Yea Though I Walk...

YEA THOUGH I WALK…

Ps.23: ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

The most prominent Christian ministries has presented a false caricature of the faith. Their smiling faces and Hollywood makeup and self help and upbeat messages have communicated to the unbelieving world that we as believers walk through this world with just minor problems. And even our minor problems are just wiped away effortlessly. It suggests that when you follow Jesus you are safeguarded from any deep difficulties. Many people think it’s just one trip to Disneyland after another.

But those of us who truly know the Lord Jesus and imperfectly try to follow in His footsteps know that there are seasons where you walk in valleys, and some them very deep. We have faced many giants and have had spiritual challenges that literally affect our physical beings. How many of us have wept during a time of praise because as we praised the Lord Jesus we were hurting so badly inside? You see, this following Jesus has never been for the weak hearted or for those who are stoic and without emotion or compassion.

And if you desire to walk after the Master be assured that the devil, the world, and the flesh will come against you with everything they can. This is not a playground. This is a battlefield and sometimes wounds are inflicted and need to be healed. And we also bear one another’s burdens. We have spouses and children and other family members whose situation affects us. We have friends and spiritual brothers and sisters who are hurt or get involved with sin which also impacts us deeply. In this world we have tribulation that is common to man such as health and financial issues. And then we see just what is happening to lost sinners as they hurl themselves toward an eternity separated from Christ.

But the valleys which seem to impact us the most are when loved ones reject us or walk away from God or even are dealing with life and death issues. It is during those times when the valley seems its deepest and most challenging. And depression and discouragement seem to cling to us as we try to look toward our Great God. Yes, in spite of all who know about Christ and the Scriptures there are times when we find ourselves carrying some heavy burdens. We know the Spirit is with us, and we know Christ is a friend that sticks closer than a brother, and we know many spiritual truths as well. But we are still prone to battle the giants that live in the valley in the strength of our own flesh.

But be aware you who love Christ and wish to follow Him. Perilous times are here and greater perils are on their way. Deception lives around the world with many and varied tentacles. Even the gospel itself has become rare in its purist form. There are great multitudes of professing believers who have no hunger or thirst and even interest in Christ and His kingdom. The outside shell of morality has replaced the inward fire of spirituality. Those who truly follow Christ will walk in many valleys in the coming days. Many have already given their lives and many live behind bars.

But there is still an ocean of God’s grace available to anyone who truly seeks the Son of God and the Risen Christ. And here is a secret unknown to unbelievers and to the prosperity mindset: Many times, if not most times, the Spirit lifts the veil and reveals more of Christ to us during our seasons in the valley. The valley is perhaps the single greatest inner court experience a believer can have. And sometimes as we walk out of a valley and brush ourselves off, we look back and are amazed at how much glory God gave us and how our beings were changed to be more like Him. In the hottest fire that rages without an answer it eventually becomes evident that the fire was used to melt us and allowed the Potter to remake us without some of the self serving dross that had attached itself to our earthen vessels. And even with a long way to go yet, the valley and the fire brought out a little more gold to His glory. 

So take heart, fellow pilgrim. We walk in a world which is the very shadow of death. And that which was once the church now loves that death and seeks to enjoy it and make it part of Christ Himself. But the August Christ is Holy and He will not allow His matchless name or His sinless character be in any alliance with this present world. And we must remember that as we watch millions upon millions of professing believers march in lockstep with this fallen world. And to refuse to be a part of it all surely must mean many valleys along the way. We do not pray for valleys, however when our feet must step through one we must go without fear. And in the end, valleys are a gift of God’s grace where we can glorify our Wonderful Redeemer and allow His light to shine through us into a dark and lost world.

Let us keep our eyes on the valley that was set before our Savior. His valley was set upon a hill called Calvary and on that valley He walked through death and came out alive forevermore! So when we are rejected by friends a foes and even loved ones, keep your eyes upon Him who was rejected of all men. He was despised by those to whom He gave life. And in the depths of the deepest valley that could ever have been imagined, He spoke words of forgiveness and bowed His head and died. He embraced the valley of death so that we could have life. And even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil. Our Redeemer lives so what can man do to us? Amen.

Blood Moons and Harbingers and Israel - Oh My!

BLOOD MOONS, AND HARBINGERS,

AND ISRAEL – OH MY!

I hear a lot about the blood moons of 2014 indicating the return of Jesus. It sells a lot of books and men like John Hagee have pounced upon it and made money. But I do not see these people having arresting and unusual life changes because they believe what they say. That tells me that they only half believe it and it makes for more prophetic curiosity.

