Ziklag: The Test of Kings

Ziklag: The Test of Kings
by Chip Brogden

http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/ziklag-the-test-of-kings.html


"...But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God."
(I Samuel 30:6b).


Early in my Christian walk I somehow reached the erroneous conclusion that if you love God and do what His Word says then nothing bad will ever happen to you. This idea was reinforced by teachers and preachers who claimed that people who knew how to exercise their faith and operate under the anointing and walk in the Spirit would never get sick, become depressed, lose money, or come under spiritual attack.

Time and experience are patient teachers, and in their classroom I learned a different view of life.

Consider the life of David, "a man after God's own heart", the "sweet psalmist of Israel." Surely a man after God's own heart will never have to experience terrible trials, afflictions, misunderstanding, suffering, rejection, pain or misfortune!

But in David we see that even someone who is after God's own heart, someone who seeks Him early and often, someone who desires Him more than anything else - yes, THAT kind of person, ESPECIALLY that kind of person! - will be called upon to endure some of the most excruciating physical, emotional, and spiritual rigors imaginable.


DISASTER AT ZIKLAG

David's problems began as soon as he was anointed! As soon as his calling and destiny was confirmed by Samuel the prophet, David became a target for the jealous rage of Saul. The anointing, for David, was like a huge sign around his neck that invited trouble.

I Samuel 30 records one of the severest tests in David's life. Circumstances would force him into a "do or die" situation. His response to this test would either confirm his destiny as king or destroy him completely. There would be no warning for what was about to happen, and there would be no second chances.

"And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives" (I Samuel 30:1-3).

How do you respond to impossible situations? How do you react when everything you hold dear is taken from you? The first reaction is quite natural, quite human, and quite understandable:

"Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep" (I Samuel 30:4).

I cannot imagine what those six hundred screaming, crying men sounded like. It must have been the most awful sound in the world. They wept, and cried, and screamed out in agony, until they had no more power to weep. How long did this go on? I don't know, but the episode left them emotionally bankrupt, absolutely numb from grief, with no more power to cry even though they wanted to.

But it would get worse before it got better!


WILL YOU CHOOSE TO GET BITTER, OR GET BETTER?

"And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters..." (I Samuel 30:5,6a).

Not only did David have to deal with his own personal loss, but he also had to deal with the combined losses of his men, who were now looking for someone to blame. David, as the leader, was the most likely target. Facing Goliath is one thing, but dealing with six hundred angry, grief-stricken men is another.

It looked like David was done for. Six hundred angry men coming against one man. There could be no escape from this.

I believe that every one of us will, at least one time in our life, come face-to-face with a Ziklag experience. Everything you have in this world is either taken away or burning down right before your eyes.

Friends, I have learned that when things like this "come to pass" in your life, you have a choice. You can get bitter, or you can get better. Six hundred men chose to get bitter. That is the easy path. One man chose to get better. That is the narrow path.

Kings are anointed by God and selected based on how they respond to situations like this.

How would you respond?

In a similar situation, many of us would have had this conversation with ourselves: "I thought God had called me. I thought God had anointed me to be king of Israel. But that was a long time ago, and I have seen nothing but trouble ever since. I have spent the best years of my life running from Saul. I did the right thing, and now I'm being punished. What do I have to show for it? Absolutely nothing! I've lost my family and everything I have is going up in smoke. The people are ready to stone me. Everything is against me. I quit! I give up! Just let me die so I can have some peace! God can keep his anointing, it's too much of a price to pay."

I know most of us would say this because most of us HAVE said this at one time or another. I have given up many times (at least temporarily) because the pressure was too great. The easiest thing to do in a situation like this is to just lay down and die. And that is what most people end up doing.

David had an opportunity to do the same thing.

This verse could have very easily read:

"And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters. So David gave up, and the people stoned him, and tossed his body onto the burning rubble of Ziklag. And God was very displeased and began looking for a new king..."

This worst-case scenario is actually played out in real-life with real brothers and sisters who have a real calling from God but are on the verge of giving up because Ziklag has left them wounded, hurt, bitter, disillusioned, jaded, frustrated, or disappointed.

Brothers and sisters, Ziklag can either be your graveyard or your greatest opportunity. The decision is yours.


"BUT DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF"

What did David do?

"...But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God." (I Samuel 30:6b).

Thank the Lord for "but"! The sheer weight of things was piling up. The pressure was enormous. One bad thing after another was coming against David. One tiny word - "but" - introduces something new, something different, something that rises up to stand against all this doom, depression, disillusionment, distress, and desperation.

Nothing had changed and the situation looked hopeless - but David encouraged himself in the Lord His God.

In a similar situation we might call the pastor to come pray for us. We might look for a prophet to give us a word. We might go to our brothers and sisters and ask them to pray for a breakthrough. If we have people around us then we can and should ask for their prayers and support. Yet David had none of this.

What do you do when all visible means of support have collapsed? What do you do when the people you used to be friends with are now ready to stone you? And what do you do when you are all alone? The easiest thing to do is quit.

"But David encouraged himself in the Lord His God."

One translation says, "But David strengthened himself in the Lord His God." Another version says, "But David took courage from the Lord His God."

How did he do it? Was it a special song? Was it a special prayer? Was it something he confessed? Exactly how did David encourage himself?

We do not know, because the Bible does not say specifically. He probably did a little of all the above. He probably went back in time and remembered how the Lord helped him to kill the lion and the bear who tried to steal his father's sheep. He probably thought about the time the Lord helped him to slay Goliath. He probably thought about all the times when the Lord had delivered him from being destroyed by Saul.

All that is speculation, but here is what I want you to know: if David could encourage himself in the Lord, so can you. You can encourage YOURSELF.

Since most people are takers, and not givers, most people are looking to receive encouragement, not give it. It is very difficult to find encouragement in other people. I am always appreciative of encouraging letters and kind words when I receive them, but I cannot always depend on other people to encourage me. Neither can you.

"But David encouraged HIMSELF."

You have to learn to encourage yourself. You will not always find encouragement in your circumstances. It is not easy to look on the ashes of your life and imagine anything good coming out of it. Fiery trials and difficult tests are not conducive to encouragement. Most of the things in this world are specifically designed to DIScourage you.

"But David encouraged HIMSELF."

When the enemy says, "You've lost everything", you can encourage yourself in the Lord your God!

When friends forsake you and the people say, "It's all your fault", you can encourage yourself in the Lord your God!

When your circumstances say, "You'll never make it out alive," you can encourage yourself in the Lord your God!

What is the secret to David's strength? Where did David find encouragement? Certainly not in his situation. Not in the prophet Samuel. Not in his family and friends.

"But David encouraged himself IN THE LORD his God."

