Recently I saw one of those YouTube videos that exposes the unfathomable cruelty and torture we humans inflict on God's precious creatures. It is extremely difficult for someone like me to watch videos like that and I usually cannot bring myself to do it. It is a very painful and heart-breaking experience.
Anyway, in the comments to that video there was a passage from the pen of inspiration which spoke to my heart and which I will share below. Let it be a grave warning to those who would dare to bring such pain to the animals over which we have been given dominion.
"God, who created man, made the animals, also. They were to minister to man’s comfort and happiness, to serve him, and to be controlled by him. But this power was not to be used to cause pain by harsh punishment or cruel exaction.
Yet some are as reckless and unfeeling toward their faithful animals as though the poor brutes had not flesh and nerve that can quiver with pain. Many do not think that their cruelty will ever be known, because the poor dumb beasts cannot reveal it. But could the eyes of these men be opened, as were the eyes of Balaam, they would see an angel of God standing as a witness to testify against them in the courts above. A record goes up to Heaven, and a day is coming when judgment will be pronounced against men who make themselves demons by their dealings with God’s creatures.
If animals could speak, what deeds of horror would be revealed—what tales of suffering, because of the perversity of man’s temper! How often those creatures of God’s care suffer pain, endure hunger and thirst, because they cannot make known their wants. And how often is it determined by the mercy or the caprice of man, whether they receive attention and kindness, or neglect and abuse.
Punishment given in passion to an animal is frequently excessive, and is then absolute cruelty. Animals have a kind of dignity and self-respect, akin to that possessed by human beings." - Signs of the Times, November 25, 1880.
Unless you think such a sentiment can not be found in the Bible...
"A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." - Proverbs 12:10
If you do not regard the life of your animals...God says you are not a righteous man.
"And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?" - Jonah 4:11
Can you see in that Scripture that God cares for animals?
"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." - Genesis 1:26-31
"Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him." - Genesis 2:19, 20
Can you see in those Scriptures that God has placed His creatures into our care, just like He's placed His planet into our care? It is a divine privilege...and a divine responsibility.
"For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine." - Psalm 50:10, 11
Take a guess what the foundational principle is on which we build our doctrine of how we should relate to animals? Of course...love.
God is an animal lover, shouldn't we be?
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
We Must Follow the Light We Have (Fanaticism)
Everywhere you look in the Adventist church you will find new ideas and theories springing up like weeds in the garden. Our sinful human nature has a craving to discover or be a part of some startling new truth, to be "in the know" and to feel somehow superior to those who have not yet received this "new light."
If you have been following any sort of Seventh-day Adventist blogs or FaceBook friends you will undoubtedly know the type of doctrines of which I am speaking. Most of them have a distinctly conspiratorial flavor to them, dealing with such issues as "the truth about the Godhead and the Omega apostasy," or "the hidden 2,520-day prophecy," or "Secret Societies controlling the world," or "the observance of the Feast Days," or "forensic justification."
Recently a comment was made by a man who stated that after coming out of the Catholic church for a time, he went to an Adventist church for a period of about 9 weeks, during which time he saw the sharp schisms which are dividing the church and concluded succinctly, "This isn't the right church." And upon leaving our church he went to study with the Jehovah's Witnesses for a short time and realized that they were completely unbiblical in their beliefs and so eventually went right back to where he started: the Catholic church.
It may be said that if that man is lost, his blood could conceivably be on the heads of those in the church which drove him away by their dissensions. It has been said by one I trust that "a premium is to be placed on the unity of believers." How very true.
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ... that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— " - Ephesians 4:1-3, 14, 15
It is absolutely astonishing to the utmost degree that we would die on these hills of disagreement while there are mountains to be stood upon as brothers and sisters united in Christ. But I digress.
There is a possibility that may prove true if we could see the hearts of men as God can. It is the possibility that those who claim to discover or follow or promote "new light" are not in reality following the light that has already been given, which is tantamount to building your house on the sand. As was pointed out by Pastor Stanton in a previous post: even if we are right about our theology, we become wrong if we are in the flesh. Please don't misunderstand, I am not saying that displaying the works of the flesh is merely a problem that we Christians ought to deal with, especially when presenting truth...I'm saying that if you are displaying the works of the flesh you are NOT a Christian.
Yet, it's not my thoughts but God's word, because the Bible says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ... And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:19-21, 24.
If you are taking hold of some new doctrine and running with it while practicing the works of the flesh such as hatred, contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions or dissensions...then, my friend, you are not only wrong, but have not crucified the flesh and thus are not Christ's.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." - Romans 8:1
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." - Galatians 5:22, 23
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7
"He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." - 1 John 2:6
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16
How simple is this light? How pure? How true? Immeasurably so. Why then, if we have not first built such a basic foundation, would we endeavor to build some grand tower of doctrine? Isn't it obvious that any such tower will fall because it is not built on a firm foundation? And how great will be its fall!
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." - Matthew 7:24-27
This is so fundamental, I cannot stress it enough. If we are not following the plain words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - God with us - then how great is our folly if we then attempt to weave some complex tapestry of doctrine?
