Dear Sir,
Greetings in Jesus name!
I am very much thankful for helping me before in sending your testimonies. I think I badly need your help again.
We are having a great fun of discussion regarding steps of salvation in one our subject. A question arises that causes our teacher to give us this assignment to interview someone like you. We believed that the only way for us to be saved is to be baptized in water in Jesus name and with the Holy Ghost according to Acts 2:38 and except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. The question goes this way: What if I have a brother baptized in water in Jesus name and died without receiving the Holy Ghost? Is he saved or not?
My wonderful young friend,
I would like to start my answer to you in a very open fashion so you will understand my heart. First and foremost we are not God and only God knows exactly how He will handle this individual who seems to be hungry, having a pure heart and is fulfilling the scripture but does not finish before he is taken from this world.
But searching through the scriptures all of these years I have to answer, that all people must be filled with the Holy Ghost to be saved.
I do believe the Holy Ghost is the difference.
Acts 19:1-2 (a) KJV,
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
These disciples answered as most folks today still answer
Acts 19:2 (b) KJV,
And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Paul realized these men were very honest hearted and sincere in their spirituality. He asked them another question
Acts 19:3 (a) KJV,
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized?
Paul was simply saying to them, “Tell me about your experience.”
The men were proud of their spiritual experience and responded boldly,
Acts 19:3 (b) KJV,
…And they said, Unto John's baptism.
So many Christian religious groups can trace their experience back to John. They only follow the experience of the forerunner. They have not received the complete message of truth.
Acts 19:4 KJV,
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
There is so much more than repentance. The majority of Christians never go beyond repentance. Every individual must go further. We must all receive the power of Christ in us that is our hope to glory.
Colossians 1:26-28 KJV,
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
This group of John’s disciples heard the words Paul was preaching to them. They were stirred, and convicted. They chose to go beyond their understandings and religious traditions. They moved forward to TRUTH and SALVATION.
Acts 19:5 KJV,
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Nowhere in the New Testament do we find anyone baptized except by submersion in the Name of Jesus Christ. Peter preached a very strong and emphatic message on the day of Pentecost and it is still the same message of salvation today.
Acts 2:38-40 KJV,
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Mode of baptism changed at the Nicean Council of 325 A.D. (Sprinkling and title of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Baptize means to submerge, plunge dip or make fully wet.
Yes, these twelve disciples of John saw the difference. They realized they needed more. They were re-baptized, Acts 19:5 KJV,
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Now these disciples of John were fulfilling the steps that Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost. They had already repented and had now been baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins. But Paul did not let them stop there;
Acts 19:6 KJV,
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
The great Apostle Paul delivered the message of truth to these disciples of John. These twelve men were hungry-hearted, thirsting for truth. They heard the Word preached by Paul. They accepted the preached Word as truth. They followed the Word and received the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God dwelling within them.
It really does make a difference as to what you believe.
Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus by night.
John 3:2 (b) KJV,
…Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Jesus responded, John 3:3 KJV,
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus asked how a grown man could be born again. He cannot enter into his mother’s womb again to be born the second time.
John 3:5 KJV,
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
There is for the natural birth. For one to have spiritual life, there has got to be the second birth; one must be born again.
John 3:15 KJV,
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Jesus continues, John 3:16 KJV,
16 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.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV,
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Paul said, Romans 12:3 KJV,
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Paul is simply saying, “Do not think yourself to be somebody just because you have faith; because it is God that has given you the degree of faith you have.” Some Christian religious groups preach that all you need is faith to be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ they say and you are saved. But if this is truth and if believing on Jesus were all it took to be saved, then the devils would also be saved.
James 2:19-20 New Living Translation ®,
19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror.
20 How foolish! Can't you see that faith without good deeds is useless?
James 1:22 New Living Translation ®,
22 But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
John 7:37-39 New Living Translation ®,
37 On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, "Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!
38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, 'Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'"
39 (When he said "living water," he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
After Jesus arose from the grave He spent about forty days with His disciples.
Acts 1:4 KJV,
4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Acts 1:5 KJV,
5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:8 KJV,
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
These disciples went back to Jerusalem. In the upper room they tarried with some brethren and women. Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers were there; the number being about one hundred and twenty in all.
Acts 2:1-4 KJV,
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This phenomenon happened during the Feast of Pentecost.
Acts 2:5 KJV,
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Acts 2:6-11 KJV,
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Acts 2:12-13 KJV,
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Acts 2:14-16 KJV,
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Peter then preached to them about Jesus Christ and Him that they had crucified.
Acts 2:37-39 KJV,
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Peter on the Day of Pentecost with the eleven standing with him and Paul preaching to the twelve disciples of John preached the message of salvation. “What men must do to be saved?” Both preached that one must repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin and then they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Most Christian preachers, teachers and even the religious groups themselves do not preach this same message today.
Paul wrote, 2 Timothy 3:5 New Living Translation ®,
5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
I contend from my vantage point and what I see in the scripture. For a person to be saved, they have to have fulfilled the steps of Salvation that both Peter and Paul preached. That means they must repent; they must be baptized in Jesus Name for the remission of their sins; they must be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the power of God in them.
I would not want to take a chance on my salvation if I have not fulfilled all of God's plan.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
I Was Just Thinking On This Wednesday Morning, February 22, 2011
Luke 21:28 New Living Translation ®,
28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!"
I have been privileged all of my life to hear so many great messages about the day and the hour we are now living in. I feel so blessed to have been grounded and prepared for this end-time day. I grieve my spirit to see so many people who are caught unaware.
Our world is in such turmoil and so many people (Christian people included) are living in utter fear. As saints of God (Christians) we must look at the events coming out of the Middle East from the view of Bible Prophecy and not from the Political World View of our day, only.
Islamic rule is going to replace these age old tyrants and monarchies. There will be no democracies emerging from all of this uprising in these Arab Countries. The unrest in so many Middle East countries Tunisia, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria, Iran, Jordon, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, Palestinian territories, and Iraq will emerge to unite under harsh Islamic law.
The borders of the United States of America are very vulnerable at this time. Canada has a very heavy presence of Islamic movement to our borders and so many of the routes into the USA from Canada are open routes. On our southern borders with Mexico, there is a very large presence of Hezbollah who they find is connected with the drug cartels and are also crossing into our southern borders.
We can only imagine the ramifications of the Muslim Brotherhood as they unite all of these countries under harsh Sharia (Islamic Law). There are several challenges going on in the United States to set up Sharia law into the law of those areas.
