Repentance

Have you noticed that not many pastors preach on the topic of repentance anymore? Repentance has gone out of fashion, true humility is out and pride is in. Did God approve of that idea?

Luke 3:2-9 ... the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;   As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.  Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?   Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (ESV)


Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (ESV)


Luke 15:4-10  "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.  "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.'  Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

We've all heard or read the parable of the prodigal son. The son foolishly squandered everything his father gave to him, until realizing his foolishness, turned back to his father in humble submission asking for forgiveness, and everything was restored to him. But what about the other son, the one that "didn't need" repentance? He always remained with the father, did what he was told to do, was possibly happy that his good for nothing loser brother was gone and now all attention could go to himself. He got angry when his brother returned, rather than rejoice with his father. Let's take a look:

Luke 15:28-32  But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

Pride is a terrible thing, hatred and anger is at the root of it, and Jesus said he who is angry with his brother is guilty of murder. Does that not require repentance? Does that not call for humility before a holy God who can cast people into outer darkness (no vision) and fire (feelings of torment) forever? None of us are perfect, we must all approach the Lord in humility asking forgiveness for the things we have done, for the sorrow we have caused him and our fellow men. 

Have you repented of your sins before the feet of Jesus? 

Back to Basics

(Bible passages in this post taken from the King James Version)

Sometimes we need to revisit the basics, especially when many pastors are, for the most part, not teaching it anymore.

 Today I'll touch on #1, hearing the word.

The passage that Romans 10:17 comes from is talking about reaching out to Israel, and the fact that other nations are actually being blessed by the fact that Israel rejected the Messiah, and that the Lord will use it to provoke Israel to jealousy.

 Romans 10:13-21  

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

 and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?

 and how shall they hear without a preacher?  

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? 

as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!   

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. 

For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?   

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  

But I say, Have they not heard? 

Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.  But I say, Did not Israel know? 

First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.  

But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.  

But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. 

Although I agree with the above tidy little synopsis of what needs to happen in order to be saved, there is much, much more that is going on in the process that goes beyond human ability to perform. Not all who hear the truth receive it, and yet all who hear it receive it with gladness. It is  a paradox.

Act 28:26-28  Saying, Go unto this people, and say, 

Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; 

and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:   

For the heart of this people is waxed gross,

 and their ears are dull of hearing, 

and their eyes have they closed; 

lest they should see with their eyes,

 and hear with their ears, 

and understand with their heart, 

and should be converted, 

and I should heal them.   

Be it known therefore unto you, 

that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, 

and that they will hear it.

There it is again, the emphasis of the truth spreading to other nations as a result of Israel's neglecting to receive it, having hardened their hearts to the act of hearing from the Lord. Something else that is given in this passage is the fact that there are two types of hearing: 1. hearing that hears and 2. hearing that doesn't hear. 

There is a supernatural element (and let me be clear when I use the word "supernatural" it isn't in a new age magical sense of the word) that involves a proper searching, a heart that is humbled before God receives from Him, whereas a haughty, self-righteous, self-promoting, self-centered heart hardens itself against what God says, and even though persons with hard hearts hear the words, those words do nothing to enrich those prideful, selfish, hardened persons hearing them. We have all been there haven't we? I know that I have been there. There have been several occasions that people reached out to me with God's word to me, and those words fell on my deaf ears that couldn't hear Him, couldn't penetrate my hard heart. But when the Lord did it, I wasn't even looking for Him at the time, yet He softened my heart to hear a family that reached out to me in love. He opened my deaf ears to hear for the first time the words that I in my worldly wisdom had scoffed at. Yes, it was supernatural, it was a miracle, but it was such a quiet one, one that had no magical, dazzling, spectacular special effects to bring everyone around to gasping in excited exclamations of wonder. It was a very quiet and humble miracle, just like all other miracles that humbly meet us every day, the ones we for the most part take for granted. 

With eyes to see and ears to hear, the commonplace, the every day things, take on special significance of the many wonderful blessings, miracles, that Jesus performs for us on a continual basis, by which He sustains our lives...until it is time to go to be with Him, or, for those who have not received, have continued to harden their hearts, have continued to insist they know better than the God of the Bible, those will be eternally without Him, only having their own tormenting thoughts to keep them company throughout eternity.   

