Blog Nine

Few Find It

2008-03-08T17:19:00.003+13:00

It occured to me this morning, as I was thinking about the words of Matthew 7:14 ("Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."), that how can only a few find the way when Christianity is the world's most dominant religion? Then I realised that in order for that statement to be true (which it is, simply by virtue of being in the Bible), then the vast majority of todays 2 - 3 billion Christians can't have found the way.

Matthew 7.14 doesn't come with any qualifying statements. It simply says that few people will find the way to life. It doesn't say that few will find it until Christianity becomes the major religion of the West, or that few will find it until the Roman Catholic Church comes to power - it simply says that few people will find the way. Period.

This is quite a thought provoking statement. There are currently 2 - 3 billion people who call themselves Christian in the world. 2 - 3 billion people is not a few people, therefore most of them haven't found the way. They must therefore be living deceived. This may help explain why the mainstream church always seems to be missing the mark - either legalistic, lukewarm, over-orthodox, or all three. It may explain why the church has never been a large corporate body of Bible-revering, God-fearing, holy, saintly souls.

It also completely damns the Roman Catholic Church, as well as today's new "church-growth" movement, as there are many, many followers of the RCC, and they all believe pretty much the same thing. Therefore they must all be wrong, because they can not, by any stretch of the imagination, be called "few". As for the church-growth movement, seeking to get as many people as possible into the church is doomed to failure, simply because only a few will find the way to life.

Having said this, this doesn't take away the importance of witnessing to the lost, or meeting with other saints. Far from it. Just because only a few will find the way doesn't mean we should stop spreading the word, it simply means that only a few will pay any attention to us. If we stop spreading the word, then "few" will become "none". And that isn't the idea at all. What's more, it is important for saints to meet together. In fact we are told to. It simply means that these meetings will be small in number - massive "revival gatherings" and ten-thousand-member churches are statistically highly unlikely to be filled with God-fearing saints.

That's an incredibly sobering thought. Especially when you then keep reading and get to 7:21 - 23:

21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

Do you do the will of the Father in heaven? Are you guilty of lawlessness? If so then you have some very serious work to do. The gate is narrow and the way is difficult and few people actually find it.

Finally Some Truth

2008-02-16T00:03:00.003+13:00

In all the post-modern, emergent, heretical talk that is going on in the Church today, it is really refreshing to turn aside and read some Truth. So refreshing in fact, that I am repeating what I read here. The following is a quote from Wilbur Smith's book, Therefore Stand:

“Let us never think that a real revival can ever occur unless it is characterized by a return to that great and final sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who is the eternal propitiation for our sins, and by whose precious blood atonement was forever provided for all who would confess their sins, and receive the gift of eternal life. As long as there is an ignoring of the Cross, or a perverted conception of the meaning of the Cross, or an abhorrence of the precious blood of the Son of God, as there is on the part of great multitudes today, even in the Christian church, a revival cannot come, at least a revival that saves the souls of men. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins, and unless the blood of Christ is preached, and the Cross lifted high before the eyes of men, how can men ever be saved, and unless men are saved, in any great religious movement, what right have we to call such a movement a real revival? There is no forgiveness apart from the Cross, God is not reconciled apart from the Cross, eternal life will never be conferred apart from the death of Christ, and if there is no forgiveness, no reconciliation, no receiving of eternal life, then all our efforts are in vain, and whatever a religious movement accomplishes, it is not revival. ”

- Wilbur Smith, Therefore Stand, p517

There's only one thing that can be said to that: Amen.

Forgiveness Is An Incredible Thing

2007-12-23T21:59:00.000+13:00

When most people think of forgiveness, they think of people saying "that's all right" when someone else apologises for something they've done. But that's not what forgiveness is. True forgiveness is absolutely incredible. There have been times when someone (who may have been a friend, or a family member, or even just an acquaintance) has offended me, and I haven't wanted to have anything to do with them. Something they've done or not done has hurt or annoyed me, and as a result I haven't wanted to talk to them or be around them, despite having had a very good relationship with them up to that point. Then I have chosen to forgive them, and have seen them a few minutes later, and been genuinely happy to see them again! The hurt and the bitterness has completely dissolved and our old relationship has been completely restored. Unfortunately, many people, including Christians, don't know that sort of reconciliation. This post is aimed at showing people how to truly forgive.

Offense is a powerful thing. It is incredibly destructive, and very common. It has the ability to tear apart friendships and families through hurt, resentment, and bitterness. However there is an antidote to offense, which is at least as powerful. That antidote is forgiveness. And the reconciling power of true forgiveness is even more incredible.

As I said before, there's a misconception out there about what forgiveness is, including amongst Christians. Forgiveness is not pardoning what someone has done or not done to you! The Bible says that we are not to judge each other. In the Bible, when a judgment occurs, it results in one of two outcomes - either pardoning or condemning the one being judged. Christians these days are taught not to condemn others, but how many Christians are taught not to pardon someone? As Christians, we have no right to pardon others, just like we have no right to condemn others - God is the Judge, only He has the right to pardon and condemn.

