DONTHEARINCHURCH

What you don’t hear in Church - 2022

Many preachers are forced in today’s feel-good culture to stay clear of topics like Heaven, Hell, the Trinity, Holy Spirit, and demons since people don’t want to hear about things that make them feel uncomfortable or are not crystal clear. Their attendance might go down or people would even complain about the topics. People want to feel good about going to church… when walking in and even better when walking out. Churches are of the utmost importance, but only when people are ready to share the good news outside the walls .. rather than hide within them. Hopefully, each month will open your mind and make you want to explore the less talked about topics that are key to each person's future with Christ.

The truth in this world is no longer something easily obtained….. it’s been hidden beneath the rubble…. you’re going to have to work to find it. These writing will be longer with more scripture included. Always feel free to reach out to discuss.

2 Timothy 2:3, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.”

Is the Wait Too Much? - December

It is hard to believe it’s the end of another year. 2022 writings were disappointing to think about how society has painted our churches/preachers into a corner in order to walk the fine line between sharing the gospel without offending anyone and collecting enough to pay the bills. It was worth sharing many topics that are rarely talked about. 2023 theme has not become clear to me yet…. hopefully soon.

To wrap up the year, it is the flesh vs. spirit topic. This is tippy toed around in many sermons… without digging into what and why. I am really going to try and be short this month on the writing and leave you with more to think about as a new year is upon us. Everything God does is good, regardless of our opinion. In a fallen and spiraling world, suffering is a steady constant while we battle our tendencies to be for ourselves and against others. Sin is when you suffer for doing wrong. Suffering for doing right hurts on earth, but it is written that our rewards are in heaven. To put this in worldly terms, we must strive to love more while we suffer on this earth… because our faith is strong enough to believe that our God in Heaven will reward us for our love and suffering for him…. by showing us a level of love we can’t even imagine when we get to heaven.

Please take some time to think about this year, how you can love more… and less of everything else. I know it is hard… almost everything in society right now is done to create conflicts and have us be against each other. Being a good Christian is about suffering through a world that wants you to lash out, hurt others and glow in self-admiration when you have success. It hurts to fight your tendencies and society.. it is no doubt part of the suffering that Paul, James, Peter and other disciples/apostles wrote about 2,000 years ago.

1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Peace be with you… with your thoughts and actions as we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:3-5
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

The World Hates YOu - November

What an ugly thing to tell someone that you hate them, right? What did you do to deserve that?

John 15:18-19 - read the scripture on the side.

If you’re a Christian, the world either hates you now or it will later.

Why?
1st: Let’s be of this world and give an answer anyone can understand. Because we strive to not sin, we preach against the very things that most people do one or more of: lie, cheat, steal, gossip, be jealous, be lazy… don’t be generous and more. People do not like to be told they are doing something wrong; that is human nature. They feel judged. Preaching is not judging, but they feel that way regardless.

2nd: Christians do the very things we preach against. Hypocritical behavior deserves some backlash, but it should sharpen our skills and we must continue to try and help those who are against us.

3rd: Because you believe that Jesus/Christ died for your sins as all people are not worthy of Heaven, that Christ was resurrected and that he will return to judge all people, and it is completely your choice to believe in Jesus or not. Jesus came to save everyone from their sins, and he is the only way to Heaven. This just does not sit well with people of any other faith. Other faiths either don’t allow everyone to join or they make it all about actions (how much good or bad you have done) that determines your fate. They just do not want anyone telling them what to do…. or that you want to share Jesus with them. Basically, there are those that will hate you for your faith.

4th: Because true Christianity turns the world upside down. Christianity asks that you put God above power, money, wealth, control, family, friends, sports… and the list goes on. It asks you to be a servant/slave to God’s way.
5th: Because the Holy Spirit allows Christians to see evil. Evil loves to hide and manipulate society/people. We are a threat to the evil powers that seek to rule the earth and all that lives in it.

The world is going to add more and more reasons to hate you….. if you can’t feel it in the U.S….. then you’re not paying attention. Once you accept Christ as your savior; you are no longer of this world and the world knows it.
This world is dying, it will put up a fight…. but the outcome was decided long ago. The pages in between now and the end will be written… as we approach times when Paul’s writings will very much feel like he is writing to us.
Read the Acts and the letters to the churches.

