(Pr 14:34) "Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." Coming up next month our church will be voting on adopting an amendment to our constitution that will state clearly our position against gay marriage and the other immoral practices that our country has now approved of, and supports. We are going to do so because we as a Church must state clearly our position on these issues or the government will be able to come in and force us to. It's unfortunate that we as a nation now stand in opposition to God's Word. As (Isa 5:20) says "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" We as a Church more than ever need to rise up and speak against the unrighteousness that has exalted itself against God and His people. We are now on a slippery slope. (Ps 9:17) "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." May the Lord grant us boldness in these last days to say so!
Sunday, September 13, 2015
The Flesh, Friend or Foe
(Rom. 7:18) "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." Many times when I talk to people about their problems they will blame the devil or someone else for their situation, when in reality the real cause is their own flesh. When the Bible speaks of the flesh, it speaks of the earthly body that houses our spirit and soul. It cannot be saved, nor inherit eternal life, but God does promise to resurrect it and change it later. You see, in order for us to understand this great truth we need to separate our soul and spirit from our bodies. Our soul and spirit is eternal, but our flesh will die, for it is sinful and given over to sinful desires. Adam's sin caused the body's curse, and yet God still chose to use it for His Glory. In the above verse the Apostle Paul wanted us to see that if we are going to be used of God and have victory over sin, we are going to have to first realize that our flesh is our biggest enemy. It needs to be controlled by our spirit, and then surrendered to God's Spirit. (Gal. 5:16) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. Do you want victory? Then dethrone your sinful flesh!
Living Worldly Always Ends Badly
(Judges 16:28) "And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." In (Heb. 11:32)Samson is immortalized for his faith, but just what type of faith is he immortalized for? All of Sampson's life he was considered under what is called a Nazarite vow. He was to abstain from intoxicating drinks, he was not to cut his hair nor touch anything dead, and he was to be holy and consecrated to the Lord, but as we read about his life in the Word of God, he didn't keep his vows very faithfully. So where was his faithfulness? Well, Samson was honored because he repented of his sin at the end of his life. Sometimes trials in this life are brought by God to bring us back to faith again. Many times we as stubborn Christians continue in our comfort and disobedience until we are woken up by the chastening hand of God upon us, and if we refuse to listen, our disobedience will bring us to the place of God using chastisement to restore our faith. God allowed the Philistines to pluck out his eyes and then place him into captivity to bring Samson to the place of repentance and faith. May we as Christians learn from this story of Samson that it is better to repent and live godly now than to have God bring us face to face with our sin later. Repenting as early as possible in this life is far better than stubbornly waiting till the end.
God Is After Obedience Not Perfectness
(Judges 13:5 "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. … (24) And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him." It's hard to understand but the blessing of God was upon Samson even though Samson himself was not a very godly man. Samson was commanded by God to keep a Nazarite vow, which was a vow of personal separation and consecration, but although Samson kept not the vow perfectly he was still blessed by a Holy God. It's hard to understand sometimes why God uses us even though we are not perfect. Samson was a sinner, he was a known liar, unfaithful to his Nazarite calling, disrespectful to his parents, a womanizer, proud, arrogant, rude, and angry, and yet God still used him to deliver Israel. Brethren, what we need to see from this story is that God never called Samson to perfectness, but he did call him to do His will. Sometimes we as believers think that because we're not perfect, or sinless we cannot be used. Listen, God will always hate our sin, but He will never stop loving us because of it, for He desires to share His blessings with us despite us. And there is something else we need to see, Samson was not powerful because of his own righteousness, He was powerful because of God's Spirit was upon Him, and Christian by the way that Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that dwells in us today!
“Which Gospel Are You Following”
(2Tim. 4:2-4) "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." Ever since I was newly saved back in the 70's, I have often been reminded of the above verses that warn us of a time that will come when people will no longer desire the sound doctrine of God's Word but will rather seek after speakers who speak fables rather than truth, and who's words are meant to be non-offensive, and entertaining. As the above verse teaches those that seek out these men do so "after their own lusts," seeking man's wisdom over God's Word. Today, many Christians are getting sucked into the false gospel of motivational and influential speakers, who draw Christians by the thousands away from their true calling and purpose within the Church, leading them into a lustful pursuit of mammonand worldly things, "supposing that gain is godliness,"(1 Tim. 6:5) who teach men to follow men "above that which was written,"(1 Cor.4:6). Oh that we as Christians today would follow the leading of “the faithful Baptists of old), and serve again Jesus Christ as our "first Love" (Rev.2:4), and reject the impulses of this evil and "lustful" teaching that has invaded our churches.
Sunday, August 2, 2015
“Strange Fire”
(Lev. 10:1-2 )"And the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." Very few stories in the Word of God teach us so strongly about the important lesson of respecting God and His holiness. "Nadab and Abihu," were faithful sons, consecrated to offer the sacred offerings of God, yet God killed them. Why? 1) As an example of the importance of respecting the will of God. God never told Aaron's sons that they could offer the fire of incense anyway they so desired. Their sin was the sin of self-will worship. Brethren (it does) matter how we worship God. Although we probably will not be killed for doing it wrong today, much of what we see going on in many churches is definitely wrong and offensive to a holy God, for it is more of the flesh than it is spiritual. 2) To teach a respect for personal holiness. "And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;" God desires all who approach Him to respect His holiness, for He is Holy. We as Christians are called by God as the two sons of Aaron were called, to reflect God's holiness while we too dwell in His Temple!
“Jephthah’s Hasty Vow”
"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, … I will offer it up for a burnt offering." Little did Jephthah know that his only daughter would come out first. There are some that believe that he offered her up as a burnt offering, but there are others like me who believe that he offered her up to the Lord just as Samuel was offered back to the Lord by his mother Hannah. You see, the importance of this story is not about the offering as much as it is about the vow. "And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel…" Jephthah kept his word even though his only daughter remained a virgin the rest of her life, cutting off Jephthah's future posterity, and his daughter was faithful to Jephthah's vow even though it affected her life forever. Oh that we as God's people would have such faith, keeping our vows even though keeping them is difficult. Sometimes believers rashly vow to God at the moment of an emotional high, but quickly forget it even though God still remembers