This is the reason so many people have lost hope in forgiveness - they try to pardon others, and fail, and they think that that is forgiveness. It isn't.

So what is forgiveness? The word in Old English originally meant "to give something off from yourself or away from yourself" - essentially to offload something onto another. That's what forgiveness is. We as people can be forgiven by God for our sin, because the offense of our sin was offloaded from us onto Jesus Christ - He took the punishment for our sin. We aren't forgiven because God just decided to pardon us, we are forgiven because His Son took our sin upon Himself.

We forgive each other in a similar way. When someone offends us, subconsciously we feel that they owe us a debt - we hold their offense against them, and we want something from them for it - even if it's nothing more than an apology. We forgive them when we transfer their debt from ourselves to God. They no longer owe us that apology for what they've done - they owe God.

One important thing to remember about forgiveness is that you never want to forgive that person. They've hurt you, you're angry at them, and, to put it simply, you feel sorry for yourself. But as Christians we walk by faith not by what we feel like doing. You need to forgive that person, even for no other reason than because God told you to. Even as He has forgiven us, so we are to forgive others. The Gospels are chock full of stories about what happens to people who refuse to forgive others. Essentially they forfeit the forgiveness God has shown them by refusing forgive others. That alone should be enough of a reason to forgive someone.

But you need to recognise that you don't feel like forgiving them, and make a conscious decision to forgive them by faith - simply because God has told you to. Because you are then walking in faith, you will then be able to forgive them. You can't forgive someone unless you do it by faith. It just doesn't work.

So once you have decided to forgive someone through faith, you can rely on God for the power - the grace - to actually forgive them. Then you need to make the decision to do so. First you need to acknowledge to yourself the reason that you need to forgive them. Something like "I acknowledge that this person has really offended my by doing this, and I'm feeling really resentful of them for it." Be perfectly honest. If you hate them, say so. If you wish they were dead, say so.

Then once you've got that out, you need to deliberately decide to forgive them. This should be done verbally, so that it is a definite process, rather than a vague idea in your head. You could say something like "God, by faith, and by Your grace, I forgive this person for what they have done. I give their offense over to You. They no longer owe me anything. Not so much as an apology. It's between them and You now." Saying that the person no longer owes you an apology is possibly the hardest part, and you may still feel like they do, but that's ok, you aren't done yet.

Now you have left the matter in God's hands. He is the Judge, and He will do what He chooses with the matter. It may be that He chooses to seek vengeance on your behalf, or it may be that He pardons them. Or He may do something else. It doesn't matter - it's no longer your problem - it's His, and He will deal with them accordingly.

The next thing to do is to clear out the old feelings of resentment, pain, and bitterness that you have towards that person. You could say something like "God, I ask that You would remove all the pain and bitterness I hold towards that person and replace it with Your love and grace, that I may be Your minister towards them." This shouldn't be an unusual step. Christians should be constantly praying for God to shine through them, so this should be automatic.

That is forgiveness. It works! It blows me away every time I forgive someone just how effective and powerful it is, and as I said, I can see them only minutes later and be genuinely glad to see them again. Once you have forgiven them, don't then go and think "ok I've forgiven them, now I've got to try and be nice to them." You've just asked for God's love to fill your heart, and you're trying to conjure up some niceness on your own?? Just be completely natural, and you'll find that you really have forgiven them.

God bless. Remember, anything I or anyone writes - check it against the Bible to make sure it's for real.

A Blessing and a Curse

2007-06-02T01:08:00.000+12:00

The Blessing: The Turkish Martyrs, Part 2

Originally posted by Catch the Fire Ministries in Australia from an article by another ministry in Turkey:

On Wednesday April 18, 2007, the fledgling Christian community in this nation of 70 million Muslims, suffered a devastating blow, when three of its finest, were brutally murdered for their faith. One German and two other Turkish brothers were found in the print shop, in south central Turkey, where they published and sold Bibles.

They had been tortured, stabbed repeatedly, and bound with their throats slit. Sadly, it was at the hands of five trusted young men, who had claimed to be seekers of our LORD. The murder was skillfully pre- meditated and ruthlessly carried out. Needless to say, as members of the Body, we have been deeply grieved by this terrible tragedy.Yet, what appeared to be a victory for the enemy has since resulted in the most OPEN DECLARATION of the GOSPEL this nation has seen since the Apostle Paul! Therefore, we rejoice that not one drop of blood shed by these dear saints has fallen to the ground in vain. Last Saturday, approximately 500 believers gathered in a demonstration of solidarity, to honor the lives of these colleagues. Despite the heavy police and media coverage in a country that is 99.9% Muslim, each of us had determined that is was worth the risk and exposure, to stand together for our LORD. After all, it seemed a small sacrifice, compared to the loss experienced by the wives, children and fiance of the deceased.

