Each year we hear wonderful messages about the miraculous birth of our savior Jesus Christ. Out of all the celebrated holidays christmas is undoubtedly the best. I personally enjoy everything about christmas. Fun times with family, eating, and of course giving and receiving gifts. Of course we can't forget those wonderful christmas plays at church. What an awesome time of year to share the message of God's love for humanity. Unfortunatley in our world there seems to be a movement to snuff out anything that speaks of Christ. Instead of Christmas it's Xmas. Instead of this being a celebration of Christ' miraculous birth, it's just another day to eat and drink and be merry. The spirit of this age is working overtime to reduce the Bible to a mere fictional story book.
As much as they try, yet this book consistently and continuously arises and awakens the souls of depraved men. His word is alive, it speaks, it convicts and most importantly it reveals the one who came in the volume of the book to do the will of the Father. To everyone that would try to invalidate the Bible, what argument can be made against all the Old Testament messianic prophecies that find there fulfillment in the New Testament.
There are over 60 messianic prophecies that reveal our Saviors appearing. The Bible itself is evidence of His existence and Diety. Micah prophecied about His coming 700 years prior to Christ and it happened. (Micah 5:2) Isaiah prophecied 700 years BC about the ministry of John the Baptist, and it happened. (Isaiah 40:3). On and on I could go but the point is Christmas is just another sign that God's Word is Truth. There is no denying it. The Word is real, Jesus is real, Heaven is real, and Hell is real. BELIEVE HIS WORD AND LIVE!!! Keep Jesus in the center of all your celebrations and gatherings.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
"LOVE & HATE" The Message of the Cross
When I think about the sacrificial death of our savior on the cross it reminds me of just how much He deserves my praise. He paid a debt that He did not owe. Oh how awesome is our God. But today I was meditating on the cross and the goodness of God, and begin to see some awesome things. In fact, I believe the real message of the cross is one of love and hate.
We know the classic verse of (John 3:16) "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begooten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Love and hate was the reason Jesus became a man. God loves His creation. He desires none to perish, but all to come to repentance. (2Pet.3:9) God loves every human being walking the Earth. However, one major problem hinders His love for us, sin. His desire is for all humanity to go to heaven. But contrary to Hollywood's theology, everyone doesn't go to heaven. Sin seperates man from God. Big or small, gross or not so gross sin is a terrible thing. In fact, I think we preachers would do our churches a much needed favor if we preached more about it. I know it's not the popular thing to do. I even realize the potential of losing some of the people as a result. But what are we trying to accomplish? Is our goal to pack a building or populate the Kingdom. I must say that in today's society there is a vast difference between the church house and the Kingdom of God. Now I'm not a negative gloom and doom person. But I am becoming increasingly concerned about the strategies of the Church.
I am a radical preacher that loves high energy contemporary style services. I teach our leadership to think outside the box of tradition and allow the spirit of creativity to flow. But I want to see a crowd of God chasers verses a crowd of thrill seekers. Let me clarify what I mean by thrill seekers. I'm not referring to the thrill of knowing God and experiencing His presence. These are the people we need to produce. Today we have a whole host of people that occupy our auditoriums that are thrilled by the display and the hype of our presentation. This does produce excitement but doesn't produce conversions. Now I know with statements like this, I may never be a keynote speaker in a modern day conference, but my goal is not to be the popular preacher. I love all God's servants. I commend every man and woman of God that labor in His Word. But as I study this book I see preachers in the book of Acts that were looking conversions not crowds. There will be many church members in hell. This bothers me!! Even worse, there will be preachers in hell!!! There is a message people coming from the cross!!!! God loves us. He loves us so much He nailed His only Son to an old rugged cross. But there is also a message of hate coming from that same cross. The reason Jesus laid His life down for us is because GOD HATES SIN!! Sin kept us from God. God made us to be with Him. Not just in heaven. But right now, God wants to commune and fellowship with us. Sin forbids this union. But thank God that on calvary's mountain, sin was defeated. Death lost it's sting. Hell was stripped of it's authority. Jesus died and rose the third day and said I will build a church and give them the keys to my Kingdom and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I say amen to every strategy that God grants. I support and admire every Pastor that reaches the masses for Christ. But because of the message that comes from the cross. Love for People and hate for sin, we must examine our methods to assure we are producing conversions and not just church members.
