Rejecting Wisdom

The Bible is filled with warnings against deception and the rejection of truth. To be unknowingly decieved is one thing, and can indeed be fatal to our spiritual well being, however, to be "willfully ignorant" is quite another thing. This tragic condition opens us up to a judgement of the severest kind. Sadly, many fall into this category, and the Bible expressly warns us that many more will as this age comes to a close (2Thess 2:7-12).

This principle is set forth in the first chapter of Proverbs.

20. Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;

21. At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings:

22. "How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, and fools hate knowledge?

23. "Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you

24. "Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; 

25. And you neglected all my council, and did not want My reproof;

26. I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

27. When your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you,

28. "Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they shall not find Me, 

29. Because the hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

30. "They would not accept My council, they spurned all My reproof.

31. "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, and be satisfied with their own devices. 

33. "For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, and the complacency of fools shall destroy them.

34. "But he who listens to me shall live securely, and shall be at ease from the dread of evil."

Proverbs 1:20-33 NASB

When we are given spiritual wisdom, the  demand upon us is great. We are faced with the choice to either recieve and act upon it, or to ignore it, refusing to act upon it, and therefore rejecting it. This is much like Pharaoh, who hardened his heart against the command of God, until God finally hardened his heart for him (See Exodus chapters 7-14).

God will only allow an individual to spurn wisdom so long, before He lets him go his own way, and bear the fruit of his own disobedience. This seems like a hard thing to hear, but God gives us this warning so that we would be careful with the wisdom He gives us.

Jesus likewise warned His disciples to be careful with how they received His teaching through the parables He told them. I will quote Luke 8:18 out of the Amplified Bible as it really clarifies what I'm trying to say here.

     Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.

Again, when confronted with truth, what will we do with it? To act upon it is life, to refuse it leads to a spiritual deafness and ultimately destruction. 

This is much more than not understanding something we come across in the word of God, or not being quite sure of how to proceed in obedience to a particular thing God may be dealing with us about. This is a careless disregard for spiritual truth/ godly wisdom. To continue on with this willfull ignorance will cause a hardening of the heart over time, until the day comes when you find yourself past a point of no return with a heart turned over to every kind of deception.

    

Paul's Prosperity Preaching.

     Paul, in his first epistle to Timothy, warns him that anyone who advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, including the sound words of Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, such a person is conceited, and lacks understanding. These individuals cause controversy and divisions, envy and strife, and friction among men of depraved minds who are deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain (1 Tim 6:3-5). 
     Indeed, there are those in ministry today that teach this. Their message appeals to the carnal flesh of man. In their greed they will exploit you with false words (2 Peter 2:3). The heart of selfish man is aroused by the promise of money and possessions, given to us by Christ if we will only believe. Of course, they are the only ones getting rich as they exploit others with this false gospel.
     Paul goes on to say this about godliness and gain,

     But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 
                                                  2 Timothy 6:6-8 NASB

     Paul speaks of contentment. We came into this world with nothing, and we will leave it in the exact same way. We need to be content! Can we say with Paul, that we too are content with the bare bone essentials of life, namely, food and covering (KJV translates this as raiment)? Would we still be content in Christ if we lost everything we owned? Now to be sure, there were New Testament Christians who owned homes and had other possessions just as is the case today as well. But we must also take notice of the fact that these Christians lived with open hands. They claimed nothing as their own, always ready and willing to give to a brother in need (Acts 2:44-45). To them life did not consist in the possessions they owned, but in loving others for the sake of Christ. To them, Christ was all! They knew how to be content (Phil 4:11-13).It is quite certain that the Apostles knew nothing of a name it and claim it, bless me, gospel. Consider the following,

     But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.
                                                             1 Timothy 6:9-10 NASB

