New Church Leadership

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No Service Tomorrow

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Do to the severe weather and significant power outages, we will not have service tomorrow, Sept 16. Please help spread the word and stay safe.

“Yo Mama!”

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The Third commandment: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember the days of “Your Mama” jokes? Yo mama’s so stupid…She stared at a cup of orange juice for 12 hours because it said “concentrate.” Yo mama’s so ugly…She threw a boomerang and it refused to come back. Yo mama’s so fat…When she fell I didn’t laugh, but the sidewalk cracked up. Yo mama’s so poor…The ducks throw bread at her.

Used to be, and more than likely it still is, when anyone denigrates the reputations of our mothers it’s prone to send us into a blind rage. But why? Because our mothers are sacred to us. Because when anyone smears, or disgraces the memories and fond feelings we have towards our mothers they are dishonoring us. Thus we fly into a rage to defend the honor of our mothers while it’s our dishonor we are concerned about.

The third commandment speaks of dishonoring the Name of God by using it in vain. Yet what does King David imply? Isaiah 1:13 says it best: Bring no more offerings of vanity (emptiness, falsity, vainglory, and futility); [your hollow offering of] incense is an abomination to Me; the New Moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure—[it is] iniquity and profanation, even the solemn meeting. Vain use of God is comparable to the vain use of God’s Name. We are using it in emptiness, without depth of meaning or honor.

Psalm 24:3-6 echoes this idea and adds one more: Who shall go up into the mountain of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted himself up to falsehood or to what is false, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation [description] of those who seek Him [who inquire of and for Him and of necessity require Him], who seek Your face, [O God of] Jacob. Selah [pause, and think of that]! 

Those who aren’t seeking God to know, or to draw near to Him, are simply deceiving themselves. Like rubbing a magic lamp for a genie to grant us three wishes many times church goers “rub the lamp” through invoking God’s Name in prayer while their hearts are from Him. They are speaking falsehood as in when we mumble through, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be one.” Truth be known we don’t want His Kingdom for with it comes the King who requires dominion. The Bible states that in the final and last day of satan’s earthly kingdom every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is LORD! (Php. 2:10-11) Satan and his demons will be bowing, and confessing that Jesus is Lord. But you can rest assured it will not be out of love, adoration and worship.

When you see this commandment in light of their various nuanced meanings you see clearly just how guilty we all are. Sad to say but we have honored the memories of our mothers, guarding their reputations, more than God’s. May God forgive us for our casual approach to His Name and honor. Have mercy on us all.

Blinding Investments

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Pastor Chuck Smith: Life exists on two planes: the vertical and the horizontal. The vertical axis on which your life revolves is your relationship with God. The horizontal is your relationship with others. There is a fixed center point so that if the vertical axis is out of line, your life is doomed to become topsy turvy. People are always seeking to find the balance. Get the vertical axis correct, and the horizontal will automatically balance out. That is why it is significant that in the giving of the law, the first four commandments have to do with your relationship with God.

During these 10 Days of Awe it is important to examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and Spirit. The second commandment states: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; Exodus 20:4 

Very few Americans are in the practice of carving for themselves idols. In fact very few Americans are in the business of carving anything. What is similar is the process of making an idol and the lifestyles we live today. For someone to make an idol they had to pay a price, or make an investment. Whether they had to exert the effort to find a tree to chop down, sand, and carve, OR whether they made the idol out of some precious metal the results were determined by the investment. What do we invest in today? Investing involves putting money, time, effort, etc. in order to get an advantage. Very few invest in what really matters like their marriage, or their children. But we will invest in houses, cars, material possessions, education, jobs, cultural status, entertainment, outward appearances, keeping up with the Jone’s, drugs or alcohol, religion, sports, exercise, and animals. All of which are not bad in and of themselves but when these things become who we are, what we trust in, and center our lives around – then you’ve crossed the line into a form of self-destruction. Not only are you destroying your life but the lives of those you love.

You maybe surprised that I included religion in the list of investments. But remember religion with out a relationship with Jesus is what crucified Jesus. Religion is what resulted when Adam and Eve chose to be God; when they chose to reject God’s Word for satan’s lie. That agreement became an allegiance that resulted in their spiritual death. Remember Jesus stated: It is the Spirit Who gives life [He is the Life-giver]; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever [there is no profit in it]. The words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life. John 6:63

Only the Holy Spirit can breathe life into God’s Words. Divorced or separated from God’s Spirit they simply become another idol, and some Christians and church goers worship it rather than knowing God through His Word. The Pharisees knew God’s Word better than anybody but Jesus called them “sons of hell.”

Romans 8:5-8 states: For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the [Holy] Spirit. Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.

The balance between the vertical and horizontal is achieved when we get the vertical in order. When we place God first the other will be taken care of. Notice in the passage above that those who set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh are dead spiritually and the passage states that they hate God. On the other hand those who are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things which gratify the Holy Spirit.

