Month September 2017

Taking a Knee

The Preacher Leave a comment

There has been a lot of news of late about football players taking a knee during the national anthem. What we’re witnessing are people, players, TV & Politicians vying for our attention in the most irreverent way possible, by making us angry. It seems to me that the real controversy here isn’t about patriotism, social justice, racial inequality, or free speech. It’s not even about the flag or the national anthem. It’s only about one thing – Gratitude.

You see, the reason anyone can “take a knee” is due to the fact that men and women of all colors spilled red blood on the ground to form this great country and to protect it from those who would want to see it fall. To be ignorant of that point is proof that many in our country have grown to be ungrateful. People often take for granted those things, the price of which was paid by another.

But this article is not for politics, it’s to give a biblical perspective on the world. You see, we’re not immune to becoming ungrateful. It’s easy for us to overlook the sacrifice and spilled blood that bought the church, that bought our lives [1Cor 6:20]. We too, take for granted those things that were done for us. And sometimes we forget that God is Sovereign, that Jesus is King and that He Reigns. [1Peter 3:22]

It reminds me of another person where it appeared he was being treated unfairly. A man who found himself in the middle of a discussion between God and Satan. His name is Job, and as he was living his life, minding his own business, everything changed. In a very short time, he lost all his 10 children to tragedy, he lost all his wealth worse than any stock market crash, he lost his health and then he lost the support of his wife. Last of all he lost all hope of receiving sympathy from his friends. You can read about it in the book of Job, chapters 1-2. Have any of us, or those players, suffered this kind of loss, experienced this kind of injustice?

Life is unfair, it’s cruel and often makes no sense. That was Job’s situation, he didn’t know why he had suffered so much pain. So, what did Job do? HE TOOK A KNEE!

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, [Job 1:20]

Taking a Knee

Job didn’t give up, he didn’t curse God as his wife suggested, and he didn’t believe the false narrative of the mainstream. He maintained his integrity and remembered his creator. [Job 4:17, 36:3] This is gratitude. He could have easily believed the lie, but he had so much love for the truth [2Thess 2:10-11].

In good times, it’s easy to forget what God has done for us [Mat 5:45, Acts 14:17]. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. [James 1:17] In bad times, it’s even harder, often resorting to blaming Him or even doubting His existence. We can learn something from Job. We can learn to seek God in the good times and the bad.

But that’s not all. Job TOOK A KNEE on another occasion. At the end of the book, Job TOOK A KNEE for those who had been condemning him incorrectly. [Job 42:8-10]. It was after he prayed for his friends that God restored to him all his wealth.

With Job in mind, let’s see how we ought to ‘take a knee’…

  • Mt 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
  • 2Th 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
  • 1Timothy 2:1-4 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

One more thing, while a few are “taking a knee”, there will come a day when EVERYONE will ‘TAKE A KNEE’ as they face the judgement.

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Romans 14:11

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Philippians 2:10

Crowdsourcing Sin

The Preacher Leave a comment

Crowdsourcing is the new term being used to describe the method folks are using to raise money. Due to the people connecting power of the internet, crowdsourcing has become the way to finance business projects, or to assist in paying medical expenses after an illness or injury. However, crowdsourcing is also used to gather information, as in the example of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, which gains all its information through crowdsourcing. Contributors from around the world write, on the website, about any and every subject under the sun.

Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information, money or input into a task or project by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid, or unpaid, typically via the internet. The practice has become so common, that Wikipedia has become a valid source of information, and a new TV program is set to air that uses the power of the crowd to catch criminals. This idea is not new. The Mormon church has been using crowdsourcing for years through their Ancestry website. When people sign up to do genealogical research, the information gathered allows them to practice their error of “baptism for the dead” as the one being baptized is immersed multiple times for the unfaithful deceased of their family.

Which brings us to our topic, Crowdsourcing Authority. As the years progress, and each new generation grows more dependent upon an internet connected society, we’re being trained to see crowdsourcing as a legitimate method of understanding Biblical Authority. THIS IS DANGEROUS!

Every generation has had to overcome the use of erroneous sources of Biblical Authority…

  • Men / Parents – “Well my Daddy said…” or “My Pastor told me…”
    • The Bible Says: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” [Matthew 7:7]
  • Tradition – “We always did it this way.”
    • The Bible Says; “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” [Colossians 2:8].
  • Feelings & False Reasoning – “I think this” or “God wants me to be happy”
    • The Bible Says: “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” [Jeremiah 10:23]
    • “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” [2Thess 2:10]

Now we have a new one to deal with, crowdsourcing. But it isn’t new, nothing ever is (Ecc 1:9), crowdsourcing authority has been around since there have been crowds.

