As I have pondered on the ministry, a thought occurred to me. . .What if each member of a local church approached the ministry as fans do ball games?

Each week, during the Fall, untold thousands of fans pour into the stadiums of their favorite teams.  They pay a ghastly amount of money for an advanced ticket.  They spend large amounts of funds to finance their trip to the game.  They may rent a motel room the night before, buy a lot of food for “tail-gating” purposes, fuel for the vehicle, etc.  They have spent money on their team’s merchandising (hats, pennants, flags, decals, etc).

These well-financed fans arrive a couple of hours early, in order to get the best parking and seating.  They pay a fee to park their car at the stadium.  Stand in long lines to enter the stadium.  Then, joyfully sit in the stadium seating for several hours.

As game time approaches, their heart races in anticipation of the “kick-off.”  Then, the participation begins!  The shouts, the yells, the cheering of their team players.  In a packed stadium, the adrenalin levels are at all-time highs!  When a quarterback throws an interception, (more…)

It is not my normal practice to post a lengthy excerpt from another man’s writing.  However, I recently read the book “Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream,” by David Platt.  It is an incredible book that would challenge any believer in the realm of evangelism and world missions.  As with any book, there are parts that may be discussed and/or debated.  However, the thesis is well-stated.

In chapter four of the book, Platt deals with the subject of “The Great Why of God.”  Here is a excerpt that is worth reading. . .

____Begin Excerpt____

If you were to ask the average Christian sitting in a worship service on Sunday morning to summarize the message of Christianity, you would most likely hear something along the lines of “The message of Christianity is that God loves me.”  Or someone might say, “The message of Christianity is that God loves me enough to send his Son, Jesus, to die for me.”

As wonderful as this sentiment sounds, is it biblical?  Isn’t it incomplete, based on what we have seen in the Bible?  ”God loves me” is not the essence of biblical Christianity.  Because if “God loves me” is the message of Christianity, then who is the object of Christianity?

God loves me.
Me.
Christianity’s object is me.

Therefore, when I look for a church, I look for the music that best fits me and the programs that best cater to me and my family.  When I make plans for my life and career, it is about what works best for me and my family.  When I consider the house I will live in, the car I will drive, the clothes I will wear, the way I will live, I will choose according to what is best for me.  This is the version of Christianity that largely prevails in our culture.

But it is not biblical Christianity.

The message of biblical Christianity is not “God love me, period,” as if we were the object of our own faith.  The message of biblical Christianity is “God loves me so that I might make Him ––His ways, His salvation, His glory, and His greatness–– known among all nations.”  Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around Him.  We are not the end of the gospel; God is.

____End Excerpt____

Now that is powerful!

A. W. Tozer

Back in the 1970’s I can remember many preachers thundering in their pulpits about the dangers of the “Deeper Life” movement.  They declared it to be at odds with the spirit of soul-winning and evangelism.  Yet, the preponderance of the lack of any depth of modern-day believers has become the present strangler of soul-winning.  As with any theological point, it is easy to “go to seed” and miss other important issues.

In his book The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer addresses the problem that is produced by those who fail to have depth in their walk with the Lord.  He writes. . .

“We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God.  We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar.  The tragic results of this spirit are all about us.  Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit: These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul.”  [A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Harrisburg, PA:  Christian Publications, 1948) pp. 69-70]

Since this classic book was written in 1948, and what Tozer saw the church of his day, what would Tozer think of much of the church of our day?  Although Tozer has passed away, what about the One who will never pass away?  How does God view His church today?  He yearns for intimate fellowship with His people.  Do we have the same yearning for Him?

“None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”

(Proverbs 2:19)

On the second of October, as I read my Proverb for the day, I came to the passage of Proverbs 2:16-19.  Although I have read this portion of the Scriptures countless times, the first phrase of verse 19 leapt off of the page at me.  “None that go unto her return again. . . .ˆ” This is a strongly disconcerting thought.  It is disconcerting because of the untold thousands of men who have been swept to their eternal doom and damnation because of the “strange” woman.

This reminds me of some of the old scary movies.  In those moves, there would be an entrance way marked with a sign that would say something akin to, “Beware all ye who would enter it, for none dare ever return again.”  Yet, for some reason, those in the movie always felt compelled to enter in.  Of course, the hero or heroine of the movie would prove the dire warning to be untrue, for the would emerge victorious at the end of the movie.