We can go back and forth, and round and round, whether it ends up being God's fault that many never hear in the saving sense of the word, or whether it is man's fault (false teachers not getting the true word out and rebellious hearts rejecting the truth when it is correctly presented) and I have settled it in my own mind that God knows perfectly what He is doing and He doesn't make mistakes. Man does make mistakes, every day, anyone who does not agree with that fact is very deluded indeed. So in my humble estimation of who is at fault, I would never be so presumptuous as to say it is God who is to be blamed for people going to hell. 

Another factor that needs bringing up in the matter of hearing the truth is prayer. We need to pray for our unsaved loved ones, friends, family, and even strangers who cross our paths. Many pray for frivolous things, or even things that are  not frivolous such as the health and temporal well-being of others, which may or may not receive an answer to the petitioner's liking. Much better to pray for something of eternal significance; the salvation of the lost. That is something of eternal value, all the rest will eventually fade and die anyway. When our prayers for the lost together with the true word going out to them reach the lost via the Holy Spirit of God, a revival of God's quiet and humble miracle of salvation can ignite in the lives of the hearers, having their ears opened by the true and powerful living God, to whom all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

Next time I'll tackle #2.

Saved? or Self Deceived?

In this 2 part sermon, John MacArthur pours out his heart to exposit on the passage:

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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.   And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:   And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.   And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine
Matthew 7:22-28 (KJV)

Pastor MacArthur explains what he sees as marks of a true believer, and the evidences that expose those who may be false and self deceived "followers" of Christ.

False "believers":

1. Want signs and healings
2. Want gimmicks
3. Want to feel good
4. Want to receive blessings
5. Or they may be religionists. Many "Christians" that aren't are simply trying to work their way there by doing all the moral and religious works they believe will make them good enough...

True believers:

1. Want only Jesus
2. Are penitent and truly sorry for their sins

He says much more, take a listen...the good medicine convicts and brings you truly to the throne of forgiveness and God's grace:

A Proper Response

 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.  And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep.
For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry;
for the joy of the LORD is your strength.  
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.   And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. 

Nehemiah 8:8-12 (KJV)

I've been thinking about the joy of the Lord being our strength in the light of people wanting to idolize a celebrity who takes his own life. Atheists want to claim him as a fellow atheist and Christians say he spoke openly of his Episcopalian association therefore that he was obviously a Christian. He made fun of his Episcopalian denomination calling it Catholic-lite. God only knows the real truth about this situation and we know that He is merciful and forgiving, however I don't think it is right to force God's hand in these situations by saying the things people do about it. Suicide is a very serious thing, and it is a sin. To make light of it and say people can definitely commit suicide and still go to heaven is saying something that God doesn't say in His word, the Bible. He also doesn't say that people who commit suicide definitely go to hell, but there are plenty of things said about perseverance and that the ability to persevere comes from God and not anything good in ourselves.

When the people of Nehemiah's day heard and understood the law they wept and grieved. Why? They were convicted by what it said. That is a proper response to reading and understanding the law, but it doesn't end there. Once they understood and were truly humbled and truly sorry, Nehemiah and Tirshatha and Ezra as well as the Levites taught the people not to focus this on themselves but to focus on the Lord and to find their joy in the Lord  which is their strength, not themselves.

I often see this portion of the passage taken out of it's proper context to condone behaving like lunatics as being "the joy of the Lord". No. They first recognized and mourned their sinfulness in light of the law, and then were taught by the Levites the proper way to have joy in the Lord and to rejoice and celebrate. There is nothing wrong in celebrating. There were many feasts mentioned in the O.T. (people often focus on the law and the battles being the only lessons found there). If we take these things in their proper context and their proper order we see that the proper response for truly understanding the law is sorrow for sin, and that we have a God who loves us enough to see our sins and forgive us of our sins and to strengthen us through the joy that comes from truly knowing and loving Him.