We know the classic verse of (John 3:16) "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begooten son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Love and hate was the reason Jesus became a man. God loves His creation. He desires none to perish, but all to come to repentance. (2Pet.3:9) God loves every human being walking the Earth. However, one major problem hinders His love for us, sin. His desire is for all humanity to go to heaven. But contrary to Hollywood's theology, everyone doesn't go to heaven. Sin seperates man from God. Big or small, gross or not so gross sin is a terrible thing. In fact, I think we preachers would do our churches a much needed favor if we preached more about it. I know it's not the popular thing to do. I even realize the potential of losing some of the people as a result. But what are we trying to accomplish? Is our goal to pack a building or populate the Kingdom. I must say that in today's society there is a vast difference between the church house and the Kingdom of God. Now I'm not a negative gloom and doom person. But I am becoming increasingly concerned about the strategies of the Church.
I am a radical preacher that loves high energy contemporary style services. I teach our leadership to think outside the box of tradition and allow the spirit of creativity to flow. But I want to see a crowd of God chasers verses a crowd of thrill seekers. Let me clarify what I mean by thrill seekers. I'm not referring to the thrill of knowing God and experiencing His presence. These are the people we need to produce. Today we have a whole host of people that occupy our auditoriums that are thrilled by the display and the hype of our presentation. This does produce excitement but doesn't produce conversions. Now I know with statements like this, I may never be a keynote speaker in a modern day conference, but my goal is not to be the popular preacher. I love all God's servants. I commend every man and woman of God that labor in His Word. But as I study this book I see preachers in the book of Acts that were looking conversions not crowds. There will be many church members in hell. This bothers me!! Even worse, there will be preachers in hell!!! There is a message people coming from the cross!!!! God loves us. He loves us so much He nailed His only Son to an old rugged cross. But there is also a message of hate coming from that same cross. The reason Jesus laid His life down for us is because GOD HATES SIN!! Sin kept us from God. God made us to be with Him. Not just in heaven. But right now, God wants to commune and fellowship with us. Sin forbids this union. But thank God that on calvary's mountain, sin was defeated. Death lost it's sting. Hell was stripped of it's authority. Jesus died and rose the third day and said I will build a church and give them the keys to my Kingdom and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
I say amen to every strategy that God grants. I support and admire every Pastor that reaches the masses for Christ. But because of the message that comes from the cross. Love for People and hate for sin, we must examine our methods to assure we are producing conversions and not just church members.
Friday, November 7, 2008
A Government within a Government
I know the title of this blog sounds a little strange, but I believe that's the picture of the Church. We know the scripture teaches about Christ in (Isaiah 9:6,7) that government shall be upon His shoulders. Government represents authority and management. It says in verse (7) that of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. The strongest part of the two verses is the last sentence in verse 7 where it says: "the zeal of the Lord of host shall perform this." That means the jealousy of God shall cause this to happen. What does all this mean?
We know in the nation of America there is a move to stamp out everything God loves. There is a rise of political secularism that is unmatched in our history. God haters and Christian bashers are everywhere. The mainstream media is the platform that gives this group a voice. The world would love nothing more than to hush the mouth of every preacher, remove the pin from every christian author, and most of all close the door to every Bible preaching church. I must admit that I have never really been political minded at all, however, now is the time to not be ignorant of our leadership, and be a voice speaking the truth bound within the pages of our Bible.
I will say that I remain optimistic concerning my future. God's Word is clear about His people. "I've never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed begging bread." (Psalm 37:24) We have hope beyond the scope of politics.
Furthermore, it is the hour to be bold enough to declare wrong from right. Abortion is wrong. Homosexuality is wrong. Lying is wrong. Adultery is wrong. Judging others is wrong. Let me stop and say a word. It is easy for the church to tell people outside of church what is wrong. But I'm speaking to the church. We cannot rule with authority and power if we ourselves are corrupt and defiled.
God is raising up His people to rule. We are His Body. (1Cor. 12:27) His government is upon the Church. We are called to be His voice. His light in darkness. The Church is God's instrument in His hands to bring about His will on Earth. We must not be intimidated or influenced by the worldly arena. Jesus was born to become sin, died to free us from sin, and rose from the dead to rule through His Church by His Spirit.
We are at war. Not with flesh and blood. It is a spiritual battle. We must be armed with righteousness and clothed with humility to stand in His victory.
We know in the nation of America there is a move to stamp out everything God loves. There is a rise of political secularism that is unmatched in our history. God haters and Christian bashers are everywhere. The mainstream media is the platform that gives this group a voice. The world would love nothing more than to hush the mouth of every preacher, remove the pin from every christian author, and most of all close the door to every Bible preaching church. I must admit that I have never really been political minded at all, however, now is the time to not be ignorant of our leadership, and be a voice speaking the truth bound within the pages of our Bible.
I will say that I remain optimistic concerning my future. God's Word is clear about His people. "I've never seen the righteous forsaken or His seed begging bread." (Psalm 37:24) We have hope beyond the scope of politics.
Furthermore, it is the hour to be bold enough to declare wrong from right. Abortion is wrong. Homosexuality is wrong. Lying is wrong. Adultery is wrong. Judging others is wrong. Let me stop and say a word. It is easy for the church to tell people outside of church what is wrong. But I'm speaking to the church. We cannot rule with authority and power if we ourselves are corrupt and defiled.
God is raising up His people to rule. We are His Body. (1Cor. 12:27) His government is upon the Church. We are called to be His voice. His light in darkness. The Church is God's instrument in His hands to bring about His will on Earth. We must not be intimidated or influenced by the worldly arena. Jesus was born to become sin, died to free us from sin, and rose from the dead to rule through His Church by His Spirit.
We are at war. Not with flesh and blood. It is a spiritual battle. We must be armed with righteousness and clothed with humility to stand in His victory.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Times of Restoration
In the book of Malachi (last book of the Old Testament) God gave a promise that He would send the Prophet Elijah before the dreadful day of the Lord. It goes on to say that his ministry would be to turn people's hearts back. More specifically, the hearts of family members that Satan has caused to become harden and indifferent. In other words God was saying in the last days I will cause a spirit of restoration to occur. I think we would all agree that there are a lot of families that are torn apart today and children have become the victims of self-serving, pleasure seeking parents. Now it's not my intent to speak to the family crisis at this time. That's another post. However, I do want to explore the thought of restoration.
In (Acts 3:21) we find an interesting verse. In paraphrase it says heaven has received Christ and will not release Him to return until all of the prophetic things spoken have come to pass. Of course, there are prophecies that deal after the return of Christ. But this is referring to the prophesies that deal with the events prior to His return.
In other words there are some things that must take place before Christ can return. This is the reason God spoke through Malachi and said I will send Elijah the prophet.
Elijah was a mighty man of God. There is alot that could be said about him but for the sake of space I will limit my comments. I believe the spirit of Elijah is upon the Church now. Just like on John the Baptist, the spirit of Elijah was upon him. John was a forerunnner of Christ. The spirit of Elijah comes to usher in the Lord as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Now you may be asking what is there to restore? Well, restoration has actually already begun. We know from reading the book of Acts we see God's church. That is the same church in the earth today. However, read closely and we will discover some major differences. The Spiritual church in Acts became the structured church during the dark ages. The spirit of religion took over and man grew further and further from God.
Beginning in 1500 we see God beginning the restoration movement. Martin Luther rose up and began a revolution. From Martin Luther's day until now there has been a series of moves of God. The holiness movement, latter rain movement, pentecostal movement, charismatic movement, Apostolic and Prophetic Movement. The problem is people that were apart of one movement don't want to embrace the truths of the next movement.
My position is this, I believe God was and is a part of all those movements. Now, that doesn't mean man hasn't come along and perverted it. That has always been our problem. We mess up what God does. I believe the next great move of God will be within the Body of Christ. In past we see God raising up an individual. We will now see God move through His mature Church called the Body of Christ. As He does, we will see miracles like in the book of Acts. In fact according to (John 14:12) we can expect the exploits to be even greater.
I know this is a long blog but I had to get this out. There is a mighty move of God coming to those that hunger for His Glory. Let's seek the Glory of God. Church He rent the veil inorder for us to receive His Glory. It's time to move from Glory to Glory. Don't be discouraged, or fearful, this is time for faith to be stirred and Saints to arise and be God's Army!!!! Blessings
In (Acts 3:21) we find an interesting verse. In paraphrase it says heaven has received Christ and will not release Him to return until all of the prophetic things spoken have come to pass. Of course, there are prophecies that deal after the return of Christ. But this is referring to the prophesies that deal with the events prior to His return.
In other words there are some things that must take place before Christ can return. This is the reason God spoke through Malachi and said I will send Elijah the prophet.
Elijah was a mighty man of God. There is alot that could be said about him but for the sake of space I will limit my comments. I believe the spirit of Elijah is upon the Church now. Just like on John the Baptist, the spirit of Elijah was upon him. John was a forerunnner of Christ. The spirit of Elijah comes to usher in the Lord as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Now you may be asking what is there to restore? Well, restoration has actually already begun. We know from reading the book of Acts we see God's church. That is the same church in the earth today. However, read closely and we will discover some major differences. The Spiritual church in Acts became the structured church during the dark ages. The spirit of religion took over and man grew further and further from God.
Beginning in 1500 we see God beginning the restoration movement. Martin Luther rose up and began a revolution. From Martin Luther's day until now there has been a series of moves of God. The holiness movement, latter rain movement, pentecostal movement, charismatic movement, Apostolic and Prophetic Movement. The problem is people that were apart of one movement don't want to embrace the truths of the next movement.
My position is this, I believe God was and is a part of all those movements. Now, that doesn't mean man hasn't come along and perverted it. That has always been our problem. We mess up what God does. I believe the next great move of God will be within the Body of Christ. In past we see God raising up an individual. We will now see God move through His mature Church called the Body of Christ. As He does, we will see miracles like in the book of Acts. In fact according to (John 14:12) we can expect the exploits to be even greater.
I know this is a long blog but I had to get this out. There is a mighty move of God coming to those that hunger for His Glory. Let's seek the Glory of God. Church He rent the veil inorder for us to receive His Glory. It's time to move from Glory to Glory. Don't be discouraged, or fearful, this is time for faith to be stirred and Saints to arise and be God's Army!!!! Blessings
Monday, October 27, 2008
"Halloween And The Church"
Halloween to say the least has been a controversial subject for as long as I can remember. I must admit, growing up I always looked forward to October 31st. To me it was a time to scare people and get as much candy as possible. These were days where everybody knew everybody in the community. We knew the houses where we could get the good candy. In fact, I vividly remember one house where the lady always gave out sweet potatoes. I didn't like to stop there but mama must have needed the potatoes.
Needless to say, times have changed. The world is full of evil people. There are many people that are simply servants of Satan, and look for ways to destroy, defile and demoralize the lives of the innocent.
Concerning halloween, there are so many things that can and should be said about this day. First of all, halloween is not a Christian holiday. A lot of the things that are practiced today during halloween have a very evil origin. The "Jack o lantern" for instance represents souls that are damned. Costumes were worn because the celts thought they could trick the demons into believing that they were one of them. Trick or treat came about from the belief that if you set food or candy on your steps or porch the spirits would pass you by not causing harm to your home or family. (SIDE NOTE) Houses were known to have been burned because of people not participating. On and on I could go about the traditions of halloween. Now I know that most people participate in halloween knowing nothing about the origin and evil behind it.
What can the church do during this time. First of all, I'm not a legalist. However, we should be very cautious with the activities we engage in. Study the significance of the activity. What does bobbing for apples represent? We should ask these questions when we are planning events.
