Raised By Grace

Do Not Set Your Mind On Fleshly Things

2011-03-20T04:02:00.007-04:00

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." ~ Rom 8:5-8

How often today do we see these Word of Faith, Health, Wealth & Prosperity preachers doing exactly what this passage of Scripture tells us not to do. They whip their flocks up into a frenzie, into a hypnotic like trance, and convince them that it is God's will that they give as much of their money to them as possible. They tell their congregations that God will bless them a hundred fold above whatever they give. So these people belive it and rush to empty their wallets while these "preachers" go laughing all the way to the bank.

I often ask myself, "how can these people be so blind?" "How can they not see that these preachers are getting richer while they continue to get poorer?" I'm stunned to watch video's of this stuff and see these charlitans on TV just marching forward, unabated, chasing after material wealth so they can live according to the flesh - all in the name of Jesus of course.

Its amazing how much Satan has blinded the minds and hearts of so many in the Charismatic movement. It seems as if the whole movement is based on minds set on things of the flesh while claiming its all done in the name of Christ. It seems as if they make gods or idols out of everything. They chase after miracles, they chase after prophecies, they chase after money, they chase after health, they even chase after angels. They seem to chase after everything except the one true thing they should be chasing after - the Lord Jesus Christ. And, what's most frightening of all, as we get very near the Lord's return, is that their leaders seem to be getting more and more bold with their false doctrines, blatently stepping outside the bounds of Scripture and claiming things the Bible just does not say or completely denying things it does say. For example, many of them are running around and unashamedly claiming that we are little god's. Please find that for me in Scripture!

The thing I tell well meaning Christians when they ask me about these things is that the way of righteousness is a very narrow path. If you just stick with Scripture you'll never be led astray; you'll never go wrong. All this extra Biblical stuff is nothing more than doctrines of demons meant to empower man and deminish Christ. But I guess that's why people are so quick to abandon Scripture. They say it's dry or boing and they need something more exciting.

There's 2 things Scripture does that will benefit every believer:

1) Scripture makes sure that man is put in his place. It reveals man's sinfulness and how much he's fallen short of God's glory. It talks about the fact that there is no one who is righteous, no not one and that the wages of sin is death. Unfortunately, in todays fast food economy, people don't want to hear the truth about themselves. They'd rather heap up teachers who will tickle their itching ears and make them feel all warm and fuzzy about themselves instead of warning them to flee the wrath to come.

2) Scripture exalts Christ above all else. It reveals that all things were created by Him and for Him and that He is preeminent over everything including angels. What's so amazing about that? The amazing thing is that while we were yet sinners, dispising our very creator, He got up and laid down His crown and His royal robes and humbled Himself and became a man. He lived a perfect life in our place thereyby fulfilling the law of God for us. Then He willingly paid our fine by laying down His life on the cross and taking upon Himself the very wrath of God so that His righteousness could be transferred to our accounts and we could receive the gift of eternal life. Now that's an amazing Savior, that's an amazing Lord and King.

When we see these things in Scripture we should not feel exalted like we accomplished something great and now God owes us salvation. Instead we should be very humbled because we are so unworthy. We should stand amazed that the Master's love is so great for His elect that He would lay down His life for those who hate Him. And yet here we have these Word of Faith, H W & P preachers running around chasing after material things that will be here today and gone tomorrow. They chase after things of straw that will one day burn up in the fires of judgement. The sad thing is that there are so many who follow them to their own destruction. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

Without a doubt we need to pray for those who are caught up in this finely weaved web of deceit. They somehow must have their blinders removed so they can see the truth, repent of their sin and turn to the only one who can save them - our great King Jesus. To Him be the glory!

The Beginning of Birth Pangs

2011-03-05T11:32:00.003-05:00

“See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:4-8)

So do you think we are getting any closer to the end times? Major earthquake and Tsunami in Japan today. Major earthquake in Hati last year. Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Tsunami in Indonesia in December 2004. Four Hurricanes hit Florida in 2004. I think there can be little doubt by any discerning Christian that what is happening today are things clearly referenced in Scripture.

Without a doubt, the words of Jesus seem to be ringing true more and more with each passing year. And as frightening as these things can be in these last days, we must take comfort in knowing that God is Sovereign and in control. One of the greatest things about being a child of God is that we can always turn to Him in prayer when chaos breaks out.

As I write this, the nation of Japan is being crushed with a giant Tsunami and many aftershocks which continue to wreak havoc on that country. The number of people killed and injured won't be fully known for quite a while. My heart breaks for the people of Japan because it is not really a Christian nation and I truly fear for those who have been killed. May the Lord be glorified in this disaster by opening up avenues for the Gospel to go forth amid the destruction and may a great awakening happen throughout that whole country.

God's Sovereign Grace

2010-12-31T11:07:00.003-05:00

I've recently been reading John MacArthur's book, "The Gospel According To The Apostles" and came across a great section on Irresistible Grace that I thought I'd share with you. Pastor MacArthur does a great job of breaking down and showing how salvation is through God alone and we can effect none of it. He states:

"Don't misunderstand; we are not idle in the process. Nor does saving grace force people to believe against their will. That is not what irresistible grace means. Grace is not coercion. But by transforming the heart, grace makes the believer wholly willing to trust and obey.

Scripture makes clear that every aspect of grace is God's sovereign work. He foreknows and foreordains the elect (Rom. 8:29), calls the sinner to Himself (Rom. 8:30), draws the soul to Christ (John 6:44), accomplishes the new birth (John 1:13; James 1:18), grants repentance (Acts 11:18), and faith (Rom. 12:3; Acts 18:27), justifies the believer (Rom. 3:24, 8:30), makes the redeemed holy (Eph. 2:10), and finally glorifies them (Rom. 8:30). In no stage of the process is grace thwarted by human failure, dependent on human merit, or subjugated to human effort. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" (Rom. 8:30-32). That's Grace.

Many people struggle with the concept of sovereign grace, but if God is not sovereign in the exercise of His grace, then it is not grace at all. If God's purposes were dependent on some self-generated response of faith or on human merit, then God Himself would not be sovereign, and salvation would not be wholly His work. If that were the case, the redeemed would have something to boast about, and grace wouldn't be grace (Rom. 3:27; Eph. 2:9)."

Speaking about being saved by grace, MacArthur continues by looking at God's actions in Ephesians 1: "Paul's central point was God's sovereignty in graciously saving the elect. He wrote that God chose us (v.4), predestined us (v.5), guaranteed our adoption (v.5), bestowed on us His grace (v.6), redeemed us (v.7), forgave us (v.7), lavished riches of grace on us (v.8), made known to us His will (v.9), obtained an inheritance for us (v.11), guaranteed that we would glorify Him (vv.11-12), saved us (v.13), and sealed us with the Spirit (vv.13-14). In short, He "has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (v.3). All of this was the work of His sovereign grace, performed not because of any good in us, but simply "according to the kind intention of His will" (v.5,cf. v.9) and "according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will" (v.11)."

Wow! What an amazing God we serve. God bless.

Scriptural Response To False Teachers

2010-08-08T13:33:00.003-04:00

I've been reading Walter Martins book, "Kingdom of the Occult." It is absolutely amazing to me how many cults have used the name of Jesus but twisted it to fit their own ideologies. There have been so many of these cults throughout the centuries its no wonder so many people are confused as to what to believe. Here are just a few of them:

The Ancient Magick Jesus

The Mystical Kabbalist Jesus

The Jupiter and Mars Jesus

The Full Moon Jesus

The Masonic Jesus

The Great White Brotherhood Jesus

The Sleeping Prophet Jesus

And there are dozens more. I'm not going to get into them now or what they all believed. Just suffice it to say that the Jesus they believed in was not at all the Jesus of the Bible.

We as a church need to do a much better job at teaching the truth of God's word to people so they know who the real Jesus Christ is and why He came. So what should our response be when we come across the doctrines of false teachers or false religions?

Our response should be Scriptural.

Jesus Christ, in the true essence of His being, cannot be changed by man's whimsical or capricious desires. The doctrine of Christ's immutability, which refutes all of man's changes to his nature, is clearly laid out in Hebrews 1:8-12

But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
11 they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
12 like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”

God, the Father, addressed these statements to Jesus Christ, His Son. He quoted Psalm 102:25-27 directly applying these words to His Son. He was saying that Jesus created the heavens and the earth, He remains, He is the same and He will never fail. These facts, coupled with Hebrews 12:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever," give ample support to the immutability of Christ's nature.

When those within the cults, the occult or any false religion reinterpret Jesus, they directly contradict Scripture.

"A Christian who understands Christology, as grounded in the new Testament texts, should have no difficulty exposing the errors of man's twisted Jesus. There is only one true Jesus, so any "other Jesus" must be labeled false. (Galatians 1:6-9). In crafting their corrupted image of Him, these false teachers betray themselves and reveal that they know nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ." - Walter Martin

Although Christians differ on many lesser doctrines there are a few core doctrines that one must absolutely believe if he considers himself to be a follower of Jesus Christ:

There is only one God who exists and there are no others.

Jesus Christ has always existed from eternity past and always will exist.

Jesus Christ is God. He is the second person of the Trinity, wholly co-equal, co-substantial and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit

He became God incarnate on Earth through the miraculous conception of the virgin Mary and was declared Lord and Christ at His birth.

Jesus is the Christ, and no others can be "a Christ." He lived a sinless life. He vicariously atoned for our sins through His death upon the Cross. He rose from the dead in the same body as was crucified, yet it rose as a glorified immortal body. He ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of the glory of God. He will personally return for His Church in the same manner in which He left.

The Bible explicitly teaches that no gods exist except the true and living God. Deuteronomy 6:4 states, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the LORD is one!" Isaiah added that no God existed before or after Him, "Before Me there was not God formed, nor shall there be after Me." (43:10). The psalmist expressed the same doctrine in Psalm 86:10, "You alone are God." Since occultists and false teachers often portray Jesus as one among many gods, then we can rest assured in the biblical testimony that there is only one God.

(Taken from Walter Martin's book, Kingdom of the Occult)

What is True Saving Faith

2010-07-08T11:12:00.003-04:00

So you want to be a Christian? Maybe you feel you'd just like to give this Jesus thing a try and see if its for you. After all these "christians" seem to be having all kinds of fun in their big churches and their sure does seem to be a lot of money floating around. So, you think, maybe this Christianity stuff won't be to bad. It looks easy and even fun. Right? Wrong.

If you want to be a Christian. A true Christian. Not like the false teachers you see no TV. I'm talking about a real true born again believer, you must:
"Transfer the ownership of all that you are and all that you have to all that He is." - Steve Lawson

What does this mean?

It means, "your life is no longer your life, it is His life. Your time is no longer your time, it is His time. Your possessions are no longer your possessions they are His possessions. Your future is no longer your future, it is His future for you. Your treasure is no longer your treasure, it is His treasure."

You cannot buy these terms of peace with your money because you don't have enough money. Instead, it is purchased with the total complete surrender of your life to Christ." -- Steve Lawson

This is what true Christianity is all about. Are you ready?

Why Abortion Is Always The Wrong Choice!

2010-07-02T00:14:00.004-04:00

Here is a great testimony from Rebecca Kiessling a woman conceived in rape. But praise God her birth mother was unable to get an abortion and so now Rebecca is able to be an advocate for Pro-Life and the saving of the unborn. See the video below as she gives a great and moving testimony.

NOTE: If you receive an error message while trying to view the video, double click on it and you can watch it from YouTube.

The Bible - The Mind of God

2010-07-01T21:33:00.003-04:00

If you've never read the Bible, you really need to. Did you ever wonder what's in the Bible. If you'd like to know, just read it. The video below gives a great 2 minute briefing as to what is contained in the Bible.

The Sufficiency of Christ

2010-06-20T22:58:00.002-04:00

TurningPoint Community Church

BFG Lesson

Colossians 2:8-15
6/20/2010

Prepared by Robert Moritz

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

v.8 - "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ."

I like the way this verse reads in the New King James version as it says, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men..."

Paul starts off this section of Scripture with a warning – the word BEWARE.

The word “beware” means to “Look out for” or to “be on guard against.” But what is Paul warning the Colossians to guard themselves against? “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit…”

Now that leads us to ask, What does he mean by “cheat?” The word cheat here means to take something from someone while they are unaware.

In other words they have trusted you with their life, their possessions, their reputation, whatever, and you go behind their back and take it for yourself or deliberately ruin their reputation.

Maybe they trust you with their money and then you tell them it is safe and properly invested. Then you turn around and take a vacation with their savings – can anyone say Bernie Madoff?? He cheated people out of billions of dollars.

Unfortunately, this happens all too often under the guise of Christianity too. This past week a friend of mine posted a video on FB, which I reposted, showing some false teachers from the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel fleecing their gullible parishioners out of all their hard earned money.

Now you may ask, “well why is that wrong? Aren’t we supposed to give cheerfully to the Lord’s work?” And of course the answer is yes sure we are.

But the problem here is motive. Remember, God looks at the motive of our hearts before He takes into account our actions. These people were not giving to help the poor or to further Gods kingdom work here on earth, they were giving expecting to received greater financial gain through their good deeds. Do you think God will bless this? Not likely.

These people were being fleeced out of their money to make these false teachers rich. Two very sad things about this:

1) These people actually think this is what God wants, that He will bless this and that they will go to Heaven when they die. Unfortunately these poor deceived people are being led down the broad path to destruction.
2) Is the damage this kind of foolishness does to the name of Christ. The lost world watches this stuff and wrongly concludes that this is what Christianity is all about and they decide they want no part of that nonsense. And who could blame them? Then when they do hear the real Gospel truth they just reject it out of hand believing they have seen that Jesus thing and it’s a bunch of wacko’s giving all their money to a couple of rich preachers.

Well, moving on in v.8, Paul also tells the Colossians to beware of philosophies of the world that are according to the traditions of men and the basic principles of this world and not according to Christ. (NKJ)

If you recall in our introductory lesson I mentioned that not only was Colossea influenced by the Gnostics who taught an empty philosophy of having a supposed “higher” knowledge to attain salvation, but hey also had quite a large Jewish population and their Christian faith was becoming intertwined with Rabbinical law.

John MacArthur says, “Far from being advanced profound knowledge, the false teachers beliefs were simplistic and immature like all the rest of the speculations, ideologies, philosophies and psychology the fallen satanic and human system invents.”

But Paul is saying to the Colossians that they don't need any of this external stuff. That they don't need any of these Jewish ceremonies or rituals. He's saying that Christ is sufficient!

v.9 – “For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (ESV)

Basically here Paul just reiterates what he stated back in Chap 1:19 where he said, “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

Isn’t it neat how Paul constantly brings his readers back to Christ? By this one verse alone there’s no mistaking that Jesus is God.

Look at what its saying here – ‘In Christ the “whole Fullness” of deity’ – You can’t get much more 100% than that.
- Does what? Dwells – Dwells how? Bodily – Meaning in the very body, the very person of Christ. Jesus Is God!!! That’s the message Paul is trying to convey here.

This is a very effective answer to the various forms of Gnosticism that were developing in Paul’s day that denied the Lordship of Jesus.

Its also an effective answer to the many cults of our day that also deny the deity of Christ – (the JW, Mormons, Christian Science) just to name a few.

One writer states, “This verse contains 2 distinct assertions: 1) That the fullness of the Godhead eternally dwells in Christ and 2) That the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him, bodily; In the flesh.

Some of the cults I just mentioned will even admit that some form of divinity did dwell in Jesus. Or that He was a lesser type of God. But with this one verse Paul completely and utterly destroys that argument. This verse is identifying all the fullness of the Godhead as being in Christ, in his manhood, in His person.

V. 10 – "And you have been filled in Him who is the head of all rule and authority."

So here we see Paul changing course a little bit – from God to man. He goes from talking about the Godhead dwelling fully in Christ proving that Christ is God, to showing how believers are filled in Him and how he is the Head over all rule and authority.

What Paul is doing here is trying to impress upon his readers that all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ as well as the perfect standing they have in him.

Of course this does not mean that we as believers are indwelt by all the fullness of the Godhead. The only one for whom that will ever be true is Christ alone.

It also does not mean that just because we are filled in Him that we will never sin again. Unfortunately in this world the old sin nature is alive and well.

What this verse does teach though is that the believer has in Christ all that is needed for life and Godliness.

Spurgeon gives a good definition of our completeness in Christ. He says we are:

1) Complete without the aid of Jewish ceremony
2) Complete without the help of philosophy
3) Complete without the inventions of superstitions
4) Complete without human merit.

Paul then goes on to mention that this ONE in whom we are complete is also the Head of all principality and power.

Remember back when we were studying 1John and I discussed at length what Gnosticism was? I said that they believed you had to attain a higher form of consciousness in order to be saved. And how they denied the humanity of Jesus because they believed and were teaching that all flesh was evil, therefore God could never take on human form?

Well another thing the Gnostics were caught up in was the subject of angels. Paul mentions this later in this chapter in v. 18. Now Dustin is going to be teaching on this section next week and I don’t want to steal his thunder but I just want to take a look at this one verse for a minute.

So looking at verse 18 Paul says, “Let no one keep defrauding you...” See, people want to attack the truth, the simplicity in Christ. They want to attack it with philosophy. They want to attack it with legalism. And they want to attack it with mysticism.

And there are those who get involved in worshiping angels. This stuff goes on even today. Roman Catholicism has been involved in that, in fact there is a whole section in their theology on the veneration of angels. Somehow you can transcend this life and touch the throne of God by connecting with angels.

John MacArthur speaks of a Charismatic woman who said that their plane was wobbling coming into Chicago one night and she looked out the window and there was a big angel holding up one wing. And so this makes her somehow transcendent. This is a woman who’s got a mystical experience. This stuff can be very intimidating to us poor people who are counting on nothing but Christ. He mentions another woman who once said to him, "I don’t really care what the Bible says, I just know what Jesus told me.” Boy, that’s a bizarre statement. You don’t care what the Bible says, you know what Jesus told you? The whole Bible is about nothing else. It lives and breaths Christ!

Evangelicalism is filled with people being defrauded by false visions. Also he says in verse 18, “these people become puffed up without reason by their sensuous mind.” You get proud. And if you ever watch these Charismatic preachers on TV its hard to miss their pride. I mean they are just bubbling over with it. They are full of self importance. They would have to think that they are important if God is speaking to them every day and Jesus stops in and says hello all the time.

I think in some ways, and I’m not trying to pick on people, but I watch these televangelists and I think if there’s anything about them that is hard for me to accept, it is their pride. It’s just over the top sense of importance, self-importance. I mean, you must think you’re pretty important if God talks to you just about every day. Gives you visions, revelations, sends angels to do all these things. All of a sudden Christ isn’t the issue anymore, you are, with all your visions and all your mystical experiences. You cannot exalt Christ and you at the same time, it doesn’t work.

So watch those who want to exalt mystical supposed supernatural experiences that are nothing more than the imaginations of their own mind, designed in many cases to manipulate people into thinking they are some great ones from God and thereby making them, in many cases, wealthy.

We must remember that Christ is head over all the angelic beings, and it would be ridiculous to be occupied with angels when we can have the Creator of angels as the object of our affections and enjoy communion with Him.

v.11 - "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,"

Here Paul talks about circumcision which the Judaizers were trying to say had to be done, physically, in order for you to be accepted by Christ. In other words they were adding to salvation by grace alone. Paul however, is talking about a spiritual circumcision. One made without hands.

Spiritually, it signified death to the flesh, or a putting aside of the evil, corrupt unregenerate nature of man. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold, new things have come." This is the kind of circumcision Paul is referring to.

If you are a true believer in Christ you have been circumcised spiritually, you have been made a new creation and this is true of everyone who has put his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.

When Paul mentions "the circumcision of Christ" he is referring to His death on the cross of Calvary. That when Jesus died, we as believers also died - to sin, to the law and to self.

v.12 – "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

Paul now turns from circumcision to baptism. Just as circumcision speaks of death to the flesh, baptism speaks of the burial of the old self. Being buried with Christ in His death. This of course happens spiritually when we are first saved. But we then express it publicly by going into the baptismal waters.

Baptism represents the burial of all that we were as children of Adam. In baptism we are acknowledging that nothing in ourselves could ever please God, and so we are putting the flesh out of God's sight forever. But it doesn't end there. The great news is that we have also risen with Him to walk in newness of life.

V.13 - "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,"

Here Paul is telling the Colossians pretty much the same thing he told the Ephesians that you were dead in your trespasses. Turn to Eph 2 - Read 1-3 Of course the death Paul is talking about here is not physical death but spiritual death. Spurgeon puts it this way:

"The kind of death here spoken of is spiritual death,—death as to higher things than can be grasped by the hand, or seen with the eye, or comprehended by the natural mind. Only the spiritual man knows what spiritual things are, for they have to be spiritually discerned. We cannot teach spiritual things to our fellow-men, because, until they are born again, born from above, they do not possess the faculty with which they can grasp spiritual things. Our Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh,"—and therefore can only lay hold of the things that are fleshly;—"and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" and until a man is born of the Spirit, he is without the faculty of understanding and enjoying spiritual things. As far as spiritual things are concerned, man's understanding is dead. He can comprehend the highest and most wonderful of sciences, but he cannot,—or, what is tantamount to it, he will not—understand the things of God."

So we as believers were all once spiritually dead and all once walked according to the flesh but now, as we saw earlier we have all, as believers, but on a new self and put off the old. We have become new creatures in Christ.

But Paul tells the Colossians as well at the Ephesians that before we were saved and made alive in Christ, we were all dead in our trespasses and sins. This means that because of their sins, they were spiritually dead toward God. It does not mean that their spirits were dead, but simply that there was no motion in their spirits toward God and there was nothing they could do to win God's favor.

v.14 - "by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."

In v. 14 Paul then tells the Colossians that God cancelled the record of our debt by nailing it to the cross. Meaning that when He nailed His son to the cross, the believers sin debt was paid in full.

The legal demands mentioned here refers to not only the 10 commandments but also all the Jewish ceremonial laws given to Israel. In the ceremonial law, there were all kinds of commandments with regard to holy days, foods, and other religious rituals. These were all a part of the prescribed religion of the Jews. They pointed forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus. They were shadows of His Person and His work.

In His death on the cross, He took all this out of the way, nailing it to the cross and canceling it as a bill is canceled when the debt is paid. As one theologian put it, “By the death of Christ on the cross, the law which condemned men lost its penal authority, inasmuch as Christ by His death endured for man the curse of the law and became the end of the law.”

“The law is not dead, but we have died to the law.”

V. 15 – "He disarmed the rulers and authorities [2] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."

This verse talks about Jesus’ death being, not defeat, but victory and in so being He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame.

Just think what that must have been like. Here Satan and his demons think they have humiliated and killed the Son of God. And then all of a sudden He arises from the dead and ascends into heaven and all authority is given to Him.

His death, burial and resurrection and ascension were a glorious triumph over all the hosts of hell and of Satan. As He passed up through the atmosphere on His way back to Heaven, He passed right through the very domain of the one who is the prince of the power of the air.

Conclusion

Without a doubt the Gospel is woven all throughout this epistle. And what is the Christian Gospel? Listen to the words of John MacArthur as he beautifully captures the essence of this letter to the Colossians.

“The Christian Gospel is simply this: All the answers you need for time and eternity are in Christ. All the answers for your soul, all the answers for your sin, all the answers for your hope for the life to come, they're all in Christ and only in Christ. There is no other authority in the Bible, there is no other Savior than Jesus Christ and you will find everything you could ever desire or need in Him. That's why, again going back to Colossians 2 and verse 10, "In Him you have been made complete."