What we witnessed has FOREVER changed our lives! As the body was carried into the courtyard, high upon the shoulders of our Turkish brothers, spontaneous applause burst forth! I leaned over to my national friend and queried, Is this normal for funerals, in your culture? No, he asserted, it's because he a martyr! As the casket continued its journey toward the front, ethereally beautiful worship music erupted somewhat reminiscent of a Gregorian chant. Then everyone joined together in the singing of Turkish praise songs. However, what followed nearly took our breath away! Approximately ten Turkish leaders proclaimed openly the GOSPEL in front of television cameras, newspaper reporters, police officials, the Deputy Governor of Izmir and several other important officials. FEARLESSLY, yet with GENTLE STRENGTH each shared his faith in CHRIST, and HIS FORGIVENESS of those who had committed the heinous murders! Additionally, they shared that CHRIST had won the VICTORY, and at this very hour the martyrs were standing before the very throne of GOD! Several mentioned that the lives of these men were perhaps the seeds that must be planted in order for a harvest to come forth. One pastor passionately exclaimed, We will spread this message, Gods Word, because we are children of the Word! You may kill us all, but we will spread this message, because we love you and because Jesus loves you! We forgive the attackers, because we too, have been forgiven. Powerful applause, Amens and Hallelujahs erupted from among the scores of nationalities represented there! It was awesome!

However, what happened next ---- can ONLY be explained by the SUPERNATURAL LOVE and STRENGTH that GOD ALONE can give. Spontaneously, in an unplanned moment- Necati's wife asked if she could speak. Amid her tears she spoke of her forgiveness of the very men who had tortured and killed her precious husband, and the father of her children! In an emotion filled voice, she asserted: I know my Necati was praying for them, even while he was being tortured. She also spoke of the wonderful love they shared as a family and their joy in serving the LORD together. Lastly, she stated I loved my husband very, very much-but, I love my Jesus even more. And that is how I can face tomorrow. Again thunderous applause burst forth! We were spell bound!

In the closing moments of this incredible service, one of the pastors shouted Afferin Necati!!! Afferin Tilman!!! Afferin Uur!!!- Which translated means- Well done Necati!! Well done Tilman!! Well done Uur!! We are certain the LORD echoed those same sentiments, as he received those precious men into HIS heavenly kingdom!!! Then, as Necati's body was lovingly ushered onward to its final resting place, applause and praise resonated throughout the garden! As we looked up, we noticed that the media stood utterly dumbfounded! We were quite certain they had NEVER witnessed anything like this before. Yet, as believers we knew we had been in the very presence of the LORD! It seemed as if we had observed church history in the very making. Most importantly, we believe that the precious blood of these saints was NOT shed in vain, but will be used to further GODS KINGDOM in a manner that has not occurred since the time of the apostles! So let it be written- so let it be done!!!!!!

The Curse: The New Apostate Bible

Taken from Moriel "Be Alert":

San Diego, CA -- This is a new version of the Holy Bible that includes the New Testament, along with a new book entitled God's New Law, which was introduced in the year 2000. This book contains testimony of prophecy fulfilled, prophecy to be, and the decommissioning of traditional religion so that God may dwell with all those who believe. God's New Law is meant to be the last book of the Bible and to herald the birth of God's religion without doctrine.

Starting with the witnessing of Christ, the author, Tim Fleming, claims that, in the year 2000, God tested one of his begotten and realized the value of forgiving those who are willing to forgive, and He has therefore offered salvation to the homosexual community for the sacrifices they have made through mental anguish.

Fleming acknowledges that no man is to add to the book of life but the Father, but that God heard the cry for help from the submissive, and sent another son and prophet to lead the gay community to freedom. Fleming contends this new Bible contains scripture that has been prescribed by God, and that, while the Bible has been validated through the generations, only now does man have the chaperone of the Father in Heaven to add new testimony to its pages.

The first book of God's New Law, "The Journal," is a description of the re-creation of man beyond Revelation that attempts to illustrate what the enlightened students of God's kingdoms prescribe. The second book, "The Victory," describes how an act of vengeance by the Father's left hand delivers poetic justice to those who did not heed his warning to forgive thy neighbor. The third book, "Peace through Suffering," is a testament purportedly written by the Father in Heaven and one of his adopted. Leaving the last book entitled the "The Journey" offering to lead mankind away from serving doctrine into living in the spirit with God and his kingdom.

This book is free to download, and the paperback is available at cost. More information is available at http://www.Gay-Bible.com.

From the Web Site:

Free Bible Download

This Free Bible Download contains all of the great text of the King James Version and a new book entitled God's New Law describing the prophecy that was declared in 2000.

New Additions:

- Homosexuality and Fornication Forgiven
- Gay Marriage in God's Kingdom.