Likewise, there are many today who count the warning of Scripture to be nothing more than a scare tactic of God, to keep man from his fun.  Oh, how wrong they are!  The entrance ramp to the highway of promiscuity is clearly marked with this warning sign. . .”None that go unto her return again” (emphasis added).  “None.”  It did not say “few,” or “not many.”  It said “None.”

As I begin to walk through the corridors of my hall of memory, I can recall the names of men who have disregarded this solemn warning.  These are men who have given themselves to the pleasures of brief moments of satisfaction.  They have been lured by the charm of the “strange woman” with her flattering lips (Proverbs 2:16; 7:21), fancy lips (Proverbs 7:13), and fluttering eyes (Proverbs 6:25).  They are deceived by her outward beauty (Proverbs 6:25).  Yet, the Word of God is plain.  Her house is the house of death (Proverbs 2:18), her ways lead to death (Proverbs 2:18; 7:27).  These men have blindly followed her path and have given their soul to that which will damn for all eternity.

This “strange” woman is not a woman of peculiar looks, or worldly actions.  Rather, the term “strange” implies a “woman not belonging to you.”  In other words, men are destroyed because they fail to permit God to give them the woman of His choice.  They are not satisfied with the plan of God.  They are not content to give themselves to chastity and holiness.  Rather, they acquiesce to the desires of the flesh, and seek fulfillment in the fleeting pleasures of the immoral lifestyle.

Thus, men willingly risk their eternal souls when they “go unto her.”  They enter into a one-way avenue that, according to the verse” has no return lane.  The latter part of the verse provides an equally disturbing thought. . .”neither take they hold of the paths of life.”  Here is seen a cause and effect relationship.  A man cannot pursue lustful fulfillment and walk in the path of life at the same time.  They are mutually exclusive.  Once men “go unto her,” they lose all desire and/or ability to “take hold” of the “paths of life.”   The Hebrew word translated “paths” communicates more than simply direction.  It speaks of the “manner of life.”  It is impossible to live two lifestyles.

Therefore, men must deliberately and carefully chose their ways.  The choices are two. . .”go unto her” or chose the “paths of life.”  Right or wrong. . .Spiritual or carnal. . .Eternal or temporal.

Where is the power of the modern-day church?  Why are souls not being saved?  Why are churches being splintered by pettiness and carnality?  Could it be that the majority of professing believers have never truly been born again?

The day in which we live is a day when conviction has been replaced by pragmatism.  Biblical truths have been exchanged for societal fables (cf. II Timothy 4:4).  Conversions have been declared, even when there has been no conviction.  The demand for conviction does not counteract the fact that salvation is by faith alone.  However, why would a person place their trust in Christ, without being convicted that they were wrong in their prior belief?  Thus, saving faith is always preceded by conviction.  As someone has said, without conviction. . .there is no conversion.

When genuine conversion takes place, there will be evidence of that conversion.  There will be a changed life (II Corinthians 5:17).  Yet, so many today claim to have trusted Christ, and there is no changing of their lives.  There is no forsaking of known sin, there is no desire to walk with God, there is no hunger for the things of God.  Such a profession is foreign to genuine, biblical conversion.  A.W. Tozer, in his book The Pursuit of God, summarizes this issues very well.  He writes. . .

The doctrine of justification by faith–a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort–has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God.  The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless.  Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego.  Christ may be “received” without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver.  The man is “saved,” but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God.  In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.

How tragic and true!  May our churches return to preaching the Gospel that convicts and coverts a man!

The following poem was authored by Greg Locke. Brother Locke was a full-time evangelist for ten years. Approximately two years ago he planted the Global Vision Baptist Church in Nashville, TN.

Troubles

My troubles have come,
My troubles have gone,
And more trouble is on the way.
One thing’s for sure,
My troubles endure,
For my trouble will meet me today.
So often I’ve tried,
Just simply to hide;
My face from it’s long gazing stare.
Yet, running my best,
From the East to the West,
I find that my troubles still there.
From dusk until dawn,
My troubles roll on,
And it seems that my troubles won’t end.
But, then as I look,
In the Word of God’s Book;
I find there,
That troubles’ my friend.

Evangelist Greg Locke
©2006

Luke 23:12 – “And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.”

