Potential Danger Of Prophetic Spiritual Gifts

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

2 Corinthians 11:13‭-‬15 ESV

We have a very deceptive enemy.

A problem that has found its way into the modern church, particularly those churches that are more open to the active, present work of the Holy Spirit is the emphasis on operating in spiritual gifts. Often this becomes the central focus and there is little or no emphasis on bearing spiritual fruit. 

I want to make it understood that I am not a cessationist by any means. God has not died. The Holy Spirit has not been on vacation since the last book of the New Testament was completed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) The same miracle worker that was active in the Old and the New Testament is still very much alive and well today.

We also need to understand that Satan is still very much alive today. He is loose and he is out to deceive and seek who he can devour. The above verse says that he disguises himself as an angel of light. In other words, “He does a good imitation of Jesus.” So good in fact that Jesus himself said that if it were possible even the elect would be deceived. (Matthew 24:24)

In Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus said:

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “

There are a few things I need to point out here:

1. Jesus said ‘many,’ not ‘few.’ There would be a lot of false teachers. Possibly they would make up the majority.

2. They would exercise spiritual gifts, specifically prophetic. They also performed miracles and cast out demons. 

3. In spite of their giftedness in ministry Jesus said these were people he never knew. They were not his.

Satan has his counterfeits for just about everything. Never forget the slave girl in Acts 16:16-18 who was gifted by a demonic spirit of divination. Apparently she was very good at it because she made her owners a lot of money. She even proclaimed that Paul and Silas were servants of God proclaiming the gospel. Yet Paul knew that her words were not from God even though everything she said was true. How many people in churches today would have heard her and been deceived into thinking she was speaking the words from God and not the devil?

Prophetic danger

The main reason I am focusing on the prophetic is because the prophetic can be used to do untold harm to individuals and to the body of Christ as a whole unless it is handled properly. That means it is crucial to learn how to determine what IS and ISN’T truly prophetic.

If the prophetic is being used by someone who is not truly bearing fruit of the spirit, it can often be used to manipulate and control people. This is even the case of true believers who simply haven't matured to the point they can use the gift wisely.

In the Old Testament, claiming to be a prophet when you weren’t was a very serious offense. In Deuteronomy 18:20-22:

“But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

 

And how many chances did this prophet get? ONE!! That's how serious it is. I have seen many cases where people had these glowing ‘words from the Lord’ that ended up not coming true and it was simply dismissed as if it was no big deal. Claiming to have a word from the Lord that doesn’t pan out is a violation of the third commandment; “Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.”

In churches where the prophetic is encouraged one very seldom hears any warning against making false prophecies because they don’t want to discourage the prophetic gifts. But the words of God in Deuteronomy would have made many ‘prophets’ keep their mouths shut.

In the words of Zechariah:

“And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’ Zechariah 13:2‭-‬6 ESV

Prophecy is not something to take lightly.

In Chapter 13 verse 3 of Deuteronomy God says that he sometimes allows the false prophets in order to test his people to see if they will be deceived into falsehood or not?

Years ago I remember a pastor explaining the need to be a man or woman who is a devoted student of the Bible when determining whether a word was from the Lord: “The Holy Spirit can speak to you and he does speak. But there is another spirit, a very unholy one, that also speaks to you. And the only way you can know whether it is God or the devil is by knowing what God’s written word says.”

Keep in mind, this is not just a distinction between those who are truly prophetic and those who aren’t. The devil will do everything he can to speak to the truly prophetic in order to deceive and do harm.

Prophetic words need to be weighed.

In 1 Corinthians 14:29:

“Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.”

Often it is simply assumed that whatever a supposed ‘prophet’ said was a good word simply because it sounded good. But the only true criteria is God’s word. Does it line up with what God has already said? 

Here are some suggested criteria that will help to determine whether a word is truly from God and the problems with such criteria.

1. It should encourage. Problem – sometimes a truly prophetic word is a harsh rebuke. That may not seem very encouraging.

2. It is convicting, not condemning. That depends on who the word is directed at. If it is to edify the saved then it will convict. But if it is directed to nonbelievers then it may very well be condemning. The gospel does have a message to the unrepentant sinner – judgment is coming.

3. Old Testament prophecy was the very direct 'Word of the Lord,' whereas in the New it is not as direct and needs to be weighed by other believers. Actually, when Agabus prophesied about a coming famine in Acts 11: 28 it was very specific. Some have charged that when Agabus prophesied that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem by the Jews he was somewhat inaccurate because he was actually arrested by the Romans. This is not unusual even for Old Testament prophecy. Josiah was told he would die in peace before calamity fell on Judah. He was actually killed in battle. Neither of these prophecies should be considered inaccurate because Paul was arrested at the provocation of the Jews and Josiah died in relative peace compared to what was coming. Either way, true prophecy hasn't changed from the Old to the New Testaments. Most Old Testament prophecies were addressed to rebellious, unregenerate people. They would not have the capacity to weigh the prophecies whereas New Covenant believers who are indwelt with the same Holy Spirit that gave the prophetic word have that ability.

4. Old testament prophecy was directed to a nation. New Testament prophecy is directed towards the church. That may be true in general but the New Testament has much to say about the judgment coming on the nations. Even in the Old Testament some of the prophets spoke against nations other than God’s chosen people. Obadiah prophesied against Edom. Jonah and Nahum prophesied against Nineveh. Habbakuk had words of judgment against Babylon, and there were others, Egypt, Tyre, Sidon, etc. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. And the spirit of prophecy is as well. 

