Month: October 2011

ADULLAM

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“So David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; and when his brothers and all his father’s household heard of it, they went down there to him.  Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them.” (I Samuel 22: 1,2 NASB)

David was running for his life. King Saul, who it seems had gone crazy, being troubled by an evil spirit, was determined to kill him. This man who had been anointed  the future king of Israel, slayer of giants, beloved of the people, and was in fact Saul’s very son-in-law, was now hiding out. This scenario is worth exploring in and of itself; but for now, I want to look at the people who were drawn to him.

The Bible tells us that those who were in debt, in distress, and discontent came and joined themselves with David in the cave of Adullam. Ironically (not really) the name Adullam  means: refuge, hiding place, or justice of the people; and, it is here that the weary ones come to throw in with David. These people were down and out, they were stressed out and bankrupt. They had tasted failure and disappointment, they were bitter and saw that their only hope lay in this “outcast king-to-be.” These were the ones God brought to David.

So many today are “occupying” this and demonstrating against that.  Those who joined themselves to David in the cave of Adullam needed help. They needed protection, relief, and justice; in short, they needed someone to save them. The answer was not in rebellion and demonstration,but rather in joining themselves to the one who was able to secure their deliverance.

There is One, the Son of David, who waits for you at Adullum. In fact, He Himself is your refuge. He calls the bitter, the weary, the disappointed, the stressed out, the ones who have tasted failure and hurt. He says, “Meet me at Adullam, and I will give you rest. I have accomplished justice;  and in me, you will find the refuge you seek. ” Salvation and deliverance are yours in Christ; wont you come and meet Him at Adullam today?

The Litmus Test

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

Simply stated, a litmus test is a test in which there is one decisive factor that reveals the reality of something. For example, in science, the litmus test reveals the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. In politics,  a key question will be asked to determine if  the nominating official will  proceed with the appointment or nomination of a candidate .  God has given us a litmus test to determine whether or not something is truly of him- the Jesus Litmus Test.

There is  much talk today, even in the secular media, about getting back to faith, family and morality, the need to stand for Israel, social-justice , and so on. Take conversation on some of these hot button issues, sprinkle a few references to “God” in with it, add a Bible verse or two, and voilà ; its all good. Or is it?

Here is the JLT (Jesus Litmus Test):  If what is being said or done  is truly from God, it will always glorify Jesus.

The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will glorify Jesus (John 16:14). If something is truly of the Spirit, it will always point to Christ and glorify Him. Jesus himself said that if some one is truly hearing from God, they will come to him, because the Father himself testifies concerning the Son ( John 5:37; 6:45). Jesus said that a true understanding of scripture will always lead a person to himself (John5:39,40). Simply stated, “If it aint about Jesus, it aint from God.”

My dear friends, in this hour in which we live, there is going to be an increase in the deception of wickedness like never before. Evil wont come, knock on your door and say, “Oh, I’m evil you should avoid me.” No, it will come in the form of  good things, good causes, inclusion and “tolerance.” We must always perform the JLT (Jesus Litmus Test) on the things we hear and see. People may refer to God and the Bible; but remember, Jesus said if it is really of God, it will always point back to him. Let me say it again, “If it aint about Jesus, it aint from God.”

Clarification

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“1 Now, dear brothers and sisters,  let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness  is revealed—the one who brings destruction. 4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.” (2Thessaloians 2:1-12)

“From Alienation and Idolatry to Death and Re-Creation”

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

The following is a pericope found on pages 60 &61 of Bruce J. Nicholls book , Contextualization: A Theology of Gospel and Culture  which I thought was pretty cool; so, I wanted to pass it along:

“The human problem is a problem of alienation. It is a dual problem of alienation from God and from one’s neighbor. The primary difficulty in the communication of the gospel is that mankind, as individuals and as corporate units of society, do not recognize the true nature of this alienation. Some may be obsessed with the problem of their avidya or ignorance of their true union with God so that they, like the sadhu, are oblivious to the social and economical needs of their neighbors and to the injustices of society. Others, however, may be so obsessed with the problems of poverty, unemployment, social injustice and political corruption that they are no longer aware  of the dimension of their alienation from God. This double blindness is found in every religious and secular culture.”

