Pentecostal | In The Hands of the Refiner

Archive for the ‘Pentecostal’ Category

Was Jesus Nice?

Posted: January 31, 2023 in belief, Biblical, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Cross, death, Evangelical, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Jesus, Kingdom of God, Lutheran, Pastoral Care, Pentecostal, redemption, renewal, repent, Repentance, Teaching, Word

Was Jesus Nice?

by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre

Sometimes love is sharp, hard-edged, confusing, and seemingly unfair. Some time ago I read the synoptic Gospels with a group of literature students, only a few of whom professed to be “reasonably familiar” with the material in those books. We made our way through the Nativity stories, the Sermon on the Mount, the miracles, and the teachings. We struggled through some of Jesus’ “hard sayings” and disconcerting acts, such as withering the fig tree and casting demons into swine. (“They were innocent swine!” someone protested. “They belonged to some innocent pig farmer!”) I was glad for the chance to retrieve some of the shock value of stories so often flattened in an effort to make them palatable.

As the unit on the Gospels drew to a close, I asked the professing Christians, “How has this reading of these accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry changed your understanding of him?” A hand went up in the back row. “I don’t know exactly how to put this,” the young woman mused, “but this isn’t the Jesus I grew up with. He doesn’t seem very … nice.” She was thinking, no doubt, about the embarrassments of the pigs and the fig tree, or perhaps his “Who is my mother?” or his calling Peter Satan. Careful explanations notwithstanding, what remained troubling to her was Jesus’ rudeness.

I thought a minute. Which is to say, I prayed for an appropriate response to what I believe was innocent, if amusing, distress. “Nice,” I told her, “is not the point.” Nice isn’t the same as holy. “God is love” doesn’t mean “God is nice.” Sometimes God isn’t nice at all—not by our standards.

Indeed, as Christians we might strive less for niceness and more for loving rightly. One of my husband’s finer moments in parenting came one day when, after he had uttered an unwelcome word of correction to a disgruntled child, he leaned down, looked her in the eye, and said, “Honey, this is what love looks like.” Love, in that case, must have seemed to her a far cry from nice.

Many unresolved conflicts in churches may, in fact, come from trying so hard to be nice. In our efforts to make each other feel good, we may neglect the harder business of learning, deeply and specifically, what love might look like. Love involves us in the “scandal of particularity.” It seeks to discern what the moment calls for at a level much deeper than social sensitivities. Sometimes it is sharp, hard-edged, confusing, apparently unfair. What love demands, parents realize, may differ markedly from one child to the next.

And we all have some idea of the costs incurred when parents try too hard to be “nice” to misbehaving offspring. In church communities as in families, too much niceness may mask conflict that needs to be healthily aired, carefully mediated, patiently negotiated. It’s a rare congregation that knows how to tolerate deep differences and stay in conversation about them without retreating to safer ground where everyone can be nice.

But love is not always and not only nice. Love is patient, and patience is not the same as passivity. Love is kind, and being kind is not the same as placating. One reason to reread Paul’s epistles is to learn something about love from a man who gave up a great deal, including the cheap grace of congeniality, for the sake of the gospel.

Paul was not out to “win friends and influence people,” though he had both deep friendships and profound influence. He also had disputes with Peter, argued and admonished erring churches and named their sins without an excess of tact. The energy of his love went far beyond mere diplomacy and took a kind of courage that’s hard to develop when niceness offers so much safety, affirmation, and good feeling all around.

My prescription for too much niceness, besides a long look at the New Testament, is to read a few of Flannery O’Connor’s vigorous, hilarious, acerbic stories. Her nice Christian ladies are hard to forget or forgive. They have fashioned Jesus in their own image: a Jesus who thoroughly approves their tastes, judgments, and social biases. O’Connor implies there will be no room for their like in the kingdom of heaven. They will have to be purged of their niceness. Insisting that sentimentality was a close kin to obscenity, she used her fiction to expose the sin of self-satisfied niceness in images that recall whited sepulchers.

We are called to be “tenderhearted, forgiving one another,” to empathize with one another’s pain, to imagine one another’s point of view, to reckon with our own limitations, to pray for the grace of the healing word, and to not sidestep the arduous business of acknowledging hurt, anger, or confusion and seeking authentic reconciliation.

That task demands a great deal more than niceness. It demands that we be tough-minded as well as tenderhearted, that we sometimes be “in each other’s faces,” as well as cherished in each other’s hearts. It may even demand that we be downright eccentric, at least if we are to believe O’Connor’s word on the subject: “You shall know the truth,” she warned, “and the truth shall make you odd.”

-Published by Christianity Today, November 13, 2000.

Do Not Be Fooled!

Posted: April 1, 2022 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, burial, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Church History, Counsel, Cross, death, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, False Teaching, Father, God, Gospel, Heresy, history, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, Justification, Kingdom of God, life, Logos, Love, Lutheran, Martin Luther, message, Messiah, orthodoxy, Pastoral Care, Pentecostal, power, preach, Protestant, redemption, Reformed, regeneration, reign, renewal, Repentance, resurrection, sanctification, Scriptural, Son, Teaching, Word

I am writing this on April Fool’s Day. No kidding! April Fool’s Day is an annual custom on April 1^st consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting “April Fools!” at the one they’ve fooled. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may be revealed as such the following day. The custom of setting aside a day for playing harmless pranks upon one’s neighbor has been relatively common in the world historically. However, can being fooled only be considered a harmless prank or a joke? Did you know that Satan is the great deceiver? Does Satan work harmless pranks or jokes upon humanity, including Christians?

“And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:9)

“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.” (Revelation 20:7-8)

There is a Slavonic word which is translated into English as “prelest” for lack of a precise equivalent, although it is often translated as spiritual delusion or spiritual deception, accepting a delusion for reality in contrast to spiritual sobriety.

Prelest carries a connotation of allurement in the sense that the serpent beguiled Eve by means of the forbidden fruit. Here prelest is defined in greater depth and explained the two ways in which it is applied.