The only sure way to determine whether a prophetic word is truly from the Lord is to weigh it against Scripture. That means we need to become astute students of the Word. As it says in Acts 17:11, we need to search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are true.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Here is some practical advice:

1. Don’t be hasty in sharing your words. It’s usually not an emergency. Pray into it. Meditate on it.

2. Share it with your pastors or elders privately. Pastors should be careful about allowing ‘words’ to be shared without carefully evaluating them first. Just allowing people to get up and speak is opening the door for Satan to speak to the people.

3. It’s OK to say, “I feel like I should share this and let you weigh it for yourself" rather than say, “The Lord showed me.” If it turns out to be a ‘dud word’ so to speak, you didn’t take God’s name in vain. And if it turns out to be a solid word, we can all give God the credit then.

When you look at the entire New Testament as a whole there is very little written concerning spiritual gifts. That is because spiritual gifts are not the end goal. They are given by God and they pretty much take care of themselves. 

Spiritual Fruit

Jesus said in John 15:8:

“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

This should be what we emphasize. He did not say his Father was glorified if we manifest many gifts. We are to bear much fruit. Fruit is growing in the image of Christlikeness. God gives the gifts as he sees fit in order that the church may be built up. Often we get it backwards and we make it about the gifts. 

The gospel is about God saving his people and producing fruit in his people. It is not about gifts. Satan seeks to deceive and he deceives not by overtly inserting wrong ideas but by being very subtle. He just has to get us off little by little.

Let us stay focused on the main thing. Desire the true spiritual gifts so they can be used to build up the church but don’t make the gift the central focus.

We All Die. Then what?

"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,"

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

One of the most prominent landmarks in Palm Beach County, Florida is the Breakers Hotel in the town of Palm Beach. In the lobby of one of the high rise condominiums where I did some work, there was a picture of a beach party at the Breakers dated in the 1920's. I remember looking at the picture of the crowded beach front seeing the people enjoying the warm sunshine, salt water and seabreeze having a great time when a profound thought occured to me:

These people are all dead now.

But the picture showed mostly young adults in the prime of life, full of youth and vigor enjoying life on the beautiful shores of Palm Beach. Yet as I looked at the picture none of these people are around anymore. They are all dead. The youth and vigor had given way to age and frailty and finally could no longer maintain and had returned to the dust of which we are made.

It is safe to assume that at the time this picture was taken none of them gave any thought that I would one day be looking at this picture, preserved for posterity, nearly a century later and they would be gone, largely forgotten except for this old photograph. 

We need to realize that this life is temporary. It will end. We are going to die eventually. Even while we are in the prime of life and we feel like we are invincible there is an inescapable truth. We are going to die. 

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12 ESV

I remember Pastor John MacArthur being interviewed after the events of 9-11 and I believe he was asked if God was punishing the victims in the twin towers. Dr. MacArthur responding by saying something to the effect that nothing had happened to them that isn't going to happen to every one of us. We all have an expiration date that God has predetermined. 

Jesus responed to a similar situation as Dr. MacArthur did in Luke 13:

"There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.' ”

Luke 13:1‭-‬5 ESV

The real question is, "Then what?"

The message of the gospel starts with the bad news. We are a condemned race. Most people (even unbelievers) know John 3: 16. But very few know what verse 17 says and almost nobody knows what verse 18 says:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

John 3:16‭-‬18 ESV

THE WORLD IS ALREADY CONDEMNED!!

It was condemned back in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sinned.

"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,"

Hebrews 9:27 ESV

In the words of Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, "The gospel has a message to the unrepentant sinner, judgment awaits." 

There is a day of judgment coming. Jesus talked a lot about judgment and about hell, even describing hell in quite some detail. Contrary to the universalist view, it is not a place you ever return from. Dante had it right in his Inferno when he described the inscription on the sign over the entrance, "Abandon all hope ye who enter here."

 The apostles warned people to save themselves from judgment. 

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (Acts 2:40 ESV)

Modern Evangelistic Preaching

It has become popular in modern preaching to only focus on the good parts of the gospel message. Sometimes it is just glossing over the bad news. Often, new converts are told to start reading the gospel of John. In retrospect, reading at least the first 3 chapters of Genesis, preferably the first 6, before reading John would instruct an understanding of the fall and the serious ramifications of our sin nature. It is important to understand the bad news first before reading the good news.

Often modern preaching is simply preaching what people want to hear. 

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." (2 Timothy 4:3‭-‬4 ESV)

In the words of Charles Spurgeon: "The time is coming when in the church instead of shepherds feeding the sheep we will have clowns entertaining the goats."

Some evangelistic outreaches have made the gospel all about the miracles, prosperity, and 'your best life now.' We've seen the hyped up evangelistic crusades which seem to thrive on sensationalism. 

That isn't what Jesus and the apostles taught.

Yes God performs miracles today. He blesses and he does heal. But let's put that into perspective. I had a pastor once who did this very well. He said, "When we pray for healing and God miraculously heals that person we celebrate, rejoice and praise Him. But we have to understand that when someone is healed in this life it is only prolonging the inevitable. Even Lazarus would still need his tomb."

And then what?

Judgment

"The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death." (Isaiah 57:1‭-‬2 NIV)

We are all going to die. But death for the saved is completely different than it is for the unrepentant.