     This is the exact opposite of what is being taught by prosperity teachers today. Paul warns us that those who desire to become rich fall into temptation and ruin. It is a trap that will destroy your soul. The one who loves money is a covetous being, and the covetous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Such a one is an idolater (Eph 5:5). The love of money lies at the heart of much of the evil in the world, and yet we see so many in the professed Church pursuing it as a "blessing" from God, twisting scriptures to somehow justify a teaching that is leading men into greed, and ruining their souls.
     Paul warns Timothy to flee these things! What would he say to us today? Flee the prosperity preachers? Turn off TBN? He urges Timothy to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness (1 Tim 6:1). That is what we are to pursue as well. This is the opposite of the materialism and worldliness that has caught so many in the Church today.
     He instructs those who are rich in this present age not to be conceited or to fix their hope on their riches. Instead they are to place their trust in God, and live lives full of good works, generous and ready to share, laying up treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of life indeed (1 Tim 6:17-19). This is in keeping with what Jesus teaches about laying up treasure (Matt 6:19-20). Are we living for the temporal and material things of this present life, or are we living with eternity in view, letting go of the material things that will weigh us down to this earth? 

     

     

The Law and the Conscience.

     In John 8:1-11 we read of the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman whom they caught in adultery, before Jesus. Hoping to catch Him in a trap, they wanted to know His opinion on what they should do with this woman. Should they stone her according to the law of Moses? What was Jesus' opinion?
     Jesus stooped down, and with His finger, he began to write on the ground. We do not know what He was writing, the scriptures do not tell us. Many people guess He was writing down the ten commandments. Once again, we do not know this for certain, it is only a guess by some commentators and teachers, but it could be a possibility.
     The men were persistent in asking Jesus what they should do to this woman. Rising up, He told them that the one without sin should be the one to cast the first stone. He again stooped down and wrote on the ground. 
     At this the men began to leave one by one. 

     And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. John 8:9 KJV

     There is an important thing to observe here. These men were convicted by their consciences. As Pharisees, they placed high value upon the praise of man. They went about appearing righteous to others, even believing they were good in the eyes of God Himself. Yet something happened during this confrontation with Jesus, that spoke directly to their consciences. All of their goodness, their self righteousness was stripped away in a moment as they were convicted within their hearts, and they walked away.
     Paul speaks of the judgment of God as being impartial (Romans 2:11-16). There are those such as the Jews who had the law, they knew it inside and out. They would be judged by the law; did they obey it or not? This is the standard. Think about those in the western Church today who have many bibles, and go to church, and hear thousands of sermons. Just like ancient Israel, we have much light. Many of us are familiar with the commandments of God. We have a good understanding of right and wrong.
     Then there are those who have no bibles. They have never heard of God. They know nothing of Jesus or the gospel. What happens to them? Can they be judged for something that they have never heard?
     Paul tells us that they have the law written upon their hearts. They have a conscience!

     For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves. which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Romans 2:14-15 KJV

     Deep inside, we all know right from wrong. We have a sufficient moral understanding. Someone living in a remote place, perhaps deep within a jungle, has the same guilty conscience when he has done wrong, that someone living in a "Christian" nation has when he has sinned.
     We can harden our hearts however, and as a result, sear our conscience (1 Tim 4:2). We no longer hear our conscience accuse us when we sin. We may become self righteous, just like the Pharisees. We trust in our "goodness" and shut out the voice of our conscience. We no longer hear it when we sin, because we have convinced ourselves otherwise. 
     This is a dangerous place to be in, as our conscience is given us by God as a warning to us that we are not acting right in the things we choose to do. A guilty conscience should drive us to the Savior, but if it is seared, if we no longer hear it, we will be content to persist in our lost condition.
     Before I go further, I want to make clear that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin (John 16:8). Without the work of the Spirit in the life of a sinner, that individual will never repent of his sin and come to Christ. It is absolutely essential that the Holy Spirit is at work to convict and convince someone of their lost condition and desperate need. 
     That being said, let's now look at the law. David tells us that the "Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" (Psalm 19:7). Paul tells us that the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith (Gal 3:24). He also tells us by the law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).
     The law (moral law/ten commandments) speaks to our conscience. As we have seen, we have a conscience, we have a sense of moral right and wrong. We know when we have sinned, and we know when we have done right. Our conscience tells us. Everyone of us has experienced this. We can all relate to that guilty feeling we have when we know we did something wrong. Again, many of us tend to shut out the voice of our conscience. We persist in sin, ignoring the guilty feeling we have until it goes away. We may convince ourselves of how good we are. We may justify our wicked deeds until our conscience is silent.
     When someone is confronted by the law however, it awakens that voice of conscience. It begins to plow up the hard ground of the heart. A hardened sinner may once again feel guilty, gnawed by an uneasy dread of their sin and its consequences. A self righteous person now begins to see that they are not good, that they do indeed fall short of God's glory. They see by the work of the law in their hearts that they are not good, they are sinners, they do deserve the just wrath of God. The law Stops every mouth so that the world may become guilty before God (Romans 3:19). In other words, we have no excuse, no self justification, we stand guilty before God, and we know it! We have been confronted with God's righteous standard, not our own idea of what is right and wrong. Our awakened conscience agrees with God's standard and convicts us of our guilt. 

