Do you enjoy road trips like I do? It doesn't even matter if I start out with a destination, I just enjoy the journey, colors, scenery or just the drive. Many Christians are looking forward to heaven but do we look forward to each & every day on life's journey? Hopefully you did not receive rose colored glasses on the day of your conversion nor some pie in the sky doctrine. What you should have received was encouragement to learn to read your road map of life, which is called the Bible.
The church of today needs a prophetic voice, it needs vision, it has to change to accommodate a world headed to hell in a hand basket. I did not say we were to compromise the gospel, not become a seeker sensitive church (see my last blog.) I question today if some of our churches truly want to grow. We've become so entrenched in our belief of what the church should be. We've become so entrenched in our style of worship. We've become so entrenched in our denominational theology. That we are shutting out the people we are called to reach.
Many of our churches have to re-focus, we have got to be willing to make the necessary changes that will reach today's generation. It takes a lot of faith & boldness from the seniors of our churches to allow the new breed of zealous Christians to make their own mistakes, just as they did with the operation of our Lords church.
General Booth the founder of the Salvation Army had a vision that I will try to explain. It was as though he saw a three layer cake. On top were a bunch of people oblivious to anything else around them but themselves. On the next layer were a handful of people reaching down to the third level trying to save the people from the level below them. That third level was a storm filled sea with people trying desperately to escape & not be drowned. He interpreted it as the church being oblivious to the people of the world the Lord has instructed us to reach out too. The handful reaching out would be today called the para church, the soul winners of today. The violent sea being the world that holds its people in a death grip of greed, perversion, pride & fear, to name but a few of its vises.
Psalm 104:4 tells us His ministers are to be a flame of fire. The word minister actually means servants which is the position of every Christian in regards to their Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. So looking at that scripture we are to be on fire for the Lord sharing Him with every person & every opportunity that comes our way. Without new converts our churches can become as a dying fire in the woodstove, the fire is going out, the zeal for God long since departed.
If a christian is content in their walk with the Lord in all likelihood they have cut themselves off from the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The churches job is to impact their communities not isolate themselves from them. It's along life's journey that your life touches other lives. At school, in your workplace, community activities, sporting events, in the grocery store or at the gas station.
Life is but a journey so let us look at the track of life from a Christian perspective.
The blocks--accepted Christ into your life
The starter pistol--go ye into all the world & preach the gospel ( not just for pastor & missionary.) Charles Price "We are all in full time ministry unto the Lord, no matter what our occupation."
The track shoes--feet shod in the preparation of the Gospel of peace (preparation before presentation.) Did you know you have beautiful feet that is what the good book says, beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news.
We are not to be sprinters but marathoners 2nd Timothy 4:6-8
The hurdles--tests, trials & tribulations of life. The problems we face on a daily basis whether sickness, finances, relationships & the big one, people in our lives. By the way the only way over life's hurdles are to get on your knees & ask the Lord to help you become the over-comer He has called you to be.
This is not a competition--individual yet a team player with your coach being the Lord of Glory.
Your eyes focused on the terrain around you--we have to be trained up to discern between good & evil, both spiritually & in the natural (the pitfalls of life.)
Put into practice what you have learned
Pacing yourself--ENDURANCE
Focused on the goal--your goal is to be your encouragement to keep on going.
Hindrances--poorly trained, lack of conditioning, stretching exercises, breathing, proper diet, liquids, physical & mental toughness. While running the race of life you have numerous opportunities to give up from sheer exhaustion & discouragement.
poorly trained--the teaching you received in your church may not have been what you needed to run the race.
lack of conditioning--not having put into practice what you were taught to do
stretching exercises-- when you face tests, trials or tribulations you are both strengthening your walk but also helping you to help others through those same challenges of life.
breathing--it is the Holy Spirit who put the breath of life into you follow His direction
proper diet--man does not live buy bread alone, but by every word the proceeds from the word or mouth of God
liquids--drink of the living waters the Lord has provided for His followers
physical & mental toughness--we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
You've been trained up. When we put in the time & effort, make the sacrifices all you can see is the goal. Then you are ready to run the race. Hebrews 12:1, Romans 9:12-21 Again I remind you it's along life's journey that your life touches other lives, food for thought!