We often think today that Christ is a part of our lives. He's maybe an important part but not all. We need Christ plus philosophy...we need Christ plus psychology...we need Christ plus ritual...Christ plus ceremony...Christ plus some miraculous experience or Christ plus some mystical intuition...or Christ plus some bodily self-denial or immolation. We need to do something to hurt ourselves in order to gain merit with God, or we need to do something to transcend this world to have some kind of mystical experience to really know God, or something like that. Or somehow we need to have an angelic visitation, or somehow we need to live a life of conformity to certain ceremonies and certain rituals. But the Bible says its all in Christ and its all in knowing Christ.

This whole epistle, really focuses on Him because if you go back to chapter 1 verse 13 it says, “He delivered us from the domain of darkness,” that is, God did, “and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved son.” Everybody lives in a kingdom. Everybody has a king. There are two possible kingdoms, two possible kings. You can live under king Satan, or King God. You can live in the kingdom of darkness, or you can live in the Kingdom of light. You can live in the kingdom of evil, or the kingdom of righteousness. God by His grace delivers us from the kingdom of darkness, the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son.

And when you come into the knowledge of Christ and he becomes your King, that’s how you enter His kingdom and immediately the Bible says you have redemption, you are brought back from judgment. You are bought back from punishment. You are bought back from hell because Christ paid the price. You have the forgiveness of sins, all the sins you have ever or will ever commit are forgiven because their penalty was paid by the death of Christ. Everything comes down to Christ, everything! It was through him that sinners are reconciled to God. It was through Him that we are transformed and converted and regenerated and born again. Everything comes through Him.

By His stripes we are healed.

God bless

A Spurgeon Devotional - June 18, 2010

2010-06-18T21:06:00.002-04:00

Vile Ingratitude

"Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations." Ezekiel 16:1-2

God gives His people riches, and they offer them before the shrine of their covetousness. He give them talent, and they prostitute it to the service of their ambition. He give them judgement, and they pander to their own advancement, and seek not the interest of His kingdom. He give them influence; that influence they use for their own aggrandisement, and not for His honor.

This is like taking His gold, and His jewels, and hanging them upon the neck of the god Ashtaroth. Ah! Let us take care when we think of our sins, that we set them in this light. It is taking God's mercies to lavish them upon his enemies.

Now, if you were to make me a present of some token of your regard, I think it would be the meanest and most ungracious thing in the world I could do to take it over to your enemy and say, "There, I come to pay my respects." To pay my respects to your foe with that which had been the token of your favor.

There are two kings at enmity with one another - two powers that have been at battle, and one of them has a rebellious subject, who is caught in the very act of treason, and condemned to die. The king very graciously pardons him, and then munificently endows him. "There," says he, "I give you a thousand crown-pieces;" and that man takes the bounty, and devotes it to increasing the resources of the king's enemies.

Now, that were a treason and baseness too vile to be committed by worldly men. Alas then! That is what you have done. You have bestowed on God's enemies what God gave to you as a love-token. Oh, men and brethren, let us bow ourselves in dust and ashes before God.

For Meditation: Is a readiness to use God's gifts selfishly the reason why He appears to say "No" to so many of your prayer-requests? (James 4:3-4)

Memorial Day 2010 - A Tribute

2010-05-31T07:54:00.002-04:00

Just a humble thank you to all our brave men and women who have served our great country and continue to serve, and to all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Also to the families who have selflessly given their loved ones in the defense of freedom.

THANK YOU!!!

Its because of all of you that we can all sleep peaceably at night and have the freedoms to live our lives free from tyranny.

May God bless you all, and may God bless America!!!

Although this last video was made for Veterans Day, I believe it certainly speaks for Memorial Day as well.

A Spurgeon Devotional - May 28, 2010

2010-05-28T22:51:00.004-04:00

The Teaching of the Holy Spirit

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

The Holy Spirit specially teaches to us Jesus Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who manifests the Savior to us in the glory of His person; the complex character of His manhood and of His deity; it is He who tells us of the love of His heart, of the power of His arm, of the clearness of His eye, the preciousness of His blood, and of the prevalence of His plea.

To know that Christ is my Redeemer, is to know more than Plato could have taught me. To know that I am a member of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones; that my name is on His breast, and engraved on the palms of His hands, is to know more than the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge could teach to all their scholars.

Not at the feet of Gamaliel did Paul learn to say - "He loved me, and gave himself for me." Not in the midst of the rabbis, or at the feet of the members of the Sanhedrin, did Paul learn to cry - "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." No this must have been taught as he himself confesses - not of flesh and blood, but of the Holy Spirit.

I need only hint that it is also the Spirit who teaches us our adoption. Indeed, all the privileges of the new covenant, beginning from regeneration, running through redemption, justification, pardon, sanctification, adoption, preservation, continual safety, and unto abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ - all is the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

For Meditation: The Holy Spirit exercises a perfect teaching ministry (1 John 2:27); how good a pupil (disciple) are you?

Rob

The Preeminence of Christ

2010-05-23T22:15:00.007-04:00

Turning Point Community Church

BFG Lesson

5/23/2010

Colossians 1:15-20

“The Preeminence of Christ”

Verse 15

In this incredible section of Scripture, Paul set forth the absolute supremacy and Lordship of the Second Person of the Trinity. Previously (vv. 13-14) the apostle had announced that, through this One (Jesus), God the Father had rescued believers from the “domain of darkness” and fully redeemed and forgiven them according to His great mercy. Here in these verses the nature and identity of this Savior and Lord are more fully revealed. Paul employed two major claims regarding Jesus:

First that Jesus is the “Image of the invisible God.” And second that He is the “first born of all creation.”

• First, Jesus is “the image of the invisible God”—The use of the word “image” conveys the truth that Jesus is the only perfect representation and revelation of God to men. This is the same idea that is expressed in other passages such as Hebrews 1:3—“He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” To say such a thing about Jesus was to claim nothing less than His full divinity and unique role as the visible expression of God. The words of the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) are especially clear on this same point, declaring Jesus to be “God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.”

• Secondly, Paul stated that Jesus is the “first-born of all creation”—This phrase is speaking of the preeminence of Jesus over all of creation. The use of the term “first-born” expresses the special place of priority occupied by Jesus, somewhat like the status enjoyed by the first-born sons in Jewish families. However, the difference here is that the Son, being co-eternal with the Father, had no beginning and, therefore, His status and place of privilege is infinitely greater. Scripture teaches us that Christ was eternally begotten of the Father and not created. That He is the “first-born” manifests the truth that He is the Lord and King of “all creation.”

Now, some false teachers, as you can imagine, will take this verse completely out of context and suggest that the Lord Jesus is Himself a created being and therefore in no way could He be God.

Although, false teachers use verse 15, (especially in the KJV) to teach that Jesus was a created being, error can usually be refuted from the very passage of Scripture which the cultists use. That is certainly the case here.

Verse 16

Verse 16 clearly states that the Lord Jesus is not a creature, but the very Creator.
This passage teaches us that Christ created all things.

Pastor Roy at Riverbend Community Chruch, preaching on this very passage states, “That the word “created” comes from a Greek term, and the Greek term that is used here speaks of Direct Creation, producing something out of nothing. The Latin uses this word Xlahlo to speak of this as well.

Christ did not invent something that had already existed in its parts. He created something that was not in existence. And He did this by the word of His mouth. This is the mighty power of Christ.

In fact the whole Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit were engaged in creation. We know this because the book of Genesis says, ‘let Us make man in our image.’ So we see the whole Godhead involved in this creation. So the word ‘created’ here means to create out of nothing, to make something that did not previously exist.

This is unlike scientists today who run around saying, “I created this,” or “we created that.” The truth is they created nothing. Because, they started with something, a material element of some kind. Its like the story of God and the scientist.

‘There was a group of scientists, and they were all sitting around discussing which one of them was going to go to God and tell him that they didn’t need him anymore.

‘One of the scientists volunteered and went to tell God he was no longer needed. The scientist says to God: “God, you know, a bunch of us have been talking, and we’ve come to realize that we don’t need you anymore.

I mean, we’ve been coming up with great theories and ideas, we’ve cloned sheep, and we’re on the verge of cloning humans. So as you can see, we really don’t need you.”

‘God nods understandingly and says, “I see. Well ok, but
before you go, let’s have a contest. What do you think?”
‘The scientist says, “Sure. What kind of contest?”
‘God replies, “A human-making contest where we make a human being.” ‘The scientist quickly agrees, “Sure! No problem.”
‘The scientist bends down and picks up a handful of dirt and says, “Okay, I’m ready!” ‘God shakes His divine head and says, “No, no, no…you go get your own dirt.”’ (Rev. Henry Stone)

You see, everything we have, from our bodies, to our clothes, to the food we eat – comes from God. Homes to hobbies, cars to kids, everything we have, every breath we take, comes from God. The truth is, we never had our own dirt.

We hear it at the beginning of Psalm 24.1-2: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” Hard to miss that phrase, isn’t it: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof – meaning, “everything in it.” God owns it all.

In verse 16, we learn that all things – the whole universe – was created not only by Him but through Him and for Him. Each of these prepositions conveys a different thought.

First of all we read that “by Him all things were created.” Here the thought is that the power to create is in His being. He was the Architect. Later in the verse we learn that all things were created through Him. This speaks of Him as the Agent in creation. He is the Person of the Godhead through whom the creative act was performed.

Also, all things were created for Him. He is the One for whom all things were created, the very goal of creation. So Paul stresses here that the creation exists for the glory and sovereign purposes of Christ. Meaning, Jesus is the very goal of creation. “Everything exists with a view to His glory, and so is subservient to His eternal purpose”. A similar point is made by Paul in Romans 11:36—“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.”

The Gnostics taught that there were various ranks and classes of spirit beings between God and matter, and that Christ belonged to one of these classes. In our day the Spiritists claim that Jesus Christ is an advanced spirit of the sixth sphere. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that before our Lord came into the world, He was a created angels and none other than the Archangel Michael!

Here Paul vigorously refutes such absurd notions by stating in the clearest possible terms that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of angels – in fact of all beings whether visible or invisible.

John MacArthur states: “He is the precise copy, reproduction, and replica of God, He is the very substance and essence of God, He is the radiance of God's shining glory in human form. That's why He could say in John 14:9, "If you've seen Me you've seen the Father."

This means that Jesus was the originator, designer, and agent of creation. This verse stresses the fact that “Jesus conceived of creation and its complexities. Creation was His idea”. Paul made it clear for his readers that the creation in its totality, including the “heavens”—the invisible world of spiritual beings—and the “earth”—the visible, physical world—were brought into existence by Christ, through Christ and for Christ.

Verse 17

In verse 17 Paul tells us that Christ is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” An interesting thing to note here is that Paul states, He is before all things,” not He was before all things.”

The present tense is often used in the Bible to describe the timelessness of Deity. The Lord Jesus said for instance: “Before Abraham was, I AM.” This of course is speaking in the present tense – He still IS. He didn’t say, “before Abraham was, I was.”

Not only did the Lord Jesus exist before there was any creation, but also “in Him all things consist.” Or “hold together.” This means, not only did He create the universe and everything in it but He is also the Sustainer of the universe. He controls the stars, the sun and the moon.

The Universe

The whole universe, the whole kosmos, was made by Jesus Christ. I mean, just think about that for a minute. Its mind boggling. The sun is inconceivably massive. The sun is 93 million miles away. If you could bore a hole in the sun and start dumping a bunch of earths into it, you could put 1,200,000 earths in it and still have room for 4,300,000 moons. And, get this, the nearest star, Alpha Centuri, is five times bigger than our sun.

Beetljuice, no not the movie. Betelgeuse (alpha Orionis) is the second-brightest star in the constellation Orion and one of the brightest stars in the sky. It is a supergiant star, reddish in color, and over 600 million miles in diameter (almost 1,000 times bigger than the sun). If Betelgeuse were at the center of our Solar System, it would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter. It is 520 light-years from Earth. Its actually a distance that is measured in quad-drillions miles away. I have no idea how far that is but I’m guessing its pretty far. Its further than California. Now that is a big star!

Now consider this. Even while Jesus was here on earth, in human form, He was still holding the universe together in the palm of His hand. He was still the one who was controlling the laws by which our universe functions in an orderly manner. That is just a mind blowing thought.

Verse 18

Paul now changes focus a little bit here in verse 18. He goes from Christ the Creator of all things to Christ the Head of the body the church.

As we know, the head is the part of the body that controls all things. Its where our thoughts and knowledge and wisdom lie. The church is like a body and Christ is its head.

Certainly all the thought processes are contained in our heads, in our minds and those thought processes are what give us direction to all that we think, say and do. And that simply illustrates the fact that Christ is the source of all truth, all knowledge, all wisdom, all growth and all guidance in His church. He is the head of the church.

Secondly, he says He is the beginning. He is the beginning of the church. The church is the creation of Christ. He is the source of its existence.

In addition to being head of the body, Paul declared that Jesus is “the beginning, the first-born from the dead.” Having been raised from the dead never to die again, Christ enjoys the supreme position as Lord over life and death itself. With this announcement, Paul made it clear that “Jesus entered the world of sinners, endured their punishment, and rose victorious. Thus, in Christ, there is a new order of existence. It is a resurrection existence.”

Now, we must be careful here to emphasize that this does not mean that the Lord Jesus was the first to rise from the dead. There were cases of resurrection in the OT as well as in the NT. But the Lord Jesus was the first to rise from the dead with a glorified body. And he rose as the Head of a new creation – the church.

The purpose of the resurrection—“that in everything he might be preeminent.”—was to make it explicitly clear that Jesus was and is exactly whom He claimed to be. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:4, the resurrection was the mechanism by which Jesus was declared “with power” to be the eternal “Son of God” and King of the universe.

All this to show that the Lord Jesus has a double preeminence – first in creation, and then in the church. God has decreed that in all things HE may have the preeminence. What an answer this is to those who, in Paul’s day, and in ours as well, would seek to rob Christ of his deity, and to make of Him only a created being.

As we read, “that in all things He may have the preeminence,” it is only proper that we ask ourselves, “Does He have the preeminence in my life??”

Verse 19

“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”

Here Paul continues to declare the identity of Jesus and, in particular, His work of redemption and reconciliation. Before speaking of His ministry to those alienated from God by sin, the apostle once more expresses Christ’s deity as the Son of God. Here Paul spoke of Jesus as the One in whom “all the fullness” of deity resides.

And, that this was due to the “Father’s good pleasure,” meaning that in eternity past, the Triune God determined that “the human Jesus would be God, sharing all the properties, characteristics, and prerogatives of God himself.” Thus, the One who, according to Philippians 2:8 was “found in appearance as a man,” was not one “merely endued in a special way with the Holy Spirit, but is rather the dwelling place of the very essence of God”

These ridiculous Gnostics were pumping out this stuff that God kept reproducing these emanations out of Himself one after another in an infinite long line. They were teaching that Christ was a kind of halfway point to God, a necessary link in the chain. But there were other, better links on ahead.

Paul says, NO! Christ is Himself the complete fullness of deity and at the Father’s good pleasure. In Him all the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell.

All the powers of deity, all the attributes of deity, verse 3 of chapter 2 says, "All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," verse 9 says, "All the fullness of deity." He is the fullness of God's essence, God's glory. And it's in Him and Him alone. And that is to say if somebody comes along after this and says, "I'm God," don't believe it. He needs no supplement. He has no rivals. There are no more revelations. It's in Him and Him alone that God has put all the fullness of His own deity because it pleased Him to do that.

Verse 20

In verse 20 we see that the One who took on human flesh is the One who came to “reconcile all things to Himself” by means of His very “blood” which was spilled on “His cross.” This highlights the fact that human sin has resulted in cosmic effects, not only alienating men from their creator, but also bringing the created order under the divine curse (cf. Rom. 8:20-22). Yet, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross decisively put an end to the power and destructive effects of human rebellion. By means of His violent death and bodily resurrection, Jesus “made peace” between God and men.

But why? Why did Christ come into the world? - To save sinners. To go to a cross, to shed His blood through death, to pay the price for sin in order that He might present you to God holy and blameless and beyond reproach. He came to gather a redeemed humanity to take back to God. He came to reconcile men and the whole universe to make peace where there was animosity between man and God. He came into the world to save sinners.

That's why He was to be called Jesus. He came to bring reconciliation between sinners and a holy God. He came to remove the curse of the universe and to reconcile the universe to its original intended created purpose. He came so that He might gather together men and women like you and like me and present them to God holy and blameless and beyond reproach. He came to save us from sin and bring us to God, to reconcile the lost. He took our flesh in Him that we might become holy as He is holy.

Although Christ’s reconciling work is sufficient for all mankind, it is only effective for those who avail themselves of it. Eventually all things will be reconciled, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

This refers to the animal creation, and to inanimate things that have been defiled by sin. However, it does not refer to Satan, to other fallen angels, or to unbelieving humans. Their eternal doom is clearly pronounced in the Scriptures.

Reconciliation is not said to extend to “things under the earth.” There is a difference between reconciliation and subjugation. The latter is described in Philippians 2:10, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth.”

All created beings, even fallen angels will eventually be compelled to bow to the Lord Jesus, but this does not mean they will be reconciled.

Unfortunately there is a false teaching out there that teaches a Universal salvation. Namely, that Satan himself, fallen angels, and unbelieving men will all be reconciled to God eventually. Verse 20 here in Colossians limits the extent of reconciliation by the phrase, “things on earth or things in heaven.” Things under the earth are not included.

Conclusion

One thing I want you to remember about this passage of Scripture and we’ll close with this – is a quote from John MacArthur that I think beautifully sums up this entire passage. He says:

Every one of those statements that is made from verse 15 through verse 20 is absolutely exclusive. They are true of Him (Christ) and nobody else. And the sum of them all is at the end of verse 18 where it says that He is to have the first-place in everything. No one else is the image of the invisible God, No one else can be the first-born of all creation. No one else can be the creator of things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible. No one else sits over the thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities. No one else is before all things and holds all things together. No one else is the head of the body, the church, the beginning, the first born. No one else has all the fullness of deity dwelling in Him to the pleasure of the Father. Those are all absolutely exclusive statements. And what they tell us is that Jesus Christ is utterly unique. There is no one like Him. He is beyond everyone else. He is infinitely beyond everyone else.”

So as we go about our daily lives this week lets remember to ponder the question: “Is Christ preeminent in my life today??”

God bless

Rob

A Spurgeon Devotional - May 14, 2010

2010-05-14T22:06:00.005-04:00

Thoughts On The Last Battle

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1 Corinthians 15:56-57

While the Bible is one of the most poetical of books, though its language is unutterably sublime, yet we must remark how constantly it is true to nature. There is no straining of a fact, no glossing over a truth.

However dark may be the subject, while it lights it up with brilliance, yet it does not deny the gloom connected with it. If you will read this chapter of Paul's epistle, so justly celebrated as a masterpiece of language, you will find him speaking of that which is to come after death with such exaltation and glory, that you feel, "If this be to die, then it were well to depart at once."

Who has not rejoiced, and whose heart has not been lifted up, or filled with a holy fire, while he has read such sentences as these: "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"

Yet with all that majestic language, with all that bold flight of eloquence, he does not deny that death is a gloomy thing. Even his very figures imply it. He does not laugh at it; he does not say, "Oh, it is nothing to die;" he describes death as a monster; he speaks of it as having a sting; he tells us wherein the strength of that sting lies; and even in the exclamation of triumph he imputes that victory not to unaided flesh, but he says, "Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

C.H. Spurgeon

For further Meditation: Death is no laughing matter, but for the Christian it need not be a crying matter either. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

2010-05-14T22:06:00.001-04:00

A Spurgeon Devotional

2010-05-13T09:43:00.003-04:00

A Psalm of Remembrance

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us." 1 John 4:16a

"Have you considered my servant Job?" "Ah," says Satan, "he serves you now, but you have set a hedge about him and blessed him, let me but touch him." Now he has come down to you, and he has afflicted you in your estate, afflicted you in your family, and at last he has afflicted you in your body. Shall Satan be the conqueror? Shall grace give way? O my dear brother, stand up now and say once more, once for all, "I tell you, Satan, the grace of God is more than a match for you; He is with me, and in all this I will not utter one word against the Lord my God.

He does all things well - well, even now, and I do rejoice in Him." The Lord is always pleased with His children when they can stand up for Him when circumstances seem to belie Him. Here come the witnesses into court. The devil says, "Soul, God has forgotten you, I will bring in my witness." First he summons your debts - a long bill of losses. "There," says he, "Would God suffer you to fall thus, if He loved you?" Then he brings in your children - either their death, or their disobedience, or something worse, and says, "Would the Lord suffer these things to come upon you, if He loved you?" At last he brings in your poor tottering body, and all your doubts and fears, and the hidings of Jehovah's face. "Ah," says the devil, "Do you believe that God loves you now?"

Oh, it is noble, if you are able to stand forth and say to all these witnesses, "I hear what you have to say, let God be true, and every man and everything be a liar. I believe none of you. You all say, God does not love me; but He does, and if the witnesses against His love were multiplied a hundredfold, yet still would I say, "I know whom I have believed."

C.H. Spurgeon - Sermon #253

Why Witchcraft?, Why Goddess Worship? A Scriptural Response

2010-05-02T16:39:00.005-04:00

I am currently reading "Kingdom of the Occult" by Dr. Walter Martin. A good portion of the book deals with Satanism and Witchcraft. Without a doubt there is a prolific increase in the acceptance of Neopaganism in our society today. But why is this? What is the lure that Witchcraft offers that so many are being drawn to this evil religion?

I'd like to share an excerpt with you from Walter Martin's book that attempts to explain why this is.

Rejection of the Church

"There is a rejection of a church divided between orthodoxy and anarchy, a church that wants only part of the substance and part of the form of the Gospel, with no real commitment to the authority of either. Contemplative prayer - with its New Age technique of emptying the mind - labyrinth walking, goddess worship, and countless other forms of mysticism have invaded the church in the twenty-first century as they did in the first. Deserting the defense of the faith in deference to a "seeker-sensitive" mentality has resulted in a church divided, with a "live and let live" worldview that opens the door to the invasion of God as "mother" theology - a legacy of Sophia. This is anarchy."

"There is also a desperate need for purpose, meaning and order in a mechanistic and technocratic world where the individual has been largely forgotten, and where corporate structure and thinking has degraded the value of an individual soul. Why are people turning to Witchcraft? They are drawn to it because it offers the freedom of individuality and the power to change the world around them. As Witches, they do not feel as if they are beating their heads and their hands bloody against power structures that appear to care very little about anything, except perpetuating themselves in power. This need for purpose, meaning and order in a mechanistic and technocratic society is certainly one of the primary reasons for a turn toward Witchcraft."

"Also, people are fascinated by the unknown and challenged by any attempt to know the future. This is why they study tarot cards; this is why they visit palm readers; and this is why astrology often gains a foothold in their lives. The power of Witchcraft fascinates because through it, people can reach out and know something about themselves, the person next to them and about their neighbors. They can exert authority and power over other people with this knowledge, and that is what Witchcraft offers to those who come looking for it."

What should the Christian attitude be?

So should we sit on the sidelines wringing our hands, quietly quoting Bible verses? Or do we learn the Biblical position and then take definitive action? It is this last response that must be our choice." We know what God's attitude toward mediums, psychics and all occultist's is. Moses details the warning of God in Deuteronomy 18:9-14

"When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this."

Another example of God's attitude toward Witchcraft is found in Acts 13:5-12 when the Apostle Paul encountered a male Witch.

"When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, 'You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.' Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord."

Witchcraft will always stand against the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no such thing as a friendly Witch when talking about the only path to salvation. Some Witches may be willing to talk about Christianity and Witchcraft from the perspective that modern Christians have wronged the Witches (as did the Old Testament prophets and the early church), but it is amazing how they suddenly become angry when it gets right down to the nitty-gritty of who Jesus Christ is and what the Christian Gospel is all about. Christ stands in judgment over them. He is no medium. He is no Witch. He is Sovereign Lord of all and they must obey Him - but they refuse to do so, for the source of their power is not Jesus Christ; the source of their power is the prince of darkness. That is why Witches will always oppose the Son of God.