     A man may consider himself a good person, but when confronted with the fact that he has told lies, he now realizes that he is a liar. The same with theft, or adultery, or using God's name in vain. Paul was convicted as a lawbreaker when He realized he was a covetous individual (Romans 7:7). An individual may look at a woman with lust, but think there is nothing wrong with that as long as he does not commit the physical act. Jesus however declares this is adultery as well (Matt 5:27-28). All of a sudden, when confronted with God's perfect standard, a man's goodness fades away, and leaves him with the knowledge that he has violated God's law.
     It is just like a man on trial who hopes to get off the hook. He may have rejected a plea bargain. He believes he has an air tight alibi. He is sure he will get away with his crimes. His hope is completely dashed when the prosecuting attorney confronts him with the irrefutable evidence of his guilt. So it is with the law of God. We may fool others, we may fool ourselves, but we will never fool God.
     God's word is living and active. it shows us the truth about ourselves, the things that we hide deep down inside. Like a mirror, when we look at His law, the perfect law of liberty, we see what we truly look like, who we really are in the eyes of God (Hebrews 4:12; James 1:22-25). 

Food for Thought.

     Read Matthew 5:1-7:28. This is what we often refer to as the sermon on the mount. Jesus ends this sermon with this illustration,

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears theses words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."

Matthew 7:24-27 NASB

     We often look at this illustration in a general way. To build upon the rock means to "trust Jesus"; to be saved, etc. We would agree that a wise man would obey Jesus, and anyone who did not would be considered foolish, and is building upon sand. However, we sometimes tend to be abstract with vital scriptural truths.

     Remember, Jesus has been teaching the crowd. We might say He has been preaching a sermon. He has made many points, some of them shocking, even unsettling, and now He is wrapping up His message with the application.

     When He speaks of "hearing these words of mine, and acting upon them," He is referring back to what He has just spoken to this crowd. It is true that Jesus taught many things on other occasions as well, and discipleship demands we obey His words, but lets just look at a few things that Jesus taught in this portion of scripture.

     Look at what we refer to as the beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-10. He speaks of humility and poverty of spirit, gentleness, purity and righteousness. We are to be merciful, and are called to be peacemakers. Persecution is the lot of the faithful follower of Christ, and will come as we let our lights shine in this world.

     But what do we believe about these things? Do we agree with Jesus really, or does our pride betray us? So many act as if these words meant nothing. Where is the mercy, where are the peacemakers, where are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness? Is purity still important to those who name the name of Christ, or has it been set aside lest we offend someone with this high standard?

     One does not have to deliberately seek persecution. You only need to publicly live in such a way that lifts Jesus up for the world to see. Open up your mouth to witness for Him, declare your allegiance to Him, and break with the sins that those around you walk in, and persecution will come naturally. Yet we see so much compromise, and so little conviction, and so much fear of man in much of what we call Christianity today.