“The biblical doctrine of alienation begins in Genesis 3 where man and woman suppress the knowledge of God, rebel against his lordship and seek to make themselves equal to God. Paul gives carefully worded theological interpretation of this alienation (Rom. 1: 18-32). Sin in its ultimate form is described as idolatry, to which the creature creates deity in his own image or that of the real world and through magical identification placates or controls his gods, only to become a slave of his own creation. The end is subjection to demonic powers, spiritual and eternal death. Western contextualized theologies have not always realized the importance of sin as idolatry, although they have some knowledge of the occult, which is one form of the demonic power of mystical identification. In religions that recognize a supreme God, idolatry may take the form of the manipulation of the sacred words of scripture or of submission to law in order to control God. Whether by a process of mysticism or by rationalism, in every case man is his own savior from alienation. The alienation described in Genesis 3 inevitably leads to the form of alienation described in Genesis 4, people oppressing each other, ending in violence and death. Because the Fall affected every person and all of creation, the social, the economic and political forms of alienation which begins in Genesis 4 reach to the final fragmentation of language and community described in Genesis 11.”

“The prophet is God’s agent to pronounce judgement on all forms of alienation. The prophets of Israel and Judah rebuked both religious idolatry and social injustice. Amos, for example, rebuked Israel’s syncretistic worship (2:4; 4:4-5; 5:21) and the rich, including their wives , for their disproportionate wealth (3:15; 4:1; 6:4) and for their oppression of the poor (2:6; 6:1-7). Thus, true contextualization calls for both spiritual renewal and for social justice.”

“The gospel brings a new and deeper dimension of alienation to those cultures which interpret alienation solely in terms of social shame, as in Buddhist society. To legalistic societies such as Islam, which know little of love and forgiveness, to societies which fear the spirit world and to those which fear the secret police of secular governments, the gospel offers a new perspective on alienation. Twentieth century forms of alienation are only new forms…”

“The prophetic ministry of the gospel calls for a de-culturalization in every [bold print mine] culture of the accretions of true faith. From Moses to John the Baptist, the prophets condemned elements of culture which were contrary to the Word of God. At the same time the prophets ministry fulfills and recreates the truths of every culture. The gospel renews and transforms those elements of culture which are true to God’s general revelation.”

How’s Your Love Life?

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I serve as an associate pastor at an urban church in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you went down to your local Walmart and looked around at all the different kinds of people there, you’d have a real good idea of what our church looks like. Now we also have various “ethnic churches” that meet on our campus as well. Lets see… there’s an Eritrean fellowship, a Burmese fellowship, a Montagnard fellowship( I don’t think I’m missing anyone); and once every few months, we all get together and have one big International Service. Today was one of those days.

To be sure, I can’t understand everything that is being said or sung; but, its easy to recognize the same precious Spirit that lives within every believer. As I look around and see all the different people from so many different places, there is a love in my heart that only one who has been born again can know. As we all come together, crying out to God, praying, and singing songs, there is genuine love and compassion that is tangible and heart felt; and I know I am getting a glimpse of what it will be like when those from every tribe, every kindred,  and every tongue gather at the throne of Almighty God and worship Him shoulder to shoulder, with one voice.

You know, the Apostle John said, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.”(I John 3:14)  That’s pretty heavy when you think about it, being able to tell you’re alive in Christ by whether or not you love the people of God. Now we  know that there are other criteria that should also be examined as to how we know if we’re in Christ or not (read I John); but, John assures us that if we are not walking in love we are not in Christ. Wow!! I can be a big time preacher, a gifted worship leader, or a learned theologian; but, if I am not walking in love…

I find it interesting that John was one of the disciples that Jesus referred to as a “son of thunder.” Remember, John was one of the ones who asked the Lord if He wanted them to call fire down from heaven to consume some who would not receive Jesus. (Luke 9:54) Here we have this obviously intense individual who was transformed by Jesus into the “Apostle of Love.” In fact, church tradition says that when John was a very old man, he would often have to be literally carried into the place where the disciples would meet; and all he would tell the believers was, “Love each other little children.” Here was the man who had written the book of Revelation, seen the glorified Christ; and, all he preached towards the end of his life was love.

In Matthew 22: 34 -40 we read:

“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again.  One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?'”

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.'”

So, let me ask you; “How’s your love life?”