But to a more far ranging point. All of us believe Jesus is coming back. And most of us believe it is getting close to that day. And yet where are the life altering changes which seem fanatical and uncomfortable to the rest of the world? The absence of that kind of dramatic repentance seems to indicate the same thing about the blood moon hucksters. I have personally become convicted about speaking about many things that will come to pass as if I am speaking of some flannel graph timeline.

If these things do not substantially and remarkably impact our lives then we are having a discussion and not really sharing a truth we believe.

The church was birthed on the Day of Pentecost as it is recorded in the Book of Acts. Now let us imagine that no one saw or understood that Jesus would return to earth. That prophetic truth was hidden inside the sacredness of Scripture and just like the first coming of Christ men could not see it. And then imagine that in 1970 God began to open the eyes of some of His servants and they began to see clearly that Jesus indeed was coming back. And that illumination became widespread throughout the community of faith. Everyone began to see something no one had seen before and books were written and CDs were made and sermons were preached and television programs were aired that proclaimed that Jesus was coming back. It was an incredible and new revelation that was so dramatic and so colossal that it shook the foundations of our theology.

Now would you expect those who suddenly understood and whose spiritual eyes were opened to remain the same as they had been before they knew this transcendent truth? The truth we teach, the truth we see, and the truth we say we believe that Jesus will return exceeds the limits of human knowledge and experience. It can only be believed by a revelation of the Spirit. Yes, the facts can be believed, but the actual reality of such an event can only become a personal reality through the power and ministry of the Spirit of God. Just like when a sinner believes on Jesus as Lord and savior. The facts of the gospel can be communicated through human words of any language, but the reality of who Jesus is can only become a personal reality through that same Spirit.

And I sincerely believe that is part of the spiritual mandate God has for the church in these days. We have an entire lifetime of knowledge about Scripture and prophecy and even doctrinal issues. There are untold hundreds of thousands of books and tapes and Cds and seminars and conferences which at the very least reinforce what we already knew or at the very most teach us things we did not know. But with all these avenues of communication where are the dramatic changes that are sweeping the community of faith? Why does it seem like we continue to enjoy the life we have settled down into? And when we say that Jesus is coming soon and yet we witness sparingly and pray conveniently and weep only for our own situations and not for the coming judgment upon lost sinners are we not hypocrites?

In a daring and extremely clever deception perpetrated by an alliance between the devil and our flesh we have even made prophecy a round table discussion rather than a two-edged sword that cuts us deeply and then brings forth an observable healing through repentance and the power of the Spirit. And then and only then are the gracious insights into future events affecting us in the way for which they were given. But without an almost hysterical reaction to these unfathomable coming events they remain discussions for the mind and not powerful instruments that create a new heart that presents our lives as living sacrifices to our Lord and Master. They sell books but do not change lives.

This is just another symptom of a church that feeds on information and entertainment and self affirmation. How many of us have expressed verbally the notion that the coming of Christ surely must be soon and yet without our own hearts clothed in sack cloth and ashes? We speak sacred things as if we were fully surrendered and waiting in line for rewards. But have no fear (as if anyone does anymore) the modern church will soothe your conscience and fill your head with knowledge and create a kind of interest that will keep you coming back. You will not feel convicted, to say nothing of condemned, and 99 out of 100 services will see you return home, remove your church clothes, and settle into that which you lived the previous week. It is all so tepid and predictable.

And one of the most incredulous things about this situation is that the overwhelming majority of the visible church and its members see nothing wrong, at least to this level. With the church fast asleep within the walls of hedonism and selfishness it sounds no alarm nor even enters into seasons of examination and self searching. And the church continues to pump out an amazing volume of information through a vast array of media outlets which can be purchased in Christian and secular bookstores alike. And all of this with no authentic spiritual impact whatsoever.

If you were attempting to put out a fire and regardless how much chemical agent you dumped into the fire there was no result would you look for another agent? Yes, you would. Well why doesn’t the church realize the fire is still raging even though it is dumping so much communication and information upon it? The reason? It’s because the church is part of the fire and wants it to continue.

When you are the problem you cannot see the problem and anyone who suggests there is a problem you consider to be the problem.

So here we are in 2014 surmising about Jesus coming again just like in 1989 or 1992 or many, many times before. But unlike the Great Disappointment of 1844 no one is selling their possessions and leaving their everyday lives and looking for His appearing. No, this time hucksters have found another meal ticket and are feverishly selling their prophetic wares to anyone who will listen. The author of “The Harbinger” roams the airwaves and appears on shows from Baptist preachers to Benny Hinn to the 700 club and everywhere in between. And his book is made available for some kind of financial gift. Yes, sensationalism knows no doctrinal boundaries these days. If it draws a crowd and can reach into pocketbooks it will be invited among a wide spectrum of the evangelical community.