Agnostic/Atheist also a "Former Christian"? Is That Really Possible?

 1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

I've had this conversation several times with persons who truly believe they were once saved and eventually have fallen from that "saving faith" into all sorts of error (atheism, agnosticism, Buddhism, Judaism, anything but the truth of God's word, just holding to the fragments that appeal to them) or persons who have "friends" who were "once saved" and now are not. 

I can honestly say that if you do not believe God now, you never did. How can I say that? I didn't know these people, and I don't really know them now, so how can I make such an assessment? By God's word, the Bible. The Bible says so. Is that so shocking? Is that a ridiculous reason to accept that as a fact? Then the Christians who say they believe these false ones over the Bible are also suspect for possibly being the same type of (non)Christians.

These are interesting times, and MANY are falling out with the Church. Some may eventually turn to Christ in truth, but I sadly believe that many will not. These had an "appearance of Godliness" but they rejected His power (the Bible tells us 2 Timothy 3:5) and they are "ever learning" but never actually coming to the full truth (2 Timothy 3:7). They put more faith into their own faulty belief system than understanding the fact that none of us can fully comprehend something (and Someone) that is completely out of our league, but by His power and strength is able to grow us to learn truly about Him, and grow us to be His brothers and sisters by maturing in His grace and His knowledge, which is far superior to anything we can come up with on our own. The fact that they don't want to give up on their own ability to come up with these things causes them to judge God as "unfair" and "unloving". Unfair? Yes. Because we all deserve hell, so the fact that those who truly grow in Him won't go to hell is very unfair. It's called grace because we do not deserve it. I don't want fair because of the fact that it would be completely fair to send me to hell.

I think I'm only observing the beginning of this trend, this falling away. I believe many will fall out, that there are many "pew warmers" who think they believe God, and do not. They go for the good times, to be proper American citizens, or at least go to see their friends, etc, but as far as having a relationship with Jesus? Truly? He will say to many: "I never knew you" (Matthew 7:23)

In the above (2 John 2:19) we find that it is actually a good thing that the falling away occurs, because the appearance of godliness is outed for what it really is. It isn't godliness at all, only something that has that appearance, on the surface. If it were true it would be throughout those individuals lives, permeating their very existence, and to the point they would never abandon the Lord who so mercifully and lovingly saved them from their wretched selfish lives. It just wouldn't happen, so the wheat is then being separated from the tares. The tares look similar to wheat, but when both mature, the tares reveal what they really are. Their fruit has a black fungus on it that is poisonous if ingested, causing sleepiness in small amounts, or if concentrated into a juice/oil solution it can even cause death. What appropriate symmetry and symbolism. The message such persons "preach" is that there is the possibility of a "true Christian" to fall away, and it is a lie, and is pure poison, evil from the pit, which can cause true believers unnecessary anguish.


Phil Johnson has an excellent sermon on this topic : The Vine and the Branches (Sermon Audio- approx 1 hr)


Previous posts on this topic:

Can a Truly Saved Person Fall Away

Can a Truly Saved Person Fall Away Part 2

Can a Truly Saved Person Fall Away Part 3

Can a Truly Saved Person Fall Away Part 4
There's a difference between having doubts which the Lord corrects and helps you with, and an all-out falling out and away from Him which is discussed a bit in comments section of this blog entry

Maturity in Christ: Fruit 

The Great Falling Away

 The Falling Away of the Church 

Mercy

  For He (God) says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."   So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
 Romans 9:15-16 (ESV)

Is mercy earned? It seems like many people think that it is, and that God is not fair for only choosing to bring "some" into His kingdom. If He only brought in 1 person who didn't deserve it, that is 1 more than should be there, so is that unfair? And we know there will be more than just 1 person that will be with Him, by His mercy. Such compassion is beyond the kind that we in our flesh can display. We feign affection for people that we just don't like or approve of. Come on, really, tell the truth. The only way I can truly love a person that irritates the "you know what" out of me is if the grace is given to me from the Lord. The rest is just fake, putting on like I "love" this person when truly I can't wait to get away from him or her. But the love of God isn't like that at all. He loved us while we were yet sinners, and completely undeserving of His love and mercy. He can see all the yucky things that we think we keep hidden from prying eyes so well. He washes those whom He has chosen with His own spent blood, the most precious thing He could pour out to us. And yet we still think we somehow deserve it by a choice we made or a sinners prayer we rattled off....? Really?