This was a message I had the privilege of preaching at Vennachar Free Methodist Church on October 23/11. It blessed the congregation so I thought I would put it in my blog.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Saturday, 15 October 2011
The Basis of Christianity
In my last blog I warned against the dangers of not preaching on the cross, the blood of Jesus & sin. Realistically I can not understand how any Christian church could ignore the basics principles that the gospel is founded upon. As an example every time we partake of the communion table we do so in remembrance of the blood & suffering Christ did on the cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.
Seeker sensitive churches are those who are willing to compromise the truth of the gospel, to increase numbers. An example of this is when ministers or denominations choose not to preach on a particular sin ex. homosexuality. God refers to homosexuality as an abomination (exceedingly disgusting), scriptures to back this up can be found in both the old & new testaments (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:27). Not just individual churches but entire denominations have fallen into this deception of the devil. Some today will try to rationalize their beliefs by saying, there are no longer absolutes, NOT SO! Light is still light, the sun is still the sun, darkness is darkness & until someone receives Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior they are in spiritual darkness. Sad to say people can stay in spiritual darkness as long as they choose.
Rebellion & lawlessness run hand in hand, they are one & the same.
Back in Bible times the spirit of lawlessness had already been loosed upon the earth. As an example within Gnostic teaching was much of what we today call New Age teaching & even way back then, they believed that they were not just made in the image of God, but were actually gods themselves. Thus whatever they chose to do was OK as they were obeying the god of self. One thing mankind has proven over the years when there are no rules or laws to obey total chaos reigns supreme.
I am not saying these people cannot receive forgiveness (those teaching false doctrine or those being deceived by it & living in wrong ways) but first they must recognize the error of their ways (sin) & then ask for forgiveness 1John1:9. Then they must repent of their sins. A simple way to explain this is when I turn my back on sin & walk the other way, but keep your eyes out of the rear view mirror there is nothing of interest there for you anymore. Sin is sin & there is only one sin that God says He will not forgive (blasphemy of the Holy Spirit) Matthew 12:31. I am also not just sharing my perspective on the scriptures, they are what they are.
It is because of the blood of Christ that we can receive forgiveness for sin, deliverance from oppression of every sort & both physical & spiritual healing. The blood also provides us protection from the devil & his plans of destruction he has for believers. The blood covenant we have nor the promise of eternity in glory, neither would not be possible without the Lord having shed His blood for us.
If it were not for the cross of Calvary & what Jesus did for us there we could not have the forgiveness from sin that we have today. Jesus took our rightful place on that cross as the sacrificial lamb of God & paid in full the price for our sins. Two biblical terms that apply to this are ransomed & redeemed. On top of that when we receive Christ into our lives we are justified from our past sins. A easy way to explain this term is AS IF WE HAD NEVER COMMITTED THE SIN! This is almost mind boggling but remember, this is not a license to sin, Romans 6:1,2.
Sin is when we do something that goes against the teachings of the Bible. When we read the Bible or go to church to hear a message God uses the Holy Spirit to convict us of wrong doing within our lives. Probably everyone reading this blog has heard the old saying "miserable as sin" This old adage rings loud & clear for Christians, for when we find ourselves living in sin that conviction makes us totally miserable. The way out is to simply pray a simple prayer, Father forgive me my sin & help me Holy Spirit to not continue in this sinful way in Jesus name I pray.
A person can go to church all their lives & never make a decision to receive Jesus Christ into their life as Lord & Savior. When I was acting as the on duty Chaplain at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay I had the opportunity to minister to a man who was going into surgery & did not know if he was coming out. I asked him if He had made peace with His maker, his response was "I would not even know how!" I said just pray this prayer after me "Father God forgive me my sins, Jesus come into my heart & help me to be the person you want me to be, thank You for saving my soul & making me whole!" I watched waves of peace come over this man & he said to me Pastor Ken I know if I die it will be OK the Lord will take care of my wife & kids & if I come out of that operation I will serve him as long as I live & he did. All of this & he was not a church going person. Years later I had the privilege of doing his funeral. It was a joyous time celebrating his life ESPECIALLY HIS LIFE AFTER COMING TO KNOWING HIS CREATOR, cool eh.
We do not know what tomorrow will bring or even today for that matter. Are YOU at peace with your creator? Do you know the peace Bill came to know? Just pray that same simple prayer of faith that he did, food for thought!