And the nation of Israel is touted as the prophetic barometer among most evangelical churches. We were told once that when Israel became a nation in 1948 that forty years later Jesus would come. We have been titillated with temple rebuilding projects and the rise of China and the Russian Bear lurking. But little has changed. And even if all that was true why has the church continued to seek the things of this world? Prophecy has become such an irrelevant ecclesiastical subject. To be fair the entire Bible has become irrelevant.

But look around. There is no mass rush to repentance. There isn’t even a slight curbing of the frivolities. The restaurants and movie houses are still packed with believers. The car showrooms still write out many years of debt to professing believers. The political action committees still count dollars given by church members. The television still shine brightly throughout the day and night. This thing about blood moons and harbingers and Jesus’ coming lends itself to some curiosity, but it holds no more sway over believers than rising gas prices. It is a sham and a fraud.

But one thing is for sure. Jesus will come back. He will return to this world one day. And the question is not when. The question is what will he find when He does return. Should it matter to us if He will return 100 years or 100 days or 100 hours from this moment? Is not our commission and mandate from our Lord the very same regardless of any prophetic timetable? And yet we muse about one world religions and Jerusalem temples and the identity of the antichrist while we completely ignore the sacrifices inherent in following Jesus regardless of when He returns. This is not the faith of Christ; this is a religious game.

Martyrs gave their blood and preachers were arrested. Missionaries left everything and slaves served in Jesus’ name. Muslim converts were stripped of their livelihood and Chinese pastors were imprisoned. Christians were hung and quartered and crucified and fed to lions and slaughtered in many ways. And yet with all that as His glory and part of our own spiritual lineage we are allowed to kick back and enjoy the fallen scenery? Standing upon the blood soaked holy ground of the martyrs we rush to and fro seeking the next titillation and fleshly fulfillment? Just what kind of wickedness is this that we call the church? This is not the church. This is a Disney ride called the “church” where you can be a part of a simulation and experience the ride for a few hours and then return to the group among which you came. It is just like the Holy Land Tour in Orlando complete with a Jesus, a cross, and a resurrection being used to entertain and elicit some sentimental emotion and it only costs you an admission fee.

Never before in the history of the church has there been such a fire wall between our faith and our personal lives. And you can read a few verses and say a few prayers and then live just as attached to this material world as are the heathen and yet you can be called a Christian. That is some amazing prestidigitation, however only we are fooled and God knows the trick. And once in a while we can gather a few verses and sew them together and make a pattern which we can sell as pointing to a year in which Jesus will come. And we can sell some books and CDs and we can muse about its authenticity and without missing a hedonist beat we can move on in pursuit of earthly fulfillment. It is all so predictable and pitiful and it must break the heart of God.

But watch for it. The blood moons are coming. The programs will cover it. The books will be selling. It will provide a minor source of entertainment without any corresponding repentance. And on December 31^st, 2014 we will have to find some other Biblical novelty upon which to set our sights. Let us be honest here. The church is not looking for Jesus. It is looking for a prophetic itch to be scratched. So lions and tigers and bears; and blood moons and harbingers and Israel, oh my! It changes nothing.

 

Remember this:

Until the church takes the first coming of Jesus seriously

it will only look at His Second Coming as barely more than an interesting gimmick.

The Journey To Orthodoxy

THE JOURNEY TO ORTHODOXY

Jam.2: ¹⁴ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
¹⁶ And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
¹⁷ Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
¹⁸ Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
¹⁹ Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Question: “Are you orthodox, Rick?”

Answer: “I am on that Journey.”

Look closely at what the Holy Spirit is teaching in these verses from the Book of James. The word orthodox is a term which means in ecclesiastical vernacular to be Scriptural sound in your doctrine. And therein is a colossal deception. No one can be orthodox by a written set of doctrines alone. No one. The Spirit makes it clear that without obedience those doctrines are worthless. And so doctrines along with spiritual works are symbiotic in their relationship. One without the other is useless.

This is a serious issue about which the humanitarian works wing of evangelicalism as well as the written doctrinal wing of evangelicalism both do battle to win the argument that they alone are orthodox or Scripturally sound. Paper doctrines have no life without flesh and blood actions. They are dead. And yet there is a segment of the evangelical community which embraces their doctrines as proof that they love and follow Jesus because their systematic theologies can be proven exegetically. And there is the opposite segment which suggest that good works toward our fellow man makes written doctrines secondary and subordinate.

