Take Heed

Two days ago I received word that one of my dear friends had succumbed to temptation. Since then his wife has left him, the church he served in has dismissed him and no one seems to know where he is. My heart aches for him and the church. This is the second time in the last few months that this has happened to one of my friends and I am grieved because of it. People's emotions and feelings are running rampant (mine included). Some are disappointed and upset while others are bewildered and confused. What is even worse is that reproach and shame has been brought on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and His church. These men are my friends. I prayed with them and served alongside them. We shared our heartaches with each other. They are my brothers. We live in perilous times. While these men are near and dear to me I'm sure there are others who could repeat my story. There are questions that I want answered: Why are these things happening? How can they be prevented from happening again? What can I do?
Most of us think that this would never happen to us. I know I thought it. Several years ago while I was in seminary we had an outbreak of moral failures. Our professor addressed the issue in class. I was sitting there thinking that I would never do such a thing. In my mind I was listing reasons why I would never be unfaithful to my wife. About the time I had convinced myself how wonderfully pure I was and would remain that way, the professor said that if you are sitting here and thinking that you would never do such a thing and that you would always remain faithful, you are the very one that is most likely to fall!
(I knew those guys were really smart but could he actually be reading my mind?) Needless to say he had my attention. The Bible says, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
I do not have all the answers but God’s word does. The 1 Corinthian 10 passage speaks to this issue. What is amazing to me is that Paul spoke of the people eating and drinking then rising up to play (10:7) before he cited other sins and rebellions. It seems that most of our failures usually begin when we are full and satisfied, when we don’t seem to ‘need’ God. Then we begin to look elsewhere as our hearts lust for something more. These things usually happen because we seek our satisfaction from others instead of God. And knowing why they happen is a sure way of preventing them in the first place. We must, in the power of the Holy Spirit, keep our minds stayed upon our Lord. He will keep us in perfect peace. (Ia.26:3) And what can you do? Take heed, be on your guard. If you are a follower of Christ you are an enemy of the devil. He seeks to devour you and your family. Never think you are above any sin or temptation. Have some accountability in your life. When possible, don’t allow yourself to be put in a situation where you can be tempted. And above all keep yourself close to God and your spouse. We live in perilous times but not impossible times. Don’t allow Satan to ruin you and those close to you. Have faith in God.

The Mind

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
One of the best books on spiritual warfare that I’ve read was by Warren Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan. In the first chapter he says that the spiritual battles begin in the mind. He went on to explain how important the mind is because your mind is the place where God communicates with you. God speaks the truth, His word, to your mind. And Satan’s greatest weapon against our minds is his lies. All of us act and live based on what we believe to be true. If the devil can convince you that a lie is truth then your life will be based on a lie. So, our thoughts are of utmost importance.

What we think about the most usually reveals where our true passion lies. It may be our goals, children, parents, jobs, etc. But most of what most people think about are earthly and will soon perish. Many seem to be running around like ants on a hill, never thinking much of eternity. Most do not even consider that they will one day die and enter into eternity. What will they do then? We are laboring, striving, and exhausting ourselves for what? Is it some fleeting pleasure that will soon pass? It is trying to secure the recognition of someone who will soon not be here? What is it? Set your minds on things above where Christ is seated in heavenly places! The battle for your life begins in the mind. Think on Christ!

One more thought I want you to consider: you can control your thoughts. One of Satan lies is that we can’t help what we think about or how often we think about something. But 2Cor.4:5 tells us that we are to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We are not to allow certain thought processes to control us. We are to control our thoughts, take them captive so they will obey Christ.
As wonderful as our minds are we can only think about one thing at the time. A person cannot entertain evil thoughts and thoughts about the Lord Jesus at the same time. If, then, an evil thought should come to him, he should immediately get rid of it by meditating on the Person and work of Christ. Satan cannot read your mind but God can and does. Our thoughts are on loud speaker, surround sound and in high definition before Him. The battle really does begin in the mind. Let’s be sure that we are thinking on things that are above, things that are pleasing to Christ.

Lord teach us to pray!

The disciples did not ask Jesus to teach them preach, heal the sick, turn water into wine, cast out demons, perform miracles or even raise the dead. Their request was simple but profound: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1 Why did the disciples ask this and not the other? I believe they understood that prayer was the power behind the Person. And since we are lacking in power it is because we are lacking in prayer. Powerless people and churches are due to prayerless people and churches. I fear we have erred in leaving out prayer in our services. We seem more interested in giving time for the preacher to preach and the musicians to sing and the only time we pray is to ask the Lord to stir hearts to put money in the offering plates. Performance is more of a concern to us than having the power of God on us. All the while wondering why we don’t get much accomplished. The disciples and the early church accomplished more for the kingdom with only a few people and little resources than we do with many and more resources. I believe the reason was because they prayed and cried out to God. Lord teach us to pray!

Victorious in Christ

2Cor 2:14
Every servant of God faces hardships and setbacks. Some are because of his shorts comings and some are not. Yet our Lord always leads us in His triumphant possession so that even our setbacks become part of His victorious march. He alone is able to turn defeat into victory. The key for us is to be faithful.(Prov.24:10,2Cor4:1)
If anyone knew about discouragement and depression it was Paul. He had no rest in his spirit even though he had been given a door to preach the gospel. He knew what those sleepless nights were like and he was well acquainted with adversaries. What was it that kept Paul out of the dungeon of despair? How did he wade though the slough of despondency? He had learned a secret that we all must learn or sooner or later the ‘ministry’ will get to us. He had learned to view his life from God’s perspective. In spite of the setbacks Paul knew that somehow some way God was leading him toward the end. He knew that all the hardships and adversaries would be worth it when he reached his final destination.
When our Lord takes us as His captive, He has claimed victory over us. In effect it becomes the first of many victories in Christ. Paul saw himself and a host of others being lead in Christ's glorious victory march through history.
Note: Many of us can look back and see what seemed to be defeat and disappointment now makes the victory even sweeter. Here is one reason why we should not make crucial decisions during hard times if we can avoid it. We can see much better once the darkness has passed and the light has come.

