Monthly Archives: April 2015

The Intent of Preaching

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If I stand on the street corner and proclaim that all men should go to Christ, I cannot possibly expect any to remain with me. 

No one arrives at a street sign and makes his bed beneath it.  The street sign is only a directional source of information.  Neither does the street sign expect anyone to remain with him.  No, everyone who comes to the street sign is in route to someplace else.

It is only proper then that everyone who comes to me, simply gets the true and eternal directions to salvation. 

The one who looks for a job, does not stay seated in the employment office.  In that chair he will never earn a wage.  Rather, he goes where he is directed.  And it may well be, he will never see that chair again.

Christ Jesus is all in all.  It is to him we point.  By all means then, go to him!

By His Grace

What is Sin?

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Sin is “doing wrong”, whether in the mind or by the hands.  Sin is a living being, expressed by the individual.

I have spoken often about how sin disrupts the Righteousness of Eternity.  I have written of how the will of God is staved off by our disobedience called sin.  But Charles Spurgeon takes this concept one step farther than I had perceived.  You can find the entire audio of his sermon, “Thoughts on the Last Battle” at this link http://www.spurgeongems.org/messages/028chs.mp3.

Brother Spurgeon speaks of sin, as it is, past the sealing of the soul.  He asks, (in my own words) if sin destroyed the will of God while the man lived in this place of testing, what will it become when the soul is sealed in sin for eternity?  What will the “man” become when all the restraints of God’s beautiful Grace of the Holy Spirit’s influence is removed?  When the Holy Blood of Christ is no longer effective, when repentance is no longer an option; for the man is now sealed in the manner of soul he allowed God to create.

What then is sin?  Is it simply a game we play between ourselves?  Is it simply a futile expression of disruption in the Truth of God for Eternity?  Is it simply being a rebellious child who stands outside the door of God’s Holy Family?  Is it simply pleasure?  Or is sin a growing monster?

Will hell restrain the wickedness of wicked souls?  Do you think that you will live one slight moment in hell with a smile on your face?  You will be frustrated beyond description.  You will find desire consuming you.  Yet there will be no more avenue to disturb the Holy Will of the Living God or His Holy and Righteous Christ.  You will no longer have a body to command.  You will be only an essence of SIN.  You will be a distilled form of desire, with no possibility of expression or gain.

If God had not designed hell to be obliterated, there would be eternity to suffer within an indescribable torment of desire.  But ask yourself this:  How long will the Living God allow the display of tormented, wicked, desire ridden, useless souls to remain?  Even if He allows the display to remain for the sake of reminder to His Holy People, there is a place where even the display will be done away with.

Not only will those multitude of souls be in agony of frustrated desire.  They will face the prospect of eternal extinction.  And they will know it for certain.  For in their consignment to hell, they will have, no doubt, been told that death must join them.  When death arrives, “Nothing” becomes.

Is that what you want to be?  When your moment of transfer from “life” to the grave comes upon you, is that what you want for your hope?  Pleasure calls now.  But do you think you’ll love pleasure as dearly when there is no longer any means to employ it?

The offer of transformation remains, only as long as a man is in this place of testing.  Only while we are in the flesh of this body, is the Holy Blood of Jesus of any effect.  He calls all men to take from His Holy hand the things of Grace.  But when our hands are no longer able to hold anything, what is Grace to us then?

Jesus stands ready and willing to embrace any man in the Righteous Way of Christianity.  But who will consider these things and live?

Addition:

I have wondered why, in the story of the Rich man and Lazarus, Abraham sat on a hill overlooking Hell.  Can it be that Abraham and Lazarus were learning about the prospects of God’s Holy Promise to eternally punish the wicked?  (Luke 16: 19-31)

And I am reminded of the words of Christ Jesus, 9 “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus. (Revelation 14)

Let us wake up to the reality of the Gospel’s power.  The promise of eternal life is TRUE!  The promise of eternal torment is TRUE!  Which will each man choose?  We all, every man, know.

Defining “The Difference”

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Yesterday morning, I drove to the garden supply to gather some things.  As I drove, I found myself filled with a different perspective.  The beauty of Spring overcame my mind.  I saw the houses, lawns, people, even the shining aspects of my truck, as though they were worthy of “righteous” praise.

I have not had that perspective for years.  The difference between what has become my perspective in Christ Jesus and what is the perspective of man, was astounding.  It scared me to witness my thoughts turning from what is holy to what is obscene before the Most High God.  (It is possible that the reader might raise an eyebrow at that last sentence.  But bear with what is written here, that understanding might surface.)