No, it is NOTHING that we did, or do, that could earn His mercy and compassion. It is because He loves those He chooses, through His grace and mercy. Such a divine goodness is too much for me to fully comprehend, but that doesn't make it any less true.

The "god" of This World

The devil is deceitful, everyone knows that, right? Well, maybe with the exception of outright satanists, who in a sense have it the most correct of the worldly religions. The satanists worship Lucifer, satan, as "god". Everyone who worships any other god  than the "God of the Bible" worships satan. This world's false religions include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhism, Mohammedism, Roman Catholicism, the Sikh religion, Shintoism, Seventh day Adventism, secularism, humanism, and even Judaism, just to name some of the more common ones, and ALL OF THESE worship satan, whether they know it, or believe it.....or not. The truth remains what it is no matter who wants to believe whatever they may want to believe. Their god that they worship (even if it is themselves that they worship---truthfully it usually is) well, this "god" is the god of this world, and he (satan) is powerless to save them. He (satan) can only keep them deceived and worshiping himself to their complete destruction and downfall. How do I know this? The Bible tells me this.

2Co 4:2  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.
2Co 4:3  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
2Co 4:4  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.(ESV)

Street Preaching Part 8

Street preaching is tough, no doubt, and I applaud ANYONE who attempts to go out and "make a fool of themselves" for Christ, because this has to be one of the most thankless things you can do, especially these days.

However, I do think there are things, suggestions, that might be helpful in honing this activity and doing it so that it can have the most benefit. Of course first and foremost one should be scripturally sound in doctrine being presented.

This article lists some additional helpful suggestions if one feels led to preach on the streets:

http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2013/09/thoughts-on-street-preaching.php

The Vision

Habakkuk 2:3  For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie.

 If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come;
it will not delay. 

Habakkuk 2:4  "Behold, his soul is puffed up;

 it is not upright within him,

 but the righteous shall live by his faith. (KJV)

We must if we truly believe the Lord, wait on Him, wait on His timing. A true belief doesn't one day say "Ok, it wasn't ever true"...it hangs on through thick and thin because the Holy Spirit within him/her is true and He won't ever let go of His own.

If anyone ever says God is untrue, he/she is deceived, and trying to get others to join him/her in his/her deception. Don't let such a one recruit you into their delusion but hold fast to what the Lord says, through His power, by His Spirit, and prove to yourself that your election is true.

Faith and Trust

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (KJV)

I was thinking about these two words today. They go together, don't they? The faith that we have in Jesus comes from developing a relationship of trusting Him. It is the belief that what He says is true, whether other people believe Him or not, whether it seems to make sense to us or not, an assurance and a conviction that He is and does all the things that are written about Him and more. He is more real and true than anything we now experience as real and true in this world of shadows though we only "see" Him in what He does for us...IF we have the eyes to see. He provides for all that we need, and even those in deepest poverty have all that they truly need in Him because the suffering that they now have to suffer will be turned to joy as they are the first and most honored of His brothers and sisters in His kingdom though at this time, in this world, they are the last, the bottom of the barrel. He asks those who have more to show their trust and devotion to Him by providing food and raiment to those who don't have much here. That is how we "the bride" care for His home on earth, to care for His children in need...to pray for those who are lost, and blind, and needy.

The Saddest Words in the Bible

 John 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. (KJV)

 To me those are the saddest words in the whole Bible. There are several methods to "walk no more with Him", they involve rejecting what He said, to follow some other teacher who has a "better message". They stopped following because they believed not.

 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.   And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.   Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?   He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. John 6:64-71 (KJV)

Heaven or Hell?

How can a loving God send countless people to hell?

