The Devil's sermon

Jesus is the constant mediator for us. Jesus is the constant advocate for us. Satan is the constant accuser.


Satan loves to accuse us by using the Law against us. By the law I mean the 10 commandments. He uses The Law to accuse us every minute of our lives. But believers are no longer under the Law.

Have you thought what the devil would say if he were in the pulpit?

I’m sure he would be true to his nature and be the “accuser” to the family of God. And he would use the Law against us.

He would accuse us of not being children of God; of not being worthy or righteous; of having no right to call upon the Lord.

He would say God has dis-owned us, and that we are nothing more than self-centered people who live for our own pleasures.

If he followed the script he used with Jesus (and Adam & Eve), he would put doubts in our minds that we can really trust Gods word.

In the end, he would accuse us of not loving God as we should, of loving other things more than God and of how we should examine ourselves to see how much sin and hypocrisy is in us.

He would torment us with our shortcomings, torture us with our disobedience and shame us with our sins.

Satan would do his best to convince us that we are unjust, unholy, unloving, ungracious, uncaring and totally unworthy in every way.

He would say “look at your record this week”. Your lack of prayer. Your disobedience. Did you even go to church? How dare you call yourself a Christian?

And this has got to be one of Satan’s favorites:

What do you love more than God? Do you love ANYTHING or ANYONE more than God? Your family? Your children?

Didn’t God say give him first place in everything? All the time? Do you give God first place? In everything? All the time?

What do you take more pleasure in than God? Anything? Anyone? Does anything ever make you happier than thinking about what God offers you?

Shame on you! How can you be worthy to God?

Why aren’t you happier in church than any other time of the week? Remember watching the Super Bowl…cheering for your team. Do you get that excited in church?

Look how bored and insensitive you are to holy things. How much have you prayed? Or even wanted to pray? Have you read your bible today? This week? This month? This year? EVER?

How much time have you spent with God lately? Was it as much time as you spent doing the things you love so much?

When God looks at you, imagine what he sees. He sees all your vile and evil thoughts, your selfish thoughts, the anger and lies that filled your mind and voices. And then you sit there and call yourself a Christian.

Just who do you think you are? You are an embarrassment to God and the church.

But if you repent, and show your repentance by brokenness, is there any hope that God can change you from what you are… to what he wants you to be? No, because you are always going to be a sinner.

OK. Thanks Satan. Fine sermon. And yes, I know all those things not because I have seen your sermon notes, but because I know what Gospel-less preaching sounds like.

Some preachers shout this stuff from the moment they hit the pulpit. They go after everything: music, drinking, porn, sleeping in church, not having Bibles, modesty, purity and on and on.

Then they command everyone down to the altar to get saved, or resaved or re- repent, baptized or whatever it takes to “Get Right” with God.

But they are totally GOSPEL-LESS in their sermon.

Imagine the people who grow up with this stuff, whether it’s in church, in their home or in some bible group. These will be beaten, dis-spirited and disillusioned people. Or they will be people who run away.

And good for those who run away from that kind of preaching.

Because the ones who stay are people who only know God as the lesser of two evils; the enforcer of the devil’s accusations.

When Satan fills you with this kind of garbage, a believer should say, “Let’s write it all down. All of my sins. List every one of them. Numerically and Alphabetize them.

Put it in a special folder and then file them under: “PAID FOR, BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST!"

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin. Satan loves tormenting your conscience.

The Holy Spirit exposes our need for Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross.

The accuser comes up with thousands of ways to convince us of our sinful lives. To convince us there is no hope.

Jesus gives us the truth. Satan distorts the truth so that the Gospel is lost in the confusion he causes in our minds.

Christ wants to bring the wandering sheep home. Satan wants the sheep to jump off a cliff straight into the pit of hell.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is news that is too good for accusers. So they try to confuse us with the LAW.

The law is exact… and in the hands of the enemy of our souls, it is a brutal, soul-killing weapon. WE CAN NOT FULFILL THE LAW. Break one and you’ve broken them all.

But in the hands of the Holy Spirit, the law is a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. Leads us. Not beats us into despair.

The Law shows us our sins, but Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law FOR US so we are no longer under the LAW. Believers are under God’s GRACE thru faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So when someone starts talking that way, as the accuser, you may want to say. “You know…. I’ve heard that sermon before and I know where you got it.” And I believe I’ll put my trust in what the bible says in: 1 Tim 1:14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Who's running YOUR thought factory?

Our thoughts are what makes our daily life what it is. If I start every day with doubt, no motivation, and discouragement, that is precisely the kind of day I’ll have.


If I adjust my mind to thoughts filled with promise, encouragement, and hope, I can pretty much count on that kind of day. The point is… you and I become what we think about.