Two men. . .Rulers. . .Enemies. . .Now friends because of one common enemy.  Herod and Pilate were two men that, prior to this dark night, had been mutually incompatible.  Pilate was a Roman.  Herod was not.  Pilate was natural-born subject of the Roman Empire.  Herod was a paid pawn of the Empire.  Herod was the authority over the Galilean state and a practitioner of Judaism.  Pilate had trampled that authority by mingling the the blood of Galileans with the sacrifices (Lk. 13:1), which was also a mockery to the Jew’s religion.  Thus, there was nothing by which these two opposing forces should become friends.

Yet, as it has been said, “The hatred of godliness binds the wicked together.”  Luke reveals that the common enemy of these two fiends is the very force that bound them together as friends.

How true it is.  Even in our world today, there are those who have nothing in common. . .except that they have the same enemy.  This commonality binds those together who have eluded one another in prior days.  A common enemy will yolk those together who, at one time, thought each other to be liars and deceivers.  A common enemy provides the rallying point for those who equally despise that which is holy and right.  Thus, we see the bonding of a royal friendship with Herod and Pilate.  Together, these two unlikely friends took part in the most egregious act of treachery ever known to man.  They fully demonstrated the truth of Paul’s words in First Corinthians 15:33, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”  The wrong friends always lead to the wrong actions (cf. II Sam. 13:1-5, Amnon & Jonadab).

Sadly, the One they mutually despised, could have become the greatest friend they had ever known.  They heard Jesus speak, but they did not believe the truth of what He spoke.  Pilate knew the innocence of Christ (Lk. 23:4), but his loyalty to his worldly friends sealed his dislike for the innocent One who stood before him.  Herod viewed Jesus as an entertainer (Lk. 23:8) and, when Christ failed his expectations, he too forged a hatred for the One who is Love.

We must ask ourselves. . .Is the commonness that I have with my friends based upon a mutual dislike?  Or, is our commonness based upon that which David based his friendships.  He wrote, “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts” (Psa. 119:63).  David found his friends based upon what they loved, and not what they mutually hated.

Who are your friends?

Scripture Reading:  Job 2:9-10

Job’s wife could no longer stand the sight of Job’s afflictions.  Obviously, she was hurting also with the loss of all her children.  The lack of security that had arisen from the massive financial and societal loss was most certainly weighing on her.  She was ready to “throw in the towel” and see it all end.

Job’s integrity is now under question.  It is not that it is faltering or failing, for it has stood like the Rock of Gibraltar (cf. Job 1:21-22).  Rather, it is the age-old question of “Is it worth it?”   This is not a foreign question to mankind.  David, the man after God’s own heart, pondered the value of serving God (Psa. 73:1-16).   David’s basic summation was that he had wasted his life in serving God (Psa. 73:13-14).   Of course, the next verse changed his perspective and he stated, “Until I went into the santuary of God. . .” (Psa. 73:17).

The people of Malachi’s day also questioned the value of serving God (Mal. 3:14).  They believed that life was supposed to yield bounty and blessing if they served the Lord faithfully.  They too had a wrong perspective about God and His working in their lives.

Twice in the first two chapters of Job, Satan had proposed that Job would curse God if life’s circumstances were bad enough.  Twice, God had given Satan permission to afflict Job.  First in his possessions and then in his person.  Yet, both times had proven Satan wrong.  In the loss of his possessions, Job declared the absolute sovereignty of God (Job 1:21-22).  In the loss of his health, Job would declare the absolute goodness of God.

In the midst of the second affliction, Satan uses the wife of Job to try and persuade him to curse God (Job 2:9).  It is interesting that when Satan took everything Job owned, he spared Job’s wife.  He murdered his children, but spared his wife.  Why?  Matthew Henry suggests that, “If Satan leaves any thin that he has permission to take away, it is with a design of mischief.”  How true!  John Butler writes, “Satan used Job’s wife to hang crepe, to encourage pessimism.”  Yet, his integrity prevailed!  If he had listened to his wife, he would have missed the greater blessings of God, and we would not have the Book of Job as our encouragement today.  How wonderful it is to be blessed with an encouraging helpmeet for life.

Unlike Job’s wife, Martin Luther had a wife who encouraged.  On one occasion when he was greatly discouraged, he was forcefully reminded of this by his wife, Katharine. Seeing him unresponsive to any word of encouragement, one morning she appeared dressed in black mourning clothes. No word of explanation was forthcoming, and so Luther, who had heard nothing of a bereavement, asked her: “Katharine, why are you dressed in mourning black?” Someone has died,” she replied. “Died?” said Luther, “I have not heard of anyone dying. Whoever can have died?” “It seems,” his wife replied, “that God must have died!”  Luther took the point. He, a believer, a Christian, with such a great God to call his Father, was living like a practical atheist. But Luther knew that God was not dead. God was living, reigning, active in the events of history and in Luther’s own life. How foolish he had been! Discouragement was immediately banished.