Christ's Gospel is not negotiable

When this Witch withstood the Gospel, Paul did not negotiate on the defense of the faith. He did not say, 'I suggest we sit down and have a theological orientation on this subject...' No, the Apostles did not waste their time with the nonsense that ties up the church today. They knew precisely what to do when they were confronted with evil. they never found Jesus Christ's Gospel negotiable. NEVER!

When the Holy Spirit encounters Witches, there is only one outcome: The Witches come out on the short end of the broomstick. This happens every time, and the Christian must realize the power that is at our disposal; we must recognize the authority that has been conferred upon us as the children of God.

"Beloved, now we are children of god; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 1John 3:2

In Galatians 5:20, the Apostle Paul listed Witchcraft as one of the works of the flesh and warned the church not to practice it. It is no accident that God chooses to remind us that Witchcraft is forbidden. the people who play with Ouija boards and occult games and spells should take care. Witchcraft is one of the works of the flesh, listed among those things condemned by God, and those who practice them will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

But the good news in all this is that there is power in the blood of Christ. There is power in the Gospel. there is power in the Spirit that lives within the temple of the believer - power to touch the lives of the Witches and of all Neopagans - the kind of power that they fear, their masters fear, and from which Satan himself will flee. No force of evil in the universe is equal to that of a Christian on his or her knees.

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1John 4:4-5

The church of Jesus Christ has the priceless privilege of exposure to the message of God's grace and we are committed to the ministry of reconciliation. May the Lord give us the wisdom and the grace to realize that the Witches, and those who are dominated by Satan, are also souls who need to be saved from sin. Only Jesus Christ can bring them out of the authority of darkness and into His beloved kingdom. This is the true God. This is life eternal.

Paul Washer - Teaching On The Deity Of Christ

2010-04-05T19:48:00.003-04:00

Below is a short video series of Paul Washer, founder of Heart Cry Missionary Society, teaching a group of men entering into the ministry about the deity of Christ. A very good study. Enjoy.

Good Friday

2010-04-01T11:09:00.006-04:00

It is truly amazing what Jesus went through for us. That He would leave His throne and humble Himself and come down here to earth, live a perfect life in our place, something we could never do, fulfilling the law of God and then take upon Himself, willingly the incredible torture of wicked humanity and then the very wrath of God the Father upon the cross. All meant for us yet all placed upon Jesus. How can anyone say no to so great a salvation.

For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2Corinthians 5:21

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53:3-7

I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. Isaiah 50:6

All this was predicted about Christ hundreds of years before it even happened.

Below I've included a few videos of the beatings He took for us as well as being nailed to the cross. These video's are from the Passion of the Christ so they are very graphic. And as horrible as these videos portray Christ's beatings, Scripture tells us, (predicted), that He was beaten beyond recognition.

As many were astonished at you — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. Isaiah 52:14

WARNING: These scenes are from the movie "Passion of the Christ" and are very graphic. Please use discernment with young children.

Even as He's being nailed to the cross, Jesus cries out for the Father to forgive them. How much more should we forgive those who persecute us.

Isn't it awesome to know that in the end the enemy has been defeated. Jesus our Lord, has the last laugh. Tomorrow's post will be much more glorious. For HE IS RISEN!!

God bless

Rob

Does Every Religion Lead To Heaven?

2010-03-24T23:04:00.003-04:00

I was working out at the gym the other day when I struck up a conversation with one of the trainers who works there. He claimed he was a Christian and I thought how neat it would be to have fellowship with a fellow brother in Christ at the gym.

However, as we talked it became clear to me that he has actually bought into the prevailing lie taught in the many liberal churches in America today. He stated that he believes in Jesus but that he doesn't push his "religion" on anyone. If they are Jews, or Buddhists, or Hindu's or even Jehovah's Witnesses, everyone eventually finds their own way.

As these words were coming out of his mouth, I felt my heart begin to sink as I realized we did not worship the same Jesus. The Jesus I admire and love is the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus he professes to love is one of his imagination. As he continued talking my mind was screaming, "Don't you know what Jesus said?? That He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father but by Him??" "How can you call yourself a Christian and believe there are multiple ways to God?" "Don't you know that Scripture says, there is only one name under Heaven, given among men by which we must be saved?"

I know what you're thinking, didn't you say any of this to him? My answer is no; because he was talking about 100 words per second and was running to meet his next appt. So we shook hands and went our separate ways.

Then yesterday morning, I'm at the gym again and working out when one of the guys starts talking to me. I don't remember how it started but he mentioned something about God so I asked him what church he goes too. He goes to the Catholic church here in town. He then proceeded to tell me how he wished all Christians would just unite and not be so narrow minded and hung up on their doctrine.

After further dialog his main premise was that he just wanted everybody to get together, hold hands and sing kum ba ya. But at what cost? As I left the gym that day I couldn't help thinking about these two guys who think they are Christians but their faith is in the wrong place.

Satan has so effectively blinded the eyes and minds of people by counterfeiting God's truth with multiple false religions and cults that the undiscerning mind is unable to determine what is right and what is wrong.

In his book "The Kingdom of the Cults," Walter Martin states, "As the American Christian church enters the end of this century, ecumenicism has become a deadly cancer, destroying what use to be healthy Christian churches and replacing them with mutant fellowships of "new spirituality" that embrace pantheism, polytheism, goddess worship, new ageism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and agnosticism. The only "faith" not acceptable in our liberal churches today is Biblical faith that dares to make exclusive claims about Jesus Christ, the Gospel, the Bible and salvation! The 1993 Parliament of World Religions, held in Chicago, exemplified this quasi-Christianity, "Christian" spokespeople from various liberal churches embraced the faiths of the world as simply alternate ways to experience God, and both liberal Christians and non-Christians united in their condemnation of what they termed narrow-minded, fundamentalist religious bigots. When Christianity denies the biblical faith it ceases to be Christianity at all."

These are the kind of things, I fear, that my new "friends" believe. But anyone who says 'all roads lead to God' needs to be very careful because that is not what the Bible teaches. Jesus did not say, 'I am one of many equally good ways' or 'I am a better way than the others.' Instead, His claim was absolute and allegiance to Him as the Lord and Savior of the world, was to take precedence over all the claims of men and religions. Jesus says in John 8:24b, "...for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." It just doesn't get much clearer than that.

Jesus never claimed to be a good way to Heaven. He said He is the only way. And if you think about it, it makes sense. Why would God send His only Son to this Earth to live a perfect life for us, something we can never do, and then have His Son take untold beatings and mocking at the hands of puny men and then have His Son allow Himself to be nailed to a cross while God pours out His wrath upon Him, if their are other ways to Heaven?? It just would make no sense.

I believe that is why judgement will be so severe for people who reject the Savior. God suffered on that cross mercilessly at the hands of sinners to pay our sin debt so that we might receive eternal life as a free gift. And then we're going to make up all these other religions, in essence, telling God, "I'll do it my way?"

We must remain focused on the God of the Bible and remember Jesus' words, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."

There aren't many ways to Heaven, only one. Man in his pride wants to make his own way so in his pride he creates his own ways and tells God, 'my road is really the same as yours.' Nothing could be further from the truth. I know the world hates Christians with a growing hatred every year, but what I've written here are not my words but what God has told us in His word.

Repent of your sins today and turn to Jesus, He is the only way.

God bless

Rob

The Heresy of the Prosperity Gospel.

2010-03-17T20:53:00.001-04:00

Without a doubt, one of the worst things on television is the many programs posing as "Christian". They preach a gospel that is no gospel at all. Instead it is a bunch of Godless people praying on the emotions of the poor and the sick who really think that if they send these charlitans their money they will get healed or that God will drop thousands of dollars in their laps.

This kind of teaching has brought more harm to the church and the name of Christ than any athiest who runs around shouting from the roof tops that there is no God. Why? Because it is so deceptive and plays on people's emotions. These health, wealth and prosperity teachers are the wolves in sheeps clothing Jesus mentioned in Matthew 7:15:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

They spew forth lies and sprinkle it with some truth, but a glass of pure water with just one drop of poison will still kill you. But people tend to flock to these TV preachers because they are desperate. Perhaps they've just been told that they have cancer or that their house is about to be foreclosed on. They're flipping through the channels and land on a "christian" broadcasting channel and the hear some guy who looks and acts like a preacher and is supposed to be a "man of God" tell them to send money and he'll guarentee that God will bless their lives.

Of course the next month their house gets forclosed on anyway, their out the money they sent the preacher, and at the same time they helped to support his lavish lifestyle, and they now consider Christianity a joke.

Unfortunately, these poor deceived people think they are hearing the true Gospel when in reality they are receiving a counterfeit. And who is the one who tries to counterfeit everything God does? Satan! That's why true Christians must be very careful in decerning the one true Gospel, from all the counterfeit's out there. Remember Jesus' words;

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14

Heresy Is Nothing New

False teachings began creeping into the church almost immediately and we see a number of the New Testament writers addressing the problems of heresey in the churches even back then. For example take a look at Jude. He wanted so much to write to his brothers about the great salvation that we all share but because of the false teachings creeping into the church, he felt it necessary to turn and, urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints."

Just like today's televangelists who lead people astray and are in it only for the money, the same was true even back in the first century. Jude goes on to say, "Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion. These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm - shepherds who feed only themselves...", "These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage." Jude 11-12a, 16

Aren't these words true today of the health, wealth and prosperity crowd today? Everything they do is for profit and to be on TV, seen by men. They are shepherds who feed themselves with other people's money. And how do they get other people's money? By flattering them with words of how good they are and how great they can be if they will just look inside themselves. These people are told they can 'have their best life now.' This is a message straight from the depths of hell. We should never look for answers from within ourselves. We are totally depraved, wicked to the core and sinful. How is looking at that going to help us?

Peter also speaks of people who are in ministry for personal gain when he says, "With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they suduce the unstable; they are experts in greed - an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and have wondered off to followthe way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 2 Peter 2:14-15

And isn't this what marks most of these TV preachers today? Insatiable greed? Without a doubt, it is the worst kind of materialism and it prostitutes the real intent of the true Gospel.

Peter continues by saying, These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boasful words and by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaved to depravity - for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 2 Peter 2:17-19

So as you can see, these greedy false teachers had already been infiltrating the church even back in the first century. But the New Testament writers were quick to deal with it and rebuke it, exposing it for what is was, a fraudulent gospel.

What about today though? Its actually much worse today, because once this false teaching had been accepted as being Christian, it deceives the masses who no longer study God's Word to hold these leaders accountable.

The Charlitans Of Today

Unfortunately, today's health, wealth and prosperity teachers are actually much worse than the fraud found on Wall Street a few years ago with Bernie Madoff. At least the money Bernie Madoff took was from people who had money in the first place. John MacArthur puts it this way, "I think it’s far worse than Bernie Madoff, what a perfect name, Bernie Made off with everybody’s money. But, you know, those people had a lot of money and they had enough money to give to Bernie. What’s worse about the other thing...I think there’s more money involved in the fraud on Christian television than even Madoff if you added it all up through the years. But what makes this so much worse is, Bernie Madoff played on the rich. These guys play on the poor and the sick and the destitute and the desperate."

One of the big problems today though is that all this errant teaching on the airwaves is never critiqued. And why do you suppose that is? Well, if you think about it, it all boils down to money and greed. If you're a TV station owner and you're broadcasting someone like Benny Hinn or Joel Osteen and they are brining in millions of dollars to your station, are you going to call them out on their unbiblical teachings. I don't think so. If you send them a disk that exposes the truth of Benny Hinn, do you think it will ever see the light of day at that station. No way!

But any true Christian who knows anything about Scripture, about the Bible, knows deep down in their heart that the Charasmatic movement is not Biblical. This health, wealth and prosperity stuff, espoused mostly by the Charasmatic movement is completely unbiblical. Instead of being based on solid doctrine and theology it is instead based on feelings and emotion which is so easy for Satan to manipulate and lead people astray.

Once evangelicalism opened itself up and embraced this stuff, doctrine was out the window. And where do we get doctrine? The Bible. In his book, Charasmatic Chaos, John MacArthur gives a perfect example of what is happening today as people in evangelicalism replace good solid Bible study with emotiional experiences:

A woman wrote to me seething with anger; this is what she said in her letter,

"You resort to Greek translations and fancy words to explain away what the Holy Spirit is doing in the Church today. Let me give you a piece of advice that might just save you from the wrath of the Almighty God. Put away your Bible and your books and stop studying. Ask the Holy Ghost to come upon you and give you the gift of tongues. You have no right to question something you've never experienced."

Would Scripture ever tell us to put away Scripture?? What does the Bible say?

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

One thing that non-Christians think is that if you become a Christian you must leave your brain at the door. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible teaches the exact opposite.

But people today are lazy, they want wealth, health and prosperity but they don't want to have to work for these things. Why study God's word? That takes work. Instead I'll just let some preacher tell me how to turn God on when I need some money and then I can turn Him off again after that. After all I'm a Christian and God is obligated to do my bidding. Notice how it puts man on the throne and makes the Lord subservient to man. completley unbiblical.

And what do people want? Money right? Good health, power, prestiege. That’s what the unregenerate person wants, that’s not what the gospel offers. The gospel is not intended to give the unregenerate what they want. What the unregenerate want is really irrelevant to the gospel. What the gospel promises to give you is what an unregenerate person doesn’t want, deliverance from sin, holiness, the promise of heaven, godly friends, a worshiping life. People don’t want that.

So what have they done? They’ve invented a gospel that gives people what they want and makes them rich at the same time. And what we have today is what the Apostle Paul warned Timothy that would happen in the last days:

For a time will come when men will not endure sound doctrine, 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."

Sound like what's happening to the chuch today? If not, just turn on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and watch in stunned amazement as these heretics tell you how to become rich by sending them your money.

God help us.

Rob

The Many Certanties of Christianity

2009-12-20T21:24:00.004-05:00

TurningPoint Community Church
www.turningptchurch.com
Palm Coast, Florida

Bible Fellowship Group Lesson
12/20/2009

1 John 5:13-21
Notes Prepared by Robert Moritz

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

The Uncertainties of This World

There is no question that today we live in a world of uncertainty and doubt. Everyone struggles with doubt sooner or later. Look at our economy today, there are many of us here who are uncertain where are next paycheck is coming from. Or whether or not we’ll be able to pay our bills next month. Or where our next meal is coming from. There are others who have health issues or family members with health issues and we’re uncertain about their future. I’m sure most of us here have relatives who we know are unsaved and we’re uncertain of their eternal destiny. And I don’t care how long you’ve been a Christian, at one time or another you’ve wondered whether or not you’re truly saved.

One of the Great Truths of Christianity is its Many Certainties.

John begins this portion of his letter, in v.13, by telling us how we may enjoy the full assurance of our salvation. He says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Unfortunately, there many who believe on the name of Jesus who are not sure that they have eternal life; they only hope so. Occasionally they have assurance, but there’s no real joy abiding in them.

Yet here John is telling us that we may be certain that we are partakers of this new life so that we may surely reap the benefits of it and be filled with joy and peace through believing.

Here’s what Charles Spurgeon says about assurance: “Full assurance is not essential to salvation, but it is essential to satisfaction. May you get it at once; at any rate may you never be satisfied to live without it. You may have full assurance.”

He says here that full assurance of salvation is not necessary in order for one to be saved, however, its certainly essential if you expect to have any kind of joy during your Christian walk in this life.

So what is John talking about then when he says, “I write these things to you … that you may know you have eternal life.” He’s actually referring to the whole epistle. But if we just look at the beginning of this chapter he starts off by saying: "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God."

And what about you? Do you believe that Jesus is the anointed of God? Is he anointed as your prophet, priest, and king? Have you realized his anointing so as to put your trust in him? Do you receive Jesus as appointed of God to be the Mediator, the Propitiation for sin, the Savior of men? If so, you are born of God. So how can you be sure?? If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, you are born of God. John has here positively declared the truth, that you may know that you have eternal life. Can anything be more clear than this?

I have to confess here that I used to wonder whether or not Jesus actually loved me. There are many scary passages in Scripture where Jesus separates the goats on His left and says, “I never knew you.” Passages like that used to make me wonder, ‘what if I’m one of those goats?’ What if I’m not really saved? Some of you may struggle with this very issue too from time to time. Perhaps this will help you as it did me. I read these words by Spurgeon and it really helped me to see God’s love for me and my love for Him in a whole new light. Here’s what he said:

I knew a dear Christian woman who would sometimes say, "I know that I love Jesus; but my fear is that he does not love me." Her doubt used to make me smile, for it never could have occurred to me. If I love him, I know it is because he first loved me. Love to God in us is always the work of God's love towards us. Jesus loved us, and gave himself for us, and therefore we love him in return. Love to Jesus is an effect which proves the existence of its cause. Do you love Jesus? Do you feel a delight in him? Is his name as music to your ear, and honey to your mouth? Do you love to hear him extolled? Ah, dear friends! I know that to many of you a sermon full of his dear name is as a royal banquet; and if there is no Christ in a discourse, it is empty, and vain, and void to you. Is it not so? If you do indeed love him that begat and him that is begotten of him, then this is one of the things that is written "that you may know that you have eternal life."

Will God Give us Anything We Ask For? Even When We Want It?

Lets look at v. 14-15 – “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but my “prayer – to – answer” ratio is not very high. I’ve prayed for many things in my life but it seems they usually go unanswered. Yes, I’ve had prayers answered and God has blessed me enormously, but why doesn’t He answer all my prayers; the way I want; and when I want? Isn’t that what this passage is alluding too? According to John, this is supposed to be the confidence we have in Him. Answered prayer.

So if that’s the case then why do so many of our prayers seem to go unanswered? Well, for one, there are certain qualifications that must be met in order for God to answer our prayers. Now of course, God is sovereign and can certainly do anything He wants. But there are usually certain stipulations that need to be met before God is going to grant our requests.

First, lets take a closer look at v. 14. Did you notice that little qualification clause in there? ‘If you ask anything, according to His will…’

This aligns perfectly with what Jesus said in the ‘Lord’s Prayer’, “Thy will be done.” Our problem is that our prayers are not answered because we ask amiss, we ask with wrong motives. We desire our will to be done. We want God to bow down to us. Our desire is to make us sovereign and God the servant – our cosmic santa clause.

James says it best, “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” And I like the way the KJV says it – “that you may consume it upon your lusts.”

We have to realize that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than ours. Although it is our privilege to approach the throne of God boldly, we still must do it with a humble heart and deep respect. Remember who you’re dealing with – this is the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator of the universe.

We also need to remember that just because we don’t get an answer right away does not necessarily mean that God has denied our request. He may be waiting for the opportune time by His standards or perhaps there was a demonic delay in our answer being received as in the case of Daniel. Remember the story when Daniel had seen a dream and prayed to the Lord for its meaning. He prayed, mourned and fasted for 3 weeks before he got his answer. Why did it take 3 weeks? Because the angel Gabriel who God dispatched with His answer to Daniel, was held up by the king of Persia. This is a reference to satanic powers that came against Gabriel. (Originally I was going to have us go there and take a close look at that story but because of time there’s just no way were going to be able to do that.)

So we need to keep in mind when we pray that God will answer our prayers when our will is aligned with His will. Is there any unrepentant sin in your life? If there is, don’t expect any immediate answer to prayer until you’ve straightened out that situation. Your will needs to line up with God’s and then you can have the confidence that John is talking about here in this passage.

Sin that Leads To Death & Sin Not Leading To Death

v.16-17 – Now these two verses are by far some of the toughest in Scripture and without a doubt there is no one solid answer. There is a myriad of possibilities and no two commentators agree.

I cannot certainly, in the short time we have here today, go through each of the possible meanings of what the sin is that leads to death in any great detail or we would be here for months just on this topic. So what I’ll do here is just list the main views as I’ve seen them from the commentators that I’ve read and you can decide for yourselves what John meant here.

Among the opinions are the following:

1) Some say it is the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit that Jesus mentions in Mark 3:22:30.
2) Some say it denotes some sin that was punishable by death in the laws of Moses.
3) Some say John is referring to “big” sins such as murder, idolatry, adultery etc.
4) Some say it refers to sin that subjected the offender to excommunication from the church or synagogue.
5) Some say it refers to sin that brought a fatal disease upon the sinner.
6) Some say it refers to crimes committed against society for which the offender was sentenced to death.
7) Some say it refers to sins committed before and after baptism. The former would be pardoned but the latter may not.
8) Some say, mostly among Roman Catholics, that it refers to sins that might or might not be pardoned after death – meaning the doctrine of purgatory.

As you can see, for us to go into an examination of all these opinions would require a volume by itself, and we could spend weeks studying just this passage and all its possible meanings.

Victory Over Sin and Satan

Another Christian certainty is the victory we have over sin and Satan in Christ. In v.18-19 - John’s emphasis falls on the conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan and how we are protected from the evil one by God.

Now as I mentioned before when talking about how the answer to Daniels prayer was delayed by the king of Persia who is non other than some high level demon, Satan’s kingdom can and often does have a direct influence on our lives here in this world and to think otherwise would be foolish.

We must not take the spirit world lightly and I fear the often times many people do – much to Satan’s delight. He would much rather have us be ignorant of his workings in our lives than if we were actively opposing him.

We need to be very aware that Satan is much more powerful than we are, both physically and spiritually. He is also much smarter than we are and is much more organized. The Bible tells us that Satan is the ruler of this world and his is the kingdom of darkness. The Bible also tells us the he is the ruler of this world, the prince of the power of the air. Eph 2:2-3

So does that mean we need to be in constant fear of the evil one? The answer is really, yes and no. We need to fear him in the sense that we should have a healthy respect for him as he once was an angel of light but has become a master deceiver and a lire. And if God allows him to, he can inflict serious damage on our lives, physically, mentally and spiritually.

However, that does not mean there is a demon under every rock or behind every tree. There is actually one good thing about Satan – he is a defeated foe. Jesus Christ defeated Satan and his minions at the cross when he died and rose again from the dead. And John tells us here that those of us who have been born of God are protected from the evil one.

John MacArthur says, “Because the believer belongs to God, Satan must operate within God’s sovereignty and cannot function beyond what God allows as in the example of Job. While Satan may persecute, tempt, test and accuse the believer, God protects His children and places definite limits on Satan’s influence or power.”

If you’re a true born again believer today you don’t have to worry. Just keep yourself bathed in prayer and washed in the blood of the Lamb and Satan will have no hold on you.

Another certainty of being a Christian is that Christians belong to God. We have been purchased out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light by the precious blood of Jesus. According to John there are only two types of people in the world: the children of God and the children of Satan.

In v.20 John tells us that we can be certain of knowing God because the Son has come and given us understanding. And with that understanding we know the Father who is true. I love that statement at the end of this verse, “He is the true God and eternal life.”

John MacArthur says, “This verse constitutes the summation of John’s whole letter. The greatest certainty of all, the incarnation, guarantees the certainty of the rest. This is the doctrinal foundation out of which comes love and obedience.

v. 21 – Keep yourselves from idols.

John ends here with a final shot at false teachers and their hearsay. He is obviously referring to those who had originally come in but were never really saved. These were people who were under the sway of the god of this world and began teaching errant doctrine so as to deceive as many as possible and thereby divide the church.

Their false beliefs and practices are the idols from which the readers are commanded to protect themselves. These false teachers taught the philosophy of the world as being superior to God’s revelation. So here, John once again highlights the importance of adhering to the fundamentals of the faith.

Now I’d like to close by going back and revisiting verses 11-13 to reinforce the fact that whoever has the Son has life.