But let us peel away all the man made terms and measures and structures. This “orthodox” moniker has become very self serving and even self righteous. And in the midst of important truth debates we seem to have almost ignored the debate which the Spirit makes clear in James. I do believe that the wicked spirits love Scriptural compromise and error, and they seek to lead people away from truth. But somewhere along the line we have forgotten a vital aspect of truth. Obedience. Just saying “Amen” to a set of doctrines means nothing without a life which is just as passionate to live as Jesus lived. I hope we all can see what has happened here.

Christianty: To believe on Jesus, understand what He taught, and do what He did. So how did it get so complex and convoluted? And how did we come up with terms which validate us based solely upon what we say we believe? Think about that. Would the early believers be thrown to the lions just because they wrote their beliefs upon a scroll? What was it about their lives which so irritated the Romans that they killed them? And considering just how cozy the orthodox camp is with America what could possibly put our lives in jeopardy? Half the unsaved country loves fiscal and moral conservatives and seem not offended in the least with the name of Jesus lightly sprinkled among all the earthly battles.

And so just who is orthodox? Is it not those who believe Scriptural truth and live out the teachings of Jesus? Like a row boat with one oar going around in circles, so is the church which either ignores doctrinal truth or ignores obedience to the teachings of Jesus. It is not enough to do the things that Jesus taught without sharing and believing the gospel. And it is not enough to believe the written teachings of Jesus are inspired without doing them. So the path to orthodoxy is a journey which includes faith in the Scriptures and revealing Jesus from the heart and through your life. “Orthodoxy” is a journey and a pursuit. Go ahead and present your written doc trines on gilded leaves of papyrus but that does not make you orthodox.

Following Jesus with all your heart, mind, body, and soul makes a person orthodox. But since that is not a Scriptural term, let us use the term which the Bible uses.

Disciple.

Questions to a Disobedient People

QUESTIONS TO A DISOBEDIENT PEOPLE

WHO BELONG TO A RELIGIOUS CLUB

CALLED A CHURCH

How can self righteousness be humility?

How can materialism be spiritual?

How can disobedience be God pleasing?

How can sin be good?

How can wrong be right?

How can violence be Jesus?

How can hatred be love?

How can revenge be mercy?

How can debt be wisdom?

How can man’s laws be God’s laws?

How can the world’s ways be the ways of Jesus?

How can rigidity be Spirit led?

How can divided loyalty be complete surrender to Him?

How can prayerlessness gain God’s power?

How can self esteem lead to brokenness?

How can contentment with the same ever be diligently seeking His face?

How can a cruise be called Christian while children die without food?

How can the unremarkable be called the light of the world?

How can compromise be called dedication?

How can self affirmation be called self denial?

How can celebrity be found in His steps?

How can seeking wealth be called seeking Jesus?

How can entertainment be called worship?

How can allegiance to a fallen nation be a part of allegiance to Jesus?

How can 10% of a church budget be considered a commitment to missions?

How can dry eyes be considered compassion?

How can unforgiveness have any part of Christianity?

How can a past profession of faith override a present spiritual void?

How can repentance be a doctrine without a daily experience?

How can eternity be just a concept and the temporal be a reality?

How can the four gospels be true and the practices of the church be true as well?

How can the condition of the church continue without seeing the massive spiritual betrayal?

How can we genuflect to the cares of this life without choking the Word?

How can we speak the name of Jesus and ignore the One who bears that name?

How can we be satisfied with the stale crumbs of redundant ecclesiastical practices?

And considering the obvious rhetorical nature of all those questions, they can be summed up in one question alone:

How can we continue to reject Jesus?

What if it's All True?

WHAT IF IT’S ALL TRUE

Jn.17: ¹⁷ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

What if it’s all true? I mean all of it. Every single truth in Scriptures is completely and utterly true beyond our earthly imaginations? I know we all loudly proclaim our conviction that it really is all true. But now I ask what if it really is all true? What does it mean to us here and now? Heaven and hell; Eternal punishment and eternal reward; Armageddon and the Second Coming; what if it’s all true. Every bit of it is true and every prophecy will come to pass just as it is laid out in Scripture.

“But I believe it is all true!” Do you? Do I? Let us say that God whisked a handful of us into the future and we were given a firsthand tour of eternity and all the things in the spirit realm. We were guided through heaven and we were shown the horrors of hell and we even were granted a full five minute view of the Risen Christ. And then we were brought back to 2014 and dumped right back where we were picked up. And no one missed us or thought we had vanished for a time. But we remembered everything we had seen and experienced. Everything. Would that change our lives?