Spiritual deception is the wounding of human nature by falsehood. Spiritual deception is the state of all men without exception, and it has been made possible by the fall of our original parents. All of us are subject to spiritual deception. Awareness of this fact is the greatest protection against it. Likewise, the greatest spiritual deception of all is to consider oneself free from it. We are all deceived, all deluded; we all find ourselves in a condition of falsehood; we all need to be liberated by the Truth. The Truth is our Lord Jesus Christ (see John 8:32-14:6).

Let us assimilate that Truth by faith in it; Let us cry out in prayer to this Truth, and it will draw us out of the abyss of demonic deception and self-delusion. Bitter is our state! It is that prison from which we beseech that our souls be led out, that we may confess the name of the Lord (see Psalm 141:8). The enemy that hates and pursues us has cast our life into that gloomy land. It is that carnal-mindedness (Romans 8:6) and knowledge falsely so-called (see I Timothy 6:20) where the entire world is infected, refusing to acknowledge its illness, insisting, rather, that it is in the bloom of health.

It is that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God” (I Corinthains 15:50). It is that eternal death which is healed and destroyed by the Lord Jesus, Who is “the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25). Such is our state. In addition, the perception thereof is a new reason to weep. With tears, let us cry out to the Lord Jesus to bring us out of prison, to draw us forth from the depths of the earth, and to wrest us from the jaws of death! For this cause did our Lord Jesus Christ descend to us, because He wanted to rescue us from captivity and from most wicked spiritual deception.

The means whereby the fallen angel brought ruin upon the human race was falsehood (Genesis 3:13). For this reason did the Lord call the devil “a liar, and the father of lies…, a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). We see that the Lord closely associated the notion of falsehood with the notion of murder; for the latter is the inevitable consequence of the former. The words “from the beginning” indicate that from the very start the devil has used falsehood as a weapon in murdering men, for the ruination of men. The beginning of evil is in the false thought.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (KJV)

The source of self-delusion and demonic deception is the false thought. By means of falsehood, the devil infected humanity at its very root, our first parents, with eternal death. For our first parents were deceived, i.e., they acknowledged falsehood as the truth, and having accepted falsehood in the guise of truth, they wounded themselves incurably with mortal sin, as is attested by our ancestor Eve, when she said: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (see Genesis 3:13). Thenceforth, voluntarily, or involuntarily, our nature, infected with the poison of evil, inclined toward evil that, to our perverted will, distorted reason, and debauched heart, presents itself as good.

As human beings, we do not have the freedom to choose good. Before God regenerates us, we can only choose evil. The freedom we have does not function as complete freedom, but rather under the unavoidable influence of the wound of sin. Thus is every human born and cannot be otherwise; and for this reason we all, without exception, find ourselves in a state of self-delusion and demonic deception.

From this view of man’s state with regard to good and evil, the state that is necessarily characteristic of each human being, we arrive at the following definition of spiritual deception, which explains it satisfactorily: spiritual deception is man’s assimilation of a falsehood that he accepts as truth.

From the time of man’s fall, the devil has had free access to humanity. The devil was entitled to this access, for; through disobedience to God, man has voluntarily submitted to Satan’s authority and rejected obedience to God. However, God has redeemed man. Jesus Christ defeated Satan and has bound him in chains. Now, Satan is not entitled to free access any longer. To the redeemed man He has given the freedom to submit to God, yet can still be deceived by the devil. The Christian’s freedom may manifest itself without any compulsion, and the devil must be permitted access to the Christian. It is quite natural that the devil makes every effort to keep man in his former subjection to him, or yet to enslave him even more thoroughly. To achieve this, he implements his primordial and customary weapon–falsehood. He strives to deceive and delude us, counting on our state of self-delusion. He stimulates our passions, our sick inclinations. He invests their pernicious demands with an attractive appearance and strives to entice us to indulge them.

However, he that is faithful to the Word of God, submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit, will not permit himself to do so; through faith he will restrain the passions and thus repulse the enemy’s assaults (see James 4:7); struggling against his own self-deception under the guidance of the Gospel, subduing his passions, and thus gradually destroying the influence of the fallen spirits on himself, he will through faith pass from the state of deception to the realm of truth and freedom (see John 8:32), the fullness of which will be given through the overshadowing of divine grace.

He that is not faithful to Christ’s teaching, who follows his own will and knowledge, by submitting to the deception of the enemy, passing from a state of self-deception into a state of demonic deception, may fall in grievous sin, and yet, by God’s gracious mercy, in the end he will not become totally enslaved to the devil.

“You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey Him.” (Ephesians 5:5-6)

“Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12 (NKJV)

Pray to be kept from Satanic deception. Don’t be fooled!

Comfortable Christianity Is Over!

Posted: November 2, 2021 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Cross, Evangelism, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, Kingdom of God, life, Messiah, Ministry, Orthodox, orthodoxy, Pentecostal, power, preach, Preaching, redemption, regeneration, reign, renewal, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, Son, Teaching, transformation, Word

Comfortable Christianity is over!

Extraordinary courage, wisdom, and vision will be necessary if we are to remain faithful to the Truth we have received. The type of courage and leadership like that of Esther, who prayed constantly, pursued continuously, and proclaimed courageously to save her family and defend her Faith.

The Church must come together! We are compelled by the Holy Spirit to pray constantly. Prayer, especially corporate prayer, ensures we never lose sight of the reality that we are participating in God’s plan to redeem the world. We need to reclaim the sense of the Holy centered on the community experience in worship, especially surrounding Holy Communion.

The Church must come together! The Holy Spirit is compelling us to pursue Christ continually. Discipleship and our personal transformation into the likeness of Jesus Christ is the solution to the growing desperations in the world. Being transformed into the likeness of Christ is NOT just an abstract idea — it is an authentic, personal, and ongoing relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

The Church must come together! The Holy Spirit is compelling us to proclaim the Gospel courageously. The Gospel must be spoken — even when the words fall on deaf ears. For such a time as this, followers of Christ must be missionary-minded, courageous, and compassionate. Pastors must be committed to being the guardians of the Truth.

In these last days, the Holy Spirit is compelling us, in the face of current reality that we have no other choice but to come together to shine the Light and Hope of Jesus Christ in an increasingly dark world!

To God be the Glory!

