Thursday, April 27, 2006

What If His People Prayed?

My Daughter loves to dance, and dance she does. One of her favorite songs is from Casting Crowns, "What if His People Prayed?". So that song is played quite loudly in our house..alot. The words have really pierced my heart lately. I wanted to share them.

What If His People Prayed by Casting Crowns
What if the armies of the Lord Picked up and dusted off their swords
Vowed to set the captives free
And not let satan have one more
What if the church, for heaven's sake
Finally stepped up to the plate
Took a stand upon God's promise
And stormed hell's rusty gates
Chorus:What if His people prayed
And all who bare His name
Would humbly seek His face
And Turn from their own way
And what would happen if we prayed
For those raised up to lead the way
Then maybe kids in school could pray
And unborn children see light of day
What if the life that we pursue
Came from a hunger for the truth
What if the family turned to Jesus
Stopped asking Oprah what to do
He said that they would hear
His promise has been made
He'll answer loud and clear
If only we would pray
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
If My people called by My name
If they'll humble themselves and pray
WHAT IF?...... What if we lived what we believed? Prayer Does Change Things!
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7 : 14

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Let Your Voice Be Heard

It is time that Christians let their voice be heard. For too long we have let the voice of the few be the one that is heard because we have taken no stand for our beliefs. Too many of us think it will do no good to speak up and be heard. Apparently it does good to speak up, because roughly 2% of the U. S. population claims to be homosexual, yet in their fight to legalize same sex marriage their voice is very loud. It is time that Christians, no matter what political party we choose to identify with, let our voice be heard. It is time that we take a stand for what is right. A stand for biblical and moral values. In a 2004 poll by Zogby International 56% of those polled took a pro-life stance versus 42% who were pro choice. How much longer will we sit back and think it does no good to say or do anything. We must LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD!!!

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Save The Manatee!? What About The Babies? ( Abortion in America )

  • Based on accumulative data from the two primary sources of U.S. abortion statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Alan Guttmacher Institute), it's estimated that around one million abortions take place annually and more than 43 million abortions have been performed in the U.S. since 1973
  • About 13,000 abortions each year are attributed to rape and incest—representing 1 percent of all abortions. (Alan Guttmacher, Facts in Brief: Induced Abortion, 2002.)
  • The United States has one of the highest abortion rates among developed countries. ( Alan Guttmacher Institute, Facts in Brief, New York, NY, 1995.)
  • Since 1907, a $500 fine has been imposed on anyone who harms or kills a manatee. The manatee itself was listed as an endangered species in 1967, and protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 .

God help us! What kind of day are we living in when you can be fined for merely injuring an animal but it is okay to kill a baby? How much longer must this go on. The same people who are out hugging trees are usually the ones that agree with a woman's right to choose. What about the babies right to choose life? Life begins at the moment of conception. On day one of conception all human chromosomes are present; unique human life begins. By the end of third week the child's backbone spinal column and nervous system are forming. The liver, kidneys and intestines begin to take shape. By the end of week four the child is ten thousand times larger than the fertilized egg. Week 8: Every organ is in place, bones begin to replace cartilage, and fingerprints begin to form. By the 8th week the baby can begin to hear. Weeks 10 and 11: The baby can "breathe" amniotic fluid and urinate. Week 11 the baby can grasp objects placed in its hand; all organ systems are functioning. The baby has a skeletal structure, nerves, and circulation. Week 12: The baby has all of the parts necessary to experience pain, including nerves, spinal cord, and thalamus. Vocal cords are complete. The baby can suck its thumb. Babies can routinely be saved at 21 to 22 weeks after fertilization, and sometimes they can be saved even younger. Week 20: The earliest stage at which Partial birth abortions are performed. At 20 weeks the baby recognizes it's mother's voice.

Do I think it is wrong to take care of the environment? No. Is it wrong to protect endangered species? No. But it is wrong to have no sanctity for human life. To care more for a manatee's rights than that of an unborn child. The nervous system is developed at 12 weeks, yet the woman has a right to choose? What about the babies right to not have to endure pain? It is a travesty that this goes on. The thinking of mankind has gone crazy. We murder someone we go to jail. Doctors suck the brains out of unborn babies and it is ok. The doctors that perform abortions will answer to God one day. I pray that they can see the truth of what it is they are really doing. They can be forgiven. Likewise, a woman who has an abortion can be forgiven. God is no respector of persons. Father help this country and this world to see the truth of what they are doing, may they repent and turn from their wicked ways!

Friday, April 21, 2006

The Truth Will Set You Free

We live in a day and time where to most, truth is not something that is absolute. To many, truth is something that can be different for everyone. I think that if we look at the Bible, it is evident that the Bible is truth. God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are truth. God does not lie and He does not change. His promises are real. Some of mankinds most common moral values are rooted in the truth of the Bible. Most every person on the earth would agree that murder is wrong. They would agree that lying and stealing are wrong. I want to proclaim to the world that there is an absolute truth and it can be found in Jesus.
"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. " ---John 14:6
"Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." ---John 18:37
"He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He." ---Deut. 32:4
" For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth." ---Psalms 33:4
" For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar. As it is written: "That You may be justified in Your words, And may overcome when You are judged." ---Romans 3:3-4
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." --- Matthew 7:24-27
" I rejoice at Your word As one who finds great treasure." ---Psalm 119:162
" Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding." ---Proverbs 23:23
"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. " ---2 Thess. 2:8-10
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." ---John 15:1-2
"that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." ---Hebrews 6:18
"in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, " ---Titus 1:2
"Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever, " ---Psalms 146:5-6
"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." ---John 8:32
"Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. " ---John 8:36

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

The Da Vinci Code

In a few short weeks "The Da Vinci Code" will make it's debut in theatres everywhere. The book was a big hit and the movie is expected to be a blockbuster hit. Just as the book is full of lies, the movie will also be. Jesus married? Had a child? Not in my Bible. Anyway, the movie is sure to get people talking about what really is the truth. If we call ourselves a Christian it is our duty to be sure we know the truth. Many who flock to the movies will be "seekers". Those who are searching for the truth. This will be a great opportunity for Christians to share the truth of Jesus. To share the Gospel. To share why Jesus died. Remember, He died for all of those people who will see the movie. Many people who call themselves Christians who are not rooted in their faith, who never bother to pick up their Bible and read it, the enemy will try to use this movie to bring doubt to their minds.
" But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense [Or argument; or explanation ] to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. " 1 Peter 3 :14-16
We need to be prepared to give an answer grounded in the truth of God's Word.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Gay Priests in the Episcopal Church

