Why Am I Afflicted?

   "Many are the afflictions of the righteous" is a passage we often take comfort in, and offer comfort by. And that's legit. But what about those times in our lives when it's one crisis after another, "all Thy waves and billows are gone over me", and we're just buffeted with all kinds of junk!? Are we being tested like Job?
What's the deal?
   Proverbs 26:2 tells us, "the curse causeless shall not come". Now far be it from me to accuse any of you of harboring "some secret sin" when your life is upside down and you need answers. My plan here is to give you a checklist to pray over, and ask the LORD to show you the cause of the curse.

• The most obvious- and least likely- is open unconfessed sin. Faithful believers really can't go long without conscience buzzing our ears. It can happen: think David & Bathsheba- but it's the exception, not the rule.Probably not your problem.
• How about disobedience? I don't mean willful disobedience, but maybe you got too busy, or you forgot, or weren't really sure it was God talking to you in the first place. It's happened to me- you think it's your own daydream, don't realize it truly is a vision inspired by the Holy Spirit. Remember how Moses almost died, because he hadn't circumcised his kids? Ask God to remind you-then do it!
• Our associations can bring trouble. "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" is sound advice! We can't always pick who we work with. I have a friend in law who also got involved with politics. Many judges and politicians are deeply into Freemasonry; being around them can expose you to their demons! Short of quitting your job, what can you do? Pray for their salvation & deliverance.
• The cursed thing. Remember how Achan brought spoils into his home? It ruined his whole family! Now you may not go out & buy something accursed, but someone may give you an item, and you accept it to be nice Some items are charged: it may be nothing to you, but to another it's a talisman or charm. Book, decoration, album....could be a conduit for evil forces, a very lightning rod!
• Last one, and easiest to fall into, is unforgiveness. Problem is, it's a passive sin, not an active one. We all know the parable of the servant who was forgiven but wouldn't forgive. It opens us up to spiritual assault!

   So brothers & sisters afflicted & tormented, pray and ask the Lord if any of this is going on to open a door in your life. The Holy Spirit will be happy to show you, as will your guardian angel, whose job will be a lot easier with the cause removed! If it is just a test, may God grant you the patience & faith to endure.

The Loaded Cross

   Years back, I was visiting a church, and the Pastor was giving a sermon tiled, "The Empty Cross".  He was going on about how mainline churches depict a crucifix with Christ nailed to it, and how they oughtn't do that since He isn't there any more. OK, point taken. But if your cross is empty, I feel sorry for you: because mine is full! It's loaded! With what? Glad you asked!
   First off, I'm on it! I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ Who lives in me" according to Galatians 2:20. My flesh and its lusts are nailed there: Galatians 5:24. The world and its ways are condemned there to me, Galatians 6:14.
   It gets better! All my sins are tacked up there: "...having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way,nailing it to His cross!" Colossians 2:13-14. The Old Testament legal requirements are also there; I don't have to be concerned with crossing my t's and dotting my i's to please God!
   Hallelujah! Know what else is on that old, rugged cross? ALL MY SICKNESSES AND DISEASES!
"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed!" Isaiash 53:4-5, as if you didn't know!
   I might just start preachin'! There's one more tihng on that ol' cross. An ugly, stinking horrible thing: MY PAST. All my failures, mistakes, disobediences, foolishness, and faults of any kind are posted there for it is written, "IF any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away, behold all things are become new and all things are of God"! 2 Corinthians 5:17
   So you see my friends, I don't have an empty cross. My Saviour isn't there, but everything He saved me from IS! Grace, peace, and thanks for stopping by!

Praise & Worship II

   Greetings, all. One of the most highly visible ministries in any church is the worship team.  It can also be one of the most influential; music is a powerful force that touches us in a deeper way than just about any other means of communication, affecting the intellect, emotions and the heart. For these reasons, the Pastors and Elders must keep close watch on what's going on there: who's leading, where are they getting their material, what's required of band members, how loud can they get, how long can they play? Church leadership must maintain control or things can very easily get out of line.

   The Prophet Amos delivered this shocking message: "Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I don't want to hear your music!" (Amos 5:23, paraphrased ) Why would God say that? Surely He doesn't hate music: His creation is filled with it! But He didn't want to hear their music. Ephesians 4:30 says, "Grieve not the Holy Spirit"; in what ways might our offerings of praise and worship become a grief to the Holy Spirit?

   Colossians 3:16 tells us to speak to each other in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. And Jesus said the Father seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.  Let me tell ya a little story. Several decades ago, a foul-mouthed comedienne made a movie about a worldly singer who slips into the church impersonating a believer, and taking over the choir, brings worldly music into the sanctuary. The Church saw Sister Act and said, "What a great idea! Let's use worldly music in our praise services!" The Church jumped in with both feet and never looked back.

   Have you never read in the Scriptures Moses' warning to Israel, "...inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so to the LORD thy God" (Deuteronomy 12:30-31) If Satan's children want to serve him with heavy metal rock music, that's their problem! Should we do what they do? Clearly not. And why do we play worldly sounds in our meetings? To please God? Or to please our flesh? We need to ask ourselves some questions. I'll have more next time.