Have you heard that one before? Yeah, plenty of times, eh? It goes along with "How can a loving God allow war?" or "How can a loving God allow starving children in Africa to go on starving and dying horrible deaths?" or "How can a loving God who is all knowing create a devil?"

The bottomline is God is Creator, and His ways are not our ways... and that may seem like a "cop out" or hiding one's head in the sand and not being realistic...to the way of the flesh, that is.

1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1Co 2:15  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
1Co 2:16  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (KJV)

The ways of God are foolishness to those who are after the flesh. Worldly wisdom may seem wise, it has a "form of godliness" but it is minus His power.

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2Ti 3:3  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. (KJV)

The way of the world does have a "godliness" about it, but it is a fleshy godliness that still needs to be submitted to a holy God. It is not true godliness, and it denies His power because it is still relying on the power of itself, it's own fleshy wisdom and it's own fleshy "goodness" instead of surrendering all completely as a lowly beggar that has nothing to offer God, begging for His mercy to transform what seems good into what is truly good, through His power, His blood, His forgiveness of sin. It is a narrow way because most people want to find another way that doesn't require giving up their own sense of self-righteousness. I know it because that flesh still tugs at me too, wanting to be something when I know it is nothing. This shell, this bag of bones, I will one day lay down, and anything that is not "of Christ" will die with it. Everything that God has done in me and through me through the forgiveness of sins by His blood sacrifice, whatever is to be found in me that is from HIM alone, not from me and my flesh, will be brought to Himself to be with Him in glory. My flesh would not be able to stand the purity of His presence, the fire of holiness would be too much for me, but by His grace, He offers the ability to enter boldly to His throne, the extreme holiness of His presence, that purges away all sin, that burns away all self-love, and every prideful thing, piercing us with His penetrating gaze that sees everything that is not of Him, knocking us to our knees crying "Lord don't look on me, I am but a sinner!" because His powerful holiness is too much for us to bear in our flesh...but such knowledge is from God, and through such admission of guilt He has mercy and gives us what we cannot and do not deserve. It goes against our pride. It goes against our human logic. It goes against worldly wisdom. It purges it all out, and if we are found in Him we know it is because of what He has done, and not of ourselves. We are garbage. We are worse than garbage. And yet He loves us even when we are worse than the worst stinking garbage you can imagine. If you don't accept that, you are not His, because those who are His know the truth about ourselves, and cry for mercy for real...and not that faked acting I have seen which many do to try to earn His holy acceptance. Those who worship God worship Him TRULY, not holding anything back for themselves but giving it all up to be purged of sin.

Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (KJV)

What do you have right now that is worth eternity in hell? What do you want to hold on to that is worth more than forgiveness of your sin? What pride? What self-worth? What self-knowledge or worldly wisdom? Give it all up. Repent. Look at yourself honestly as the Lord sees you. See that the flesh is nothing but dirt with life breathed into it from God, and if it is from God we have nothing to boast of. Whatever we boast or think is more important than what God has determined, is garbage, and filth, and worthy of hell. Give it up so God will remove it far from you.

What is grace if it is deserved? Is it still grace? No. Grace is grace because we do not deserve it, not even a tiny bit.

If there is no hell, what are we saved from? Yes there is a hell, believe it or not, it matters not whether you believe in it because whether we want to believe or not believe does not change the truth of it. The truth remains whether you want to believe it or not. Reject the truth at your own peril. Hold on to your worldly wisdom and your pride in your own knowledge that leads to nothing but your own undoing and you have no one to blame but yourself. You can try to blame others, but the truth is before you.

The kingdom of God is at hand, and Jesus has made the way, the straight and narrow way that most people in their pride and love of this world will decide is not good enough. He will redeem His own, and His own love Him more than this world and more than self-love, and more than the love of this world. His own will love Him with the love He gives to them, and will not love their own lives even unto death, even unto martyrdom, as He loved us, so we will love Him.

Choose this day whom you will serve; yourself, or reject all that is yourself in favor of the love of the Lord, laying down your life and your pride, just as He did when He died..... for those who are His.