 

To the degree that trip would change our lives is the degree to which we live in unbelief.

It is beyond belief and beyond reason that a person could believe the New Testament Scriptures are literally true and all the things about eternity are limited revelations about things that are actually tangible and true and yet live so unremarkable in such a fallen culture. It makes no sense at all. If we drag out our precious statements of faith in all its glorious orthodoxy and we examine just what we say we believe we have some explaining to do. It oh so easy to write what we believe and stand upon that statement as gospel truth without having to measure the audacity of that statement against our unexceptional lives which blend in so easily with those who do not say they believe those things.

But again I ask all of us in all sincerity. What if it really is all true. Everything we say we believe, and everything we have heard in Sunday School, and everything we have read in Scripture is all true in substance. But before we can understand the impact of that statement we must examine much more closely what we say we believe and what we say the Scriptures teach. And all we need to do is strip it down to a few foundational truths and issues. In fact, all we need is one primary issue with which to juxtapose upon our lives and see if they accurately reflect someone who believes it.

We say we believe that eternity is comprised of only two places and only those who believe in Jesus will spend eternity in heaven with Him and the others will spend eternity separated from Him forever in hell. Think about what I just wrote. That is what we say we believe. And based upon that statement we believe we have eternal life in heaven already secure in Christ and that the remainder of our earthly lives are His to use to reach others who do not yet have eternal life. Now if that is true, and if we believe that with all of our hearts, then what should our lives look like?

But please take into consideration the profound and almost unimaginable essence of the tenants of our faith. I mean this is no religious philosophy. This is no spiritual musings. This, our faith, contends for the eternal souls of all men. Think about that. We have become so inoculated to our own statements of faith that we can recite the most outrageous and shocking doctrines with less emotion and passion than we show while watching a football game. We can take loud doctrinal stands about the reality of heaven and hell and yet live hardly different from our unbelieving neighbors.

We can castigate those liberal monsters who say there is no hell and write very impressive exposés revealing their lack of Scriptural exegesis and yet our lives are very similar to theirs. And having won the Scriptural argument we feel very smug and orthodox. But it does not bother us in the least that our lives show no more obedience and distinction or even passion than do theirs. We are content with winning the doctrinal argument without having our lives passionately reflect the truth we have carefully learned.

If it is true that every living soul will spend eternity in either heaven or hell, then how can we even begin to defend our lives and the duplicitous nature in which we give so much attention to the temporal while passively supporting a set of eternal truths which are profoundly revolutionary in every way? The suggestion that every soul lives forever in one of two places, if truly believed, must so alter a life that it makes that life observably remarkable in the midst of a fallen and unbelieving culture. In fact, that basic tenant of the faith is so unreasonable and fanatical and carries with it the eternal destiny of every soul ever born that anyone who truly believes it should be considered a fanatic on some level. When it was told to an atheist what a Christian believes about eternity and the necessity of believing the gospel, his reply was, “If I believed what you say you believe I would walk on my hands and knees upon broken glass to tell everyone I could.”

So once again let us lay aside our well worn pronouncements of orthodoxy and let us honestly ask ourselves this question without explanation or excuse.

What if it is all true?

The Athenian Spirit

THE ATHENIAN SPIRIT

The Search for New Instead of Deep

Acts 17: ²¹ (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

Paul was burdened by the idolatry which ran rampant through the city of Athens. While he waited upon Timothy and Silas to come Paul went into the temple and shared the gospel. The philosophers were told that this Jew was spreading some strange doctrine and they desired to hear what Paul was teaching. Philosophers loved to hear something new which they could adopt and tell to others. It is a sign of great intellect and thinking. So Paul stood in the midst of mars hill and preached the gospel to the Athenians.

When I first became a believer I never heard of a church called “Mars Hill” church. But they have sprung up in these last days. I suppose it implies that this church can present truth with great erudition and intellect and with great reason. And many times in these same churches they find things that are new in the Scriptures. Rob Bell and Mark Driscoll started churches that were named Mars Hill Church. And they both found many things in the Scripture that were new interpretations and insights into Scriptures. And those churches grew rapidly.

People in fast paced western cultures desire to hear something new. They have little tolerance for the same old things. And in this present day people do not want to hear the same old gospel especially if it means digging deeper into old truths. They want to hear things that are relevant to their desires and their lifestyles. And so we have constructed a religious system which appeals to the flesh and which presents false hopes and false achievements that are based upon earthly rewards. The deeper things of Christ are rejected in favor of earthly success and earthly pursuits.