In the Lord! In the Lord! In the Lord!

This is why Paul could say, "When I am weak, then I am strong. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice! Because it is GOD Who is working in you, and He WILL complete the good work He has begun in you, and ALL THINGS are working together for good according to HIS purpose!"

This is not some kind of positive confession, faith-promise formula. It is not up to you, it is up to Him, and since you have nothing to lose anyway, you have everything to gain by casting yourself completely upon the Lord and finding your strength IN HIM.


PURSUE AND RECOVER ALL!

When David had encouraged himself in the Lord, and asked God what to do next, the Lord said,

"Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all" (I Samuel 30:8b).

And so David wiped away his tears, took his sword, led his six hundred angry men into battle, defeated the enemy, and recovered everything they had lost.

That's what it means to be a king.

On that day, David turned tragedy into triumph. He passed the Ziklag test. He did not have his crown yet - that would come later, but that did not matter right now. He did not need a crown or a throne to prove he was a king. His kingship was demonstrated there in the rubble of Ziklag, where he learned to encourage himself in the Lord His God.

Don't ever give up! Ziklag is not your final resting place, it is only the test of kings. Encourage yourself in the Lord, pursue, recover, and move forward. This is your destiny, and this is the word of the Lord to you. May it be so!


I am your brother,
Chip Brogden

The Two-Fold Work of the Cross

The Two-Fold Work of the Cross
by Chip Brogden

http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-two-fold-work-of-the-cross.html

"Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps" (I Peter 2:21).

If we were to ask a Christian, "Have you accepted the work of the Cross?" Many of them would say yes. If you ask them what the work of the Cross is, they would respond by saying that the work of the Cross is the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus for the sins of the world.

While this is true enough, it can be misleading. A better question to ask is, "Have you accepted the two-fold work of the Cross?" Try this out on a few Christians and you will probably get a puzzled reply along the lines of, "What is the two-fold work of the Cross?" That is because most people are only familiar with one side of the Cross, not both sides.

For many years I was only taught one aspect of the Cross - that is, the cross on which Jesus died for me. That is all I knew, and so that is all I taught. On this cross He was crucified as my substitute. He laid down His life for me. His precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of my sins. Not only that, but the Bible says that God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. John the Baptist calls Him, "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the whole world."

By identifying with His sacrificial death, He becomes our Substitute. We enter into His finished work. We are made one with Him there on the Cross. Thank God we do not have to pay this debt, for it has been paid for us. We do not have to go to the Cross and be crucified for our sins.

I would suggest that almost every Christian is familiar with this aspect of the Cross. It is the foundation of evangelicalism, the basis of millions of sermons to millions of believers. It is the truth, and we thank God for the truth whenever it is proclaimed.

There is another side to this Cross, another dimension of the same truth, which is not as well-known, and is hardly preached at all. As a result, many believers are content to embrace the "Sinner's Cross"; that is, they have confessed Jesus as Savior, and they understand and accept Him as their Substitute. It is certainly true that Jesus is our Substitute, and that He died on the Cross for us. But as we have said, there is a two-fold work of the Cross.

Peter alludes to this two-fold work when he writes, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps." Christ suffered FOR us; that is the first aspect. But He left us an EXAMPLE; that is the second aspect.

So the work of the Cross is two-fold. First, Jesus is our Substitute. Secondly, He is our Example. In the first case, He took up the Cross. In the second case, I take up the Cross. The first work of the Cross is for the Sinner; the second work of the Cross is for the Disciple.

Jesus said that the way to Life is through a narrow Gate and a difficult Path. The Gate is only the beginning of the journey; it is not the destination. So we must have both the Gate and the Path. One is not complete without the other. Once we are through the Gate, there is a Path for us to walk. The Gate makes it possible for us to walk the Path, but the Gate is incomplete without the Path. The Life is at the end of the Path, not at the beginning.

This corresponds to the two-fold work of the Cross. The "Sinner's Cross" is the Gate. Because Jesus is my Substitute, I can now walk the Path. The "Disciple's Cross" is the Path. Now I am following His example. Can you see the difference?

Jesus says the way to Life is through a Narrow Gate and a Difficult Path. The Narrow Gate is Christ. It is Narrow because He is the Only Way. But why is the Path so difficult? Partly because it is much easier, much more appealing, to accept Jesus as a Substitute than to accept Him as an Example. Stated differently, it is much more appealing to accept Jesus as Savior than to accept Him as Lord. With a simple prayer I can acknowledge Him as my Substitute and Savior. But to make Him my Example and my Lord, to actually walk in His footsteps, is not so appealing.

Why? In the first case I simply embrace the "Sinner's Cross" and everything is done for me. But in the second case I must take up the "Disciple's Cross" and actually follow in the steps of the Master. It only takes a moment to pass through the Gate, but the Path takes a lifetime of walking.

Peter wrote of this two-fold work of the Cross, but we see in Matthew 16 that he did not always have this understanding. In Matthew 16 we see Jesus as our Substitute and our Example all in one chapter. First there is Jesus as the Substitute. He begins to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and raised the third day. For His sins? No, for our sins. So in this He is our Substitute.

Peter, taking offense over this, pulls Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Him. Imagine! Peter is rebuking the Lord Jesus over this issue of the Cross. It is, indeed, a difficult thing to comprehend. But Jesus turns and rebukes Peter. Yes, it will be so. I will go to Jerusalem and die for the sins of the world. I must complete My substitutionary work.

But the two-fold work of the Cross goes deeper than the physical death of Jesus. And so Jesus immediately begins to speak to them, not about HIS Cross, but about THEIR Cross:

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it'" (Matthew 16:24,25).

Peter objected to the death of the Lord Jesus and wanted to prevent His crucifixion. The Lord Jesus responded that not only must the Master be crucified, but anyone who desired to follow after the Master would, of necessity, have to take up their Cross as well.

Peter eventually learned this lesson, and it is time we learned it as well. Jesus is both my Substitute and my Example. Jesus, is both my Savior and my Lord. Jesus is both the Narrow Gate and the Difficult Path.

If there is any doubt as to the reason for a lack of power, a lack of joy, a lack of faithfulness, a lack of Spirit-and-Truth today, we need only examine a person's ultimate attitude towards the Cross. Is the Cross, to them, something that Jesus saved them FROM, or something that Jesus saved them FOR? The fruit, or the lack thereof, tells the whole story. For there never will be, and there never can be, any fruitfulness apart from embracing the two-fold work of the Cross.

The question will of course arise: can Jesus be Savior, but not be Lord? Can I accept the salvation but not the discipleship? Can I enter the Gate but not walk the Path? And the underlying concern is really this: can I pray the Sinner's Prayer, live any way I please, and still go to heaven when I die?