~ thanks SVS Press

The Story

Posted: July 13, 2020 in Ancient Faith, ascension, belief, Biblical, Calling, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Cross, death, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, history, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, Justification, Kingdom of God, life, message, Messiah, Ministry, Orthodox, orthodoxy, Pastoral Care, Pentecostal, power, Preaching, redemption, regeneration, renewal, repent, Repentance, resurrection, sanctification, Scriptural, Son, story, storytelling, Teaching, The Story, Word

Just click on the picture!

It Is Well with My Soul

Posted: June 30, 2020 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Cross, death, Evangelical, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, Kingdom of God, life, Lutheran, Messiah, orthodoxy, Pentecostal, redemption, regeneration, reign, renewal, repent, Repentance, resurrection, sanctification, Scriptural, Son, story, Teaching, Testimony, transformation, Uncategorized, Word
Tags: eternity, Father, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, life, love, protection, Provision, Son

The first half of 2020 has often caught me off guard. As I watch events unfold I have felt anxiety, distress, confusion, loneliness, and even anger. The solid ground under my American way of life is shaking. Justice and truth seem like injured soldiers limping away into the darkness. And yet…it is well with my soul.

The beautiful and deeply loved hymn, It Is Well With My Soul (or Peace Like a River), was written by Horatio Spafford in 1873. He was a wealthy attorney, businessman, husband, and father of five children, but multiple tragedies struck; first in the loss of his young son and the loss of his business in the great Chicago fire of 1871, then in the sinking of the SS Ville du Havre in 1873 where he lost all four daughters to the sea. Spafford learned of this great loss by telegraph from his wife with the barren words, “Saved alone.”

In the midst of great emotional pain, our Lord raised up faith and hope in this man of sorrows and enabled him to pen a song that comforts and encourages us today. God has not promised us a life free of fears, sorrow, or loss; but He has promised to bring us comfort in all circumstances, a deep deposit of comfort and compassion that we can lavish on others in times of trouble.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Receive God’s great love and comfort to sustain you in 2020, and don’t hesitate to give His comfort away. May it be well with your soul today!

by Sue DeSha

Are You Unsettled Too?

Posted: June 26, 2020 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, Calling, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Cross, death, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, kerygma, Kingdom of God, Love, Lutheran, Messiah, Ministry, Orthodox, orthodoxy, Pastoral Care, Pentecostal, power, preach, Preaching, redemption, regeneration, reign, renewal, repent, Repentance, Sacramental, Scriptural, sign, Son, Teaching, Word

unsettled

Dear Beloved in Christ,

For some time now you have been strangely unsettled in your spirit. This has perplexed you – as you have just been getting on with your Christian walk even though participating in the general life of the church had all be ceased for the past three months. You have been disturbed in yourself. You have re-read the pages of the Bible relating to the dynamic works of the apostles and the early disciples; and then compared these with what you have been experiencing in your own life and church setting.

You have perceived a gap between where, spiritually-speaking, things are now, and where the early followers of Jesus Christ were in their day. I am not suggesting that Pentecost is to be repeated; but rather continued, for Ephesians 5:18 says, “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.” (NLT)

In different times and circumstances, you may have felt that it was time to reevaluate your journey with Jesus Christ, but in a strange way you have not felt any clear direction regarding which way to go. Maybe you have been feeling and continue to feel that you need strive to identify more closely with your community and the section of your neighborhood/ workplace, in which you live.

You may be sensing that any striving that you have done to draw closer to Jesus Christ, and to be more committed to His calling and God’s word, has increased rather than reduced the dissatisfaction and unrest that you have been feeling. You have felt lonely because you haven’t been surrounded by other Christians. Most other “Christians” in fact seem to be happily getting on with their lives. This adds to your perplexity. “Is it just me? Why am I feeling this way? There must be something wrong with me; as most others seem to be getting along OK.”

You have been concerned that you might be getting cynical and critical over what you see as the increasing worldliness in the church. You may be long for fellowship with others whom you feel might understand – in some measure at least – “where you are.” As you cautiously and honestly open up to others whom you sense may be walking the same path; you find that they too, in their heart of hearts, have been going through exactly the same inner spiritual processes and turmoil as yourself.

If you have been sensing or experiencing any of these things take heart beloved child of God. I believe that what you have been going through is a God-given unsettledness, a Holy dissatisfaction with “what is.” What He has been creating in you is preparing you for the days ahead.

I believe a great crisis is coming – for our society, its peoples, the current religious systems, and what many would call “the church.” God desires those who have been weaned away from dependency on the structures, programs, and other facets of organized “churchiness.” He is looking for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; those who long to be filled with the life-giving Holy Spirit of God. He is desiring and preparing those who will seek to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified; those who will find no satisfaction in the trinkets of this world and who will spurn worldly methods and sinful passions, the fixation with “success,” and the worldly measurements of “spirituality” and “commitment” that have invaded the visible church. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is building His Church. God rules and reigns. His Kingdom has no end!

Please consider the following questions. Are you a believer who is prepared to “abandon all” for the sake of Jesus Christ and His Great Commission to reach the lost? Have you considered the cost, and are you prepared to pay that price in the context of the measure of grace that has been given to you? Do you, in your spirit, realize that nothing short of total submission will quench your thirst for God and satisfy the desires of your heart?

The way ahead could involve great sacrifice; and you may face rejection and much criticism – even from those around you and those close to you in the “church.” It is this type of sacrifice in which the Lord delights for Jesus says in Matthew 5:11-12, “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.” (NLT) Indeed the cost of turning away from His calling upon your life will be even greater.

Take heart dear follower of Jesus Christ, you are not alone. Many others are being spoken to in exactly the same way as God is speaking to you. It may not be apparent to you yet; but time will reveal those who will stand with you. Meanwhile equip yourself with the knowledge of His Word and abandon yourself to the leading of His Spirit, that He might use you according to His will and purposes, as the God of all ages works out His purposes in this lost and dying world.

Your God and my God has clearly stated through His Son Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, because they shall be filled.”

Lastly, remember God’s encouraging words in Joshua 1:9, “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (CSB)

May God the Father, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the gracious Holy Spirit be with you all – One God, be praised, both now and forever, even unto the end of the ages. Amen.