     If we go on we come to Jesus teaching on hatred and murder, making things right with an offended brother, adultery, divorce and remarriage, and honesty (Matt 5:21-37). Notice how Jesus condemns the sin in the heart. You may not have committed the outward act of murder or adultery, but cherishing anger in our hearts, looking with lust (even if we do not touch), is still sin. Yet so many believe that what we think to ourselves does not matter if we do not actually do the deed. Jesus tells us to get ruthless with sin, to go to great lengths to avoid it and get it out of our lives. He does not intend for us to justify our actions, and presume upon His grace, while our lives are still filled with immorality. How many people will offer an apology to someone they have offended? We so often let our pride get in the way, excusing our anger and actions, instead of seeking reconciliation.

     Jesus goes on to speak on love and non resistance. Love your enemies, turn the other cheek, do not demand your rights to property, go the extra mile, etc (Matt 5:38-43). Many professed Christians today follow an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. We demand our rights, we fight for our things, we hate our enemies, we refuse to forgive. Jesus makes it clear, but we so often cloud His words because we believe that this can never work in our society. God never meant for us to follow this teaching did He?

     Laying up treasures, living for our basic needs, and serving two masters, are where you will find large numbers of so called disciples. Many like to quote Jesus words about seeking first the Kingdom of God, but are not willing to actually put it into practice. There are pastors and teachers who promote wealth and possessions as a sign of God's blessing. "Name it and claim it," they say. Their theology only caters to our selfish nature. This goes against what Jesus teaches about wealth, and what we are to do with our material things (Matt 6:19-34).

     Jesus tells us that there is a broad way leading to destruction, filled with multitudes. There is also a narrow way, with only a few on it. This however, is the way to life (Matt 7:13-14). We must be discerning. We must be careful to heed these words of our Lord and Savior. Many, many people who call themselves Christians are living in opposition to these basic teachings of the one they claim to follow. A wise builder will listen and obey, no matter how unrealistic it may seem. Humility, and self denial go against the grain of this world. We have been programmed so to speak, to demand our rights, to enjoy pleasure and possessions, to lay up treasures in this life time, to hate our enemies, and so on. Yet to disregard these things is to build on sand, and fall into spiritual ruin.

Ten Shekels and a Shirt (High Quality)

This sermon confronts the humanism that has crept into our modern gospel presentation. We are guilty of making our happiness the chief end of our christian experience. This is nothing more than using God as a means to an end. Please listen to this with an open heart.


Ten Shekels and a Shirt (High Quality)

The Destruction of the Foundations.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Psalm 11:3 NASB








     We see an unprecedented amount of ungodliness in our world today. Just as in the days of Noah, it appears that the thoughts and intents of the heart of man are only evil, all the time (Gen 6:5).
     It seems ironic that as I write this, that we are celebrating independence day, while in reality millions are in bondage to their sunken depravity. It matters not that freedom has been "legislated" for deviant sexual behavior; there is no freedom apart from the radical freedom from sin that comes only through Christ Jesus.
     I want to primarily address those who would call themselves Christians, as judgment first begins in the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). What we are seeing today, not only in our nation, but within the walls of the "professing church," is the result of building upon a faulty foundation. Many have chosen to build their spiritual house upon the sand, rejecting the rock that would ensure the true spiritual prosperity of those holding the faith "once delivered" (Matt 7:24-27; Jude 1:3).
     In what ways have the foundations been destroyed? In what ways have we been found to have been building upon sand? Let's look at some "basic" things in scripture, that have been neglected, and even rejected by generations of professing Christians, leading, I believe, to what we are seeing today.