The question itself is very revealing in the ones who ask it. Consider that it takes two beams to make a Cross; one beam is not enough. If we accept only half of the two-fold work of the Cross then we have not truly embraced the Cross. If we continue to preach an easy Gospel and bring sinners to an easy Jesus by having them pray an easy prayer then we are guilty of propagating another gospel, a false gospel, a Gate without a Path.

The Rich Young Ruler came to Jesus with the exact same concern: what must I do to inherit eternal life? His primary concern was going to heaven when he died. For many Christians that is the ultimate objective and the motivation behind everything they do. In actuality, Jesus said comparatively little about "going to heaven when you die." But He had quite a bit to say about being obedient to the will of God and producing fruit while you're still living here on earth.

To the Rich Young Ruler who wanted to be saved, Jesus offered discipleship, not salvation:

"Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.' But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'" (Mark 10:21-23).

Not "how EASY for them to enter the Kingdom of God", but "how HARD it is". The two-fold work of the Cross is a hard saying for rich and for poor alike. Many turn away sad and sorrowful at the thought of taking up the Cross as a disciple. For that reason, only the first half of the two-fold work of the Cross is preached.

I suspect that the Rich Young Ruler would have eagerly accepted Jesus as his Substitute - because the subtle implication is that since Jesus died on the Cross, I won't have to die! But like all the other suggestions of the adversary, this too is only a partial truth. For the whole truth is that the work of the Cross is two-fold, and we can embrace both, or neither, but we cannot keep one and discard the other.

You may be concerned that if we make salvation contingent on discipleship then fewer people would get saved. That's exactly the point. This is precisely what Jesus meant when He said, "Few find it" (Matthew 7:14b).

So what are we do to? Should we continue to give false comfort to those who are unwilling to take up their Cross, deny Self, and follow Jesus? By no means. Instead, let us endeavor to show others, by example, that the only way to Life is through Death; the only way to reign with Him is to suffer with Him; not those who hear, but those who hear and put into practice, are His true disciples.

May the Lord Jesus Himself bear witness of these things, that they are true. Amen.

I am your brother,
Chip Brogden
Chip Brogden
http://www.TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

Kingdom 2

Hi all,
Remember to use cwowi@aol.com for personal email, and you may subscribe or unsubscribe by following the link at the very end of this email.

Have you wondered if the Lord accepts the praises of the person across the church from you who lied about and hurt you, yet they are right there in church like nothing happened? Do you think 'turn the other cheek' means being willing to be misused and suffer loss? (wrong) My newest series, "Forgiveness, How to be a forgiving person in an unforgiving world" answer questions like these and more! The link is to the right.

Kingdom of God
Remember from last week, Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God, and He spent time eating and drinking what was set before him, spending the night with them in their homes, walking through the countryside, sitting around the campfire. What a king! What a kingdom, where the common man was valued and had something to offer.

Jesus taught about the culture and values of the kingdom of God among the people during daily life; values very different from both the Roman and first century Jewish culture around them. Herod nor the religious rulers, minor kings, mixed with the common man, spoke on their level, or valued daily hardships of life.

When Jesus was alive He taught of the kingdom of God. When He was resurrected, Acts 1:3 says in those 40 days He taught them about the kingdom of God. A few years later, Acts 8:12 says when Philip preached in Samaria, they believed him concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

Some 30 years later still the book of Acts concludes in 28:31 saying Paul '..proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without any hindrance from his home'.

They carried that awareness and culture of the kingdom, that of the approachable and relevant King, to the people! Not Hollywood Jesus, not a Lord where you have to climb 120 steps on your knees to light a candle, but a down to earth King and Lord, who now lives in us. That's a kingdom unlike any other, and they taught about it and lived it throughout the New Testament.

Our focus?
Jesus was offering people citizenship in a whole other kingdom with a whole other set of values than what Imperial Rome, the Jewish religious aristocracy, or the gods, goddesses and temples of Rome offered. Today the gospel of the kingdom remains as different from modern life and churchianity as it was from Rome.

Are we as aware as they were that we are citizens of the kingdom of God? Are we presenting a whole picture of the culture and values of the kingdom? Do we practice our faith the same way Paul and the writers of the New Testament did?

Church culture says 'turn or burn', or maybe no confrontation, just 'seek', raise your hand, meet the pastor after the service in the reception room. Church culture says 'join us' in competing marquees each posting a witty saying as a means of saying 'come here'. Is that church culture or kingdom culture?

The Bible values relationships; we value numbers. The Bible converts people by teaching and then doing as we walk through life together - the older teaching the younger, the experienced teaching the new to the faith in relationship; we wonder how many attended and how big the offering was.

They gathered people in homes recognizing the home and the family together as the core place for learning about God ever since Adam & Eve were joined in the garden by the Lord; we gather people into large auditoriums where the family separates to age appropriate groups to hear strangers tell them about God.

Their faith was dirty. They knew each other, walked through life's struggles with each other, challenged, offended, forgave and worked through difficulties with each other; we have a sterilized faith where we give money in the offering and someone else will be involved with 'those people'.

They taught the whole package of another kingdom with a different set of values - the kingdom of God; we present a tiny sliver over and over until people think that is what God is all about. As a result, the churches that were once 'cutting edge' of what God is doing, have become irrelevant to their generation and even a laughing stock to anyone with an objective mind, as empty as most of the denominations that preceded them down the path into traditions of men and social irrelevance.

But...People are mentally and prayerfully sorting these things out in an internal struggle. In one column they are listing values of the church world around them, in another column they are listing things that resonate in their heart, in their spirit.

Bible reality
If you read the Great Commission, there is nothing about being born again. There is nothing about tent meetings or revival meetings or crusade evangelism designed to get a count of hands raised or collect cards with names on them for a count of how many 'decisions' were made. Praise God for the people won to the Lord using those methods, but what if we went back to spreading our faith as they did?

Jesus said spread the gospel by 'teaching them to observe and to do what I commanded you". This is relationship, for teaching and observing cover both the learning elements of teaching, while 'to do what I commanded you' is the demonstration in daily life of how to apply what Jesus taught. Mt 28:20

Mark 16:20 says signs followed the believers. Healings of body and soul were the results of them having been in a home, in relationship with others in the faith - healings and other miracles were the aroma of wholeness lingering as they taught and showed others how to live their faith.

Today we advertise miracles and healings BEFORE they happen to get people to come because we have no relationship with them - just another meeting to go to and maybe see a miracle, making us no different than an ambulance chaser who just wants to see what's happening, or the John 6:26 people who followed Jesus not for eternal life, but because their appetites were satisfied. Which group do we want to be in?