What can we in the USA (West) look forward to in the near future. First we will see a shortage of oil this will run our fuel cost out of sight. Our food is already starting to rise in price but in a few months it will be out of sight because there will be a vast food shortage.
In all of this unrest there will be a rise of anti-Semitism. It is sad to see that even our own government has begun to make it clear that the USA is also joining forces with those who are against Israel. Our president is also against Israel on many issues.
Genesis 12:3 New Living Translation ®,
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."
I know this is very fearful times that we are now living, but it is time for us to look up our redemption is drawing so very near to us in all of this.
Like I said, I was just thinking.
28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!"
I have been privileged all of my life to hear so many great messages about the day and the hour we are now living in. I feel so blessed to have been grounded and prepared for this end-time day. I grieve my spirit to see so many people who are caught unaware.
Our world is in such turmoil and so many people (Christian people included) are living in utter fear. As saints of God (Christians) we must look at the events coming out of the Middle East from the view of Bible Prophecy and not from the Political World View of our day, only.
Islamic rule is going to replace these age old tyrants and monarchies. There will be no democracies emerging from all of this uprising in these Arab Countries. The unrest in so many Middle East countries Tunisia, Yemen, Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Algeria, Iran, Jordon, Kuwait, Sudan, Syria, Palestinian territories, and Iraq will emerge to unite under harsh Islamic law.
The borders of the United States of America are very vulnerable at this time. Canada has a very heavy presence of Islamic movement to our borders and so many of the routes into the USA from Canada are open routes. On our southern borders with Mexico, there is a very large presence of Hezbollah who they find is connected with the drug cartels and are also crossing into our southern borders.
We can only imagine the ramifications of the Muslim Brotherhood as they unite all of these countries under harsh Sharia (Islamic Law). There are several challenges going on in the United States to set up Sharia law into the law of those areas.
What can we in the USA (West) look forward to in the near future. First we will see a shortage of oil this will run our fuel cost out of sight. Our food is already starting to rise in price but in a few months it will be out of sight because there will be a vast food shortage.
In all of this unrest there will be a rise of anti-Semitism. It is sad to see that even our own government has begun to make it clear that the USA is also joining forces with those who are against Israel. Our president is also against Israel on many issues.
Genesis 12:3 New Living Translation ®,
3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."
I know this is very fearful times that we are now living, but it is time for us to look up our redemption is drawing so very near to us in all of this.
Like I said, I was just thinking.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
I Was Just Thinking On This Sunday Morning February 20, 2011
Daniel 1:8-9 KJV,
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
Over the years I have observed when it comes to life or even living for God…Mediocre people are always at their best, for them there is no room for improvement. They are what they will always be and they seem to never change, they are satisfied just as they are. Mediocrity makes up the majority of Christianity and even much of NCUPC.
The fine line between success and failure in living for God is really quite broad and really well defined. It is not coincidental that a few people excel at what they do in living for the Lord while at the same time the majority of other people seem to barely get by. There are so many reasons why some achieve and there are so many reasons why others fail. I am not trying to tell you that I myself have it all together, but I do understand there is a difference in the process of living mediocre and living a life of power and being fully spiritually successful.
Daniel is one that actually broke the mold on mediocre living. Daniel excelled in a social environment that was foreign to him and his way of life. Daniel excelled spiritually in a foreign land that worshipped heathen idols and was none conducive to His form of prayer, praise and worship to the God Jehovah. Daniel excelled in an environment where the majority of his own countrymen were content with the status quo of being slaves in a foreign land.
When we begin to examine Daniel’s life and his lifestyle we quickly discover, that all though he was a captive in a foreign country among foreign people who served idol god’s Daniel set his sights on things above. Daniel’s rise to prominence and fame did not come by happenstance. Daniel could have succumbed to the fact he was a slave in a foreign country and resigned himself to the fact he could not change his situation and he would have lived the rest of his days in mediocrity and have never had success in his living for God. But Daniel kept his vision clear, while in captivity, kept his goals in focus and pressed beyond the normal to be successful spiritually in a foreign land.
Instead of Daniel settling for mediocrity he chose to become successful in captivity. The end results were that Daniel rose in prominence and power in a foreign land among a foreign people, simply because he did not give up his vision in compromise nor did he relinquish his faith and trust in God.
Daniel’s rise to prominence can be traced to three important decisions he made.
The first important decision Daniel made…He chose Character over comfort
In just a short period of time after his captivity Daniel had developed a reputation of integrity. In all of this he was known to be an honorable young man with high morals and excellent ethics. By reading the Word of the Lord Daniel had overcome his own youthful lust. Daniel had kept his life clean and pure even as a young man in captivity. He had no skeletons in his closet waiting to haunt him. No Daniel was a righteous, God fearing young man. Even his enemies found him to be trustworthy.
Think of Daniel’s circumstances and the situation he was in. He had been taken captive in the third year that Jehoiakim reigned as king of Israel. He was taken captive by the armies of Babylon under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Not only was Daniel a captive, but he was chosen to eat from the Kings meat and drink of the Kings wine, so that he could become a servant of the king in years to come. He could have compromised his lifestyle at this time in his life and none of us would have ever known of him. But even as a young man he chose to live by his convictions and not bow to the whims of mankind.
Unfortunately, we are living in a time when the whole of Christianity is living in such compromise. It is so easy for any of us to compromise our own personal integrity. So what if I do not follow the preached Word of God, who is going to know about it? So what if I gossip just a little bit and talk bad about the ministry, or sow just a little discard among the brethren, who is it going to hurt?
We live in a compromising day, our society as a whole has very little dignity left. So many people around us have compromised their integrity and have no character left. They lie, cheat, steal and will even kill if they think they can get by with it, and they wonder what is wrong with our world?
Just think with me, who is going to say anything if you stretch the truth or sneak an answer to pass an exam. Who does not cheat on their expenses or when filing their income taxes?
A letter was sent to the IRS. It read like this,
“Dear Sirs;
Last year when I filed my income tax return, I deliberately misrepresented my income. Now I have been having trouble sleeping, so I have enclosed you a check for an additional $450.00 for back taxes. If I still cannot sleep after sending you this check, I will gladly send you the rest.”
It is so very easy for us, even we who have been born again to compromise our virtue; especially now that the world view is changing to accept all of these sensual, perverted lifestyles. Yes, perverted behavior has become the accepted norm for our world today. You and I who have been filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost cannot let ourselves get comfortable in carnality and drop our guard against compromise of any kind. These kinds of things will cost us our peace, joy and happiness. These kinds of things will hinder and even break our fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
You who are in the church, I encourage you to strive for both ethical as well as moral purity…then like Daniel, be willing to look different, act different and actually be different than the people of the world.