May God bless and keep you,

Pastor Gary

~ thanks to Colin Wilson

Hopeless without God

Posted: April 23, 2020 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Cross, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, Justification, Kingdom of God, life, Love, message, Messiah, Ministry, orthodoxy, Pentecostal, power, Preaching, redemption, regeneration, reign, renewal, repent, Repentance, resurrection, sanctification, Scriptural, sign, Son, Teaching, transformation, Word

Jesus

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (CJB)

“With the hand of the LORD upon me, The LORD carried me out by His Spirit and set me down in the middle of the valley, and it was full of bones. He had me pass by all around them—there were so many bones lying in the valley, and they were so dry! He asked me, “Human being, can these bones live?” I answered, “LORD GOD! Only you know that!” Then He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones! Say to them, ‘Dry bones! Hear what the LORD has to say! To these bones the LORD GOD says, “I will make breath enter you, and you will live. I will attach ligaments to you, make flesh grow on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you. You will live, and you will know that I am the LORD.” “So I prophesied as ordered; and while I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound; it was the bones coming together, each bone in its proper place. As I watched, ligaments grew on them, flesh appeared, and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Next He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath! Prophesy, human being! Say to the breath that the LORD GOD says, ‘Come from the four winds, breath; and breathe on these slain, so that they can live.’ ” So I prophesied as ordered, and the breath came into them, and they were alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army! Then He said to me, “Human being! These bones are the whole house of Israel; and they are saying, ‘Our bones have dried up, our hope is gone, and we are completely cut off.’ Therefore prophesy; say to them that the LORD GOD says, ‘My people! I will open your graves and make you get up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD—when I have opened your graves and made you get up out of your graves, my people! I will put my Spirit in you; and you will be alive. Then I will place you in your own land; and you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and that I have done it,’ says the LORD.”

How can this story be true for us? Ezekiel was a prophet to God’s people, Israel, who had been taken into exile by Babylonians after the destruction of Jerusalem.

This is a story about Israel’s despair at their captivity. What is despair? Despair is a state in which all hope is lost or absent. Depression leads to despair. Have you ever felt that way? I have. I can truly say, we are all hopeless without God. What despair means, is that a person is willing to be absorbed with themselves and at the same time have a defiant attitude toward God. Sometimes, even resent God!

Sometimes, we get to the point where our own self-perception is one of total hopelessness. We do not look outside of ourselves to God. Sometimes, we cannot understand the consequences of our own behavior and wonder why we suffer from those consequences. We become despairing of our own weaknesses. That is how the people of Israel felt.

Three years ago a funeral director told me that within several months he dealt with a handful of funerals that were related to suicide. Suicide is the result of total despair. Is that any way to live? Sometimes we ask, “what is life, anyway?” It is not simply a physical life; but, it is a life that God gives us, it is an emotional and spiritual life, which includes love, joy, peace, hurt, pain, suffering, sickness, and even death.

It’s interesting that God would call a man to preach God’s Word, and then ask him to speak over lifeless dry bones. It seemed pointless. However, what the preacher discovers is the promise from God, that He will perform the impossible—and bring the dry bones back to life.

In Germany, I was trained as a lifeguard for our community pool at 5^th General Hospital. I was certified as an American Red Cross lifesaver. I had the skills to resuscitate those who stop breathing. However, with the breath of God, resuscitation comes quickly and gives life powerfully.

Ezekiel’s vision alludes to God’s creative work in Genesis; how God creates, and how God re-creates. There is a very important and fundamental lesson to be taken from Ezekiel’s vision: when the Spirit is present, God’s people are enabled to live. This is the only basis for the hope given to a despairing person, community, church, or people like the nation of Israel.

How do you know the Holy Spirit is in your life? How do you know the Holy Spirit is present in our church? We get the answer from this passage in Ezekiel.

It is God’s promise to give the dry bones (His people) new hearts and a new spirit. It is the magnitude of a miracle; it is how God is mighty to save! When God saves us, it is indeed a miracle, a miracle of His mercy and grace.

The bones Ezekiel sees are “very dry,” emphasizing the fact that there is no life in them whatsoever. The chance that they will ever live again on their own is zero. Then, God asks the preacher, “will these bones live?” The preacher says to himself, “looking at their current state, um, no.” However, the preacher has learned never to presume on God’s power and intentions. So, he answers, “O Lord GOD, you know.”

God wanted the preacher and the people to know that it is His Word alone that brings life. God wants us to know, that in the most hopeless of situations—even in a valley full of death—God’s Word is powerful to bring resurrection life.

What is the resurrection? What is new life? It is the same as when God spoke the creation into existence, the same as Jesus calling Lazarus out of the tomb with only a word, the same as Ezekiel preaching to the dry bones, God’s Word always gives life. God promises to give us life! It is that our confidence is in God alone, in any situation, even in our darkest struggles.

The supreme Word from God, the Gospel message itself, tells us not what we must do to earn life, but what God has done, in Jesus Christ, to give us life. Jesus said, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, until it overflows]. John 10:10

There is always hope that God will bring restoration and renewal to our lives. Whether it is a long struggle with sin, or broken relationships, hard affliction, trials, temptations, or even illness, life’s circumstances can often blind us to God’s life-giving power.

The vision of the dry bones, however, is a promise to us and should remind us that our God will truly give life and purpose to everything that seems hopelessly dead. Remember John’s Gospel, where Jesus declares to Martha: “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26.

Beloved, do you believe this?

Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Where I come from and what I hold…

Posted: July 1, 2016 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Charismatic, Christian, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Jesus, Lutheran, Martin Luther, Messiah, Pentecostal, power, regeneration, renewal, resurrection, Teaching, Word

16003

I was asked recently the following question, “If you had to doctrinally and denominationally classify yourself for someone to get a grasp of where you come from and what you hold, what would you say?” The following is my answer:

First, I confess the consensus of the five first centuries of the church.