For the repentant:

"Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years." (Revelation 20:6 ESV)

For the unrepentant:

"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:15 ESV)

If we are to be judged by what we have done then we will be found guilty. Isaiah 64:6 says:

"...and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."

The only righteousness that God will accept on that day will be the righteousness of his Son, Jesus Christ that was imputed on our behalf.

2 Corithians 5:21:

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Lazarus and the rich man

There are some things we should briefly observe from this narrative:

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”

Luke 16:19‭, ‬21‭-‬31 NIV

Because this narrative differs from Jesus's parables in that Lazarus and Abraham are specifically named, some have speculated that this is not a parable but something that actually happened. I personally think that's a flimsy foundation to base a doctrine on but nonetheless, there are a number of things to understand about the final judgment from this:

1. People don't return. There is no chance for a redo.

2. Jesus actually did return from the dead and people still did not believe him. Thus proving that people would not listen and believe even if someone were to return from the dead.

3. It is significant that Lazarus and Abraham are named but the rich man is not. While in this life he had prestige and honor, in the next life he is a nobody. If in fact this is an actual historical narrative, then those of us in Christ will one day meet Abraham and this Lazarus. We will never see this rich man. That is the fate of the unrepentant. Proverbs 10:7 says that even the name of the wicked will rot.

Repent while it is still the day of grace and mercy

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:18‭-‬21 ESV)

When Jesus quoted this passage from Isaiah 61 he stopped before he read the next line which is, "and the day of vengeance of our God." That part of the passage was not fulfilled at that time. The day of judgment is yet future but do not doubt, IT IS COMING.

When Jesus came the first time it was to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That day is still now. But that day will come to an end and then it will be too late. If you have not repented of your sins, I implore you to throw yourself on the mercy of Jesus Christ. Let his blood cleanse you of your sin. Let his righteousness be placed on you while it is still today. The day of his vengeance yet to come, will be too late for you.

It is appointed unto men once to die. It is appointed unto the wicked to die twice. There is no resurrection from the second death. Turn to Jesus Christ so that you may have your part in the first resurrection on whom the second death has no power!

May God richly bless you all.

A Handful of Earth

 I consider myself to be a nostalgic futurist. 

As I am writing this, my wife, Christine and I are enjoying a week at the old family farm near Mankato, Minnesota. My mom lives in the old farmhouse that she grew up in. And when we come up to visit we stay with her. 

NOSTALGIC:

It never fails to bring back memories from my childhood. I can honestly say that the very happiest memories growing up were when we could travel back to Minnesota and stay a week or two on the family farm with our Grandma Woods and Aunt Doris. We would spend the time exploring the farm, walking to the Blue Earth River. Of course, the best part was getting to see our aunts, uncles and cousins. Usually during our visits the entire family would come out to the farm. Aunt Doris would saddle up the horse, Pal and we would take turns riding. We would often make a fire and have a hot dog roast too. Sometimes a couple of years would go by between visits but it was always something we looked forward to and hated when we had to leave.

As a child I often dreamed that I would come back and actually run the farm and restore it to a fully functioning family farm, maybe as a ‘U-pick-it’ vegetable farm. I wanted to have sheep, chickens, and maybe a milk cow as well as a sizable vegetable garden. Of course, I would make the fields into pastures and huge produce fields. 

But for some reason after a visit around my eighteenth birthday I never made it back. 

It would be seventeen years before I would return with my own growing family just long enough for my sister’s wedding. It was the last time I would see my Grandma Woods as she went to her heavenly home just a few years later at the ripe old age of 95. 

Fifteen more years passed. 

In the autumn of 2016 just after my marriage of 24 years ended I made the drive from Florida back to the old Woodvale farm. Coming down the old gravel road brought back bittersweet memories of vacations spent with our grandma and relatives. Grandma wouldn’t be here now. The farm is still beautiful and Mom has really done a fantastic job keeping up the old farmhouse and yard. But it isn’t the same.

Since then I have made it back every year. The last five times I have come back with my wife, Christine. Every time we turn down the gravel road and head into the woods I have vivid memories of making the long trip from wherever we happened to be living and realizing the trip was almost over. Coming to the farm literally felt like coming home. I always felt like I belonged here.

As I walk the farm property I can remember sheep in the pasture across the road. I remember the horse, Pal and the pony, Sally. I remember walking down to the old swimming hole on hot summer afternoons to cool off in the fresh cool water of the Blue Earth River.

If I sit on the old swing in the yard and close my eyes I can almost see Grandma walking along the sidewalk to do a little work in her garden, either picking some vegetables to add to supper or some flowers to put in a vase. If it was winter she would be walking towards the chicken house in her long overcoat and scarf to feed Pal and Sally. And none of us can ever forget the wonderful music that came from the old upright piano when Grandma would sit down and play.

This morning I walked up to the mailbox and looked over to what once was the old Hanel farm. Herbert Hanel was my grandma’s younger brother. Usually visits to Minnesota included having supper with Uncle Herbert and Aunt Leona. Uncle Herbert had taken over the family farm from his parents. It was where my grandma grew up.

She literally married the boy next door. 

But Uncle Herbert and Aunt Leona have been gone for many years and their farm has long since been sold. Today as you walk towards the mailbox the pond Uncle Herbert made is obscured by mature trees and the farmhouse was torn down and the new house is barely visible from the road.

