Category: Miscellaneous

Not long ago, I preached a sermon entitled, ” In the Midst of the Madness” (see our “Teachings” page) in which I compared our current political and ecclesiastical climate here in America with that of the nation of Israel during the time of the Judges. Admittedly, I am a rather long- winded preacher; so, to sum it up, let me just say that there were a lot of crazy things going on. “Each man did what seemed right in his own eyes.”

In the sermon I went on to point out that the book of Ruth was also written during the time of the Judges. The book of Ruth tells of a woman who after losing it all, finds redemption at the feet of a man named Boaz whom she marries.

Today, as in the time of the Judges, we who make up the church are sending out a lot of mixed messages. One group says, “Do it this way” and another group says, “No, it should be done this way.” One group is emphasizing the “prophetic” while another places it’s emphasis on “signs & wonders”. One group says,”We’ve got to maintain some control and do things decently and in order” and another says, “No, you’ve got to let the “Spirit” have his way.”  “Each man did what seemed right in his own eyes.”

Well, in the midst of all this “madness”, as in the story of Ruth, there is a wedding taking place. The Father is drawing us, by his Spirit to come to the feet of Jesus even as Ruth came to the feet of Boaz. Like Ruth, we say, “Spread Your covering over me for You are my Redeemer.” Like Ruth, we are consumed with thoughts of our Husband to be, and have eyes only for Him. As we come to Him at the “threshing floor”, just like wheat is separated from the chaff, He purges us of all that is not pleasing to Him, and we become less concerned with what “is right in our own eyes” and become consumed with love for Him. In the midst of the madness we have only one prayer, “Give me Jesus.”

“There is a tendency in the Church today to emphasize unity and love at the expense of the truth and to speak disparagingly of those who place great emphasis on doctrine and contending for the faith. Those who put “unity” ahead of truth and fail to rebuke today’s false values and superficiality among Christians[… ] who reject the call to repent of false teachings as “negative” and insist that we are now in the greatest revival in history, would do well to take seriously the prophecy spoken during the famous Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles in 1906: ‘In the last days three things will happen in the great Pentecostal Movement: 1) There will be an overemphasis on power, rather than on righteousness. 2) There will be an overemphasis on praise, to a God they no longer pray to. 3) There will be an overemphasis on the gifts of the Spirit – rather than on the Lordship of Christ.’” (Dave Hunt)

The economic situation in America has many gripped with fear. If you listen to talk radio and watch the news you know that many are predicting the collapse of the United States economy all together. Banks are known to “go under” and people are loosing their retirement as an unstable Wall Street wreaks havoc on 401k investments. Housing bubbles,  gold bubbles, debt ceilings, s & p credit ratings… is there anything we can count on?

I Peter 1:3,4 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” I like that: a living hope, an inheritance undefiled and imperishable.

Jesus has been raised from the dead, so, not only did He provide this salvation for us by the blood of His cross; but, as the resurrected Lord, He is also the executor of the estate. He is alive forevermore to make intercession for us, to keep us, and insure that we receive the fulness of all that God has given us in Him!

This inheritance we have received in Christ is beyond the reach of corruption. No thief can steal it. It cannot wear out or fade away; but is forever sure and (as my good friend Deana likes to say) rock-solid! And, check this out, He has given us His Holy Spirit as a “first-installment”, guaranteeing a complete payment (Ephesians 1:13,14).

To be sure, in this world, we are facing uncertain times; but, that which Christ has purchased for you, by the offering of Himself upon the cross, is completely reliable; secured by One who has overcome this world and  conquered death, hell, and the grave.

I found this quote by Charles Spurgeon and wanted to pass it along.

“We believe everything which the Lord Jesus has taught, but we must go a step further, and trust him. It is not even enough to believe in him, as being the Son of God, and the anointed of the Lord; but we must believe on him . . . The faith that saves is not believing certain truths, nor even believing that Jesus is a Savior; but it is resting on him, depending on him, lying with all your weight on Christ as the foundation of your hope. Believe that he can save you; believe that he will save you; at any rate leave the whole matter of your salvation with him in unquestioning confidence. Depend upon him without fear as to your present and eternal salvation. This is the faith which saves the soul.” (Spurgeon)

Many are familiar with the writings of R. A. Torrey, and though he died in 1928, his work is still relevant for us today. We tend to place men like Torrey upon a pedestal and they somehow seem far removed from us regular folk.