If you have done this, given it all up, surrendered it all at the alter of God's forgiveness and grace, then the questions at the top of this post no longer hold any relevance to you. They are questions that only have merit if you still regard this world as something that we must redeem completely. If you think that this world and everything in it must be brought to heaven by hook or by crook, and if that is impossible, then God is somehow defective, the truth is not in you. But when you have rejected all such worldly wisdom as part of the junk, the trash, realizing that nothing in this world is "deserving" of anything but the trash-heap, then you see how merciful God truly is, because He sent His own Son to redeem what He will out of it, making something out of what was nothing, taking trash and making a treasure out of it.

What love is this? The kind of love the world has rejected. The kind of love the world will call hateful, because it (the world) is hateful, but it (the world) sees not it's own hatefulness. That is the kind of love God has, completely undeserved, completely true, completely holy and pure, not like this world is: selfish, boastful, hateful...yet telling itself it is NOT selfish, boastful and hateful.

We fool ourselves, unless the Lord sets us straight, and He does this out of mercy and grace, not because He HAS TO, but because He desires to.

Acknowlegement of Sin

From Joseph Alleine's "A Sure Guide to Heaven":

"When He (the Lord) works convictions. O do not stifle them, but join in with Him, and beg the Lord to give you saving conversion. 'Quench not the Spirit.' Do not reject Him, do not resist Him.Beware of stifling convictions with evil company or worldly business."

How often to we stifle His convictions of our sinful inner thoughts? How often do we excuse ourselves with "Oh well, everyone thinks these things" or "At least I'm not as bad as  (fill in the blank)." No, we should always take these straight to the throne room, and realize our terrible sinfulness in gratitude of a forgiving God. Let us not go to the pharmacist, or psychologist, or well-meaning friends for comfort, who will only condone the selfish and evil promptings, or medicate them away with things that hinder the Lord's process of cleansing us from all unrighteousness. Let us hold fast to Jesus instead, knowing that it is His goodness, not our own, which means anything, and everything. When we feel conviction, let us not shrink away from the fact that we are full of darkness in need of the light that wants to enter in to remove that darkness to fill us full of His light. Instead let us embrace that fact that we are nothing without His goodness enlightening our dark habitation.

When we feel the weight of our unrighteousness, let us not try means of elevating ourselves into a righteous mindset, but let us remember that "none are righteous, no not one" except Jesus. When we want to "think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think" let us remember that "God alone is good and every man (and woman) is a liar" which of course includes myself, and no one wants to deceive me more about my own goodness than I myself do. Jesus is the only cure. Whenever we feel the weight of guilt and unrighteousness, it is the righteousness of God that will sustain us, as we admit our guilt and thank Him for His love and mercy.

Dr. Jay Klopfenstein

I had the privilege and pleasure of going to The Metropolitan Bible Church in Ottawa yesterday with my husband, and his aunt and uncle. They had a guest pastor who they were hoping to vote into being their senior pastor, Dr. Jay Klopfenstein. I found a Vimeo of a previous visit he made there, in May of this year. This is an AWESOME sermon:


Dr. Jay Klopfenstein: A Case for Spiritual Insomnia from Metropolitan Bible Church on Vimeo.

oops! the video disappeared! But here is another link:

Christ-caused Division

There are so many today that are crying for "unity" and "peace", but Jesus said He did not come to bring peace to the world but a sword. David Dykstra speaks on this topic so eloquently, his words melt my heart as his voice seems to tremble with yearning for people to hear the words of the Lord. And his words clearly bring flesh to the dry bones of those who long to hear those life-giving words of truth which do not compromise with the world and with the flesh.

  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. Luke 12: 51-53

Jesus was quoting Micah:

 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.   The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.   That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.  The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.  Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.  For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.   Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.  Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.  I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Micah 7:1-9


Hear Pastor David Dykstra preach ever so beautifully and heart-wrenchingly:


http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1111121445492

"Gender Confusion"

I was listening to a series on sermon audio (linked to part 3 at the bottom of this post). The series is on the topic of homosexuality. It is a very heavy topic, one that is often treated superficially.. the pastor talks about gender confusion and the problems that the women that pushed for equal rights brought in (and he admits that this is just a symptom of our fallen condition, one of many symptoms, and that there have  always  been sin symptoms since Adam and Eve). 