Classic theism: One omnipotent, benevolent God, distinct from creation.
Nicene and Chalcedonian Trinitarianism: one God in three eternally existent persons, equal in power and glory.
Christ, the God-Man, the one mediator between God & the human race, incarnate, crucified, resurrected, ascended, & coming again.
Humanity created in the image of God, yet tragically fallen & profoundly in need of restoration to God through Christ.
The Visible Church: the community of the redeemed, indwelt by the Holy Spirit; the mystical body of Christ on earth.
The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.
The Sacraments: visible signs and seals of the grace of God, ministering Christ’s love to us in our deep need.
The Christian life: characterized by the prime theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

Secondly, I confess the five Solas, the principles that drove the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and separated it from the Roman Catholic Church.

The authority of Scripture: sola scriptura (Scripture alone)
the basis of salvation: Sola Gratia (Grace alone)
the means of salvation: Sola Fide (Faith alone)
the merit of salvation: Solus Christus (Christ alone)
In everything, Soli Deo Gloria (To God alone be the glory in all things)

Lastly, I confess that salvation is completely of God alone:

In salvation: monergism not synergism. Martin Luther was monergistic, see his book “Bondage of the Will.” After he died, Luther’s teachings were subtly changed.

Monergism is the view that the Holy Spirit is the only agent who effects the regeneration of Christians. It is in contrast with synergism, the view that there is a cooperation between the divine and the human in the regeneration process. Monergism is a redemptive blessing purchased by Christ for those the Father has given Him (1 Pet 1:3, John 3:5, 6, 6:37, 39). This grace works independently of any human cooperation and conveys that power into the fallen soul whereby the person who is to be saved is effectually enabled to respond to the gospel call (John 1:13; Acts 2:39, 13:48; Rom 9:16; Titus 3:4-5).

God alone saves. Such monergism flowed from the pen of Martin Luther.

In conclusion:

How would I label myself? My label would be “Historic Evangelical Lutheran Charismatic.”

Why?

First, my theology is “Historic Evangelical” because it affirms with historic Christianity that the Bible, as the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God, is the sole written revelation that rules the faith and practice of the Christian community and alone can bind the conscience. This faith refers to the doctrine of justification by faith alone whereby the believer is justified before God by the free grace of God by which he is declared righteous and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the believer (Rom. 5:18-19). The sole ground of my justification is the merit of Jesus, imputed to all who put their trust in Him. However, good works flow necessarily and immediately from all justified persons, these works are not the meritorious grounds of my justification (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Secondly, for me, to be Lutheran is to adhere to the purest teachings of the Bible – to affirm the doctrine taught by Jesus, Paul, and the apostles. Scripture is considered the ultimate authority in matters of life and faith and all Reformed doctrine is founded on the Bible. I am convinced that Lutheran doctrine is nothing more than the teachings of Jesus, the Apostles and the totality of the Scriptures. Were it not for human sin we would not have to make a distinction between biblical Christianity and the faith spawned by the Reformation.

Lastly, my theology is charismatic because I believe in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to the Scriptures. This was the normal experience of the entire early Christian Church. I believe that baptism in the Holy Spirit is the clothing of power for life and service. The Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts for their use in the work of ministry. Baptism in the Holy Spirit can be distinct from and after the experience of the new birth, or it can occur simultaneously with the new birth. Speaking in tongues is NOT the ONLY evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:9, Luke 3:16; 24:49; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 8:12-17, 10:44-46, 11:14-16, 15:7-9; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13 &28, 14:1-19.)

Save

Shout with the Voice of Triumph

Posted: January 16, 2016 in Ancient Faith, ascension, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, burial, Calling, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Counsel, Covenant, Cross, death, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Heresy, history, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, kerygma, Kingdom of God, life, Love, message, Messiah, Ministry, orthodoxy, Pentecostal, power, preach, Preaching, Protestant, redemption, reign, repent, Repentance, resurrection, sanctification, Scriptural, sermon, Son, story, storytelling, Teaching, Testimony, Uncategorized, universal, Word

Shout With The Voice Of Triumph, Part 2

“Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel” (Isaiah 44:23).

The Shout That Leaves No Doubt

When God says He is going to do something, you can be confident that it is going to happen! With this confidence, we are able to shout the shout that leaves no doubt.
It doesn’t matter what obstacles or problems you are facing. You can shout with no doubt about what God is going to do for you as His child.

In Psalm 27:5,6, we read:
“For in the day of trouble, He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD” (NASB).

You may be saying, “Preacher, I don’t feel like shouting.” Shout anyway. We are a kingdom of priests. We are priests unto God, and we are called to offer sacrifice to Him.

When you go into a church and hear all the people shouting, that’s a sacrifice. This is one way in which the world outside of the church can know that something is taking place on the inside. We have something to shout about!

David said in Psalm 5:11:
“But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”

Even though you are saved and washed in the blood, you may be going through a trial or a test in your life. Don’t let the devil steal your joy. You may not be able to rub two nickels together, but the devil can’t touch what you’ve got under that fifth rib. You are a child of God.

You know what my Bible says in Psalm 34:19?
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Not the backslider, but the righteous. And the phrase that makes me want to shout is, “but the Lord delivers him out of them all!”

It doesn’t matter what you may be going through. God has called you to be more than a conqueror. He has promised to bring you out of every bad situation that you may find yourself in. That should make you want to shout unto God with the voice of triumph!

If God Said It, It’s Already Done

In Ezra 3:11, we read:
“And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.”

The people had just returned from years of captivity in Babylon. All hope seemed to be gone. The great temple of the Lord that Solomon had built had been destroyed. The great empire had been reduced to a minuscule remnant.

But here they were, back in the land that God had given to their fathers. The foundation for the new temple had just been laid. God was beginning the restoration that He had promised through His prophets. Many years had gone by, but God was right on time.

They began shouting the shout that leaves no doubt. They still had a long way to go. The temple would not be completed for several more years, and they were still a small remnant of the once vast empire, but God promised them in Haggai 2:9:
“The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give thee peace, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Confidence filled their lungs as they witnessed the Word of God being confirmed before their eyes. God said He was going to do it, and He did!

Three On-Fire Jews

I love the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego recorded in the third chapter of the book of Daniel. They refused to bow down and engage in idol worship. While many people are bowing down to false gods today, God is looking for somebody who will not bow their knee to Baal, but who will serve Him in the beauty of holiness.

Old King Nebuchadnezzer got word that these three young men weren’t bowing down to worship the image that he had built. Somebody got jealous.