The Apostle Peter declared;
2 Peter 1:3-9 New Living Translation ®,
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you and I will continually walk into the depths Peter was preaching we will never compromise our life or this precious truth. If you and I will possess these qualities with our thoughts pressing forward, in an increasing measure we will always be effective in our service for the Lord Jesus Christ.
But Peter goes on to explain this,
2 Peter 1:9 New Living Translation ®,
9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
This is why Peter did not stop writing there,
2 Peter 1:10-11 New Living Translation ®,
10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
At times, the modern day saint of God more often than not compliments the world and the world’s behavior rather than contrasts the world and the behavior of the World. Lines that were once drawn between right and wrong have been erased. It is hard to tell right and wrong apart today, even in the church. There is so much compromise going on.
Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Daniel chose Character over comfort. Daniel had courage to hold to his virtue of righteousness even in a foreign land among heathen people. Yes, Daniel had the courage to be different.
The second important decision Daniel made…He chose Discipline over Disorder.
When you view Daniels life you see he had a Disciplined Prayer Life.
Daniel 6:10 KJV,
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
The reason that some people succeed in their spiritual walk with God while others struggle and even fail, has very little to do with their natural abilities. I have found that most of our failures in living for God can be traced to an absence of discipline. I have been to churches over the years where that we have to pray some backslider through every time we have revival. These folks receive the fresh anointing of the Holy Ghost in their life over and over again, but they just cannot get themselves disciplined to totally live for God. As soon as the revival thrust is over and the freshness wears off their experience they are down again, often quickly back out. It will take the same disciplines for you to make it in the work of God as it does for me and anyone who is spiritually successful in their living for God.
Saints of God especially you that struggle in living for God, Let me remind you that most spiritual failures can be traced back to the absence of discipline. This is one of the reasons that I believe we need to get folks who pray through discipled and anchored to this great truth. It takes discipline in our life if we are going to spiritually excel with our Savior. You cannot sow seed of compromise, rebellion, or of any kind of sin and then get on your knees and begin to pray for crop failure. No saints of God when you and I sow these seeds of sin they will bear fruit even if we choose to change after they have been sown. We must get a hold of what God desires to happen in and through us, get ourselves disciplined with our sight fixed on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His holy righteousness.
Let me help us to understand a few of the areas that most of us need greater discipline in our life. First thing most of us need to discipline and control our tongue. Did you know more people are murdered with a tongue than they are a gun or a knife? More people are run down by a long tongue of gossip than they are by automobiles.
Although, when we are questioned gossip, slander and backbiting, are considered lesser sins than murder. But gossip, kills the spirit of folks that need to be saved, gossip kills friendships, disrupts families, split’s churches assassinates an individual’s character and causes people to backslide. So I question, which sin is worse gossip or murder?
Let me help us at this moment; it has been said:
Great minds discuss ideas, Average, mediocre minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people.
If we are going to be successful in our living for God we must first learn to discipline our own tongue. Secondly, we need more discipline in our devotion to Jesus Christ and His Word. I wonder, do any of us have a right to complain about the absence of prayer in our government and our schools when there is an absence of prayer in our life, in our home? Why, do we fight about the Bible being used in the public forum, when we do not even open our Bible at home?
Saints of God what right do we have to complain about the moral decay of America, if our lives are so carnal, worldly and flesh driven? What right do we have to complain about the decay in our government and in our country, if we do not daily pray for them? We must pray for our leaders and our nation often.
Daniel was so successful in his living for God because he disciplined himself to get down on his knees, and pray facing Jerusalem three times a day. He was not concerned that laws had been passed to jail those who prayed to any God but the King. This decree did not hinder Daniel he was disciplined and committed to God and therefore he prayed. Three times every day Daniel would raise the window in his room face Jerusalem and intercede for the children of Israel who had been taken captive so that God would preserve them in their captivity.
The third thing that we need as saints of God is more discipline in our church life. In my 63 years of living and going to church I have learned how important the church is to my spiritual growth and to my stability in the work of the Lord. In fact I have personally learned that I need to be involved with the church more than the church needs me. I need the atmosphere of praise, and worship. I need a place where my perceptions of life can be challenged. I need to be in an environment that offers me opportunity to learn the ways of God and a place to feel the flow of His precious anointing. I need to be involved in a church where the gifts of the Spirit are in full operation. I need to be involved where I am held accountable for my actions and where the Word of God is preached with conviction. Yes, I need the church where I receive godly leadership and receive godly wisdom from the preached Word.
I need the church, for the fellowship of good godly people who hold the same values that I embrace. I need to be involved in a church where I receive encouragement when life gets rough. Yes, a church that when I fall down, slip or even get to the place I almost give up the people do not give up on me, they pray for me. I need a church that when I am discouraged they do not talk against me they pray for me.
Listen to me at this moment you do not have to remind me about the imperfections that exist among the people who make up the church, but all the criticisms you bring will never undo the positive role that exist in the local church plays in my life.
In our working in the kingdom of God we must work hard on developing a disciplined pattern of church attendance and church involvement. Daniel excelled because he chose discipline over disorder.
The third important decision Daniel made…He chose Love over Life.
The administrators and high officers did not like Daniel and wanted him to be done away with so they went to King Darius and had a decree signed so that no one could pray to any god or human but him. Daniel knew the decree had been signed and yet he chose his love for God over life.
Daniel 6:5-9 New Living Translation ®,
5 So they concluded, "Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion."
6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, "Long live King Darius!
7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions.
8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked."
9 So King Darius signed the law.
This law was really nothing more than a smoke screen that some of the people in high office had concocted to have Daniel put to death, because they were jealous of Daniel and they knew he would never stop praying to God.
Daniel 6:10 New Living Translation ®,
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
I do not believe that Daniel really wanted to be a meal for a den of lions but when he was faced with a tough decision he chose love over life. Daniels first allegiance was to God. How is your love for the Lord at this moment? Is your love for God more important than your ambitions, more important than acceptance or peer pressure? Is
Christ Jesus more worthy to you than possessions, or the pursuit of power?
Is that your testimony? When he was faced with an option, Daniel chose Love over Life itself.
What have you given up to follow Jesus? Are we guilty of making Christianity a religion of convenience today? Have we replaced self-denial with self-service? Daniel was determined to serve God no matter what the consequences?
Daniel 6:19-24 New Living Translation ®,
19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions' den.
20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, "Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?"
21 Daniel answered, "Long live the king!
22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty."
23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.
24 Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.