Having All That Jesus Came to Do

If we start by looking back at verses 11 & 12 we notice John telling us that, "He who HAS the Son has life." And now we can say that having the Son means if you have the Son, then you have eternal life. If you want to spend one of the most encouraging hours of your life, take an hour and make a list under the heading: What did Jesus come to do? What does he promise to do? It will be a very long list. And then just go down the list and beside every one write: He does his thing for ME! What He can do he does for me. What He promises to do He will do for me. That is what it means to HAVE the Son.

Having Eternal Life

John then sums it all up in the word LIFE. He who has the Son has life! Eternal life is not just the extension of all the frustrations and half-joys of this life. When Jesus finishes doing his thing, every frustration will be gone and every half-joy will be full. As he said in John 10:10, "I came that they might have life and have it abundantly."

If you HAVE the Son, it means that anything that infinite love and infinite power and infinite wisdom can do for your good, will in fact be done for you.
Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. In Romans 8 the Bible says, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors."

He who has the Son has One who can take all tribulation and distress and persecution and peril and turn it so that out of it comes not just a wounded soldier—no we are not just conquerors. Those who have the Son are "more than conquerors." Which means that the Son of God takes the tribulations of your life and actually turns them for your good. You don't just escape from your enemy. He serves you.

So if you want to be more than a survivor and, indeed, more than a conqueror in the battles of life, then you must HAVE the Son. For he who has the Son has life—all the life that an omnipotent God can give.

We Have the Son by Believing in His Name

But we still haven't answered the question, "How do we come to have the Son?" This is very important because the last part of verse 12 says that "he who has not the Son of God has not life." In other words not every one has the Son and so not every one has eternal life. It is infinitely important to know how to have the Son.

The answer is not complicated or hard to find. It is implied clearly in verse 13: "I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." Notice that verse 13 says that those who believe in the name of the Son of God have eternal life and that verse 12 says, "He who has the Son has life." The simple implication is that the way to HAVE the Son is to BELIEVE the Son.
Or another way to put it is that the Son of God does his thing for those who trust Him. You can have the Son of God if you trust the Son of God.

Passage to India

In the film, Passage to India, there was a young Indian doctor who had been arrested for allegedly assaulting a young English woman in India. The case became an explosive point of tension between the Indian people who longed for independence and the colonial English government. The whole colonialist power structure seemed to make the doctor's case hopeless even though everybody knew his integrity was above question. He was too poor to afford a lawyer.

But the most famous and able lawyer in all India got word of the case. He had a reputation of liking to take on the British and standing up for the Indian underdogs. Without a doubt, one of the most powerful scenes in the film was when two of the doctor's friends bring him word in the jail that the famous lawyer is willing to defend him—and then, as if it were too good to be true, they say, "And he's not even going to charge a fee!"

Now the doctor has a lawyer. He HAS a lawyer. The lawyer is going to do his thing for the doctor. All his reputation, all his eloquence, all his skill are now going to be used to save the doctor.

How did the doctor come to HAVE this great lawyer? He never had met him before. He had no money to pay him. He was far away from him in a different city. And yet now he could say to all his enemies, "I HAVE a lawyer!" How did he come to have the best lawyer in India?

It starts with the motivation of the lawyer. He has two goals: the liberation of India from the British, and the glorification of his own legal skills. When the camera picks him up in a tumultuous courtroom scene, he is sitting at his table utterly calm, as though in sovereign control of the situation. And to show that what he really loves is the liberation of India and the display of his skills for the helpless patriot, his services are not for sale. He will not be paid. That would call into question what he really loves.

And so how does the doctor come to have this lawyer? The lawyer makes a free offer, and the doctor hears the offer and accepts it. He trusts that the lawyer means it, and he believes he can do it. He HAS the lawyer because he TRUSTS the lawyer.

And so it is with the Son of God. He has two goals: the liberation of his people from sin and death, and the glorification of his own powers. That is the origin of salvation. That is the source of eternal life. And to show that what he loves is the liberation of his people and the magnification of his power, his services are not for sale. He will not be paid. In fact, He cannot be paid.

So how do you come to HAVE the Son of God? He makes you a free offer, and you accept His offer, you trust him. He does his thing for those who trust in him. He who has the Son has life.

God bless and have a very Merry Christmas

Rob

GLAD - Be Ye Glad

2009-11-14T08:38:00.004-05:00

Another great song by Glad! I just love their harmonies. Hope this is a blessing to your heart.

"Be ye glad, be ye glad, every debt that you ever had, has been paid up in full by the grace of the Lord, be ye glad, be ye glad, be ye glad."

HAPPY VETERANS DAY

2009-11-11T01:03:00.002-05:00

To all the men and women who have so faithfully served in our armed forces: ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINES and COAST GUARD, my wife, DeAnne and I would just like to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! from the bottom of our hearts on this Veteran's Day, 2009!

We certainly appreciate the great sacrifices you've made to keep our country free from oppression and tyranny. And believe me when I say how grateful we are for what you've done. We certainly realize that because of your great love for and dedication to America we can sleep a lot easier at night.

We also want to recognize all those brave men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, in defense of freedom and liberty. We pray for each family member that God wold bless you and give you His peace as you deal with the loss of your hero. And to all the military family members we give you a heartfelt THANK YOU.

On this Veteran's Day please accept and enjoy this tribute of videos as a small token of our appreciation.

God bless you and may God bless America!

Love One Another

2009-11-06T22:45:00.004-05:00

BFG Lesson

11/1/2009

1 John 3:11-18

Notes based on sermons by John MacArthur and John Piper
Prepared by Robert Moritz

I actually want to go back and include verse 10 in this lesson because I believe verse 10 is the key verse of this chapter.

v.10-11 – “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."

John is right in more ways than one when he says we should love one another. First he’s been talking about the importance of loving one another and loving our brothers throughout this epistle. In fact he spends a good portion of chapter 2 telling us to love one another.

- Take a look back a chapter 2 for a minute starting in verse 9 and we’ll read through verse 11.

"Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."

So here, John tells us in verse 9, that we better have no hatred in our hearts toward one another. If we’re going to call ourselves Christians – which means walking in the light – then we better have love for one another, because if you don’t John says you’re still in darkness.

There are two distinct things that make up a child of God, Love and Righteousness. These are the 2 themes we see running through chapter 3. The first 10 verses speak of the righteousness of a child of God and verses 11-24 speak of the love of a Christian.

Then secondly John is referring to the teachings of Jesus which is really the beginning of Christianity which in fact was taken from the law of God which was from the very beginning.

If you would, turn in your Bibles to Matthew 22:34-40. Here, the Sadducees had been badgering Jesus with their legalism and He had just put them to shame. Now it was the Pharisees turn.

"But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law? And He said to him, 'you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets.'"

Notice here, that the heart of the law is 2 fold, we are to love the Lord our God and we are to love our neighbor. So back in 1 John, John just reiterates what Jesus is teaching and stating that this message of loving one another is something that is not new. Its not something we’re hearing for the first time. In fact its something that should characterize our very lives as children of God.

I remember a few weeks ago when Drew taught on loving your brother back in Chapter 2, he mentioned that he often struggles in this area. That loving or caring for other people does not come easy for him. Well, I too need to confess, that the same is true of me. And I mean, its crazy! One minute I can be driving down the road worshipping and praising God to some song on the radio and all of a sudden I find myself boxed in between some slow moving dump truck on my right and some old geezer in his Cadillac in front of me. Both are doing 10mph under the speed limit and I can’t pass. What’s up with that.

Its at about this point that I’m no longer feeling the love. Right? Now don’t you sit out there and give me no holy look like you’ve never been in a similar situation and you didn't lose it because this guy was not letting you pass.

After all, he’s got all day. He’s only on his way to the drug store to pick up his 35,000 medications. Doesn’t he realize that some of us are working here and we’re late to an appointment? Alright, that’s enough confession time for one morning. Back to our lesson.

So John tells us here in v.10 & 11 that as Christians our lives should be characterized by 2 things - living a righteous life and loving one another.

Don’t Be Like the Children of the Evil One

As we move into verse 12, John says,

"We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deed were evil and his brother's righteous."

Lets take a closer look at the story of Cain and Abel. Turn if you will to Gen 4 and we’ll look at verses 1-12

"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, 'I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.' And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering but for Cain and his offering He had no regard.

So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, 'why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.'"

Cain spoke to Abel his brother and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, 'where is Abel your brother?' He said, 'I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?' And the LORD said, 'what have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.'"

John MacArthur says, “The lowest level of human relationships is murder.” And he’s right. Murder is the antithesis of love because murder comes from hate and Satan is filled with hate. That hatred first manifested itself when Cain murdered his brother Able back in Genesis. In the Gospel of John 8:44 Jesus tells us that Satan was a murderer from the beginning. Since Cain murdered his brother, the fruit of that shows us that Cain was of his father the devil.

When I was a new Christian, I used to read this passage and think, ‘why does God accept Abel and not Cain? They both gave of their first fruits? Here Cain worked the ground and gave God his best and God rejected it. Why?’ It just didn’t seem fair to me.

But as I became more mature in my faith, and learned about sin and redemption, I learned that there can be no remission of sin without blood. This is God’s requirement for forgiveness of sin. These sacrifices also portrayed a type of Christ which was to come, God’s great sacrifice of His Son for the sins of the world. That’s why God required a blood sacrifice and not just some vegetables. That’s why Cain’s sacrifice was rejected.

The example of Cain

Cain is the classic example of a murderer. And in these verses we see the formation of two polar opposite religions. Abel’s religion is the religion of grace and Cain’s religion is the religion of human achievement.

a) Abel and the religion of grace

Verse 3 says, "In process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord." That was an act of worship. Verses 4-5 say, "Abel, he also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and to his offering; but for Cain and to his offering He had no regard." It's obvious from the context God had already revealed to them that a blood sacrifice was the only acceptable sacrifice (cf. Gen. 3:21). Hebrews 9:22 says, "Without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sins]." God instituted blood sacrifices as the only proper form of worship, and Abel obeyed.

b) Cain and the religion of human achievement

Cain brought God the fruit of the ground--that which he himself had planted and harvested. He offered what he wanted to offer, not what God wanted him to offer. He invented his own religion, and the Lord would have none of it. Genesis 4:5-7 says, "Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

Verse 8 says, "Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.." He murdered him. 1 John 3:12 says Cain murdered Abel "because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." Cain was jealous of Abel.

The character of Cain

a) He was a child of Satan

Now, going back to 1 John, it says in verse 12, Cain "was of that wicked one" (v. 12). The Greek word translated "wicked one" is poneros. It is stronger than kakos, the usual Greek word for evil. Poneros speaks of evil in active opposition to good--organized evil. A man who is kakos is willing to be evil and perish in his own corruption, but the person who is poneros seeks to drag everyone else down with him. Who is the evil one? Satan. Cain was a child of Satan. That is made evident because he was a murderer. God's children are not murderers; they love one another. John 8:44 says Satan has been a murderer from the beginning.

b) He perverted God's worship

The Greek word translated "killed" in 1 John 3:12 is sphazo, which means, "to butcher by cutting the throat." It is used in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) to refer to the slaying of animals for Levitical sacrifices. It is quite probable that Cain cut Abel's throat. When Cain and Abel were born, the seeds of death were already implanted in the sins of Adam and Eve. But as far as we know, no one had yet died.

John MacArther states, “The fact that Cain knew how to kill implies he knew God required an animal sacrifice. God instituted a pattern of sacrifice to bring men to himself, but Cain became the first to pervert it and turn it into murder. The human race learned to murder when it was taught to worship.”

c) He was jealous of Abel

Why did Cain kill his brother? Verse 12 says, "Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." He was jealous--his brother was accepted by God but he wasn't. Jealousy lay at the base of Cain's murder. That's what life is like for the children of the devil.

Not all people are murderers like Cain, and that leads to the next characteristic of a child of the devil.

B. Hate (vv. 13-15)

1. The attitude of the world (v. 13)

Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

Most people have never murdered anyone, but the only difference between hate and murder is the act--the attitude is the same. There are a lot of haters in this world who don't murder for only one reason--fear of the consequences. If they could get away with it without punishment, guilt, and negative social reaction, they would. In God's eyes, hatred is the moral equivalent of murder.

Let’s jump to verse 15:

"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him"

Hatred is the same as murder in the eyes of God. And murderers do not have eternal life. As a general pattern, a believer loves and an unbeliever hates.

a) Proverbs 6:17-- The Lord hates "a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood." The Lord hates murderous hands. God's children do not commit murder. According to 1 John 3:15 one who hates is guilty of murder. In God's eyes, the ethic is the same.

b) Matthew 5:21-22--In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said by them of old, you shall not kill and whosoever kills shall be in danger of judgment; but I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whoever shall say, you fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." The attitude you have toward your brother is as significant to Jesus as what you do to him.

There are few people who murder as a way of life, but there are many who hate people.

So we need to be very careful here. We need to take a good look at ourselves and ask, Do I hate people? Do I love people? Its very important to examine ourselves.

John Piper states it this way,

“Hatred is the wish that another person was not there; it is the refusal to recognize his rights as a person; it is the longing to hurt or ultimately even to kill him. If I hate somebody, I am no different from a murderer in my attitude toward him. And with God it makes very little difference whether I actually have a chance to carry out the desires of my heart or not. People who hate are murderers according to Jesus and according to John "you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." John is not denying the possibility of repentance and forgiveness for the sin of murder. What John is stating is the general principle that to take life is to forfeit life and no murderer has eternal life as a present and abiding possession.”

Now, lets sum this up with verse 14

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death."

Lifestyles of love and hate are very revealing. Specifically they reveal whether one abides in death or whether he has indeed passed out of death into life. People who persistently and consistently love other people in heartfelt ways can have assurance that they indeed possess eternal life. Brothers and sisters, loving one another is not a trivial thing; it is not optional. Loving one another is critically important, eternally important. It is a matter of life and death!

C) Indifference

So far we’ve looked at 2 things that should not characterize Christians – Murder and Hate. However, there is another thing which John warns us about here in vs. 16-18

"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

A person who sees a Christian in need and has the ability to help, yet refuses to do so, is not a Christian according to John. The world is characterized by indifference and apathy. The world murders its own, but Christians care for each other with sacrificial love.

Love is not defined as an attitude or an emotion, but as an act of self-sacrifice. We know God loves us because He laid down His life for us. What should we do? Lay down our lives for the brethren. Cain hated and murdered his brother--that's how Satan's children behave. Christ gave up His life for those He loved. That’s how a Christian should behave. One is selfish, the other is selfless.

Piper defines love this way:

“Christian love is finding one's own joy in actively working for the joy of another, even at the self-sacrificial cost of one's own private pleasure, all for the glory of God. And that is the kind of love we are to possess as Christians and the kind of love we are to exercise.”

He goes on to say, “Not only does Jesus' death embody love because it was the greatest possible sacrifice done for the greatest possible good. It was also done for the greatest possible motive. According to John 12:28, Jesus went to the cross in order to glorify the name of His Heavenly Father. And the writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before him" (Hebrews 12:2). These two inextricably linked goals—the glory of God and our own delight and joy in it—are to be the supreme motive for any act of love. They were for Jesus, and they are to be for us.

Verse 17 says,

"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?"

This means sharing your material resources with those in need, be it spiritual or physical. And even those of us who are on the most limited income have something to share. Perhaps with individuals directly, or through the church, or through social agencies like the Crisis Pregnancy Center or mission agencies.

But the point is clear. How can we say that we are willing to lay down our lives for our brothers if we are unwilling to part with our money for their sake?

Verse 17 also means sharing your time with others in need. Many times that's what a person needs far more than he needs money. It takes time to be a friend; it takes time to talk, to listen, to relieve loneliness. And let me tell you, there’s a lot of lonely people out there. And for many of us it is harder to part with our time than with our money. We’re so busy doing all our daily chores that its difficult for us to stop for a minute and put our arms around a hurting person and comfort them.

That's something I am always struggling with. Stopping and taking the time to really get to know someone and minister to them. My guess is that's where the heart of the battle is for many of you as well. But if you or I close our hearts with respect to time, towards a brother or sister in need, how can God's love be in us?

Verse 17 can also mean sharing spiritual resources with a person in need through a word of encouragement or exhortation from the Bible and through consistent intercessory prayer. And in many cases the sacrifice demanded is greatest at this point because the spiritual battles are very real and very intense.

We’ll conclude here with verse 18

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

To put it in the modern vernacular, we need to walk the walk not just talk the talk. I believe Scripture tells us somewhere, we are to be doer’s of the Word and not hearers only. Right?

So I encourage everyone, lets all try to examine ourselves to see if we are truly loving the brethren. If you see someone in need, stop rushing around for a moment and give a word of encouragement; Lend a helping hand; or if necessary, donate a little money. Meet the need and glorify God.

God bless

Rob

Obama Needs To Hear This

2009-10-28T22:01:00.003-04:00

The harmony of these kids will just bless your heart. Amazing! I can't stop listening to them.

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."
2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Enjoy

DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD

2009-10-04T23:44:00.004-04:00

BFG Lesson

10/4/2009

1 John 2:15-17

Notes based on sermons by John MacArthur and John Piper
Prepared by Robert Moritz

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 1 John 2:15-17

The text begins with a command — it's the only command in the text and therefore probably the main point. Verse 15a: "Do not love the world or the things in the world." Everything else in the text is a reason for or against why we should not love the world. A big problem with Christians today, especially in America is our love for the world and the things of the world. When we chase after the things of this world we end up committing idolatry.

The first reason John gives for not loving the world is that "if any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him" (verse 15b). In other words the reason you shouldn't love the world is that you can't love the world and God at the same time. Love for the world pushes out love for God, and love for God pushes out love for the world. Its one or the other. Jesus even said, “whoever is not with me, is against me.” Math 12:30a

Then in verse 16 comes the support and explanation of that first argument. Take a look at verse 16: The reason love for the world pushes out love for God is that "all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride in possessions, is not of the Father but is of the world.

Jesus also told us, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money" (Matthew 6:24). So don't love the world, because that would put you in the class with the God-haters whether you think you are or not. "If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him." That's the first reason John gives not to love the world.

Even though that one reason alone would be enough, he then gives two more incentives not to love the world. One is a negative and the other a positive.

The World Is Passing Away and Its Lusts - Negative

First, in verse 17a he says, "And the world passes away, and the lust of it." Nobody buys stock in a company that is sure to go bankrupt. Nobody builds a house in sinking sand. No reasonable person would lay up treasure where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal, would they? The world is passing away! To set your heart on it is only asking for heartache and misery in the end.

That's not all: not only is the world passing away, but also the lusts of it. If you share the desires of the world, you will pass away. You will not only lose your treasure, you will lose your life. If you love the world, it will pass away and take you with it. "The world passes away and the lust of it."

If You Do the Will of the Father, You Will Live Forever - Positive

Second, in verse 17b John says, "But he who does the will of God abides for ever." The opposite of loving the world is not only loving the Father (verse 15), but also doing the will of the Father (verse 17). And that connection is not hard to understand. Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). John said in 1 John 5:3 which we’ll look at in a few weeks, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." So loving the Father in verse 15 and doing the will of God in verse 17 are not really separate things.

If you love God, you will love what he wills. It is empty talk to say I love God but I don't love what God loves. So John is saying in verse 17, "If you love the world, you will perish with the world, but if you don't love the world but love God, you will do his will and live with him for ever."

The Reality of Satan's Reign

Before we go any further, we need to look at what John means by the world. Here John doesn’t just mean material things. He’s also talking about the whole world system.

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden they forfeited their right to rule the planet as God intended. Instead they obeyed Satan and sold their rulership of the world to him. Much the same way that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for food. Satan then created an evil world system opposed to God and that is what now dominates the planet. Satan’s system will continue to dominate the planet right up until the Great Tribulation.

In verse 15 John says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” Why? Because the things in the world are part of the satanic system. John MacArthur says, “1 John 2:15 tells us to stop loving the system and the things that are in it; for if anyone is in love with it, his claim to love God is invalid. The system that Satan has developed is in total opposition to God. A person cannot love both. John is defining a Christian as one who loves God, rather than Satan's system.” Satan’s world system can be characterized by 3 factors that enabled him to control the world:

• False Religion: Satan needed to counteract the truth. So he developed lies about God, eternal destiny, and other spiritual truths. All false religions claim that man enters God's presence not on the basis of what God has done by His grace, but on the basis of what man can do himself if he is good enough.

• Crime and War: Satan brought fear and bondage into man's life through crime and war. Men are pitted against men. Throughout history, Satan has used crime, arguments, riots, and wars to destroy the unity that God had intended for the world to have. All forms of crime are a threat against unity. Every time a person steals, covets, or destroys what is someone else's--even to the point of killing them--the unity that God designed for mankind to experience disintegrates further.

• Godless Living: Is a way of living that operates independently of God. Satan has developed a system in which he can captivate men. It is anti-God and anti-Christ. It is rebellion to truth and contradicts God’s will. Although he may not be directly responsible, Satan is behind all Godlessness taking place today in opposition to God’s Kingdom.

First John 2:15 tells us to stop loving the world system and the things that are in it; for if anyone is in love with it, his claim to love God is invalid. The system that Satan has developed is in total opposition to God. A person cannot love both. John is defining a Christian as one who loves God, rather than Satan's system. James makes a very similar statement that I’d like us all to take a look at. Turn if you will to James 4:1-4: You see if you love the world not only are you denying God, but you are an enemy of God. (READ) Love for the world and love for God are absolutely antithetical. In other words they are polar opposites. A person cannot love both at the same time. A true Christian does not love the world. It is impossible because its in direct opposition with who he is.

One reason we do not love the world is because of what it does. It incites to sin. The world's system is designed to tempt a person to sin. God wants to generate holiness in our lives as we become more like Jesus Christ. Satan uses the world to tempt us. Some of us are able to resist the world's temptation because of our maturity in Christ. But that does not change the evil intentions of the world, which opposes the holiness that God desires in every Christian's life.

Plague of the Christian Church in America

According to verse 15 in our text, if your love for God is cool today it may be because love for the world has begun to take over your heart and choke your love for God. The love of the world and the love of the Father cannot coexist. And every heart loves something. The very essence of our nature is desire. We all lust after something, we all covet something.

So what is this "world" that we are not to love? Verse 16 says it is characterized by three things: "lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." The first two—lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes—refer to desires for what we don't have. And the third—the pride of possessions—refers to the pride in what we do have. The world is driven by these two things: passion for pleasure and pride in possessions.

According to John Piper, “the passion for pleasure is described in two ways because there are two large classes of pleasure—physical and aesthetic. There is the lust of the flesh—bodily pleasures; and the lust of the eyes—aesthetic and intellectual pleasures. There is the lust of the gutter and the lust of the gourmet. There is the lust for hard rock and the lust for high Rachmaninoff. There is the lust of Penthouse and the lust of Picasso. This book ends with the ringing command: "Little children, KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS!"—whether they are crude or whether they are cultured.”

Anything in this world that is not of God can rob your heart of the love of God. Anything that is not God can draw your heart away from God. If you don't have something, the lust for it can fill you with passion to get it. If you get it, it can fill you with pride that you've got it.

The Apostle Paul deals very succinctly with the pride of life when he says in 1 Corinthians 4:7, "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though it were not a gift .” and again in 1 Cor 1:31, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord" So let there be no boasting in possessions because it all belongs to God.

(I was just thinking about this very thing this past week and a friend also posted this very thought on her Facebook page last night. The fact that every thing we have is a gift from God. We own nothing. Every breath we take, Every drop of water, every morsel of food we eat is a gift from God. We cannot live without any of those things for very long. Yet God provides them to us every day without us even thinking about what a blessing it is to be alive.)

And against the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes the psalmist says, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides thee." Therefore let us desire nothing but God. Possess nothing but God; pursue nothing but God.