This is what I believe. October 31st is the day the Lord made. We should rejoice and be glad. It is also a day when a multidude of people will be out in the street and attending special events. I think the church should use this time to be creative and reach out to the many people in the community. It is a time to let them know we are here to serve. October 31st is a wonderful time to evangelize and let our light shine like never before.
I think it is necessary for me to say, that condenming people for participating in halloween is very unwise. We win people through love and leadership, not condemnation and critisism. Show love, and lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Condemnation is never an evangelistic method.
My prayer is many souls will be saved during all the events planned for Oct. 31st.
Needless to say, times have changed. The world is full of evil people. There are many people that are simply servants of Satan, and look for ways to destroy, defile and demoralize the lives of the innocent.
Concerning halloween, there are so many things that can and should be said about this day. First of all, halloween is not a Christian holiday. A lot of the things that are practiced today during halloween have a very evil origin. The "Jack o lantern" for instance represents souls that are damned. Costumes were worn because the celts thought they could trick the demons into believing that they were one of them. Trick or treat came about from the belief that if you set food or candy on your steps or porch the spirits would pass you by not causing harm to your home or family. (SIDE NOTE) Houses were known to have been burned because of people not participating. On and on I could go about the traditions of halloween. Now I know that most people participate in halloween knowing nothing about the origin and evil behind it.
What can the church do during this time. First of all, I'm not a legalist. However, we should be very cautious with the activities we engage in. Study the significance of the activity. What does bobbing for apples represent? We should ask these questions when we are planning events.
This is what I believe. October 31st is the day the Lord made. We should rejoice and be glad. It is also a day when a multidude of people will be out in the street and attending special events. I think the church should use this time to be creative and reach out to the many people in the community. It is a time to let them know we are here to serve. October 31st is a wonderful time to evangelize and let our light shine like never before.
I think it is necessary for me to say, that condenming people for participating in halloween is very unwise. We win people through love and leadership, not condemnation and critisism. Show love, and lead people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Condemnation is never an evangelistic method.
My prayer is many souls will be saved during all the events planned for Oct. 31st.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Azusa Street/ Then and Now
As many of us know the Azusa street revival was an awesome outpouring of the Spirit of God. Since the years of the revival were from 1906-1910 I haven't met many people that were in attendance. In fact, I haven't met anyone that was in attendance. However, there are several books and articles that can be found concerning the great events of that day. Signs and wonders were a common happening in each of the services. A very interesting fact concerning that revival, is that most of the people involved were young people hungry for God.
This is a trend that I'm seeing today. God is raising up a group of young radical non-religious group of God chasers today. There is a hunger for a genuine experience with the living God. As we look back to Azusa street, there were legs that grew, blinded eyes openned, and many people saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. However, these things didn't come without a price. The leadership during Azusa street endured tremendous persecution. Likewise, today there are people sitting and waiting to pour water on the fire of what God is doing.
Let me just say, DON'T WAVER, DON'T QUIT, DON'T EVEN LET UP FOR ONE MINUTE. Be radical. Let God arise and watch His enemies scatter!!!!
I believe we will see another great move of the Holy Ghost. In fact, in 1909 Rev. Charles Parham and William Seymore (Azusa leader) gave a prophecy that in 100 years God would pour out His Spirit even greater than what they witnessed. According to my limited math skills that time is approaching. I believe 2009 will be the greatest year the Church has ever had. Now, I must say this doesn't apply to the religious crowd that are satisfied with status-quo. But for the hungry sold out unashamed worshippers look out, the Spirit of God is moving mightily and only going to increase.
2008 has been good. Many Churches have experienced tremendous growth. Others may have struggled. Don't be discouraged. We know that the number 8 represents new beginnings. This has happened for many. However, on the 8th day a Jewish boy received circumcision. I believe this represents a cutting away of flesh. 2008 has been a year where God has done a cleansing within His church. Pastors don't be discouraged if some have left with no explanation. They may have even blamed you for it, however, God is ironing out wrinkles and positioning His people for the greatest time ever. In the midst of gross darkness, His Light shines the brightest.
Be encouraged and stay faithful to Him. HE'S GOT YOUR BACK!! (ROM.8:28).