It has been observed and I've said it and will say it again; Christianity started out as a relationship when God came to man in Israel. It went to Greece to become a philosophy, to Rome to become a religion, to Europe to become tradition, and to the USA to become an enterprise.

The book of Acts is normal Christianity
I remember realizing this as a teenager. I remember telling myself the denominations are not normal, they are abnormal. They all may think that what I believe is abnormal, but the reverse is true. Acts is normal.

It is normal to see people healed, to see demons cast out, to have experiences seeing angels and/or the Lord as in the book of Acts. It is normal to have close friends in the faith, meeting in homes in informal meetings. What I see around me; the structure, the hype, the merchandising, the honoring of one gift above all else, is abnormal, even dysfunctional...the book of Acts is normal Christianity. It is how the kingdom was practiced by our founding fathers of the faith.

That's one reason Barb and I latched onto what we called at the time in the mid 1970's, 'prayer meetings', and grew so fast. Thursday night was a meeting in a church basement - a bunch of teens and a church elder who opened the building for us. Saturday night was at a farm house with a mix of all ages. Sunday night was with a smaller group of teenagers rotating host homes.

We worshipped, we prayed, the gifts flowed, no matter who was leading, they would always lay aside the direction they thought the meeting would go if the Lord took it another direction. But we often had contact with each other during the week. Some saw each other at school. Hours were invested on the phone or in person talking through family situations or growth in Christ decisions to be made, always one generation of experience helping the younger generation, even if there were only months separating our ages, spiritually one was an elder in the faith while the other was a babe in Christ, yet we were all equal.

For the first time in history perhaps, at least in terms of numbers this big, people are leaving church and not falling away from God, but finding Him. They are finding him in true relationships, in home meetings, just as the book of Acts presents.

We have become as the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11:16: "But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly, therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city."

Next week - walking it out
Blessings,
John Fenn
www.supernaturalhousechurch. org

Forty Trends Back To Simplicity

Dear Friends on my A Word in Season list,
I am writing a book entitled THE STAINED GLASS WINDOW - Forty Trends Back to Simplicity and I am sending it out to friends and family to get their feedback to do the final edit before publishing. I would be grateful if you would read each of the forty trends. Some are more lengthy than others, most are only one page. The entire book is based on the current phenomena of the house church movement around the world. Please do not judge the whole message till you have read it all. Any comments from you will be helpful, both pro and con. Here is the second trend.

Trend #2.



From "Christianity" to Christ . . . not a religion, a philosophy or a system but Christ in me, living his life in me and through me.



The word "Christianity" is not found in the Bible. The early church did not build a religious system or a formal priesthood, or organization, or denomination. They were "followers of The Way." It was a way of life. But deeper than that, it was a new relationship with God. It was Christ in you, the hope of glory!



No other religion in the history of the world has been established on the same ground as that of Jesus Christ. Every other religious leader who ever lived also died and remained in the grave. Jesus died and rose again, but more than that, he reincarnates himself in the lives of his followers. It is "Christ in you!" This is the genius and the uniqueness of being "in Christ!" And since I am in Christ, Christ is also in me!



Jesus said, "He who dwells in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do." That is exactly how we are to operate. The normal Christian life is God in me doing the same kind of works Jesus did. Paul had grasped this truth when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." In another place he says, "For me to live is Christ." Again he said that the "mystery" that had been hidden from ages and from generations was, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Christ in me is the only hope of glory, which means the outshining radiance of the presence of God shining through my life.



The most powerful personal letter I have ever read explaining his experience of the spiritual mystery of Christ in you, was written by the man who founded the China Inland Mission, J. Hudson Taylor. Here is his letter written to his sister, Amelia, October, 1869 while he was still in China in the early days of that Mission: (used by permission of OMF International) May his testimony bring this truth to us in all it's beauty and transforming power.



"My own dear sister - So many thanks for your long dear letter. I do not think you have written me such a letter since we have been in China. I know it is with you as it is with me. It is not that you will not. It is simply that you cannot. Mind and body will not bear more than a certain amount of strain, or do more than a certain amount of work.



As to work, mine was never so plentiful, so responsible, or so difficult; but the weight and strain are all gone. The last month or more has been, perhaps, the happiest of my life; and I long to tell you a little of what the Lord has done for my soul.



I do not know how far I may be able to make myself intelligible about it, for there is nothing new or strange or wonderful - and yet, all is new! In a word: “Whereas I was blind, now I see.”



Perhaps I shall make myself more clear if I go back a little. Well, Dearie, my mind has been greatly exercised for the past six or eight months, feeling the need personally, and for our Mission, of more holiness, more life and power in our souls. But personal need stood first and was the greatest. I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living nearer to God. I prayed, agonized, fasted, strove, made resolutions, read the Word more diligently, sought more time for retirement and meditation - but all was without avail. Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me.



I knew that if I could only abide in Christ, all would be well, but I could not. I would begin the day with prayer, determined not to take my eyes from Him for a moment, but pressure of duties, sometimes very trying, constant interruptions, often very wearing, would cause me to forget Him. Then one’s nerves get so fretted in this climate that temptations to irritability, hard thoughts and sometimes unkind words are all the more difficult to control. Each day brought its register of sin, failure, and lack of power. To will was indeed present with me, but how to perform, I found not.



Then came the question, “Is there no rescue? Must it be like this till the end - constant conflict and, instead of victory, too often defeat?” How, too, could I preach with sincerity that to those who receive Jesus, “to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (i.e. God-like) when it was not so in my experience? Instead of growing stronger, I seemed to be getting weaker and to have less power against sin; and no wonder, for faith and even hope were getting very low. I hated myself; I hated my sin; and yet I gained no strength against it.



I felt I was a child of God. His Spirit in my heart would cry, in spite of all, “Abba, Father” but to rise to my privileges as a child, I was utterly powerless. I thought that holiness was to be gradually attained by a diligent use of the means of grace. I felt that there was nothing I so much desired in this world, nothing I so much needed. But the more I pursued and strove after holiness, the more it eluded my grasp, till hope itself almost died out and I began to think that perhaps to make heaven the sweeter, God would not give it to us in this life.



I do not think I was striving to attain it in my own strength. I knew I was powerless. I told the Lord so and asked Him to give me help and strength and sometimes I almost believed He would keep and uphold me. But on looking back in the evening, there was sin and failure to confess and mourn before God.



I would not give you the impression that this was the daily experience of all those long, weary months, but it tended to be a too frequent state of soul and I almost ended up in despair. And yet, never did Christ seem more precious a Savior who could and would save such a sinner! And sometimes there were seasons not only of peace but of joy in the Lord. But they were fleeting and at best there was a sad lack of power. Oh, how good the Lord has been in bringing this conflict to an end!