Our mind is a "thought factory" with hundreds of thousands of thoughts each day. Your “thought factory” has two "Bosses". One we’ll call Mr. Yeshua, the other Mr. DeCeefer.

Mr. Yeshua specializes in giving you reasons to face life with a positive attitude, he helps you handle what comes your way, he tells you that you're more than able to face things with strength and courage. "That no matter what comes along in life, he will be with you".

Mr. DeCeefer is an expert in the opposite direction. He whispers reasons why you cannot succeed, he makes you think in the negative sense, he convinces you that you may as well accept that you will always be a failure and everything in life is stacked against you. That you just can't win no matter what! And he is expecting you to believe him.

When you start to work on having positive thoughts, Mr. Yeshua will make sure that one encouraging thought after another fills your thought factory. But Mr. DeCeefer is always hiding out in the shadows...just waiting for something negative to enter your thought factory. And when it enters, he immediately starts with the discouraging, destructive whispering that will have you believing demoralizing and life wrecking ideas about yourself. Like "You only have bad luck" and "the world is against you".

You must understand one important thing. All our thoughts, whether positive or negative, grow stronger each time we think them. That's why some people stay in that negative, depressive mood . . . and why some people always seem to be in a positive good mood. Their thoughts are always the same.

If every day you put some water in the gas tank of your car, the engine will start running rough and sooner or later it will just stop running altogether. Dead on the side of the road... in the world. And Mr. DeCeefer will be waiting with open arms.

But if you put only gas in the tank, your car runs smoothly and gets you where you want to go. And Mr Yeshua will be waiting with open arms to take you all the way home.

By now, I'm sure you have probably figured out that Mr Yeshua is Jesus Christ and Mr DeCeefer is Satan. I thought it may make this more readable to some people and less of a "sermon".

We must remember above all that our thought factory has two "bosses". But one "boss" has a super great foreman... and his name is the Holy Spirit. So if Mr DeCeefer is the boss of your thought factory, may I suggest you quit working for him and go to work in Mr Yeshua's thought factory.

You'll be amazed at how smoothly your “factory" will begin to operate under your new leadership.

All potatoes and no meat...

Because there are no “here’s how to leave a church,” instruction books, it’s common to hear those who leave a church described as whiners, resistors and disgruntled people. The churches sometimes try to "convince" people that it would be to the benefit of the those who leave to be silentand just leave. But it needs to be called what it is. Religeous intimidation.

Sometimes the church "covers up" the situation by making false claims about how "other doors" have opened for the person(s) who left or that they had "personal issues". They want "make sure" you are on board with the church's belief, especially if you are in any kind of leadership position.

If not...See ya!At first, after you leave, you may be a bit "miffed" or like me, really p***** off. Most are likely somewhere in-between. The sad part is, most of the people who left...nobody noticed. Easy come, easy go, I guess.

A lot of times people who leave a church have had experiences that caused them pain. Just the fact of leaving is a gut-wrenching expeirience. All the while the church leaders do little to rectify things and then just shrug their shoulders and say "oh well, we hate to see you go", while looking past you at the new person coming in the front door, while giving you the bums rush out the side door.

Some may have left because of the watered-down weak preaching week after week. But I give the church credit...in between the skits, the announcements and while we listen the the "praise team" sing TO God FOR us, they do throw in a scripture or two. And sometimes in relation to what they are talking about! But I don't remember Moses having to balance his checkbook or Jonah being told to read a book about volunteering.

Some folks may have left because of all the "worldly things" the church does to make themselves look attractive so the "seekers" will come. Like free refreshments after the service, and "no guilt" sermons. COME AS YOU ARE!! Wear your pajamas, we don't care! And bring your friends!

And then the church baptizes them, (so the numbers look good), but because they are not convicting the "new believers", they leave after a few weeks and the church becomes a revolving door as unbelievers come and go. So how are they leading "new believers" to their salvation? By baptizing them? All they end up with is a bunch of wet sinners that believe they are saved. Then they stop going to church with the belief they are going to Heaven.

But not to worry, the church is expecting more new people next week, because they just advertised in the shopping guide that it's "MOVIE WEEK WITH GOD" with free popcorn and soft drinks!Boy...that ought to pack 'em in! Anything short of sin to get 'em in, they say!

Some believers may have decided they don’t want to put their kids in the children's program where they will have little or no "Christianity" taught to them, but they will be "entertained" with games, toys and videos in between the snacks and popping balloons.

Lure the kids in and the parents will follow! But do the unbelieving parents read their the bible at home? It's doubtful because, after all, they won't be getting filled with Gods word hearing the message! So it is doubtful.