On one side of the modern church system you have pragmatism, nationalism, material gain, and other things found in this fallen world. On the other side you have religious philosophy, salvation through humanitarian deeds, and a universalism that teaches that God will eventually save everyone. Of course there are other streams of evangelical thought which borrow from both extremes, but in general the extremes have found a home within most of the visible church structures and practices and belief systems. And what is common to all is the pursuit of the new.

Do you see when the newest Christian celebrity comes upon the scene? Today it is Joseph Prince. He is the new and fresh person who comes with new and fresh revelation straight from God. Of course there must be great music, large screen technology, many things for sale through the ministry, and wonderfully produced television programs. His teachings on grace appeal to the selfish flesh and give great comfort to those who wish to live unremarkable lives within a culture of hedonism. And we will applaud him until the next celebrity appears.

So with all the man worship and the attraction for the new, the church has long since ceased striving for the deep. The cross is now old hat and is given fleeting mention and hardly any attention. The resurrection is not studied and embraced as the divine revelation that substantiated the cross and all that Jesus was and taught. It is viewed and something we can use to start over. We can breathe new life into our business and family and career and set a new course for earthly success. Who meditates upon the divine mystery of Christ’s resurrection? Who is moved to tears and a breathtaking awe just considering the glory of when the Son of God rose from the dead? Again, everyone seeks a quick fix Christianity without the inconvenience of delving into the depths of God’s eternal truths.

The church has lost all appetite for the spiritual food which comes from seeking and praying and fasting and meditating and searching for the deeper wonders of the simple truths of God. Who beseeches the Spirit to open our hearts and minds and unlock the precious jewels that lay hidden deep within those truths listed in statements of faith? Like a man who eschews all soft drinks for several years. He eventually loses his taste for them and many times they no longer appeal to him. He has gone without them and learned to live without them as well.

And that is where the church is today. We have learned to live without seeking and feeding upon the glorious mysteries of the cross and resurrection. We have sculpted the Lord Jesus into a western genie and given Him a place in our doctrine. But that is a clever and self serving caricature and not the eternal Christ. Let us look at a teaching of the Apostle Paul’s.

II Cor.3: ¹⁷ Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

¹⁸ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Look at this glorious teaching! This is not something that can be glossed over and used for church water cooler conversation. In fact rare is the church member who even discussed such things. What is Paul speaking of? This is the fine china of spiritual truth. It cannot be learned by a cheat sheet or by looking on someone else’s doctrinal paper or by some theological cliff notes. It will not unfold and reveal all its treasures in a sermon series. But let us go on in the next chapter.

II Cor.4: ⁴ In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

⁵ For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
⁶ For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Stand back and see what glorious mysteries are contained just in these few verses. This is not the “Purpose Driven Life” or “Your Best Life Now” pragmatism which appeals to the earth man and can easily be understood and implemented in our pursuit of success. This is richness offered to those who diligently seek it. It is a gift of truth which is unspeakable and full of glory. This is not some Scripture-bit which you place on a small tract. These are truths which can only be understood by believers and which can only be known by an authentic and sacrificial journey which will not be denied. They are deep truths that have an unfathomable amount of layers and which minister and strengthen the man of the Spirit.

Oh how malnourished is the spiritual man in the American church. He has been fed the fast food of materialism, success, self esteem, nationalism, and the all the accoutrements of the surrounding culture. And yet here we read some profound truths that could provide such spiritual meat which would be used to mold us more into the image of Christ. But when you are addicted to sugar you avoid meat. When donuts are your staple then steak is for others. And the church has for so long survived on fast food that it no longer even sees that spiritual depth is contained in Scripture. Being anti gay marriage is now the mark of a deep believer.

But like the Athenians the church looks for the new activity, the new youth program, the new sermon series, the new conference, the new truth, the new speaker, the new book, the new CD, and anything and everything that is new. You see, the excitement of the new activates interest and the old truths are just plain old. The cross? The resurrection? We’ve heard that story before ad infinitum. Gives us something new with immediate affirmation and fulfillment without the demands of personal diligence and a relentless spiritual pursuit. In essence, we want everything without sacrifice, without self denial, without time, and without any cost at all. Like the Athenians give us something new which can carry us over until the next new thing.