Seeker sensitive churches are those who are willing to compromise the truth of the gospel, to increase numbers. An example of this is when ministers or denominations choose not to preach on a particular sin ex. homosexuality. God refers to homosexuality as an abomination (exceedingly disgusting), scriptures to back this up can be found in both the old & new testaments (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:27). Not just individual churches but entire denominations have fallen into this deception of the devil. Some today will try to rationalize their beliefs by saying, there are no longer absolutes, NOT SO! Light is still light, the sun is still the sun, darkness is darkness & until someone receives Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior they are in spiritual darkness. Sad to say people can stay in spiritual darkness as long as they choose.
Rebellion & lawlessness run hand in hand, they are one & the same.
Back in Bible times the spirit of lawlessness had already been loosed upon the earth. As an example within Gnostic teaching was much of what we today call New Age teaching & even way back then, they believed that they were not just made in the image of God, but were actually gods themselves. Thus whatever they chose to do was OK as they were obeying the god of self. One thing mankind has proven over the years when there are no rules or laws to obey total chaos reigns supreme.
I am not saying these people cannot receive forgiveness (those teaching false doctrine or those being deceived by it & living in wrong ways) but first they must recognize the error of their ways (sin) & then ask for forgiveness 1John1:9. Then they must repent of their sins. A simple way to explain this is when I turn my back on sin & walk the other way, but keep your eyes out of the rear view mirror there is nothing of interest there for you anymore. Sin is sin & there is only one sin that God says He will not forgive (blasphemy of the Holy Spirit) Matthew 12:31. I am also not just sharing my perspective on the scriptures, they are what they are.
It is because of the blood of Christ that we can receive forgiveness for sin, deliverance from oppression of every sort & both physical & spiritual healing. The blood also provides us protection from the devil & his plans of destruction he has for believers. The blood covenant we have nor the promise of eternity in glory, neither would not be possible without the Lord having shed His blood for us.
If it were not for the cross of Calvary & what Jesus did for us there we could not have the forgiveness from sin that we have today. Jesus took our rightful place on that cross as the sacrificial lamb of God & paid in full the price for our sins. Two biblical terms that apply to this are ransomed & redeemed. On top of that when we receive Christ into our lives we are justified from our past sins. A easy way to explain this term is AS IF WE HAD NEVER COMMITTED THE SIN! This is almost mind boggling but remember, this is not a license to sin, Romans 6:1,2.
Sin is when we do something that goes against the teachings of the Bible. When we read the Bible or go to church to hear a message God uses the Holy Spirit to convict us of wrong doing within our lives. Probably everyone reading this blog has heard the old saying "miserable as sin" This old adage rings loud & clear for Christians, for when we find ourselves living in sin that conviction makes us totally miserable. The way out is to simply pray a simple prayer, Father forgive me my sin & help me Holy Spirit to not continue in this sinful way in Jesus name I pray.
A person can go to church all their lives & never make a decision to receive Jesus Christ into their life as Lord & Savior. When I was acting as the on duty Chaplain at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay I had the opportunity to minister to a man who was going into surgery & did not know if he was coming out. I asked him if He had made peace with His maker, his response was "I would not even know how!" I said just pray this prayer after me "Father God forgive me my sins, Jesus come into my heart & help me to be the person you want me to be, thank You for saving my soul & making me whole!" I watched waves of peace come over this man & he said to me Pastor Ken I know if I die it will be OK the Lord will take care of my wife & kids & if I come out of that operation I will serve him as long as I live & he did. All of this & he was not a church going person. Years later I had the privilege of doing his funeral. It was a joyous time celebrating his life ESPECIALLY HIS LIFE AFTER COMING TO KNOWING HIS CREATOR, cool eh.
We do not know what tomorrow will bring or even today for that matter. Are YOU at peace with your creator? Do you know the peace Bill came to know? Just pray that same simple prayer of faith that he did, food for thought!
Thursday, 6 October 2011
When you Listen, do you Hear?
How do you know someone has heard what was spoken? There will be an accompanying action! Lets look at a simple example. When we say to our kids, don't play in traffic it would probably be a good thing for them to listen up + act upon them, agreed. Husbands & wives both claim their spouse have selective hearing, only hearing when it's most advantageous for them. Selective hearing can be found in children, animals, husbands & wives as well as Christians! God's Word is full of warnings that we ignore day after day. Remember if you didn't act upon what you heard then it is questionable that you heard anything at all.