Most of the old buildings on the Woodvale farm are deteriorating and have fallen into disrepair and are no longer in use.The fences were taken down years ago and some of them are rolled up by the old corn crib which is falling apart.

This farm was purchased by my great great grandfather, Isaac Woods in 1856 and it has been in the family ever since. The farmhouse where my mom still lives was built back in the 1870’s. It’s sad to think that someday the farm may no longer be in the family.

But it is reality. 

FUTURIST:

I fully understand that the generation after mine doesn’t have the same kind of nostalgic attachment to the Woodvale Farm that my cousins and I do. Many in the next generation never met Grandma Woods and those that did, remember her very differently. I remember a strong farm woman who would sling hay over the fence with a pitchfork. By the time the great grandchildren came along she was old and frail. Most of them never heard her play the piano. They never rode Pal. They don’t remember the barn. They didn’t spend the time out here and do the things that we did. Grandma has been gone now for more than eighteen years. Three of her four daughters are now in their eighties, and most of us cousins who played out here as children are past middle age.

This is where the ‘futurist’ in me comes in.

Years ago I heard a wise man say, “If your dreams don’t come true, dream new dreams. And if you fail to achieve your goals, set new goals.” I dreamed I would one day come and run the farm. That dream didn’t come true. So I’ve had to dream new dreams and set new goals. And I’ve done that. The fact is life goes on and time doesn’t stand still. The only thing in life that is permanent is change.

And it will change.

I realize each trip I make back here may very well be my last. One day the farm won’t be here to come back to. Someday there may not be a compelling reason to come back to Minnesota at all.

It’s not a bad thing. The fact is farming is so different today that it would not really be practical to attempt to restore this farm to what it once was. It is not a bad thing that the next generation may not care to keep the farm in the family. Their experiences growing up were very different…and that’s OK. Life goes on and time flies.

The property that was affectionately nicknamed ‘Gracie’s Woods’ is finally being sold. It is a 40 acre woodlot located across the river from the farm. It’s main purpose originally was to harvest firewood for use on the farm and to sell in town. We hiked there earlier this week. I believe the last time I was there was when I was 16. That was over 40 years ago. One of my cousins is actually buying it so that part of the property will technically remain in the family…at least for now. In many ways I believe it should have been sold years ago. It hasn’t done much except cost the farm money in property taxes. At least by being sold now it won’t be something the next generation will have to be concerned about. I really hope it turns out to be a very good thing for my cousin.

I am now 56 years old. If 56 represents ⅔ of my life then I will live 28 more years. That will make me 84 when I cross the finish line. That would be old and full of days. In a blink, me and my generation will be ready for our departure. Then it will be up to those who come after us.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:18‭-‬19 NIV

Maybe it’s time to let things go. We still have memories and we remember them fondly. But that’s all they are, memories. Life is going on, time is flying, things have changed and the future is coming soon, to a theater near you.

In the meantime, we are still here, walking the sod and we have work to do. My wife and I have jobs, two duplexes and some farmland acreage in Tennessee that need to be maintained and developed. We both have ministries and people there who need and depend on us. So we need to get back to the task at hand until God calls us home. 

"It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns."

Matthew 24:46 NIV

So we will be heading back to Tennessee and our home near the Great Smoky Mountains. Hopefully, we will be back next year but just in case we aren’t, I am taking a handful of earth home with me.

Yep, still nostalgic.

You Think it's Tough Now?

 “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

Jeremiah 12:5 NIV

Many years ago I heard a message from a visiting pastor and he imagined what any one of the apostles or disciples of the early church would think if they came back today and could hear us talk about our struggles in the western world. They would be embarrased and ashamed of us. These were people who were literally signing their own death warrants just by uttering the phrase, 'Jesus is Lord,' and yet continued to proclaim Jesus as their Lord and continued to meet together and spread the gospel in spite of constant threat of persecution. Often it meant imprisonment and or death.

In our country we have not had to worry about the threat of persecution on a systematic scale. Our country was founded on the principles of freedom which included freedom of speech, freedom to bear arms, freedom to own property, etc. That does not mean freedom from responsibility or consequences of our actions. Yet somehow we have adopted that idea in our modern culture. 

What has the result been?  

We have gone from 18 year old young men having the courage to storm the beaches of Normandy to needing a 'safe place' to protect themselves from being triggered by someone who simply disagrees with them...all within a lifetime.

In the words of G. Michael Hopf: “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.”

Since World War 2 we have had relatively good times and we have created weak men. 

The church has not fared much better. Persecution has always strengthened Christianity so it stands to reason that lack of persecution has weakened it. I forgot where I heard this quote: "It seems you can't swing a dead cat in any direction without hitting a church steeple." Yet we are having almost no effect on our culture. During my lifetime (56 years) We have gone from looking at same sex relationships as being deviant to completely normal and acceptable. When I was in high school if a man decided he identified as a woman and wanted to join the women's swim team he would have been put through psychiatric evaluation and likely committed. A person who has lost touch with reality is insane. But now, saying such a thing is considered hate speech.

And what do we hear from the church? Crickets.

In 2020, we had shutdowns from a 'mysterious' virus. With few exceptions, the church in America voluntarily allowed themselves to be shut down. And what was the driving force behind the shutdowns?

FEAR!!

And what does scripture say about fear? Do NOT be afraid!