One church stated they had an almost 300 person "cleansing" of the church that year. That's "church-ese" for a bunch of people left! And even less became regular attenders.

You can say anything you want to about the people like myself who saw things we did not like in our particular church and left because of it. But I find it difficult to see how we are whiners, resistors and troublemakers. And when we do leave, do they try to keep us? Hardly. It's "don't let the door hit you when you leave". You can be a Pastor, elder, deacon or ministry leader in today's churches and if you step down, they don't miss a beat and cover up why you left with some absurd story. Or just not mention it at all. We wouldn't want to make the church look bad, would we?

If we walk away from the church, seeking God's Word in other ways and places, are we really being traitors? We have not turned our backs on Jesus or lost our faith. In fact, many of us have become stronger in our faith since we left the church because we are getting MORE meat and less potatoes!

By seeking other believers and joining together, having "church" amongst ourselves and doing what we should be doing, studying the scriptures, having fellowship, I fail to see how that makes outcasts to God!! We are the church!!

I myself, have joined the ranks of the DE-Churched and find that I am in a much better position to serve in God's Army and serve proudly.

Abandoned...

In the ghetto stands a run down house. Broken windows, shingles missing off the roof, front steps rotting in the weather. It has a sign on it. ABANDONED.

There is a little old lady sitting in her rocking chair in a nursing home on her birthday. No family singing happy birthday, no birthday cake, no candles to blow out. She’s been abandoned.

A small child is taken into an office by a social worker. As she looks around, confused and frightened, she hears the adults whisper “she was abandoned”.

A wife discovers emails sent by her husband to another woman.

A factory worker on the assembly line finds a pink slip in his pay envelope after 25 years on the job.

Abandoned by family.
Abandoned by a spouse.
Abandoned by big business.

But nothing compares to being abandoned by God.

My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?

When Christ said those words, He had been on the cross six hours. At nine in the morning a soldier held one arm while they drove a nail thorough his hand, then the other, then thru both feet. When they lifted the cross, they unknowingly put Christ right where He belonged. Between mankind and God.

Jesus hardly spoke while on the cross. When he does, He forgives His killers. He answers the prayers of a thief and asks soldier for a drink, and gets vinegar.

Matthew 27: 46-47 In the Amplified bible says:

And about the ninth hour (three o'clock) Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?--that is, My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?

We have to ask; Why did God sacrifice his son? Why not a murderer? Evildoers? The perverts and the people who cause pain. Abandon them…not your SON!! Why did God abandon the only sinless person that ever walked the earth?

Because at that moment, Jesus was anything but sinless. But His sins were not his own. 1 Peter 2:24 says:
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Christ carried ALL OUR SINS in His body. Just for a moment lets think about our pasts. Our times of anger, perhaps even rage. Our greed, thievery, lies, gossip, drugs, drunkenness and I’m sure some of us can add other things.

Suppose our pasts were made public? Suppose you stood on a stage while a video of your every secret thought and all your deeds was shown on a big screen behind you. And nobody could stop the video. Would you not want to hide somewhere? Drop thru a crack in the floor?

Then maybe you would become aware of a sin-hating God. Then maybe you would feel just a fraction of what Jesus felt on the cross.

Jesus was suffering a million time more as He hung there and screamed” why have you abandoned me?

He carried ALL the SINS of mankind to the cross. Past, present and FUTURE. He carried YOUR sin to the cross. So when you see Jesus on the cross, you are seeing a murderer hanging there. A bigot, a wife beater, a drug addict, a thief Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden, Jeffery Dahmer.

You may think I shouldn’t be lumping Christ with all those evil doers. But I didn’t…HE DID! He put Himself in their place. And yours and mine.

Nailed to the cross, he asked God “to treat ME as you would treat THEM”! And God did.

And God gave all the people who ever lived, a gift. The Lamb of God who took away our sins.

MY GOD MY GOD…Why have you abandoned me?

Why did Christ scream those words?

So you will never have to!

The "New Church.....

The church leadership is first to equip the Christians to do ministry. The answer is not how to get people to go to church, but how can we can get the church to go outward and be daily witnesses in the world. The church is a place for maturing the people, not for gathering unbelievers to be comfortable with us so that we can all be friends. Some congregations are so large that the leaders don’t know most of them and cannot possibly shepherd them.

If people are coming to church because of the activities offered or the quality of entertainment is equal to that of the world, we have completely missed the “purpose” of the church.