"The congregation of Grace Church is one of more than three dozen across the country that have left the Episcopal Church USA since it approved in 2003 the election of New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, who has a same-sex partner.
Pascoe and his flock joined the Diocese of Rwanda, which has been recruiting unhappy Episcopalian parishes since 2000. The Anglican Mission in America, a branch of the Rwandan church, claims 87 congregations, of which half were once members of the U.S. Episcopal Church, mission spokesman Jay Greener says.
Other U.S. congregations have joined Anglican dioceses in Uganda, Brazil and Bolivia.
By Easter, April 16, Grace's congregation will have to leave its church building and worship elsewhere. Pascoe will ultimately be defrocked, says Canon Kurt Dunkle of the Diocese of Florida, to which Grace Church belongs. The U.S. church does not recognize the authority of overseas bishops to oversee U.S. parishes. " --From an article by Martha T. Moore, USA Today

May God Bless the Rev. Sam Pascoe for not waivering and standing on the Word of God. He is losing everything, including his home. This is persecution right here in America. Sam Pascoe refuses to stand in agreement with a denomination that ordains an openly gay priest. Later on in the article this appears..
"In 50 years, this will blow over, and there will be attempts to reconcile," says the Rev. Bill Coats, a pastoral associate in the Diocese of Newark, N.J., which was one of the first to accept gay clergy. "The whole country is changing on the subject of gays and lesbians. You can't have Brokeback Mountain (a successful movie about gay cowboys) and think that America has not been shifting on this." --From an article by Martha T. Moore, USA Today

I have news for the Rev. Bill Coats. America may have changed, but God has not changed. Homosexuality is still wrong, it is still a sin. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
It is my prayer that as Rev. Pascoe embarks on this new stage of his life, he and his family be greatly blessed. May God bless all who stand up for the truth.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

He Is Risen!

He is Risen! What a Mighty God I serve! Thank You Jesus! You are awesome. God is sooo great. God is sooo good. He is alive. He hears our prayers. He answers them too. Jesus died that we might live. I serve a risen Savior! Jesus is Lord. King of Kings. Lord of Lords.

Friday, April 14, 2006

The Quest For Glory

I found this online e-book. It is a quick read but a very good one.

"Seek God's glory and live in the freedom of His grace, not in the legalism of man's religion"
Find it at http://www.thequestforglory.com/

The Blood of Jesus

I just read an article in "Christianity Today'. The article was very disturbing. It stated that more and more "evangelical" Christians think that we need not center on the atonment side of the cross but rather we should just focus on the incarnate Christ. How ridiculous is that. Without the realization of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and the meaning of His shed blood, one can not have salvation. It is all about the blood of Jesus. Without the blood there would be no forgiveness of sins. The article suggested that some think the discussion of the cross is too gruesome. The truth is, it was gruesome. It wasn't pretty. Jesus was beaten, bloody, spit on. He did all of this for us, so that we may live. To not talk about the cross and what Jesus did would be trying to create our own Gospel. It must all be about the cross. Thank you Jesus that you died and rose again. You conquered death and the grave. You rose again and are alive today. You are coming back again!

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

I Choose To Be Politically Incorrect

There is such a place called hell. You will go there if you are not born again, if Jesus is not your Lord and Savior. There is an absolute truth, it is not what you choose it to be. The absolute truth is the Bible, God's Holy Word. If the Bible says it is wrong, it is wrong. We do not have to be "tolerant."There is only ONE way to heaven. That is through Jesus. Sin is a real word and a real thing. We all do it. The consequences of sin is death and eternity in hell, unless Jesus is your Lord and you ask Him to forgive you. Jesus is God. The Holy Spirit, Jesus and God are one. God created the world. Man did not come from monkeys. Jesus is alive and coming back again. Are you ready? http://www.notreligion.com/

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Prayer Does Work

This quote by Oliver Burkeman in New York Saturday April 1, 2006 The Guardian

"If a religious person offers to pray for you next time you fall ill, you may wish politely to ask them not to bother. The largest scientific study into the health effects of prayer seems to suggest it may make matters worse.
Two-thirds of Americans and more than a quarter of British people say they pray regularly, but the study, which took almost a decade and cost $2.4m (£1.4m) suggested that they may be wasting their time. It found that patients undergoing heart surgery did no better when they were prayed for by people unknown to them than those who received no prayers. But 59% of those patients who were told they were definitely being prayed for developed complications, compared with 52% of those who had been told it was just a possibility."

This is so absolutely ridiculous. I am hear to say that prayer does work! God answers my prayers. We prayed for our dying daughter in the hospital and she lived! The doctor's said she would probably never walk or talk. We prayed, and she is 6 years old, never stops talking and loves to dance. She had a feeding tube, the doctor's said she may never eat normal. We prayed, all she does is eat...nonstop! She had brain damage, visible on a cat scan. We prayed... guess what? The brain damamge is gone! NO ONE can tell me prayer doesn't work. God is still in the business of answering prayers. I bet if those who did this study were in a plane getting ready to crash, they would be yelling..."OH God! Help."

Monday, April 10, 2006

The Cross

Oh The wonderful cross! It is all about the cross. It is all about the blood that Jesus shed. There is so much power in the cross. Power to heal, power to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, forgiveness of sins, salvation, life changing power, power to overcome, hope of everlasting life, peace, joy. All that we need is in the cross. Jesus wants us to lay our worries, cares and troubles of life at the foot of the cross. Jesus, He who knew no sin, became my sin and yours, He took the sins of the world upon His shoulders and layed His life down for us; that we may all live. Under the law, there had to be shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins. It had to be an unblemished sacrifice. Jesus' blood was the final sacrifice. He was unblemished, without sin. His blood covers our sins and makes us righteous in God's eyes. On the third day HE rose from the dead. I serve a RISEN Saviour. My God is ALIVE not dead. Buddha, Mohammad, Allah, they are all dead! My God is alive and HE hears my cries. He comforts me. He will never leave me or forsake me. Thank You Jesus!!!!!!! He is still in the business of answering prayers, healing the sick and comforting the brokenhearted. His love is everlasting!