Christians from the first century through the Reformation met under threat of having the door kicked in and being hauled off to prison, even death. What would they think of us? Would they even consider us being worthy of being called Christians? 

Now some of you might be upset or offended that I would suggest such a thing. In response I would suggest that we all take the admonition in 2 Corinthians 13:5:

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"

This is something followers of Christ should be doing constantly.

The irony is that even with the masks, shutdowns, and social distancing, most of us still got sick...and most of us completely recovered. So what were we afraid of?

Now you might say, "Well somewhere in the neighborhood of a million people in this country died from this virus." 

Answer: The mortality rate in percentages was slightly more than the previous year but was lower that the year before that. Most of the tabulated deaths were actually from other causes. There was no pandemic.

Objection: If they hadn't gotten this virus they would still be alive.

Answer: We can't possibly know that.

To conclude, I'll requote the lead off verse: 

  “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

Or:

If you were afraid of a cold virus, then...?

My Mountaintop Experience. What God Showed Me.

It was early November, 2017, when I was on my way to hike to the top of Mount Cammerer in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A friend I went to church with said she thought I would really like this hike because there is an old fire lookout station at the top which provides amazing panoramic views. Apparently there is a trail up that allows for horseback riding, or at least did at one time.

I moved to Tennessee after my divorce was final in 2016. I fell in love with the mountains and I tried to go hiking as often as I could. Hiking was significant for me because a few years earlier I had been in a hospital bed with chest pains. Tests showed that I had not actually had a heart attack but I needed to make some changes or I would. I really believe that the symptoms were caused by the tremendous stress I was under during the last few years of my troubled marriage.

This hike was going to be challenging because during the first two or three miles the trail climbs over 2,800 feet. Then it meets the Appalachian Trail the rest of the way to the observation tower. Up and back would be a total of 11 miles -- not for the faint of heart.

It was an absolutely beautiful morning as I drove on Interstate 40 towards the North Carolina border where the exit was. However as soon as I got off the freeway I found myself driving through a dense fog that I can only describe as creepy. Mount Cammerer was in my GPS. I was following it deeper into the forest and farther from civilization. After a time my GPS said, "You have arrived." I was on the road in the middle of nowhere with the slope going up to my right but no trailhead or anything that even looked like a trail.

I realized I had simply put Mount Cammerer in my GPS but not the trailhead. I hadn't even looked up to see where the trailhead was. Of course I had no cell phone signal, so I had to find my way back into town where I could get enough signal to find out where the trail began and then find my way there.

The trail actually started at the Cosby Campground in North Carolina. By the time I got there, it was about 9:30 in the morning and the sun was fairly high. I was actually hoping to be on the trail by around 8:00 because I knew the days were getting shorter and I didn't want to be stuck on the trail after dark. The strange thing is I never made this mistake before and was shaking my head and even thinking about how creepy the fog was that morning. As I was musing over all of this, I suddenly sensed the 'still small voice' say something to me:

"I'm going to show you something when you get to the top."

It could not have been more real if it had been an actual audible voice. Now I was filled with excited anticipation. I also had a little bit of trepidation because I thought of God taking Moses up to the top of Mount Nebo to show him the promised land but then he died up there. I somewhat wondered if this was how it was going to end for me. I figured if it was, then I would simply be ushered into the presence of my savior so it would be fine. 

About halfway up, the trial meets the Appalachian Trail and continues for another 2 miles or so. Once you are on the trail it levels out a lot which is good because after 3 miles and climbing nearly 1,000 feet per mile I was feeling my knees. At this point I caught up to a couple of women. One of them seemed to be about my age and the other quite a bit older. We hiked together for a bit and then I noticed that the older lady dropped back a ways leaving me with the younger woman who I learned was her daughter. She seemed to be enjoying hiking with me and we were having some really good conversations. I began wondering if this was what God was intending to show me. 

We continued together the rest of the way to the observation tower and when we arrrived we somehow ended up separated. I went inside and looked around. It hasn't been used as an observation tower for a long time but it is maintained for trail hikers to be able to stop for the night. I went outside on the outer deck and looked around. The views were quite amazing but I found myself wondering about the voice I heard. Maybe God just wanted to show me some beautiful scenery or maybe I had simply imagined it all. I was convinced that a future wife was not what God intended to show me. She was nice and attractive but I was still licking wounds from my broken marriage and just didn't have it in me to have a relationship at this point. I didn't know if I ever would be able to and in reality, I was enjoying my single life and had no interest in changing that.

Generally people get to the tower about lunch time so there was quite a group of people there eating lunch. Some of the hikers had come up another way and told us that the trail they had come up started in the Cosby campground as well. It was a couple of miles longer but the slope was more gradual and therefore easier on the joints. That kind of appealed to me but I didn't want to be alone on the trail. There was another couple that decided they would take the Lower Cammerer Trail down and we agreed that while we wouldn't actually hike together we would keep each other in sight. 

So we started down the other way which meant another few miles on the Appalachian Trail. At around 2:30 we got to the trail where the homeward trail branched off. I reached it first. I read the sign which said, "Lower Cammerer Trail, Cosby Campground, 7 1/2 miles." I turned to the couple behind me and said that we had a long ways to go and only about 3 hours of daylight left. We were going to have to hustle! 

