OPPOSITES (part 2)

In part 1 we looked at the subjects of hot vs cold, and light vs darkness. In this part we will consider "right vs wrong".This is a very broad subject, and nearly impossible to cover properly in a short article. The scriptures may not always use these terms, but the word "righteous", or "righteousness" is often used to describe persons or actions that are right in the sight of God; whereas the word "sin" or "unrighteous" generally covers the description of persons or actions that are wrong in His sight!

Scriptures like (Ps 1:5-6, 34:15-22, 37:10-17) are examples of the difference in the way God separates between the "righteous" and the "wicked", and their positions before God are very clear! Today in our 21st century society, this difference is not so easily seen because sin or wickedness has been given new names. These new terms might make people feel better about their life style, but sin is still wrong in God's sight, and only those people whose sin is covered by the "Blood of Jesus" are considered right in His sight! Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, by disobeying God's command, He set in motion a system of sacrifices to pay the price of sin. These sacrifices always involved the shedding of the blood of some innocent animal, which could only cover sin for a time, but not do away with it. However (Heb 10:1-10), (2 Cor 5:17), (Eph 2:1-10), and many other scriptures, clearly lay out God's plan to transform a "wicked sinner" into a "righteous saint"!

Because the church has not maintained a clear declaration of the truth of God's Word regarding sin, and it's consequences, people are perishing because of ignorance! Satan, the enemy of mankind, has been quite successful in blinding the eyes of these people. (2 Cor 4:3-7). That's why it is so important that the "True Church" comes forth in our day and starts to declare the "Gospel of the Kingdom of God" to a lost and dying generation! That's where every "born again" member of God's family has a vital part to play in these end times in which we are living. Satan has spread his lies in the church, by way of many false doctrines, that have served to "water down" the true gospel of the Kingdom. What has been preached in many circles is a gospel of convenience and prosperity, that people want to hear, but will never deliver them from their bondages! Only the true gospel that Paul preached has the power to do that. (Rom 1:16-17) Let us boldly declare the difference in our day between right and wrong according to the Holy Scriptures, and live by it's "absolutes"!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

OPPOSITES (part 1)

It seems that in our world we are faced with a system of opposites, which literally means things that are diametrically opposed to each other. For example hot and cold, high and low, near and far etc. Because of this difference between one extreme to the other, we tend to develop an "in between" philosophy that we think is the best way to understand things. I have often heard that we should be well "balanced", or in other words hold a view somewhere near the mid point between the two extremes. Another way I have heard it expressed is a "middle of the road " philosophy, and I must admit this is the stand I have favored on a lot of controversial issues in the past. You know, "don't rock the boat", try to please everyone, you don't want anyone to not like you, etc. This may sound like a good philosophy, but is it scriptural? After all, if we profess to be followers of Jesus, we better be prepared to follow His commands! Right?

The first command of Jesus that comes to mind is the one recorded in (Rev 3:15-16), which is part of His message to the church in Laodicea "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!" This definitely doesn't fit a middle of the road philosophy! Just imagine , Jesus would sooner see us cold than lukewarm, of course I believe it goes without saying that His first choice would be that we were hot! Paul, in his letter to the believers in Rome, addressed this issue . We read in (Rom 12:11) from the Amp version "Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord". I assume from this that he was saying the same thing as Jesus was wishing for the believers in Laodicea. You might argue that this was only a "wish" of Jesus, and not a command, but I think His point was clear!

Another subject that scripture has a lot to say about is the contrast between "darkness and light", for example (John 1:4-5), and (1 John 1:5-7). Jesus came to earth to be the light of the world, and all who have accepted Him as their personal Savior are carriers of His light. He said we are to be "salt and light" to this world that is lost in darkness and moral corruption. There is no place for a compromise stand half way between light and darkness! Jesus definitely made it clear that we can't serve two masters, or live in two kingdoms at the same time, (Matt 6:19-34). So let us who are followers of Jesus live our lives in such a way that will please both Him and the Father! He has given us the Holy Spirit to indwell us for that very purpose! (Acts 1:8)

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

DAVID AND SAUL (part 3)

In the light of the changes we see happening in the church world wide, which include a movement toward "house churches", similar to the churches we read about in the book of Acts; we need to prepare ourselves for the change. If our comparison of king Saul's reign to the presently structured church, and David's reign to the church structure we see in the book of acts is accurate, then we need to pay close attention to David's attitude towards Saul's regime!

First notice that David respected the anointing that God had put on Saul, even though he was trying to do away with him. We need to recognize and honor those precious anointed church leaders who are doing what they can, in the best way they know how, to further the Kingdom of God. Those of us who believe God has a better plan for His Church than we have seen, need to show the love and compassion of Christ toward our brothers and sisters who are still in the present church structure. Change comes slowly, and has to be prompted by divine revelation. Just think back to changes that have taken place in your own life, and how patiently the Lord worked with you until you received further revelation of what He was trying to show you!

Here is a quote from Brother Warnock that caught my attention "Herein is revealed the fundamental weakness of the present church system. It operates much the same way as in the world. The leaders are dependent upon people for their support, voted in and out by the people, and answerable to the people for whatever they want to do. And because they are subject to the pressure of the people in so many cases it seems they must compromise in order to keep the people contented." In my 40+ years in the church, this pretty much sums up what I have observed as a church member, deacon, elder and pastor. My heart tells me there must be a better way! And as I have reread the NT, especially the book of Acts, I believe I see that better way. We must get back to the original structure of self supporting elders and deacons ruling the local churches, being overseen by traveling elders and deacons sent out from a local church. Chapter 13 of Acts is a good example of how a local church should operate, in my opinion. It was the first church established by Gentile believers. You can read about how this church was planted in (Acts 11:19-26). The present house church movement may not be the total answer, but it certainly comes much closer to the original plan of Jesus for how His church should be governed than any other form that we have seen operating in my lifetime!

Sincerely in Him.

Gramp

DAVID AND SAUL (part 2)

In part 1 we compared the reign of king Saul with that of king David, and I mentioned that I see a similarity between their different reigns and that of two separate structures of church. The first church structure is the one we see in the book of Acts, which is a picture of the church that Jesus said He would build (Matt 16:18). I have chosen to refer to this one as the "True Church", and the other church structure, which only came into being in the fourth century when Constantine merged the church of that day with the Roman Empire, I have chosen to call the "false church", only because I see it as so opposite to the one Jesus is in the process of building.

King Saul started out OK, but soon became corrupted and was finally rejected by God for his disobedience. At the start, the church that resulted from the merger with the Roman Empire escaped the persecution that they had suffered at the hands of certain Emperors, but it soon became corrupted as well. There was a lot of rivalry between the Bishops of the churches in the major cities, and it divided into a western church under the Bishop of Rome, which became the Roman Catholic Church; and an eastern church which developed into the Eastern Orthodox Church. When you read the history of the church from the 4th to the 14th centuries, you see 1000 years years that have been well named as the "dark ages". The degree of corruption of the church leaders during that time is almost unbelievable!

History records that throughout this time there was always a remnant of the true church that were faithful to the teachings of Jesus. They were severely persecuted by the organized church in every nation, and many were drowned or burned at the stake for their stand for Christ. The reformation that started with Martin Luther and other men of his day brought back some vital doctrines that had been lost through the dark ages. However the basic structure of the church that had been established by Emperor Constantine, never changed. There have been various restoration movements in the church since then which have resulted in the formation of many different Protestant Denominations, but most all have retained some form of a "man centered" religion, rather than a "God centered" relationship like the early church enjoyed! True Christianity is not a "religion", which is man trying to work his way up to God by some system of good works, but is a "relationship" with the God who became a man in Jesus Christ. The difference between these two is as great as night and day!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

DAVID AND SAUL (part 1)

I recently read an article by George Warnock by this title, and was impressed by the truth he brings out. As you probably know Saul was the first king of the nation of Israel, and David was the man who followed him in this position. It was never God's intention to have His people ruled by a king, but because they wanted to be ruled like the nations around them, God let them have their way. (1 Sam 8:1-9) Saul was the man who met the people's expectations of a king at first, but later he had to be removed by God because of his disobedience. (1 Sam 15:10-23).

David was the man God had prepared to follow Saul as king, and probably would have replaced Samuel as the "prophet leader" of His people if they hadn't demanded a king. David was a man after God's own heart, and although he committed some terrible sins, he was always quick to repent when he was confronted with the truth. (2 Sam 12:1-13). When we study the life of David, we see why he is called a man after God's own heart. Even though he was anointed by Samuel to be the next king, he always respected Saul's position as king, and refused to touch "God's anointed one". Saul was jealous of David and often tried to kill him, but still David was loyal to him until his tragic death. Saul's son Jonathan became David's covenant friend, even though he knew David had been anointed by God to be the next king after his father; the position he would be in line for!