I want to share with you what I said to my daughter. I don't want to diminish the terribleness of sin, yet we of course need to acknowledge that we all do sin, continually. This is what I wrote my daughter as a preface to this  sermon:

"... it reveals a bigger problem, and we cannot "fix it" by making all of these things appear to be right. That isn't the point. The point is this world is fallen and there are lots of problems that won't get fixed, but we need to admit that they truly are problems and that they stem from our sinful nature. That is the point. The point is we shouldn't make excuses (me included, I keep wanting to make excuses for my sins) no excuses, but we need to acknowledge that we all fall short, and to call sin what it is, sin. No excuses. So we do sin, every day we do, it is part of this world that we live in. It is full of sin. AND we have forgiveness for sin. 

We do need to know what sin is, it is transgression against a holy God.

We need to be aware of it. We cannot stop it, only God can, and will. We will still sin as long as we live in this sinful world…. but when we turn to Christ, He will reclaim us to Himself, and draw us to Himself. And one day when our fleshy life is over, 
He will give us a life that truly is without sin,
 with Him, 
not in this world,
 but one that He makes for His chosen, 
who don't love sin, 
but who love Jesus, 
and are thankful for His forgiveness, 
and proclaim the truth about His hatred of sin, and His forgiveness of sin.
Anyway, hope this makes sense. I hope you will pray about this, and that the boys will be a light for the dark times that are still ahead of us. It is going to get worse."


Link to the sermon:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=623131528566

If you have time I recommend also listening to parts one and two of this series.

For Their Sakes...

John 17:19  And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

David Dykstra gives an amazing sermon on the profundity of this verse. I mentioned to my dear husband last Sunday how often I run over verses that are so packed with so much incredible meaning, such wealth, and I barely skim off of the surface (if that even) barely even touching what is there. This is one of those verses. I've heard this so often that I have grown callous to the richness of the text, the amazing things that Jesus has done, and does, for each one of His "called out ones". I pray that we stop being so haphazard and overly casual with His divine word, and learn to humble ourselves, and submit to the profound truth that is there, in all of it's powerful glory. David Dykstra helps me to "stop and smell the roses" of God's Word.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1121071424537

Memory

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As I get older, my memory seems to get worse and worse. Sometimes I'll be in cleaning in one room and realize that I need something that is in another room, but by the time I reach the other room the reason for going there completely escapes me.

Often I ponder how the memory works. Having taken anatomy and physiology courses, I know about the scientific explanations for these things; the firing of synapses, the storing of information in long-term and short-term memories, and how a song or a fragrance can suddenly bring to mind something that happened so long ago that you are surprised by it's sudden recollection...

But why do I suddenly recall a verse that Jesus spoke which has been lovingly recorded into our Bible, remembering the exact words at a time when I need them the most? Like when a temptation confronts me and suddenly the verse:

1Corinthians 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: 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.

enters quietly "out of nowhere"....really? Out of nowhere? Or is it MY wondrous ability? This incredible brain that I have in my head, capable of retrieving at any instant beyond my conscious control, vast stores of knowledge, and because my brain knows that I am a Christian, MY BRAIN chooses from it's memory banks the correct Bible verse to bring to mind at that moment I NEED it the most? Is that how it works? Is that what the Bible tells us? Or does God still speak to His own today...and do most of His own take the credit for it for being so self-righteous that such spiritual thinking comes so easily of our own ability to make it so?

The gospel of John tells us:

John 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Oh, yeah, the Holy Spirit...I remember Him! He is God! And He still speaks to us, even today, when many say that God is silent and only speaks while we are reading what we read in His word, the Bible. True, the Holy Spirit does reveal His word to us while we are reading His word. But He also reminds us of the things He has said in His word. 