How do we hear from God? There are three obvious ways that come to mind. When I used to work in a paper mill just after becoming a Christian the guys would mockingly ask me "well have you heard from God today?" My answer was always the same YES He has spoken to me by His Word (the Bible!) Another way of hearing from God was by sitting under the teaching, preaching of the Word. The third way is by the unction of the Spirit. We understand Biblically that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost I refer to His presence as my knower. When I have an unction prompting me, it's time to listen up, pay attention & act upon what God is speaking to me.
How do we know we are hearing from God & not a familiar spirit (demon?) In 1st John we are told to TEST THE SPIRITS, now how do we do that? What you are feeling, what you are hearing does it line up with the WORD OF GOD? If not, don't touch it, guaranteed you will get burned. Many times I have met couples living together who claim to be Christians. They tell me how they know beyond a doubt that God has called them together. I do not question God called them to be together but if you think it was the Holy Spirit who told you to live together, give your head a shake! God the Holy Spirit & God the Word (Jesus) will not ever get into an argument. The Bible simply teaches neither fornication (sex outside of marriage) nor adultery (having sex with someone other than your spouse) are not of God! They have allowed their out of control emotions to rule on this issue NOT THE WORD OF GOD!
It is by reading or hearing the Word of God that we spiritually grow "Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God!" But never forget these words "There ain't no such thing as comfortable Christianity!" To become mature in Christ means you have come to the realization that you must obey the Word of God whether your emotional self agrees with it or not! Carnal Christianity is more than an oxymoron, it is a truth we all face from within. We are carnal creatures that desire above all else to please & promote self. The back half of that saying Christianity is supposed to be someone who follows (adheres) to the teachings of Jesus Christ which in turn will please & promote God.
Fifteen times in the New Testament we read or hear the Word of God state "He who has an ear let him hear!" When speaking to the church of Laodicea He says"I stand at the door & knock; if anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him, & will dine with him & he with I. You have to keep this in context with the entire chapter. The angel of the church of Laodicea (recognized & accepted as Jesus speaking to today's North American church) is indeed speaking to the church. The overall church is believers within the body of Christ but within this statement the warning is that NOT ALL CHURCHES today will even allow Jesus into His own buildings! Seeker sensitive churches chose not to preach on any subject that will ruffle the feathers of those in attendance. They no longer mention the blood (gory) the cross (religious) or anything addressing sin in our lives (all sin is made up by the church.) DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!
If you haven't figured it out yet those items in brackets in the last sentences are what the devil would have people think.
Dull of hearing, hardening of your heart, quenching the Spirit are all terms of spiritual deafness BY CHOICE, ouch! For a Christian to hear & not obey is rebellion which in the Bible is the same as witchcraft is a nasty thought. Lighten up, God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to try!
The Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 7 "why do I do the things I know I should not do & not do the things that I know I should do!" my paraphrasing. That statement certainly sums up how I feel with my daily frustrations of my walk with God.
Here is one of the multitudes of keys found within the Bible in regards to the how too's. Philippians 2:14 "Do all things without complaining & disputing." This is huge because I do believe often times "deliverance comes through obedience!" Within Joshua 6 we see God telling Joshua that if the people would walk around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days & then seven times on the seventh day the walls of Jericho would come down. The walls of Jericho were wide enough to drive chariots on, that is thick, thick, thick, not a small miracle. It wasn't faulty building materials nor an earthquake that brought those walls down, it was by God blessing His children for their obedience. One of the keys in this picture is in God telling the people to be in complete silence, why? Do you not think the same people would be doing a tad bit of grumbling & complaining at Joshua for asking them to do such a stupid thing. I can just about hear them talking to each other & Joshua actually thought he was hearing from God poor delusional soul. No God knows us better than we do & this thing in our mouths gets us into more trouble than you can shake a stick at. It part of our carnal nature to COMPLAIN especially about those things we know little about.
Before reading your Bible stop & pray "Father God please open my mind to understanding your Word." Check out Luke 24:32 & 45 + John 14:26 to back this up. Pray about it/Study it/Practice it/then you will never forget it! The Word of God will become personal/ you & the Word will become one/ You will become more Christ like which should be the desire of each & every Christian.