The Problem With The Church Today

One of the greatest iniquities plaguing the Christian Church today is worldliness. If you drive across the country today, you can tune into many different “Christian” radio stations along the way and hear a whole host of teaching, the least of which is true Christian doctrine. Instead, what you hear will reveal much about the secret motivations that drive many Christians today. The same holds true for “Christian” television. Some of these broadcasts would be hilarious if they weren’t so sad.

Instead of true Biblical teaching we have false teachers deceiving and exploiting the gullible. They run around with all kinds of gimmicks to convince people that all they have to do is trust in Christ and they can have health, wealth and success in His name.

• I’ve heard one speaker offer holy water and lucky charms to those who send a donation of X amount of dollars.

• I’ve seen people like Robert Tilton who offers his listeners a prayer cloth that has been blessed by him which would bring money, new cars, health, etc.

• I heard one speaker say he would mail out holy soap which he had blessed. It would wash away any bad luck, evil friends and sickness.

Of course as a true member of God’s elect, these kinds of things should bring real disgust to our hearts because we have our present day Gnostics, teaching a false gospel and leading deceived sheep down the broad road to destruction. And how is this stuff being marketed? Churches are using every type of gimmick imaginable from famous athletes, beauty queens, even business men and politicians who, “make it in the world and have Jesus too.”

Unfortunately today, Christian values are defined almost totally by success as it is promoted by Madison Avenue marketing. Even many Christian ministries gauge their effectiveness by the standards of Harvard MBA’s. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So what can we say about today’s evangelical Christians who follow after the desires of this world. Getting into debt for cars, homes, furnishings and clothes that probably aren’t needed and sacrificing family, church and health for corporate promotions and career advancement. Should Christians be loving the world system so much?

I believe all this is deception engineered by the god of this world to ensnare and destroy effective Christians and to keep them from sharing the Gospel with those who need it. In his book, “Revolution In World Missions, Dr. K. P. Yohannan compares and contrasts what it is to be saved in America vs. what it means to be saved in Asia. The American version, he states, goes something like this: “I was sick and broke, a total failure. Then I met Jesus. Now everything is fine; my business is booming and I am a great success.” It sounds wonderful, if you’re having problems in this life, all you have to do is become a Christian and you’ll get that bigger house and a new car and a boat and you’ll be able to take that vacation around the world.

Dr. Yohannan goes on to say, “ if that were really God’s way, it would put some believers living in anti-Christian and third world countries in a pretty bad light. Their testimonies go something like this, “I was happy. I had everything – prestige, recognition, a good job, and a happy family. Then I gave my life to Jesus Christ. Now I am in Siberia, having lost my family, my wealth, my reputation, job and health. Here I live, lonely, deserted by friends. I cannot see the face of my wife or dear children. My crime? That I love Jesus.” What a difference. Satan has so completely twisted the way we look at Christianity in America today that it is completely backwards.

And what about the heroes of the faith down through the ages? The apostles laid down their lives for the Lord. Christian martyrs have written their names on every page of history.

(Book – Fox’s Book of Martyrs.) Countless stories of men and women down through the ages who have given their lives for the cause of Christ.

One Indian man named Sundar Singh, born and raised in a rich Indian sect’s home became a Christian – his own family tried to poison him and banished him from their home. He lost his inheritance and walked away with one piece of clothing on his body. Yet, following his Master, he made millions truly rich through faith in Christ. American Christianity is so corrupt and backwards. It follows after the system of the world which as we saw was created by Satan. It has become fat, dumb, lazy and happy. Content to just watch the world go by, unwilling to lay it all on the line for the cause of Christ.

Today we have people like Joel Osteen telling his followers that they can have their best life now. That God wants them to be happy and that they can preserver and overcome their struggles. What a damnable message. And he preaches to 30,000 plus every week, not to mention the people he reaches around the globe via TV. He’s leading them all down the path of destruction. His message is a complete polar opposite to what John is talking about in our passage this morning.

Christians in Asia and other parts of the world often suffer for their commitment to Christ. Coming from non-Christian backgrounds, they often are literally thrown out of their homes, lose their jobs and are beaten and chased from their villages when they accept Christ. They faithfully serve Christ daily, suffering untold hardships because Jesus promised His followers in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Christ never promised us health, wealth and prosperity in this life. In fact, He promised just the opposite – trials and tribulations. We can face them because we know He already has won the battle. God does promise to meet our physical needs. And He does, indeed, bless His children materially. But He blesses us for a purpose – not so we can squander those resources on ourselves but so we can be good stewards, using our resources wisely to win the lost to God’s saving grace.

Some people say, "It's so hard to live a pure life today." It's always been hard, but the media today has probably made it more difficult to maintain a pure life. There's no sense in watching a movie that is filled with profanity, violence, and sexual immorality. Exposing yourself to things like that is only going to allow your mind to be preoccupied with the world's value system. And this is something I struggle with all the time. Like, when the latest movie comes out and we want to go see it, we’re giving our money in support of Hollywood which is a large component of the current world system.

Have you ever carefully listened to the music of world? I like many kinds of music, but the ideas that are conveyed through the music of the world rarely square with what the Word of God says. If your ears are constantly bombarded by such music, you may find yourself following the world's morality. The same is true with television: When you watch it, you are sold the world's standards in a very slick way. The system is geared to generate sin, and if you want to play with it, that's exactly what it will do in your life. If you want to stick yourself in the world's mold--its materialism, humanism, and immorality--you are going against the very nature of your identity in Christ. Since we are called to "shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15), we had better make sure people can see that there's something different about us. We need to disconnect ourselves from the system by saturating our minds with the Word of God to establish the right kind thought patterns.

Conclusion

If you are a Christian, are you living the holy life that the Lord expects of you?

Knowing that we are conditioned to accept the world's values through secular media, we must carefully evaluate the kinds of things that we expose our eyes and ears to. Is TV programming you with its distorted perspective of human relationships and materialism? Its influence on you may have been so gradual and subtle that it has been hardly noticeable. Have you become so worldly that it is difficult to tell you apart from an unbeliever who attends church? Based on your understanding of the Word of God, examine yourself to see how brightly your life shines in the world as a lighthouse of truth to the people lost on the sea of secularism.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. John Piper puts it best when he says, "If the love of the Father is in you, if you love God with all your heart, then every room you enter will be a temple of love to God, all your work will be a sacrifice of love to God, every meal will be a banquet of love with God, every song will be an overture of love to God."

AMEN

Obama Declares War on Fox News

2009-08-13T13:19:00.002-04:00

During the president's address in New Hampshire the other day, he continued to press for his health care reform bill which is floundering in the polls. Amazingly, he misquotes AARP and uses a little girl in the audience, who is a plant, to ask a ridiculous sobbing question. It was so ridiculous that it was uncovered by the very liberal Boston Globe. They found that the girls mother is kathleen Manninghall who was the coordinator of the "Massachusetts Women for Obama" during the election campaign.

Liberals can't seem to understand why everyone is so angry. They think its all because of Obamacare and yes that is a big part of it. However the anger is increasing more and more because of the self righteous, arrogant attitude of the members of the House and Senate who are treating citizens like little children and not taking their concerns seriously.

Democrats just "poo poo" everyone's concerns because none of them have read the bill and therefore are unable to respond to people coherently and correctly on the issue. People want a truthful response but are being lied to by those who are supposed to be representing them. Especially when it concerns 1/7 of the US economy with life and death decisions hanging in the balance. Its truly amazing to watch some of these town hall meetings where a citizen will ask a question, directly from the bill, and the congressman will flat out deny that its in there.

Its just truly stunning to see how backwards our country has become. The US government is supposed to be, "of the people, by the people and for the people", not the other way around. Our politicians are supposed to govern, not rule. They are to serve "we the people" not we the people serving them. It seems as if no matter who we send to Washington, once they get inside the Beltway, its like they enter the Twilight Zone and completely forget why they were elected in the first place and the people who sent them there.

Enjoy the video of O'reilly calling the Obama administration on their antics.

Socialized Obama Care

2009-08-08T18:14:00.002-04:00

So far ObamaCare has not been a big hit with most of the American people. Even democrats are beginning to wake up to see what this is going to mean to there families and themselves if this behemoth program passes. Trillions of dollars in new debt that future generations will have shoulder the burden for. All for the sake of a one payer system which has been proven not to work the world over.

To emphasize this, Glen Beck talks to Daniel Hannan from Great Britain who tells how well a socialized health care system is going over there. If you don't like waiting a few hours for treatment now, just wait until Obama implements his socialist mess. Check it out below.

The National Debt Road Trip

2009-08-05T16:49:00.002-04:00

Thought this was quite interesting. It shows in graphic detail the speed at which our national debt is going to increase under Obama's watch, far and above all previous presidents, Bush included.

The Freedom Of Boundaries

2009-07-30T09:20:00.003-04:00

Today, you will often hear non-Christians say that they would never become a Christian because they don't want to give up their freedoms. They don't want any boundaries in their lives. But it's actually having rules and boundaries that give us freedom and allow us to live happy and secure lives.

I know this sounds backwards but think about it for a minute. Think of the rules of the road. There is great freedom in driving, but we need to obey certain rules. In America we drive on the right side of the road. What if you said, 'well I'm free to drive on whatever side I want.' Well you could do that but the consequences might me deadly. Or, what about a traffic light? Red means stop and green means go. Should we not listen to those rules. If you pull up to a red light and say 'I don't need these rules' and drive right through the light, the consequences could be deadly. There is safety and security and freedom in boundaries.

Mark Cahill, in his book, "One Heartbeat Away" gives another good example. "If you were staying on the 30th floor of a hotel, would you go out on the balcony if it were just a slab of concrete, but had no railings? Would you put your child out there?

Of course not, it would be too dangerous. But once you put some good strong railings on the balcony, would you go out there then? Would you go out there with your child? Of course. Not only would most of us go out there, we would even lean on the railing while we were out there. Why would we do this? Once there is a boundary, you have all the freedom you want inside that boundary. You can even have lunch out there if you want. Boundaries actually provide freedom."

The 10 commandments are not the 10 suggestions. God did not give us the 10 commandments to suppress us but so that we may live life to the fullest. If we try to live our lives by keeping them we will live happier, fuller lives.

God bless

Rob

Obama Snubbed By World Leaders

2009-07-29T21:05:00.002-04:00

So not only do many Americans think our President is a clown, but it looks like some world leaders are having very little respect for him also. Nobody will shake his hand, this is hilarious. LOL

And you can see him start to get frustrated. Oh man, his diplomatic inexperience shows! And people were worried about Sarah Palin? At least she was only going for the #2 spot?? Palin has more governing experience in her pinky then this "community organizer" does in his entire body.

Check out this video.

How to Solve all of California's Problems

2009-07-28T21:37:00.004-04:00

This video is of a young woman who goes before the Santa Cruz town council in 2008.

You decide.

Obama's White House is Falling Down

2009-07-27T20:25:00.003-04:00

Hopefully this is a sign that even Liberals are beginning to wake up to the sham that is Obama.

This is Canadian insight into the Obama mess. What is astounding is that it comes from The Canadian Press in left leaning Canada .

Obama’s White House is Falling Down
By Daniel Greenfield Thursday, June 11, 2009

In the sixth month of his presidency, Obama has turned an economic downturn into an economic disaster, taking over and trashing entire companies, and driving the nation deep into deficit spending expected to pass 10 trillion dollars.

Abroad, Obama seems to have no other mode except to continue on with his endless campaign, confusing speechmaking with diplomacy. It is natural enough that Obama, who built his entire campaign on high profile public speeches reported on by an adoring press, understands how to do nothing else but that.

Ego driven photo-op appearances and clueless treatment of foreign dignitaries

While the press is still chewing over Obama’s Cairo speech, this celebrity style coverage ignores the fact that Obama’s endless world tour is not actually accomplishing anything. Instead his combination of ego driven photo-op appearances and clueless treatment of foreign dignitaries have alienated many of America ’s traditional allies. Those who aren’t being quietly angry at Obama, like Brown, Merkel or Netanyahu, instead think of him as an absurdly lightweight, as Sarkozy, King Abdullah or Putin do.

While his officials carry out their dirty economic deeds, Obama responds to any and every crisis as if it were a Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland musical, with a cry of, “Let’s put on a show.” Thus far Obama has put on “shows” across America , Europe and the Middle East . And what the adoring media coverage neglects to cover, is that Obama’s shows have solved absolutely nothing. They have served only as high profile entertainment.

Neither alienating America ’s traditional allies, through a combination of arrogant bullying and ignorance, nor appeasing America ’s enemies, has yielded any actual results. Nor does it seem likely to. Islamic terrorism is not going anywhere, neither are the nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran . While Obama keeps smiling, the global situation keeps growing more grim.

At home, if Obama was elected as depression era entertainment, the charm of his smiles and his constant appearances on magazine covers appear to be wearing thin on the American public. Despite the shrill attacks on Rush Limbaugh or the Republican Enemy of the Weak-- the Democratic party of 2009, is polling a lot like the Republican party of 2008. The Democrats have suddenly become the incumbents, and the only accomplishment they can point to is lavish deficit spending, often on behalf of the very same corporations and causes they once postured against.

The European Union Parliament’s swing to the right cannot be credited to Obama, though doubtlessly some European voters seeing socialist economic crisis management on display in the world’s richest country decided they wanted none of it, but it is part of a general turning against federalism. And Obama’s entire program is dependent on heavily entrenching federalism at the expense of individual and state’s rights. Yet that is precisely his Achilles heel with independent voters who are polling against more taxes and expanded government. And no amount of speeches by Obama can wish away his 18 czars or the national debt he has foisted on generation after generation of the American people.

That leaves Obama with a choice between socialism and the independent voter. And thus far he has chosen socialism.

Obama’s tactic of hijacking Bush Administration era policies on the economy and the War on Terror, and exploiting them as Trojan horses to promote his own agenda, have left him coping with a backlash from his own party, as well as general Republican opposition.

His Czars are meant to function as the bones in an executive infrastructure accountable to no one, but a lack of accountability isn’t just another word for tyranny, but for incompetence. A functional chain of command is accountable at multiple levels if it is to function effectively. Obama’s White House by contrast is in a state of over-organized chaos, the sort of organized disorganization that undisciplined egotistical leftists naturally create for themselves, complete with multiple overlapping levels of authority and no one in charge but the man at the top, who’s too busy doing other things to actually be in charge.

Dennis Blair as National Intelligence, who collaborated with the Muslim genocide of Christians in East Timor , trying to muscle out the CIA to create his own intelligence network, is typical of the kind of chaos being spawned by every chief in an expanding government bureaucracy working to make sure that all the Indians answer to him. Similarly the National Security Council wrestling with the State Department, highlighted by Samantha Power getting her own specially created NSC position to butt heads with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, illustrates the state of conflict and chaos in American foreign affairs. A state of chaos so pervasive that incompetence has now become commonplace, and no one can even be found to double check the spelling of a Russian word that is meant to be the theme of American’s diplomatic reconstruction with Russia , or to pick out a gift for the visiting British Prime Minister.

The death of Chrysler at the hands of Fiat and the UAW

Meanwhile on the economy, Obama exploited the ongoing bailouts, transforming them from bailouts into takeovers meant to shift the balance of power in what had been a democracy and socially engineer not only corporations, but the lives of ordinary Americans. But the public’s patience with corporate bailouts is at an end, most Americans were never happy with them to begin with, and want them to end. The death of Chrysler at the hands of Fiat and the UAW might look like a victory in the union ranks, but it doesn’t play too well outside Detroit . And tacking on CAFE standards that will kill the pickup truck and the SUV will badly erode Obama in the swing states, if exploited properly in 2010 and 2012. Despite the constant media barrage, orchestrated out of the White House, the public is growing disenchanted with the performance of Obama and the Democrats.

With unemployment booming and the economy dropping, the jobs aren’t there and the spending is out of control. Republicans today are polling better on ethics and the economy, than the Democrats are. That shows a trend which is likely to register in the mid-term elections in 2010, in the same way that the EU parliamentary elections served as a shock to the system.

In the opposition, Republicans are free to embrace the rhetoric of change, to champion reform and push libertarian ideas about the size and scope of government. In turn all Obama has is his celebrity fueled media spectacle world tour. A charade now serving as a parallel to the depression era entertainment that functioned as escapism in a dour time. But before long, it may be Obama that the American public will want to escape from.

A shallow, manipulative and egotistical amateur who is in over his head

Obama has tried to play Lincoln, Reagan, JFK and FDR-- but in the end he can only play himself, a shallow, manipulative and egotistical amateur who is in over his head, and trying to drag the country down with him. Obama’s White House is falling down and while the flashbulbs are still glittering and the parties are going on in D.C. and around the world, Obama and the Democratic Congress may be headed for a recession of their own.

The Nightmare of ObamaCare

2009-07-26T22:26:00.003-04:00

As an FYI, Obama Care is worse than we thought. Feel free to read the whole bill for yourself: HR 3200 Obama Care.

• Page 16: Ends Private Healthcare Insurance!

• Page 22: Mandates audits of all employers that self-insure!

• Page 29: Admission: your health care will be rationed!

• Page 30: A government committee will decide what treatments and benefits you get (and, unlike an insurer, there will be no appeals process)

• Page 42: The "Health Choices Commissioner" will decide health benefits for you. You will have no choice. None.

• Page 50: All non-US citizens, illegal or not, will be provided with free healthcare services.

• Page 58: Every person will be issued a National ID Healthcard.

• Page 59: The federal government will have direct, real-time access to all individual bank accounts for electronic funds transfer.

• Page 65: Taxpayers will subsidize all union retiree and community organizer health plans (read: SEIU, UAW and ACORN)

• Page 72: All private healthcare plans must conform to government rules to participate in a Healthcare Exchange.

• Page 84: All private healthcare plans must participate in the Healthcare Exchange (i.e., total government control of private plans)

• Page 91: Government mandates linguistic infrastructure for services;
translation: illegal aliens

• Page 95: The Government will pay ACORN and Americorps to sign up individuals for Government-run Health Care plan.

• Page 102: Those eligible for Medicaid will be automatically
enrolled: you have no choice in the matter.

• Page 124: No company can sue the government for price-fixing. No "judicial review" is permitted against the government monopoly. Put simply, private insurers will be crushed.

• Page 127: The AMA sold doctors out: the government will set wages.

• Page 145: An employer MUST auto-enroll employees into the government- run public plan. No alternatives.

• Page 126: Employers MUST pay healthcare bills for part-time employees AND their families.

• Page 149: Any employer with a payroll of $400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays an 8% tax on payroll •

Page 150: Any employer with a payroll of $250K-400K or more, who does not offer the public option, pays a 2 to 6% tax on payroll •

Page 167: Any individual who doesn’t' have acceptable healthcare (according to the government) will be taxed 2.5% of income.

• Page 170: Any NON-RESIDENT alien is exempt from individual taxes (Americans will pay for them).

• Page 195: Officers and employees of Government Healthcare Bureaucracy will have access to ALL American financial and personal records.
Page 203: "The tax imposed under this section shall not be treated as tax." Yes, it really says that.

• Page 239: Bill will reduce physician services for Medicaid. Seniors and the poor most affected."

• Page 241: Doctors: no matter what specialty you have, you'll all be paid the same (thanks, AMA!)

• Page 253: Government sets value of doctors' time, their professional judgment, etc.

• Page 265: Government mandates and controls productivity for private healthcare industries.

• Page 268: Government regulates rental and purchase of power-driven wheelchairs.

• Page 272: Cancer patients: welcome to the wonderful world of rationing!

• Page 280: Hospitals will be penalized for what the government deems preventable re-admissions.

• Page 298: Doctors: if you treat a patient during an initial admission that results in a readmission, you will be penalized by the government.

• Page 317: Doctors: you are now prohibited for owning and investing in healthcare companies!

• Page 318: Prohibition on hospital expansion. Hospitals cannot expand without government approval.

• Page 321: Hospital expansion hinges on "community" input: in other words, yet another payoff for ACORN.

• Page 335: Government mandates establishment of outcome-based measures: i.e., rationing.

• Page 341: Government has authority to disqualify Medicare Advantage Plans, HMOs, etc.

• Page 354: Government will restrict enrollment of SPECIAL NEEDS individuals.

• Page 379: More bureaucracy: Telehealth Advisory Committee (healthcare by phone).

• Page 425: More bureaucracy: Advance Care Planning Consult: Senior Citizens, assisted suicide, euthanasia?

• Page 425: Government will instruct and consult regarding living wills, durable powers of attorney, etc. Mandatory. Appears to lock in estate taxes ahead of time.

• Page 425: Government provides approved list of end-of-life resources, guiding you in death.

• Page 427: Government mandates program that orders end-of-life treatment; government dictates how your life ends.

• Page 429: Advance Care Planning Consult will be used to dictate treatment as patient's health deteriorates. This can include an ORDER for end-of-life plans. An ORDER from the GOVERNMENT.

• Page 430: Government will decide what level of treatments you may have at end-of-life.

• Page 469: Community-based Home Medical Services: more payoffs for ACORN.

• Page 472: Payments to Community-based organizations: more payoffs for ACORN.

• Page 489: Government will cover marriage and family therapy. Government intervenes in your marriage.

In closing Obama Care is not about Health Care, it is all about control. They will be able to regulate every aspect of your life with this bill.

Please Contact your Representative and Senators.

"The Complacency that is Prevalent in this Country is what Politicians count on while they STEAL our Liberties." Barry Bench

It is Complacency that will snuff out the Flames of Liberty and Darkness of Tyranny will fall upon this land." Barry Bench
"All Tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent" Thomas Jefferson
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." Thomas Jefferson

A Social Experiment

2009-07-15T21:34:00.002-04:00

Below is an email I received that I thought you might find interesting. Its supposed to be a true story. Very interesting and thought provoking. Enjoy.

Its Washington DC, Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. There, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later: the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made.... How many other things are we missing?

When God Abandons A Nation

2009-07-11T09:29:00.007-04:00

Today our society is awash in the sins of sexual immorality and homosexuality. According to John MacArthur the reason for this is God's wrath of abandonment. He tells us that God has already abandoned our nation and shows the incremental steps of how this has taken place using Romans 1. If you haven't heard this sermon before, its well worth a listen. Its only a half hour long but very powerful. It explains why America has become so totally depraved in these last days. Enjoy!

When God Abandons A Nation.

A Soldier's Rant About America's Worship of a False Idol

2009-07-09T17:04:00.005-04:00

Originally I thought a good friend of mine who attends Riverbend Community Church in Ormond Beach, Florida, wrote this and sent out an email expressing his feelings toward the injustice of what he saw in the news the other day between the way Michael Jackson's death was treated and how the death of real hero's, our troops, are treated. However, I've come to find out that this was written by a soldier currently on his third tour of duty in Iraq. So I make that correction now and still say, this country has definitely gone completely insane.

Okay, I need to rant.

I was just watching the news, and I caught part of a report on Michael
Jackson. As we all know, Jackson died the other day. He was an
entertainer who performed for decades. He made millions, he spent
millions, and he did a lot of things that make him a villain to many
people. I understand that his death would affect a lot of people, and
I respect those people who mourn his death, but that isn't the point
of my rant.

Why is it that when ONE man dies, the whole of America loses their
minds with grief. When a man dies whose only contribution to the
country was to ENTERTAIN people, the American people find the need to
flock to a memorial in Hollywood, and even Congress sees the need to
hold a "moment of silence" for his passing?

Am I missing something here? ONE man dies, and all of a sudden he's a
freaking martyr because he entertained us for a few decades? What
about all those SOLDIERS who have died to give us freedom? All those
Soldiers who, knowing that they would be asked to fight in a war,
still raised their hands and swore to defend the Constitution and the
United States of America. Where is their moment of silence? Where
are the people flocking to their graves or memorials and mourning over
them because they made the ultimate sacrifice? Why is it when a
Soldier dies, there are more people saying "good riddance," and "thank
God for IEDs?" When did this country become so calloused to the
sacrifice of GOOD MEN and WOMEN, that they can arbitrarily blow off
their deaths, and instead, throw themselves into mourning for a "Pop
Icon?"