Even though they were in captivity, they had found favor with Nebuchadnezzer, who elevated them to important positions in his government. When God starts blessing you, some of your best friends are going to get jealous.

Nebuchadnezzer was overcome with rage, and he said to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “You’ll either bow down to my god, or you’ll burn.”

Those boys said, “You’ve got it all wrong, King. If we bow down to your god, we will burn. We’ll burn in Hell! If we have to choose the furnace, we choose yours. Either God will deliver us from your fiery furnace, or He won’t.”

This is what you call covering all the bases. Either God’s going to do it, or He’s not going to do it!
As soon as they spoke those words, God said to Jesus, “Get down there and get in that fire.”
Nebuchadnezzer’s rage intensified, and he said to his servants, “Heat the furnace seven times hotter. Tie them up and throw them in.”

The men who threw them into the flames could not stand the intensity of the heat, but not a hair on those boys’ heads was singed. They still had their clothing on. The only things missing were the bonds that tied them.

Nebuchadnezzer looked into the furnace and counted four people. He went back to his men and said, “How many did we throw into that fire?”

They told him, “Three.”

He said, “I see four, and the fourth one is like unto the Son of God.”
Now think about this: three people were thrown into the fire, and three came out. What happened to the fourth one?

I’m here to tell you, He’s still in the fire. Why? Because when you get into the fire, He’s already there to see that you get deliverance. No matter what your predicament may be, God has a way out for you.

You Don’t Have Any Trouble

If you have ever heard my radio program, you’ve heard me say, “You don’t have any trouble. All you need is faith in God.” Now, that’s a borrowed statement; that’s not original with me.

I was preaching in Buffalo, New York. There was a gentleman who came into that meeting and said, “Brother Schambach, I’d like to invite you and your entire staff home for dinner.”

I said, “We’ll be there.”

At that time, I didn’t like to eat before preaching, so it was very late after the service was over before we were able to leave for his house. He didn’t tell me earlier that he lived in Niagara Falls, so we had to travel quite a distance.

But it was well worth the time. The man’s wife had prepared a feast: a banquet that made Belshazzar’s feast look like a Girl Scout picnic. She had prime rib of beef, turkey, T-bone steaks, and fried chicken. You never invite a preacher out unless you have fried chicken. And when people invite us out to eat, I fast all day so I can tuck it away.
I filled up my plate to gospel measure. That’s the running over variety. I was so hungry that when the gentleman asked me to pray, I prayed quickly, “Lord, bless this food. Amen,” and I started digging into that food.

I was helping myself and enjoying the food when all of a sudden this man had one of those talking spells. But what he was saying was better than the food, and I pushed my plate back because I wanted to hear every word.

He said, “Brother Schambach, I thought I had it made with a great job with the U.S. Government, money in the bank, and my home almost paid for. I had never been sick a day in my life, when suddenly, I was hit with spinal meningitis that paralyzed me from head to toe.”

Now, while he was speaking, I was looking at a man who was completely well in his body, and I knew that something miraculous had happened to him. I listened intently as he continued on.

He said, “I was hospitalized for three months, and then, to make matters worse, I was stricken with very painful rheumatoid arthritis which crept into all of my joints.
“I lapsed into a coma, my bank account was reduced to zero, and I had to sell my home to get equity out of it to pay the additional doctor and hospital bills.

“They called my priest in to give me the last rites of the church, extreme unction; and even though I was in a coma, I knew my priest was giving me the last rites.”

I’ve asked several doctors about this, and they’ve told me that, even though a person is in a coma, they can still hear you, but you cannot communicate with them.

He went on, “I wanted to let the priest know that I understood that he was giving me the last rites of the church, but I couldn’t even flicker an eyelash. He finished with the rite of extreme unction, and he walked out the door.

“As soon as he closed the door, another priest came walking in right through the wall. The other priest was dressed in all black, but this priest was dressed in all white.

This priest leaned down over my bed, put his mouth to my ear, called my by my name, and he said to me, ‘YOU DON’T HAVE ANY TROUBLE. ALL YOU NEED IS FAITH IN GOD.’
“My first reaction was, ‘what kind of crazy priest is this? I don’t have any trouble? Spinal meningitis, rheumatoid arthritis, lost my home, lost my job, and the priest just walked out of the room giving me the last rites. If this isn’t trouble, what is?’

“The next words that came out of this priest’s mouth were, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, and I am going to heal you right now.’

“He spoke to me further saying, ‘When I turn around and walk out of here, I want you to get out of this bed. Go wash yourself and shave. Walk out of this hospital. Go to the first bookstore you can find and buy a Bible. Begin reading the Gospel of St. John, and you will find the way to eternal life.’”

I was so blessed listening to him relate this story that I couldn’t continue eating.
He looked at me and said, “Brother Schambach, He walked right through the wall. Why didn’t he use the door?”

I said, “He is the door, Mister.” Jesus said in John 10:9:
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

He’ll make an entrance right into your life. He’ll come into your automobile. He’ll come to you on the job. He comes with the answer to your problems.

Jesus is still alive. He is still performing miracles. All He’s looking for is obedience and a little bit of faith. Trust Him, and you will shout the shout that leaves no doubt!

The Shout That Brought Us Out

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation..” (Zechariah 9:9).

We’ve seen the shout without the clout; the shout that brings the rout; the shout that leaves no doubt, and now we come to the shout that brought us out.

Brought us out of what? Praise God, Jesus brought us out of sin. We’ve got something to shout about!
In John 19:28-30, we read:
“After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon a hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Jesus was on Calvary, stretched out between heaven and earth with nails in His hands and in his feet. He was given vinegar to drink, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Psalm 69:21.

After this final indignity, Jesus shouted with a voice of triumph, “It is finished!” What was finished? Well, several things, actually.

The most difficult part of the work of mankind’s redemption and salvation had been completed, satisfying the justice of God and destroying the power of Satan forever.

Also, the ceremonial law had run its course, and man was no longer bound by a long list of ordinances. From this time forward, God would write His laws upon the hearts of the redeemed. All of the shadows have been eliminated by the illuminating revelation of Christ. It’s as if God were saying, “Put out the fires and stop killing the animals! It is no longer necessary!”

