The Decline of Virtue

I have to ask the question – What is happening to our Great Nation? 

   Many out there would argue that we are going through an evolution of influence from the many cultures of the world and of the diverse culture of our “Melting Pot” structure.  Others would say that it is revolution of the minority in our country, those that do not fit into the ideal of a “Christian Nation”.

   I see these things, these influences not as a negative effect on our country. For if we welcome culture and diversity we can only grow as a nation.  Our Christian foundation also teaches us this concept as well.  Jesus did not limit His love and salvation only to His own people but included all of us as His people.  Freedom of religion is a founding covenant that our forefathers had with us as well as our Heavenly Father  who chose to create us with this same freedom, the freedom to chose Him or not.

   The twisting of our First Amendment into “freedom from religion” is not even the root cause of our spiral downwards; it is a result of it.
No, I say our decline today was predicted two and half centuries ago and repeated again and again by the great leaders who held up a certain standard which we have lost.

   George Washington warned us in his farewell address: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."   General Douglas MacArthur repeated this warning in 1951: "History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline.”

   America has long ago turned from the one true God and His moral standards and has accepted standards of life much lower.  All you have to do is to look around with clean eyes and mind and you cannot help but see how morals no longer exist as a general description of our world today. 

   We stood up against the evil of a dictator who sought to remove a race of people during WWII.  We were appalled that moral decay could result in the murders of over 11 million lives yet we sit here and allow more than 55 million abortions to take place in the US alone.

   We watch as families and the idea of the family and marriage disappear into a forgotten time and do nothing about it but sit back and allow pornography and immoral ideas creep into the mainstream.  At one time a magazine like Maxim would have had a brown paper cover on it and kept behind the counter yet today it is ok.  Not only are men at fault for disrespecting the women they love by condoning such things but women are now lowering their morality code by accepting such books as “fifty shades of grey” and claiming it will “Spice up” their love life.

   This moral decay is destroying us and even if you question whether these things are immoral or not take a moment to look at General MacArthur’s words – it is happening and there is no other cause for it.  Are higher moral standards such a burden that we would allow the destruction of our nation to place first? 

   General MacArthur went on to say “There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse, or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster."

               Wake up America the disaster is coming.

The Umbrella of Grace

Romans 5:12-21

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

   A.W. Tozer once said “The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.”

   There are two things that Tozer is making very clear here, First – God’s Grace only comes through Christ for believers and second – God’s wrath does exist

   The idea of Grace gets thrown around all the time, from the pulpit to the sinner but also from the sinner to their own conscience to justify their actions. 

The truth is: Grace IS salvation when properly understood.

Grace can also lead to death when handled improperly. 

   It reminds me of the current debate on firearms, a gun is simply a tool – a tool when in the proper hands can be used to provide sustenance, recreation and protection.  When improperly used it brings pain and death. 

   The first time I fired a gun I was about 12, my dad took me out back and set up a large food can.  He handed me his 12 gauge shotgun and said go ahead and shoot the can.  Well, not know the proper way to handle a gun I held it up, pointed and pulled the trigger – not knowing to pull the butt tight into my shoulder was a mistake and the fact that my dad had loaded 12 gauge magnum 00 buck shot – when I shook it off I realized I was on my back with my dad standing over me.  He said “Lesson number one – that is what that end of a gun will do to you, think about what the other end could”, he then walked away.  I swear I could hear the grin on his face from behind.

   We need to be taking the same precautions in teaching about grace.  It is often defined along the lines of unmerited pardon, or undeserved favor. Though true in part, grace is not merely undeserved favor; it is an enabling favor.

   It is the empowering of a human to live none other than like Christ.  The remarkable doctrine of Grace, when grasped by a true believer, creates a pivotal paradigm shift; he/she begins to live the one life starkly contrasted from the rest of the world.

   In Romans 5 the need for grace is made clear.  Through the sin of Adam all of mankind became sinners by nature – now that is not to say that Adam alone caused us to be sinners, his human nature, the nature of flesh caused it.  Through this act of Adam though it became necessary for God to provide Grace to us and He chose to that through the sinless life of Jesus Christ.

   In Galatians 2:20, Paul exclaims, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” -  Christ lives in me!!  The core of Christian life. 

   Through grace we are saved and brought to this point of Christ living in us.  The problem becomes when we see Grace as a dangerous concept leading toward lawlessness.  The thought pattern becomes “grace in indulgence.”  The Christian stumbles over a rift between grace and holy living, deciphering the two as extremes. This ultimately results in a grave misunderstanding of Grace, Christ, and ourselves.

   I knew a man who proclaimed to be a Christian yet he was living an immoral life, when confronted his response was all I have to do is to ask God to forgive me in the morning….  This man did not have Christ living in him.  He was not sanctified and made holy by the Grace of God; he had only fooled himself into thinking he was by his misinterpretation of Grace.

   Grace is about getting us to a point of Holy Living.  We cannot live holy lives alone, before or after salvation.  Grace says, “You cannot do anything good, right, or pleasing to God because your very nature is not good, right, or pleasing, but my Son has already finished the holy life, and you now have it.”  We as humans cannot gain salvation apart from this undeserved favor from Jesus Christ.  Likewise, we cannot sanctify our salvation apart from his enabling favor.  By faith, my very life is not mine anymore; Jesus is the one walking, talking, and moving through me to reach a lost world.

   Watchman Nee, a twentieth century Chinese Christian, explains in his classic, The Normal Christian Life:
“If an earthly surgeon can take a piece of skin from one human body and graft it on another, cannot the divine Surgeon implant the life of his Son into me?… We cannot tell how God has done his work in us, but it is done. We can do nothing and need do nothing to bring it about, for by the resurrection God has already done it.”

   By God’s grace, we have exchanged lawlessness for righteousness, flesh for Christ.  By belief in the finished life of the Son of God, we begin to walk in the Spirit, producing true life, love, and fruit.  The Spirit of God now fulfills the Law in redeemed humanity and thankfully, we cannot do anything to bring that perfection about.  This is the marvelous doctrine of God’s abundant grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast”

   Peter wrote in chapter 5 of Romans; “but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” and from this my friend stopped his growth in learning the Bible and saw the freedom to continue in his sin.  Peter saw the Romans also misinterpret his message as well and then confronted them in chapter 6

Romans 6:1-14  

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”

   Grace still exists for us; thank God Grace still exists for us because we still remain wrapped in the flesh of human and human nature.  We are still weak, and prone to making mistakes.  But, if you remember nothing from today’s message remember this – Grace is Not a lifetime membership to the get out of jail free club.

Look at Hebrews 10:26-31

“For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.  If anyone disregards Moses’ law, he dies without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay, and again, The Lord will judge His people.  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!”

   There is a well known debate that separates many Christian denominations – that of the loss of salvation.  Can a person do something so terrible that God will reject their previous status of a saved person?  I personally do not believe this and in my simpler mind I have just come to call those who turn away from a holy life the product of false salvation.  At that moment when they were presented with the gospel of Jesus Christ they come face to face with two possible responses.  Either go on to believe and be saved or stop short of actually believing and become someone who either willingly or foolishly embraces a false hope and a misinterpretation of grace.

    In its extreme, this practice of deliberately sinning, of totally rejecting the Holy Scripture and the path to living a holy life can be called apostasy – some say the one unforgivable sin.  But today I want to talk about the danger of what is becoming the common practice of deliberately sinning and the abuse of Grace, perhaps this is apostasy and those sitting in churches this morning who are deliberately sinning are in danger of God’s wrath, I would like to believe there is still hope and either they have unknowingly pretended to accept Christ or they have backslid to a very dangerous point.  All I know is that the scripture is clear here – Paul can get no blunter about it - “For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment”.  I cannot speak for anyone else but if God promises me a “terrifying expectation of judgment” because I know the truth, well the choice is clear and God’s command is clear – Stop It!!

   One scripture that comes to mind when we think of this subject is 1 John 2:19:

“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. However, they went out so that it might be made clear that none of them belongs to us..”

    John says that some who had made a profession of being Christians in that day had all the outward signs of being Christians.  They bore the Christian name, and they identified themselves with some local church.  They were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  They took the bread and the cup at the communion service.  But John says that the way you can tell whether or not one is really a child of God is that eventually they will show their true colors and will leave the body of the church.  They will either physically walk away or they will do so in practice Monday through Saturday by returning to the ways of the world.  By deliberately sinning, following the theology of mankind rather than the truth of God’s ways.

   The saddest portrayal of this is when we see someone who has spent a significant amount of time in the church.  They have heard the gospel on a regular basis.  They may have even professed to be Christians at some point and gave an outward appearance of being serious.  But the day came when they were challenged about the gospel through perhaps just one sin and rather than believing God, they embraced a lie.  Not repenting of such sin will open the door to more sin and the justification of it continues – Grace is abused.  Their heart gets harder.  They may even still be able to rattle off the basic elements of biblical truth but it means nothing to them.  In willful defiance they turn away from Christ, the gospel, and the church.

   My home Pastor had a visual explanation of Grace.  It is like an umbrella – God opens it up and we are free to come stand under it in His protection.  But if we willfully step out from under it then we are going to get wet.  We can step back under Grace, stay focused and dry off, but if we continue to step out or if we stay out too long, well, there comes a point when one is so drenched in their sin there is no more drying out.

   We are standing on a massive cliff here in America, and it is not a fiscal one but one that will bring about God’s judgment upon us – the wrath of an angry God.  Sadly I view our current position as the result of many Christians and False Christians abusing the gift of Grace that God has bestowed upon mankind.

   The good news though is that it is not too late and we have actually seen such a change in our country before.  The 18th century in America began what was referred to as “The Great Awakening.”  Throughout New England the Spirit of God invaded one community after another, bringing the spiritually dead to life, and transforming the worship of churches.  It was not that there were no professing Christians in these villages but there was little evidence of Christian living until the Holy Spirit breathed new life into our nation.  This Great Awakening caused many to reaffirm their faith or to do so honestly for the first time.

   Jonathan Edwards was a very faithful servant of God that was used to spark this awakening.  In his sermon titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” he wrote the following causing many to turn from their trespasses and they themselves become tools in the hand of God to change our country.

“Your wickedness makes you as it were as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottom-less gulf… There are the black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you… the waters are constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be stopped, and press hard to go forward… The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all of you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls, all that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and (thus those who have never experienced) light and life, are in the hands of an angry God.”

   It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. But remember how different it is for believers. David said in 2 Samuel 24:14, “Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great.”

For the believer no hands are as gentle as God’s hands.

A Year of Restoration

   A story is told of a man who called a doctor and said that his wife was having problems hearing and he wanted the doctor to check her out. So the doctor said check her out at home and see how bad it is before you bring her in. The man said “how do I do that?” Doctor said “ask her something from the other side of the room and keep getting closer until she responds back to what you said”. So man goes home and she is in the kitchen making supper and from the other side of the kitchen husband asks “Is dinner about ready honey?” He didn’t hear anything. So he goes to the center of the kitchen and says “Dinner about ready honey?” Still didn’t hear anything. So he gets up right behind her and goes “dinner about ready honey?” and at that point she turns around and says for the third time Yes.

   Well, we have made it. We come to the end of one year and the beginning of a new year. We survived 12/12/12 and the “Incan End of the Word”.

   Now we get a start over, a “do over”.  And so here is the chance, everything about the last year is gone. So I want to ask us today how we are going to change, I want us to look at the way we lived our life in 2012 and the changes that we possibly need to make in 2013.

   As with all changes this focuses on priorities. I don’t want to you to respond publicly but what are your priorities?

   Now if I were to ask you what is your #1 priority what would you say?  Many would say well we are in church so the answer should be God.  But let’s not kid ourselves.  Let’s be honest.  If we are going to say that God is #1 then it must be evident.  And I don’t mean that he is #1 in my life on Sunday morning or #1 when I am experiencing a problem, but I’m talking about in our normal everyday living, what are our priorities in life.

   Looking back over the past decade the following list was compiled on New Year’s Resolutions

* 27% of resolutions involve health and fitness  

* 15% personal growth and interests

* 15% personal finance

* 9% education and training

* 6% time management and organization

* 5% recreation and leisure

* 5% family and relationships

   We said the #1 answer should be God. Did you hear me mention any resolution concerning God? It’s not there. To find anything about spirituality you have to expand the personal growth section and when that is done all that is found is 2% in that category think spiritual growth is important.

   It gets worse.  The Barna Group which specializes in research about Christianity reported that only 1 out of 7 adults place their faith in God at the top of the priority list.

   You say well that’s not fair because some of those are non-Christians. The survey goes on and says that out of Christians not quite 1 out of 4  place their faith in God at the top of the priority list.

   The majority of people are focused on the here and now and not on their relationship with God.

   It is my prayer that this year will mark the beginning of a time in our own lives and in the life of this nation that we will focus our priorities on Christ and praising Him for all that transpires in our life. And to give him thanks.

After all that’s what 1 Corinthians 10:31 says.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of the God.”

   I pray that this year we will put God first and do everything in His name.

   I am sure that if we did this, if our nation did this – we would not be having the problems we are seeing.  I believe if we hadn't asked God to leave our schools we would not have seen the shootings take place.  If our priorities had been on God over the last decade, we wouldn't be approaching a financial cliff like we are.

   I know it becomes hard not to get lost in our lives, our worries over how things are going and what is going to happen next.  So as your “Spiritual Doctor” I am going to give you all three very important prescriptions for you to take this coming year.  This is no guarantee that all will be perfect but I can guarantee that if you take these three prescriptions you may find yourself taking on 2013 with a more confident heart because your will be placing God as a top priority in your lives

1. STUDY GOD’S WORD

I want you to take a look in Acts 17:10.

“As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea.  On arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

   Paul and Silas were on their missionary journey and were sent to Berea.  You have to understand that at this point Paul and Silas have just left Thessalonica where they city is in turmoil over what Paul and Silas are teaching about Christ, saying that all they have done is bring trouble.

Well Paul and Silas make it to Berea and instead of the Bereans hurling insults and creating a mob to run these missionaries out of town, notice what they do.  They searched the scriptures not just on Sunday mornings but every day.  And they did it with eagerness.  And because of this, verse 12, “Many of them believed”

   The bible is filled with many great and exciting truths and you and I need to invest time in it every day so that we can draw closer to Christ and understand His will for our lives and for the world.

Lately the Army has been focusing on the state of marriage – a great thing and I believe Strong Bonds is a wonderful commitment our leaders have given us.  But the real answer is simple, all one needs to do is study the scriptures and discover what Jesus has to say about marriage.  The same can be applied to all areas of our lives, from all relationships to our financial struggles.

   The bible is our sword; we are to use it to defend truth and to draw us closer to God. And we need to examine the bible daily.  

   Don’t take my word for it, get in there and discover what life’s greatest purpose is.  Get in it and discover what God has promised for you.  If we want to draw closer to God then we must be willing to read His book.

2 Timothy 2:15 says:

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth”

   Another way of saying this is found in the KJV which says “Study to show thyself approved”

   The best thing that we can do is to get involved in God’s word.  There are plenty of opportunities to do that from committing to read through your Bible this year to email devotionals.

   Get your day going with one of the Psalms and then spend the rest of the day praising God for opening up His word.  I know how life is because I am living it with you, but take time to read God’s word.

   When the former missionary David Livingston was asked where he was prepared to go, he answered, “I am prepared to go anywhere, so long as it is forward.”

   So you and I should place a priority on Studying God’s Word and going forward this year in this important endeavor

II. SHARE GOD’S WORD

   The great evangelist Dwight Moody was once criticized for his evangelistic methods. It was then that Moody replied, “I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.”

   The truth is most of us don’t do it.  We do very little when it comes to reaching out to people for Christ.  As a whole we have little passion for people who are lost, confused, mixed up and messed up.

   This year, I hope that we will develop the initiative to honestly and intentionally reach out to people and share with them the good news.

   But why should there be so much emphasis on evangelism?  Why is it important that all of us be committed to placing as a top priority sharing the Gospel with others?

   Well because it is a command that is given to all Christians by Jesus.  In the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commands us by saying:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

It does not say Preachers go and make disciples of all nations

It does not say Missionaries go and make disciples

Rather it refers to each Christian that has willingly accepted Christ into their lives.

   The Great Commission was not just spoken for a generation 2000 years ago. It was spoken for all generations.  The Great Commission is exactly what it says.  It is a great priority that we have to teach, witness, share, love and invite people to have one of the greatest relationships with a Great Savior who has come to save.  

   And when we are willing to share people will want to be baptized, they will want to be a part of church and they will begin to see greatness take place in their lives. --- And we will see the world change.

But what happens if we are not willing to share the gospel?  Romans 10:14:

“But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him?  And how can they hear without a preacher?   And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!”

   All believers are sent to announce this Good News.  The process of salvation begins with the one who tells another the Good News.  Like Paul and the early Christians, who spread the message of Christ despite persecution and even death, we should be eager to share this Good News of salvation to all who will listen.

If you have Christ in your life and are excited Shout it out!!!

   Now actions speak louder than words.  We know Christ and listen to how we just shared how enthusiastic we were for Christ.

   If you can’t be excited that Christ died for your sins and gave you salvation in his house, then how in the world are we going to be enthusiastic for Christ when we go out into the devil’s house which is this world and share the good news?

   If it is good news to you then show it; be excited.  If you are excited about something it causes us to want to talk.

   Think about sports fans for a minute, maybe it’s you or you’ve seen someone just get all crazy over a game, jumping up and down yelling at the tv.  I knew a guy back when I was in AIT who was a Broncos fan.  Now this was way back in 1990 when the Broncos played the 49ers.  He was so upset at the end of the game (the Broncos lost 55 to 10) that he literally went to his room and cried.

   DO YOU GET MY POINT? We should be so enthusiastic about bringing the Good News to everyone that we should be in tears when people reject it.  We should be proclaiming the Good News like we wear our favorite team’s colors.

If we are excited about having Christ in our lives then let’s show it and tell it and live it.

So we need to Study God’s Word, Share God’s word and now I have the third prescription to share with you.

III. EXAMINE OURSELVES

In II Cor. 13:5 we find these words:

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test”

   In today’s world, it seems that when it comes to an examination, everyone is always looking at the other person instead of themselves.  It’s amazing when something goes wrong all of a sudden the finger pointing starts.  It’s always someone else’s fault and not ours.

   We are always willing to jump to being critical of others yet; maybe this year is the year that you and I should be willing to examine ourselves a little more closely.

Go back to II Corinthinas 13:5: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves”

   The Corinthians’ have had it in for Paul.  They have been insistent on testing Paul, the very one that had brought them to the Christian faith.  And now Paul was coming to encourage them to stop looking at others and to look at themselves.  What Paul was asking them to do was to examine themselves and to see if it was true that through their actions and words Christ Jesus was living within them.

   I remember when I was teaching High School I would occasionally have my students grade their own quizzes.  It would save me time but it would also give me the opportunity to see who really cared how they were doing.  Some of my students were harder on themselves then you would think.  I had one tell me how it was an eye opening experience and that she would become more disappointed when she had to grade here wrong answers – she wanted to do better.

   We are all aware of the term soul searching, but have we ever really done it.  Have we taken time to look at our life both inside and out and graded ourselves.  The bible tells us to test ourselves so let’s do so; you, of course grade your own tests:

1.  When was the last time you prayed and did not need something or was in trouble?
2. When is the last time you shared Jesus with someone who is not a Christian?
3. When is the last time that you sat down and meditated on a passage of scripture?
4. When is the last time you sacrificially gave without expecting something in return?
5. Are you repeatedly committing a sin?

How did we do?  Did we pass with flying colors or did we just get by or did we fail?

   Examining ourselves can be hard but can also be helpful for it helps us to see the things that need to be changed.

   If we are Christians then we should realize that Christ Jesus is within us and that should cause us to want to study God’s word.  It should compel us to want to share God’s word with others. It should also demand that we examine ourselves and our actions.

Do others see Jesus living in us.

   So in a few days 2012 will be no more and 2013 will be ushered through the door.  I pray that we will check our priorities and be encouraged to Study God’s word.

I pray that we will be willing to share God’s word.  If you are excited that Jesus is living within you then are you going to show how excited you are.

And finally after being willing to examine yourself and noticing the changes we need to make, that we are willing to begin the spirit of restoration.

Don’t be like the man in the story who thought his wife had the problem.

 May 2013 be the year in which Christ Jesus is not just within us but that Christ Jesus can be seen through us. Amen

Christmas Eve 2012

   In December 1914, World War I was only four months old, but already it had become a dark and bloody mess.

   On France’s Western Front, soldiers of Kaiser Wilhelm II and George V faced off with one another from rows of frozen trenches.

   The cold winter rains had chilled them to the bone, and there was no relief from the endless mud and constant sniper fire.

   On Christmas Eve 1914, Scottish troops looked out across No Man’s Land and noticed lights in the German trenches.  In the evening twilight, they made out the silhouettes of Christmas trees.

   Laughter drifted across the darkening sky. The lights of those Christmas Trees burned brighter and pretty soon the Scottish troops heard a rich baritone voice begin to sing: “Stile Nacht, Helige Naucht.” Silent Night, Holy Night.

   One Scotsman who saw and heard these things said: “It was strange, like being in another world, to which we had come through a nightmare, a world finer than the one left behind.”

   That Christmas Eve in 1914, in the midst of all that power and warfare, the sounds of a world bent on destroying itself, there appeared an unexpected gift, the gift of song, the gift of tenderness, the gift of peace on earth breaking forth into the dark chaos.

   On Christmas Day, The Royal Flying Corp got into the Christmas spirit. A plane was sent up over the German lines and dropped a padded case of brandy-soaked plum pudding behind the German trenches.

The German troops seemed to appreciate this, so they sent up their own plane with a careful airdrop of a bottle of rum. The Allied soldiers really appreciated that.

   It was not long after this, we are told, that all the shooting stopped, and soldiers on both sides gathered to celebrate Christmas, singing Silent Night.

   The Christmas Truce of 1914 spread up and down the Western Front, and for several days the fighting and killing stopped. Soldiers traded tobacco and photographs, a football game even broke out between the Germans and the Allies. In fact, so much “good will” occurred across the lines that generals on both sides finally issued orders forbidding what was going on, after all, they claimed, “it discouraged initiative and destroyed morale in the ranks.”

 On this Christmas Eve, the ways of the world are once again turned upside down. In a world consumed by never-ending violence and life-shattering warfare, the soft cries of Mary’s child fill the air, and we see that power, real power, is not found in the weapons of war, but belongs in the small body of a new-born baby.

No longer does the world bow to Caesar Augustus, or Quirinias of Syria, or Herod of Judea, or Kaiser Wilhelm, or George V, or any of the politicians, kings, generals, or CEOs that normally command the world’s attention.

   No, for tonight, the King of kings is born in a stable with a few lowly shepherds as the guests of honor.

The gift of this day is God’s love for the world and the package is a small baby cradled in a young girl’s arms, the most powerful force that the world has ever known. And we who have been hardened by the difficulty of our lives, bruised and scarred by shattered dreams and broken hopes. We who turn on the television, listen to the radio, read the newspaper each day, and hear painful news of bloodshed and sadness, of poverty and illness, we who have become calloused to the brutal stories of the world around us, who are saddened by the dark places in our own lives, we need this gift of tenderness, mercy and love.

We need this gift of a baby born among us named Immanuel.

   We are like shepherds in the dark night, scanning the horizon for any signs of hope, for the promise that this world is not all there is, that the darkness will give way to a light that shall not be overcome.

Following the birth of Jesus Mary and Joseph brought him to Jerusalem in order to present him to God as the Law commanded.  Here the first prophecies of the time of Jesus are fore told

And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:

     “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,

         According to Your word;

      For my eyes have seen Your salvation

      Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,

     A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,

          And the glory of Your people Israel.”

 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.  Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.  And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Lk 2:25–38.     