All the time I felt assured that there was in Christ all I needed, but the practical question was how to get it out. He was rich, but I was poor; He was strong, but I was weak. I knew full well that there was in the vine, in the root, the stem, abundant fatness; but how to get it into my puny little branch was the question.



As gradually the light dawned on me, I saw that faith was the only prerequisite to laying hold of His fullness and making it my own. But I did not have this faith . . . I strove for it, but it would not come; I tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply of grace laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Savior - my helplessness and guilt seemed to increase. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His word, but rather made Him a liar! Unbelief was, I felt, the damning sin of the world - yet I indulged in it. I prayed for faith but it did not come. What was I to do?



When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never seen it before. McCarthy, who had been much exercised by the same sense of failure, but saw the light before I did, wrote (I quote from memory): “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.”



As I read I saw it all! “If we believe not, He remains faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed) that He had said, “I will never leave you.” “Ah, here is rest!” I thought. “I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I’ll strive no more. For has He not promised to abide with me - never to leave me, never to fail me?” And Dearie, He never will!



But this was not all He showed me; nor one half. As I thought of the vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured directly into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in having wished to get the sap, the fullness, out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus would never leave me, but that I was a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine now I see is not the root merely, but all - root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit; and Jesus is not only that; He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for, or needed. Oh the joy of seeing this truth! I do pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know and enjoy the riches freely given us in Christ.



Oh, my dear sister, it is a wonderful thing to be really one with a risen and exalted Savior, to be a member of Christ! Think what it involves. Can Christ be rich and I poor? Can your right hand be rich and the left poor? Or your head well fed while your body starves? Again, think of this bearing on prayer. Could a bank clerk say to a customer, “It was only your hand that wrote that check, not you,” or “I cannot pay this sum to your hand, but only to yourself?” No more can your prayers, or mine, be discredited if offered in the name of Jesus (i.e. not in your own name, or even for the sake of Jesus, but on the ground that we are His, His members) so long as we keep within the extent of Christ’s credit - a considerably wide limit!



If we ask anything unscriptural or not in accordance with the will of God, Christ Himself could not do that; but “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us; and . . . we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.”



The sweetest part, if one may speak of one part being sweeter than another, is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will and His will is mine. It makes no difference where He places me or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest positions He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient.



It matters little to my servant whether I send him to buy a few dollars worth of things or the most expensive articles. In either case he looks to me for the money and brings me his purchases. So if God places me in great perplexity, must He not give me much guidance; or in positions of great difficulty, much grace; or in circumstances of great pressure and trial, much strength? There is no fear that His resources will be unequal to the emergency! And His resources are mine for He is mine, and is with me and dwells in me.



All this springs from the believer's oneness with Christ. And since Christ is now living in my heart by faith, how happy I have been! I wish I could tell you instead of writing about it.



I am no better than before (in one sense, I do not wish to be, nor am I striving to be); but I am dead and buried with Christ - yes, and risen too and ascended; and now Christ lives in me, and “the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”



I now believe that I am dead to sin. God reckons me so, and tells me to reckon myself so. He knows best. All my past experiences may have shown that it was not so; but I dare not say it is not, when He says it is. I feel and know that old things have passed away. I am as capable of sinning as ever, but Christ is realized as present as never before. He cannot sin; and He can keep me from sinning.



Faith, I now see, is “the substance of things hoped for” and not mere shadow. It is not less than sight, but more. Sight only shows the outward forms of things; faith gives the substance. You can rest on substance; you can feed on substance. Christ dwelling in the heart by faith (i.e. faith in His word of promise) is power indeed, is life indeed. And Christ and sin will not dwell together; nor can we experience His presence with love of the world or carefulness about “many things.”


And now I must close. I have not said half I would like to say if I had more time. May God give you the grace to lay hold on these blessed truths! Do not let us continue to say, in effect, “Who shall ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down from above.” In other words, do not let us consider Him as far off when God has made us one with Him, members of His very body. Nor should we look upon this experience, these truths, as only for the few. They are the birthright of every child of God, and no one can dispense with them without dishonor to our Lord. The only power for deliverance from sin or for serving the Lord is Christ. Your own affectionate brother, J. Hudson Taylor"






--
Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com

THE STAINED GLASS BARRIER

PRESENT TRENDS BACK TO SIMPLE CHURCH



From the sanctuaries to the streets . . . doing the works of Jesus wherever we find a need.



As we read through the life of Jesus in the New Testament it is difficult to find him organizing a religious gathering or an evangelistic meeting, or any kind of meeting. It seems that all of his large meetings, such as the feeding of the five thousand or the multitudes that gathered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee all took place more or less spontaneously as crowds would gather to hear what he was saying and to be healed of their diseases.



Jesus sometimes spoke in the synagogues on the Sabbath. Once he sent out the seventy, two by two, into the towns and cities where he himself would come later. He arranged for the final meal with his disciples, but aside from that, most of his earthly ministry took place as he walked among the people, taught them, and met their needs as he moved about in the ordinary events of daily life.



Jesus’ strategy was to go where the people were; to see the needs and minister to those needs. We find him healing a man at the Pool of Siloam as he walked by and saw his need. We see him feeding the hungry, ministering, teaching in the Temple, teaching on the streets, at the beach, in a synagogue or on a mountainside.



Once as he sat near a well waiting for the disciples to return with food for lunch he spoke the word of life to a woman of Samaria who had come to draw water. This resulted in making a trip to her town where so many people were listening and receiving his word that he stayed in that town two whole days preaching the Kingdom of God.



Nicodemus came to him at night seeking to know who he was and Jesus shared with him the message of salvation. It was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke the most life changing sentence ever uttered, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)



As he walked along a crowded road one day he saw Zaccheus, a man small of stature, who had climbed a tree to get a better look at Jesus as he passed by. Jesus invited him to come down from the tree and as they ate a meal together Jesus led him out of his darkness into the light of life. Zaccheus became a different man right on the spot!



He healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever when he arrived at their house for a meal. She immediately arose from her bed of affliction and began to serve them.



Jesus' primary ministry was spontaneous responses to the needs of people as he walked through each day. In every place where he found people in need, he met that need in the power of the Holy Spirit.



At the age of seventeen, when I first started going to church, it was a tremendous challenge to learn "church talk." The King James Bible was the only Bible people used in those days in West Texas. Everybody prayed using King James language. It was unthinkable to address God in our prayers as "you." To be respectful we had to use "thee" and "thou." Then there was "wouldst" and "couldst" and "whence" and "hither" and "whither" and "thither." I finally got used to it but it took me a while.