We didn't waste any time! We maintained a very brisk walk and didn't stop to take pictures or enjoy the vistas. The gentleman was somewhat upset because we were told it was a couple of miles longer when it reality it was five miles longer. One thing was true, the trail descended much more gradually which did make it easier on the joints. 

We kind of 'leap-frogged' the rest of the way. Sometimes they were in front and sometimes I was in front, depending on someone needing to step of the trail briefly. Towards the end we actually were hiking together. I found out the lady was a marathon runner and the gentleman regularly worked out. They commented that I seemed to be in pretty good shape and asked what I did. I kind of joked that I sometimes drive past a gym. The fact is that I mainly I work a physical job which helps me stay in shape.

We finally made it back to the campground just after the sun had gone below the horizon. In another 30 minutes it would be dark. There were still some cars in the parking lot so I said goodbye to the couple and said I was going to wait and see if there were more people on the trail. After some time people started coming to their cars and it was apparent they were picnickers and fishermen just hanging out nearby, so I decided it was OK to leave.

It was dark on the way home and I could barely feel my legs by this point. After I got onto the interstate I started musing about thinking I had heard the 'still small voice' tell me he was going to show me something at the top. All of a sudden I heard the voice again, clear as a bell:

"I did show you something. I showed you another way down."

I was puzzled, but the voice continued:

"Three years ago you were in a hospital bed with chest pains not sure if you had a heart attack or not. But today, at 51 years old, you just hiked 16 miles, climbed and descended more than 2,800 feet in just over 7 hours. Not bad for an old bull. The truth is, you have a lot of life and a lot of living left in you. You are not even close to the finish line."

It was a little hard to drive the rest of the way home with tear filled eyes. I had not realized how much the previous several years had taken out of me but I knew I was feeling better and stronger than I had in a long time. I also felt encouraged that God wasn't finished with me yet and I was now looking forward to what he had in store for me next.

Well that was 5 1/2 years ago and I'm still going strong. I met the love of my life (not the woman on the trail) and married her a year after this hike. God has given both of us health and vitality and a good bit of work to do so it is good that he has kept us as strong as he has.

I am totally convinced that God does speak to us. Generally, I am skeptical when I hear someone, even myself, say that God told them something. We shouldn't discount it but we do need to test any word we might get. In this case, I think time has shown that this really was a word from the Lord and he took me up to Mount Cammerer to show me that my story wasn't finished yet.

I hope you are encouraged and inspired by this story of mine.

Modern Revivals, Part 3, "Preach The Gospel!!!"

"He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'" - Mark 16:15 NIV

The very first time we see preaching in the New Testament is in Matthew chapter 3. John the baptist was the 'Elijah to come' who was sent ahead of the Messiah to prepare the way for him. The very first recorded words of the baptist are found in Matthew 2:3:

"In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.' "

Similarly when Jesus Christ began preaching after his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, his message was the same

REPENT!! (Matthew 4:17)

True Revivals Have Always Been Driven By the Gospel Call To Repent.

There are two enormous revivals mentioned in scripture. The first and most massive one is the one that happened when Jonah went to Ninevah. He preached and the entire city repented. The book of Jonah records that Ninevah was a city of more than 120,000 people.

The driving force was the PREACHING of Jonah.

The second great revival, or awakening, was on the day of Pentecost when Peter preached. His sermon in Acts 2:14-36 can be summed up in one sentence;

"Jesus the Nazarene was the Lord's Christ and you murdered him."

Then it follows in verse 37:

"When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' "

Notice that there was no altar call and no sinners prayer. There was no strategy being employed to try and 'reach' the people. No praise band playing worship songs trying to bring the people into a mountain top experience. Though singing is mentioned in the New Testament, it is interesting how little the historical accounts actually talk about singing in the context of our worship services. 

The point is that Peter preached the simple, hard truth. He didn't sugarcoat the message. He preached it straight and the people responded from being convicted. It was AFTER the people responded to the message that Peter tells the people what they should do.

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." - Acts 2:38‭-‬39 NIV

 Apparently Peter wasn't finished because it says:

"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." - Acts 2:40‭-‬41 NIV

The message of the early church was one of warning. As Martin Lloyd Jones said, "The gospel has one message to the unrepentant sinner; judgment!" Jesus himself warned about coming judgment using some tragedies that had occured possibly recently:

"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." - Luke 13:1‭-‬5 NIV

It's the same warning. Judgment is waiting for the unrepentant sinner.

The next verse in chapter 2 shows something characteristic about the early church that the modern church has all but lost.

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." - Acts 2:42 NIV

The very fist thing on the list that they devoted themselves to was the apostles teaching. In other words -- DOCTRINE. The doctrines of the New Covenant were very important in the early church. As one reads through the New Testament epistles it is astonishing how much verbiage is spent correcting bad doctrines and warning against false teachers. In an age where doctrine is glossed over and in some cases ignored, is it any wonder that the average church goer cannot articulate the very basic doctrines of the Christian faith. 

The First Great Awakening

I already talked about the first Great Awakening in the first blog in this series so I won't spend too much time on it. 

These men were known for their sermons. Preaching the gospel was what drove the First Great Awakening.

One point of interest is that the actual revival only lasted a few years, from the late 1730's to the early 40's. But the effects of the revival lasted well into the next century. One reason for this is that many of those who were saved during the awakening became ministers of the gospel and continued in the work of the Great Commission. 