Keep your faith and try to help as many people as possible….. as the world will start to form an alliance against us.

John 15:18-19
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

Matthew 5:10-12
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

HELL is SO THAT - October

A preacher’s main job is to bring people to Christ by either sharing the great things about Christianity or showing why people should fear the Lord enough to not go to hell. The best preachers find a good mix of Heaven and hell to paint a picture people can understand in today’s strange times. They need to preach on Hell, SO THAT people will be clear about the choices they make. If you don’t get the information, how can you make a rational choice? A quote with many authors taking credit…”The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. This is a very old quote, but it shows for how long people have misunderstood the choices before them.

Everything on earth that lives, will eventually die. The question is where we go after that? I’ve already wrote a good bit about Heaven this year. So, what is hell? Oh no, a touchy subject…… most have probably shifted over to tik-tok or facebook…… mindless and easy to get a participation trophy. For those of you that want to stay…. he who has eyes, let them read what the Bible is sharing with you.

Everyone on earth will go through this:

Born with an everlasting soul and given grace (not earned) by God
Allowed to choose if you believe in Jesus or not
The TEST, Live life with God as the top priority or something else (your name will either be in the Book-of Life or not)
Physically die, when God is ready…. you will face judgement
Go to everlasting life in Heaven or eternal punishment

From Old and New Testament, the Bible describes hell:
lake of fire, sulfur, fiery furnace, weeping, gnashing of teeth, forever and ever.

Revelation 21:8
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Daniel 12:2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Matthew 13:50
And throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Revelation 20:15
And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Baptist, Methodist, Catholic…. other. No-one will escape the consequences or rewards of their earthly choices. Know God’s Word… act accordingly. You don’t have to dwell on the negative, but you must know it…. there will be many who will not repent without knowing the consequences.

Matthew 25:31- 46 explains it best… in Jesus’s own words.

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Cost of Vanity - September

Al Pacino played the Devil in The Devil’s Advocate in 1997. One of the quotes was “Vanity… Definitely, my favorite sin,” said the Devil. Definition: excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements and the less known meaning is the quality of being worthless or futile.

Peaching about this is certainly vanity (lol) that includes both definitions.... because everyone will take as much worthless admiration as they can get from others; it would be a somewhat humiliating and depressing sermon.

Solomon and Ecclesiastes are well known for the topic of vanity. Even with the reluctance to discuss vanity, the major point is a very important one… that unless the action taken is focused on bringing more people to believe in God… then in a spiritual sense, anything else is vanity.

Psalm 119:37
Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

Ecclesiastes 2:11
Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 5:10
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

So that is vanity, it is a very hard concept to grasp and use as a rule… that all things we do, should be focused on Jesus/God. To do this 100% of the time is not possible, but it is very important to understand that we should always try. Oh, but vanity does come with justice. The spiritual reward for a life of self-indulgence and the love of money/power/sex is Hell. Hell, another topic almost never preached about. I’ll include Luke's graphic account of the rich man, Lazarus and Abraham.

Revelation 21:8
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Jeremiah 17:10
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

As Christians, we must understand that our life is eternal and work towards those spiritual/eternal rewards. Rich or poor, beautiful or not, strong or weak…ALL IS VANITY. God’s grace has offered you a choice to believe in his son and the rest is also your choice to use whatever gifts God gave you to help save others. Those who can remove as much vanity as possible on earth will be rewarded in Heaven. God is simply looking to see where he sits on your list of priorities.

2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

The Rich Man and Lazarus – Luke 16:19-31
19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.[a] The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Matthew 25:21
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’

What Did You Expect? - August

We struggle every day with our expectations of others... and there are certainly many times when we make agreements (contracts) for employment/services/products that we should expect people/companies to complete their obligations.

The hardest situations for me are the ones where I have helped others in their time of need and I see them either not helping others or they have the opportunity to help me.. and choose not to. I also witness people who have been helped their whole life by others and simply refuse to help other people or treat others the way they have been treated. We will have relationships that give us more than we give, we will have equal relationships and then we will have those who only take and give us nothing. We have to remember that this is not our right to deliver judgement on these people; God will deliver judgement (good and bad) in his own time. I need to write less and provide more scripture for us to think about. Jesus was seeing a lot of this and used parables to try and teach people and his disciples lessons about what is to come.