As saints of God we are not always isolated from painful or even horrendous experiences. There are those times when you and I will not escape the trials and tribulations of life. If we continue to have faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and trust Him, He will walk with us through these experiences and bring us through to victory.
David said it like this:
Psalms 32:7 New Living Translation ®,
7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.
How can we break the mold of mediocrity here in the church even at NCUPC? We break it the same way Daniel did.
Choose Character over Comfort…Choose Discipline over Disorder…Choose Love over Life.
8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.
Over the years I have observed when it comes to life or even living for God…Mediocre people are always at their best, for them there is no room for improvement. They are what they will always be and they seem to never change, they are satisfied just as they are. Mediocrity makes up the majority of Christianity and even much of NCUPC.
The fine line between success and failure in living for God is really quite broad and really well defined. It is not coincidental that a few people excel at what they do in living for the Lord while at the same time the majority of other people seem to barely get by. There are so many reasons why some achieve and there are so many reasons why others fail. I am not trying to tell you that I myself have it all together, but I do understand there is a difference in the process of living mediocre and living a life of power and being fully spiritually successful.
Daniel is one that actually broke the mold on mediocre living. Daniel excelled in a social environment that was foreign to him and his way of life. Daniel excelled spiritually in a foreign land that worshipped heathen idols and was none conducive to His form of prayer, praise and worship to the God Jehovah. Daniel excelled in an environment where the majority of his own countrymen were content with the status quo of being slaves in a foreign land.
When we begin to examine Daniel’s life and his lifestyle we quickly discover, that all though he was a captive in a foreign country among foreign people who served idol god’s Daniel set his sights on things above. Daniel’s rise to prominence and fame did not come by happenstance. Daniel could have succumbed to the fact he was a slave in a foreign country and resigned himself to the fact he could not change his situation and he would have lived the rest of his days in mediocrity and have never had success in his living for God. But Daniel kept his vision clear, while in captivity, kept his goals in focus and pressed beyond the normal to be successful spiritually in a foreign land.
Instead of Daniel settling for mediocrity he chose to become successful in captivity. The end results were that Daniel rose in prominence and power in a foreign land among a foreign people, simply because he did not give up his vision in compromise nor did he relinquish his faith and trust in God.
Daniel’s rise to prominence can be traced to three important decisions he made.
The first important decision Daniel made…He chose Character over comfort
In just a short period of time after his captivity Daniel had developed a reputation of integrity. In all of this he was known to be an honorable young man with high morals and excellent ethics. By reading the Word of the Lord Daniel had overcome his own youthful lust. Daniel had kept his life clean and pure even as a young man in captivity. He had no skeletons in his closet waiting to haunt him. No Daniel was a righteous, God fearing young man. Even his enemies found him to be trustworthy.
Think of Daniel’s circumstances and the situation he was in. He had been taken captive in the third year that Jehoiakim reigned as king of Israel. He was taken captive by the armies of Babylon under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Not only was Daniel a captive, but he was chosen to eat from the Kings meat and drink of the Kings wine, so that he could become a servant of the king in years to come. He could have compromised his lifestyle at this time in his life and none of us would have ever known of him. But even as a young man he chose to live by his convictions and not bow to the whims of mankind.
Unfortunately, we are living in a time when the whole of Christianity is living in such compromise. It is so easy for any of us to compromise our own personal integrity. So what if I do not follow the preached Word of God, who is going to know about it? So what if I gossip just a little bit and talk bad about the ministry, or sow just a little discard among the brethren, who is it going to hurt?
We live in a compromising day, our society as a whole has very little dignity left. So many people around us have compromised their integrity and have no character left. They lie, cheat, steal and will even kill if they think they can get by with it, and they wonder what is wrong with our world?
Just think with me, who is going to say anything if you stretch the truth or sneak an answer to pass an exam. Who does not cheat on their expenses or when filing their income taxes?
A letter was sent to the IRS. It read like this,
“Dear Sirs;
Last year when I filed my income tax return, I deliberately misrepresented my income. Now I have been having trouble sleeping, so I have enclosed you a check for an additional $450.00 for back taxes. If I still cannot sleep after sending you this check, I will gladly send you the rest.”
It is so very easy for us, even we who have been born again to compromise our virtue; especially now that the world view is changing to accept all of these sensual, perverted lifestyles. Yes, perverted behavior has become the accepted norm for our world today. You and I who have been filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost cannot let ourselves get comfortable in carnality and drop our guard against compromise of any kind. These kinds of things will cost us our peace, joy and happiness. These kinds of things will hinder and even break our fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
You who are in the church, I encourage you to strive for both ethical as well as moral purity…then like Daniel, be willing to look different, act different and actually be different than the people of the world.
The Apostle Peter declared;
2 Peter 1:3-9 New Living Translation ®,
3 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.
4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you and I will continually walk into the depths Peter was preaching we will never compromise our life or this precious truth. If you and I will possess these qualities with our thoughts pressing forward, in an increasing measure we will always be effective in our service for the Lord Jesus Christ.
But Peter goes on to explain this,
2 Peter 1:9 New Living Translation ®,
9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
This is why Peter did not stop writing there,
2 Peter 1:10-11 New Living Translation ®,
10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.
11 Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
At times, the modern day saint of God more often than not compliments the world and the world’s behavior rather than contrasts the world and the behavior of the World. Lines that were once drawn between right and wrong have been erased. It is hard to tell right and wrong apart today, even in the church. There is so much compromise going on.
Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Daniel chose Character over comfort. Daniel had courage to hold to his virtue of righteousness even in a foreign land among heathen people. Yes, Daniel had the courage to be different.
The second important decision Daniel made…He chose Discipline over Disorder.
When you view Daniels life you see he had a Disciplined Prayer Life.
Daniel 6:10 KJV,
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
The reason that some people succeed in their spiritual walk with God while others struggle and even fail, has very little to do with their natural abilities. I have found that most of our failures in living for God can be traced to an absence of discipline. I have been to churches over the years where that we have to pray some backslider through every time we have revival. These folks receive the fresh anointing of the Holy Ghost in their life over and over again, but they just cannot get themselves disciplined to totally live for God. As soon as the revival thrust is over and the freshness wears off their experience they are down again, often quickly back out. It will take the same disciplines for you to make it in the work of God as it does for me and anyone who is spiritually successful in their living for God.