Today I was talking with Brayden Poovey and he mentioned the difference between Mormons and Christians. He observed that the Mormons seemed happier and more appealing than the Christians. We bounced around ideas as to why this was so. Ultimately we tracked it down to the Romans 8:5-8 passage. Christians and church goers settle for religion. Mormons are ignorant of the Truth and as the old adage states: Ignorance is bliss. Paul stated that knowledge puffs up. (1 Cor. 8:1) This is evident in Pharisaism and exemplified in American Christianity Sunday after Sunday. In Colossians 2:1 Paul states that he is deeply concerned for the Colossians and Laodiceans. Why? See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah). Col. 2:8

Four things: philosophy, intellectualism, vain deceit, and human tradition – were what caused Paul to be concerned. Why? Because these investments were causing them to drift away from knowing Jesus. Thirty years later the results of their choices are sobering and all too familiar with the modern day church: Revelation 3:14-17 And to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the trusty and faithful and true Witness, the Origin and Beginning and Author of God’s creation: I know your [record of] works and what you are doing; you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth! For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize and understand that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

The consequences and results were catastrophic. They had become lukewarm in their passion towards Jesus; they made Jesus sick; they were poor in the things of the Spirit; spiritually blind; and spiritually naked – and they didn’t know it. The final disaster? Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me.

They were having their traditional, intellectual pursuits while leaving Jesus out of their worship. They were so blind spiritually that they didn’t even notice that Jesus wasn’t even in church. Worse than their blindness they had quit hearing the “still, small Voice of the Spirit.” Tradition and intellectualism had made them spiritually dull unable to hear and recognize Jesus’ Voice.

Are there any graven images, and investments that have cut you off from knowing Jesus? Now that is something we can all confess and repent of.

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

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There was an old song from the band Chicago Transit Authority back in 1969 titled, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” There’s a line in the lyrics that says: “People runnin’ everywhere, Don’t know where to go, Don’t know where I am, Can’t see past the next step, Don’t have time to think past the last mile, Have no time to look around, Just run around, run around and think why”

I bet if people from 1969 were to visit our world that they would think our life is a blur in comparison. Which begs the question, “Do you have time to know what time it is?” According to God – that is?

The Jewish new year began at sundown, Sunday night and went through sundown Tuesday night. Thus today marks a countdown in what the Jewish people called the “Days of Awe.” You may be tempted to ask, “What business does a Christian have with things that are Jewish?” Do you mean other than Jesus, the 12 Disciples, and the Bible? Obviously there are a whole lot of things we are already doing “business” with. Yet there is still one more thing that many Christians ignore because, mistakenly, they believe that it was done away with the Law. What in particular am I referring to? Why I am referring to God’s Calendar. God’s calendar is portrayed in His holy days. The holy days being Passover, Pentecost, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Hanukah.

IN the beginning God created time and you can rest assured that He intended that events on earth should reflect heavenly realities. The Apostle Paul stated that the events that God put on the Jewish calendar were to be to us as a tutor (Gal. 3:24). In fact he stated that they were a “shadow” of things that were to come or occur (Col. 2:16-17). In Lev. 23:2 God calls the feasts of Israel, His calendared items, His “appointed times.”

From today through sundown September 18 the Jewish people observe a time of fasting, confession of sin, and repentance. Thus you have ten days of seeking God through recognizing your sins, asking for forgiveness and grace to repent. It was more than a New Year’s resolution. It was to be a complete life change.

As I arose early this morning to pray and seek the Lord I pondered why there were 10 days. I wondered how many objects were used to worship God in the Tabernacle and I realized if you count the door (there was only one way in and out of the Tabernacle) that there were only 7. Wanting to ignore the obvious I kept hoping there was something that seemed deeper, but when it was all said and done I could only come up with the 10 Commandments. Then it hit me: “What if I took one commandment for each day, meditating on it, using it to prompt me in my confession?”

The first commandment is “You shall have no other gods before me.” That didn’t hit me that hard until the Spirit of God stirred up Jesus’ teaching on this matter. In Matt. 22:37-38 “And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.” When I lined my life up against that passage I realized I did have other “gods.” They were things that I loved more than God. Things I had given my whole heart, soul and mind to. Even as I type this I realize that there are some more sins I need to confess. Because even when something is good, like loving my wife or children, I can place them above God. I’ve had times in my life where I loved the martial arts, exercise, scuba diving, and entertainment more than I did God. Also when you think about it, “what is a god?” A god can be anything I place or put my trust in. In fact a god can be anything I serve. What we serve and trust above God, is a god.

God give us these calendared reminders because He knows we all have a tendency to drift off course, especially when our center isn’t His Word and Spirit but our selves. So I wanted to take this time to invite you to join me in seeking God, making an appointment to get on His calendar. Who knows what might happen. Jesus was born according to God’s calendar, crucified according to God’s calendar, raised from the dead on God’s calendar, and His Spirit was poured out on God’s calendar. Guess what else? He’s coming back on God’s calendar. Get on God’s calendar and possibly while you are participating Jesus will show up and you will experience Him in ways you never imagined.