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Homosexuality

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority." 2 Peter 2:1-10
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Many so called Christian denominations are embracing homosexuality today. Even going as far as allowing gay men and women to be ordained. I think that the verses in 2 Peter speak plainly of things just as this. Man trying to change the Word to fit his needs and desires. The Bible plainly states that those who practice homosexuality will not see the Kingdom of God. Can homosexuals be forgiven? Yes, of course. To sin and practice sin is two different things. When we practice sin we knowingly commit a sin that the Bible says is wrong. If we truly know God and have a relationship with Him, we will not want to practice sin. To say that we are "Christian" and openly practice homosexuality is completely against the Word of God. In the Old Testament those who practiced homosexuality were to be put to death under the law. Under the new covenant, there is forgiveness, but we are not to continue to "practice" homosexuality. I believe the Bible is very clear. HOMOSEXUALITY IS WRONG!!!!!

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Give Me A Break!

"TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Jesus walked on water, according to the Bible, but a Florida State University professor says he may have actually walked on a hard-to-see patch of ice.

Doron Nof, a professor of oceanography, said a rare combination of water and atmospheric conditions in the Sea of Galilee 2000 years ago may offer a scientific explanation for one of the miracles recounted in the Bible.

Nof said a patch of ice floating in the Sea of Galilee _ which is actually a freshwater lake _ would have been difficult to distinguish from unfrozen water surrounding it. " ---BILL KACZOR, Associated Press Writer
Why do people find it necessary to try to explain away all the miracles in the Bible? If my Bible says it, it is true. The reason why it is called a miracle is because it is something out of the ordinary. Jesus walked on water, He did not walk on ice. Jesus walked on water because He is God and He can do that.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Itching Ears

Another really Good one!!!This is sooo true!!

ITCHING EARS
By Michael L. Brown

Over 1900 years ago Paul warned Timothy that, “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3). That time has come. We are witnessing it in our day. So few want to hear the truth anymore!
The Church of today is like Israel of old: “They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” (Isa. 30:10-11).
“We’ve heard enough of this judgment message” -- but the judgment is now at the door! “We’re tired of hearing so much preaching on repentance” -- but you still have not truly repented! “We’ve had it with this holiness emphasis” -- but the holy God dwells in our midst!
So many of us in leadership today are guilty of telling the people what they want to hear. We feed them what they think they need. What parent in their right mind would ever do such a thing with their child? Yet many leaders do it with their flocks and faithful supporters. “We don’t want to lose any of our members, do we?” Or, “This message will never bring in the bucks. It will hurt our ministry income!” Or, “If I tell the truth the people will get offended!” Yet we are willing to offend the Lord!
Remember, it was the people of Israel -- not Babylon, not Assyria, not Canaan, not Egypt -- but God’s own chosen nation that “made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy” (Amos 2:12). They told those who were set apart as holy to the Lord to lower their standards, to quit being extremists, to give up their separation to God. “Just be one of the gang! All of us are children of the Lord. You’ve taken consecration too far!” They told the prophets to shut up. They didn’t want to hear from heaven. “Give us good news and blessings. Tell us the future is bright.” But the prophets had bad news and curses. The future was dark and bleak. Israel wouldn’t repent. How could God shower them with grace?
King Ahab had itching ears. His “prophets” were yes-men and liars. They told him to go and make war against Ramoth Gilead, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand” (1 Kin. 22:6). Four hundred prophets agreed. But Jehoshaphat wasn’t satisfied. “‘Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?’ The king answered Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah’” (1 Kin. 22:6-7). He had the word of the Lord!
The king’s messenger went to get Micaiah: “Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably” (1 Kin. 22:13). What an incredible line! “Micaiah, tell us we’ll win! Tell us we’ll be victorious!” -- even if God knows we’re doomed! How deceived itching ears really are! The four hundred prophets were wrong. The king and his court were wrong. The armies of Israel were wrong. Micaiah alone knew the truth: “So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you. . . . Mark my words, all you people” (1 Kin. 22:23, 28). Hours later, Ahab was dead, an enemy’s arrow lodged in his chest, and Israel was defeated and fled.
Sooner or later -- by God’s grace may it be sooner! -- we are going to have to learn that “where all approve, few profit” (John Wesley). The preaching of the cross does not always please the crowds. They reject a God who has standards and laws. They cast off His yoke as a burden. “He’s an old-fashioned kill-joy,” they say.
And some even fall further than this. They hear and agree but do not take heed. They ask for God’s message and ignore what it says. “My people come to you [Ezekiel], as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice” (Ezek. 33:31-32). Those with itching ears really don’t want to hear. Never cater to them.
The road to destruction is still broad and wide, and the highway to life is as straight as it ever has been. Our big-hearted God has a very narrow mind when it comes to righteousness. We must tell our people the truth! “Ministers are not cooks, but physicians and therefore should not study to delight the palate, but to recover the patient” (Jean Daille). Compromise is cowardice. Flattery is foolishness. Man-pleasers are God-insulters. When will we get our priorities straight?
We have many who tickle the ear, few who prick the heart; many who soothe the grieving mind, few who search the guilty conscience; many who put the people to sleep, few who make them mourn and weep. Where are the prophets of God? We are strong on comforting the sorrowing sheep but weak on confronting the sinning saints; strong on building up what God has not established and weak on tearing down what man has embellished. Our hearts are caught up in this world. We need a blast from heaven.
How many of today’s radio and TV preachers are bringing a challenging, convicting, life-shaking message from the Throne? How many preach the cross and make the flesh uncomfortable? Who is waking up the slumbering church? Who is warning our nation?
Someone is going to have to tell America that she is sick and dying. Someone is going to have to tell her that the party is over. Someone is going to have to prepare her -- including the church within her -- for radical surgery. The time of pruning is now!
Enough with our feel-good gospel. Enough with our self-serving message. It’s time for the fire to fall -- and wherever it falls it will scorch. Do our people smell the smoke in the air, or like Nero, will they fiddle their lives away while America (today’s Rome?) burns to the ground? The collapse of our society looms near. Will we be watchmen -- or will we be wimps?
What an indictment it will be against countless pastors, prophets and preachers when their people stand up and say, “But you didn’t tell us the truth! You didn’t give us warning in advance! And we thought you were watching for our souls. You must not have really cared.”
Will that be the charge against us?
http://www.icnministries.org/revival/ears.htm