Another point of interest is that the 2 most well known preachers of the awakening, Jonathon Edwards and George Whitefield, preached for decades afterwards but were never able to duplicate the same type of revival. It was clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Second Great Awakening

The Second Great Awakening occured roughly between 1796-1835, about a 40 year period of time. Like the first great awakening, the impacts of this awakening lasted way beyond the time of the actual revival itself. It was during this time that many things changed as far as ideas about how we evangelize and conduct our worship services.

The name most commonly associated with this awakening is Charles Grandison Finney. He introduced methods of evangelism in order to make it 'more effective.' He is regarded as a hero by many of the more well known contempory evangelists, which includes such names as Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham.

Finney is problematic because he rejected the doctrine of total depravity, original sin, and substitutionary atonement, among others. Consider this quote from his Systematic Theology: (Page 249)

"Sinners are under the necessity of first changing their hearts, or their choice of an end, before they can put forth any volition to secure any other than a selfish end. And this is plainly the everywhere assumed philosophy of the Bible. That uniformly represents the unregenerate as totally depraved and calls them to repent, to make themselves a new heart."

In other words, Finney believed that man, in his nature, had the capacity to choose the right way and change himself. This was the view espoused by the 5th century heretic, Pelagious. The problem with this view is as Martin Luther pointed out in his essay, The Bondage of The Will, the fact that nobody except Jesus Christ has ever emerged from the womb deciding to never sin proves that man cannot, in his own nature, choose good.

Because he believed that man inherently has the capacity to make a decision and change himself, he believed that the gospel message should be to call people to make the decision to change. This led him to come up with methods of evangelism that are not seen in the New Testament nor church history until around the 1850's. He introduced the 'anxious bench' which was a precurser to the modern altar call. He pushed people to make a 'decision,' which eventually gave way to the modern invitation and 'sinner's prayer.' His ideas also bacame the foundation of 'church growth strategies.'

Now some may say, "OK, so he taught and believed things that are unscriptural and maybe he was in fact a full blown heretic. But that doesn't mean he didn't have some good ideas that we can incorporate in our methods today." It is true that you can learn from almost anybody but consider this; his methods came directly from his doctrinal beliefs. Contrast the first awakening. Those preachers understood that because of man's depraved nature and unless the Holy Spirit moved in ressurrection power to regenerate a person's heart they were not capable of receiving the message of the gospel. Therefore they simply preached the undiluted message of the cross.

WHAT YOU BELIEVE DOCTRINALLY DETERMINES HOW YOU DO MINISTRY!!

If you truly believe in the dapravity of human nature then you understand that conversion is something only God can accomplish. We are not responsible for the result, only responsible to preach the undiluted gospel.

If you believe, as Finney did, that conversion is simply an act of the will, then you will look for methods to try and obtain results even to the point of altering the message -- making it no message at all.

True and False Revivals: The Need To Discern and Verify 

In the book of 1 Kings chapter 18 we have the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal and the challenge to see which God was the one true God. When the one true God sent his fire to burn not only the offering but also the altar and dried up the water in the trench it says in verse 39:

When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!"

This a picture of a massive revival. In verse 37 Elijah had prayed that God would show that he was God and "You are turning their hearts back again," and it appeared that it was happening. By the end of the day all 850 false prophets had been killed. It was a new day in Israel. BUT...

There was no revival.

When the smoke cleared, literally, it was business as usual and Elijah found himself running for his life. Even though Elijah finds out that 7,000 people had not bowed down to Baal there is no indication that a single person actually repented and returned to God. They had simply responded emotionally to a fantastic move of God and then went back to what they had been doing.

This same scenario plays out in the evangelistic crusade movement of today. There is a euphoric mountaintop experience. When the invitation is given to come and receive Christ a crowd comes forward, is led in a 'sinners prayer' and then welcomed into the family of God. The problem is there is no verification as to whether or not anything really happened or not. 

I have spoken to several foreign missionaries who have actually lived in these areas about the crusades and they have all said the same thing, "Thousands of people got saved at the crusade on Saturday night. Try to find any of them on Monday morning!" But by Monday morning the crusade has moved on to the next town. I remember someone once saying that over 6,000 people got saved at a crusade. A missionary responded that if 6,000 people truly got saved it would have a major impact on the city. At last report things were pretty much the same.

Revivals need to be verified. And that takes time to see what the actual fruits are.

Before There Can Be True Revival We Need A Reformation.

It is estimated that here in the United States about 63% of the people identify as Christian. That is an overwhelming majority. With such a majority, why are we having so little impact on our culture? 

As you look at the religious landscape one can tell very quickly that people's beliefs are all over the map.  Most people who identify as Christian can't even articulate the basic tenets of the faith. One wonders if they knew what the doctrines really are if they would still identify as Christian. The fact is most modern Christians today have gotten saved because they responded to an unbiblical gospel call. While I am sure that some have truly gotten saved, because God often saves in spite of our methods, we have to realize the very real possibility that many, if not most, professing Christians today simply are not truly saved. 

Very likely we have more goats than sheep in the fold.

Many are expressing that the solution is we who call ourselves Christians need to set aside our differences and come together in unity.

That is impossible!

The only kind of unity you can possibly have with people who believe all these different ideas is a very superficial unity. The unity would depend entirely on people agreeing not to discuss things (especially doctrine) -- just get along and love each other. But the moment a 'hot-button' topic comes up, and it will, everything will fall apart.