In writing this post, I am reminded of the words of Jesus.  In regard to my experience yesterday.  “He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.'” (Luke 16: 15)

How can I relay the difference between what is holy and what is common, to those who do not believe?  By His Grace, I have become a man who sees the things of this world as an enemy to the soul that belongs to the Christ of God.  How can I help others perceive the things of this world in the same light?  If the war of Christ has not become the primary resident in the soul, the things of this world will appear as a friendly.  We either gravitate (learn to live) to the battlefield of Spiritual Difference, or we continue to live in the encampment of the enemies of God.

The draw of man’s things is powerful.  Powerful enough to cause men to demand the death of Jesus.  Powerful enough to entice men to spit on the crucifixion of the Holy Son of God.  Powerful enough to draw a soul away from Christianity.  And powerful enough to retain eternal hold on any soul who does not seek the face of the Living God continually.  Even the slightest withdraw from the Holy things of Christ, is enough to unveil the desires of the flesh.

Let me try to convince the reader (If indeed, there is the slightest desire to disbelieve these words.)

There was a man who starved himself to death, some time ago.  I don’t remember his name.  I don’t remember his cause.  He is simply gone.  All I remember is that there was a man who did this in the last 20 or 30 years.  He was an American.  That’s all I remember.

But see how useless his life was.  I do have the sense that his plight was not provoked by Christianity.  It was some political miscarriage of injustice.

He is gone now.  What was written about his “statement” would be difficult to find.  Even the memory of him is obliterated by the demands of this Place of Testing.  His family may know to remember him.  But the fabric of America doesn’t even think about him.

But what should a man of Christ expect, as he works out his salvation with fear and trembling; knowing that it is God who works in him, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (From Philippians 2: 13)

The things of this world are obliterated from the memory of man, as time moves from one year to the next.  Even if it is written down, either on a headstone or in a book, our provocation to live and do comes to nothing.  But the things which are done in a man, by Christ Jesus, are retained forever.  They take their place as living testimony to the Righteousness, humility, godly doings, and hope that remains in this place of testing.  Not only that, but they take their place in Eternity.

Either we endure the “warfare within”, that is caused by conflict between the things of God and the things of man, or we suffer the futility of life that comes from living the things of man.  I will add, I would not have known the difference in perception if I had not become accustom to the things of the Living God’s Christ.  I have to admit, the difference in perspective is enough to frighten my soul.

I guess it’s up to the reader.  Do you even know that there is a difference between the perceptions of the flesh and the things of God?  Do you even know there is a war to be fought?  Or have you never tasted the perspective of Heaven?  This place of testing is a passing ruse.  Heaven is the eternal perspective.  Those who have never tasted the things of God, are helpless to remove themselves from the things of man.

I testify that there is, indeed, a radical difference.  Those who will live eternally, will be incapable of memory toward those who do not join them.  The Glory of Christ will overwhelm His people.  The doings of those who remained in this place of testing, enjoying the things of man as if they were worthy and eternal, will be obliterated.  All their days will come to NOTHING.

Ownership

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I own nothing, because I am nothing.

God is All.  In the terms of man, God owns all things, and is All things.  From the vacuum of space to the qualities of the tiniest diamond.  God owns, and is, all things.

Righteousness is, because righteousness sustains.

A man may drop his pen.  Therefore he is not righteous.  Righteousness sustains perfection.  This is Jesus, the Christ of God.

I may know certain righteous things.  But they only belong to me because I perceived them in a moment of my life.  Yet, memory fails me to remember them with perfect consistency.

Not one scale of skin belongs to me.  How can the Righteousness of God be mine?  No, All things belong to God.

Sin is “Not”.

God is perfect, and sustaining in all His Holy ways.  Sin is destruction of perfection.  Yet this too does not belong to me.  For all I have done is destroy the things of God.  I have not sustained, even my sins.

Wickedness is “Not”.

I cannot even be considered to be fully wicked.  For every man stumbles across a righteous act from time to time.  Even a drunken man can make a few steps toward his bed before he staggers into the wall.

I have “righteous” knowledge within me.  But where did I get it?  And considering my faulty mind to remember, how is that knowledge sustained?  Personally, I can trace the beginning of understanding of what is good and Holy to the reading of Proverbs.  But from where was every single word in the Proverbs of the Bible before it was written down?  They were in the Holy Mind of the Living God.

Summation:

We are nothing.  Jesus is All.  He is the very Living Word of the Sovereign God.  In all He does, he is perfection, for He sustains All.  As the Holy Father thinks, so the Christ does.