Does this make me arrogant? To think that I am so precious to God that He would speak to me, to remind me of His caring for me, His words of comfort, and caution, and love? No. It humbles me. It reminds me that I can do nothing of myself. It reminds me of how dependent I am of Him, and how much He cares for me. 

I am grateful that I am getting more and more absent minded, because it serves as a reminder of how much I need Jesus, need His Comforter, His Holy Spirit, Who reminds me of His love and protection over me.

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.   

My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof.   

I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.   

O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. 

  

Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.   

Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!   Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles,

 shalt quicken me again, 

and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 

Thou shalt increase my greatness, 

and comfort me on every side. 

Psalm 71:14-21

A Thorn in the Flesh

   Phil Johnson   talks here about how God's power and strength is perfected in our weakness. I love this site because you can listen to the sermon (by clicking link at the top of the page) and follow along in the written transcript.

The mention of the thorn in the flesh is from 2 Corinthians 12:7. This sermon covers 2 Corinthians 12: 1-12.

Excerpt:

"Now: If you're paying attention and following my outline, you might want to stop me right there. Because we're on point 2 of a three-point outline, and we're supposed to be talking about the second of three gracious gifts God gave to Paul. First was paradise. That makes sense. The second, we said, was pain. And this thorn, whatever it was, is the source of Paul's pain. So was Paul's pain a provocation from Satan, or was it a gracious gift from God?
     What's the correct answer to that question?
     Both.
     Satan meant it for evil; God meant it for good. And here is a little secret: that is true of every vexing problem the powers of darkness ever cause for you."

...

Pastor Johnson goes into the exact meaning of the word "thorn", as well as the hints in that passage that seem to say that the thorn in his flesh involved persons, false teachers (whom he calls "super apostles" ESV or eminent apostles in NASB, which he says Paul here uses in a sarcastic way to underline their abuse to the people with false teachings) which Paul brings up in chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians, and then directs it back to them in verse 11 of chapter 12.

Pastor Johnson does say that whatever the thorn is, whether it is persons, or a physical affliction, or whatever it is, because Paul describes it as a "messenger of Satan" he is saying this is some kind of spiritual attack.... and that the Lord won't remove it because...well, I'll let him tell you as it is given in the text. It is a blessing that Jesus shares with us a little of the suffering that He had to suffer. We only get a small taste of it. He bore the full effect of the suffering, the onslaught of Satan, on our behalf. How often I gripe about the little bit of suffering I have compared with what He suffered completely and unjustly on my behalf. "Oh what a foretaste of heaven divine."

The Necessary Ingredient

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The past few days I've been cooking up a storm. Listening to a sermon given by Phil Johnson this morning on justification through faith, it suddenly dawned on me....faith is like "that" ingredient that makes the recipe. You cannot make roasted turkey without the turkey. There was an episode on "Everybody Loves Raymond" that brings this illustration to my mind. Doris (Raymond's mom) decided she would make a healthy Thanksgiving supper using tofu instead of turkey. She even shaped it to look like a turkey and made it look golden brown on the outside.

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 Raymond saved the day by ordering a real roasted turkey, and Doris had to admit that her tofu-"turkey" was a miserable failure.

*****

God gives us faith. Without faith it is impossible to be saved. Just like you can't have roasted turkey without the turkey, you cannot have salvation, no matter how much work you do to try to buy it or manipulate your way there, without the gift of God's faith. You might have something that you can make look like it. I've done some amazing things with tofu cutlets....but it was never turkey, and no matter how hard I tried to make it into turkey, it just wasn't. It might be something that looks similar, and it might even taste good, but it just isn't the same thing. So it is with a relationship to God. If that relationship is based on my works, my ability, my ANYTHING, it falls short of the glory of God and is unacceptable. It has to be me stepping out of the way and admitting my horrible condition, my depravity, my works earning hellfire, and that ability is from the Lord revealing this truth to me through the gift of His substitutionary life. The "not so secret ingredient" is provided by God to us for a true relationship with Him. 

If it isn't His life substituted for my sin I have no salvation, just like I couldn't have roasted turkey without the turkey.

You can hear Phil Johnson's sermon here at Sermon Audio.