The Jesus Manifesto

****This is Good! Read and take heed! ****

THE JESUS MANIFESTO: A CALL TO REVOLUTION*

The dawning of the 21st century finds the church of America in a moral and spiritual crisis. Decades of self-centered living and worldliness have taken their toll. Years of compromise and toothless gospel preaching have had their effect. And now we have reached the moment of truth: Either we wake up, stand up, speak up, and act up, or we run the risk of becoming a mere historic curiosity, an irrelevant religious sideshow, an entertaining, harmless spectacle. Something must change, and it must change now. There is no other choice.
Forty years ago, a counterculture revolution swept through America, resulting in a sudden, steep moral decline. Since that time (from the early ’60s until today), the divorce rate has doubled, the teen suicide rate has tripled, reported violent crime has quadrupled, the prison population has quintupled, the percentage of babies born out of wedlock has risen six-fold, and couples living together out of wedlock has risen sevenfold. And the end is not in sight.
The last generation’s counterculture of rebellion has become this generation’s establishment of revulsion, and what was unthinkable forty years ago – daytime talk shows celebrating adultery and incest; homosexual love scenes on major network TV; eleven year-old multiple murderers; massacres in our schools and houses of worship – is a matter of course today. We need a revolution!
But this revolution will be different than other revolutions – including the revolution that birthed our nation more than 200 years ago. This revolution will not be fought with earthly weapons of destruction – not with guns and knives and bullets and bombs. It will not be fought with hatred, anger, intimidation, or brute force. No. It will be fought with the message of the gospel, with the love of God, with the power of the Spirit, with radical holiness, with sacrifice, compassion, and courage. It will be a Jesus revolution, an intense clash between two spiritual kingdoms, a heavenly attack on the enemy’s strongholds, a no compromise stand for morality and truth. And it will impact society in a lasting way. It must!
Revolution means upheaval. Revolution means the overthrowing of the status quo. We dare not downplay the significance of the word. Revolution is a matter of life and death, and our revolution flows from the blood of the Savior to the blood of the martyr. We put down our sword and take up our cross, overcoming Satan by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by not loving our lives so much as to shrink from death (Rev. 12:11). Nothing can stop a revolution like this!
Our revolution is fueled by the power of the gospel, and the gospel does violence to the forces of hell. We must recover the fullness of the gospel of Jesus! It is nothing less than a direct assault on the kingdom of Satan, a frontal attack on hostile, spiritual powers, a mortal confrontation of light against darkness. It brings about the ultimate counterculture conflict.
That’s why Jesus said to His disciples, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed My teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:18-20).
That’s why Paul explained that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12), reminding the disciples that, “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). God’s people march to the beat of a different drummer. God’s obedient people will always offend the world, no matter how much we seek to be peacemakers and to walk in compassion and love. Our very lifestyles are a reproof to the ungodly.
That’s why Joseph Parker could say more than a century ago, “The man whose little sermon is ‘repent’ sets himself against his age, and will for the time being be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for such a man -- ‘off with his head!’ You had better not try to preach repentance until you have pledged your head to heaven.” The gospel means conflict and confrontation, and all who stand for righteousness will be resisted.
That’s why Jesus was accused by his own people of being “a Samaritan and demon-possessed” (John 8:48), why Paul and Silas were accused of “throwing cities into an uproar” (Acts 16:20) and “causing trouble all over the world” (Acts 17:6), why Paul himself was mistaken for being an “Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert” (Acts 21:38). The gospel is subversive. The gospel is a threat to the kingdom of darkness. The gospel is revolutionary.
We’re in a war, and war means conflict, hardship, and sacrifice. As Leonard Ravenhill wrote, “When a nation calls its prime men to battle, homes are broken, weeping sweethearts say their good-byes, businesses are closed, college careers are wrecked, factories are refitted for wartime production, rationing and discomforts are accepted -- all for war. Can we do less for the greatest fight that this world has ever known outside of the cross -- this end-time siege on sanity, morality, and spirituality?”
Satan’s strategy is to institutionalize the Church, to turn the Body of Christ into a powerless religious system. If that tactic fails, he tries to desensitize us and lull us to sleep until we lose our convictions and our sense of outrage is gone. And he is always seeking to seduce us into sin until we become just like the world, enslaved by its passions and lusts. And when he thinks he has succeeded, when he no longer feels threatened by the people of God, then he gets aggressive and brazenly puts forth his agenda. He’s doing it today. We need a revolution!
The cat is out of the bag. The secret is no longer a secret. Anti-God forces are after the soul of our nation, and if we don’t wake up now, if we don’t take a stand now, if we don’t repent and pray and rise and speak and act now, then instead of this great country being “the land of the free and the home of the brave” our nation could become “the land of sleaze and the home of depraved.” We need a revolution!
DNA tests to find out who fathered the baby are here. (In fifteen of our nation’s largest cities, more than 90% of the babies born to teens are illegitimate.) Legalized same-sex “civil unions” are here. Children’s textbooks encouraging adolescent fornication are here. School hallways splattered with teenage blood are here. Bans on using the name of Jesus at our graduations are here. Topless, feminist “worship services” on our college campuses are here. We need a revolution!
We live in a time of ethical madness and social uncertainty, a time when talk of a moral revolution should be everywhere. Instead, the best-selling “revolutionary” books are books about new diets. What does this say for us as a people? When we need to be talking about the call to die for the gospel, we are talking instead about the call to diet for good looks. What a sad indictment! And what does it say of our self-deception and lack of discipline when we are at one and the same time the world’s best-read nation on diet and nutrition and the world’s most obese? Even our pets are overweight. We need a revolution!
The United States boasts the highest percentage of professing evangelicals in the industrialized world, with more than 36% of Americans – meaning more than 90 million people – classified as born-again. Yet America has:
The highest percentage of single-parent families in the industrialized world
The highest abortion rate in the industrialized world
The highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases in the industrialized world (the rates of syphilis and gonorrhea transmission are almost 500% higher than the highest rates in the other industrialized nations)
The highest teenage birth rate in the industrialized world (by far!)
The highest rate of teenage drug use in the industrialized world
We need a revolution!
Our society is deteriorating all around us and even non-believers sense that something is wrong. Why? It is because we, the people of God, the army of the Lord Jesus, the messengers of liberation, the ambassadors of reconciliation, have been sidetracked by the love of this world and distracted by the cares of this age. As a result, we have not changed this generation. This generation has changed us!
Rather than seasoning the world like salt and brightening the world like light, we now smell and taste like the world, and its darkness is snuffing out our lamps. Rather than setting captives free by the power of Jesus’ blood, many of us are being ensnared and enslaved, making a mockery of that sacred blood. Rather than making disciples of sinners and teaching them the ways of God, many of us are being discipled by them, learning their ways, imitating their lifestyles, and conforming to their values.
A 1997 survey conducted by George Barna used 152 different items to compare the church and the world. He found virtually no difference between the two. In fact, the divorce rate today among evangelicals is higher than the divorce rate among atheists. We need a revolution!
Communist educators visiting America have been shocked by the materialism and worldliness of many of our Christian young people, while Islamic leaders are appalled by the rampant sexual sin and shameless immodesty among many who profess Christ as Lord. The ideals of the unsaved are often more lofty than the ideals of the saved. We need a revolution!
Just consider how far things have fallen, despite decades of 24-hour gospel radio and TV, hundreds of Bible colleges and seminaries, thousands of Christian schools and bookstores, and churches and ministries too numerous to count. Forty years ago, men having sex with men and women having sex with women was considered perverse. Now it is considered perverse – homophobic, hateful, mean-spirited, and bigoted – to call such behavior wrong. We need a revolution!