"Then the Lord spoke to his son and said, "You have not had enough s-x in your lifetime. We will travel your consciousness around the world and choose the most perfect bodies for you to have s-x with. When you are filled, we will continue what we started."

Then the Lord spoke again to his son in the future. "Feel better now? Good, let's continue." He blessed him with the feeling of satisfaction."

- Quote from the 'Gay Bible'

-----------------

Revelation 22:18-19: I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

For God We Die

2007-05-04T21:28:00.000+12:00

From WorldNetDaily. Warning, this article is quite gruesome.

In an act that hit the front pages of the largest newspapers in Turkey, the widow of a martyred Christian told reporters she did not want revenge against the Muslims who killed her husband and two others, according to a new report from Voice of the Matyrs.

"Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do," she said, agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23.34), according to a letter Christians in Turkey have written to the worldwide church, a letter released through Voice of the Matyrs.

"In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives," the letter said. "One columnist wrote of her comment, 'She said in one sentence what 1,000 missionaries in 1,000 years could never do.'"

She is the widow of Tilman Geske, a German citizen who along with two Turkish Christians were martyred recently – allegedly by five Muslims who met the three victims at a Christian publishing company for a Bible study.

Authorities have taken several suspects into custody, and their cases remain pending.
The letter titled "A letter to the Global Church from The Protestant Church of Smyrna" was received by VOM shortly after the slayings, and the ministry organization that works with the Persecuted Church worldwide is publicizing it.

"The Voice of the Martyrs has already been actively involved in assisting the families of these courageous Christians. We encourage you to pray for them as they grieve, and to pray that this will be a significant turning point for the gospel in Turkey," the organization said.

VOM noted that 2,000 years earlier, this location of Christians was addressed in Rev. 2:8-11: "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write… 'Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation 10 days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.'"

The letter describes the work Geske, 46, was doing on a new Turkish Study Bible. That morning, he went to the offices of Zirve Publishing, which produces and distributes Christian literature to Malatya and other parts of eastern Turkey, for a Bible study. Pastor Necati Aydin, the father of two, also left for the same office, as did Ugur Yuksel.

"None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of righteousness from Christ," the letter said.

Also heading to the Bible study were five men thought to be "seekers" who had been guests of Pastor Necati at an invitation-only evangelistic service earlier.

"No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story," the letter said.

"The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible study, around 10 o'clock," the letter said. "Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman's hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours."

The letter included the following graphic details of the torture:

"Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count. They were disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open. Possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated."

The letter released by Voice of the Martyrs said neighbors thought the noise was a domestic argument so they did not respond.

Another believer, Gokhan, arrived about 12:30, but couldn't get in, so he called.

"Ugur answered his phone. 'We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,' he said cryptically. As Ugur spoke Gokhan heard in the telephone's background weeping and a strange snarling sound," the letter said. He called police.

When officers entered, they found, "Tilman and Necati had been slaughtered, practically decapitated with their necks slit from ear to ear. Ugur's throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive," the letter said.

Several assailants were caught in the room, and two nearby, including one who apparently tried to jump out a window to flee and was seriously hurt.

The letter said persecution of Christians – bombings, physical attacks, verbal and written abuse as well as media propaganda -- moved into the intense range following a decision in 2001 by the National Security Council of Turkey to consider Christians a threat to national security on the same level as al-Qaida.

The letter described cameras in churches to promote fear and antagonism towards Christians.
What Turkey witnessed from its Christians was something else. "Hundreds of believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media," the letter said.

When Susanne Tilman desired to bury her husband in Malatya, the local officials spread rumors it was a sin to dig a grave for a Christian, so volunteers from the church in Adana dug the grave in an untended 100-year-old Armenian graveyard, the letter said.

Ugur was buried with "his believing fiancée watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for," the letter said.
"Necati's funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light. Though the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya, it went through two separate X-ray exams to make sure it was not loaded with explosives," the letter said. "Necati's funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, thousands of Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ. Necati's wife Shemsa told the world, 'His death was full of meaning, because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ… Necati was a gift from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.'"

Then Susanne Tilman expressed her forgiveness in a television interview that was reported on front pages across Turkey.

The letter said the Malatya missionaries most likely will move, as they've been identified as targets in that hostile city, and the remaining 10 believers have gone into hiding.

"What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other cities will go to lead the leadership church," the letter said.

"Please pray for the Church in Turkey," wrote Pastor Fikret Bocek. "Don't pray against persecution, pray for perseverance."

"This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus," the letter said. "Someday the video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side."

"We pray – and urge you to pray – that someday at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary to his beloved Turks, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church," the letter said.

Susanne said she planned to remain in Turkey with her children, Michal Janina, 13, Lukas, 10, and Miriam, 8.

False Prophecies

2007-04-06T01:52:00.000+12:00

The End Times Revival.

It's one of the most popular things to talk about in Pentecostal or Charasmatic churches today. It's the idea that God has saved His best for last - that in these last days (there is no doubt that these are in fact the last days - even the briefest research will show that this is so) - that in these last days the church will rise up in power and glory even greater than that showed by the early church, and will ussher in God's kingdom on Earth.