Saints of God especially you that struggle in living for God, Let me remind you that most spiritual failures can be traced back to the absence of discipline. This is one of the reasons that I believe we need to get folks who pray through discipled and anchored to this great truth. It takes discipline in our life if we are going to spiritually excel with our Savior. You cannot sow seed of compromise, rebellion, or of any kind of sin and then get on your knees and begin to pray for crop failure. No saints of God when you and I sow these seeds of sin they will bear fruit even if we choose to change after they have been sown. We must get a hold of what God desires to happen in and through us, get ourselves disciplined with our sight fixed on nothing less than Jesus Christ and His holy righteousness.
Let me help us to understand a few of the areas that most of us need greater discipline in our life. First thing most of us need to discipline and control our tongue. Did you know more people are murdered with a tongue than they are a gun or a knife? More people are run down by a long tongue of gossip than they are by automobiles.
Although, when we are questioned gossip, slander and backbiting, are considered lesser sins than murder. But gossip, kills the spirit of folks that need to be saved, gossip kills friendships, disrupts families, split’s churches assassinates an individual’s character and causes people to backslide. So I question, which sin is worse gossip or murder?
Let me help us at this moment; it has been said:
Great minds discuss ideas, Average, mediocre minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people.
If we are going to be successful in our living for God we must first learn to discipline our own tongue. Secondly, we need more discipline in our devotion to Jesus Christ and His Word. I wonder, do any of us have a right to complain about the absence of prayer in our government and our schools when there is an absence of prayer in our life, in our home? Why, do we fight about the Bible being used in the public forum, when we do not even open our Bible at home?
Saints of God what right do we have to complain about the moral decay of America, if our lives are so carnal, worldly and flesh driven? What right do we have to complain about the decay in our government and in our country, if we do not daily pray for them? We must pray for our leaders and our nation often.
Daniel was so successful in his living for God because he disciplined himself to get down on his knees, and pray facing Jerusalem three times a day. He was not concerned that laws had been passed to jail those who prayed to any God but the King. This decree did not hinder Daniel he was disciplined and committed to God and therefore he prayed. Three times every day Daniel would raise the window in his room face Jerusalem and intercede for the children of Israel who had been taken captive so that God would preserve them in their captivity.
The third thing that we need as saints of God is more discipline in our church life. In my 63 years of living and going to church I have learned how important the church is to my spiritual growth and to my stability in the work of the Lord. In fact I have personally learned that I need to be involved with the church more than the church needs me. I need the atmosphere of praise, and worship. I need a place where my perceptions of life can be challenged. I need to be in an environment that offers me opportunity to learn the ways of God and a place to feel the flow of His precious anointing. I need to be involved in a church where the gifts of the Spirit are in full operation. I need to be involved where I am held accountable for my actions and where the Word of God is preached with conviction. Yes, I need the church where I receive godly leadership and receive godly wisdom from the preached Word.
I need the church, for the fellowship of good godly people who hold the same values that I embrace. I need to be involved in a church where I receive encouragement when life gets rough. Yes, a church that when I fall down, slip or even get to the place I almost give up the people do not give up on me, they pray for me. I need a church that when I am discouraged they do not talk against me they pray for me.
Listen to me at this moment you do not have to remind me about the imperfections that exist among the people who make up the church, but all the criticisms you bring will never undo the positive role that exist in the local church plays in my life.
In our working in the kingdom of God we must work hard on developing a disciplined pattern of church attendance and church involvement. Daniel excelled because he chose discipline over disorder.
The third important decision Daniel made…He chose Love over Life.
The administrators and high officers did not like Daniel and wanted him to be done away with so they went to King Darius and had a decree signed so that no one could pray to any god or human but him. Daniel knew the decree had been signed and yet he chose his love for God over life.
Daniel 6:5-9 New Living Translation ®,
5 So they concluded, "Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion."
6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, "Long live King Darius!
7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions.
8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked."
9 So King Darius signed the law.
This law was really nothing more than a smoke screen that some of the people in high office had concocted to have Daniel put to death, because they were jealous of Daniel and they knew he would never stop praying to God.
Daniel 6:10 New Living Translation ®,
10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
I do not believe that Daniel really wanted to be a meal for a den of lions but when he was faced with a tough decision he chose love over life. Daniels first allegiance was to God. How is your love for the Lord at this moment? Is your love for God more important than your ambitions, more important than acceptance or peer pressure? Is
Christ Jesus more worthy to you than possessions, or the pursuit of power?
Is that your testimony? When he was faced with an option, Daniel chose Love over Life itself.
What have you given up to follow Jesus? Are we guilty of making Christianity a religion of convenience today? Have we replaced self-denial with self-service? Daniel was determined to serve God no matter what the consequences?
Daniel 6:19-24 New Living Translation ®,
19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions' den.
20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, "Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?"
21 Daniel answered, "Long live the king!
22 My God sent his angel to shut the lions' mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty."
23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.
24 Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had maliciously accused Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.
As saints of God we are not always isolated from painful or even horrendous experiences. There are those times when you and I will not escape the trials and tribulations of life. If we continue to have faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and trust Him, He will walk with us through these experiences and bring us through to victory.
David said it like this:
Psalms 32:7 New Living Translation ®,
7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.
How can we break the mold of mediocrity here in the church even at NCUPC? We break it the same way Daniel did.
Choose Character over Comfort…Choose Discipline over Disorder…Choose Love over Life.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
I was just thinking at this early moment on Thursday, February 17, 2011.
As I was awakened very early from my sleep I began to feel heaviness in my spirit. Realizing the Lord was tugging at my heart to get up and have a time of early fellowship this morning, I did just that. It is so wonderful to know that our hearts can be heavy and the burdens of life can be more than we humanly can handle, but when we get into fellowship with the Lord everything begins to feel alright. What a great time of fellowship I have had with my Savior this morning.
I awakened this morning with a feeling of heaviness in my spirit. I have been trying to work some things out that included many other people, ministers and leaders. I had the feeling that it was my obligation and burden to do some things that have become humanly impossible for me to do. This feeling of obligation has been haunting me for some time now and has really become a weighted burden. I have prayed so desperately about this situation for the past couple of months and had given into the fact that I felt obligated to do something I cannot possible do. But I have been made aware this morning that none of us are called to be the Savior of the world. We have been called by the Savior to participate in the saving of the people of this world and that alone is a task that we must do with a fervency of prayer.
I have been able since I have had this revelation this morning to relinquish some things to God. I have realized that I am not personally responsible for fulfilling the will of other people I am only responsible to fulfil the will of God for my life. I am responsible to do the work of a Pastor and to see to the spiritual needs of the many people who are under my leadership as well as to my own spiritual needs.