Forty years ago, not even science fiction writers would have predicted that American companies would be making money off the sale of the skin and brains and limbs and spinal chords of aborted babies. Today, Congress will not even pass legislation to make this thriving practice illegal. We need a revolution!
Jesus rebuked the leaders of his day who said of themselves, “If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets” (Matt 23:30) – and then they took part in shedding the blood of the greatest Prophet of them all. How hypocritical! Yet we do this very thing, saying, “If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in the detestable sin of slavery. We would never have tolerated such evil. We would surely have done something about it.”
Yet on our watch, in our day, we have tolerated an even more heinous sin: the slaughter of forty million babies in their mothers’ wombs. In what way have we been better than our forefathers who tolerated slavery – or better than the European “Christians” who tolerated the Nazi extermination of six million Jews? How much have we really done to stop this generation’s holocaust?
Bloodshed pollutes the land (Num 35:33), and the blood of these helpless victims – oceans of blood of these aborted little ones – has been crying out for justice for decades. What will our God do? We need a revolution!
In 1960, only 2.3% of percent of white women had children out of wedlock. By 1997, more than 25% -- a ten-fold increase! – were having children out of wedlock (despite millions being aborted before they ever left the womb). In the African American community, that number rose from 23% percent to more than 68%. We need a revolution!
In 1962, the Supreme Court outlawed organized, public prayer in our schools (without citing a single historic precedent to back its decision), and we complied with that ruling. In the year 2000, the Court has banned voluntary public prayer in our schools. Why have we complied with this ruling too? At what point do we say, “We must obey God rather than man”? At what point do we say, “Enough is enough”? We need a revolution!
On April 12, 2000, at Pearl River Central High School in Carrierre, Mississippi, the Spirit of God fell upon the students attending a voluntary, pre-class assembly led by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. As students lined up fifty deep to confess their sins and get right with God and one another, the principal, Lolita Lee, herself a Christian, decided to let the meeting go on through the day. Civil libertarians were outraged, but, as Time magazine reported (June 5, 2000, p. 61), “The school received hundreds of congratulatory e-mails. ‘Thank you for your courage,’ wrote an Ohio man to Lee. ‘You have done the equivalent of not moving to the back of the bus.’” Isn’t it time we follow suit? If not now, when? What more needs to happen?
For more than two hundred years, the Bible was commonly used as a textbook in our schools, and generations of children learned the ABC’s with a Scripture truth for each letter. But in 1963, the Supreme Court banned required reading of the Scriptures from our schools, and once again, we complied with the ruling. Why? By 1980, the Court had ordered the removal of the Ten Commandments from public view in our schools and by 1985, it outlawed benedictions or invocations in formal school activities. Some lower courts even ruled against students praying out loud over their cafeteria meals. We need a revolution!
When the governing authorities seized the apostles and charged them not to speak in Jesus’ name, Peter replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). And they kept speaking! As a result, they were arrested, whipped, and strictly ordered not to speak any more in Jesus’ name. But, Scripture records, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 5:41-42). Can we learn something from this?
Christians around the world today are severely persecuted because they refuse to obey oppressive, unjust laws. Many of them are model citizens in every way, obedient, respectful and peace loving. But when the government – or religious establishment – forbids them to read their Bibles, forbids them to baptize, forbids them to share their faith, forbids them to gather together, forbids them to make disciples, then they say with the apostles, “We must obey God rather than man.” At what point does this apply to us?
Our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world have been discriminated against, deprived of their livelihoods, imprisoned, tortured, and killed, all because they refused to render to Caesar that which does not belong to Caesar. Yet we are afraid to take a stand for Jesus if it would threaten our income, or cost us a scholarship, or make us unpopular. Why this double standard? Why do they refuse to comply – even when threatened with imprisonment and death – while we willfully comply, even when there is no threat? We need a revolution!
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded to worship an idol or be subject to a fiery death, they refused to bow down (Daniel 3). But today, with no one commanding us, we freely worship the idols of our society, bowing down to the gods of unclean entertainment, sensual fashion, and unbridled materialism and greed. Our obsession with sports is idolatrous as well, to the point that many churches throughout the land make sure their Sunday services end in time for the afternoon football games, canceling their meetings entirely the night of the Super Bowl. We need a revolution!
When Daniel was told that an edict had been passed declaring that “anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to [the] king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den . . . he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (Daniel 6:10-12). It’s time that we follow his lead. Godly defiance spells triumph while retreat spells defeat. We need a revolution!
Year by year our religious freedoms have been taken away, while special rights and freedoms have been given to those whom the Bible calls “unrighteous” (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; in the Scriptures, homosexual activity is classified along with adultery, fornication, theft, drunkenness, hatred, anger, greed, and hypocrisy, and all who practice such things are called “unrighteous”). Thus the Supreme Court ruled that a school full of Christians cannot choose to have prayer before a school sporting event since it would offend and exclude the minority who don’t want to pray. But when homosexuals introduce children’s textbooks into our schools outlining in graphic detail the intricacies of gay sex, the offended majority is told to accept it. Right is now wrong and wrong is now right, and the will of the godless is imposed on the will of the godly. We need a revolution!
When a gay man is beaten to death because he is gay – this is a reprehensible, despicable act that every decent person should abhor – it causes a national uproar, with loud voices in the government calling for new legislation against hate crimes. And we should speak out against such deplorable crimes. But when Christians students are shot to death as they profess their faith in God, the government raises its voice to forbid the placing of memorial crosses on school property. The handwriting is on the wall. The strategy is clear. We need a revolution!
Teachers in our public schools can give condom demonstrations to our teens and use books like “Heather Had Two Mommies” to teach our kids to read, and we are required to support this with our own tax dollars. But let a teacher read from the Scriptures to a seeking, needy student, and that teacher could be out of a job – all because of the First Amendment’s so-called separation of Church and State.
But that is not what the First Amendment intended. It simply stated that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” meaning, first, that the government could not form a national denomination (like the Church of England of old) and require all Americans to be part of it, and second, that there would be religious freedom for all. As emphasized by Stephen Carter, professor of law at Yale University, “The wall of separation of church and state is not there to protect the state from the church; it is there to protect the church from the state. It stands as a divide to preserve religious freedom. And one needs to protect the church from the state because the latter will utilize its enormous powers to do what the state has always done – either subvert the religion or destroy it. If we continue our slide toward a state that breaches the wall of separation whenever it is convenient, then I worry about the great risk to religious freedom. In the end, such a breach could destroy our ability to form the communities of resistance that are crucial if we are going to have a chance to transform the nation.”
Our forefathers wanted to ensure that the government would not be able to impose its will on the church. For more than one generation now, this has been totally reversed and stood on its head, and the price has been very high, with skyrocketing crime rates and plummeting rates of morality and literacy. And what has become of the First Amendment’s guarantee of “the free exercise” of religion when the courts tell us that we cannot use religious symbols on public property, cannot post the Ten Commandments in government buildings, and cannot use the name of Jesus in public school events? We have lost our religious freedom. We need a revolution!