Then I had another problem, I was finding it difficult to talk to people about spiritual things when I was not in a church setting; to talk about Jesus to people at work or to my friends who did not know Jesus was a huge leap of faith for me!



Then, the day came when I knew God was calling me to preach! The thought that I was to stand up on a stage behind a pulpit and speak formally to a lot of people through a microphone was the scariest thing I could imagine! At age seventeen, the first time I had to do that, I became physically ill as I sat on the platform awaiting my time to talk. I almost vomited on stage right there in front of the congregation, but somehow I got through the ordeal. It was only a three - minute talk on "Youth Night" at our church, but it was a major challenge for me!



From the time I was a very small boy, I was always very shy and quiet around people. The fear of man was on me something awful for as long as I can remember! But I went off to Bible College and finally learned how to bring formal teachings from the pulpit and how to lead in prayer in a public meeting. But in spite of the curious language we always used as we preached and prayed in church, somehow I learned how to witness to unsaved people one on one.



But something was still missing. It was not the spontaneous, unplanned kinds of things that Jesus did in his ministry. All our evangelistic and teaching ministries had to be planned well in advance so that we could be well prepared and most of our evangelistic efforts were inside the four walls of a church building. I was still not trained to always be ready to minister healing to the sick or do the other things Jesus did such as, speak a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, a word of prophecy or rebuke the devil as I went about my daily routine. That was all in another realm of ministry that I learned to move in later on, but at the time, I trembled to even think about it.


Recently God has given me a way to move toward the Jesus kind of spontaneous ministry. It is by praying daily with another believer the Divine Appointment Prayer: "Father, give us a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give us the grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit." God is answering that prayer for us and I am encouraging people everywhere to find a partner and pray that prayer together daily in person or by phone. It is exciting what God will do in answer to that simple prayer of agreement! "If any two of you on earth shall agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by my Father in heaven." - Jesus





Robert Fitts
76-6309 Haku Pl
Kona, HI 96740
robertjoni@gmail.com
www.robertfitts.com


A Declaration of Unity
I belong to everything that belongs to Jesus and everything that belongs to Jesus belongs to me! It's not us and them. It's just us! There's only one Body of Christ, and the problems of the church, the whole church, are our problems, for we are the church and we can do more united than we can do divided! So let's unify, simplify, and multiply!

Divine Appointment Prayer
Father, give me a divine appointment today with someone who is hungry for God, or sick, or in need, and give me grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Winning the War on Terror by Prayer
Father, give every terrorist an encounter with Jesus such as Paul had on the road to Damascus.

Living to Give
Father, make me a generous giver today! Show me where to give and what to give, and let all my giving bring glory to the name of Jesus.

Grace, YES! Law, NO!
Law demands, demands, demands
But gives me neither feet nor hands
Grace and Truth are better things
They bid me fly and give me wings

Life is relationships - A Letter from Steve Hill

Hello Friends
We trust you have had a great Christmas Season with family and friends. Please receive our best wishes for the New Year! Speaking of the New Year- the New Year's letter of 2009 was one of our most forwarded posts. Missed it? Go to www.harvest-now.org and pull up "Prophetic Word for 2009". And while you are there click on "The Luke 10 Manual" to order your electronic or hard copy.

Now to building coffins. This may not seem like a great way to start a new year but several recent blogs, conversations, tweets have turned on the subject of theology and the merits of differing theological systems. If one is honest, they will need to admit that their system of choice works as long as they do not include the scriptures that form the basis of a rival system. Interesting problem! God gave us a collection of historical accounts, poems, legal systems, sacrificial systems, moral laws, prophecies, dreams, visions and letters arranged in 66 books, written over thousands of years of His relationship with us. Then we try to make a rational system out of it? We cannot make a rational system out of our relationship with our spouse and we try to do so with our relationship with God?

Every theological system is like a coffin. The only body you can get to fit into it is a dead one. Making the coffin more and more complex to try to accommodate more and more of the mystery of God misses the point. If your reason could create a logical system that could fully contain God, your reason would be God. God will not fit in any coffin no matter how many bits you try to chop off nor how many scriptures you try to ignore.

The universe is not rationally ordered nor is it rationally determined. If God wanted to write a book of theology He could have done so. He is smart enough. He did not so why do we try? We do worse than build theological coffins. We try to force God into them. The only God that fits is a dead one. The comfort of rationalism and the arrogance of having the right doctrine is that it becomes the end in itself. You got it right. You do not have to do anything else. And your God is in a coffin where you do not have to deal with Him.

The universe is relationally ordered. God is a Father and God is a love relationship of Father, Word and Holy Spirit. Their union is a mystery of love and mutual honour. Our lives are relationally ordered. That is why the moral law is eternal. Moral law has to do with relationships. There is no rational system that can protect you from the risk, uncertainty, vulnerability demanded by authentic relationships. The practical extension of rationalism is legalism. Hearts protected from life by rules and fear.

The universe is relationally determined. The future, in general and my future in particular, is determined by my relationship with God and with others. God is a Father who is passionate to share Himself with a family. The Father and the Holy Spirit are passionate to present a bride to the Son. The Father and the Son are passionate to create a living temple for the Holy Spirit. The Word and the Spirit are passionate to present all things to the Father so that He might be all and in all.

This is not to say that the universe is unreasonable. It is reasonable, predictable, seasonal and purposeful. It is not absurd but neither is it rational. Someone has said that the first question of the age of reason is suicide- why should I live? The end of rationalism is nihilism. Absurdity and rationalism are two sides of the same coin. What is rational is not necessarily meaningful.

Truth is not a system of thought. Truth is not correct doctrine. Truth is a person whose name is Jesus. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In Him are judgement and forgiveness, wrath and mercy, law and grace, God's freedom to choose and man' s freedom to choose, His freedom to love and my freedom to love. In Him all truths hold together in living tension. Even the ones that we cannot reconcile in our rational systems. Even the scriptures that we try to ignore.

The challenge and sharp discomfort of a relationally ordered universe is that the God who is love says that right belief is not enough. He says that even the devils believe and tremble. He says that if I say I love Him and do not love my brother, I am a liar.

My life in God is fulfilled as I love Him and love my enemies.
The universe is ordered by love.
My future is determined by love expressed in simple but often difficult serving of others.