Jesus knows how many times we need to be forgiven to enter the kingdom of Heaven…. and he wants us to understand how we need to give forgiveness/help others with our time/money to those in need…. without expectation of something in return and he also wants us to understand that God’s fair is very different from what we consider fair. I will leave you with these 3 parables to think about and hopefully we can come to terms with people that do us and others wrong in a way where we can forgive and not hold a grudge in our heart. It was hard to understand then and it is hard to understand now. I’ll be praying for you to be on the better end on all this.

Matthew 18:21-35
21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Luke 6:32-36
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 15:11-31
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Within the Cage - July

Where is the most opportunity to spread the Gospel around the world? Nope, it is not the world’s churches… not even close. It is not one or multiple countries.

It is the private sector workplaces around the world. Where people work with 10s, 100s and 10,000s of co-workers, vendors and customers/clients...each of them have parents, spouses and many have families. They are hired and paid to communicate. It is up to each individual to choose if they share their faith in these environments. It is the Holy Grail of opportunity to share the light in a dark place.

What stands in the way?
The United States has a small % of companies that promote God, but in most you can lose your job for witnessing to anyone while working. Many countries, people risk their life and health to even be a Christian. Some countries are in between.

Working for these small, medium to large businesses … you are “within the cage”. The US still has the most opportunity, but when is the last time you heard about any church fighting for the right to have prayer and pledge of allegiance in schools, ten commandments displayed anywhere and the right for its members to freely share the gospel in the workplace? I can remember the 80s.. we still held tight to it… we lost it somewhere in the 90s. It takes 1 person who feels discriminated against to cost a company millions, so the companies have put in policies to be able to limit these situations. Within the cage, you no longer have the freedom of speech and you no longer have freedom of religion. Money and power has been moving from the churches and non-profits to for-profit businesses for a long time now. Jobs are consolidating around larger cities, more big business jobs and less small businesses. Less farm jobs and more cubicles. The more people in the cages, the easier they are to control.

The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The weeds (evil) are interconnected in all our lives; we will have to learn how to navigate evil to share the word of God. Christianity (wheat) is feared by the weeds; the weeds seek to control, overpower the growth of other plants… especially the wheat.

Our Challenge: You must find creative ways to share your faith in the workplace.

Be positive, find ways to help others and smile!
Work these words into the conversation: blessed, light, saved, faith, small group, church family
Utilize lunch and breaks to get to know people; this is where you’ll find out how to help them
Ask HR or management if you can use a conference room to host a voluntary bible study (it has happened at some pretty big named companies)

BE READY, if you do this…. they will ask you…. and you can openly share your story of faith. I understand, you might eventually lose your job…. but if you helped save people’s spiritual lives… consider it an honor. Paul had to be very creative when dealing with the Romans and Jews; his letters are filled with effective brilliance. Study the letters to the churches. Let’s bring some of that brilliance to the workplace.

Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Luke 6:32-36
32 If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Modern Day Sacrifices - June

It's the simplest of things in our times… but the hardest for people to realize what is at stake. Put yourself first on earth, you’ll be last in Heaven.

So many people are focused on nothing but themselves… they look in the mirror (or phone) at their god… totally lost without knowing it. The sacrifice is real, you must lower yourself and raise up others. It hurts, it’s frustrating, it goes against people’s nature to serve rather than rule, but it is what Jesus is asking of you… SO THAT, you can have Heavenly treasures. It does not mean you must give up earthly success; some of the best leaders operate as servants and not a harsh ruler. It works. Can you imagine a world where most people were looking to put someone else first?

Luke 9:46-48
An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

So, what does that mean for 2022?

First and foremost, kneel and accept Jesus as your savior
Social status, money, belongings, job, sports, hobbies, alcohol, your looks… all important, but CAN’T be more important than Jesus
Family, especially YOU, can’t be more important than Jesus!
HELP SOMEONE, find where your heart is… and go help. If you can’t figure it out, reach out and let’s talk about all the places that need help.
Deepen your faith by reading the New Testament and understanding how Jesus gave everything for you… and wants to be your example for how you treat others

Old Testament
History of sacrifices….The Old Testament is filled with the God required sacrifices that were needed for individuals, leaders and the nation of Israel to be cleansed of sin. That was the requirements given to Moses and millions of animals were sacrificed to take the place of sin. There were specific animals and processes for types of sacrifices/offerings. This was all legit, and when Israel’s leaders and priests kept the country in line with all the Lord’s obligations…. life was pretty good. There were many generations that forgot about these requirements and focused more on what individuals wanted… not caring if they sinned or not. This always led to times that included things like… oppression of the poor, wars, uprisings for power, famine, diseases and other confusing/frustrating issues for Israel. Sound familiar?