I have had a renewing of my vision and have been able to start realigning my priorities to reach my goals. It is really a great feeling that I have to be able to face a new day with such understanding that the Lord is in control of life and living all I have to do is turn it all over to Him and trust Him.
As I begin to progress in my living for God and serving Him from this point on, I want to keep my vision clear so that I will be fulfilling His will with a fresh zeal and enthusiasm so that others will receive the preached Word with anointing and power. So many people in my world face the devastations of life and feel the pressures of the world pressing them daily. When I come into contact with these people they need to feel the presence of the Lord flowing from my life. The Lord’s presence is all that can change their lives that is why I must remain freshly anointed by His spirit.
Wake me up often Lord and refresh my spirit with your sweet presence, so that I can go forth and refresh others with your anointing.
I awakened this morning with a feeling of heaviness in my spirit. I have been trying to work some things out that included many other people, ministers and leaders. I had the feeling that it was my obligation and burden to do some things that have become humanly impossible for me to do. This feeling of obligation has been haunting me for some time now and has really become a weighted burden. I have prayed so desperately about this situation for the past couple of months and had given into the fact that I felt obligated to do something I cannot possible do. But I have been made aware this morning that none of us are called to be the Savior of the world. We have been called by the Savior to participate in the saving of the people of this world and that alone is a task that we must do with a fervency of prayer.
I have been able since I have had this revelation this morning to relinquish some things to God. I have realized that I am not personally responsible for fulfilling the will of other people I am only responsible to fulfil the will of God for my life. I am responsible to do the work of a Pastor and to see to the spiritual needs of the many people who are under my leadership as well as to my own spiritual needs.
I have had a renewing of my vision and have been able to start realigning my priorities to reach my goals. It is really a great feeling that I have to be able to face a new day with such understanding that the Lord is in control of life and living all I have to do is turn it all over to Him and trust Him.
As I begin to progress in my living for God and serving Him from this point on, I want to keep my vision clear so that I will be fulfilling His will with a fresh zeal and enthusiasm so that others will receive the preached Word with anointing and power. So many people in my world face the devastations of life and feel the pressures of the world pressing them daily. When I come into contact with these people they need to feel the presence of the Lord flowing from my life. The Lord’s presence is all that can change their lives that is why I must remain freshly anointed by His spirit.
Wake me up often Lord and refresh my spirit with your sweet presence, so that I can go forth and refresh others with your anointing.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
I was just thinking on this Thursday, February 3, 2011, from Panama City Beach, FL
Like many so many who as a child have grown up in church, I learned how to endure the boredom of long sermons at a young age.
When I was five or six, I survived them by scrutinizing everything near that I could see: like the back of the heads of the people who were in front of me. I observed the misshaped heads, ears; hair do’s and saw every wart, spot, cut or sore on necks. The offering envelopes I folded into a small airplane; or made it into a tiny ball and I played with these while I endured another boring adult service. I played trucks, cars or trains with the song books. Then there were the half-length pencils whose tips I broke and made a toy out of them. Then there were times I poked my little brother, which provoked my mother and father and made things really interesting especially when I got home.
Then in my struggling teen years of fifteen thru eighteen, I then listened to some of the lengthy boring adult sermons, but even in my teen years my attention would come and go. I really did want to listen but I often daydreamed about so many things that pulled against my young mind. I often would wonder what the other teenagers in the room were thinking of me, especially the members of the opposite sex because I lived under such peer pressure and I did worry about what other teens would think about me.
I also remember in my teen age years of really watching and listening to our pastor as he would walk around the platform. He would stroll to one side of the pulpit nonchalantly, as if he were walking up to you as a friend. Then he would amble to the other side of the pulpit, like he wanted to say hello to a family who just arrived. Sometimes he would casually lean sideways with one hand resting on the pulpit. The whole thing intrigued me. It was so friendly and down to earth.
I really did listen to what he said. His name was Rev. D. T. Guillory and he would teach often from leather charts that someone had drawn for him concerning the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. I still have a love for the study or prophecy today, because of this studious pastor who intrigued me as a teenager.
I want to be very honest. We live in a world with so much to offer our people, even those who attend church. The entertainment industry and all of the new electronic games, and toys pull for our entire attention span. It is not just the five-year-olds and fifteen-year-olds who struggle to avoid yawning in adult church. It is adults, also. We all go in and out during teaching and preaching at church. Maybe your brain gets stuck in a spin cycle about a conversation from yesterday. Maybe you start planning out Sunday afternoon's "to-do" list. To this very day, I can catch myself tuning out, especially when a preacher gets mired down in some boring biblical lesson for whatever the reason. But the moment he begins telling a story, my ears perk up. I know that happens to most of you?
All of this causes a person to ask whether preaching is that important to the lives of Christians and churches.
The church attendance and preaching made such a difference in my life during high school. I was called to preach at the age of sixteen and really did want to live for God before all of my peers. But in the lives of some of my friends at church and even some of their parents, church did not seem to do much for them. I left high school for college, which I did not complete. I married one year out of high school and began to try to find success for my young life. I had many of my friends from church and even high school who were wrapped up in reaching for their success. Church became secondary to me at this point in my life. By this time I had two young sons and a wife I was trying to make my way in this rough world but I was leaving God and church out, even though I never stopped attending, I was not involved and attended out of tradition. During those years I had a few encounters with the Lord, but my attention span was so short and I was always thinking of new ways to becoming wealthy and having success.
By God's grace, I had another encounter with Him in 1978 at the age of thirty years old. I went busted in my business and began to lose everything I had. I ended up moving to Lake Charles, Louisiana. On the second Sunday night of 1978 my family and I attended Apostolic Temple UPC. The pastor was Rev. Marvin Treece. This was the best thing that has ever happened in my adult life. This man was so studious and preached like a master teacher of the Bible. My wife and I became so involved in Apostolic Temple. We taught in the Sunday School, were involved in outreach, Bus Ministry and Bible Studies. We made a commitment to the working of the Lord and church became so intriguing and interesting. Bro. Treece was the greatest preacher I have ever set under, what a great man of God. Still to this day he is my pastor.
I look back at many of my friends who did not ever seem to have an encounter with God. Today they are stuck in agnosticism, materialism, alcoholism, drugs, perversions and more. Many of their parents I looked up to are now divorced and no longer involved in church either.
What good did all those sermons do that we heard back in our youth and teen years? Now that I am a preacher, pastor myself, I do not want to lose the children, teens or the adults who hear each of my lessons or messages. I have made up my mind I have to preach Bible truth. I have to preach it as it is written. I have to provoke the people and wake them up spiritually and get them involved with the church and the work of the kingdom. I have to put something in my preaching that will not be boring, but will help people grow spiritually.