There is a cost however to a deeper revelation of the foundational and eternal truths. When you say “the cross” everyone knows to what you are referring. But that term is just a term if that is where you stop. “The cross” is only a phrase that refers to an event that happened over two thousand years ago. And to most believers that is the beginning and the end of their understanding. They do not wish to sacrifice time to seek the vast amount of revelation contained in that phrase. In fact most believers have no idea what you even mean when you say “seek” as it pertains to things of the Spirit. They know what they have been told to believe and what more can there be? Their orthodoxy can be proved on paper.

But when you read the gospel accounts of the crucifixion over and over again without being pressed by temporal needs and schedules you can allow the Spirit to guide you into some glorious places. Some of them you can share as well as you can, while others you cannot begin to speak. In fact sometimes the Spirit ministers certain depths of eternal truths which you only partially understand but which thrill your soul and change your heart. And if you are a student of the Word, and if you are a disciple of prayer, many times the things which were revealed to you which you could not fully understand are subsequently opened to you down the road in a time of reading God’s Word when you were not even seeking to understand what was living within your spirit. And then, without warning, you read a portion of Scripture and in a sacred moment a kernel of truth bursts open with understanding that had you previously perplexed.

And that, my friends, is a wonderful and amazing gift of God’s grace. And when you go to share that with another believer many times that believer will nod as if they already had known it, but you can discern they have no idea about which you speak. It is one thing to know narratives and doctrines, but it is quite another to know them in a way which literally changes your heart and expands that same heart to receive more. It is very difficult to define knowing from  knowing. In the Star Trek series each spaceship was equipped with a holodeck. It was a simulated reality facility where you could actually step into a Shakespearian play, or at an historical event, or anything that could be programmed. So it is one thing to read an historical account, but you could experience that event in a simulated reality.

Even though that is a clumsy example it still provides a difference between reading about something but also having that event significantly impact you even though you were not there as it happened. I am not trying to sound spooky, but I am trying to present to you a ministry of the Spirit who can take truth and make it such a reality to us that we literally experience the power and authority of that truth. And after the mind understands that truth, and after we pray and meditate upon that truth, and after we see the very essence of that truth and how it unfolds within the Person of Christ, then the Spirit can miraculously take that truth and infuse it into our spirits in such a way that our entire being feels its weight. And then we are changed.  

But, alas, the modern believer has no time for such intangibles. We need earthly utensils which can be used to hewn out a more prosperous earthly life. These lofty thoughts belong to dreamers and not to the evangelical foot soldier who struts and frets his hour upon the ecclesiastical stage. But I strongly suggest to you my fellow believer that for those who tread spiritual water and dive no deeper than a Sunday morning service, well there is a life which beckons beneath the waters of this earthly life. And under the wind and waves of this temporal life is the Living Christ. And if you truly desire Him, and if you dare to look beyond yourself, then you may go as deep as your heart will carry you.

And I can promise you this: You will never be disappointed in what is granted unto your heart and life.

Col.2: ² That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;

³ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Oh the treasures in Christ that are waiting for anyone to discover!

Heaven - A Truth Used to Deceive

HEAVEN

A TRUTH USED TO DECEIVE

Rom.16: ¹⁷ Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

¹⁸ For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
¹⁹ For your obedience is come abroad unto all men.

II Tim.3: ¹² Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

¹³ But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
¹⁴ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

Eternal life. There it is. Through faith in the Lord Jesus we have been given eternal life with Him in a place called heaven. It is a reality that is most like a dream. It is glorious and it gained through faith alone in Jesus and what He alone has accomplished for us. I do not discount eternal life or the place called heaven. Even Paul said it was “far better” to be with Christ. However if we read the writings of the Apostle Paul and the entirety of the New testament we can see that there is much more to following Jesus than just stopping for a moment securing a place in heaven, and then continuing the life you were living.

The faith called Christianity has been defined almost exclusively by the doctrine of heaven. To be sure all those who have been born again will inherit eternal life in a place called heaven, but over the years the blind focus on a future heaven has significantly compromised the commands and dictates of the Spirit as it pertains to the life here and now. Christianity has become a ticket to heaven with everything else being like a smorgasbord. In other words take what you like in great quantities, and leave what does not suit your taste. That is not the faith that follows Jesus Christ. That is a man made religion which makes man his own master and makes Christ the Master only within the pages of doctrine and His Lordship only authoritative in that place called heaven.

And there is an unspoken but observable practice within the pews of evangelical churches. It suggests that as long as I make it to heaven I can serve Christ in a way which costs very little and which for all practical purposes only interrupts my western lifestyle a couple of times a week when I must travel to a gathering place. The doctrine of eternal security, especially as it has been taught in evangelical churches, has done much harm and given much false assurance to baptized church members whose profession and expression of the faith can barely be distinguished apart from the lives of unbelievers. Again, it is a teaching which makes heaven an already achieved goal and makes obeying Christ fully as an elective.