New Testament
It is not really good to preach about sacrifices of old times… it would be considered horrific to slaughter animals, throw blood everywhere on a daily basis. For the New Testament, we get around saying the word “sacrifice” … and just say that Jesus died for our sins. In reality, he was the sacrifice that was put in place for Israel AND amazingly, everyone else. The requirements were simplified to no more animal sacrifices, no more long rituals …. the basic Mosaic laws (10 commandments) stood with the Option to believe in Jesus and to focus your life on his example. Jesus lived when political and religious leaders were high on rituals and gaining power…. rather than true faith and righteousness. Sound familiar?

The saying, “It’s Not About You” could not be more true today…. the less you make life about you and more about helping others….. is exactly what Jesus was all about… he lived it, preached it and was killed for it. It is much easier to do things for yourself…. I never said helping others was easy. The more we help others; the easier it is to appreciate how Jesus lived his life. Sacrifice… love….hurt.....learn….. repeat, grow in your faith… your eyes will be opened to light you never noticed. Then you will share the light.

Matthew 5:17-20
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

John 15:12-14
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Romans 13:1-7
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Romans 13:8-10
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Explaining The Trinity - May

This is a tough ask for any preacher to try and explain during a sermon; it was hard even for the disciples that were with Jesus and received the Holy Spirit to understand. The Trinity is just another way of saying that God is love. If it becomes too difficult to understand, then just stick with God is love. But it is much deeper than that to show within the unity of God’s love, a beloved (his only Son), and shared love (his spirit). This is precisely what we mean when we speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I got some of this from Bishop Robert Baron’s (Word on Fire) daily e-mails… I’m not Catholic, but he is really good.

The Father and I are one.
Jesus declared that “the Father and I are one.” Jesus appeared two thousand years ago and announced that he had been sent by the Father. There was a strange “something more” regarding Jesus, for he spoke and acted in the very person of God. The first Christians had to come to grips with this strange duality: somehow Jesus was Son of God, both sent and divine. He was other than the Father, but somehow at the same level as the Father.

Holy Spirit
Things got more complicated when the Holy Spirit came upon them. There seemed to be a Father (the one who sent Jesus), a Son (the one who was both sent and God), and a Holy Spirit (the divine one whom both the Father and Son had sent). Three, but yet all the one God of Israel. We invoke the Trinity when we make the sign of the cross. This relationship of Trinity and cross is by no means accidental. For the cross is the moment when the unity of the three divine persons is on most vivid display. An easier way to look at it: The Holy Spirit is the love that connects the Father and the Son. From all eternity, he is breathed back and forth between the Father and the Son, and hence he is nothing but love. When therefore he comes to dwell in you and me, he turns us to the path of love. John 14:20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

The Bible is pretty clear on what the Holy Spirit is and what it is not. Galations 5:19-26, 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Our goal should be to stay in the spirit as often as possible. Sin will drive the spirit away, so pray often for help from the Holy Spirit and listen for direction.

John 10:25-30
25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 15:26
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

You Ain't Right - April

People want to be comfortable. Comfortable people don’t make changes, it takes feeling uncomfortable to create a change in animals and humans. The whole point of this writing is to tell you that God is in control and he will do things to wake us up. It is good and right because God is good and right…. it matters very little what our opinion is on the topic. In fact, it is because we think our opinion matters that got us away from God in the first place.

Earthly minded people feel comfortable due to power, money, homes, possessions, like-minded people and mainly feeling in control. These are physical/mental idols that take the place of God. Heavenly minded people are focused on loving their family and neighbors (helping others, sharing God’s word, praying). They keep focused on God and his commandments. Many people are only focused on themselves, a few focus mostly on being spiritual… but most of us are bouncing back and forth from trying to be Heavenly while dealing with the earthly pressures day to day.