I think that if they are going to hold a moment of silence IN CONGRESS
for Michael Jackson, they need to hold a moment of silence for every
service member killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They need to PUBLICLY
recognize every life that has been lost so that the American people
can live their callous little lives in the luxury and freedom that WE,
those that are living and those that have gone on, have provided for
them. But, wait, that would take too much time, because there have
been so many willing to make that sacrifice. After all, we will never
make millions of dollars. We will never star in movies, or write hit
songs that the world will listen too. We only shed our blood, sweat
and tears so that people can enjoy what they have.

Sorry if I have offended, but I needed to say it.
Remember these five words the next time you think of someone who is serving in the military;

"So that others may live..."

God bless

Rob

The Other Side Of Racism

2009-07-08T22:39:00.003-04:00

I heard this on the Neil Boortz radio show today and thought I'd share it with you. This is a letter from a black woman who did not vote for Hussein Obama. It was written shortly after the election.

Dr. Anne Wortham is the author of "The Other Side of Racism: A Philosophical Study of Black Race Consciousness". She is Associate Professor of Sociology at Illinois State University and continuing Visiting Scholar at Stanford University 's Hoover Institution. She is a member of the American Sociological Association and the American Philosophical Association. Pretty strong credentials, don't you think?

Why bring her up? Because I've just come across a letter she wrote to her fellow Americans on November 6th of last year. I thought you might enjoy it ... so here goes:

Fellow Americans,

Please know: I am black; I grew up in the segregated South. I did not vote for Barack Obama; I wrote in Ron Paul's name as my choice for president. Most importantly, I am not race conscious. I do not require a black president to know that I am a person of worth, and that life is worth living. I do not require a black president to love the ideal of America.

I cannot join you in your celebration. I feel no elation. There is no smile on my face. I am not jumping with joy. There are no tears of triumph in my eyes. For such emotions and behavior to come from me, I would have to deny all that I know about the requirements of human flourishing and survival - all that I know about the history of the United States of America, all that I know about American race relations, and all that I know about Barack Obama as a politician. I would have to deny the nature of the "change" that Obama asserts has come to America. Most importantly, I would have to abnegate my certain understanding that you have chosen to sprint down the road to serfdom that we have been on for over a century. I would have to pretend that individual liberty has no value for the success of a human life. I would have to evade your rejection of the slender reed of capitalism on which your success and mine depend. I would have to think it somehow rational that 94 percent of the 12 million blacks in this country voted for a man because he looks like them (that blacks are permitted to play the race card), and that they were joined by self-declared "progressive" whites who voted for him because he doesn't look like them. I would have to be wipe my mind clean of all that I know about the kind of people who have advised and taught Barack Obama and will fill posts in his administration - political intellectuals like my former colleagues at the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

I would have to believe that "fairness" is equivalent of justice. I would have to believe that man who asks me to "go forward in a new spirit of service, in a new service of sacrifice" is speaking in my interest. I would have to accept the premise of a man that economic prosperity comes from the "bottom up," and who arrogantly believes that he can will it into existence by the use of government force. I would have to admire a man who thinks the standard of living of the masses can be improved by destroying the most productive and the generators of wealth.

Finally, Americans, I would have to erase from my consciousness the scene of 125,000 screaming, crying, cheering people in Grant Park, Chicago irrationally chanting "Yes We Can!" Finally, I would have to wipe all memory of all the times I have heard politicians, pundits, journalists, editorialists, bloggers and intellectuals declare that capitalism is dead - and no one, including especially Alan Greenspan, objected to their assumption that the particular version of the anti-capitalistic mentality that they want to replace with their own version of anti-capitalism is anything remotely equivalent to capitalism.

So you have made history, Americans. You and your children have elected a black man to the office of the president of the United States, the wounded giant of the world. The battle between John Wayne and Jane Fonda is over - and that Fonda won. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern must be very happy men. Jimmie Carter, too. And the Kennedys have at last gotten their Kennedy look-a-like. The self-righteous welfare statists in the suburbs can feel warm moments of satisfaction for having elected a black person. So, toast yourselves: 60s countercultural radicals, 80s yuppies and 90s bourgeois bohemians. Toast yourselves, Black America. Shout your glee Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Stanford, and Berkeley. You have elected not an individual who is qualified to be president, but a black man who, like the pragmatist Franklin Roosevelt, promises to - Do Something! You now have someone who has picked up the baton of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. But you have also foolishly traded your freedom and mine - what little there is left - for the chance to feel good. There is nothing in me that can share your happy obliviousness.

November 6, 2008

I couldn't agree more!

God bless

Rob

America's Judeo - Christian Heritage

2009-07-06T14:57:00.000-04:00

America - The Divided

2009-05-27T21:02:00.004-04:00

Ever notice how today we are no longer "One Nation Under God?" Instead of America being one nation made up of many groups of people living toward a common goal, that being the greatness of the U.S., today we have a bunch of little "sovereign" nationalities trying to all get along yet make up one country.

Instead of everyone just calling themselves Americans and being proud to be an American we have African-Americans, Chinese-Americans, Latino-Americans and on and on ad nausium. What's the deal with this anyway? Is the U.S. such a bad place that no one wants to just assimilate into our culture and be happy?

I'll leave you with one final thought. This was what President Roosevelt said back in 1907 regarding this very topic:

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag.. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.'

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Think about it.

Rob

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

2009-04-29T10:38:00.005-04:00

Prayer is one of the most important disciplines a Christian has. It is our only offensive weapon against the "rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Eph. 6:12

Prayer is also a privilege. It is through prayer that we are able to enter into the throne room of the Father, the Creator of the universe and ask Him to fulfill our needs according to His will.

Its interesting to note that the National Day of Prayer falls on a Thursday this year. Thursday is the day we at TurningPoint have been having our lunch prayer meeting with Pastor David. Each week we bring a sandwich and meet together, for lunch, some fellowship and of course prayer time. We've been praying for the church members and attenders and their families as well as for our government and troops.

Next Thursday, May 7 at noon, I'd like to encourage everyone to come to TurningPoint in honor of the National Day of Prayer. We desperately need to seek the Lord for a great awakening for our nation. That he might bring our leaders to repentance and heal our land.

So if you could, please make a special effort to come to TurningPoint during your lunch hour, even if its just for 15 minutes and join us in praying for our nation.

Thank you and God bless

Rob

LOOK, IN THE SKY, ITS OBAMA'S PLANE NOT OSAMA'S PLANE

2009-04-28T23:42:00.002-04:00

Have you heard the latest?? Have you heard about the fly-by in NYC? Absolutely unbelievable. On Monday, April 27, the Obama White House ordered a photo op of Air Force 1 along with 2 F-16 fighter jets to buzz the Statue of Liberty and ground zero from 9/11. What was supposed to be a cute little stunt turned out to panic a city and cost tax payers over $328,000.

This insensitivity caused needless panic with people scrambling from their offices in attempts to get away from what they perceived to be another attack.

But should we really be surprised by this? If you look at Hussein Obama's first 100 days in office, he's spent most of his time campaigning around the world, bashing the U.S., calling us arrogant, shaking the hands of dictatorial socialist leaders and bowing to the Saudi King.

His incredible desire to be liked by everyone as well as his big head have done nothing but embarrass and humiliate the U.S.

Here we have these stupid Democrats running around promising every person in America, everything under the sun. They increase our deficit spending by trillions of dollars to cover their pork barrel pet projects and call it stimulus. Yet our children and grandchildren will spend their entire lives paying for what this Leftwing, spendthrift White House and Congress have created - Massive Debt. Meanwhile, thousands of Americans are losing their jobs at an astounding rate and the Obama White House orders a $328,000 photo op. So you tell me, do you think its ok for Obama to get some keep sake photo's at the expense of taxpayers who are losing their jobs right and left and are barely able to make ends meet?

And as if this wasn't bad enough, they told all the official agencies but forced them all to keep it quiet from the public. They threatened Federal sanctions against the NYPD, Secret Service, FBI & Mayor's Office if the secret ever got out.

Could you imagine the outcry from the liberal media if the Bush White House had done something like this?? They'd be calling for his impeachment. And I think this is exactly what should happen to Obama. As one of my liberal friends told me back in February, while blaming Bush for everything under the sun including getting a hang nail, "well he's in charge so that means he gets blamed for it." I ask, since Obama is in charge, should he not take responsibility for this stupidity of endangering people's lives and step down as president? As it is, the libs want to prosecute Bush White House officials for "torturing" enemy combatants while we were fighting a war.
I say we prosecute Obama officials for declaring war on America.

Now that's change I can believe in!!

Rob

SALVATION - CAN A PERSON EVER LOSE THEIR SALVATION?

2009-04-25T21:42:00.005-04:00

Before we move on any further in our study of salvation we first need to look at the question, "Can a person lose their salvation?" There is a lot of controversial teaching on this topic so I want to straighten a few things out before we move on.

Unfortunately, the way many churches teach salvation is that once a person is saved they can also lose their salvation. That it is more of a holy relationship instead of a spiritual birth. This is why many people today believe they can lose their salvation. If the new birth is nothing more than a relationship then certainly a relationship could be lost. Some folks even look at the phrase of being born again as being nothing more than a figure of speech. Their whole view of regeneration is too shallow.

Instead, we need to be looking at the spiritual birth the way the Bible teaches us; that if spiritual birth, being born again, means God has planted a new spiritual life within you, if it means God made you a new creation, then to lose your salvation would have major consequences. This would mean, if you were to lose your salvation, the whole process of regeneration would have to be reversed. If we look at it from a physical view point, is it possible for a person to be unborn once they have been born? The obvious answer to this question is no. Therefore, if regeneration is an actual spiritual birth, which changes a man at the center of his being, then it cannot be reversed any more than a physical birth could be reversed.

So we must then ask the question Richard Belcher asks in his book on salvation. He says, "Does the new birth affect you externally through a relationship with God and then eventually internally, or does the new birth affect you drastically, internally by the implantation of a new principle of life and then affect you externally in your everyday life because of that internal change?"

When we are saved, the Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2Cor. 5:17-18

When we are saved, we are dramatically changed on the inside. We are spiritually reborn. And this spiritual birth is a work of God not man. So do we think we are capable of undoing God's work? By saying "I'm saved," and then turning around some time later and stating that I've lost my salvation is basically saying I've undone what God has done. I have power over God because I was able to reverse my spiritual birth. This is pretty bold.

Don't forget what Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30

NOTE: Did you notice that last part, "I and the Father are one." Here Jesus is claiming He is God. Don't ever let anyone tell you Jesus was just a great teacher. He was much more than that. In fact He is much more than that - He is God. The Jews knew exactly what He meant because the very next verse tells us they picked up stones to stone Him.

So its not that a person can be saved and then lose their salvation. Instead, a person who claims they are saved and then continues living a sinful life, I believe was never saved in the first place. They may have had some "spiritual experience" but if they show no remorse over their sin or claim that God loves them anyway because He created them that way, and they go on sinning, these are folks who were never saved to begin with.

Scripture tells us in 2Pet 1:10a "...be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure..." We need to check our lives and make sure we are living a holy life, that is pleasing to God by obeying His word. And when we do sin, we should be able to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon us. We should desire to repent and seek forgiveness and be cleansed.

If you're going through life thinking you're a Christian, thinking you're saved and yet your life looks no different from the world. You better take another look at your Christian walk. Do you feel remorse for your sin? Do you know what it is that displeases God. Do you desire to repent when you sin?

A person who is truly saved can never lose their salvation. But, what we must ask is, "Are we really saved?" Just double check yourself and "Make your calling and election sure."

God bless

Rob

SALVATION - WHAT IS REGENERATION?

2009-04-22T08:56:00.004-04:00

This study in salvation I'm taking from one of Richard Belcher's novels called A Journey in Salvation as well as from Scripture of course.

Salvation begins with God. It is not, nor can it be initiated by man. The human heart must be born again or regenerated and this can only happen through super natural intervention.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to him to seek answers about his miracles. Jesus tells Nicodemus in v.3, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Needless to say Nicodemus is stunned by these words and isn't sure what to make of this. He questions Jesus asking, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mothers womb a second time?"

But in verse 7 Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again."

First lets look at what Jesus is not saying here:
He's not saying - It would be nice if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be helpful if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be beneficial if you would be born again.
He's not saying - It is my hope that you would be born again.

Instead, Jesus is making an emphatic statement here that one MUST be born again. Basically He's saying, you MUST be regenerated. This is not optional or open to discussion. Then this raises the question, What exactly is Regeneration?

I) Regeneration is a Birth or a Creation

When you create something new or there is a new birth, it is the giving of life where before nothing existed.

So the new birth is not:
Making something from something else.
The remaking of something old.
The renewal of something already alive.
The reformation of something deteriorating or slipping away.
The revival of something dying.

Here's an example.

There was once a scientist who confronted God and said, "God, I'm now as powerful as you are. With my scientific knowledge I can create anything you can create." So God looking down on the scientist said, Ok, go ahead, lets see you create another earth." The scientist said, "No problem." He reached down and started gathering dirt for his creation, but God said, "Ah, ah, get your own dirt.

So regeneration, the new birth, is not making something out of something that already exists, its something that must be created from nothing.

Louis Berkhof in his book, Systematic Theology says the following about the new birth:

"The subconscious implanting of the principle of the new spiritual life in the soul which effects an instantaneous change; intellectually, morally, emotionally in the whole man which enables the sinner to respond in repentance and faith to the outward or public proclamation of the Gospel."

II) Regeneration is a Second or Spiritual Birth

This means that to be a Christian, one must be born twice. Continuing in John 3:5-6 Jesus notes for Nicodemus the significance of the two different births. He states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (physical) and the Spirit, (spiritual) he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, (physical) and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (spritual)

What Jesus is saying here is that in order for anyone to enter the kingdom of Heaven he must be born, not only physically but spiritually as well; He must be born from above. This also goes hand in hand with other passages of Scripture:

1John 5:4-5 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"

1John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

1John 2:29 "If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him."

1Peter 1:22b-23 "...Love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God."

And there are many more passages that talk similarly about the second birth.

III) Regeneration is a Mystery to Men

How regeneration actually occurs we will never really know this side of Heaven. All we know for sure is that we are to proclaim the good news to the whole world and as people hear it, God will regenerate the hearts of some and they will be born again.

Back to our passage of Scripture in John 3, Jesus says in verse 8, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

So what's Jesus saying here? That salvation, the new birth, regeneration is the sole work of God and that the secret things are of the Lord.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Richard Belcher sums it up this way:

"A Christian is one who has been moved upon by the Holy Spirit in a manner which man cannot explain whereby a deep internal change has taken place so that he is a new creation through the imparting of a new principle of life by the Holy Spirit of God whereby also one's outward life is changed in a very noticeable and drastic manner."

I'll just add one more passage of Scripture to that:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Corinthians 5:17-21

Amen and God bless

Rob

Celebration Sunday

2009-04-19T20:41:00.004-04:00

Today was Celebration Sunday at TurningPoint. We celebrated our second anniversary in our current location. The day was filled with great worship, plenty of food, fun and fellowship and even a concert by our own praise team. We also had a girls trio who came up from Riverbend and sang a couple of songs for us. All in all the weather remained beautiful this year and a good time was had by all.

But I'd like to focus on this morning's message by Pastor David as he preached out of James 4:13-17. This passage is about boasting about tomorrow. James talks about how we often make plans to do something or go somewhere in the future yet we can never really be sure whether or not those plans will come to fruition because we never really know what tomorrow will bring.

Pastor David taught that counting on the future is unwise. James 4:13 says, "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit..." By saying this, man acts as if he is in control instead of God. This is foolishness because as James goes on to say in verse 14 "you do not know what tomorrow will bring..."

James tells us in verse 15 that instead of boasting in our own man made plans we should say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." No matter how we plan we just don't know what the future holds. Pastor David made a great analogy, he said, "To God, eternity is like an open map and He sees it all. To man, eternity is like an open labyrinth and he only sees where he is."

Does this mean we should stop planning then? Of course not. James is not telling us to drop out of life. We just need to make our plans aware that God is in control and not us.

Before you were born God knew every thought you would think and every word you would speak. All our plans should wait until God either opens the door or closes it. This does not mean sitting around doing nothing. Pastor David said we need to live life now, doing what God wants us to do while we wait on His response to the plans we've made.

So remember, It is God who governs our lives and not chance. Recognition of God with regard to the future is true wisdom.

Hope you all enjoyed our Celebration Sunday as much as I did.

God bless

Rob

Right Wing Extremist and Damn Proud of It

2009-04-15T23:03:00.004-04:00

Have you heard all the rage over the report issued by the Homeland Security, Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A). (Intelligence?? Now there's a real contradiction in terms.) On April 7 the nine-page document titled "Right wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment" was released classifying many Americans as well as Veterans returning from war as Right Wing Extremists and possible enemies of the state. Below is how the report speaks about our honored veterans:

"The Department of Homeland Security assesses that right-wing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat. These skills and knowledge have the potential to boost the capabilities of right-wing extremists including lone wolves or small terrorist cells to carry out violence. The willingness of a small percentage of military personnel to join right-wing extremist groups during the 1990s because they were disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war is being replicated today."

So, here we have a report from Janet Napolitano and more specifically backed by the Barack Hussain Obama's, Department of Homeland Security portraying our veterans as as posing a bigger threat to this country than Al-Qaeda terrorists or genuine enemies of this country like Kim Jong Il of North Korea or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. They wouldn't write anything about these crooks like this. They wouldn't write anything about Osama Bin Laden like this.

It is absolutely amazing to me how much Hussain Obama and his cronies in Washington hate America as it was founded. The report also defines right wing extremism to mean:

Right wing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups), and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the liberals of this country would look at real terrorists the way they look upon conservatives? With Islamic fascists and other terrorists around the globe they want to hold hands, love everyone and sing Kumbaya. Yet here at home they want to take conservative American's, their fellow citizens, and ship them to Gitmo.

Just like the typical leftist they are, Barak Hussein Obama or Janet Napolitano put together this Department of Homeland Security report, proving they are nothing but extreme partisan radicals, and they're ready to go to war with a domestic enemy, conservatives, that they consider to be a greater threat than Iran, China, North Korea, Venezuela, Russia, or any other nation that threatens the United States. The message coming out of Washington by the Barak Hussein Obama administration is that conservatives are the biggest threat to America.

In one of his recent radio broadcasts, Rush Limbaugh said the following, I think I'll send Janet Napolitano a quick little note saying, "Madam Secretary, given your latest report from the Department of Homeland Security, don't close Guantanamo Bay, Club Gitmo. Keep it open so you can ship all the right-wing extremist Americans, former military members down there when you capture them engaging in whatever anti-American activity you dream up."

I couldn't agree more. I think this is something all of us right wing extremists should do. Let her mailbox get filled with 50 million or so letters like this and maybe she can see the foolishness of her statements.

The list of items presented in this document is extensive. For example, if you own a gun, own a Bible, are against abortion or homosexuality, you are guilty of being a right wing extremist. There is no question that these communists in Washington right now are out of control and out to destroy our nation and Christianity.

The left has always supported anything that is against Jesus Christ. They will say they believe in God - but what god?? Mention God and that's ok, but mention the name of Christ and today you're being labeled an enemy of the state.

Do you realize that this document lists everyone who agrees with the constitutional founding of our country as a Right Wing Extremist. That means our founding father's, if they were alive today, would be in danger of extremism and would be closely watched by the Department of Homeland Security.

Thank God for these TEA parties. Maybe America is finally starting to wake up and realize that our freedoms are little by little being stripped away.

God bless

Rob

HE IS RISEN!!!!!!

2009-04-11T22:59:00.007-04:00

Praise the Lord!!

As this is the greatest day in the history of the world! Because Christ arose from the grave and defeated death, we who are sinners can now freely approach the Throne of Grace in repentance and faith and receive eternal life. There has never been, nor will there ever be again, so precious a gift.

Below I've taken a few different passages of Scripture and tried to encapsulate the true Easter story for everyone. Not only has He risen from the dead but He will one day soon return to call all of His elect home. Enjoy the verses below. Then turn up your speakers as I've embedded a couple of video's from the Accapella Christian group, GLAD. If you love Accapella singing, these guys are the best and these two songs are a real blessing. They follow right along with the Easter theme. Enjoy

"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you." Matthew 28:1-7

"Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:16-20

"And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into Heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into Heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into Heaven"
Acts 1:9-11

Praise God!! Now scroll down, turn up your speakers and enjoy some great Easter music from GLAD.

God bless and have a great Easter.

Rob

Obama the Socialist

2009-02-27T21:18:00.001-05:00

There's no question about it, Obama is out to crush investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, private-equity and venture-capital as he laid out his socialist agenda during his State of the Union speech.

That is the meaning of his anti-growth tax-hike proposals, which make absolutely no sense at all — either for this recession or from the standpoint of expanding our economy’s long-run potential to grow.

Raising the marginal tax rate on successful earners, capital, dividends, and all the private funds is a function of Obama’s left-wing social vision, and a repudiation of his economic-recovery statements. Ditto for his sweeping government-planning-and-spending program, which will wind up raising federal outlays as a share of GDP to at least 30 percent, if not more, over the next 10 years.

This is nearly double the government-spending low-point reached during the late 1990s by the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton administration. While not quite as high as spending levels in Western Europe, we regrettably will be gaining on this statist-planning approach.

Study after study over the past several decades has shown how countries that spend more produce less, while nations that tax less produce more. Obama is doing it wrong on both counts.

And as far as middle-class tax cuts are concerned, Obama’s cap-and-trade program will be a huge across-the-board tax increase on blue-collar workers, including unionized workers. Industrial production is plunging, but new carbon taxes will prevent production from ever recovering. While the country wants more fuel and power, cap-and-trade will deliver less.

The tax hikes will generate lower growth and fewer revenues. Yes, the economy will recover. But Obama’s rosy scenario of 4 percent recovery growth in the out years of his budget is not likely to occur. The combination of easy money from the Fed and below-potential economic growth is a prescription for stagflation. That’s one of the messages of the falling stock market.

Essentially, the Obama economic policies represent a major Democratic party relapse into Great Society social spending and taxing. It is a return to the LBJ/Nixon era, and a move away from the Reagan/Clinton period. House Republicans, fortunately, are 90 days sober, as they are putting up a valiant fight to stop the big-government onslaught and move the GOP back to first principles.

Noteworthy up here on Wall Street, a great many Obama supporters — especially hedge-fund types who voted for “change” — are becoming disillusioned with the performances of Obama and Treasury man Geithner.

There is a growing sense of buyer’s remorse.

Well then, do conservatives dare say: We told you so?

Democrats Ethical Dilema

2009-02-19T22:10:00.002-05:00

Throughout the election campaign, President Obama continuously promised that his administration was going to clean up Washington and that it would be open and forthcoming. However, since its inception it has been behind closed doors most of the time and full of corruption. I'm so glad to have this "Change We Can Believe In." But this is what the duped American public wanted and now you've got it America. Lets take a look at what's been going on during the first few weeks since Obama took office.

1)While the Senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm William Lynn as deputy defense secretary, Obama had to waive his ethics regulations to place the former defense lobbyist in charge of day-to-day operations at the Pentagon. What this means:

On his first day in office, Obama issued an executive order forcing individuals to wait two years before they could be hired for the agencies they had lobbied and to remove themselves from involvement in issues related to their former employers. However, Obama backtracked on his promise to keep lobbyists out of the federal government by waiving ethics regulations and putting a former defense lobbyist in charge of day-to-day operations at the Pentagon.