  • In Babel – “And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” [Genesis 11:4]
  • In the Wilderness – “And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!” [Numbers 14:2]
  • Jesus warned about the crowd – “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:” [Matthew 7:13]
    • And again, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” [Matthew 7:22]
Crowdsourcing Sin

What we find from these passages is not the crowdsourcing of authority, rather, we find the CROWDSOURCING OF SIN. In each example, if the source of the activity came from the crowd, God condemned it. Do you suppose that we’re any less susceptible to this problem? Sin is never acceptable to God, no matter how many people are doing it. Your momma may have said it, but God gave her the idea, “if everybody wanted to jump off a bridge would you follow them?” As we view the crowds in our society, we see the biblical warnings being ignored as crowds (majorities) try to shape it. Crowds become nothing more than bullies when driven by the emotionalism and confusion emanating from the ignorance of God’s divine Word. [Hosea 4:6; Matthew 22:29]

There is only ONE source of Authority, for life AND godliness. It’s found in Christ Jesus. “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:” [2Peter 1:3] Jesus made this very direct claim; “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” [Matthew 28:18] This statement of fact covers a lot of ground, HEAVEN AND EARTH.

When Paul wrote to the Colossians, he reminds the church of this fact about Jesus when he wrote, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” [Colossians 1:18] Some claim that Jesus was a good teacher, ney ney. Christ Jesus is PREEMINENT. Preeminent means He surpasses all of us and is superior to all of us. Jesus is not A SOURCE of authority, HE IS THE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY! This information will never be found through crowdsourcing, but only in His word, which He promised to give.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.”

John 16:13-14

Whose right

The Preacher Leave a comment

You read that correctly, the question is not ‘who is right’ rather it’s ‘who has rights’. There has been a shift in this country toward the idea that it is GOV that confers (grants or bestows) rights to its citizens. In a recent article, James G. Dwyer said, “…that’s the state that empowers parents to do anything with children, to take them home, to have custody and to make any kind of decisions about that.”1 What he is saying, as well as so many others, is that GOV is the one that gives people rights.

Before we go forward, let me say that this article is intended to help the Christian understand the truth regarding the world around him. We live in a world run by man and overrun with sin. We must live in this world without letting its errors separate us from the truth. [1Corinthians 5:7-10]

As Christians, if we’re not careful, these erroneous ideas will creep in and lead us astray. Therefore, we ask the question…

WHO CONFERS RIGHTS?

Is it true that government (GOV) bestows upon its citizens certain rights? When you examine history, the answer appears to be yes. All over the world, it has been the kings (GOV) that determines what a person may or may not do within its borders. It is this idea that has lead so many into revolution in attempts to regain rights.

Then along came certain men, on this continent, who thought a different thought. They wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”2 Did they come up with this on their own or was this just a new way of thinking about government?

We’re spelling it wrong.

The idea that mankind has rights, from their Creator, did not come from the mind of man, it came from GOD. Our founding fathers had the idea that people have GOD given rights and the role of GOV is to protect them. How did they come to this conclusion?

From GOD’s holy and divine word. If we examine scripture, we will find Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…

  • LIFE – Genesis 1:26-27 teaches us that it is GOD who gives Life. The Psalmist wrote, “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments” [Psalm 119:73]. And again, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” [139:14]. GOV has no power to give life, only to take it away. Even then we see it’s limit for Jesus has said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” [Matthew 10:28].
  • LIBERTY – This is the idea of free will. We all have the freedom to choose. We know this because GOD gave us a command. By giving a command, it’s automatically known that man has free will. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” [Genesis 2:16-17]. Liberty is the freedom to choose. This doesn’t mean that there are no consequences for our choices, but it does mean that GOD gave us freedom. GOV can try its best to control people, but they cannot control one’s mind.
  • HAPPINESS – or rather, the pursuit of it. GOV can never provide happiness, only destroy it. GOD gave us this pursuit, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And GOD said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so” [Genesis 1:28-30]. GOD gave us all things to enjoy. Paul said to those in Lystra, “Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness” [Acts 14:17]. Happiness comes from GOD, never is it found in gov.

This article can only be complete when we note what GOD says about the ‘RIGHT’ of gov. “For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” [Romans 13:3-4]. Look closely, it is GOD that gives man his rights and it is GOD who gives gov theirs. The ruling powers are SERVANTS of the most high GOD!!!

‘In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’

[Daniel 4:17b]

“Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.”

[John 19:11]

 

1 – http://medicalkidnap.com/2017/09/12/law-professor-attacks-homeschoolers-believes-state-should-choose-parents-for-babies/

2 – Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Like a Hurricane

The Preacher Leave a comment

For over 2 weeks, hurricane news has dominated this countries attention. It began when Harvey struck S.E. Texas, and the relief efforts, then all eyes quickly turned to watch hurricane Irma.

For many, prayer has been the only thing that gives them comfort, while others are using these storms as evidence that God doesn’t exist, for if He did, then why does He allow such suffering?

One editorial cartoon mocks those who praise God for being rescued.

Many of us became very angry when we saw this cartoon, but when your blood stops boiling, the question about how to answer those who mock us, comes into view. How are we to address those who use natural catastrophe as proof that God is not real? They will pose these 3 problems…
1) “If God is real, why does He allow suffering?”
2) “If God is all powerful, then He must not be all good, because of suffering.”
3) “If God is all good, then He must not be all powerful to allow suffering.”

