aside Jesus as the Savior. When the gurus of the day point to themselves or to an idea that does not accurately align with the gospel, we need to return to Christ for direction and insight that will draw us back to the true gospel.
My prayer for each of us as we approach Pentecost in a few weeks is based in Paul’s interaction in Athens when he said, “I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). I pray we will have a deeper experience and understanding of the gospel as we prioritize the truth of the gospel in our lives.
Prayer: Lord, there are so many opinions, perspectives, and voices in our technological world. It is easy to allow your voice and your truth to be drowned out. Forgive me when I allow the voices of the world to drown out your truth and your voice. Give me a discerning heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