2) Obama's initial choice for commerce secretary, Bill Richardson, stepped aside due to a grand jury investigation into a state contract awarded to his political donors. What this means:

From 2004 to 2005, CDR Financial Products, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company founded and run by David Rubin, received nearly $1.5 million through the New Mexico Finance Authority for advising the state in a complex highway funding project pushed by Richardson. In roughly that same time period, CDR and Rubin gave approximately $100,000 to political organizations run by Richardson, including one that paid for his and his staff's expenses at the 2004 Democratic convention.

3) Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader from South Dakota, abandoned his bid to become health and human services secretary and the administration's point man on reforming health care because of issues with back taxes and conflicts of interest.

4) Nancy Killefer stepped down from a newly created position charged with the same issue, taxes. She stated, "she didn't want her bungling of payroll taxes on her household help to be a distraction."

5) Tim Geithner also having problems paying his taxes and yet was confirmed as Treasury Secretary.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here?? Could you imagine what would happen if we committed only a small portion of the tax fraud that these Liberal politicians did?? We'd have our assets taken away, get fined and even possibly spend some time in jail. But what do these socialist senators say about all this?? Are they angry? Are they upset? Are they calling for punishment?

Not at all, here's their comments:

"Tom,(speaking of Daschle) made a mistake, which he has openly acknowledged," Obama said. "He has not excused it, nor do I. But that mistake and this decision cannot diminish the many contributions Tom has made to this country." Huh!!!

"I was a little stunned. I thought he was going to get confirmed," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel that would have voted on Daschle's nomination. "It's regrettable. He's a very good man."

So basically, as long as I'm a good man I can just forgo paying my taxes for 3 years without any consequences?

Don't you just love the "change" Obama has brought to Washington? Could you imagine if this was George Busch? They'd be ripping him to shreds. Looks like Obama has decided to keep the "Good ol' Boys Club" going just a bit longer. Surprise surprise!

Rob

How Much Is A Billion Dollars?

2009-02-01T16:23:00.002-05:00

How many zeros in a billion? This is too true to be funny.
The next time you hear a politician use the
word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about
whether you want the 'politicians' spending
YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend,
but one advertising agency did a good job of
putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.

A.
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

B.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

C.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were
living in the Stone Age.

D.
A billion days ago no one walked on the earth on two feet.

E.
A billion dollars ago was only
8 hours and 20 minutes,
at the rate our government
is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain...
let's take a look at New Orleans .
It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D)
is presently asking Congress for
250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans.
Interesting number...
what does it mean?

A.
Well.... if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans
(every man, woman, and child)
you each get $516,528.

B.
Or... if you have one of the 188,251 homes in
New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787..

C..
Or... if you are a family of four...
your family gets $2,066,012.

So did you ever stop to think just how many taxes we are paying?
Below is a list:

Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax (Fed)
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service charge taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage ChargeTax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration T ax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax
(And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes)

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago...
and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

We had absolutely no national debt...
We had the largest middle class in the world...
and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?
Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to
press '1'
for English.

Twisting Scripture To Fit Our Lives

2009-01-20T19:53:00.001-05:00

I was taken to a homosexual web site while trying to view a news story about Ray Boltz who was a Christian music artist who "came out of the closet" last year. He went on to proclaim he was gay but that he was still a Christian. I was amazed at some of the different postings on that web site. How these people twist Scripture to make it fit their lifestyles instead of making their lifestyles fit Scripture. One woman called Bible believing Christians "nothing but scribes and pharisees" and went on to state that Scripture says nothing about homosexuality. Included below is my response to her diatribe.

Just wondering, you say Scripture says nothing about homosexuality. What about Romans 1:24-27,

"Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25, For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen. 26, For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error."

Sounds a lot like Paul is talking about homosexuals here.

You also seem to be very judgmental toward those of us who hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. As Christians, are we not supposed to live our lives as best we can, according to the Scriptures?? Did Jesus not say, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?" Luke 6:46

We certainly should pray for Ray Boltz that the Lord would bring him to repentance, but no matter how you want to twist Scripture to make it fit your lifestyle, homosexuality is still a sin and needs to be dealt with. No one can call themselves a true Christian if they continue living in sin and think its ok. If they refuse to recognize sin as sin and are unrepentant, then they risk dying in their sins and spending eternity in the Lake of Fire.

All sin is an offense to God, from lying to sexual immorality to murder and we have all sinned. This is why Jesus came into the world - to save sinners. He lived the perfect life that we are unable to live, thereby fulfilling the law for us. Then he died a death he did not deserve, thereby paying our fine. What would take us an eternity to pay for in hell, Christ paid for in just a couple of days. Then He defeated death and now sits at the right hand of God and will return soon to judge the living and the dead.

So for all the folks at TurningPoint and anyone else who claims to be a Christian, it is very important to know that it is we who need to make our lives fit to what Scripture says and not try to twist Scripture to fit our lives. We are the ones who are sinful and need forgiveness. We can't run around saying, 'well that was 2000, 3000, 4000 years ago so it no longer applies to us today.' We may have changed but God and His word never change. God tells us to, "Be Holy for I am Holy." So lets make 2009 a year of repentance and lets work to live by the teachings of Scripture and not make Scripture live by the teachings of man.

God bless

Rob

Suicide of the West

2009-01-15T21:29:00.002-05:00

Judge Roy Moore

2009-01-12T17:37:00.004-05:00

Some of you may be wondering what Judge Roy Moore has been doing since he was removed from the bench for refusing to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom wall. Judge Moore was sued by the ACLU for displaying the Ten Commandments in his courtroom foyer. He has been stripped of his judgeship and now they are trying to strip his right to practice law in Alabama! Wake up Christian, it won't be much longer now until this type of thing is a common occurrence throughout our land. The judge's poem sums it up quite well.

America the beautiful,
or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride;
I'm glad they'll never see.

Babies piled in dumpsters,
Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty;
your house is on the sand.

Our children wander aimlessly
poisoned by cocaine
choosing to indulge their lusts,
when God has said abstain

From sea to shining sea,
our Nation turns away
From the teaching of God's love
and a need to always pray

We've kept God in our
temples,how callous we have grown.
When earth is but His footstool,
and Heaven is His throne.

We've voted in a government
that's rotting at the core,
Appointing Godless Judges;
who throw reason out the door,

Too soft to place a killer
in a well deserved tomb,
But brave enough to kill a baby
before he leaves the womb.

You think that God's not
angry,that our land's a moral slum?
How much longer will He wait
before His judgment comes?

How are we to face our God,
from Whom we cannot hide?
What then is left for us to do,
but stem this evil tide?

If we who are His children,
will humbly turn and pray;
Seek His holy face
and mend our evil way:

Then God will hear from Heaven;
and forgive us of our sins,
He'll heal our sickly land
and those who live within.

But, America the Beautiful,
If you don't - then you will see,
A sad but Holy God
withdraw His hand from Thee.

~~Judge Roy Moore~~

Please be in prayer for this great Godly man and his family who have endured so much over the past couple of years.

Rob

This Was Your Life!!

2008-12-31T17:24:00.004-05:00

Mary Did You Know?

2008-12-16T23:11:00.006-05:00

I found this very powerful video online at a website called, Jokes and Jesus. The video is made up of clips from the movie The Passion of the Christ put to the music of "Mary Did You Know." Seeing as how this is the Christmas season and everywhere you look you see nothing but commercialism, I thought I try to put Christ back in Christmas with this very powerful video so everyone can truly remember not only that Jesus is the reason for the season but also WHY He is the reason for the season.

The Christmas Story

We pick up the story shortly after Mary & Joseph arrive in Bethlehem,

"And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country, shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were very afraid.
And the angel said unto them; Fear Not: For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying; Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels had gone away from them into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another; Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. Luke 2:7-20

Now watch the video below to see what our Savior went through so that those who believe in Him and repent of their sins might receive the gift of eternal life!

May you all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Love in Christ

Rob

TWAS THE MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS

2008-12-07T00:21:00.003-05:00

Seeing as how celebrating Christmas in our country is so offensive and will probably soon become a crime, but its okay to celebrate Ramadan or Hanukkah or whatever other holiday might come along, I thought I'd share this little tidbit with everyone.

Enjoy

*Twas the month before Christmas*
*When all through our land,*
*Not a Christian was praying*
*Nor taking a stand.*
*See the PC Police had taken away,*
*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*
*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*
*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*
*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*
* December 25th is just a 'Holiday'.*
*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*
*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*
*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*
*Something was changing, something quite odd! *
*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*
*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*
*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*
* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*
*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*
*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*
*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*
*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*
*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*
*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!*
*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*
*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*
*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*
* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*
*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*
*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*
*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*
*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*
*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*
*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
not Happy Holiday!*

WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS

2008-11-24T13:57:00.003-05:00

And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?"
And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many."
"And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs."
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. And because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved."

Matthew 24:3-12

When I look out at our world today it seems to me that we are very close the the return of our Lord. When you look at what Jesus told His disciples in the above passage, you can really see these things coming to pass today.

In this passage Jesus mentions 3 things we need to look out for and they are the following:

Increased Deception

Increased Conflicts

Increased Lawlessness

First - We see an increase in deception: There are many today posing as Christian leaders who are leading many people astray with false doctrines and false prophesies. One person who comes to mind was a guy, just this year, by the name of Todd Bentley who was leading something called the Lakeland Outpouring right here in Florida.

He talked about having a spirit guide/angel called Emma. He also talked about speaking with Jesus. He claimed to have the gift of healing. Yet when all was said and done, instead of glorifying the name of Christ, he had inflicted a great amount of harm against the name of Christ in the eyes of the world. He ended up divorcing his wife thereby hurting his family not to mention all his deceived followers. Yet the most amazing thing to me is that there are still people who defend him saying what a great man of God he is.

"See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many... And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many." Mt. 24:4-5, 11

As far as I'm concerned, there was never anything Godly about Todd Bentley or his ministry - ever. He never preached about sin and repentance, instead everything with him was self centered. In fact if you watch some of his video's on You Tube, you'll never see him open a Bible. He never warns the sinner about a hell to avoid; instead, he preached another gospel. Instead of patting this false prophet on the back, his followers should have been calling him out and rebuking him so that he might repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness.

That the church would put forth a charlatan such as this and line up behind him as one of its leaders, just shows the sad state of the Christian church today. If Johnathan Edwards or Charles Spurgeon could see this they'd roll over in their graves. Today's church is, unfortunately, no longer morally grounded on the Word of God. Instead, like a wicked generation it seeks after signs and wonders and none will be given it.

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance too their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths." 2Tim 4:3-4

This is the Deception that more and more churches are falling for today.

Second - Increased Conflicts: We see an increase in conflicts world wide. I was listening to a recent sermon by John MacArthur and he had some great statistics showing how conflicts are increasing around the globe over time:

Historians have recorded all significant conflicts and grouped them as follows:

70 Major Conflicts before Christ

In the first 1000 years after Christ there were 50 major conflicts.

500 years after that, there were 100 major conflicts

300 years after that, there were 250 major conflicts

200 years after that, there were 500 major conflicts

In the last 4 years there have been 20 major conflicts

As you can see, the history of man has been marked by constant conflict and as time goes on things just get worse and worse. I think Pastor MacArthur puts it best when he says, "the only peace you can find in man's history is when he stops to reload."

Third - Today we definitely see in increase in lawlessness. Man in his infinite wisdom took God out of schools back in the 1950's and today we are reaping the rewards of what we've sewn.

Today we have generations of kids who are completely disrespectful to anyone in authority and fewer and fewer of them know who the true God of the Bible really is. We have legalized the inhumane murder of the innocent unborn and called it "freedom of choice." Like Genna Jessen said, "if the rights of women are so important than what about the rights of the baby?" Unfortunately today, the blood of millions of innocent babies is on our hands, and we wonder why God is removing His hand from our nation.

Then instead of recognizing the homosexual lifestyle for what it is - an abomination against the Lord, we have instead legitimized it by calling it an "alternative lifestyle." Yet God tells us in Romans 1:18-32 that not only has He given them over to these degrading passions and a depraved mind but even those who approve of this practice are worthy of death.

Everything in this generation today is backwards. Today we call evil, good and good, evil. When you have your very own courts of law twisting the Constitution to make it say that which was never intended just to suit a small minority of people you know we're in trouble. It's because of this continued confusion that I feel the Lord will be returning very soon.

TERRIFYING WORDS

2008-11-22T08:26:00.003-05:00

I found this quote from Ronald Regan and thought I'd share it with you. It is a gem.

"The most terrifying words in the English language are:
I'm from the government, and I'm here to help"

....Ronald Regan

BAR STOOL ECONOMICS

2008-11-08T20:07:00.004-05:00

This is a neat email I received from my father which really explains what's going to happen to our income over the next few years as Obama begins to spread your hard earned money around.

BAR STOOL ECONOMICS

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for
all ten comes to $100.

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go
something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay
nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar
every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one
day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers, he said, I'm going to
reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes
so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for
free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How
could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his
'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they
subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the
sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the
bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's
bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the
amounts each should pay.!

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid
nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25%
savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22%
savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16%
savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four
continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the
men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20, 'declared the sixth man. He
pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a
dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10
back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't
get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the
nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to
pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't
have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is
how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get
the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack
them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In
fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is
somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

The Best The Black Church Has To Offer

2008-10-29T23:39:00.004-04:00

Thought you might like to hear Obama tell you in his own words that Jeremiah Wright "represents the best of what the black church has to offer." Remember, Obama sat under Wright's teaching for 20 years.

Opponents to Marriage Amendment Playing Dirty

2008-10-25T07:06:00.001-04:00

Our opponents are desperate and are now playing dirtier than ever because we are closer than ever to victory.

The new Mason Dixon poll out today shows that we are gradually gaining steam and have moved from 55% to 57%. But we are still not at the 60% needed for a victory protect marriage in Florida on November 4^th. And because we are within striking distance the opposition has become more desperate than ever because even their own phony scare tactic messages are not working. So they are resorting to anything goes -- below the belt campaigning. The hostility from the oppostion is showing absolutely no regard for the law, the rules, or fair play. Here are some examples of what we are facing:

1) Destruction of Campaign Signs and Personal Property: Around the state, reports are pouring in that our opponents are trespassing on private home yards to steal and deface yes2Marriage.org signs. Hundreds of our YesOn2 yard signs have suddenly disappeared in the night. A Miami woman reported to us that her car was keyed all around where she placed a bumper sticker. An Ormond Beach family had feces smeared and dumped on top of their yard sign. In North Florida, a bill board was vandalized and defaced and had to be replaced.

2) Filing Frivolous Complaints: The Red and Blue committee has filed bogus complaints against us with the Florida Elections Commission, saying we are “hiding secret money” and violating the rules regarding election laws. Do you think it is just coincidence that only days before this election they decided to start whining and complaining about Florida Family Action, a group that has been operating legally now for the past 4 years of this campaign?

3) Outright False and Fraudulent Claims in TV Ads: In every single one of their TV ads they say that the marriage amendment is “government interfering with your private life.” What??? This is a citizen’s initiative where three quarters of a million Floridians placed this matter on the ballot so that the people can stop the government and activist judges from redefining marriage. Their TV ads are filled with lies, scare tactics and outright fraud.

4) Media Bias that is Stunning and Unprecedented: The bias in the media we have seen is simply unbelievable. All sense of fairness and objectivity is out the door. We announce the endorsement of the entire Florida Catholic Bishops in favor of 2 and not a single daily newspaper covers the story. Not one! But our opponents just sneeze and or file a frivolous complaint against us and a major story appears in every single daily newspaper. Every one!

5) We Are Being Outspent Three to One: In the last reporting cycle, over 75 percent of our opponents’ money is coming from outside of Florida, from special interest groups trying to tell us how to define marriage in this state. We must have a final surge of funds to compete with our opponents and respond to their deceptive messaging.

But despite their huge cash and liberal media advantage, we are on the verge of winning! That’s why they are resorting to such desperate and dirty tactics. We will not be deterred, but we must reach even more Floridians with our message -- and to do that we must have a final surge of funds to compete with our opponents and respond to their deceptive ads.

Friend, I am asking personally for your help in the final days before this vote. Campaigns will come and go. But it is perhaps once in a lifetime that we get the opportunity to preserve a human institution as important as marriage. This is truly our moment in history. I personally just want to wake up on November 5^th and be able to look myself in the mirror and be called “faithful.”

Would you prayerfully consider making one final contribution to this historical effort today to help us ensure victory right now with our secure online paypal HERE?

Even this close to the election, we can still immediately purchase the following tools.

1) Television Ads: A $900 gift can buy 1 TV ad reaching about 40,000 people. Our ads are airing now in planned markets but we need to immediately place them in other markets also.

2) Targeted Radio Ads: A $100 gift can buy 3 radio ads reaching 200,000 people. We have ads running in South Florida but need to increase the reach around the state in strategic areas.

3) Automated Phone Calls: A $30 gift can buy 600 automated calls to Florida undecided voters. These calls can be turned around in hours after we receive the funds for them.

As you know, Florida has a history of close elections and it appears that this election for the marriage amendment will be no different. Your participation could very well make the difference between victory and defeat here in Florida. I would be happy to provide you with any further information or answer any questions in writing, by phone or in person.

Thank you for considering this important request for assistance.

Sincerely,

John Stemberger

PS - Your gift might be the one that puts us over the top in this razor close vote to protect our children by protecting marriage. Give online HERE:

PSS- If you can not give financially but can volunteer your time we need help in every county with phone banks, posting yard signs and sign waiving in front of precincts for early voting and on election day November 4. Contact your local county leader HERE:

Abortion Survivor - Gianna Jessen

2008-10-24T23:43:00.003-04:00

For those of you who are interested in the fight against abortion, check out the strength of this wonderful woman who survived abortion and now speaks out against it while honoring God with her life. This is her story.

Obama and the Murder of the Innocent

2008-10-23T22:33:00.003-04:00

Today, my wife had me listen to a Focus on the Family program which featured a very special guest. She is an abortion survivor who became a Christian and now goes around the world proclaiming the evils of abortion. Her name is Gianna Jessen and she says that because of her attempted abortion she now has the "gift of cerebral palsy."

Just remember folks, when you vote on November 4, Obama voted 4 times, that's right, I said 4 times against legislation that would make it illegal to provide medical care to babies that survive a botched abortion. The liberals talk about the mother's rights, what about the baby's rights

There is a well written article by Jill Stanek of World Net Daily entitled: Gianna Jessen: Above Obama's pay grade. Just click the link to read the article. In my next post I'm going to post a couple of videos from YouTube of Gianna telling her story. It is unbelievable and I think you'll be very moved.

God bless

Rob

Yes 2 Marriage Amendment

2008-10-18T21:35:00.005-04:00

This coming election there is a very important amendment for all Florida voters to consider and that is the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment also known as Amendment 2

There are many lies being told through false advertising by the homosexual lobby claiming Amendment 2 will invalidate domestic partnerships and deny benefits to seniors. By deceiving voters, a group called, Florida Red & Blue hopes to overcome support for the marriage amendment.

Amendment 2 is about marriage and only marriage. It is not about domestic partnerships, denying benefits to seniors or civil rights. This amendment will take the traditional definition of marriage - between one man and one woman - from our state law and put it under the jurisdiction of our state constitution. This will prevent socialist, activist judges, in the future, from redefining marriage in our state. The homosexual lobby is trying to say this is not necessary because we already have 4 different laws on our books regarding marriage. However, as you've seen, lawyers and the courts can easily twist the law to suit their own ends. Just take a look at what is happening in California, Massachusetts and most recently in Connecticut. These states also had laws on their books but are now forced to recognize homosexual marriage because the courts in those states over ruled the will of the people.

As James Smith says in the October 16, 2008 edition of the Florida Baptist Witness,

"This is not an academic, esoteric debate. The Florida Marriage Protection Amendment (also known as Amendment 2) is Floridians chance to settle the definition of marriage in our state before a few judges decide it otherwise."

Here is how Justice Richard N. Palmer of the Connecticut Supreme Court reinterpreted their marriage laws,

"Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitable to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice. To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others."

Smith finishes his column by saying, "For those who doubt it is necessary to protect the definition of marriage in the state constitution, the ramifications of these decisions can be seen in Massachusetts where children are being indoctrinated with homosexual propaganda in public schools - even against the wishes of their parents - because the state is now required to allow gay marriage."

Folks, on Nov 4 when you go to vote, be sure to VOTE FOR Amendment 2. The future of our state may very well lie in the balance. See the poster below for some additional info. (Just click on the image to view a larger size.)

God bless

Rob

The Foreknowledge of God

2008-10-01T22:10:00.007-04:00

One of God's attributes that we recently studied a couple Wed nights ago was the Foreknowledge of God. When we hear the term Foreknowledge we generally take it to mean "knowledge beforehand." But is this what the Bible means when it talks about the Foreknowledge of God??

The Foreknowledge of God has been a term that has been consistently misused by many folks in the Christian community who deny the election and predestination of God's saints. These folks are known as Armenians and they believe that God looked down the corridors of time to see who was going to accept Jesus as their Savior and then the Father would choose them unto salvation. In other words, He looked into the future and if He saw a person come to saving faith, then He would predestine that person to be saved, base on foreknowledge of that person's faith. On the other hand, if He sees that a person will not come to saving faith, then He does not predestine that person to be saved. But is this truly what the Bible teaches? Are their any flaws in this argument according to Scripture? In this post we're going to take a closer look at God's foreknowledge and see what the Bible actually teaches about this great and controversial doctrine.

One of the primary passages used by Armenians when talking about God's foreknowledge is Romans 8:29-30 "For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified."

The problem with using this passage to argue that God looked into the future to see who was going to accept Christ is that it is not talking about a "fact" that someone would believe. Instead it is talking about the fact that God knew persons, ("those whom He foreknew"). Usually when Scripture speaks of God's foreknowledge or God knowing someone it is speaking of an intimate knowledge, an intimate love such as a father to a son. Lets take a closer look at how the word "Knew" is used in Scripture.

How The Word Knew Is Used In Scripture

When the Bible talks about God knowing someone it is usually a personal, relational knowledge that is spoken of. In his book Systematic Theology Wayne Grudem states it very clearly:

"God, looking into the future, thought of certain people in saving relationship to Him, and in that sense He "knew them" long ago. This is the sense in which Paul can talk about God's "knowing" someone, for example, in 1Cor. 8:3: "But if one loves God, one is known by Him." Similarly, He says, "but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God..." Gal 4:19. When people know God in Scripture, or when God knows them, it is personal knowledge that involves a saving relationship. Therefore in Romans 8:29, "those whom He foreknew" is best understood to mean, "those whom He long ago thought of in a saving relationship to Himself." The text actually says nothing about God foreseeing that certain people would believe, nor is that idea mentioned in any other text of Scripture."

We see this same principle applied in Mathew 7:22-23 when Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount says: "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." Of course Jesus knows who they are but what He's saying here is that He never had an intimate, saving relationship with them. So when people know God in Scripture, or God knows them, it is personal knowledge that involves a saving relationship.

Did God Choose Us or Did We Choose God??

Another problem I see with the Armenian definition of Foreknowledge is that it makes man sovereign over God in the matter of his salvation. This is a very dangerous premise. Under this view man is the one who decides to choose or not choose God first which then makes God obligated to save those who choose Him. Talk about turning the order of things upside down. Paul is quite clear about this in Romans 9:15-18 when he says,

"For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth. So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires." Sounds like its all of God to me.

Scripture nowhere teaches that any man ever has anything to do with his salvation. Scripture never teaches that the fact that we would come to believe in Christ is the reason God chose us. Just taking a look at Eph 1:4-11 I see nothing there that even remotely suggests that man has anything to do with his own salvation. All we see there is v.4 - "He chose us," "according to the kind intention of His will. v.6 - "To the praise of the glory of His grace," which He freely bestowed upon us," v.7 - In Him we have redemption..." and on it goes right through the end of verse 11. There is nothing in this whole passage of Scripture that has anything to do with the will of man. If man had any part to play in his salvation, don't you think Paul would have said something about that at least once?