Be blessed, just some good old food for thought. Look forward to your comments.
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
How do we hear from God? There are three obvious ways that come to mind. When I used to work in a paper mill just after becoming a Christian the guys would mockingly ask me "well have you heard from God today?" My answer was always the same YES He has spoken to me by His Word (the Bible!) Another way of hearing from God was by sitting under the teaching, preaching of the Word. The third way is by the unction of the Spirit. We understand Biblically that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost I refer to His presence as my knower. When I have an unction prompting me, it's time to listen up, pay attention & act upon what God is speaking to me.
How do we know we are hearing from God & not a familiar spirit (demon?) In 1st John we are told to TEST THE SPIRITS, now how do we do that? What you are feeling, what you are hearing does it line up with the WORD OF GOD? If not, don't touch it, guaranteed you will get burned. Many times I have met couples living together who claim to be Christians. They tell me how they know beyond a doubt that God has called them together. I do not question God called them to be together but if you think it was the Holy Spirit who told you to live together, give your head a shake! God the Holy Spirit & God the Word (Jesus) will not ever get into an argument. The Bible simply teaches neither fornication (sex outside of marriage) nor adultery (having sex with someone other than your spouse) are not of God! They have allowed their out of control emotions to rule on this issue NOT THE WORD OF GOD!
It is by reading or hearing the Word of God that we spiritually grow "Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God!" But never forget these words "There ain't no such thing as comfortable Christianity!" To become mature in Christ means you have come to the realization that you must obey the Word of God whether your emotional self agrees with it or not! Carnal Christianity is more than an oxymoron, it is a truth we all face from within. We are carnal creatures that desire above all else to please & promote self. The back half of that saying Christianity is supposed to be someone who follows (adheres) to the teachings of Jesus Christ which in turn will please & promote God.
Fifteen times in the New Testament we read or hear the Word of God state "He who has an ear let him hear!" When speaking to the church of Laodicea He says"I stand at the door & knock; if anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him, & will dine with him & he with I. You have to keep this in context with the entire chapter. The angel of the church of Laodicea (recognized & accepted as Jesus speaking to today's North American church) is indeed speaking to the church. The overall church is believers within the body of Christ but within this statement the warning is that NOT ALL CHURCHES today will even allow Jesus into His own buildings! Seeker sensitive churches chose not to preach on any subject that will ruffle the feathers of those in attendance. They no longer mention the blood (gory) the cross (religious) or anything addressing sin in our lives (all sin is made up by the church.) DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!
If you haven't figured it out yet those items in brackets in the last sentences are what the devil would have people think.
Dull of hearing, hardening of your heart, quenching the Spirit are all terms of spiritual deafness BY CHOICE, ouch! For a Christian to hear & not obey is rebellion which in the Bible is the same as witchcraft is a nasty thought. Lighten up, God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to try!
The Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 7 "why do I do the things I know I should not do & not do the things that I know I should do!" my paraphrasing. That statement certainly sums up how I feel with my daily frustrations of my walk with God.
Here is one of the multitudes of keys found within the Bible in regards to the how too's. Philippians 2:14 "Do all things without complaining & disputing." This is huge because I do believe often times "deliverance comes through obedience!" Within Joshua 6 we see God telling Joshua that if the people would walk around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days & then seven times on the seventh day the walls of Jericho would come down. The walls of Jericho were wide enough to drive chariots on, that is thick, thick, thick, not a small miracle. It wasn't faulty building materials nor an earthquake that brought those walls down, it was by God blessing His children for their obedience. One of the keys in this picture is in God telling the people to be in complete silence, why? Do you not think the same people would be doing a tad bit of grumbling & complaining at Joshua for asking them to do such a stupid thing. I can just about hear them talking to each other & Joshua actually thought he was hearing from God poor delusional soul. No God knows us better than we do & this thing in our mouths gets us into more trouble than you can shake a stick at. It part of our carnal nature to COMPLAIN especially about those things we know little about.
Before reading your Bible stop & pray "Father God please open my mind to understanding your Word." Check out Luke 24:32 & 45 + John 14:26 to back this up. Pray about it/Study it/Practice it/then you will never forget it! The Word of God will become personal/ you & the Word will become one/ You will become more Christ like which should be the desire of each & every Christian.
Be blessed, just some good old food for thought. Look forward to your comments.
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.
Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord
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