The Old Testament prophecies and types pointing at the Messiah and His suffering were also finished. Jesus knew that drinking the vinegar was the last prophecy that had to be fulfilled. He wasn’t complaining when He said, “I thirst.” He was crossing the last “T” of prophecy that would usher in a new era in God’s relationship with mankind.

Finally, the sufferings that Jesus had to endure, in soul and body, were now finished. All of the pain, agony, and indignities that He had gone through during His ministry had come to an end. He had accomplished what He had come to do, and now He was going to return to His Father.

Having fulfilled His destiny as the Lamb slain for the sins of the world, now He would take His place on the right side of the throne of God and intercede for mankind as the High Priest.

The Last High Priest

Let’s examine this title a little more. Do you remember when John baptized Jesus? John baptized unto repentance, but Jesus had nothing to repent of. Then why did He get baptized in water? You need to go back and read the first chapter of Luke. The father of John the Baptist was Zacharias, who was one of the priests who ministered in the temple. The priesthood was handed down through blood relationship, and he was from the family of Abiah, a son of Eleazar, who was the eldest son of Aaron.

The mother of John, Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. The blood that flowed through their veins was priestly blood, and Jesus recognized John as the true high priest.
You may be thinking, “But I thought Caiaphas was the high priest.” Caiaphas was a political appointee chosen around A.D. 18 by the Roman procurator, Valerius Gratus. The government of Rome chose him because of his ability to compel the people to abide by the laws the Romans had imposed on them.

But Jesus knew that John was performing the true duties of the high priest, admonishing the people to turn from their sins and baptizing them unto repentance. He knew that the right of baptism signified change and the passing from the old to the new. He had no need to be baptized unto repentance, but He was showing that the role of the high priest had been passed to Him. Although He would not assume that role until after His death and resurrection, this baptism by John was the ceremonial transfer of priestly succession.
John objected to baptizing Jesus because he knew that He was the spotless Lamb of God. Indeed, he told Jesus that he needed to be baptized by Him.

Jesus, knowing that He was fulfilling prophecy, told John, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15).

So John complied and baptized Jesus. And when He came up out of the water, the heavens burst open, and God the Father spoke and said, “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.”

Do you remember what John said about Jesus when He was coming down the road? “Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Nobody had ever said that before. Lambs were slain for Israelis only, but here is John the Baptist, recognized by Jesus as the real high priest, saying, “Behold the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.”

Not a lamb for a man; not a lamb for a house; not a lamb for a nation, but a lamb for the world. It’s important to realize that Jesus is not an American God; He’s not an Asian God; He’s not an African God; He’s not a European God, but He is the God of the whole world.

Jesus was crucified on the cross at Calvary on Passover. During this feast, the high priest would sacrifice a lamb without spot or blemish for the sins of the nation of Israel.
But now Jesus had become the sacrifice! Not only was He the spotless Lamb, He was the High Priest who would present the sacrifice before God.

And His sacrifice as the sinless Lamb of God was not just for the nation of Israel but for the whole world.

When He cried out, “It is finished!” the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom. Long and thick, it was made out of pure linen, and it was rent from top to bottom. Do you know why?

Only the high priest could come near the presence of God. The veil represented man’s separation from God, but through His death and resurrection, Jesus tore down that wall of separation. Now we are part of a kingdom of priests, and we can come boldly into His presence.

Our High Priest is seated at the right hand of God, and He said, “Whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23 NASB).

We are priests of the most high God. We offer sacrifices of praise. When we shout unto God with the voice of triumph, we’re fulfilling our priestly duties. We can shout the shout that brought us out because Jesus brought us out of sin and into righteousness.

The Shout That’s Going To Take Us Out

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first..” (I Thessalonians 4:16).

Finally, I’m waiting for the shout that’s going to take us out. Out of what? Out of New York, Los Angeles, London, Nairobi, Calcutta, Tokyo, and every other place on this planet!
I don’t think it’s going to be much longer because there are signs all around us that we are living in the last days.

Powerful earthquakes and other natural disasters are becoming more frequent. More and more nations are becoming armed to the teeth with the most lethal military weapons ever developed. Tensions are high in many areas of the globe with the potential for numerous wars and internecine skirmishes.

Unprecedented advances in computers and other sophisticated technology are laying the groundwork for an eventual one-world economic and political system.

All of the things that Jesus and the prophets told us to look for in the last days are being revealed on a daily basis. Jesus is about to come!

I’m Getting Caught Up

I don’t know about you, but I believe in the rapture of the church. I know there are some preachers who don’t believe in the rapture. They tell me the word “rapture” is not in the Bible. I tell them right back that the phrase “caught up” is.

Here’s what it says in the book of First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verses 13 through 18:
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

I’m not looking for Him anymore. I’m listening for Him. I’m listening for the shout and the sound of a trumpet.

He’s coming back with a shout, and if you’re not ready, you’re going to be left behind to face seven years of tribulation. The Holy Ghost is going to be taken out of this world. If you can’t stay saved now, I know you won’t be able to stay saved then.

A friend of mine was praying, and he said, “Lord, how are you going to pull this rapture off?” God told him, “That’s easy, son. I’m just going to call the Holy Ghost home, and everybody He’s in is going to come with Him.”

Are you ready? Are your sins gone? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book if Life? God said in Luke 10:20:
“..rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

We shall not all sleep. If you want to sleep, sleep. But I’m waiting for that final shout. The shout that’s going to take us out of Harlem. The shout that’s going to take us out of New York. The shout that’s going to take us out of London, Jerusalem, Nairobi, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Sydney, Calcutta, and Tokyo.

The Bible says in Mark 13:32:
“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”

Well, I’m going to make an announcement. I know the day, and I know the hour that He’s coming! It’s going to be the day of the Lord, and He’s coming back in the hour that you think not.

I want to go on radio and television, and I want to shout it from the highest mountain, “Jesus is coming!”

We’re so close. Jesus is about to come, and He’s coming back for a bride that is holy, without spot or wrinkle. He’s not going to marry up with a bride that’s flirting with the devil. He’s going to marry up with a chaste virgin. Those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

You might tell me, “I shook the preacher’s hand and had my name put on the church book.” You might as well have put your name on a barn door and shook a donkey’s tail. It’ll get you into heaven just as quick.