It makes perfect sense why preachers would not ridicule their congregation to explain all that is wrong with them. There is not a perfect person in any church. That would make it uncomfortable…only a few would still go to church in our times. The Baptist preachers of my youth that explained hell and what we deserved, whom I thought were pretty harsh… are making a lot more sense these days. 40 years has moved us to some watered down, feel-good version of the truth.

As we move farther away from God, there will be more hatred, violence, conflict and just people doing things that don’t make any sense to most people.

God has always sent judges and leaders to bring his people back to him after very hard times where people start seeking the Lord again. If it is not already happening…. it won’t be very long. Our countries leaders, policies, actions and rhetoric are more anti-God than pro-God. Never thought I would see that.

The punch is going to hurt…. we are the most technology, air/heat, clean water bunch of people that have ever lived on planet earth. My granddad would have said we are a bunch of pansies. There are levels of sin that God will tolerate and when it reaches a certain point, he acts. It’s been around 80-90 years since our country was a strong Christian/Jewish nation and we were abundantly blessed because of the faith of our leaders and country. Times have changed, people have changed, God has not changed one bit.

Hopefully you can seek Jesus if you have not already and maybe help a few others to join you….. there will not be anything other than your relationship with God/Jesus and prayer that is going to help when God is ready for all the people looking down at their iPhones to look up again. I’ll leave you with some scripture to read and think about.

Deuteronomy 28 is about as clear and vivid as Moses was able to make it. I think he would be pleading with our One Nation under God today just like he was begging Israel to keep God’s commandments. Just a few verses are provided, but please go read the chapter. It will take less than 5 minutes.

Deuteronomy 28:1
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth".

Deuteronomy 28:15
"However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you"

Romans 1:18-23
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

Genesis 6:5-7
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Wars, Angels and Demons - March

Without spiritual leaders and revival back to the Lord, the United States will continue where our leaders are taking it. Almost all the Congress has been paid off (bought) by global companies linked to money around the world. The more power they seek for themselves, the more they remove God from the conversation.. our country will continue to decline quickly.

Wars
Wars are mentioned in the Bible over 200+ times. I have friends that struggle with the fact that God uses wars for his purposes. I hear them say “the God I know only does good” and he can’t possibly do bad things. I like the way they think, but it is a matter of perspective. Here is my perspective: We (society) have put things into categories that are good and bad. Shame on us that we think we can put God into a category and think that a corrupt society has similar rules or standards. The Old Testament is clear that God used Israel to destroy other civilizations that had reached a certain amount of sin and he used other countries/kings to make war on Israel when their sins were too great. The recurring theme is to have One Lord and follow his commandments or life gets pretty hard. God’s “good” or “bad” is not going to relate to our earthly thinking; for what is the demise of a sinful country if it begins the rise of a great faithful nation? Have you read the Bible? It is clear that it says God’s ways are fair, not what people think is fair. The arrival of Jesus certainly added the possibility for anyone to be saved, but he also said the first and most important commandment was to love the Lord with all your heart. There will be rumors of wars and wars on this fallen earth until Jesus returns.
Matthew 24:6-7
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Good Angels
Best book I’ve found on Angels is Dr. David Jeremiah – Angels. Angels are mentioned 273 times in 34 chapters of the Bible the best I can tell. They were created in the beginning (same time as Heaven and earth) by God.  Daniel 7:10 is the earliest reference to how many and then later Revelation 5:11 references a large number of good angles that their purpose is to service the Lord. My opinion is that they are more involved in our lives than we know… mostly in a dimension we are not aware of unless God permits it in rare cases. In the Lord’s service, they worship, fight evil, deliver messages and cheer for human souls that are saved. There is a reference in Matthew that each person has guardian angels.

The Angel of the Lord
In the Old Testament, there are many references that would lead people to believe that Jesus was the Angel of the Lord. After Jesus’s birth, the mentions of the Angel of the Lord end.
Research it for yourself, but very interesting the verses and how this takes place. Start with Exodus 3:2-6, Moses and the burning bush.

Dark Angels (demons, evil spirits)
We only know that the angels are numerous and not really sure how many were sent to earth with Satan. Satan was a very powerful angel in heaven until his pride was too much and he rebelled against the Lord.