Thursday, October 23, 2008
"Preparing The Church For Harvest"
Jesus called three fisherman to become fishers of men. Though all three were fisherman, they were different in there actions. Peter and Andrew were casting their nets when Jesus called them. (Mathew 4:18). We know from later text Peter was gifted to speaking to large crowds such at Pentecost. There is a need for that kind of Evangelism today. However, Andrew on the other hand was a one on one man. (John 1:41,42) Andrew brought Simon to the Lord. We need this kind in the Church as well.
John the other of the three was mending his nets when he was called. He was more concerned about not losing anymore fish. He was constantly repairing and fixing problems. This type is also needed in the Church.
As we listen to John in his writings, he is sharing a lot about the Church that needs attention. The following is a list of just 10 things John points out that needs immediate attention.
1.(Rev. 2:1-6) Return to first love
2.(Rev. 3:14-20) Repent of Lukewarmness and self-sufficiency
3.(1John 5) Walking in the Light
4.(1John 1:6) Dealing with inconsistency and hypocrisy
5.(1John 1:8-10)Ceasing from excuses and rationalization about sin
6.(1John 2:15-17)Ceasing from the love of the World
7.(1John 3:1-2)Fresh revelation of God's love for us
8.(1John 3:10-23)New beginning of love one for another in both word and deed
9.(1John 2:3)Obedience to God
10.(1John 5:21) Dealing with Idols and areas of compromise
John the other of the three was mending his nets when he was called. He was more concerned about not losing anymore fish. He was constantly repairing and fixing problems. This type is also needed in the Church.
As we listen to John in his writings, he is sharing a lot about the Church that needs attention. The following is a list of just 10 things John points out that needs immediate attention.
1.(Rev. 2:1-6) Return to first love
2.(Rev. 3:14-20) Repent of Lukewarmness and self-sufficiency
3.(1John 5) Walking in the Light
4.(1John 1:6) Dealing with inconsistency and hypocrisy
5.(1John 1:8-10)Ceasing from excuses and rationalization about sin
6.(1John 2:15-17)Ceasing from the love of the World
7.(1John 3:1-2)Fresh revelation of God's love for us
8.(1John 3:10-23)New beginning of love one for another in both word and deed
9.(1John 2:3)Obedience to God
10.(1John 5:21) Dealing with Idols and areas of compromise
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Conversion vs Coming Forward
These seem to be days that we as church leaders are trying extra hard to bring people into the church. I for one love to see new folks every Sunday in our celebration service. However, I believe it is vital to reexamine our approach in bringing the lost to a decision for Christ. Now I know this doesn't apply to every church, but I have witnessed in many areas that when someone walks forward into the altar we assume they are being saved. The fact that they walked forward is nothing but works.
In the book of Acts, the Apostles were concerned about seeing conversions. (2Cor. 5:17) "old things pass away, behold all things become new." No doubt discipleship is a must at this point but I am concerned that many people walk forward into the altar and never get any further. They become a number on a roll book and end up lost in a crowd without a clue to what is going on.
My plea today is that we trully focus on making disciples out of the ones that make the trip to the altar. The scripture uses the word, "Born Again" (John 3:3). It sounds religious but it describes the requirement to reveiving eternal life. In fact religion is the last thing people need. We need a true heart felt relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Jesus is real so let's make our altar call real with a transferring of the old life new the new one in Christ Jesus.
In the book of Acts, the Apostles were concerned about seeing conversions. (2Cor. 5:17) "old things pass away, behold all things become new." No doubt discipleship is a must at this point but I am concerned that many people walk forward into the altar and never get any further. They become a number on a roll book and end up lost in a crowd without a clue to what is going on.
My plea today is that we trully focus on making disciples out of the ones that make the trip to the altar. The scripture uses the word, "Born Again" (John 3:3). It sounds religious but it describes the requirement to reveiving eternal life. In fact religion is the last thing people need. We need a true heart felt relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Jesus is real so let's make our altar call real with a transferring of the old life new the new one in Christ Jesus.
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