"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth." I John 3:16- 18

Life is relationships.
Thanks to all of you for your friendship in 2010.
May this increase in 2011.
Steve & Marilyn

"95 THESES to the MODERN EVANGELICAL CHURCH"

"95 THESES to the MODERN EVANGELICAL CHURCH"
-by Greg Gordon.
[Founder of Sermonindex.net]

1. The “church” at large has forgotten that the chief end of man is to glorify
God. (Rom 16:27; 1Cor 6:20; Mt 6:9; 1Cor 10:31)

2. Christians ignore most of the methods, practices and principles found in the
book of Acts. (Acts 2:42,44; Acts 2:46; Acts 2:38)

3. Many treat “church” like any other social club or sports event that they
might attend. (Acts 2:46; Heb 10:25; Acts 1:14)

4. We’ve made Christianity about the individual rather than the community of
believers. (Rom 12:5; 1Cor 12:12; 2Tim 4:16)

5. In most “churches” the priesthood of all believers isn’t acknowledged and
the role of pastor is abused. (1Pt 2:9; 1Cor 12:12; Eph 4:11-13)

6. The “church” as a whole has lost the concept of their being grafted into the
promises given to Israel. (Rom 11:15, 17-18, 20, 25)

7. There needs to be a recovery of teaching the whole counsel of God,
especially in expository form. (Acts 20:27; 1Tim 4:6, 2Tim 2:15)

8. We take it too lightly that we have the blessing and honor of having God’s
Scriptures in our possession. (Ps 119:16; Acts 13:44; Neh 8:9)

9. There has never been more access to the Word of God, yet so little reading
of it. (1Tim 4:13; Neh 8:1-3; Ps 119:59)

10. Some read the Scriptures to attain knowledge, but do not practice what they
read. (Jam 1:22; Mt 7:21; 3Jn 4)

11. Worship has become an idol in many “churches”. The music often resembles
that of the world. (Amos 5:23; Phil 4:8; 1Jn 5:21)

12. The world is shaping the views of the “church” more than the “church”
shaping the world. (Rom 12:2; Mt 5:13; 1Cor 1:22-23)

13. The “church” spends more money on dog food than on missions. (2Cor 9:6; Lk
21:2; Acts 4:34-35)

14. We take lightly the cost of discipleship laid out by Jesus Christ and do
not deny our lives. (Lk 14:33; Lk 14:26-27; Mt 8:19-20)

15. There is a lack of true discipleship and making others to be obedient
disciples. (Mt 28:20; 2Tim 2:2; 2Tim 2:14)

16. Many subscribe to the error that parts of life are to be spiritual while
others are to be secular. (1Pt 4:2; Col 3:3; 1Jn 2:6)

17. Modern Christians often find Jesus’ command to sacrifice and serve
abhorrent. (Phil 2:21; Jam 3:16; Rom 12:1-2)

18. Self disciplines in the Christian life such as fasting and praying are
considered legalistic. (2Tim 2:21; 2Tim 1:8; Mt 6:17)

19. Little thought and contemplation is put towards the lostness of men, the
seriousness of the Gospel. (Phil 3:8; Gal 2:20; Heb 10:34)

20. We are living with an epidemic of cheap grace with flippant confession and
shallow consecration. (Lk 14:28-30; Lk 14:26; Jam 4:8)

21. Since the inception of the Church, the Gospel had the requirements of
repentance and discipleship. (Acts 2:38; Lk 14:26; Jn 8:31)

22. Now forgiveness is offered without repentance, discipleship without
obedience, salvation without sanctity. (Heb 10:29; 4:11; Lk 13:24)

23. Introspection, counting the cost, godly sorrow over sin, are all foreign to
many in the “church”. (Acts 2:37; Ps 119:9; Heb 6:1-2)

24. The modern church loves itself more than its neighbor. (1Cor 3:3; Gal 5:13;
Phil 2:3)

25. The church must repent of its idolization of personality, and of business
principles. (2Cor 2:17; 1Cor 3:5; 1Cor 12:23)

26. Many elders and pastors of the “church” sadly are fleecing the flock to
supply their own wants. (Jn 10:12-13; 1Pt 5:2-3; Rev 2:15)

27. The qualities most in demand in today’s pastorate are frequently foreign to
the Scriptures. (1Tim 3:2-3; 1Tim 3:5; 1Tim 1:5-7)

28. The professionalization of the pastorate is a sin and needs to be repented
of. (2Cor 11:13; Gal 3:1; Gal 2:6)

29. There must be repentance for the ambitious desire and idolization of the
celebrity pastorate. (3Jn 9; Jer 17:5; 1Cor 12:22)

30. Pastors must trust the Spirit, not statistics. (2Sam 24:1; 1Cor 1:25; Rom
8:14)

31. Modern day prophets are being stoned by criticism and neglect. (2Tim 4:3-4;
Gal 1:10; Jer 1:7-8)

32. God’s prophets are ill-treated and shunned by most “christians” considered
too harsh or extreme. (Jer 6:10; Isa 6:9-10; Gal 4:16)

33. The prophets prophesy falsely, priests rule by their own power; and my
people love to have it so. (Mt 24:4, 11-12; 1Cor 1:19, Jude 8 )

34. There are many false gospels being preached from pulpits in our day. (2Cor
11:4; Gal 1:8-9; Jude 16)

35. There is an epidemic of a “mock” salvation message. It is correct in
doctrine, but false in reality. (2Cor 3:6; 1Jn 5:11-12; Rom 8:9)

36. A salvation that does not make men holy is trusted in by a deceived
multitude. (Jude 4; Rom 8:1; Rom 6:17-18)

37. There is a needed perseverance in the truths of the Gospel without
unbelief. (Eph 1:1; Heb 6:11-12; Heb 10:26-27)

38. A great need is to see “christians” become saints in actual experience.
(1Jn 2:29; Col 3:5-8; Tit 3:8)

39. Many professors of religion are forbidding people to be a part of the holy
body of Christ. (Mt 23:13; Ps 119:1-2; 2Pt 1:3-4)

40. Preaching has become all about the happiness of man and not the glory of
God. (Jn 6:26; Rom 4:20; 1Pt 4:11)

41. Preachers give smooth words to entice men, yet very few give any words of
correction or rebuke. (Jer 6:14; Pro 1:23; 1Tim 5:20)

42. Run from gospels that focus on our success and prosperity in the name of
Jesus Christ. (Jn 2:16; Acts 20:33; Jer 6:13)

43. Run from gospels that focus on self-improvement. (1Tim 6:5; Heb 12:14; Jam
4:14)

44. Run from churches where men, and not Christ, are glorified. (Col 1:18; Jude
25; Jn 16:14)

45. Run from churches where there is no Bible, no cross, no mention of the
blood of Christ. (1Pt 1:18-19; Eph 3:13; Rev 1:5)

46. Run from churches where the worship leaves you cold, where there’s no sense
of God’s presence. (1Cor 5:4; Ps 80:14-15; Jer 12:11)