Sound's good doesn't it? An end-times army, dedicated to advancing God's kingdom on Earth, demonstrating their message with signs and wonders, and ultimately setting the stage for Jesus Christ to return to Earth!

But it's false.

It's a lie.

Let's see what the Bible has to say about what the church will be like in the end-times (which are now):

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. " (Matthew 24:4-5)

"Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love* of many will grow cold." (Matthew 24:11-12)

*This is "agape" love - the love of God revealed inside man.

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. " (Matthew 24:23 - 24)

So then Jesus Christ Himself prophesised that the end-times church would be marked by deception, false prophecies, lawlessness and lovelessness, and great - but false - signs and wonders. Where is the mention of a great revival?

What else does the Bible say about the end-times church?

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition... (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)

This is talking about the church - the falling away must be a falling away from the faith - because natural man doesn't have any further to fall! To me it seems that this passage also reveals that the Antichrist (the "man of sin") will come from within the church!

2 Timothy is even more explicit:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

These people "have a form of godliness" - these verses are talking about people who outwardly appear to be godly - therefore it can only be talking about the church!

Now as Jannes and Jambres [the Egyptian priests] resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; (2 Timothy 3:8)

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

The bible is clear on what the end-times church will be like, and there is no mention of a great revival anywhere!

Furthermore it is clear that we should expect divisions and deception in the church:

Contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 3b-4)

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. (Acts 20:29-30)

The end-times revival movement is characterised by many, many people claiming to have received prophecies from God (remarkable considering that Jesus said that "the Law and the Prophets were until John" (Luke 16:16)), and by the use of signs and wonders in the so-called "outpourings of the Spirit" - signs and wonders that correspond a lot closer to the work of demons than of God! People crawling on the floor barking like dogs, rolling around in seizures, and unable to speak coherently is NOT the work of the Holy Spirit!

But people will follow this movement because they "have itching ears" and can no longer endure "sound doctrine" - just as the Bible says. These days it is rare to find a decent sermon on good solid biblical doctrine - they have been replaced with speeches on fraternity, community, tolerance, global warming, and fulfillment in life. The truth has been replaced with what people want to hear.

However the Bible is clear - beware of any mass movements in the church in these last days because the only thing that will be spreading in mass throughout the church will be deception. The end-times revival movement, along with the "purpose-driven" movement and the "emergent church" movement is, in fact the apostasy that the Bible is warning about.

So then what of the prophecies in the Bible that do promise a great outpouring of the Spirit with a revival? Because there are many of them. Here are some examples:

"And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke." (Joel 2:28-30a)

"Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." (Isaiah 60:1-3)

"And it shall be, in that day," says the Lord, "that you will call Me 'my Husband,' and no longer call Me 'my Master,' for I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, and they shall be remembered by their name no more." (Hosea 2:16-17a)

So what about these prophecies? They are referring to a great end-times revival. BUT -- they are prophecies given to ISRAEL!! NOT to the church! It is true - in the final Great Tribulation before Christ's return, Israel will return to the Lord and will experience a great outpouring of His Spirit like never before. They will be the light in the darkness in the world - not the church! Yes the church was called to be the light of the world, but in the end-times it will have forgotten its calling and have fallen away from the truth. This is what we see happening around us already today.

All except a few saints - a remnant - who will remain faithful. And these saints will know what it is to share in the sufferings of Christ.

Which will you be?

May God Come Soon

2007-03-28T22:12:00.000+12:00

Joel 2:31
"The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes."

Matthew 24:9
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name."

1 Peter 4:12-14
"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."

Ephesians 6:12
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Revelation 6:9-11
"When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also."

A Message and a Song

2006-11-08T22:27:00.000+13:00

From Christian WorldView Network:

At the opening of Shakespeare's Macbeth, three witches stand on the moor, mixing their nasty brew and muttering incantations while the thunder crashes and the lightning flashes. The scene is used to portend evil, as the consequences of raw ambition are about to come to deadly fruition for a hapless king. If Shakespeare was around today to write a play based on the Ted Haggard saga in Colorado Springs this week, the lightning would certainly be flashing and the thunder would be crashing to portend evil for evangelicals. There is a whiff of sulfur in the air as yet another evangelical leader, this time an immensely influential one, makes headlines blaring words like, “gay”, “prostitute” and “drugs”. The information continues to change as the hourly news cycle turns over. A short time ago it was an allegation and an outright denial. Family values organizations were using terms like “leftist smear job” and “character assassination”. Now there is an admission by Rev. Haggard that he contacted a gay prostitute for a massage and some methamphetamine. The family values groups are growing quieter.