I have been made to wonder what I needed to do to add something to my teaching and preaching that would impact and bring power, life and growth in the church I pastor and the people I minister to. There has got to be more that I can offer than a big guy standing up in front of them babbling over and over, talking about very little that will help these wonderful people.
My guess is that many people who attend churches desire to hear sermons, lessons and songs that are true and biblical. But I have come to the realization that a strong ministry of the Word is not a top priority for many who attend church services these types want just a feel good message all the time. I have also realized that a strong ministry of the Word is not a top priority to many who preach and pastor.
In trying to bring life to the church from the pulpit, there has to be life in the children’s ministry and the teen ministry of the church. As the Pastor I am to pass life to the teachers and leaders of all these age groups. These leaders and teachers have to bring life to those they minister to also.
When someone walks into one of our churches for the first time, their attention fixes on everything about the church, like the style and quality of the music and singing, the availability of good children's and teen ministry. They even look at the layout and the feel of the sanctuary. Honestly, people evaluate a church just like they would evaluate which café they would like to eat their next meal —"The feel of the atmosphere in our church, must be in our planning?"
So many people have seemingly have lost interest in church and many have little confidence in preachers or ministry leaders in churches, today. I am afraid that we who are in leadership are guilty, because we have lost sight of the vision and because of that the people under our ministry are now perishing.
Because of all that is happening around us today even many church leaders and pastors find they also have lost the confidence they once had to deliver the Word of God, because so many people seem to be bored by preaching and teaching. We now have so many things that we do so we can find ways to bring life back to our services. We read books, go on-line, and attend high energy conferences for pastors, preacher and church leaders. We try all of these ideas and often we are still in the same place with our church and our ministry. What has seemingly worked for all these other pastors and ministry teams does not even begin to work for our church and our ministry.
We read and hear that we need better pastor visitation, better music with dynamic worship, small group ministry, personal accessibility, adequate parking, solid financial resources, attractive programs, the presence of the Holy Ghost, passionate altars, spiritual gifts in full operation in the ministry, speaking in tongues, visionary leadership, strategic leadership, empowered leadership, loving relationships, contemporary music and singing, high-impact signing team, visible outreach and bus ministry, a sophisticated knowledge of every culture in our neighborhoods, and the list goes on and on. Not any one of these things bad? Most are fine and even good. The question is “Where are we placing our confidence as ministers of the Gospel?” As Preachers, we believe God created the universe by his word. We know Ezekiel spoke dead bones to life with preached spoken words. We know Paul commanded Timothy to "Preach the word." Yes, we know all that. But we must be realistic, today. We are living in the day that is captivated by images. It is the age for the eye, not the ear. "Give us flat screens and big screens," the people say. "Give us satellite feeds and video-on-demand." It's how our brains are wired.
Church pastors and leaders seem to be catching on. They are sharing their "messages of truth" through the watching of movie clip with Movie Stars from Hollywood, and gospel singing videos from Nashville, Country Music and Hard Rock Groups who do not even go to church themselves. Of course I do not believe it is just DVD clips that people desire. They want to see good deeds in the life and actions of the people they are following.
God's Word, working through God's Spirit, is God's primary instrument for growing God's church. We must understand and believe that God's Word is still the most powerful force in the universe.
God creates and grows his church through his Word. God grows us as individuals and as local churches through our hearing His Word. If you are a confident preacher of the Word of God then you must lead your church by the Word, structure your church by the Word, and grow your church by the Word of God.
One thing is necessary in our churches—hearing God's Word through preaching, reading, singing, and praying.
What about the power of sight? What about the fact that people today have been conditioned by an image-driven marketplace? There's nothing new in all of this. People have always been driven by sight. The Israelites felt fear at the sight of Goliath. The Lover feels attraction at the sight of his Beloved in the Song of Solomon. The temple was decorated with bronze pomegranates and gold flowers. And the apostle John warns in his writings about "the desire of the eyes." Sight moves people. It draws them and repulses them. It's how God created us.
Many of the books being published these days about the local church are looking for something new – Some new ways to engage with the culture, to structure our churches, and to appeal to outsiders. I will agree that there is a place for each of our ministry teams and churches to make some changes for the better. But I still propose that churches become healthy and saints become vibrant through the same things today as they did in New Testament churches: through evangelizing, preaching, teaching, singing, praying, praising, worshipping and discipling one another with God's Word. True life, kingdom life, exciting life, will be created in our church services through nothing new, but through something quite old, the preached Word of God.
When I was five or six, I survived them by scrutinizing everything near that I could see: like the back of the heads of the people who were in front of me. I observed the misshaped heads, ears; hair do’s and saw every wart, spot, cut or sore on necks. The offering envelopes I folded into a small airplane; or made it into a tiny ball and I played with these while I endured another boring adult service. I played trucks, cars or trains with the song books. Then there were the half-length pencils whose tips I broke and made a toy out of them. Then there were times I poked my little brother, which provoked my mother and father and made things really interesting especially when I got home.
Then in my struggling teen years of fifteen thru eighteen, I then listened to some of the lengthy boring adult sermons, but even in my teen years my attention would come and go. I really did want to listen but I often daydreamed about so many things that pulled against my young mind. I often would wonder what the other teenagers in the room were thinking of me, especially the members of the opposite sex because I lived under such peer pressure and I did worry about what other teens would think about me.
I also remember in my teen age years of really watching and listening to our pastor as he would walk around the platform. He would stroll to one side of the pulpit nonchalantly, as if he were walking up to you as a friend. Then he would amble to the other side of the pulpit, like he wanted to say hello to a family who just arrived. Sometimes he would casually lean sideways with one hand resting on the pulpit. The whole thing intrigued me. It was so friendly and down to earth.
I really did listen to what he said. His name was Rev. D. T. Guillory and he would teach often from leather charts that someone had drawn for him concerning the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. I still have a love for the study or prophecy today, because of this studious pastor who intrigued me as a teenager.
I want to be very honest. We live in a world with so much to offer our people, even those who attend church. The entertainment industry and all of the new electronic games, and toys pull for our entire attention span. It is not just the five-year-olds and fifteen-year-olds who struggle to avoid yawning in adult church. It is adults, also. We all go in and out during teaching and preaching at church. Maybe your brain gets stuck in a spin cycle about a conversation from yesterday. Maybe you start planning out Sunday afternoon's "to-do" list. To this very day, I can catch myself tuning out, especially when a preacher gets mired down in some boring biblical lesson for whatever the reason. But the moment he begins telling a story, my ears perk up. I know that happens to most of you?