In 1999, a bill was brought before Congress that would have required businesses – which by implication could have included churches and religious institutions – to hire gays and lesbians if they were qualified for the job in question, despite their sexual preference. And the bill failed by only one vote! Even more distressing is that if the bill did pass, there was another bill ready to follow, calling for a ban on even speaking against a person’s sexual orientation. (A similar bill has now been passed in Canada.) Such speech would be deemed hate speech, punishable by law, and potentially meaning that a pastor simply expounding the Scriptures to his flock could be arrested. Yet this is the very thing from which our Founding Fathers were trying to protect us. So much for the First Amendment and religious freedom! The fact that such laws could even be crafted for Congress proves that we have long since passed the breaking point – yet some Christian leaders would have felt obligated to obey these laws if they had passed. We need a revolution!
We have gone from debating a woman’s “right to choose” to sucking out the brains of third trimester babies (with the backing of the courts!), from arguing about the medical definition of death to legalizing physician-assisted suicide, from needing metal detectors at airports to needing metal detectors at schools (and soon at houses of worship?), from tracking down absentee fathers to trying to figure out who the father is, from the outlawing of mandatory school prayer to the outlawing of voluntary school prayer. We need a revolution!
Without a holy, counterculture revolution, America could become a society where candid religious expression is outlawed, a society where it is almost impossible to keep our children free from the pollution of the world, a society teetering perilously close to the thunderous judgments of God. Such things have happened to other nations, and such things could happen to us.
But all is not lost! The gospel has changed societies before, and the gospel can change societies again. For countless centuries, India engaged in the practice of widow-burning, where the widow of a deceased man was sometimes burned alive with her husband’s corpse. This horrific practice was outlawed through the tireless efforts of missionary William Carey. Both slave-trading and unjust child-labor laws were abolished in Britain through the fearless work of the Christian political leader William Wilberforce. And this followed on the heels of England’s transformation through the sacrificial labors of John Wesley and his Methodist followers, saving the nation from the anarchy and violence of the French Revolution. Around the world today, whole communities are being impacted by united prayer and evangelism, and here in our land, there is a rising momentum of concerted, twenty-four hour worship and intercession not seen for decades.
There are pockets of spiritual renewal throughout the country, and the tides of a radical youth revival are rapidly rising. Another Jesus people movement could be near, a heaven-sent revolution far greater than the worldwide Jesus movement of 1967-1975, when hundreds of thousands of hippies and radicals were swept into the kingdom. Even now, it is at the door. And not only will multitudes of lost sinners be truly saved, but multitudes of casual church goers will also be truly saved. Just think of what would happen if even one-quarter of America’s professing believers got totally and uncompromisingly right with God – and then each of them touched just five or six other people. It would quickly reverse our nation’s moral decline. Despite our perilous condition, it’s still not too late!
If our nation could be changed for the worse in one decade – this is what happened in the 1960s, despite progress in Civil Rights and some other social areas – it can be changed for the better in one decade. If angry student protests on college campuses could help stop an international war (Vietnam), what could holy student “protests” on our campuses accomplish?
America can be impacted for the good, and as followers of Jesus, we are called to make that impact. We do it by walking in the light, as He is in the light; by calling the lost to turn back to God in repentance; by preaching the gospel and making disciples; by proclaiming liberty to the captives; by pursuing righteousness in every area of public and private life; by acts of kindness, mercy, and compassion, overcoming evil with good; by prayer, fasting, and the power of God; by living holy lives and setting holy examples; by being a prophetic voice and a moral conscience to society; by Spirit-led community involvement and godly political action; by non-violent resistance of injustice and oppression.
What else should Christians do? Should not the presence of tens of millions of believers be felt in a nation? Should we not make a difference for God? Should we not be a force for spiritual and moral reformation? Should we not actively extend the kingdom of God? Should not the Great Commission leave tangible results in its wake?
This is our sacred moment, our solemn time for action. If we will unshackle ourselves from the love of this world – from our lusts, our addictions, our obsessions – and give ourselves wholly to the purposes of God, we can shake this nation. If we learn the principle that to save our lives is to lose our lives, while to lose our lives for the Lord is to save our lives, then we can really live. As Martin Luther King declared in 1965, “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right; a man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice; a man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.” It’s time we take our stand!
The counterculture revolution of the 1960s began when people said, “Something is missing. Something is wrong. There must be something greater than this.” And they were right! There must be something greater than eating and drinking, working and sleeping, existing. There must be something greater than the American dream. There must be something greater than simply getting a good education so that you can find a good job and have a good family so that your kids can get a good education and find a good job and have a good family so that their kids can a get a good education . . . . Is this really it? Is this why God put us here on this earth? There is more!
Our goal is revival, not survival, the transformation of the human race, not the preservation of the human race. There is a divine purpose and destiny to our time here on earth. Even atheistic revolutionaries understand that there must be a higher purpose to life, and they give themselves for their cause, freely dying for their revolution so that their families can live in what they hope will be a better world. And they do this without the promise of heaven or eternal life. How much more should we give ourselves to the cause of our Master? How much more readily should we hear the call?
Nate Saint and Jim Elliot, martyred as missionaries in 1956, understood this well. They recognized that life was far more meaningful, far more rich, far more significant than most of us ever realize, even if we live to be 100 years old. As Nate Saint wrote, “People who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget they too are expending their lives and when the bubble has burst they will have nothing of eternal significance to show for the years they have wasted.”
Yes, everyone’s bubble will burst one day. The dust will return to dust and the spirit will return to God who gave it (see Ecc. 12:7). On that day, only one thing will matter: Did we fulfill the purpose of God? Did we make a lasting impact for Jesus? Did we leave behind a blessed legacy for the generation to come? All the silly little things that seemed so important to us during our few years here on earth will seem utterly insignificant when they are viewed in the light of eternity.
How wise it was for Jim Elliot to write these now-famous words: “That man is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” And how wise it was for him to lift up this petition before the Lord as a young man in college: “God, I pray, Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.” Oh, that all of us would lead truly full lives!
Columbine martyr Rachel Scott was not wrong when she wrote in her journal, “I have no more personal friends at school. But you know what? I am not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus. I am not going to justify my faith to them, and I am not going to hide the light that God has put into me. If I have to sacrifice everything, I will. I will take it. If my friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend Jesus, then that’s fine with me.” Jesus is worth it to the end!
Fellow-soldiers, holy servants of the risen Lord, blood-bought disciples of the Master, heed the call. It’s now or never, time to put up or shut up. Either we take a stand once and for all or forever we hang our heads in shame. History is eagerly anticipating our next move. This is the hour we have been waiting for. So, on with it – by life or by death. The revolution won’t wait.
*The Jesus Manifesto: A Call to Revolution (Copyright © 2000, 2005, Michael L. Brown) is distributed jointly by FIRE School of Ministry (www.fire-school.org) and ICN Ministries (www.icnministries.org). It may be reproduced and distributed freely in any form, provided that it is reproduced unedited, in its entirety, and with proper attribution, and is not sold or distributed for profit. Some material in The Jesus Manifesto has been adapted and excerpted from Michael L. Brown, Revolution! The Call to Holy War (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 2000).