47. Run from churches where you’re comfortable in your sin. (1Cor 14:25; Heb
10:30-31; Heb 4:13)

48. Run from churches that use the pulpit of God for a personal agenda. (Jude
10-11,19; 3Jn 9)

49. Run from those who preach division between races and cultures. (Jam 2:4,
Gal 3:28, Rev 5:9)

50. Run from ungodly, spasmodic movements and endless empty prophesying. (Jer
5:13; 1Cor 14:33, 1Jn 2:16)

51. Run from preachers who tell mostly stories and jokes. (Eph 5:4; Tit 1:8;
2:12)

52. Run from those that are only after money, who use one gimmick after another
to get your money. (2Pt 2:3; 2Cor 12:14; 1Cor 9:18)

53. The phrase “accept Jesus as your personal Saviour” is not found in the
Scriptures. (Rom 10:9-10; Col 1:13; Acts 26:20)

54. Evidence of true conversion does not seem important to modern day
Christians. (1Jn 2:6; 1Jn 4:17; Mt 7:20)

55. Thousands of sinners think of God as having only one attribute: Love! But
they continue in sin. (Rom 1:18; Acts 5:11; Ps 2:12)

56. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life!” has hindered true
evangelism. (Rom 3:19; Acts 26:18; Phil 3:18-21)

57. A Gospel of love and grace only, without the law of God being preached.
This is a doctrine of Satan. (2Tim 4:3-4; Rom 2:4-5; 3:19)

58. There has clearly arisen a careless mixture of 20th century reasoning with
God’s revelation. (Col 2:8; Rom 1:25; Gal 1:6)

59. Decisionism and the “sinner’s prayer” has been a major cause of false
conversions in the “church”. (2Pt 2:1-2; Eph 2:4-5; 2Cor 5:17-18)

60. Many will be surprised to hear Jesus say, “I never knew you, depart from
me.” (Mt 7:22-23; 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21)

61. Men have taken the place of the Holy Spirit in confirming men in their
supposed salvation. (1Jn 2:3-5; 2Ths 1:8; Gal 6:12-15)

62. The doctrine of hell and eternal suffering is something little grasped by
most professing “christians”. (Mt 13:42; Jam 5:1; Ps 9:17)

63. The judgment seat of Christ is perhaps one of the most neglected topics in
the modern pulpit. (2Cor 5:10; Rom 14:10; 1Cor 3:13)

64. The second coming of Christ needs to be re-instated as the church’s general
thrust and burden. (1Jn 3:2-3; Col 3:4-6; 1Ths 4:14-17)

65. The church has lost the fear of God and has over emphasized the love of
God. (Heb 12:28-29; Lk 12:5; Heb 10:31)

66. The church has left evangelism to a few trained professionals. (Acts 8:1,4;
Acts 4:29; Rom 10:14)

67. Repentance is considered a one-time act in modern evangelism rather than a
way of life. (Rev 3:19; Heb 12:17; 2Pt 3:9)

68. The Lordship of Jesus Christ is something that is not taught in many
pulpits. (Acts 2:36; 1Cor 12:3; Rom 6:18)

69. Many in “churches” are not open to correction, church discipline or rebuke.
(1Cor 5:5; 1Cor 11:31-32; Heb 12:7-9)

70. Some preach salvation as a theory instead of persuading men to come to
Christ. (Jn 5:40; Col 1:28; 2Cor 4:5)

71. There has been a loss of the fullness and majesty of the gospel. (1Tim
1:11; Jude 25; Rom 15:29)

72. There is little mention of sin or the depravity of man from “church”
pulpits. (Jn 3:20; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5)

73. Covetousness, consumerism, and coddling of the world’s goods does not
appear wrong. (Jer 22:17; 1Jn 2:15-16; 1Tim 3:3)

74. Little is made of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in churches or in
evangelism. (1Cor 15:14-15; Acts 4:10, 33)

75. The “church” has relied more on technology than God. (Zech 4:6; 1Cor 1:21;
2:4)

76. The prayer meeting is considered one of the least important meetings in the
“church”. (1Tim 2:1; Acts 4:31; Phil 4:6)

77. Pastors have never prayed less than they do in the “church” today. (Jer
10:21; Phil 2:21; Eph 6:18-19)

78. Very few are waiting on God for His direction and purpose for His Church.
(Eph 1:11; Ps 37:7; Isa 40:31)

79. The “church” has many organizers, but few agonizers. (Phil 3:18-19; Rom 9:1-
3; Jer 9:1)

80. We need to have the gifts of the Spirit restored again to the “church”.
(2Tim 4:2; 1Cor 14:39; 1Cor 12:31)

81. A serious, sober, self-controlled Christianity is very seldom found or
preached. (2Pt 3:11; 1Pt 4:7; Jude 3)

82. The “church” at large has forgotten how to pray. (1Jn 3:22; Acts 6:4; 1Ths
5:17)

83. Many “churches” are more dependent on tradition than the leading of the
Holy Spirit. (Mk 7:13; Acts 16:6; Acts 13:2)

84. Multitudes of professors preach and teach: that you cannot be freed from
sin. (Rom 16:18; Rom 6:1-2; 2Pt 2:1)

85. The Apostles and Christ always preached the possibility to walk free from
sin. (Tit 2:11-12; 1Pt 1:14-16; Rom 6:19)

86. Sinners are not saved to sin, but rather, saved to holiness and good works.
(Rom 6:13; Eph 2:10; 2Pt 3:14)

87. Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the
sinner. (2Tim 2:19; 1Pt 4:17-18; 2Tim 3:12)

88. A baptism of holiness, a demonstration of godly living is the crying need
of our day. (1Tim 6:3; 2Ths 3:6; 2Ths 2:13)

89. Many are confused about obedience, and good works that are readily
mentioned in the Scriptures. (Tit 3:8; Jn 10:32; Rev 3:15)

90. Little emphasis is put on the plan of God to make us like Jesus Christ in
“churches”. (1Pt 1:14-16; 1Jn 2:6; 1Pt 4:1)

91. Christ did not die on the cross to obtain a worldly “church” but for a
“glorious Church.” (Eph 5:27; Tit 2:14; Col 4:12)

92. Christ does not come into an unregenerate and impure heart as many
contemporary theologians say. (2Cor 5:17; Mt 5:8; Eze 18:31)

93. A holy Church is God’s blessing to the world; an unholy “church” is God’s
judgment upon the world. (Mt 5:14,16; Eph 4:1; 1Ths 2:12)

94. If Christianity is to make any headway in the present time, it must be
proved to be more than a theory. (2Ths 3:6-7; 1Ths 4:1,11-12)

95. Unbelief has gagged and bound us as risen Lazarus! We need release in this
final hour! (Heb 3:12-14; 1Cor 3:21-23; Heb 11:6)

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