  

   The first prophecies spoken of Jesus after His birth are for both “a rise and a fall” as well as “redemption”.  As we celebrate Christmas this year let us approach the coming of this New Year with a heart of Christ – a heart of redemption and celebration of the life that we can only find in true salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

   

   Let us be like those Soldiers on that cold Christmas Eve, forgetting our differences and joining together as one true Body of Believers showing the World that only through Christ can evil finally be defeated and Hope restored.

A New Begining, A New End - Part I

  A few weeks ago I had a shift in what I was called preach; in the past I was being led to teach love of our fellow man, the unsaved in our world who need desperately to hear of God’s Love before it is too late.  I was saddened by how many who have turned away from God because of the harsh treatment they have received from those who call themselves loving Christians. That view still stands – we must represent God, Jesus so they will be drawn to us.

  A few months ago, while away on a training exercise I had extra time to spend in prayer and commune with God.  I am seeing a drastic shift in our country, a shift further and further away from the Truth – the Truth of Christ and sadly it is those who have chosen to call themselves Christians who are allowing it to happen.  We are more vocal about the threat of losing our right to bear arms than we are about the fact that God is almost gone from our country, the true reason for all that is wrong.  In those quiet times I had with God while in the high desert of Washington State it became apparent that I must pick up the "Staff" of my role as Pastor and speak Truth to those who feel comfortable in their faith rather than truly being a follower of Christ.  For some that faith that you have will kill you 

  You see one of the marks of our church is the sole satisfaction found in a relationship with God – anything else does not satisfy.  In fact if God is not the center of your life, your pleasure, your happiness, your relationships then I ask that you question your true faith  -  is it in Him or yourself.  The Biblical Truth is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. The basis for this is deep, and the implications are as high as heaven and as long as eternity (salvation and death).

  It is like what Paul writes in Philippians 1:20-21; his  “eager expectation and hope is that I (he) will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death”.  His passion is that Christ be magnified in his death.  Paul’s explanation is that for him “death is gain.”  The reason death is gain is that to die is “to depart and be with Christ” (verse 23).  You cannot have that kind of faith if you do not find full satisfaction in Christ alone. In believing that Christ is magnified by your being so satisfied in Him that leaving everything else behind in death is not loss but gain. So Paul says in Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

  The implications of this are extreme; that we should pursue our joy in God - Should! Not may.  The main business of our hearts is maximizing our satisfaction in God. Not our satisfaction in his gifts, no matter how good, but in him.

Some Scripture and principles as to why this shift in our daily lives is necessary 

  We are commanded to pursue satisfaction -   Psalm 100:2: “Serve the Lord with gladness!” Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord.”

  We are threatened if we don’t pursue satisfaction in God -   Deuteronomy 28:47-48: “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart . . . therefore you shall serve your enemies.”

The nature of faith teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God; Hebrews 11:6: “Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

  The nature of evil teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God -   Jeremiah 2:12-13: “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

  The nature of conversion teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God -   Matthew 13:44: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

  The call for self-denial teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God -   Mark 8:34-36: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

  The demand to love people teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God -   Hebrews 12:2: “For the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross.” Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

  The demand to glorify God teaches the pursuit of satisfaction in God -   Philippians 1:20-21: “It is my eager expectation and hope that . . . Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (final and total satisfaction in him).

This is why my last sermon was offensive to some;

  To have your faith, your eternal salvation questioned is only offensive to those who hold closer their personal pursuits and personal satisfaction over satisfaction that only comes from God.

  I must also admit that my current and future teachings have a personal eternity at stake, you see the Bible says that the “Teacher” will answer to a higher standard in the end (James 3:1).  If I do not call upon you to repent and turn solely to God then I will also answer for it, and my heart will break for those of you who do not and perish rather than spend eternity in Heaven with our Lord

  Over the course of this series – and it may be a series that lasts the rest of my life – I will expand on the many areas of our lives that we must make HIS.  Many of these posts will be my sermon for the week, many will be extra.  But I am in prayer that God will give me all of them and that you, family, friends, will hear and make sure your salvation is secure.  

  Perhaps if we all become more stalwart in our Faith then maybe there will be shift in our country and America will remain “One Nation Under God” – perhaps even God will give us more time to draw more people to Him before the end (the end for those who do not KNOW Him).

 God Bless