Colorado Springs has had its share of gay church follies this week. Earlier, another evangelical pastor across town from Rev. Haggard's church stepped down after announcing to his congregation that he is actually, “gay”. A more unlikely word to describe this would be difficult to find. Congregations facing these situations are being ripped apart, believers disillusioned, the followers of Christ mocked and ridiculed by the world and the foundation of Christian claims to moral authority shattered. So what went wrong here? How did one of the nation's most visible pastors and outspoken defenders of biblical marriage end up with a gay prostitute, at the very least, for a massage? How does a spiritual leader with all of the years of ministry and presumably, Bible study behind him, end up telling the world's media that he bought meth from a gay hooker because he was “curious”, as though he was an unsaved adolescent, and not a very bright one at that?

Evangelicalism is where medieval Roman Catholicism was just before that portentous day when Dr. Luther pounded his Theses to the castle church door at Wittenburg. Like Rome, today's evangelical Christianity has become about political and temporal power. Similarly, systems and methods have replaced confidence in the Gospel. Church growth and marketing courses now trump Bible classes at many seminaries across the country. Like the Roman church, the gathering in of money to build bigger and better church edifices is a top priority. In place of medieval church relics and idols, we now have media celebrities and icons to follow after. Rather than do the painstaking and difficult work of daily ministering to a lowly flock, pastors today style themselves after the aforementioned celebrities, lusting after their power and their influence and craving what they believe is “success”. Now the slick, polished icons are falling and nobody seems to know what to do. The church as a conservative political task force is faltering.There is confusion in the ranks. Nobody seems to know what they are supposed to be doing anymore.

What is needed is a clear Biblical voice in this hour. We are in desperate need of a second reformation; not one that is based on some leader's 5 points of this or 40 days of that, but a reformation based on a return to the love of God's authoritative Word. This reformation would see preachers on their knees before God repenting for personal ambition and desire for worldly success and then rising in their pulpits to declare the whole counsel of God without fear or favor. We need a new generation, sick of man made schemes, political ambitions and mass media dreams, a generation that has been taught to love the Lord God more than anything the world has to offer and that desires to be a called out people, to glorify God and to shun what is not of Him. Then God will honor His people with His presence, the dross and corruption will be cleaned out of the church, and she will be fit for true service.

I received a press release this morning imploring Christians to take part in a Washington prayer vigil for the elections. What is really needed first is a prayer vigil for the state of Christ's church. Until we clean up the house of the Lord, who wins the elections is irrelevant. If we can't run our own lives and churches with integrity, we as Christians have nothing to tell the world. Judgment begins at the house of God. That thought should sober us all.

dc Talk – What Have We Become?

A preacher shuns his brother
Cause his bride's a different colour
And this is not acceptable
His papa taught him so
It was love that he'd been preaching
But this was overreaching
The boundaries stretching further
Than his heart would choose to go

Like an angel with no wings
Like a kingdom with no king

What have we become?
A self indulgent people
What have we become?
Tell me where are the righteous ones?
What have we become?
In a world degenerating
What have we become?

Speak your mind, look out for yourself
The answer to it all is a life of wealth
Grab all you can cause you live just once
You got the right to do whatever you want
Don't worry about others or where you came from
It ain't what you were, it's what you have become

Mom and Dad are fighting
As Rosie lies there crying
For once again she's overheard
Regrets of their mistake
With Christmas bells a-ringing
Little Rosie'd leave them grieving
The gift she'd give her family
Would be the pills she'd take

An inconvenient child
She wasn't worth their while

What have we become?
A self indulgent people
What have we become?
Tell me where are the righteous ones?
What have we become?
In a world degenerating
What have we become?

Speak your mind, look out for yourself
The answer to it all is a life of wealth
Grab all you can cause you live just once
You got the right to do whatever you want
Don't worry about others or where you came from
It ain't what you were, it's what you have become

What about love?
What about God?
What about holiness?
What about mercy, compassion and selflessness?

You know it's true
He is there for me and you
Doesn't matter what you do

What have we become?
A self indulgent people
What have we become?
Tell me where are the righteous ones?
What have we become?
In a world degenerating
What have we become?

What have we become?
Have we come undone?
What have we become?
Have we come undone?
What have we become?

Speak your mind, look out for yourself
The answer to it all is a life of wealth
Grab all you can 'cause you live just once
You got the right to do whatever you want
Don't worry about others or where you came from
It ain't what you were, it's what you have become

Selfish people
With selfish thoughts
Selfish people
When you gonna learn?
Everyone of us
Gotta learn to trust
What have we become?

Isaiah 53

2006-10-31T23:42:00.000+13:00

This is my favourite chapter in the whole Bible:

(1)Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

(2)For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

(3)He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

(4)Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.

(5)But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

(6)All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

(7)He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

(8)He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

(9)And they made His grave with the wicked--
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

(10)Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

(11)He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.

(12)Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Ponder on that, and then read chapters 54 and 55 in light of this one. It's beautiful!

To Believe

2006-09-29T20:05:00.000+12:00

It's been a while since the last post, but I haven't given up.