FIRST, the problem of suffering from natural disasters is not automatic proof that God is not real or uncaring. On the contrary, it offers proof that GOD IS REAL! When someone attempts to disprove God by pointing at suffering, their idea of suffering can only be true if there is a standard of good, and there is someone who sets that standard. That someone is GOD.

If God were not real, there can be no standard by which to determine if something is wrong. For there to be a wrong, there must be a right. For those who reject God in favor of evolution, then every natural disaster is just the result of the continual process of evolution. Therefore, your subjective feelings are the only standard by which you object to natural suffering. You may not like it, but without God, you cannot say that it is bad. It’s just nature doing it’s job.

SECOND, we should ask the skeptic how they would put one of these things (the earth) together. How would they run the world? How would they deal with free will and the problem of sin? How would they create a planet where gravity only works when we place something down, but never breaks bones when a person trips? How would they get heat to cook food and to keep us warm without the possibility of forest fires?

Would they interfere every time something bad was about to happen? If they prevented every injustice, would there be free will? If they stepped in to prevent every death due to natural catastrophe, would the people simply regard that as just the way nature works and be atheists anyway? How would they feel, if they could put one of these together, when their creation considered their benevolent activity as just nature doing what nature does?

LAST, If God were not real, the atheist has no answer for how wrongs are eventually made right. For the Christian, we believe that all wrongs will be righted and that all evil will be dealt with. The word from our Lord says; “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” [Romans 12:19]. We believe that we all must appear before Him and; “…that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” [2Corinthians 5:10].

Here’s another thing, if God is not real, then there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ has not risen, and if Christ has not risen then we are still in our sins and we are a pitiful people. I thank God daily for the blessings in Christ Jesus. I may not understand all suffering, but I do believe in God and…

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. [2Timothy 1:12]

What do I do Now?

The Preacher Leave a comment

After a person obeys the gospel, the most oft asked question is, “what do I do now?” However, this question is asked by both the new convert AND the members of the local congregation. The new convert, full of joy and gratitude, has a desire to serve and to do what is right. The older members want to help them, but where do you begin?

For the answer, let us turn to Acts 2, the place where the church of Christ began.

41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. That’s where we are with Margie, and all others who obeyed the gospel recently (a young man named Nick, was also baptized into Christ on the same day.) Nobody joins the church; the Lord adds to the church [47].

42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. Here’s where we find our answer to the question, “what do I do next?”

Continue in the apostles’ doctrine. The Apostles’ doctrine is Christ’s doctrine. Jesus said to the Apostles, that in addition to making disciples, as one who has all authority, teach them “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” [Mat 28:19-20]. Paul said about his letters, “let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” [1Cor 14:37]

So, the first thing we need to do is to continue to learn through study of the Scriptures what Jesus expects from us. The most effective way to do this is for the new convert and the “old” members to get together and study the scriptures. We need to note that “continue” means to do them. It’s not enough to learn what Jesus wants, we must obey Him [John 14:15]. We can also learn when we gather to worship on the first day of the week.

And Fellowship and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. The new Christians worshiped together. They had fellowship, which means that they were in partnership with one another. This partnership begins when we, “all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” [1Cor 1:10]. The partnership also includes the collection of money for the work of the church. (As you continue to study, you’ll begin to understand the work God has given the church is to spread the Gospel, Teach the saints and practice limited benevolence). The Philippians gave money to spread the gospel, and were in fellowship in the gospel [Phil 1:3-7].

One of the parts of worship (there are 5 activities in sound worship) the disciples ‘broke bread’ which is to remember the death of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Supper” the first Christians met on the 1st day of the week, Sunday, where they would take unleavened bread and fruit of the vine to commemorate His death. The Apostle Paul wrote the early Christians how to properly observe this important part of our worship [1Cor 11:23-34].

 

They also prayed. Prayer is the privilege of the saints. Christians are called saint in the Scriptures [Rom 1:7; Eph 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1]. In obeying the gospel through baptism, we have “put on Christ” [Gal 3:27] and have been given access through Him to the “throne of grace” [Heb 4:16]. Prayer is an incredible part of becoming a child of God. We know that God does not listen to sinners [John 9:31] but He hears us!

God is not our “genie in a bottle,” to gift us with everything we want like a spoiled child. Rather, He wants to help us in our time of need. It says in Hebrews 4:16; “that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Temptation doesn’t stop when we become Christians, neither do troubles & pains, “but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” [1Cor 10:13]. So, all Christians need to pray.

Finally, let us note one more thing from Acts 2…

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. As you begin your journey as a new Christian, and every Christian, let us never forget from whom we received the gift of grace. We received it from God through Christ Jesus [Eph 2:8-10]. May we never forget, may it never grow old and may we never grow tired of praising God for His indescribable gift.

Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift.

2Corinthians 9:15