All of this causes a person to ask whether preaching is that important to the lives of Christians and churches.
The church attendance and preaching made such a difference in my life during high school. I was called to preach at the age of sixteen and really did want to live for God before all of my peers. But in the lives of some of my friends at church and even some of their parents, church did not seem to do much for them. I left high school for college, which I did not complete. I married one year out of high school and began to try to find success for my young life. I had many of my friends from church and even high school who were wrapped up in reaching for their success. Church became secondary to me at this point in my life. By this time I had two young sons and a wife I was trying to make my way in this rough world but I was leaving God and church out, even though I never stopped attending, I was not involved and attended out of tradition. During those years I had a few encounters with the Lord, but my attention span was so short and I was always thinking of new ways to becoming wealthy and having success.
By God's grace, I had another encounter with Him in 1978 at the age of thirty years old. I went busted in my business and began to lose everything I had. I ended up moving to Lake Charles, Louisiana. On the second Sunday night of 1978 my family and I attended Apostolic Temple UPC. The pastor was Rev. Marvin Treece. This was the best thing that has ever happened in my adult life. This man was so studious and preached like a master teacher of the Bible. My wife and I became so involved in Apostolic Temple. We taught in the Sunday School, were involved in outreach, Bus Ministry and Bible Studies. We made a commitment to the working of the Lord and church became so intriguing and interesting. Bro. Treece was the greatest preacher I have ever set under, what a great man of God. Still to this day he is my pastor.
I look back at many of my friends who did not ever seem to have an encounter with God. Today they are stuck in agnosticism, materialism, alcoholism, drugs, perversions and more. Many of their parents I looked up to are now divorced and no longer involved in church either.
What good did all those sermons do that we heard back in our youth and teen years? Now that I am a preacher, pastor myself, I do not want to lose the children, teens or the adults who hear each of my lessons or messages. I have made up my mind I have to preach Bible truth. I have to preach it as it is written. I have to provoke the people and wake them up spiritually and get them involved with the church and the work of the kingdom. I have to put something in my preaching that will not be boring, but will help people grow spiritually.
I have been made to wonder what I needed to do to add something to my teaching and preaching that would impact and bring power, life and growth in the church I pastor and the people I minister to. There has got to be more that I can offer than a big guy standing up in front of them babbling over and over, talking about very little that will help these wonderful people.
My guess is that many people who attend churches desire to hear sermons, lessons and songs that are true and biblical. But I have come to the realization that a strong ministry of the Word is not a top priority for many who attend church services these types want just a feel good message all the time. I have also realized that a strong ministry of the Word is not a top priority to many who preach and pastor.
In trying to bring life to the church from the pulpit, there has to be life in the children’s ministry and the teen ministry of the church. As the Pastor I am to pass life to the teachers and leaders of all these age groups. These leaders and teachers have to bring life to those they minister to also.
When someone walks into one of our churches for the first time, their attention fixes on everything about the church, like the style and quality of the music and singing, the availability of good children's and teen ministry. They even look at the layout and the feel of the sanctuary. Honestly, people evaluate a church just like they would evaluate which café they would like to eat their next meal —"The feel of the atmosphere in our church, must be in our planning?"
So many people have seemingly have lost interest in church and many have little confidence in preachers or ministry leaders in churches, today. I am afraid that we who are in leadership are guilty, because we have lost sight of the vision and because of that the people under our ministry are now perishing.
Because of all that is happening around us today even many church leaders and pastors find they also have lost the confidence they once had to deliver the Word of God, because so many people seem to be bored by preaching and teaching. We now have so many things that we do so we can find ways to bring life back to our services. We read books, go on-line, and attend high energy conferences for pastors, preacher and church leaders. We try all of these ideas and often we are still in the same place with our church and our ministry. What has seemingly worked for all these other pastors and ministry teams does not even begin to work for our church and our ministry.
We read and hear that we need better pastor visitation, better music with dynamic worship, small group ministry, personal accessibility, adequate parking, solid financial resources, attractive programs, the presence of the Holy Ghost, passionate altars, spiritual gifts in full operation in the ministry, speaking in tongues, visionary leadership, strategic leadership, empowered leadership, loving relationships, contemporary music and singing, high-impact signing team, visible outreach and bus ministry, a sophisticated knowledge of every culture in our neighborhoods, and the list goes on and on. Not any one of these things bad? Most are fine and even good. The question is “Where are we placing our confidence as ministers of the Gospel?” As Preachers, we believe God created the universe by his word. We know Ezekiel spoke dead bones to life with preached spoken words. We know Paul commanded Timothy to "Preach the word." Yes, we know all that. But we must be realistic, today. We are living in the day that is captivated by images. It is the age for the eye, not the ear. "Give us flat screens and big screens," the people say. "Give us satellite feeds and video-on-demand." It's how our brains are wired.
Church pastors and leaders seem to be catching on. They are sharing their "messages of truth" through the watching of movie clip with Movie Stars from Hollywood, and gospel singing videos from Nashville, Country Music and Hard Rock Groups who do not even go to church themselves. Of course I do not believe it is just DVD clips that people desire. They want to see good deeds in the life and actions of the people they are following.
God's Word, working through God's Spirit, is God's primary instrument for growing God's church. We must understand and believe that God's Word is still the most powerful force in the universe.
God creates and grows his church through his Word. God grows us as individuals and as local churches through our hearing His Word. If you are a confident preacher of the Word of God then you must lead your church by the Word, structure your church by the Word, and grow your church by the Word of God.
One thing is necessary in our churches—hearing God's Word through preaching, reading, singing, and praying.
What about the power of sight? What about the fact that people today have been conditioned by an image-driven marketplace? There's nothing new in all of this. People have always been driven by sight. The Israelites felt fear at the sight of Goliath. The Lover feels attraction at the sight of his Beloved in the Song of Solomon. The temple was decorated with bronze pomegranates and gold flowers. And the apostle John warns in his writings about "the desire of the eyes." Sight moves people. It draws them and repulses them. It's how God created us.
Many of the books being published these days about the local church are looking for something new – Some new ways to engage with the culture, to structure our churches, and to appeal to outsiders. I will agree that there is a place for each of our ministry teams and churches to make some changes for the better. But I still propose that churches become healthy and saints become vibrant through the same things today as they did in New Testament churches: through evangelizing, preaching, teaching, singing, praying, praising, worshipping and discipling one another with God's Word. True life, kingdom life, exciting life, will be created in our church services through nothing new, but through something quite old, the preached Word of God.
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