     1. What happened to the fear of the Lord?
     This is at the entry level. The fear of the Lord is basic to our knowledge of God, and the beginning of wisdom (Prov 2:1-5). With no fear of the Lord, it is impossible to be a true Christian, one who in truth, believes in, and follows the Lord Jesus Christ.
     Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. To fear the Lord is to take Him seriously. It is to believe what He reveals to us about Himself; His standards, His justice, righteousness, and holiness. It is to take His words seriously when He speaks of judgment and hell. To fear the Lord means that we take to heart what He tells us of ourselves; our sinfulness and rebellion, our lost condition; of our being dead in sin apart from Him. The fear of the Lord will cause us to depart from evil (Prov 16:6). This fear drives us to seek the Lord, and to live in obedience to Him (Job 1:8). It is a healthy fear, a clean fear, distinguished from a slavish fear that is based upon "performance," always looking for one more good deed to perform; always worried that there is one more thing to do to ensure our salvation. No, the true fear of the Lord causes us to take Him seriously; to believe what He says, and to act upon it. It causes us to repent and surrender; to give up our sin, and to submit our lives to Christ; to follow Him in loving obedience for His sake, not for what we can get out of Him.
     We have lost this fear. We would rather feel good about things; ourselves and our actions, even though they may deviate from scripture. We would rather have a god of our own invention; a god who does not punish sin, who does not convict us when we stray. We would rather have a Jesus who did not speak about hell and coming judgment; and many have twisted His words on these things to explain it all away. We would rather have a Jesus who bore the cross for us, and said nothing of our need to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). We say it is a finished work, and indeed it is. There is nothing we can add to the work of Christ on our behalf. Yet, He calls us to lose all for Him; to deny ourselves, and to follow Him even unto death if we would be His disciples. Why do we reject this today? Those who call Lordship salvation a heresy, are in effect calling Jesus a heretic, as He is the one who preached it first. Where is our fear of the Lord?
     You see, there is very little of the fear of the Lord in existence today. This is why so many of us can sin so easily, and come back with a half hearted confession, or no confession at all. This is why it is so easy to call ourselves Christian in name only, while our lives are filled with the devil. If we do not take the scriptural warnings at face value, and the New Testament alone, is full of them, we won't really care what our lives look like to God. That is why we can see so many "happy" people in Church tolerating any and everything that comes along; they worship God with their lips, while their hearts are far from Him (Mark 7:6-7).

      2. The scriptures have been explained away.
       The Bible tells us that scripture is God breathed. It is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16). Jesus states that those who continue in His word are truly His disciples, and they will know the truth that can set them free (John 8:31-32). We have seen in the last several generations, an assault on the word of God, to make it of little or no effect. Men have placed doubt upon the inspiration of the scriptures, others upon the absolute truth of the scriptures. They have explained away the miracles, the commands, warnings and the promises of the word of God, in favor of mere humanistic "wisdom" and effort.
     Many people within "Christianity" believe that the Bible contains the words of God, but is not the word of God. Many others look at it as merely a cultural thing that has no real bearing on today's culture. They believe it is old and antiquated; it was for a different time, and it cannot work for us today to follow the principles found within it. So many of the promises and commands found within it's pages are explained away by the "cultural" argument. Once again, even New Testament principles are rejected by the modern "Church."
     There are those within the realm of "Christianity who reject the reliability of God's word. They say that you cannot believe everything that is in the Bible. These people believe that some things are true, while other things are not. This leads one to question the reliability of anything revealed to us by God, even the gospel. This also leads people to pick and choose what they will believe and follow as Christians; a dangerous concept indeed. Those who teach this are much like Satan when he placed doubt in the mind of Eve (Gen 3:1-5). We are warned: Do not add to, do not take away from God's word (Rev 22:18-19). The word of God is not subject to our own interpretation. We do not have the option to make it say what we want to hear (2 Peter 1:20-21).
      As I stated earlier, my purpose in writing this is to show us the dangerous ground we are on within professing Christianity. This is primarily addressed to those who call themselves Christians, not the world at large. These are common teachings within many of our churches and denominations today. Look it up. There are many polls out there that show the rejection by professing believers, of some of the most basic and orthodox beliefs found in God's holy, inspired word. How can we expect a Church to live according to the precepts and principles found within the pages of the sacred word, when it has been so thoroughly explained away by our modern pastors, teachers, theologians, and professors?