One of the basic tenets of the Christian faith is Belief in Jesus. John 3:16 says that "... so that whoever believes in Him would not die but have eternal life". In John 11:25 he says "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live", and John 3:18 says "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Believe is vitally fundamental to having life in God. These are just three of many quotes that emphasise this. So it would seem that we need to be totally sure of exactly what it means "to believe" in God.

The church in general today seems to take it to mean "to mentally acknowledge as historical fact the death and ressurection of Jesus Christ, and to believe that He was God."

This kind of belief is nothing more than just that - a mental acknowledgement, regardless of evidence for or against - in much the same way that I believe that Julius Caeser was a real person who ruled Rome from 49 to 44 BC. This kind of belief leads to all sorts of contradictions in the Bible - a couple of which I will cover below. These contradictions occur because the church's current idea of what it means "to believe" in God is WRONG!! Mentally acknowledging the existence of Christ will not save you anymore than it has saved the demons!

The greek word in the New Testament that is translated as "believe" is pisteuo. Strong's Concordance defines this word as meaning:

"From pistis. To have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), ie. to credit; by implication to entrust (especially one's wellbeing to Christ): - to believe, to commit (to trust), to put in trust with."

Notice the occurences and reoccurences of the idea of trust in that above statement. This word "to believe" isn't to be understood in the sense of "I believe that the Battle of Hastings really occured", but more in the sense of "Come on! You can do it! Go! Go! I believe in you! Go!"

It's so much more than acknowledging the existence of God - it's trusting Him enough to commit yourself to Him - which means trusting Him enough to do what He says and deny yourself, turn from your ways, take up your cross, and follow Him! It means to lay down your life and everything you hold dear and leave the crowds and follow Him alone! It's what the disciples did when they dropped their fishing nets (their only means of livlihood) and followed Him!

I think a perfect illustration of this is the parable of the guy who found a priceless treasure in a field and so went and sold all he had in order to buy this field and claim the treasure! He gave up everything to gain this one treasure!

Or the parable of the wise and foolish vigins - the wise ones were the ones who sold all they had in order to buy enough oil to be awake when the Bridegroom (Christ) came for them! The ones who didn't sell everything ran out of oil and were asleep when He came, and thus they were forever shut out from His presence.

Hopefully some of what Jesus says in the New Testament will become a whole lot clearer now.

God Bless~

The Purpose Driven Deception

2006-09-08T22:27:00.000+12:00

You're probably familiar with this book - either you've read it or you've heard about it:

This is probably one of the most dangerous books a Christian could read.

Why?

Well for starters, let's have a look at one of the most powerful influences on Rick Warren's beliefs - a man by the name of Robert Schuller. Schuller is a universalist and believes that Jesus is not the only way to heaven. He states that making people aware of their lost and sinful condition is the very worst thing a preacher could do, and believes the new-birth experience in Christians simply means changing a negative self-image to a positive one!!

The fact that Schuller highly endorses Warren's Purpose Driven Life (from here on I'm going to call it PDL) is therefore very worrying. At the start of PDL is an endorsement by Schuller, where he says “I’m praying that every pastor will read this book...Rick Warren is the one all of us should listen to and learn from." Add to that the fact that Warren has shared the stage with Schuller at several of Schuller's conferences, and you'd be right to be concerned about just what Warren believes.

In the sister book to PDL, called Purpose Driven Church,Warren makes the claim (while talking about preaching to the unsaved) that “The most likely place to start is with the person’s felt needs...this was the approach Jesus used...A good salesman knows you always start with the customer’s needs, not the product.” In the chapter before that he says “Whenever Jesus encountered a person he’d begin with their hurts, needs, and interests.”

Firstly, Christians are not business salesmen; secondly, a simple reading of Jesus's encounters with (for example) Nicodemous, Levi, and the woman at the well, will show that Jesus did not always begin with a persons needs.

It gets worse. This is a common idea preached by other business-style-church-growth leaders such as Lee Strobel, Bill Hybels, and Joel Osteen. The idea is that by finding out what a person wants from life, you can promise that to them "in Jesus". Strobel states that if you find a person is suffering from a lack of self esteem, then tell him how your own self esteem has soared since you came to Christ; if a person wants adventure, tell him that there's nothing more exciting than a life in Christ. Basically find out what he wants, then sell it to him in a Christian package.

Lets compare that to the preaching of Paul in the New Testament. Paul says himself that he "kept back nothing" (Acts 20:20) and his preaching involved rebuking, convicting, exhorting, admonishing, reproving, and so on. Read his letters to the churches (in a good Bible version like the NKJV) and note how many times those words come up.