If you are not focusing on mans sin then why does one need a savior? The Bible makes it clear FAITH comes by hearing the word not by seeing. There is not a new “better way” to do or present the gospel. The power of God is learned and believed by the word being proclaimed correctly by those who actually understand and believe it. Not with a watered down, feel good message so folks walk away THINKING they are saved.New believers must learn the essentials of the gospel to understand them and to respond correctly to them. We must to tell them what they NEED to hear, not what they want to hear.

According to the seeker friendly churches, it’s “Shhh… don’t tell them they’re a sinner, they may not like it.” Let’s keep it a secret and we’ll let them know slowly…later on… maybe…if they ask”.

But in the meantime, what happens when they start to fall away? Most churches are too “big” and too “busy” to notice when five or ten people are gone, because five or ten new ones take their place next week. The turnover rate is faster than Wal-Mart! And most go away unsaved. Or worse… PASS AWAY! Then it’s too late. Another soul in hell that thought they were saved and weren't. Because no one told them the truth.

Many mature Christians have reacted to this “seeker-friendly-sensitive” nonsense by leaving the church. They have been turned off by being forced to accept these new methods that are re-structuring the way we do church. They have taken the initiative to no longer attend this type of church. Most of those who leave are not immature Christians, they are the ones who take their faith seriously. They are the ones the church needs most, yet the church is willing to let them leave in favor of getting more “unbelievers” and “seekers” into their midst. In the meantime, the church is running out of money because of the mature Christians that supported the church are leaving.

The “new people” are not supporting the church for a number of reasons. They have no obligation to the people in the church or its leaders, that they don’t even know. They can say “ I go to church”, get entertained, get a “you’re a good person” message, have free refreshments afterwards and all for a couple of dollars. No conviction, no loyalty, no nothing.

Meanwhile the people who used to support the church are leaving in droves! Finding churches that preach the Gospel, feed the soul and are teaching people about salvation.

The church that make it attractive those who are "seekers" has limited its effectiveness. By catering to those who are non-believers or weak Christians, the church has neglected the growth of those who could be productive and they are driving away the very people that make a church healthy and strong.

Those who are spiritually mature have no choice but to leave as they see the churches spiritual standards being lowered by bringing the "world" into the church to attract more people. It doesn’t matter what their belief, just “get ‘em in the door” so we have a full house and it LOOKS good. We’ll tickle their itching ears! Show them a new movie, a couple skits, get 'em wet ( baptize 'em) and then tell them how wonderful they are does not save people.

Often stronger Christians are asked to leave if they are vocal on their disagreement of the direction of the church. Many still have not found churches for a lot of reasons, but they still witness and fellowship with other like-minded believers. Many search for a couple years trying to find a new church. having to bounce from church to church, wary of what they are hearing.

And some do not attend because of the way they were treated at a “seeker friendly” church. The “if you are not happy here, maybe you should find another church” attitude hurt them and they don’t want to get involved again very soon.

So how is all this affecting the churches that have accepted the new system? They have become looser, lenient in scripture and very superficial; the biblical depth to their teaching is short and shallow. They are left practicing a sliver of what church in the first century did.

And they are failing. I don’t think I have to tell you why. It’s obvious



IF...A MIGHTY BIG WORD

IF (01/06/11)


IF you forgive you will be forgiven.

Mat 6:14 For IF you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But IF you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Sometimes a person doesn’t want to forgive someone because they don’t want to change their attitude; sometimes pride holds them back, or maybe if they don’t forgive someone, it gives them a sense of power over them. But it also shows that they may know all about Jesus, but they have never given their lives to Him.

Now let’s take a look at what we are told in Matthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

Peter thought he was being really being forgiving; he thought he was doing what the Lord wanted Him to do, but he was wrong.

22. Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

For those whose math is not their strong subject…that’s 490 times! PER PERSON!!

In other words, the time should never come when we are unwilling to forgive someone, no matter what they have done…no matter how many times they sin against us.

Here’s another IF:

IF you continue in the Word then you are a disciple of Christ.

John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “IF you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

So what does that mean? First we need to define truth.

The dictionary says: it is conformity with fact or reality: a verified or indisputable fact, the truth of a statement.

So how can the truth set you free? By you showing the way out of bondage.

Satan creates sin with his lies. Sin creates bondage. And all of these things lead to deception, which ultimately leads to our spiritual deaths.

Anything that is outside of Jesus is outside of the truth - in other words, it's a lie. So if you know the Truth, which is…you receive salvation thru faith in Jesus Christ, the truth will set you from the bondage of Satan and sin.

2 Timothy 4: 3-4 For the time will come when people 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. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

Turning away from the truth is important because:

IF you don’t abide in Christ you will be cast forth as a branch.

Say What?

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches, IF you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 IF you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 IF you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

EXPOUND A LITTLE

There are many more IF’S that I could tell you about, but at another time.