And here is a disturbing fact if we are even willing to examine what is happening, and in this case what is not happening. Millions of church members who have made some kind of profession of faith live completely by the dictates of their own desires and lusts. They do not read God’s Word, they do not pray, they sacrifice nothing, they seek success and material gain, and they never share Christ with the lost. And yet these same people who the church has pronounced as “saved” simply by accepting them as “members” are not being chastened by God at all. Most of them are well fed and satisfied western patriots who enjoy their church and live as somewhat moral unbelievers and yet endure no chastening at all. That, my friends, is a very frightening scenario which has alarming implications, or at least it should alarm us. But since the pulpits rain down assurances without any conditions these kinds of people feel no conviction at all.

Think about what has happened. The place we call heaven, the place where God dwells, has been used by the evil one to deceive millions. Eternal life must never be downplayed or minimized at all. It is the supreme gift of God through Jesus Christ. That is without question. But when the faith has become almost solely about making heaven and with following Christ here and now as an aside, then the teaching about heaven becomes a deception. And millions of people who want to go to heaven punch their ticket without counting the cost because most gospel presentations have no cost in them whatsoever. This is not what Jesus taught at all.

Let us be clear though. Jesus paid it all. No one can add or subtract from the redemption that was bought and paid for and finished by Christ at Golgotha. His resurrection openly revealed Who He was and what He had accomplished. Human works are not only irrelevant as it pertains to the blood that was shed, but if human works are added it poisons the gospel. But here is where there is a sacred and fine line. The Author of eternal redemption presents a far different picture of saving faith than does the church today.

Today one prayer spoken by a sinner who has been affected by music and adept altar workers is considered air tight. And after this sinner repeats a scripted prayer he is automatically given assurance that he is saved and on his way to heaven. And there is also a well orchestrated push to have him agree to be baptized. It is an incredible assembly line technique that puts Eli Whitney to shame. The church is so concerned with growth and buildings and budgets that it has by necessity constructed and evangelism which is streamlined and designed to close the deal quickly, effortlessly, and have sinners become members and givers. It is a western technique to be sure which cannot be found anywhere among the teachings of the Savior.

What altar worker says to someone who responds to a well oiled invitation process, “Have you counted the cost?” No, the object is to have that sinner say a prayer, fill out a card, and agree to be baptized and during that process give him full assurance. And that sinner gets the impression that he is now on his way to heaven and from here on out he can slide into being just like the rest of the church. Cost? Sacrifice? Self denial? Repentance? Who are we kidding? He has punched his ticket to heaven and if he begins to tithe, well then he is a true disciple.

But this is a very dangerous and diabolical church culture in which we live. I do not suggest we put sinners on a one year probation before they can get baptized. There is no Biblical time frame. However there are some clear admonitions concerning true believers and followers of the Lord Jesus. And we have millions of professing believers who join churches because of the loaves and fishes while others want earth and heaven as well. And the visible church has become a ecclesiastical business that captures sinners, quickly teaches them the ropes, and consumes them into the general assembly to dwell within the ranks of the unremarkable devotees of a western religion.

But the carrot continues to be heaven. What a convoluted mess! Heaven should be a great and wonderful teaching of the church. But when it becomes the exclusive target without presenting what it truly means to follow Jesus then heaven becomes an idol. That is a heartbreaking reality. Jesus is Lord not a Santa Claus. He paid for heaven and through faith it is a free gift, however exercising faith in Christ involves more than mumbling a few words. There is sacred bond between faith and works, and faith alone is not genuine faith. It is a fraud and that kind of fraudulent faith is being perpetuated upon the masses.

The American church has been built upon earthly material blessings and a promise of heaven without any hint of self denial and sacrifice. That is a fraud. When hordes of people can join churches and still live the American dream it publicly and Biblically renders that church as a religious institution without Christ. And millions of evangelical church members place their heads on their pillows at night content with the notion that their heaven ticket has been punched. After all, their adulterous hireling has given them that assurance. But in the end I fear millions upon millions will find their eternal souls were at risk all the while.

These are indeed perilous time in which we live. And the whiles of the devil are more sinister and potent than we could have ever imagined. We recognize deception when it comes in the form of redefining Jesus, or salvation by works, or another form of Scripture, but could we ever have imagined that heaven would be used to deceive millions? God help all of us…

II Cor.13: ⁵ Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?