It gets even worse; in pages 58 - 59 of PDL, Warren states “Real life begins by committing yourself completely to Jesus Christ. If you are not sure you have done this, all you need to do is receive and believe...bow your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity: ‘Jesus I believe in you and I receive you.’ Go ahead. If you sincerely meant that prayer, congratulations! Welcome to the family of God.” That right there is Warren's idea of salvation. Notice that "real life" is whatever it is that the reader wants that has just been promised to them via Christianity. There is no mention of sin, hell, repentance, death to self, forsaking the old life, counting the cost, obedience; no mention of "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12) or of seeking the face of God!

The gospel isn't about meeting people's felt needs. It is about meeting their one true need - the need for salvation. It is not about making people feel good, it is about making them see that they are lost, sinful, and destined to hell! Lost man can never feel this need because he is spiritually dead! This message can never be marketed like Warren's is being, because it is foolishness to the lost! (1 Cor. 1:18)

This false gospel teaches that Christ died for us because we are valuable to Him. That is not true! There is nothing in us that makes us valuable to God! The Bible often talks compares the worthless with the valuable (where sinners are the worthless and the righteous are the valuable). The only reason Christ died for us is that such an act is a manifestation of His grace, His mercy, His love, and His righteousness; everything He does is done because of who He is, not who we are! Everything God does is to bring glory to Himself! To say that sinners are valuable to God is to bring glory onto sinners!

In conclusion, the idea behind PDL is that the bigger the church, the better. This is why Rick Warren (along with the other pastors mentioned above) is often called by critics a "church-growth" pastor. PDL is a seeker-friendly message aimed at bringing more people to church, using business marketing techniques. Rich Karlgaard, the publisher of Forbes magazine said of PDL: “This is one of the greatest entrepreneurial books I’ve ever read, and if you merely substitute the word ‘business’ for ‘church’, it’s just a terrific guide that can be taken to a secular and business audience.”

These people seek to bring more people into the church, yet back in New Testament times, having unbelievers enter the church appears to have been a rare event! Why? Well one reason given in Acts is that they were too scared - the power of God was there!

As a result, Warren is leading people to a false Christ - one that has been conjured up to make people feel good about themselves [as lost sinners]. PDL is a book written about how to come to and serve this false god.

"And he [Aaron] received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, "This is your God, O Israel...
"So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow is a feast to Yahweh."" (Exodus 32: 5 - 6a)

"And the LORD said to Moses, "Go, get down! ... Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them."" (Exodus 32: 7a, 10a)

Repentance

2006-09-05T23:43:00.000+12:00

Very, very good article on repentance here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Check it out!

Beginnings

2006-09-01T08:38:00.000+12:00

So the purpose of this blog is to talk about all things Christianity. The Second Coming appears to be nearly here, and the Church is splitting in two, and those of us who are trying to stay true to the God of the Bible have some serious times ahead of us. Hopefully this blog will not only help people be ready for Christ when He returns (that is such an awesome thought!), but also help expose some of the deception that is rampant throughout the church, and even help get a grounding on things like creation (as opposed to evolution) and stuff like that.

So I figured a good way to start would be talking about the beginning. I've been rereading a book recently called The Discovery of Genesis - How the Truths of Genesis were Found Hidden in the Chinese Language. Basically the book is the result of 40 years of research by two guys into how the story of Genesis, up to the dispersion at Babel, was recorded in the creation of the Chinese language. Here's a few examples:

Now I'm aware these are vey badly drawn, in some cases there are several ways of drawing the same word, and in other cases the form shown may actually be archaic - ie. no longer used these days. Apparently there are heaps of different "fonts" in the Chinese writing system, and I think this one was invented around 200BC or something. Anyway, this first word above, the word "create" consists of four radicals - dust or mud, life/motion, walking, and mouth. Why use these specific elements to build the word "create" (it also means "begin" or "from")?

Well Genesis 2:7, which describes the creation of man, comes to mind - "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed (with his mouth) into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. If you remove the character for "walking" from this pictogram, then you are left with another pictogram meaning "talking" - so the character for "create" is also comprised of two parts that shows that Adam was created as an adult - able to walk and talk.

This one is very interesting! Here we see the character for "tempter". It comprises of the radicals for "cover", two "trees" and "devil". Genesis 3 immediately comes to mind - where was the devil when he tempted Eve? In the cover of one of the two trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden! Then there's the character for "devil" itself (shown above in red). This character itself is composed of the radicals for "garden" (also "plot of land"), "secretive" and "man" or
"person". The devil himself is portrayed as "the secretive person in the garden"!

One more for now:

The character for "boat". It consists of the radicals "vessels", "eight" and "mouths". Apparently the radical for "mouth" could also be used to mean person, though I don't know if it still is. Now, why would the word for "boat" mention eight people? Could it be because the first boat in history - the Ark - had eight people on board?!

These are only three examples of about thirty or forty in the book. I'll give some more examples every so often. Is that amazing or what? The ancient Chinese seem to have believed pretty much exactly in the Biblical version of events, yet they lived tens of thousands of kilometres from the Hebrews who wrote the Bible!

Anyway that's all for now.

God Bless~