Now let’s add another word…WHAT IF…


WHAT IF you ask God for wisdom - and get it?

WHAT IF you take a look at your lifestyle and get rid of the sin and the devils lies?

WHAT IF you hear or read God's word...and accept it as truth?

WHAT IF you submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and let your faith in Jesus clean up your life and your heart?

WHAT IF your prayers are powerful and effective?

WHAT IF today you repented of your sins, accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and you would save yourself from spiritual death and save your soul from being cast into the lake of fire?

I know that IF you haven’t…there ain’t no IF about your final destination.

Close in prayer:

SIN, SINNERS & SINNING, what's what?

SIN (1/13/11)

Last Sunday the Captain talked about things worse than going to hell and better than going to heaven. I agree with him, to a point.

Which brings us to the subject of my talk with all of you today. SIN

SIN, sinner and sinning are three different things. How many know what sin is? Sin is anything that is opposed to God.

Sin is in the world and no one can avoid it. We are BORN IN SIN thru the fall of Adam and Eve. It is a very powerful force that is doing it’s best to take us all over.

I know I am talking like SIN is a person, something to be seen or heard. And that’s exactly what it is!

Satan is in control of this world and will be until the second coming of Christ! His time is running out and he is using everything he can to send every soul that ever lived and ever WILL LIVE to HELL! That is his ONLY objective and he will use any means to get YOU there! Satan IS SIN!

Satan means "adversary." Satan is the enemy of God. He wants to destroy everything God has created. Especially US!!

He is called "the devil" (James 4:7), 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

He is referred to as the “evil one” 1 John 5:18-19, We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the EVIL ONE cannot harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the EVIL ONE. "the prince of this world"

And Satan is also referred to as "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Satan brought evil into the world.

I want you to understand the POWER of SIN. So how do we get away from it? WE can’t!!



And here is where I want to make something clear that the Captain said. Those who are going to Hell are happy to take as many as they can! Because SIN follows SIN! And SIN leads to ETERNAL DEATH!! Satan is very POWERFUL! So it’s not the worse thing for them that are perishing, but the BEST thing for SATAN!



Now I will try to explain sinner. A sinner is a person who has not a follower of Christ. Not a child of God. They have not been FORGIVEN of their sins BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST and GODS GRACE.

A sinner is someone who is still a slave to Satan. CONDEMENED to ETERNITY IN HELL!



We all have seen or heard John 3:16, but let’s read further. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

So now we know HOW to get away from our sinful nature that we are all born into. Repent of our sins, put our faith in the Risen Christ and we will be under Gods grace.

I’ve told you about sin, sinners and now I will tell you about sinning. We see so many Christians, believers, followers of Christ still SINNING! One of the greatest apostles struggled with this. (Expound)



Romans 7 :18 Paul says For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.



This is difficult to get a hold on. When we put our faith in Christ, all our sins, past AND future have been forgiven. But SIN is still WITH us. Sin attacks our MINDS and BODIES, but Sin cannot touch our SOULS.

I know it sounds like a contradiction, Satan controls the world and sin is in the world, so how can we not sin?

Let’s go to 2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

We will still sin, but because Christ died for our sins…we are no longer SINNERS! Will we still sin, YES. Will we be CONDEMENED? NO!

Romans 7 24: Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!



And here is where I agree with the Captain. We who are destined for heaven rejoice when we can lead someone to our Lord and fill the bus bound for Heaven.

Now you know about Sin, sinners and sinning. Now you know what’s what. It's up to you to make a decision about where you will spend eternity.

Close with Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Sorry, ya gotta do better than that to get me to change my mind...

I have a friend that insists that I attend a Church, actually I have quite a few friends that say I should come back to my former church or at least attend another church.
Most of them mis-quote Hebrews 10:25 "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching". 

But I get the idea that I am SUPPOSED to be in a building with other people every Sunday!

BALONEY



I just got an email from a Christian friend who just sent me the above mentioned scripture.
No how are ya? No nothing...just this scripture.


And here is my reply:


I DON'T THINK YOU WILL READ MY REPLY, BUT HERE IT IS ANYWAY.


Ok...I just had this discussion today. First you have to realize WHO was speaking and to what group of people he was refering.


He was talking to NEW christians and others interested in the Good News about meeting together to talk about Jesus. There were no churches and they met at HOUSES. They shared a meal and EACH person could speak and give his or her thoughts.


In the "church" of Corinth there were only 150-200 Christians and if they stopped meeting it could cause problems spreading the good news. Paul wrote a chastizing letter to the christians in Corinth and they realized they were wrong and repented by correcting the problem in the group.