So in conclusion I think its safe to say that election, based on God's foreknowledge of our faith is incorrect. The reason for election is simply God's sovereign choice according to the good pleasure of His will. Calvinists call election Unconditional because it is not based on anything in us that makes us worthy to receive His grace. So if you are a Christian today, give praise to your Heavenly Father who chose you because He KNEW you before the world began.

God bless,

Rob

He Makes Me Proud To Be An American

2008-09-20T22:28:00.004-04:00

Folks, the video below says it all when talking about how most of our troops feel about Hussain Obama. In his video, Dear Mr. Obama, this Marine who goes by the handle, "weneedmccain", speaks his mind about why he's voting for John McCain. My hat is off to him and all those who have fought for our country, in every war. Thank you and God bless you all.

We must realize that it is because of these brave men and women that we sleep easy at night; that our children are safe and the fools on the left have the right of free speech which they abuse by putting down those who procured their freedom.

I wish everyone could see this video. Enjoy!!

Rob

Newt is Worried And So Am I

2008-08-29T10:10:00.004-04:00

After hearing the Obama acceptance speech and reading some comments from bloggers around the country I can't help but feel that if he gets in, we will be in grave danger. We will literally be giving our freedoms away. I read one post last night where some liberal (blind Obama supporter) wrote that he agreed with Maxine Waters when she said, while grilling the president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister;

"And guess what this liberal would be all about; this liberal will be about socializing … uh, um..., "Would be about, basically, taking over, and the government running all of your companies. …"

Do you get what she's saying here??? She wants our inept and corrupt govt. to run American businesses!! And then you have Pelosi, Obama and other democrats running around trying to drum up support for the fairness doctrine. This will effectively squelch freedom of speech for anyone who has an opposing viewpoint to theirs. This will end most of talk radio - Rush, Hannity, et al.

It is just amazing to me how there can be so many mindless people on the left who are just willing to give up all their rights and freedoms to the government. Take a look at the video below and see what Newt has to say about America today. He is right on the money.

Just in case you think our security will be ok if Obama becomes president, check out what he plans to do with our military and nuclear weapons development if elected.

I'm telling you folks, pray hard that God will have mercy on our nation and prevent Obama from becoming president, or the life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as we know it may be over.

God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 19

2008-08-28T22:58:00.003-04:00

Conclusion

And here in part 19 we have the conclusion to the film The Gospel of John. What a great depiction of this great Gospel. I hope this film was a blessing to you and moved your heart.

If you are not a Christian, my prayer for you is that you would think very deeply on the teachings you witnessed here in this film. It is very important that you realize you're a sinner in the eyes of the Lord and you do need the Savior. If you should go to sleep tonight and have a heart attack, are you sure you know what would happen?? If you don't have Christ, you won't have life but eternal death and punishment.

Jesus said it Himself, "Truly, Truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

So how does one become born again? First and foremost you must realize that you are a sinner and have offended God by breaking His commandments. You then need to repent of all your sins - This means to turn completely 180 degrees in the opposite direction, and ask Jesus to forgive you. You need to move off of the throne of your heart and allow Jesus to take His rightful place there and you need to live your life for Christ. Is this easy? No not at all, especially in our culture today. However, the rewards are eternal!!

If you need to review this film a couple more times, by all means do so. You may also want to get a copy of God's Word, the Bible and follow along. The translations I recommend are the ESV, NASB, NKJV and KJV. Then pray for God to reveal Himself to you in this film so that you too may become born again into His kingdom.

God bless you all.

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 18

2008-08-28T22:42:00.002-04:00

HE IS RISEN!!!

Here in part 18 is the greatest joy of all Christians everywhere. Christ defeats death and as a result, all those who repent of their sins and believe on Him will have eternal life.

Praise God

The Gospel of John - Part 17

2008-08-28T21:31:00.003-04:00

THE CRUCIFIXION

Without a doubt, the greatest crime ever committed by man. But praise Jesus for allowing Himself to go through this for the sake of His elect.

The Gospel of John - Part 16

2008-08-27T23:09:00.002-04:00

Part 16 begins in Chapter 18 with the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. From there He is brought before Annas who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas the High Priest. We also see Jesus' prophecy of Peter's denial come true.

Jesus is next brought before Pilate and Jesus makes one of His famous statements in verse 36, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews."

Chapter 19

Pilate then has Jesus flogged and the soldiers ridicule Him and put a crown of thorns on His head. Here we also see Pilate giving the crowd a choice to set one prisoner free. The crowd screams for Barabbas who was a murderer. Then they yell for Jesus to be crucified.

God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 15

2008-08-23T22:20:00.003-04:00

Part 15 runs from John 16:16 - 18:7. It opens with Jesus telling His disciples that He will only be with them a little longer; that He is going to the Father. Jesus explains further that He has come from the Father and tells them in verse 33, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."

Chapter 17

Part 15 then moves into John 17, known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. This is one of the great doctrinal chapters in all of Scripture. There is a vast amount of Reformed Doctrine in this prayer where we learn that Jesus did not come to save every person in the world but only those the Father chose out of the world.

Praying for His disciples, Jesus says in verse 9, "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." And again in verse 20 Jesus prays, "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word..."

Chapter 18

Part 15 concludes with Jesus and His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane and Judas bringing the Roman guards to arrest Him. And so begins the greatest crime in all of history.

God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 14

2008-08-11T16:50:00.002-04:00

Part 14 encompasses all of chapter 14, all of chapter 15 and the beginning of chapter 16. There is a lot of theology in this section. Jesus has much to say about Himself and the Helper He is sending - the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 14

This chapter starts off with Jesus telling the disciples that He is the only way to heaven. This one statement alone is what makes Christianity so exclusive. It is why the world, with its self righteous doctrine of tolerance, hates Christians and calls us narrow minded. In verse 6 Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Unfortunately many in the church today feel that since we are in the new covenant we don't have to worry about God's laws anymore. But Jesus disagrees as he says in verse 15, "If you love me , you will keep my commandments." So we are to keep His commandments, not to gain salvation, but if we are saved and truly love the Lord our desire should be to obey His word.

Chapter 15

In this very important chapter, Jesus makes another of His "I AM" statements. Here, in verse 5 He says, "I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing."

Then in verse 12, Jesus reiterates His great commandment, for us to love one another.
We also see a bit of the doctrine of election here in verses 18-20 when Jesus tells His disciples, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you; 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours."

Truly some great teaching from our Lord in this portion of Scripture.

Enjoy

Rob

He goes on to tell them that they will be persecuted saying

The Gospel of John - Part 13

2008-08-11T15:43:00.002-04:00

Like part 12; part 13 follows the complete chapter of John 13. This is the famous story of the Last Supper. In this part we see Jesus wash the disciples feet. This lesson is to teach them, and all of us, that we are not to be proud and think we are above even the most menial tasks. If the King of the universe can do the lowliest task, such as washing His disciples feet, then we too should be willing to serve others at whatever cost. This is what is pleasing to the Lord.

Next we see Jesus expose who it is that is going to betray Him. After Judas leaves He gives the disciples a new commandment. He tells them, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples. If you love one another." - verses 34-35.

Part 13 ends with Jesus telling Peter, "Truly, Truly I say to you the rooster will not crow, till you have denied me three times."

God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 12

2008-08-11T15:12:00.002-04:00

Part 12 is the entire chapter of John 12. Here in part 12 we see Mary anoint the feet of Jesus with oil and then wipe them clean with her hair in verses 1-8.

In the next scene we witness Jesus' Triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. When the people heard He was coming they met him with palm branches crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel." - verse 13. It is this passage of Scripture where we get out observance of Palm Sunday.

Later, Jesus tells Andrew and Philip, "Whoever loves his life will lose it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." - verse 25. Jesus it telling them that we must not hold onto, and be consumed by the temporal things of life in this world because they only lead to eternal death. Instead we must focus on following and serving Christ that we might share in His glory and obtain eternal life by His work.

Part 12 then concludes with Jesus telling the Jews that He came into the world as light and not to judge the world but to save it. - verses 44-50

God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 11

2008-08-10T23:53:00.003-04:00

John 11:17-57 - Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. One of the greatest scenes in all of Scripture. Nothing more need be said.

Enjoy

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 10

2008-08-08T23:47:00.002-04:00

Part 10 begins in Chapter 10:1 with Jesus reiterating to the Jews, two of His "I Am" statements. First, that He is the Door, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the Door of the sheep" - verse 7 and again in verse 9 He says, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me he will be saved..." Then in verse 11 Jesus tells the Jews, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

Later Jesus is in the temple during the Feast of Dedication when he tells the Jews, "I and the Father are one." - verse 30. To the church today this doesn't mean much but what Jesus is saying here is that He is God. The Jews certainly knew what He meant because they picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy.

Part ten then concludes with the beginning of the story of Lazarus which we'll see in the next part - part 11

Enjoy and God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 9

2008-08-07T22:20:00.003-04:00

Here in part 9 we have the complete story of Jesus' healing of the blind man. If you're a TurningPoint member you're aware the Pastor David has been preaching through the Gospel of John. It wasn't long ago that he preached on this very passage.

If you recall, Jesus' disciples ask Him in John 9:2, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" We learned that the answer was neither; instead he was born blind so that, "the works of God might be displayed in him." - verse 3.

From there we see the Pharisees grill the blind man and try to get him to call Jesus a sinner because He healed him on the Sabbath. But the ex-blind man gets fed up with this and I believe is moved by God when he says to them in verses 30-33, "Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."

Enjoy this incredible passage of Scripture. God bless.

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 8

2008-08-07T21:49:00.004-04:00

Part 8 takes place between John 8:9, where Jesus finishes up with the woman accused of adultery and ends in John 8:59 after declaring that He is "I AM"

This part is filled with so much deep theology I encourage you to watch it a couple of times and really meditate on what Jesus is saying. For example in verses 12-13 Jesus again confronts the Pharisees and tells them, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

Of course later, while speaking to the Jewish crowd He tells them, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

And of course, probably one of the most famous parts of Scripture when Jesus tells the crowd that He is God - I AM!! verse 58

Enjoy this part and God Bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 7

2008-08-02T21:47:00.006-04:00

Part 7 picks up at the end of Chapter 6 after many of Jesus' disciples desert Him. Here we see Jesus ask the Twelve if they want to leave also. Peter answers in verses 68-69, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."

Chapter 7

Opens with Jesus going secretly to the Feast of Booths. He begins teaching in the temple and is confronted by the Pharisees. In verse 19, Jesus accuses them saying, "Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?"

Then we see the Pharisees send officers to arrest Jesus but because His time had not yet come they are unable arrest Him. At the end of Chapter 7 we see the Pharisees confronting the officers and asking why they did not arrest Jesus. The officers said, in verse 46, "No one ever spoke like this man!"

Chapter 8

Part 7 ends with the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring her to Jesus to try to trap Him. They say that the law of Moses says she should be stoned to death. Jesus stops them cold when He says in verse 7, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

Enjoy

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 6

2008-07-29T20:02:00.003-04:00

Part 6 begins in Chapter 6:16-21. This is the miracle when Jesus walked on water. After feeding the 5000, Jesus goes off to pray and the disciples get into a boat and head for Capernaum. Jesus then comes to them in the night, walking on the water.

In the second half of the video, Jesus proclaims to the crowd that He is the Bread of Life. In verse 44, Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day."

Jesus then tells them that they must eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood in order to have life. This of course causes much grumbling among the Jews.

Then again in verse 65 Jesus reiterates what he said in verse 44, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

Can anybody see the doctrine of Election here?? Salvation is all of God and none of us.

God bless and enjoy

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 5

2008-07-29T19:56:00.003-04:00

In this part Jesus continues to explain who he is to the Pharisees and to condemn them. If you're following along in your Bible this is in chapter 5:30-47.

Chapter 6

The video then moves into chapter 6:1-15. This is the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000

Enjoy and God Bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 4

2008-07-27T22:33:00.006-04:00

Here in Part 4 we pick up where we left off with the woman at the well and the Samaritan's in Chapter 4.

The video then picks up in John 4:46-54 which is the story of Jesus healing the Roman official's son at Capernaum.

Chapter 5

After healing the official's son, Jesus heads to Jerusalem where he heals the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda. We then see the Jewish leaders question the man because he had been healed on the Sabbath.

Part 4 ends with Jesus explaining to the religious leaders the authority of the Son.

God bless

Rob

Global Warming Update

2008-07-26T21:06:00.004-04:00

Sorry to interrupt the Gospel of John series but I just couldn't pass this up. We have another update that blows away the Gore-bull Warming hysteria. Check out this link on how Alaska is freezing this summer. Its due to be the coldest summer on record. After reading the article be sure to read the comments below. It seems, not to many people are jumping on the Goreology bandwagon.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming : )

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 3

2008-07-26T19:30:00.007-04:00

This part opens up in John chapter 3. In verses 1-21 we see Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and Jewish ruler. Here Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3)

And of course from there Jesus tells him what is probably the most famous verse in all of Scripture, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Next in verses 22-36 we witness John the Baptist exalting Christ to his followers. John's disciples come to him complaining that everyone was going to Jesus to be baptized. And is verse 30 John explains to them, "He must increase, but i must decrease."

Chapter 4

The second half of the video focuses to the famous exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacobs well. Here Jesus tells her about "Living Water." The woman confesses to Jesus that she knows the Messiah is coming. And Jesus reveals to her in verse 26, "I who speak to you am He."

Enjoy and God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 2

2008-07-26T17:45:00.002-04:00

In part 2 we see Jesus calling 3 of His disciples, Peter, Phillip and Nathanael,(John 1:43-51).
In this part we also see the wedding feast at Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle - turning water into wine, (John 2:1-11).
Part 2 concludes with Jesus going to Jerusalem during Passover and ends up cleansing the temple by driving out all the vendors and their animals and tuning over the tables of the money changers, (John 2:13-22)

Enjoy - God bless

Rob

The Gospel of John - Part 1

2008-07-25T22:46:00.004-04:00

I've always wanted to see the movie The Gospel of John but just never got around to it. So I went to YouTube and typed it in and wouldn't you know it, there it is for all the world to see. Its broken up into 22 ten minute parts, so what I've decided to do is post one part each night until all 22 video's are here. Then all you've got to do is come to Raised By Grace and you can view each video until you've seen the whole movie.

It has really been a blessing to watch and is very powerful. If you love the Lord Jesus as much as I do, I think you'll really enjoy the next 22 days. And whenever you feel like you need some uplifting teaching from the Lord, you can just come back here and enjoy seeing the Gospel come to life right on your computer screen.

Here in part one we are introduced to the fact that Jesus is God "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Here in part 1 we also meet John the Baptist.

Enjoy and God bless

Rob

The Touch of the Masters Hand

2008-07-25T14:34:00.004-04:00

I've always loved this song so when I saw this video on YouTube I just had to post it here. Great message about how God, (The Master) comes and changes our lives from corrupt sinners to glorified saints. But without His hand in our lives we are nothing, John 15:5. You can make the video as large as your screen by clicking the middle tab in the lower right corner underneith the words "YouTube."

Enjoy

Rob

God Is The Gospel

2008-07-18T23:09:00.003-04:00

This is a devotion I stumbled upon written by Dr. John Piper from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minn, MN. If you've ever heard John Piper preach or read any of his books then you're well aware of his heart and passion for God. If you haven't read "Desiring God," you should really read this book, it truly is amazing. You don't even have to buy it, you can read it for free by clicking on this link

But before you run off and read Desiring God, take a look at this devotional by John Piper. I think you'll find it a true blessing.

Enjoy.

God is the Gospel

John Piper

Have you ever asked why God’s forgiveness is of any value? Or what about eternal life? Have you ever asked why a person would want to have eternal life? Why should we want to live forever? These questions matter because it is possible to want forgiveness and eternal life for reasons that prove you don’t have them.

Take forgiveness, for example. You might want God’s forgiveness because you are so miserable with guilt feelings. You just want relief. If you can believe that he forgives you, then you will have some relief, but not necessarily salvation. If you only want forgiveness because of emotional relief, you won’t have God’s forgiveness. He does not give it to those who use it only to get his gifts and not himself.

Or you might want to be healed from a disease or get a good job or find a spouse. Then you hear that God can help you get these things, but that first your sins would have to be forgiven. Someone tells you to believe that Christ died for your sins, and that if you believe this, your sins will be forgiven. So you believe it in order to remove the obstacle to health and job and spouse. Is that gospel salvation? I don’t think so.

In other words, it matters what you are hoping for through forgiveness. It matters why you want it. If you want forgiveness only for the sake of savoring the creation, then the Creator is not honored and you are not saved. Forgiveness is precious for one final reason: it enables you to enjoy fellowship with God. If you don’t want forgiveness for that reason, you won’t have it at all. God will not be used as currency for the purchase of idols.

Similarly, we ask: why do we want eternal life? One might say: because hell is the alternative and that’s painful. Another might say: because there will be no sadness there. Another might say: my loved ones have gone there and I want to be with them. Others might dream of endless sex or food. Or more noble fortunes. In all these aims one thing is missing: God.

The saving motive for wanting eternal life is given in John 17:3: "This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." If we do not want eternal life because it means joy in God, then we won’t have eternal life. We simply kid ourselves that we are Christians, if we use the glorious gospel of Christ to get what we love more than Christ. The "good news" will not prove good to any for whom God is not the chief good.

Here is the way Jonathan Edwards put it in a sermon to his people in 1731. Read this slowly and let it waken you to the true goodness of forgiveness and life.

The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God himself is the great good which they are brought to the possession and enjoyment of by redemption. He is the highest good, and the sum of all that good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints; he is the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament and diadem, and their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God; he is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death, and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, he is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem; and is the ‘river of the water of life’ that runs, and the tree of life that grows, ‘in the midst of the paradise of God’. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another: but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in anything else whatsoever, that will yield then delight and happiness, will be what will be seen of God in them (The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader [New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999], pp. 74-75).

Savoring God through the gospel, with you,

Pastor John

Doctrines of Grace - Irresistible Grace

2008-06-21T20:38:00.001-04:00

Hello again, my apologies for not posting the Doctrines of Grace for a while. We took a couple weeks off, one to have the Lord's Supper and another because Pastor David decided he wanted to preach a message instead. That got me out of the routine and I got quite busy so I do apologize and we'll pick up with the doctrine of Irresistible Grace now.

The doctrine of Irresistible Grace states that Saving Grace accomplishes what God intends to accomplish by it; that the grace of God is so powerful it can and does Overcome our natural Resistance to it.

A better term for Irresistible Grace is Effectual Calling because its effect is to save the elect. In other words, Effectual Calling is supremely exercised in God's call to His elect. The saving outcome of God's effectual calling is clearly taught in Scripture:

Rom 8:29-30 - "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified."

2Tim 1:9 - "...who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began."

Lets take a closer look at this passage of Scripture. First, the word "foreknew" is a Greek word which literally means to "know intimately." So, before the foundation of the world, God already knew His elect intimately.

Next, to predestine means to pre-determine. So, God already chose those whom He was going to save. Then as they go through life, at God's specific time, He calls them. Many today in American Christianity will complain that this negates man's free will. Well actually it does just the opposite. In our fallen state, using our free will, we will always turn away from God because we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Eph 2:1 Instead, think of God's calling as a removing of blinders. I heard a great example of this once that may help to clear this up a bit.

If you saw a dozen people running down the road toward a pit of fire and they all had blindfolds on wouldn't you try to warn them? Suppose you call out for them to stop and you tell them they're heading for a pit of fire. They in turn tell you, 'no no, we're heading for the beach, we can feel the nice warm sun just ahead.' Now how do you convince them? If you grab one of them and remove his blindfold so he can now see what's ahead, he'll stop dead in his tracks and turn a different way. Now, would you call that interfering with his free will or saving his life? The same holds true when God removes the blinders on our hearts. He shows us that we have sinned against Him and that we need to repent and believe on Jesus in order to avoid the wrath to come - the fire pit ahead.

Some Clarification:

1) Though Irresistible Grace refers to God's call which always leads to salvation, it does not mean that God's common grace cannot be resisted.

2) Apart from Irresistible Grace, man always resists God's demands of obedience and offers of mercy - Acts 7:51 "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit..."

R.C. Sproul puts it this way: "The history of man is a history of resistance to God's grace."

Irresistible Grace as it relates to Regeneration:

The effectual calling of God is to be distinguished from a General Conviction or Persuasion that may attend the hearing of the Word of God which does not result in salvation. This is illustrated in the statement by Jesus in Matthew 22:14, "Many are called but few are chosen."

This effectual call of God and regeneration of the spirit is best illustrated in the Old Testament in Ezekiel's valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 and in the N.T. by Christ physically raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11.

1) "Dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord." Ezk 37:4 = Effectual Calling

2) "I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord." Ezk 37:5-6 = Spiritual Regeneration

3) Jesus cried, "Lazarus, come forth." = Effectual Calling

4) Lazarus was raised from the dead. = Spiritual Regeneration

A Closer Look at Regeneration:

If there is one point that divides reformed theology from other theological perspectives it is the question of the relationship between regeneration and saving faith. The most common view today is that Faith precedes Regeneration: In other words if you believe, you will be born again. Or you may have heard it put this way: "Just believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and you will be saved." This thinking, however, is backward and is actually contrary to what Scripture teaches.

The Biblical teaching and the Reformed view state that Regeneration precedes Faith: In other words, if you believe, its because you've been regenerated. And if you think about it, salvation must be this way because in order for us to realize we're sinners and come to the Lord in repentance and faith we must first be raised from the dead because the Bible teaches that we are spiritually dead by nature. Writing to the Ephesian Christians, the Apostle Paul tells them in, Eph 2:1 "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins..." Also see Romans 3:10-12

The primary issue relates to the Extent of a lost man's true condition:
1) Is he sick or is he dead in sins? (Eph 2:1-3)
2) Is he free or is he in bondage to sin? (Gal 4:3)

The Depravity of the human heart necessitates regeneration preceding faith since man is dead in sins and in bondage to sin and blinded by the adversary:
Jesus says in John 6:44 - "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day." Do you notice who's doing all the action here?

Paul gives us the order of salvation in Eph 2.

1) We were dead. (verses 1-3)
2) We were made alive. (verses 5&6)
3) We believed. (verse 8)
4) We were prepared beforehand (predestined). (verse 10)

Without the Effectual Calling of God in his soul, a person will never desire to come to Christ. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1Cor. 2:14

Regeneration is monergistic; it is the work of God alone, because He alone has the power to change the disposition of the heart. Why is this so hard for man to accept?? Because in our pride and arrogance we feel there must be something we have to do to help in earning our salvation. This is what makes other religions so palatable. They play right into man's pride by telling him that salvation is part God and part man. "If you live a good life, help 20 little old ladies across the street and work in a soup kitchen once a month and believe in God, you'll get to Heaven." Although these are good things, we are to do them in honor of Christ and the great gift He has given us.

Salvation is not 90% God and 10% you. Its not even 99% God and 1% you. Actually, and not to offend any one, salvation is 100% God! Period. The greatest work you can do is to believe in God. And who gives you belief? - God.

Until next time, God bless

Rob

Heyward Sings National Anthem at Orlando Magic Playoff Game

2008-05-07T23:22:00.003-04:00

I was perusing Riverbend's website tonight when I saw a story there called "A Big Hit." Its was all about our very own Heyward Evans singing the National Anthem in front of 17,400 fans at the Orlando Magic vs. Toronto Raptors playoff game.

I thought, 'I'll bet he was great, I wish I could have heard him.' Then I thought, 'maybe someone video recorded him and put it on YouTube.' And guess what, someone did. So, for all of you who would like to hear Riverbend's worship leader sing the National Anthem just click the video below.