I wanted to share the following excerpt from Torrey’s testimony in hope  that, in his own words, “many will recognize it as a description of the main features of their own condition.”

“But peace of mind and rest of conscience are not to be found in what the world calls ‘easy circumstances.’ Notwithstanding that I had apparently every reason to be well satisfied with my lot, and every opportunity to enjoy the good things of this world, my mental condition was anything but satisfactory. It is hard to picture the state of a mind subject to increasingly frequent and protracted spells of depression, for which there seemed to be no reason or explanation. Certainly I was thoroughly discontented, desperately unhappy, and becoming more and more an easy prey to gloomy thoughts and vague, indefinable apprehensions. No longer could I find mental satisfaction and diversion in the places and things which once supplied them. My gratifications had been largely of an intellectual order, and my mind had been much occupied in efforts to pierce the veil of the material universe, and to discover what, if anything, lay concealed behind it. This quest had carried me into the domains of science, philosophy, occultism, theosophy, etc., etc. All this pursuit had yielded nothing more reliable than conjecture, and had left the inquirer after the truth wearied, baffled and intellectually starved. Life had no meaning, advantage, purpose or justification; and the powers of the much-vaunted human intellect seemed unequal to the solution of the simplest mysteries. The prospect before me was unspeakably dark and forbidding.” (R. A. Torrey)

Like Torrey, we all suffer a similar malady; whether we are rich, poor, small or great, we have one thing in common: we’re looking for something, someone, anything that will fulfill and give life.

Jesus says, “Come to Me.”

While one cannot help but make light of the predictions so often made by those who would claim to be followers of Jesus; as I see the overwhelming response to this latest misguided attempt to pinpoint the EXACT time of the “parousia” (Christ’s return), I am reminded that there will indeed come a day when, according to the gospel, Christ shall indeed return. There will be no time for blogs and clever video postings; instead we shall come face to face with Reality Himself. 

It is my prayer that while we are intrigued and amused by this latest prediction, we will pause for a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts as to the reality of the cross and where we stand in relation to it. 

“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” (I Thessalonians 5:1-11 NASB)

“The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. Like flying birds so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it. On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; All day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves…”  

“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle…” (Various passages concerning Jerusalem)

When I was a boy, my family and I would travel from Columbia, S.C. to Clinton, S.C. on a regular basis. I can’t remember now exactly where it was; but, there was this huge rock off the shoulder of the interstate, and people would paint it, write on it, and so on. All through my childhood, down through the years, I would always see that rock when we traveled. I changed, my family changed, but the rock was a constant. 

David referred to the Lord as his “rock”. I don’t know about you, but when I think of a rock in light of David’s appropriation of the term, I think of an immovable object, something strong and durable which remains constant though the landscape around it changes. 

The landscape of our lives change all the time. The dynamics of relationships, our roles within certain situations, you name it, it all is subject to change; and, change can be unnerving to say the least. We like things to remain constant; we are creatures of routine and habit who view change with suspicion. This brings me back to The Rock. 

When our lives are built upon relationships, jobs (ministries), money, etc…, a sudden, unexpected change can send us spiraling into fear and uncertainty. A life founded upon The Rock can endure and remain unshaken even though everything around it changes. Simply put, if my life is built on “things”, I change when they change; however, if my life is built upon Jesus, the consistency of my life is ensured in that He NEVER CHANGES. The Bible says that “we are hidden in Him”, hidden in that strong, durable, immovable Rock. So, when change comes (and it surely will), we have a solid foundation in Christ. He is the Constant! 

“…Behold, I lay in Zion a Choice Stone, a Precious Corner stone, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (IPeter 2:6 NASB)

I don’t know if he meant to, but Lebron James provided true insight with his post game comments after failing to win the NBA Championship. When asked if it bothered him that so many people wanted him to fail he replied:  

“Absolutely not,” James said. “Because at the end of the day, all the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live . . . They can get a few days or a few months on being happy about not only myself but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal, but they have to get back to the real world at some point.” 

No matter what we turn to to derive some happiness, some fulfillment ,or some diversion from the grind of just being alive, eventually it’s over and we are left with “the real world”. Preach it Lebron. 

Check out what Jesus has to say: “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” 

And again, 

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” 

To we who live in a country where we have any form of diversion or amusement you could dream of, Jesus invites us to come and drink from reality- Himself.