Praise & Worship in the Church

We'd been talking about building the local church, and I discussed several offices and ministries that need to be in place for the church to be healthy, strong, and growing. You may wonder why I didn't start with the music team? They're important aren't they? Well, on many church bulletins, you'll see the worship team leader's name listed right after the Pastor's. Usually, the first thing you see & hear upon entering is the band; they literally take center stage! So, why didn't I list them first? 
   My premise is, we're going to build the church the same way God forms a baby in the womb: He begins with the vital organs and works His way outward. So I ask you, in which trimester does God put the breasts on this little girl? "Um, when she's a teenager?" NOW you get it! The part everyone notices, that part that gets all the attention, He leaves until LAST---His finishing touch on this young lady! The kidneys, liver, heart, lungs: they're all ugly and gross, but you can't live without them! Those breasts might look pretty, but that's basically all they do-until another life begins. Scripture tells us the same thing. And so I've left the music team for last. I'm not saying they're not important, but other ministries that don't get noticed are more important.
   Prove it? Consider this: in the New Testament there is no such position or title as "Worship Leader"!
Check your concordance; you won't find it. But every church in America has a worship leader. Why? Americans love music! We practically deify it; that's why we have a show called American Idol. My church back in the day had a killer music team: they cranked out some awesome music! One service, the Pastor gave a prophecy:  the Lord said, "Don't worship the worship." Wow! We were lovin' the music so much it was becoming an idol!
   Jesus said, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth."  It is so easy to get into the flesh because music and singing and dancing and clapping, pleases our flesh and our souls as well as our spirits! This is where it gets tricky. This is why who we appoint as music leader is so important. More on that next time. Peace, grace, and thanks for stopping by!

Building the Local Church- part 10

Odds & Ends

A few more items to cover before we examine the worship team, to which I'll devote an entire series. First, let's talk about missions and giving.  Every church should support missions work one way or another. If you cannot send someone yourselves, assist those on the front lines with your prayers and financial contributions.

The Great Commission is still Job #1 with God; He hasn't pulled the plug on that operation! There are still many, many thousands of people who have never heard the glorious Gospel of Christ!

   If we want God's blessings on our work, we'd best be involved in His work. Most assemblies take up a missions offering once a month. That's fine: make sure your people know what week so they can prepare! Pastors, never, never be ashamed to ask for money for missions! When I was Head Usher, I used to stuff the bullletins with missions offering envelopes so everyone would have one. Now I'm not a money preacher, but it is true that if you give, it will be given back to you. "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" when you support missions. And THAT'S a fact!

   I'd like to say something about endorsing political parties and candidates: DON'T!! We are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Thirty-forty years ago, the Church was deceived into thinking the GOP was God's party and the Dem's were satan's. Wake up, folks:  Left Wing & Right Wing are flying the same plane! They told us GOP would overturn Roe v. Wade. Guess not. Nor did "conservative" leaders stall our cultural decay. You cannot serve God and mammon---guess which the politicians serve?

   Finally, let's talk about mentoring. Anyone who's doing anything in the church ought to train someone else to do their job for when they're away or get promoted. This avoids the "last-minute scramble" to cover for you when you're out! "The same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also" 2nd Timothy 2:2 instructs. Moses/Joshua, Elijah/Elisha, Paul/Timothy; it's the Biblical model.

The War Against the Saints!

  ( Note: I will get back to my series, "Building the Local Church"; I have a few things I need to speak first.)
   Do you realize what's going on? There is a passage in Revelation preachers don't like to talk about much, and I know I won't be very popular discussing it either. But God put it there for a reason, and we need to take a look.

And there was given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue 42 months... and it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Revelation 13: 5, 7

Lest you think that's a typo, consider Daniel 7:21 & 25:

I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

Well, that sucks! We lose??? Are they changing laws? yeah. Are they wearing us down? Yeah. How can this be? Why would God let that happen? Well, Jesus said He'd separate the sheep from the goats, and the weeds from the wheat. Pressure from the world will sift the Body of Christ, and drive out the posers.

   Since the end of WW2, movies, music, and tv have been "pushing the envelope" to bring down our moral standards. Public schools also teach & preach worldly ethics. Remember George Carlin's "7 Words ya Can't Say on TV"? We hear those words all the time now. Did you know there's a children's book titled, "Go the F**k to Sleep"? That's right, a children's book. And don't give me this line, "Media doesn't affect me". Of course it does.  The Devil uses music and comedy to get us to accept things we never would otherwise; it lowers our defenses.  We're under attack, folks.

Tribulation Survival Guide

   Through the centuries, Bible scholars have looked at Jesus's Olivet Discourse as a catalogue of the signs of the End Times. But Jesus also gives us a list of DO's and DON'T's for us to follow if we wish to survive the Tribulation. Since the 70's pre-Trib salesmen have been leading believers to think, "we don't have to worry about it, we're not going to be here", and Christ's message has been largely ignored.
   Now, however, the time has come to take a fresh look at the Olivet Discourse; not now as merely a timeline of events, but as a manual for surviving the reign of the Anti-Christ! Look around! The Mark of the Beast is at the door and persecution such as this country has never seen will take many by surprise. Remember 1999? How many people prepared for the  Y2K bug scenario? Did you? That wasn't real (and I told my audience nothing would happen---sometimes Matt does know what he's talking about), but the Tribulation is real: the Bible doesn't lie. We do need to prepare.
   So let's see what Jesus instructed us in His Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) the Tribulation Survival Guide!
DON'T go with those who say, "He's here!" Hello, Jehovah's Witnesses, it's 100 years since your leaders told you Christ returned  "invisibly". Still falling for this one?
DON'T panic when you turn on the news and see prophecy fulfilled before your eyes.
DO take heed you don't get deceived; question everything & everyone...false Christs are out there.
DON'T plan what you'll say when they come for you. DO let the Holy Ghost do the talkin'.
DO be prepared to die. Settle your hearts now; when they're banging down your door, it's too late.
DO run, Forrest, run! DON'T go back to pack your stuff! DO pray you won't have to escape in winter.
DO look up; your redemption is near! Can you last 3 1/2 years?