     3. There is very little love of the truth found today.
     The Apostle Paul wrote of a coming time when men would no longer endure sound doctrine. Instead, they would gather to themselves teachers who would teach them what they wanted to hear (2 Tim 4:3). We are living in an age where there is little love of the truth. Mega churches are filled with "seekers" desiring to have their ears tickled with soothing words. Pastors are busy dumbing down spiritual truths, choosing to give "uplifting" messages rather than confront the lost with the claims of Christ and the truth of the gospel. People do not want to hear of hell and judgment; they do not want to hear about sin and repentance. They would rather be soothed; have their ears tickled, and be encouraged to embrace who they are regardless of how wicked it may be in the sight of God. Pastors and modern evangelists have spread a gospel that comforts sinners in their sin. They have encouraged people to "come just as they are" with no sorrow, and no repentance. The modern gospel is more concerned with the happiness of man than the glory of God. Churches are filled with individuals selfishly seeking their best life now, using God for their own personal gain. But this is not how the Bible portrays salvation or true Christianity. The message of the cross is one of death to sin; of self denial and persecution; of trial and tribulation. The mission of Christ was to set men free from sin. The word of God assures us that those who are truly born again are overcomers. Their lives are no longer the same; they do not live how they used to live; they have been transformed (2 Cor 5:17; 1 John 3:5-6, 5:4-5).
     Those who reject the truth do so because they love wickedness. There is a strong warning of God's judgment for those who refuse the truth. God will send them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false (2 Thess 2:10-12). Those who are willfully ignorant, who choose to reject the truth for a lie, will be given over to falsehood, and go lost. This is a serious warning to those who seek out teachers who will tell them what they want to hear. As for those who teach a different gospel than what is revealed in the scriptures, they are under a severe warning as well. Paul says they are accursed; devoted to destruction (Gal 1:8-9). It is no small matter in the eyes of God when we exchange the truth for a lie (Romans 1:18-32).

     These may seem like hard words to many. It is not my desire to offend, but to speak up, to sound a clear warning; something is wrong! We are told that Christ is to come back for a Church without spot or wrinkle. He is looking for a Church that is holy and blameless. When He comes back, it will not be for a country club; a place where everyone can get together and have a great time feeling good about God, and themselves, and all of their sin. He is not returning to take home all of those who have used Him for the advancement of their worldly pursuits. He is not coming for the television hucksters who peddle a gospel get rich quick scheme, or for those who faithfully sowed a "seed" in order to gain material blessings. This is nothing more than the promotion of a god for hire, yet so much of our American Christianity is based upon these and other selfish principles.
     We need to get back to the basics. We need to cry out for wisdom, to seek it as we would seek silver and hidden treasure. We need to discern the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 2:1-5). We need to take Him at His word; to believe that He means what He has said. We need to come to Him in humble repentance, to submit ourselves to Him; to receive His word and obey it. We must love His truth, even when it is hard. And to love His truth means that we let it shape our lives, and we speak up boldly in defense of it no matter the cost. The church is to be the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). We must pray for strength and wisdom in these perilous days. We must pray for revival to shake us up, to awaken the sleepers, and to prepare us for the days ahead, that we would be found worthy of Christ at His return.
     

Trusting God Wholeheartedly.

     Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
     In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
          Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV

     If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
              James 1:5 KJV
    
                                                                           

Whole hearted trust
     What does it mean to trust in God with the whole heart? It is one thing to believe the promises we read in the word, but quite another thing to fall upon Him with an active faith when called to do so by the circumstances of life. It is easy to identify with Peter, sinking, as the wind driven waves crashed around him (Matt 14:28-31).
     James tells us that if we lack wisdom, God is more than willing to give it to us, if we will only ask. However, we must ask in faith,

     But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering: for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
     For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
     A double minded man is unstable in all  his ways.
                                         James 1:6-8 KJV