More on the carnal Christian

Some would say that Jesus has saved them but they haven’t surrendered to Him as their Lord. Theologically they are saying that they are justified but not sanctified, It is like asking Jesus to save you but still allow you to sin. Imagine saying to the Holy, Holy, Holy God, “I want you to save me but I don’t want to be holy.” It would be saying that I want God to save me in my sin not from my sin. Matt.1:21. Our Savior came to take away our sin. John 1:29.

This carnal Christian idea does not see the seriousness of sin nor do they seem to understand how much even one sin offends God. That is exactly what Paul says in Rom.6:1-2: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! If the carnal Christian teaching is right then Paul should have answered the question with an affirmative. Instead his answer was the strongest negative possible.

What bothers me the most is that this false doctrine portrays an inadequate and low view of Christ. It pictures Him as a savior who is weak and helpless and unable to save anyone from their path of destruction unless they allow Him. At the same time it pictures man as in complete control of His life. Man becomes sovereign instead of God. God is reduced to someone like an old grandfather type who winks at his grandchildren’s sinfulness and continues to supply them with more gifts so they can sin even more. This false doctrine portrays Jesus as Savior but not Lord. They think they someone can accept Him as Savior and then later (if they choose to) as Lord. Again this is foreign to the teaching of the Bible. Even at the announcement of His birth He was declared both Savior and Lord. Luke 2:11. Jesus is one person. All who truly receive Him must receive all of Him. Matt.7:23.

There are other points of concern that I have but my burden is for so many of those who have been led astray into thinking that they are saved when in reality they may not be. My dear reader, do not be among those who will hear the words of our Lord, Depart from me because I never knew you.

Carnal Christian?

For the last several weeks I have been preaching through Romans 6, 7, and 8. Recently while in Romans 8 the question of the ‘carnal’ Christian came to the surface. Some believe that you can be a Christian but not live like one, thus the carnal or sinful living while still claiming to be a Christian. Space will not allow me to go into much detail so I will give you the highlights of my thoughts. First, the Scripture clearly puts all people into one of two categories – saved or lost, sheep or goats. Either you are born again or you are not. There is no third category. Second, the only place this is mentioned is in 1Cor.3. The Corinthians were certainly carnal in their preferences of one leader over another but it was certainly not a way of life for them. (Paul did imply that some of them may not be saved. 1Cor.15:34, 2Cor.13:5) All of us struggle with sin. I am not advocating perfection; but I am saying that for anyone to claim that Jesus has saved them from their sin yet show no sense of repentance or desire to live a life that is pleasing to God is a very dangerous and deadly doctrine. Matt.7:21-23 Third, the new covenant that was the result of Christ shed blood insured at least two things for all who are in the covenant – forgiveness of sin and a changed heart. Heb.10:15-17. If the carnal Christian theory was true it would then appear that a new life and new heart were optional. And I can be justified (saved) but give no evidence of sanctification (holy living). It would then appear that the ‘Holy’ Spirit, if He is even in the so called believer, is at best dormant. Why would the thrice holy God even consider saving someone so they could continue in the very thing that he hates and His wrath is against it? Fourth, if there has not been a radical change i.e. a new heart, then we have no reason to believe that Christ’s blood has covered our sin and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of life because there would be no distinguishable difference a biblical faith and the kind of faith (belief) that the demons have. James 2:19. When the gospel has really been believed then those whom God has justified will live by faith. Rom.1:16. Receiving the gospel is receiving God’s power in the Holy Spirit to live by faith. (There is no other way to please God.) Living by faith means that you trust in what God says and act on it. If anyone tells you that he is a believer but still lives in his sin, it is your duty to assure him that his faith is like those of the demons and he is not saved. Love him, pray for him, and witness, but do not compromise the gospel. Life and death are at stake.

Easter – Our Joy

In the last post I expressed my concern that God may be judging our nation. But I do not want those who read my articles to think that all is gloom and doom. I believe there is hope because our Lord overcame the worst possible circumstance – He overcame death! For this reason, even though we may be facing hard times you can still rejoice. The apostle Paul said it this way: as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; … I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. (2Cor. 6:10, 7:4) How can we rejoice in sorrow and tribulation like Paul did? Can we find joy even though our nation may be under judgment? My answer is a resounding yes! The reason Paul could rejoice even in the worst of circumstances was because his source of joy was not in circumstances. Paul’s joy was in the Lord. Our Lord Jesus promised His disciples that He would rise from the dead and when they had seen Him, He assured them that their heart would rejoice, and their joy could not be taken from them by anyone. (John 16:22) Our Lord endured the cross (suffering and sorrow that we can’t even imagine) because of the joy that was set before Him. (Heb.12:2). Our precious and loving Lord said that He would rise from the dead and ascend to His Father so that we could have His joy fulfilled in our hearts. (John 17:13)Because of Easter we can have joy that no one can take away. No matter what you are going through, even if you are facing your death or that of a loved one, you can have joy that is inexpressible and full of glory. (1Pet.1:8) The reason we assemble ourselves every Sunday to joyfully worship is Easter. See you on Sunday.