I don’t get hung up with demons, evil spirits, ghosts … if they are evil, then they came from Satan. What I do know is that these beings were in Heaven, they know exactly who Jesus is and the plans that were put into place. They are way more knowledgeable about the Lord/Jesus/Holy Spirit than most humans will ever be… and they use that to twist and turn people, families, societies, churches, countries and the earth to see other gods/idols than focus on the Lord. Don't be confused or wonder what you see/hear. People will be known by their deeds/fruit (actions and not what is spoken). Actions will tell the difference between good and evil.

James 2:18-20
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

War
Ecclesiastes 3:8
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Good Angels
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

Daniel 7:10
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Revelation 5:11
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

Matthew 18:10
10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

2 Kings 6:17
Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Angel of the Lord
Exodus 3:2 and 5
2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Dark Angels
Revelation 12:7-9
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Matthew 12:43-45
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

Future Heaven - February

We know less about the current Heaven than we do the future Heaven. There is very specific information in the verses that I will include. Notice the exact dimensions given... and the height of the new city! I guess it’s just too far out there to preach about and still too many unanswered questions.

This is exciting stuff…. it’s completing a few circles of life. God and man were together in the beginning on earth and Jesus came to the earth with a promise to come back. These two things will be combined when the new earth and new Heaven arrive. Also, like when people accept Christ.. they are cleansed from their sins. There will also be a cleansing and modification of people, earth and Heaven as it moves to its future setup. All things will finally be as they were meant to be when God created a world without sin. There is not much more to say…. Read Revelations 21 and 22, learn and seek understanding. Fairly short and simple book by NT Wright, called Revelation for Everyone is also helpful.

Revelation 21:1-5
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:15-17
The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height. And he measured its wall to be 144 cubits, by the human measure the angel was using.

Revelation 21:22-27
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

Revelation 22:1-5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Today’s Heaven - January

If you don’t believe that the Bible holds the answers, might as well stop reading now and come back when you do. The topic is not preached upon often because there are a number of solid facts, but not all has been shared with us… certainly on purpose. You can’t take parts of the Bible that you like and ignore the parts that we do not agree with. Luckily, our Savior does not dismiss us when we do things he does not agree with. Please keep in mind that in the beginning, God was with man (Adam and Eve) in an earthly but also heavenly environment. Man ruined that… no longer was the earth heavenly.
It will be again one day. Until then, they were divided into a present-day Heaven and earth. Most people don’t have a clue that there was a past, present and will be a future Heaven. Best books on this subject are Heaven by Randy Alcorn (long, deep and well written) and Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo (short, easy and also well written) cause it’s hard to argue with a 4 year old.

Hopefully you want to dig deep into this, but here are some facts:

Heaven is real, John gives us an amazing description in some detail – Revelation 4
Just like the earth, it is a temporary Heaven
Like earth, evil forces are in Heaven (the fight for our souls continues just above us) – Revelation 12
Some people are in heaven, they can speak, they can be recognized, and they are waiting (not sure in what form) – Revelation 6
The rest are waiting on earth for the judgement (dead and alive), the current Heaven will be where that takes place – Revelation 20
There are some rough events on the way for both present Heaven and earth, Revelations 5 through 20.
It all must happen to make way for the New Heaven and earth…. Next month's topic.

The point of this writing is not to have all the answers, it is an invitation for you to look deeper into what you feel the Bible is telling you. I can tell you exactly what happens when you die….. you and every person since creation are waiting on Jesus. If you have taken Jesus as your savior and focused your heart on him….. he died for your sins…you, my friend… will be part of the present-day Heaven transition team to the new Heaven and earth. If you have not taken Jesus as your savior…. please dig in and consider it. There is not one person on earth or angel in Heaven that can tell you the timing of these transition events.

I’ll leave you with scripture below and on the side that sheds some light on things…..we would love to take these writings of Luke as to what happens every time…. but again, it is just unclear if certain people get a direct pass to wait in present Heaven or wait on earth.
For sure, all are waiting on Jesus. It seems Moses and Elijah got a special pass… I hope so. I hope a lot of people get a special pass and can wait in Heaven rather than on earth. I think all of us should hope to love our neighbors enough to get that special pass.

Revelation 4
4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
    who was and is and is to come!”
9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 6: 9-11
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

Revelation 12: 7-9
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 20: 11-15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Luke 9: 28-31
28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

Luke 23: 39-43
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”