     Peter was able to walk on the water, at Jesus command, as he kept his eye on Christ. When he looked at the storm around him, Jesus grew dim, and he lost his faith. Likewise, we are tossed about like waves of the sea, if we are double minded. A double minded man is a man who is not committed. This kind of person has no settled convictions or principles. He might have a half hearted commitment to Christ, but in reality, he is on the fence. It is impossible to have a living vibrant faith in Christ, if we are not surrendered to Him. This is why we see so many individuals falling apart today. They cannot trust Christ, if they do not really know Him. They are tossed about in all areas of life. Their opinions waver as the tossing sea. As the storms of life buffet them, they find it impossible to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), and to look at what is unseen, rather than what is seen (2 Cor 4:18). 
     We are exhorted to come boldly to the throne of grace for help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16), and to draw near to God with a true heart, in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22). This is trusting God with all of your heart. It is to be confident in Him; that He is good; that He is dependable; that He can be taken at His word; that He desires our highest good. 
     To trust Him with all the heart implies that we mean business with God; that we are serious in our pursuit of Him. Diligence is a forgotten word nowadays, but it is something that God desires us to be. We are to be diligent, making every effort, in our knowledge of Him. This includes our trust in Him as well. Proverbs 2:1-5, gives us a good idea of what it means to seek wisdom with diligence. It involves a conscience effort to hear; to apply the heart to understanding, to cry after knowledge, to lift up the voice after understanding. a diligent effort is compared to one seeking after silver and other treasures. This is what it means to trust in the Lord with all of the heart.

Our faulty understanding
      We must forsake our own understanding, if we would truly desire to know the way of God. Take a look at Abram and Sarai (Genesis 15:1-6,  16:1-4). God had promised Abram that he would have an heir. In the natural this would seem impossible, as both Abram and his wife Sarai were past child bearing age. After a long while, Sarai, decides to take matters into her own hands, and gives her maid Haggar, to Abram as a wife. They leaned unto their own understanding, and tried to bring about the promise of God, through their own efforts. This resulted in disaster, as so often happens when we decide to do things in our own way, instead of waiting on God. I admit, it can be difficult to trust God, when things do not seem as they should be. We often face impossible situations, and feel that the odds are insurmountable, but does not Jesus tell us that if we have faith, we can move mountains (Mark 11:22-24)? When we have a promise from God, we need to cling to that by faith, and forsake our own natural reasoning, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. Remember, we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7).
    
Acknowlege Him in everything
     We often want to trust God with some things, but not everything. However, we are to acknowledge God in all of our ways. Every decision we make, every obstacle we face, every plan and purpose that we have, should be placed in God's hands, if we would want to walk in His will. James tells us that it is presumption to make plans without considering God (James 4:13-15). We often take things for granted, but we do not know what tomorrow will bring. Once again, this is often where our own understanding of things gets in the way. It is not a matter of God's plans that we will follow, and then our own plans that we will also pursue, but God is all. Too many people are guilty of merely adding Jesus to their already full lives. He says make Me all! This is what self denial is about. It is losing our lives for His sake (Mark 8:34-35).
     If we do this, trust Him with all of our heart, forsake dependence on our own understanding of things, and consider Him in every area of our lives, God promises to direct our steps. His wisdom will flood our hearts and minds, and we will find ourselves walking in His perfect will for our lives!


    

    

      

A Cry For Revival: False Grace.

A Cry For Revival: False Grace.:      And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), "Let us do evil that good may come?" Their c...

We Need Discernment.

     Many Christians and non Christians as well have been beguiled into blindly accepting the "Heaven is For Real" book and movie.
     I viewed the movie last night, and all I can say is we need discernment! There was nothing in this boy's experience that can be substantiated by scriptural proof, to put it bluntly! The things he saw are fluffy and unbiblical, such as Jesus' rainbow colored horse.
     The Jesus that he saw, and confirmed by the art of a girl who also claims to have seen visions is not the Jesus described in Revelation 1:14-15. I have problems with people's ideas of "What Jesus looks like" (Exodus 20:4). I believe that we do not really know much about what Jesus looks like other than He took on flesh as a man. We worship in Spirit and truth (John 4:24).
     This movie seems to leave one with the new age/universalist feeling that all beliefs will get you to heaven, if you are a good person, you will get there.
     God forgive me if I am wrong about this, but I fear that this movie further propagates the easy feel good gospel that prevails today. Any of the things this boy saw could just as easily been passed to him by "familiar spirits". Satan passes himself off as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
     I did not see the gospel proclaimed in this movie. What I saw was a false hope that will lead thousands of deceived souls to an eternal separation from God in endless torment.
     WE NEED DISCERNMENT CHURCH!