“giving heed”

 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” It’s interesting in the day in which we live how many of our beliefs and doctrines are affected by the seducing voices and persuasions of demons.  You might say, well how can demons affect my beliefs? By “giving heed” to them.  That means giving ear to the persuasive voices of anti-biblical and extra-biblical beliefs. The above verse is written to Christians, not the unsaved.  How can someone depart from a faith that they never had? Be careful in this world of many beliefs that you don’t pick up something that will cause you to depart from the faith of God’s Word. It’s just as wrong to add to the Word, as it is to take from it. Some Christians put so many demands upon a believer that their Christianity seems more like a burden than a blessing, and yet others pick and choose from God’s Word what they want to practice. Both are equally demonic. Satan’s cohorts are everywhere, speaking in our ears to follow such terrible beliefs as, skipping church, fornicating, gambling, gossiping, backbiting, not giving, drinking and illegal drug use, etc. The Holy Spirit’s voice would never take you in that direction, but damnable beliefs and practices will. Be careful when you here people tell you that you can do something, when God says don’t. The voices of the world are full of demonic influences, so be careful to use the Word as your guide and not men.

How well do you stack up ?

In continuing in our theme, “How we ought to behave in the house of God,” I have chosen this week to look at the standards required of the office of Pastor and deacon in (1 Tim. 3:1). Here the Apostle Paul calls the ministry of a Pastor, a “good work,” and the deacon’s office, one of “good degree.” God desires that all men live up to this good degree, regardless if he has a title or not. As I have said before, we are not to wait till we hold such a position, but rather live these high standards regardless. (1Co 4:1-2) “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” What we need today are faithful men, more in love with God than they are this world. Men who have chosen to live up to these high standards, without being forced to. God asks that the Pastor and deacon be “blameless,” meaning that they are not guilty of disobeying God’s Word in practice. But aren’t all men commanded to be blameless as well ?  (2Pe 3:14) “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” Therefore men, the will of God for you is to be, “blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt. to teach, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy, patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that rules well his own house,… of a good report…”  How well do you stack up ?

Fathers

Since Father’s Day is a day to honor Father’s, let us not forget to honor our Heavenly Father. In (Matt. 6:9) it says, “Hallowed be thy name.” We should both sanctify it, and honor it because God is honorable. 1)  Because of his Love. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  God’s love is unconditional, meaning that his love is not based upon our performance but rather upon our worth to him. God sent his son to die even though we are sinful and wicked people, and yet in his eyes he sees something of worth in us, even though we may not feel worthy.  2) Because of his Mercy.  When a sinner repents of his sin and receives Jesus Christ as personal savior, at that very moment he is born again into the family of God, and the blood of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice washes away all sin , past,  present, and future. And not only that, but Jesus himself is seated at the right hand of God, interceding on our behalf, forgiving, & keeping us saved. His mercy, his forgiveness, and longsuffering endures forever. 4) Because of his Truth.  Every single word of the Bible is immutable (never changing), meaning that “it is impossible for God to lie.”(Heb. 6:13). I thank God that we serve a God who tells the truth & that keeps his promises. May we as earthly fathers pattern such an honorable and Hallowed, Heavenly Father.

submission to authority

As we continue in our series on how to behave in the house of God, the Apostle Paul in (1 Tim. 2:9-15) now turns his instruction to the women in the church. His instruction is that they learn to profess the godliness of Christ by their submission to authority, and by their ministry only to other women and children. It’s sad in our day that so many churches have embraced this false doctrine, and have allowed women to hold positions of authority in the church, despite the following truth. “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” This verse teaches us that women are not allowed to instruct men or dominate in a position that is over men. I have heard some female pastors say that this text was written for just the women of that day, and yet others justify their position by saying that fewer and fewer men today are going into the ministry, and so that makes it OK..  Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but if they truly believe these things, aren’t they still disobeying the above verse. There is no excuse, nor argument that negates the Word of God. Either it’s true or it’s not, and if they say it’s not, then they are disobeying the very God that they are supposed to preaching about. “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”

Learn to Pray

(2 Tim. 2:1) “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;” One of the greatest privileges we have as Christians is the privelege of prayer. In the above verse, the Apostle Paul is reminding us that we need to first of all to learn to pray. 1) Learn the importance of prayer. Little prayer = little power, and no prayer = no power. The Early church learned that when they prayed God answered, and the more they prayed the more powerful and unified they became. 2) Learn the importunity of prayer. Importunity means persistence. That is precisely what Paul meant by supplication. We need to learn that God loves it when we are persistent in prayer, and the more we pray the more He is persuaded to answer. This is what God meant by His command to A-S-K, (Ask, Seek, Knock). A Christian that is determined to get an answer from God is promised that he will, if he keeps asking. 1) Learn the imperativeness of prayer. This is the urgency of prayer. In the above verse Paul wants us to learn to practice intercession. To pray for the souls and lives of others,  for leadership and authority, and to learn to give thanks more than we complain. The more we begin to pray for others and see God work, the more we will begin see how imperative intercession is.

“To war a good warfare.”

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:” In (1 Tim. 1: 18) The Apostle Paul also instructed Timothy, “To war a good warfare.”  Paul wanted Timothy to understand that the Christian life is a battle. After we’re saved we go to war with Sin, with Satan, and with Self, which by the way is our most dangerous adversary. If we can learn how to control the flesh, Satan cannot harm us. Satan doesn’t bother Christians who are undisciplined in the Word, he knows that their lack of self-control and disobedience will destroy them sooner or later. Therefore we must learn two important things. 1) Faith.  Faith demands that we hold God’s Word up like a shield. It’s not enough to just believe it, we must learn to stand upon it and hide behind it.  When our flesh operates independent of God’s Word there is no protection, but when in submission to it, there is. 2) Good Conscience. When the conscience is tender toward the things of God, that’s good, but when it’s not, that’s bad. An undisciplined Christian doesn’t feel guilty when in disobedience, but a disciplined Christian does.  So discipline your flesh, obey the Word, and develop a good conscience !