Where is pride?  Where is accomplishment?  Where is “a sustaining” among men?  For failure accompanies all our moments.

I do not own the past, for I cannot undo or add to anything I’ve been.  I do not own the very next split second, for I live in a constant state of surprise.  Yet Jesus is the “Same, yesterday, today, and forever”.

From mercy to murder, man is “Nothing”.  For God owns Eternal Mercy, as well as the soul of the one murdered.

All things belong to God, for God is All.  As it is with the Living God, so it is with the Living Word of God; Jesus.

Amazing Transformation!

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structural1A 40′ X 18″ I Beam weighs about 400 lb.  How excited would man be if he could find a way to construct that same span and strength to weigh only 3 lb?  What kind of material could do that?  I would guess that search has been on since the invention of steel.

But man doesn’t have to look very far to find a material that’s stronger than such a fantasy.  He need only look to his rebellious soul.

Nothing on earth, or in all creation is harder than the rebellious soul of a man.  Yet Jesus is famous for exchanging such a marvelously difficult material into a heart of flesh.  The stone cold heart of man is easily rendered into one that understands and does the will of God.  But don’t think you’re going to do that yourself.

It takes the slightest will, in a man, to yield to Christ.  At that point, a flaw is found in the amazingly hard heart.  It is through that flaw that Christ Jesus begins his work.  Yes, it takes time.  But those who yield early in their life can likely expect to become that elusive material that man has sought since the time of Adam.

The Living Light Switch

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Curiosity has touched me.  I tried to hide among the bushes, but he found me out none the less.  I thought I could rely on understanding.  But understanding is like a loosely built fence, which through the cracks between,  I can receive a glimpse of heaven.  And it is while I stand along that fence, in the shadow of obscurity, that curiosity comes to greet me.

I know the answer to the question, but that there should even be a question marvels me.  The question covers three topics.  By necessity, I can’t figure out how to make it short.  But the answer is supported by the legs of the three topics.  At the top of the “Table of answer”, I lay my conclusion.

Leg 1. Why is constant and enduring self-discipline necessary for the things of God?

Leg 2. Why must man be encouraged, and even sometimes forced, to pray?

Leg 3. To where do the words of the Bible disappear after we have read them?

Human beings are so amazingly capable of learning, doing and retaining.  The volume of technology is proof of this.  There are those who have mastered virtually the complete volume of Technology ( Make no mistake, the word volume is misleading.  How many books are written on various subjects by various masters of their own trade?).  And the list of those who aspire to join them in this accomplishment is very long. 

Self discipline, zeal, and retention, do not lack among men.  What I find mysterious is the lack of understanding of those three “legs” in the things of God.

I know there is a distinction between what is flesh and what is Spirit.  But even a man who contains the Holy Spirit of God finds himself being dragged back to the flesh from time to time.  Today he remembers and does.  Tomorrow he forgets and stumbles.

Obviously, dedication to God’s things is not accomplished by a momentary decision; as if one flips the switch in the room and the light comes on.  Now he can go about the room and do as he pleases, forgetting the switch.  No, it is more like the man must rise from his chair to switch it on again.  For the switch tends to move down to the off position, as if it were a being in itself. (Please don’t become paranoid, and find yourself watching the switch.  It’s just an analogy.)

The answer to this mystery, is that God has made these things so that he may test the fullness of a man’s heart.  Laziness in the things of God is not an option.  It requires a constant straining toward the things of heaven.  Relax, and you will surely suffer loss.

A man may study technology, then take a vacation without loss.  But the man of God who does this, will find himself horribly lacking.  The information of God does not arrive without direct connection to the Spirit of God.  And it cannot be reliably retained by the flesh.  And dissipates rather quickly with non-use.  But where does it go?

I have found the Lord Jesus to be incredibly humble.  He does not force himself on anyone.  Neither does he help us unless we ask.  Agreed, there are circumstances beyond our knowledge in which he must help us.  Rest assured, he does and is.  But the volume of what is Holy belongs to him.  If by derilection, we push him away, the things that are Holy go with him.  That my friend, is where the words of the Bible go.

I am warned afresh.  Yet in this I also find a great promise.  The Lord has promised us, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.  And he has taught us, “Without me you can do nothing”.  But I am struck by the reality of his promises as they play out in our daily life.

This is not hidden knowledge.  It is not only available in the Bible, but all his people testify of these things everyday.  Perhaps what is more amazing, is that there are still Church going folk who do not know these things.  For I perceive how often the Pastor must encourage the flock to read the Bible, to pray, and to do the things of Christ.

Indeed, the mystery of godliness is great!

By His Grace