That is why I truly believe that without a reformation we will never have a true revival. By reformation I mean a 'reset.' 

A 'reset back to factory settings.'

If your cellphone or computer starts acting up because it has a lot of garbage app data or malware, there is a function you can use that will reset your device back to the factory settings. Basically it lets you start over.

That is what the church needs -- a reset.

We need to go back to the basic teachings of the apostles. Until we have that, any revival we can possibly have will be short lived at best, and completely false and deceptive at worst.

Yes, we need revival. But first we need a reformation.

Modern Revivals Part 2; When The Salt Ain't Salt

 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot." - Matthew 5:13 NIV

The chemical composition of table salt is sodium chloride. Because of it's simple elemental composition salt cannot actually lose it's flavor inherently. The only way salt can lose its flavor is if it becomes contaminated with another substance. This is what Jesus was warning against when he described his people as the salt of the earth. We lose our flavor when we allow ourselves to be contaminated by the world. Just like actual salt loses its usefulness when it becomes contaminated, we become useless when we become contaminated. 

All throughout the New Testament we are told things like, 'Do not love the world or the things of the world' (1 John 2:15); Keep ourselves from being polluted by the world (James 1:27); and many others.

Just like we as individual Christians lose our saltiness when we allow other worldly influences to shape and define us, the corporate church body also loses its saltiness when we allow the church to become contaminated by unbiblical philosophies AND... by allowing goats into the fold. Now it is true that we want unbelievers to come to our churches and hear the gospel and become Christians too. But our hope is that they will come into the church and become believers,... not remain unbelievers. However, if we are not holding close to the word and keeping ourselves from being polluted by the world we will lose our saltiness, and we will fill our sanctuaries with unconverted worldly people.

Doctrine divides, Jesus unifies. True or false?

This has become a driving philosphy in the modern church. We have learned, rightly so, that focusing on doctrine tends to turn people off. (The truth is unless someone is truly being regeneratied by the Holy Spirit, doctrine will turn them off.) Therefore much of the church today has the idea that we don't need to focus on the doctrines but just learn to love like Jesus did and people will come.

But is that what the early church taught?

Is turning people off by teaching the doctrines of the faith something we should be concerned about?

In Titus 2:1, the apostle Paul instructs us that we are to teach sound doctrine. In the modern western church doctrine has become a bad word and it seems that we are more focused on creating an atmosphere where we not only welcome all people but we are welcoming and striving to accomodate all viewpoints. 

It is the doctrines of the church that unifies the church.

But what about the idea that Jesus unifies?

The fact is, Jesus the Nazarene was one of the most divisive men who have ever walked the face of the earth. In Matthew 10:34-36 Jesus explained this was intentional:

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

In Luke 2:34-35, the man Simeon prophetically said this would be true about the Christ child:

'Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” '

Jesus even went on to say that the world would hate his followers as well:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." - John 15:18-19

To those who think, "if we can just show people the real Jesus they would love him", remember, God DID show the the real Jesus to the world and they crucified him.

So to answer the question, does doctrine divide and Jesus unify:

You cannot separate Jesus Christ from the doctrines of the church.

They BOTH unify those who truly belong to him and they BOTH divide those who are his from those who are not.

The Danger of Striving to Be Relevant to the Modern Culture

I believe the worst thing that has been brought into the modern church are 'church growth strategies.' They are shaped by the social scientists of our day. These are ideas that are based solely on worldly philosophies. They are not found anywhere in scripture. Often they focus on things like style, formats, offering 'goodies' to attract newcomers. Trying to be 'relevent' to the culture is a major goal of church growth strategies. In doing so we are encouraged to adopt the styles of the prevelant modern trends so we can fit in. We have taken their advice to make the message more palatable to the average person in hopes that we might lure them into our fellowship. We talk about the 'benefits' of giving our lives over to Christ rather than talk about sin, judgment and the need to repent. 

Because the doctrines of the faith are not front and center we are letting the world impact the church rather than the church impacting the world.

Recently, one of the pastors at our church commented how the early New Testament church made such tremendous impact in the world. But today, in spite of there being a church on every corner, we are not making much of an impact at all. He cited Act 17:6 where it said they had 'turned the world upside down.' In our day it seems just the opposite; the world has turned the church upside down. Maybe it is because we have abandoned the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles and have relied on the worldy philosophies of the social scientists. 

One thing that seems to be coming more and more in vogue is the idea that outsiders don't want to come to a 'church.' So we try to make our fellowships as much unlike a 'church' as we can. Often our churches look more like rock concerts and amusement parks than church meetings. 

We should be mindful of what Charles Spurgeon said, "The time is coming when instead of pastors feeding sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats." Those words were truly prophetic and it speaks of our time now. As Paul warned Timothy:

"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." - 2 Timothy 4:3 

The modern church does not want sound doctrine and we have been more than accommodating.

We must understand, if we need to use worldly means to get people to come to our church, we will have to continue to use worldly means to keep them there. And we will have a building full of worldly people -- goats -- keep them entertained.

The writers of the New Testament made no effort to be relevant to the society in which they lived. They understood that their job was to preach the gospel and make disciples. It is NOT our job to get people saved. That is the job that God accomplishes through regeneration, the new birth. The only thing God has ever promised to bless is the unaltered preaching of the gospel. 

"...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:11

Part 3 will discuss what brings true revival.

Blessings.