He said, “He that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out.” It’s either Heaven or Hell. It’s either Christ or the devil. You’re either saved, or you’re lost. You can’t put this decision off.

How To Get Ready

If you want to be ready for the soon coming of Jesus Christ, get on your knees right now. Ask God to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Ask Him to give you a clean heart and to make you a new creation. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior and to fill you with the Holy Ghost so that you may live the life He wants you to live.

Start reading the Word of God daily, beginning with the book of John. Talk to God often, confessing your sins and asking for His help and guidance in your life. Make it an everyday part of your life so that you will grow strong in the Spirit.

Find a Spirit-filled, Bible-believing church, get baptized, and get involved with other Christians as God leads you into the work He has called you to do.

Then your spiritual ears will be opened, and some day soon you will hear the trumpet of God sounding and the shout that is going to take us out!

by R.W. Schambach

Modernity and the Christian Worldview

Posted: September 5, 2015 in Ancient Faith, belief, Biblical, Body of Christ, burial, catholic, Charismatic, Christian, Church, Church History, Covenant, Covenant theology, Cross, death, Evangelical, Evangelism, Faith, False Teaching, Father, glory, God, Gospel, Heresy, history, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Hope, Jesus, Kingdom of God, life, Liturgical, Love, message, Messiah, Ministry, orthodoxy, Pentecostal, power, Preaching, Protestant, Reformed, repent, Repentance, resurrection, Sacramental, sanctification, Scriptural, Son, storytelling, Teaching, Word
Tags: bondage, Christian, creation, death, disease, Dominion, Father, God, heaven, hell, Holy Spirit, human, image, likeness, man, modernism, modernity, post-modernity, Salvation, sickness, sin, Son, woman, worldview

What are the elements of a Christian worldview?

Christianity teaches a set of beliefs that form the basics of our worldview.

Following is a list of some of the elements that make up the Christian worldview:

An absolute God exists

If an absolute God exists, then it means that God is self-sufficient and lacks nothing. If God is self-sufficient, then he needs no external cause for his existence. This would mean he is eternal. If he is eternal then he does not change.

God created the universe

If God created the universe, then he is all-powerful — since it obviously takes a great deal of power to create the universe. This would also mean that God is separate from creation and not a part of the created order. From the previous point where we see that God is absolute and unchanging, we could see that God’s nature would be reflected in the created order. As a painter leaves a part of himself on the canvas, so God reveals himself in creation. Creation is, therefore, ordered, predictable, and dependable. This would mean that when Christians look into creation, they would expect to find a predictable, regular, and testable world.

God created humanity in His image.

This means that God, who is rational and intelligent, has impressed his image upon the hearts and soul of human beings. Therefore, people can be rational and turn their attention towards the world and since they believe that the universe reflects God’s creative nature, they can have confidence to look into creation and expect order. They can also expect that since they are made in the image of God, they have the ability to unlock the secrets of the universe. In addition, if man is created in God’s image, then all people are worthy of respect and honor. This would also mean that when a new life formed in the womb, it is human from the time of conception. Therefore, abortion would be wrong. Furthermore, if we are created in God’s image, then we did not evolve from lower primates. This would mean that we have purpose and are not merely the result of random development through evolution that is, supposedly, guided by natural selection. Natural selection works on the theory of survival of the fittest and this could have a very harmful effect on society if “survival of the fittest” is transferred into a moral principle. It would justify oppressing the weak and helpless.

God gave man dominion over creation.

This means that all aspects of the created order on earth are to be governed by man according to how God has revealed himself and his will for us in the Bible. Therefore, politics, medicine, art, ecology, society, economics, exploration, philosophy, mathematics, education, etc. all fall under the domain of human responsibility and should be considered realms for man to control — under the wisdom and direction of God’s revelation, the Bible (more on that below).

Humanity is fallen

The Fall of humanity through our ancient father Adam, tells us that at the heart of every one of us is a predisposition toward sin. Sin is rebellion against God and, therefore, it is a rebellion against what is good. Sin has not only affected man’s soul and body, but it has also affected his mind. Therefore, the Christian worldview would say that even man’s best reasoning is touched by sin and cannot be perfect. Furthermore, since man is sinful and his heart’s intentions are predisposed towards wickedness, we conclude that those in power are highly susceptible to corruption. Therefore, governmental systems should be developed with Christian principles in mind to help guard against that. In fact, Christianity influenced the development of the Constitution and American government. Our founding fathers developed the judicial, executive, and legislative branches of government that are there to exercise a system of checks and balances over each other. Why? Because of The Fall, man has a tendency to gravitate towards corruption.

Jesus is humanity’s only hope for redemption

Because man is fallen, he is in need of rescue from God’s righteous condemnation — which is eternal damnation. Also, since he is fallen, there is no way he can redeem himself. Therefore, Jesus, who is God in flesh, died for us and rose from the dead. We receive his righteousness and forgiveness by faith. This basic theological truth means that Christians should then preach that good news of redemption in Christ to all the world. Therefore, one of the most basic Christian principles is promoting Jesus as the means by which we are made right with God.

The Holy Scriptures (The Bible) are the Word of God

Of course, I have already mentioned the Bible, but the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God. From the Bible we derive the truths by which we govern our lives. It is from the Bible that we learn about God himself, his created order, the Trinity, redemption, about sin, salvation, hope, and what is morally correct. The Bible reveals the will of God for mankind, for the family, for raising children, for proper behavior in society, etc. It is from the Bible that we can learn the direct will of God.

God Provides for His creation

It is from the Bible that we learn of God’s loving provision for us. We know that God lets the sun and rainfall down upon both the good and the bad. We know that God causes the crops to grow and cattle to multiply. We know that though we live in a fallen world, God has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. Therefore, we can rely on God’s provision for us and should have confidence that he will continue to provide for our needs. Therefore, you can see that there are basic principles that form the Christian worldview. There are more, but the above eight items are representative of Christianity’s perspective and truth and how it influences belief and action.

Search Articles

Archive for the ‘Pentecostal’ Category

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: