Month: November 2011

Mom, Jimmy is Calling Me Names!

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, ‘Listen now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.’ Therefore thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.’”
(Jeremiah speaking of the false prophet Hananiah 627-587 B.C.)

““You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (John The Baptist to the Pharisees and Sadducees 25-27 B.C.)

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your your father.” (Jesus of Nazareth “to the Jews who had believed in him.”  27-29 A.D.)

“But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,  men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.” ( The Apostle Paul to Timothy concerning false teachers 64-65 A.D.)

“Shh, don’t say anything that might offend someone; we have to be tolerant and maintain unity.” (The church 2011 A.D.)

Examine Yourselves (part 2)

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Can we know that we have eternal life? If so, how do we know? We have begun a series in order to explore what the Bible has to say about these very questions. (I encourage you to check out part one of Examine Yourselves if   you’ve not done so.)

There use to be a television show called Myth Busters; it may still be airing, I don’t know. Anyhow, this show  took common cultural myths and proved them to be either true or false. I’d like to utilize this format and look at a few common myths there seem to be in regards to salvation. (Sometimes, a good way to find out what something is is to first understand what it is not.)

It should be understood that salvation is not merely about making me the best me I can be. In the western church many have reduced salvation to a self help fix all designed to make me feel better about myself.  Our need for salvation has more or less been reduced to believing that I need to come to Jesus because I’m damaged, and if  I come to Christ; I can reach my full potential, I can achieve my divine destiny.  PLEASE DON’T CLICK AWAY JUST YET!!

I heard a “Christian” song the other day and the gist of it was, “Jesus, help me to believe I am beautiful enough for you to have died for.” No beloved, its not all about me! Jesus died on the cross because I have sinned against a holy God, because in my sin; I am alienated from Him. Jesus offered Himself not because I haven’t reached my full potential as a human being, and not because I’ve let myself and others down. No, Isaiah tells me that I  have sinned against a holy God, the best I can be is as filthy rags ( literally, like the rags from a woman’s menstrual cycle) when compared to His holiness, and the suffering Messiah came to bear our sin and be crushed by the judgment of a holy God. Salvation isn’t about getting me back into right relationship with myself; it is about getting me back into restored communion with the Father through faith in Jesus Christ.

Remember Genesis 3? Remember the “serpent’s” comments: “Did God really say you’d die if you ate the fruit from that tree? You wont die! No, you’ll know what He knows; you’ll be just like Him.” And what happened? The same thing that’s happening today: We want to know what God knows. We want to see what He sees. The god in me needs to be realized. We say what Adam and Eve said, “Lord, we want to be like You, we wouldn’t mind being You; we just don’t want You.” Many have reduced the gospel to just a means by which we can realize our own divinity. The cross and the blood are an offense, and no longer culturally relevant.

Please don’t misunderstand me. When you come to Christ, you will most definitely begin to understand who you are, why you were created, and what God has purposed for you. The way you look at yourself will forever be changed.  I’m just trying to say that salvation is not a self-help program. We have been led to believe that everything is about us, when in reality; its all about Jesus- even our salvation (Colossians 1: 13-23).

To be continued….

Examine Yourselves

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I have stated in the past that I believe we are in that kairos (Greek word meaning an appointed time, a strategic time on God’s calendar,  and not simply chronology) time when the deception of wickedness is abounding, and people will not endure sound teaching, but will instead seek for teachers who will “tickle” their ears (II Timothy 4:3,4). There is much talk about “being spiritual,” being more God-focused, and so on; but, is being spiritual and God-focused tantamount to being born again? Can we know that we have eternal life, and if so; how do we know?

Recently I preached a sermon entitled, “Examine Yourselves” in which we explored what the Bible has to say about how we can know if we are “saved,” or “born -again” – in Christ.  I wanted to break the sermon down into a series of posts and present it here, at NLI; so, for the next few weeks we’ll be looking at salvation, sola scriptura (by scripture alone).

I John 5: 13 states that John has written his letter to the people so that they may know that they have eternal life. He goes on to say in verses 19 & 20 “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Paul exhorted the Corinthians in II Cor. 13:5 to examine themselves and see whether or not they were in the faith. Back in the Old Testament , in Psalms 26: 2 (NASB), David asked the Lord to examine him and test him, to try his heart and his mind. In this kairos moment in which we live, we need to be able to examine, to discern truth and lies,  to know what is of God and what is not. Just because someone sings a gospel song on American Idol, or feeds the hungry, or fights for justice, or prophesies, or performs miracles, does not mean the person is of God.

In so many fellowships today we hear of this one or that one who has fallen away, again. They are in and out, “on fire” for two months and then back in the world, and then back in church for a while, then out again, etc…   Has anybody besides me ever resembled that remark? Maybe we don’t have people who are continuously falling away; maybe we have folks who have never truly been converted, who have never truly been born again by the Spirit of God.

There are also precious saints of God that the devil continuously lies to, telling them that they are not saved because they have  ongoing struggles in areas of their lives. These dear ones stay beaten down, and confused by the liar and accuser of the brethren who says, “A real Christian wouldn’t struggle like that, you’re not even really saved, you may as well go on and give in ‘cause you’re a fake!” Can you be a real disciple and have issues and struggles? We’re gonna talk about these things during this series.

Sometimes, when we  talk about these things we may be tempted to get angry or defensive. We sometimes try to conform the Bible to our lives instead of the Bible conforming us. We might think, “Who does this preacher think he is?” Pardon my English; but, “I aint nobody.” I have to examine myself as well. I’m guilty of every sin in the book, and I’m by no means perfect. I came to a place in my life (by God’s grace and mercy) when I realized that in spite of my experiences, in spite of what I thought, according to the Bible, I did not know the Lord. And then you know what He did? He didn’t condemn me, he didn’t reject me; no, he saved me. He caused me to be born again by His Spirit and not by my own will or endeavors.  He set me free and I didn’t have to “try to be a good Christian” any more. And you know what,  He’s still saving me, forgiving me, and setting me free today.

This may be a difficult topic to explore; but beloved, as they say, “We got to get real.”

To be continued…

The Aphek Affect

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

When you read the commentaries concerning I Samuel 27- 29, many will say that David had backslidden and was not seeking God as he should’ve during this period of his life. They point to his questionable ethics, to the fact that his seeking God is not mentioned, and to the fact that he had resorted to living among the Philistines (remember Goliath) as evidence of this evaluation. I recall the fact that God is not mentioned at all in the book of Esther (does that mean it shouldn’t be in the Bible) and how I Kings 15:5 says that David obeyed God completely, with the exception of the Bathsheba affair; and, I have to question their assertions. I am by know means a scholar, and honestly don’t have all the answers; but, I find it odd that these commentators will praise David for not killing Saul when he had the chance and then turn around and criticize him for trying to survive.

I have a friend and professor who, before he gives his opinion, loves to say, “This and 44 cents will buy you a stamp.” Well, with that in mind I’d like to make a few comments regarding the period in David’s life when he lived among the Philistines and point out some things I think we can learn from it.

Here’s the deal: David had been running from Saul who was determined to kill him. Although David had ample opportunities to kill Saul, remove the threat, and take the kingdom (Isn’t that what God had promised?); his conscience and trust in the Lord would not allow him to take matters in his own hands. David says to himself, “If I keep this up, one day Saul is gonna kill me for sure.” So, he seeks refuge among the Philistines, the great enemy of Israel.

David finds a benefactor in the person of Achish who gives him refuge and a city for he and his men to live in. David lives in the land of the Philistines for quite some time serving Achish as a personal body guard. Eventually the day came (and here’s where I want to focus) when the Philistines were going to fight against Saul and the Israelites. What was David going to do?

It appears that David is caught in the middle here. If he abandons Achish and the Philistines, the consequences will definitely not be good; but, if he joins them, and goes up against Saul, he will be fighting his own people. Not to mention what would happen if he ended up personally killing Saul in the battle. He would be hated and branded a traitor.

(We have an advantage over David because we have read I Samuel 28 and know that the night before this battle took place, Saul had consulted a medium ( one who consults the dead) and had received a message from Samuel informing him that both he and his son Jonathan would die the next day at the hands of the Philistines. David knows nothing of these events.)

So, there you have it. The battle stage is set. The Philistines and David are camped at Aphek, while Saul and the Israelites are by the spring in Jezreel. The Philistine armies are marching with David and his mercenaries bringing up the rear. Everything is coming to a proverbial head and David is caught right in the middle. He’s been “winging” it the past couple of years, pretending to be crazy at one point, living with the Philistines, trying to survive; but now, this is it. God is gonna have to move ’cause there is no way out.

Have you ever trusted the Lord right down to last moment? I mean at 12:00 am it’ll be over and at 11:59 pm you still didn’t know what you were going to do, you still have no answer from the Lord. You’ve been trusting God the best way you know how, trying to survive, rolling with the flow; but then BAM!! Maybe that’s how David felt here, at Aphek. Things sure didn’t look good for the guy who had been anointed king so long ago. He couldn’t run and he couldn’t fight. Keep in mind, he and his men are on their horses, they’re marching up to battle, he’s going to end up killing his own people and maybe even the king he had spared in the past. GOD, WHERE ARE YOU???

The Lord made a way; He used the Philistines themselves. See, the other Philistine lords didn’t trust David the way Achish did and they insisted that David not be allowed to fight in the battle. They feared he might turn against them when faced with the prospect of killing his own people. David was spared having to fight against Saul and the Israelites, and he didn’t have to lose face (or his head for that matter) with Achish. Saul would be killed in the ensuing battle and David would be king.

Sometimes, even though we are walking with the Lord, things happen. God may have planted something in our heart, spoken a word to us, and then things just seemed to fall apart. We find ourselves just trying to survive. Yes, we are trusting the Lord; but things have happened beyond our control and we are swept up in circumstances that seem impossible; and then, BAM!! We find ourselves at our own “Aphek”. We can’t run, we can’t fight,  and there seems to be no way that God’s promises can be fulfilled. GOD WHERE ARE YOU???

Jesus said, “I am the way.” You may have done nothing wrong, you may be trying your best, you may be trusting God the best way you know how, and still find yourself at “Aphek”; trapped with no way out. This is where Jesus whispers to you, “I am the way. Trust Me, I love you.” Perhaps He is using the “Aphek Affect” in your life to teach you that you can trust Him.

Let me ask you, “How did you learn you could trust those that you trust in your life?” You found yourself in various situations with these people and you learned that you could believe what they said. Through experience you learned they were trustworthy. As we follow Jesus, through the fire, over the mountains, in the valley, and right up to Aphek; we learn that we can trust Him, for not only will He make a way,  He Himself is the way.