Monday, April 03, 2006

Ecumenicalism

A disturbing trend has been emerging in Christianity over recent years, a trend known as ecumenism, or the ecumenical movement. Ecumenism is the coming together of various 'Christian' denominations, based on unity in Christ, for dialogue and evangelism. This concept is flawed from the outset as Roman Catholicism denies many of the biblical teachings regarding salvation etc. There can be no unity without truth. To be in unity with Catholicism, I would have to compromise and be in agreement with things I know to be false. The doctrine of purgatory for example. It is not in my Bible. How does a Bible believing, born again Christian join together in unity with those who oppose what the Bible says? Is the good news, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, up for debate? Is the doctrine of salvation amongst other key doctrines negotiable? I agree with the teachings in the Bible clearly taught by Jesus and the apostles. The Roman Catholic Church says the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is not enough, and it institutes the Mass where Christ is crucified over and over again. This same church teaches infant baptism, purgatory, prayer to saints and other rituals not found or taught in the Holy Bible.
2 Corinthians 6:14,15 says: "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?" (NKJV). True unity must be based on the doctrines in the Bible, not on the traditions of man, and man made doctrines. We can not have unity based on compromise. There is one truth and that is the Holy Bible. Jesus is "THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. No man comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) Compromise cannot be an option. We must hold fast to the truth of God's Word.
"I marvel that you so soon are being moved away from Him who called you into the grace of Christ, to another gospel, which is not another, but some are troubling you, and desiring to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from Heaven preach a gospel to you beside what we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we said before, and now I say again, If anyone preaches a gospel to you beside what you have received, let him be accursed. For now do I persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ". Galatians 1: 6-10 (NKJV).

Saturday, April 01, 2006

Preacher, Save Thyself

This is one of Charles Finney's writings. It was written for preachers, but I believe since all Christians were given the great commission, we can all get something from it. After reading it, just imagine....What if all preachers, in all pulpits followed all of Charles Finney's advice? Hmmmm....

PREACHER, SAVE THYSELF
BY PRES. C. G. FINNEY
Printed by the
WILLARD TRACT REPOSITORY no date
Later included in the publication of POWER FROM ON HIGH