We seem to forget that WE, as Christians are the Church now. Church is not a building WHERE we meet. Church is the christians WHO meet! And if you want scripture, try this...Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. KJV


He does not say to meet every Sunday, or Tuesday or any day. He simply states that we should meet and encourage one another.


Hebrews 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.


And how can we encourage one another when we don't even know 3/4 of the people in some churches? Man has made clergy and laity two separate units. One person who went to school tells us what he learned. There is no discussion amongst the congregation, we have to just shut up and listen.


And if we disagree with the "church" policies, well, we had just better look for another "church" to attend. And you know that is true. "Churches" disagree on policies, doctrines, beliefs and a jillion other things, but they all agree on one thing...thithing, which is not in the New Testament.


It is important to remember that every believer in Jesus Christ is a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit of God. Every true believer is God's "building."
While unity of the Holy Spirit in the local church is to be desired, but seldom achieved and while Christ's Church (the organism) is not a visible building, we have achieved that unity in the Holy Spirit..


There is an unseen church, comprised of Christ's followers, who remain true to the teachings of Christ and to the leading of His Holy Spirit. The unseen or invisible church lives in the Grace of God, just as the early church did, despite the physical location of its members.


Christ's Church is not a building with programs. Christ's church is comprised of those who have a true relationship with our Lord and Savior. We may not have been a witness to the miraculous signs and wonders, or other powers of God that were apparent in the early church, but Christ's church remains alive and well. IN US!!!


Not some building that demands tithes, special offerings for the new building, And let's not forget the paychecks for all the "staff". Did you know that over 80% of the collection goes to staff paychecks, building maintaince, taxes, utilities, office supplies "the new building fund" etc..Not much left for ministry is there? But I digress.


The early "church" was made up of people who got together and helped each other and stayed in the word and spread the word. Which is EXACTLY what I am doing.


And I don't need a building to do it in.


Blessings
Keith

Who’s running your thought factory?

Our thoughts are what makes our daily life what it is. If I start every day with doubt, no motivation, and discouragement, that is precisely the kind of day I’ll have.

If I adjust my mind to thoughts filled with promise, encouragement, and hope, I can pretty much count on that kind of day. The point is… you and I become what we think about.

Our mind is a "thought factory" with hundreds of thousands of thoughts each day. Your “thought factory” has two "Bosses". One we’ll call Mr. Yeshua, the other Mr. DeCeefer.

Mr. Yeshua specializes in giving you reasons to face life with a positive attitude, he helps you handle what comes your way, he tells you that you're more than able to face things with strength and courage. "That no matter what comes along in life, he will be with you".

Mr. DeCeefer is an expert in the opposite direction. He whispers reasons why you cannot succeed, he makes you think in the negative sense, he convinces you that you may as well accept that you will always be a failure and everything in life is stacked against you. That you just can't win no matter what! And he is expecting you to believe him.

When you start to work on having positive thoughts, Mr. Yeshua will make sure that one encouraging thought after another fills your thought factory. But Mr. DeCeefer is always hiding out in the shadows...just waiting for something negative to enter your thought factory. And when it enters, he immediately starts with the discouraging, destructive whispering that will have you believing demoralizing and life wrecking ideas about yourself. Like "You only have bad luck" and "the world is against you".

You must understand one important thing. All our thoughts, whether positive or negative, grow stronger each time we think them. That's why some people stay in that negative, depressive mood . . . and why some people always seem to be in a positive good mood. Their thoughts are always the same.

If every day you put some water in the gas tank of your car, the engine will start running rough and sooner or later it will just stop running altogether. Dead on the side of the road... in the world. And Mr. DeCeefer will be waiting with open arms.

But if you put only gas in the tank, your car runs smoothly and gets you where you want to go. And Mr Yeshua will be waiting with open arms to take you all the way home.

By now, I'm sure you have probably figured out that Mr Yeshua is Jesus Christ and Mr DeCeefer is Satan. I thought it may make this more readable to some people and less of a "sermon".

We must remember above all that our thought factory has two "bosses". But one "boss" has a super great foreman... and his name is the Holy Spirit. So if Mr DeCeefer is the boss of your thought factory, may I suggest you quit working for him and go to work in Mr Yeshua's thought factory.

You'll be amazed at how smoothly your “factory" will begin to operate under your new leadership.

Opposition. We must overcome it!

Paul and Barnabas were doing just fine in Iconium. Some liked what they heard and others not so much. Some of the Jews who weren't convinced started bad-mouthing them and then started a plot with some gentiles to stone them.