In (2 Sam 7:8-16) we read about the covenant God made with David, that a descendant of his would establish the throne of his kingdom forever. This prophecy delivered by Nathan is what we call a "near/far" prophecy, in other words it was to apply to the near future (Solomon), and to the far away future (Jesus), who both fulfilled it. We know that Jesus will occupy the throne of David in the yet future when He comes back to planet earth to set up His earthly reign for eternity! (Rev 21:3-7) In the meantime, He has established the Church, which is His body on earth, which He has been in the process of building for over 2000 years. This true Church will one day rule and reign with Him

The change from Saul's regime to David's righteous rule is somewhat similar to the change God wants to bring in the church; from the man centered government that came into the church when it joined the Roman Empire under Emperor Constantine in the forth century, and the true church structure we see in the book of Acts. Jesus said He would build His Church (Matt 16:18), and we see this "True Church" in the book of Acts, and from early church history until the time of Constantine. Since then we have always had what I refer to as the true Church, and the "false church". Those of us who have become part of the True Church through a spiritual rebirth (2 Cor 5:17), must be careful that our actions, and reactions toward the false church are like David's were toward Saul.

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

EXTRAORDINARY HEROES

Recently, while reading the book of Judges, it came to me very clearly that after the death of Joshua and the spiritual leaders of his generation there was a complete change in the Israelites. (Judges 2:6-12). Another generation grew up who did not follow the ways of the Lord, but instead followed the ways of the evil nations around them. This made the Lord angry with them, and He allowed these nations to rob and plunder them, until things got so bad that they cried out to the Lord for mercy. They had broken the covenant they had made with God, but He was always faithful to His covenant with them!

Over and over we see the same pattern repeat itself. They would abandon God, He would allow their enemies to triumph over them, they would cry out in repentance, and He would raise up a deliverer from among them. Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jepthah were four men who God raised up as deliverers for them, and all are mentioned in the NT book of Hebrews, chapter 11.These men are listed in this "faith chapter" along with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others who were commended for their faith. It is important to note that these were very ordinary men, with many faults, yet God was able to use them to deliver His people from their enemies.

This truth should be an encouragement to us living in the 21st century. We often think we are just ordinary men and women that God could never use to accomplish any notable thing for His Kingdom. But I suggest you should read through the book of Judges again, and pay attention to the caliber of men that God used. We read about the Spirit of the Lord "coming upon them" and equipping them for the task He called them to perform. The Spirit only came upon them for the task at hand, and didn't stay with them. We actually have the advantage over them, because according to (Acts 1:8) the Holy Spirit was given to empower believers, as Jesus promised before He went back to heaven. Jesus clearly stated that He, the Holy Spirit, would never leave us nor forsake us! The Holy Spirit makes "extraordinary heroes" out of ordinary individuals! All we have to do, as I understand it, is be "available" and "obedient" to His directions. The problem for most of us is that we are too busy to listen for His "still small voice", which is often little more than a whisper, and can only be heard as we listen with the "ears of our heart". May the Lord bless you in this endeavour, is my prayer for you!

Sincerely submitted.

Gramp

VICTORY or DOMINION

We have been considering spiritual warfare, and the keys to victory in our constant battles with our enemy Satan. His strategy is to “wear down the saints”, and we must find an effective way to prevent this. As a follow up to our article on the keys to victory, let’s look again to the story of King Jehoshaphat from (2 Chr 20:22-30).

First let’s compare the word “victory” with the word “dominion” to see the difference in the two. Victory means to fight a battle and win,---which is good! Dominion, on the other hand, is a position of supreme authority, where our enemies are afraid to attack us,---which is better! Paul tells us that the OT can serve as our example for instruction purposes (1 Cor 10:1-11), so let us look more closely at verses 27-30 to find out what we can about the position of dominion over their enemies, that they came into according to verse 30.

First we notice that they returned “with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies”. Another OT scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength, but we must realize that “joy” in the Lord is not the same thing as a “happy, happy” feeling, that we see portrayed in some Charismatic circles! Real joy in centered in Jesus, while the other is centered in what makes us “feel good”!

Next we see that they went into the house of the Lord with their musical instruments, to rejoice together, and give thanks to the Lord for His great victory that day that He had won for them over their enemies. This is very important to see that He gets the credit for the battles that He wins for us! It is very hard not to take some of the credit for ourselves, after a victory has been won. Pride is a very subtle thing, and can show up even in the telling of our victory to our friends

The end result was that their enemies feared them and they had peace, and “the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.” This is surely the result that we should all be striving to attain, and is there for us in the perfect will of God. He has made full provision through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus so that we can be “more than conquerors through Him”. Why settle for anything less? But we definitely have a part to play, because He didn’t create us as robots. We have a free will which must come into alignment with His perfect will before we can expect to see these results!

Sincerely submitted

Gramp