"Take heed to thyself, and to the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee."--1 Timothy iv.16.
I am not going to preach to preachers, but to suggest certain conditions upon which the salvation promised in this text may be secured by them.
1st. See that you are constrained by love to preach the gospel, as Christ was to provide a gospel.
2d. See that you have the special enduement of power from on high, by the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
3d. See that you have a heart, and not merely a head call to undertake the preaching of the gospel. By this I mean, be heartily and most intensely inclined to seek the salvation of souls as the great work of life, and do not undertake what you have no heart to.
4th. Constantly maintain a close walk with God.
5th. Make the Bible your book of books. Study it much, upon your knees, waiting for divine light.
6th. Beware of leaning on commentaries. Consult them when convenient; but judge for yourself, in the light of the Holy Ghost.
7th. Keep yourself pure--in will, in thought, in feeling, in word and action.
8th. Contemplate much the guilt and danger of sinners, that your zeal for their salvation may be intensified.
9th. Also deeply ponder and dwell much upon the boundless love and compassion of Christ for them.
10th. So love them yourself as to be willing to die for them.
11th. Give your most intense thought to the study of ways and means by which you may save them. Make this the great and intense study of your life.
12th. Refuse to be diverted from this work. Guard against every temptation that would abate your interest in it.
13th. Believe the assertion of Christ that He is with you in this work always and everywhere, to give you all the help you need.
14th. "He that winneth souls is wise;" and "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and he shall receive." "But let him ask in faith." Remember, therefore, that you are bound to have the wisdom that shall win souls to Christ.
15th. Being called of God to the work, make your calling your constant argument with God for all that you need for the accomplishment of the work.
16th. Be diligent and laborious, "in season and out of season."
17th. Converse much with all classes of your hearers on the question of their salvation, that you may understand their opinions, errors, and wants. Ascertain their prejudices, ignorance, temper, habits, and whatever you need to know to adapt your instruction to their necessities.
18th. See that your own habits are in all respects correct; that you are temperate in all things--free from the stain or smell of tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or anything of which you have reason to be ashamed, and which may stumble others.
19th. Be not "light-minded," but "Set the Lord always before you."
20th. Bridle your tongue, and be not given to idle and unprofitable conversation.
21st. Always let your people see that you are in solemn earnest with them, both in the pulpit and out of it; and let not your daily intercourse with them nullify your serious teaching on the Sabbath.
22d. Resolve to "know nothing" among your people "save Jesus Christ and Him crucified;" and let them understand that, as an ambassador of Christ, your business with them relates wholly to the salvation of their souls.
23d. Be sure to teach them as well by example as by precept. Practise yourself what you preach.
24th. Be especially guarded in your intercourse with women, to raise no thought or suspicion of the least impurity in yourself.
25th. Guard your weak points. If naturally tending to gayety and trifling, watch against occasions of failure in this direction.
26th. If naturally sombre and unsocial, guard against moroseness and unsociability.
27th. Avoid all affectation and sham in all things. Be what you profess to be, and you will have no temptation to "make believe."
28th. Let simplicity, sincerity, and Christian propriety stamp your whole life.
29th. Spend much time every day and night in prayer and direct communion with God. This will make you a power for salvation. No amount of learning and study can compensate for the loss of this communion. If you fail to maintain communion with God, you are "weak as another man."
30th. Beware of the error that there are no means of regeneration, and, consequently, no connection of means and ends in the regeneration of souls.
31st. Understand that regeneration is a moral, and, therefore, a voluntary change.
32d. Understand that the gospel is adapted to change the hearts of men, and in a wise presentation of it you may expect the efficient co-operation of the Holy Spirit.
33d. In the selection and treatment of your texts, always secure the direct teaching of the Holy Spirit.
34th. Let all your sermons be heart and not merely head sermons.
35th. Preach from experience, and not from hearsay, or mere reading and study.
36th. Always present the subject which the Holy Spirit lays upon your heart for the occasion. Seize the points presented by the Holy Spirit to your own mind, and present them with the greatest possible directness to your congregation.
37th. Be full of prayer whenever you attempt to preach, and go from your closet to your pulpit with the inward groanings of the Spirit pressing for utterance at your lips.
38th. Get your mind fully imbued with your subject, so that it will press for utterance; then open your mouth, and let it forth like a torrent.
39th. See that "the fear of man that bringeth a snare" is not upon you. Let your people understand that you fear God too much to be afraid of them.
40th. Never let the question of your popularity with your people influence your preaching.
41st. Never let the question of salary deter you from "declaring the whole counsel of God, whether men will hear or forbear."
42d. Do not temporize, lest you lose the confidence of your people, and thus fail to save them. They cannot thoroughly respect you, as an ambassador of Christ, if they see that you dare not do your duty.
43d. Be sure to "commend yourself to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
44th. Be "not a lover of filthy lucre."
45th. Avoid every appearance of vanity.
46th. Compel your people to respect your sincerity and your spiritual wisdom.
47th. Let them not for one moment suppose that you can be influenced in your preaching by any considerations of salary, more or less, or none at all.
48th. Do not make the impression that you are fond of good dinners, and like to be invited out to dine; for this will be a snare to you, and a stumbling-block to them.
49th. Keep your body under, lest, after having preached to others, yourself should be a castaway.
50th. "Watch for souls as one who must give an account to God."
51st. Be a diligent student, and thoroughly instruct your people in all that is essential to their salvation.
52d. Never flatter the rich.
53d. Be especially attentive to the wants and instruction of the poor.
54th. Suffer not yourself to be bribed into a compromise with sin by donation parties.
55th. Suffer not yourself to be publicly treated as a mendicant, or you will come to be despised by a large class of your hearers.
56th. Repel every attempt to close your mouth against whatever is extravagant, wrong, or injurious amongst your people.
57th. Maintain your pastoral integrity and independence, lest you sear your conscience, quench the Holy Spirit, forfeit the confidence of your people, and lose the favor of God.
58th. Be an example to the flock, and let your life illustrate your teaching. Remember that your actions and spirit will teach even more impressively than your sermons.
59th. If you preach that men should offer to God and their neighbor a love service, see that you do this yourself, and avoid all that tends to the belief that you are working for pay.
60th. Give to your people a love service, and encourage them to render to you, not a money equivalent for your labor, but a love reward that will refresh both you and them.
61st. Repel every proposal to get money for you or for Church purposes that will naturally disgust and excite the contempt of worldly but thoughtful men.
62d. Resist the introduction of tea-parties, amusing lectures, and dissipating sociables, especially at those seasons most favorable for united efforts to convert souls to Christ. Be sure the devil will try to head you off in this direction. When you are praying and planning for a revival of God's work, some of your worldly church-members will invite you to a party. Go not, or you are in for a circle of them, that will defeat your prayers.
63d. Do not be deceived. Your spiritual power with your people will never be increased by accepting such invitations at such times. If it is a good time to have parties, because the people have leisure, it is also a good time for religious meetings, and your influence should be used to draw the people to the house of God.
64th. See that you personally know and daily live upon Christ.

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