But Paul and Barnabas heard about it, got out of Dodge and split to Lystra and Derbe where they continued to preach the Good News. What a difference! Then Paul healed a cripple and it really freaked out the local yokels and they started calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes because Paul was the one doing most of the talking. Well P & B put a stop to that! Acts 14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them...18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

Then along comes Bubba and his buddies from Iconium and starts trouble in Lystra and Paul ends up getting stoned tossed to curb and left for dead. You're gonna have to read your bible to find out what happens after that. Acts 14

But the point is, if you are really intent on following Jesus command to spread the Good News, the odds are pretty good that things will get tough for you. But don't give up. God will use those tough times toward His purpose. The way people hear the Word and come to faith is dependant upon you spreading the message in the face of opposition.

It sounds strange that opposition can strengthen your conviction to spread the Good News until you remember who you are talking about. I'm not saying you will be stoned or boiled in oil because you spread the good news or that you'll face the kind of opposition Paul and Barnabas faced. At least not in America!!

Just look around you and see what is going on concerning anything regarding Christianity nowadays. There are many, many people, groups and organizations who want to shut us up and keep us from spreading the TRUTH.

Even some of our churches in a lesser degree.

Some of today's churches lure non-believers to them with promises of not being " too churchy", with contemporary music and a "feel good" message that does not convict them by showing them their sin and making them uncomfortable in their sin.

These type of "seeker friendly" churches see people come and go and most of those leaving are still looking around to fill that God sized hole in their lives.

They tell them Jesus loves them and they should repent and be baptized... but they fail to tell them WHY!! Or what happens to them if they don't! Or that they are going to hell if they aren't born again. Soft sell makes soft Christians, I believe.

These type of churches intentions are good and they do draw a crowd. But they lose as many people as they bring in. So in a way, their style is the "opposing forces" because of their failure to give them the WHOLE Good News. By not telling the down side of not accepting Jesus as your savior. By not explaining to them about eternity without God. By not telling them about their sinful ways. By not deeply convicting people.

They bring 'em in, save 'em, baptize 'em and lose' em. There are too many "converts" to be able to "follow up on" and keep track of, I guess. Whatever the reason, the "converts" ain't stickin' around for long. And that's an "opposing force" to some believers.

Those churches should be considered as well stocked lakes for "fishers of men" and should not be looked at as"opposing forces" but as "easy pickin's" for reaching out to new believers and unbelievers. They are full of chances to bring unbelievers and new believers to a closer relationship with God. Let the church draw the crowds for us and then we convince them, encourage them in their walk and do our best to make mature Christians out of them.

We must organize groups to build them up and teach them to be "fishers of men" so the spreading of the Good News continues on.

Paul told the Good News to the people who were about to stone him and God had it written for us so Paul's story could be read by all and lead us to Jesus and to discipleship.

The least we can do is carry on with what Paul started. Opposition in any form can never and will never silence the Good News of Jesus Christ. God's word changes hearts!

The Gathering and what it does...

"Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47

The verses above give us a look of one way that people came to the faith in Acts – they saw the church being the church, they liked what they saw, they wanted what they saw, and they came to faith.

Seeing the church in action is what leads people to salvation. It;s not about the church opening a soup kitchen, although the hungry people we feed certainly appreciate the meal. And it's not about collecting donations of gently used business clothes to give to women and men preparing for job interview…but it sure helps them on the interview.

This is about Christian people showing the love of God and what He wants us to do – it's about giving, serving, sharing, praying for and encouraging one another and the world around us. It's about letting Christ shine through us for everyone to see.

It doesn't matter who you are, there is something irresistible about a place where everyone is welcome, a place that where you come from doesn't matter, where rich people shake hands with, hug and laugh and smile with poor people, where every old person is treated like your grandparents by younger people – there is something irresistible about it when the church is just being the church. And people want to be part of it.

Why? Because we are all children of God with a God-sized hole in our lives and only God can fill it. And that's what people are looking for when they come to church. That's the reason they're here! To fill that hole. They just don't know it.

How do we get them to join the team? By whatever we do in our our daily lives and our lives together in church. That by showing them love, fellowship and our faith it gives us way of witnessing to people who are looking for what we have. Everything we do to make our church life more inviting by letting God's love shine through us, makes a difference.

And it's not about entertaining the unbeliever with various activities the church has to offer. It's us showing the unbeliever or new believer what Christ has done for us and what He can do for them. THAT is the attraction that fills the God sized hole in their lives. It's not the music, not the activities, not the soup kitchen, not the super elastic bubble plastic and all that razzle-dazzle. It's God's word that will lead them to salvation and He's using us to show them the way.


The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892 Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats.

We have to get past our petty little squabbles over nothing that matters, the little resentments we feel toward others and the looking for the faults the church or that people may have. All of that is so meaningless and all of that blocks God’s love from filling us and that prevents others from seeing Jesus in us... which prevents us from being able to plant the seeds in the unbelievers hearts.

Lets Pray. Father I ask that I may make positive changes in my personal life and church life so that I may plant the seeds of the Spirit in others not yet convinced of your Glory. Use us as we gather in church and in our daily lives so that others may see the wonderful light of your love shining through us and want to be part of your kingdom. In Jesus name. Amen

Under the sun...and Ecclesiastes

Yesterday was a learning experience for me. I discovered after 6 years, (some of us are really slow learners) , another lesson on what it means to be a Christian.

As most of you know, I am somewhat of a resistor in the church. By that I mean I challenge what direction and procedures the church is taking and dig deeper and deeper to find something "wrong".

If anyone wants to dig up negative stuff it's fairly simple and I am like a pit bull in that regard. I had a personal "grudge" against a certain person who I thought was treating me unfairly and he was always looking for something to get on me about. I went to our Lead Pastor and complained to him about this person and other things that had been seething and percolating in my mind for a long time. Like the direction of the church, the way the service is run etc. But I won't get into that here.

Let me get off course for a moment. I am not sure how reading Ecclesiastes came to rest upon my mind, but it did. I read the book, read commentaries about it and re-read it again. And later on, a preacher on the radio was talking about it. God sure works in odd ways and lets you know what He wants you to understand and in a not so subtle manner. But the gist of it came to me in a verse at the end of chapter one..."For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief".

This is gonna be a bit jumbled and fragmented because my mind is racing in many directions as I type this. To my surprise, I found that my position is held in high regard and I am considered a "leader"in the church. I am not bragging and I have never considered myself as a leader. In fact, I feel like I am "on the bubble" most of the time. I am merely doing what the Lord has put on my heart and that is working in the food pantry and soup kitchen. He has blessed the ministry with dedicated people who make the ministry work.

I have often wondered why I get away with some of the stuff I do and say. Like grumbling about filling out the proper forms and my problem with authority figures, complaining about procedures and so on. I was not aware of the "grace" bestowed on me by the people who run the whole show. They were patient and forgiving and most of all...loving me in spite of what I was doing wrong.

After my meeting with our lead pastor and having my 15 minutes over with, I went to the person I was butting heads with. Not having a lot of tact in these matters, I just jumped into the fray with my opening statement... " I suppose you heard I've got a problem with you" and to my surprise, he said "I'm aware of it, but I love you anyway because you're my brother in Christ", or something to that effect! How ya gonna argue with someone with that attitude?

As the conversation went on, I came to realize that I was the one in the wrong. I was the one who built a case against him. I was the one who caused the rift. HE was the one who didn't hold it against me. HE was the one who loved me in spite of myself. He was the one I saw Christ in as we spoke. I also came to realize that he is just human like the rest of us.

It was then that the words in Ecclesiastes came streaming through my mind. All the things I held against him, real or imagined, just didn't matter "under the sun" and life was too short to bear grudges and have disparaging thoughts about things procedures and people. When it comes down to it, we are all going to have the same thing happen to us in the end...death. It happens to everyone "under the sun".

He showed me in a kind and gentle way the love of Jesus Christ in his heart. A lesson I hope I can keep in the forefront of my mind and heart when dealing with people in the ministry and in life. Patience, understanding and the love of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Have all the wounds been healed regarding this matter? I can't say. Will we butt heads again? Probably. Will we agree on everything? It's doubtful. I do know that my heart has been changed and I do not want to bear the burden of resentment and anger any longer. And that things "under the sun" do not matter as much as being "under the SON".

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit....

Baptizing my friend.

Spreading the "Good News" by blog.

I am hoping that we can all keep in touch through this blog and keep up on reading our bibles and helping each other become better disciples of Christ. We are jointly interested in a group study as you all know and I think this blog is a way to do it.

I am working on having it at the church, but I would much rather we meet elsewhere. Even if it is at a restaurant or coffee shop. Any ideas?

I don't want this group to have to go in a "certain direction" with a "pre-determined" destination. I want us to be free flowing with everyone who has questions, thoughts and input leading us where we will be going. We will be studying the bible, but in a different way. Always putting God first in anything we do.

We will be an odd sort of group with a mixture of new believers with hopefully lots of questions and more mature believers to help answer them. And maybe an un-believer or two dropping by to see what we are all about.

We will be learning about people and places in the bible. We will be learning scripture and how it applies to our lives. We will be learning about baptism, salvation, sin, the Holy Spirit and the gifts He gives us. We will talk about what ever is on our hearts and minds. All with the idea in mind to bring us closer to our Lord.

Please feel free to contact me through email or with your comments on this blog.