How many men lose their integrity because of a wife who is ready to “throw in the towel” concerning their service for God?  Sadly, the numbers are great!

Yet, Job proved that integrity can be maintained.  The Holy Spirit of God recorded that “In all this did not Job sin with his lips” (Job 2:10c).  May we have the integrity of Job in our daily lives.

It has been the privilege of my wife and I to spend a week in the Smoky Mountains.  For our 30th Wedding Anniversary, our church surprised us with a week stay at the Hampton Inn in Cherokee, NC.  It has been a wonderful week.

Each morning, I have slipped out of the room quietly in order to go down and eat the continental breakfast supplied by the Hampton.  Kathy does not care for breakfast and does not awake as early as I do.  (I find it impossible to “sleep in,” even while on vacation.  I tried, but it don’t work for me).  Anyway, I carry my Bible with me in these early morning breakfast excursions and mediate on the Word while partaking of the cuisine provided.

This morning, I was seated by the window and I watched some of the motorcycle owners as they loaded their “bikes” for further travel.  Two things about these men caught my attention.  First, these men were each giving themselves to the pampering of their bikes.  They all had towels with which they were wiping the seats, the handle bars, the kickstand, the fenders and the chrome-spoked wheels.  They even got on their knees so they could give attention to the small details of polishing their bike parts.  The way in which they caressed their bikes was reflective of the great respect and admiration they had for their bikes.

The second thing that caught my instant attention was the camaraderie among these men.  These were men who were from various parts of the country, and from different walks of life.  These were men who, obviously, did not know each other prior to their arrival at the Hampton in Cherokee.  These were grown, gray-haired men. . .That instantly bonded.  It was amazing that the ONE thing these men had in common was their motorcycles, and that is the very thing that gave them instant communication.  There was no remotely gazing from a distance and wondering about the other man’s bike.  There appeared to be no awkwardness in just walking up and start talking.  No. . .It was an instant kinship. . .Part of the “bike culture.”

I could not help but think about how Christians should develop such a culture.  First, we should care for our souls and fellowship with God, in the way those men cared for their bikes.  We too should give careful attention, on our knees, to the smallest areas of our soul.  Yet, it is those areas that are so often neglected.

Second, there should be an instant camaraderie among believers.  Yet, here I set, with my Bible open on the table before me, and no one has approached to discuss spiritual matters.  As a matter of fact, the people in the area surrounding me, have chosen tables that are furtherest from me.  I observed families come toward me, then notice my Bible, and back up to another table.  Unlike the bike culture, there was an extreme awkwardness in the actions of the people.  It may be that none of the dozens of people that passed by were believers.   Yet, I wonder why, if there were any other believers in the area, why could we not discuss the Word as those men discussed their bikes?

Just a thought. . .

In a few days, our church will be hosting the annual Spring Revival. This year, our theme is “Breaking Up the Fallow Ground” (Hos. 10:12). As we approach these days, I wonder “Will this be a revival, or simply a revival meeting?”

Revival meetings have been around for generations. The annual Spring or Fall revival, at one time, was a regular event on the church calendar. Such meetings once commanded the attention of the surrounding community. School events, work schedules and such all fell subservient to the church calendar. There were no such things as ball games during church times. Work schedules were planned around the church events. During my youth, this was the atmosphere of the communities wherein I grew up. These were times when families stayed together. Most children had a Dad and Mom who lived in the same house with their children. Doors could be left unlocked at all times, because parents had instilled the values of honesty and integrity into the character base of their children. Neighbors knew each other on a first-name basis and helped each other. The worse problems at the public school was talking in class, chewing gum in class, or the ruffian boys smoking outside behind the gym. These were the days when the community planned on being at the local-church revival meeting. Yes, I remember those days when the aisles and altars were full at the invitation time. The revival meetings were often extended for another week, or two, or three. Lives were changed, and drunkards got saved and were made sober.

Of course, those days have long gone. The church calendar is barely an honorable mention on the agenda of most people today. The work schedule reigns supreme, with school activities following as a close second. The church has become little more than another social network like MySpace or Facebook to many professing Christians. If the event at church is convenient (more…)