Who is the Rock on which we're to build? Jesus Christ. (Gen. 49:24, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 118:22, 1 Cor. 10:4, and many other Scriptures)
Can you honestly say that you are walking in the Spirit, displaying the fruit of the Spirit faithfully and consistently? If you cannot, then please set aside any "wisdom" that you thought you had, because God tells us that "the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." - James 3:17
Is that a good description of your "wisdom?" Is it peaceable, gentle and willing to yield? If not, then God says it is not from above.
"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." - James 1:26, 27
Can we still not see the foundation on which we are to build everything else? Love. Love comes first. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13
and, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." - 1 John 4:8
Amen.
For studies on fanaticism, I suggest the following:
"Walking in the Light: Rejecting Antichrists" by David Asscherick
"Stopping the Tidal Waves of Fanaticism, part 1 & 2" by Eugene Prewitt
"Legal Justification" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"The 2520 Year Prophecy" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"Commentary on the Methods of Pippenger" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"2009 Evaluation of Jeff Pippenger" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"An Evaluation of Tim Jennings" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"Feasts for the 21st Century" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
...or go to AudioVerse for a number of sermons or BibleDoc for a number of articles.
If you have been following any sort of Seventh-day Adventist blogs or FaceBook friends you will undoubtedly know the type of doctrines of which I am speaking. Most of them have a distinctly conspiratorial flavor to them, dealing with such issues as "the truth about the Godhead and the Omega apostasy," or "the hidden 2,520-day prophecy," or "Secret Societies controlling the world," or "the observance of the Feast Days," or "forensic justification."
Recently a comment was made by a man who stated that after coming out of the Catholic church for a time, he went to an Adventist church for a period of about 9 weeks, during which time he saw the sharp schisms which are dividing the church and concluded succinctly, "This isn't the right church." And upon leaving our church he went to study with the Jehovah's Witnesses for a short time and realized that they were completely unbiblical in their beliefs and so eventually went right back to where he started: the Catholic church.
It may be said that if that man is lost, his blood could conceivably be on the heads of those in the church which drove him away by their dissensions. It has been said by one I trust that "a premium is to be placed on the unity of believers." How very true.
"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ... that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— " - Ephesians 4:1-3, 14, 15
It is absolutely astonishing to the utmost degree that we would die on these hills of disagreement while there are mountains to be stood upon as brothers and sisters united in Christ. But I digress.
There is a possibility that may prove true if we could see the hearts of men as God can. It is the possibility that those who claim to discover or follow or promote "new light" are not in reality following the light that has already been given, which is tantamount to building your house on the sand. As was pointed out by Pastor Stanton in a previous post: even if we are right about our theology, we become wrong if we are in the flesh. Please don't misunderstand, I am not saying that displaying the works of the flesh is merely a problem that we Christians ought to deal with, especially when presenting truth...I'm saying that if you are displaying the works of the flesh you are NOT a Christian.
Yet, it's not my thoughts but God's word, because the Bible says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ... And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." - Galatians 5:19-21, 24.
If you are taking hold of some new doctrine and running with it while practicing the works of the flesh such as hatred, contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions or dissensions...then, my friend, you are not only wrong, but have not crucified the flesh and thus are not Christ's.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." - Romans 8:1
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Galatians 5:25
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." - Galatians 5:22, 23
"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7
"He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked." - 1 John 2:6
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16
How simple is this light? How pure? How true? Immeasurably so. Why then, if we have not first built such a basic foundation, would we endeavor to build some grand tower of doctrine? Isn't it obvious that any such tower will fall because it is not built on a firm foundation? And how great will be its fall!
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." - Matthew 7:24-27
This is so fundamental, I cannot stress it enough. If we are not following the plain words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ - God with us - then how great is our folly if we then attempt to weave some complex tapestry of doctrine?
Who is the Rock on which we're to build? Jesus Christ. (Gen. 49:24, Psalm 18:2, Psalm 118:22, 1 Cor. 10:4, and many other Scriptures)
Can you honestly say that you are walking in the Spirit, displaying the fruit of the Spirit faithfully and consistently? If you cannot, then please set aside any "wisdom" that you thought you had, because God tells us that "the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." - James 3:17
Is that a good description of your "wisdom?" Is it peaceable, gentle and willing to yield? If not, then God says it is not from above.
"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." - James 1:26, 27
Can we still not see the foundation on which we are to build everything else? Love. Love comes first. "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13
and, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." - 1 John 4:8
Amen.
For studies on fanaticism, I suggest the following:
"Walking in the Light: Rejecting Antichrists" by David Asscherick
"Stopping the Tidal Waves of Fanaticism, part 1 & 2" by Eugene Prewitt
"Legal Justification" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"The 2520 Year Prophecy" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"Commentary on the Methods of Pippenger" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"2009 Evaluation of Jeff Pippenger" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"An Evaluation of Tim Jennings" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
"Feasts for the 21st Century" by Eugene Prewitt (article)
...or go to AudioVerse for a number of sermons or BibleDoc for a number of articles.
Monday, April 12, 2010
That Stealthy Old Man
I heard a profound observation from pastor John Stanton today on an episode of House Calls. He related how this thought that he'd heard from a certain presenter really impacted him and caused him to think. It has certainly done the same for me and I hope it will do the same for you.
The idea was this: The time when the old man usually comes up is when we are right.
Meaning that we can be in the right, theologically, and be correct in our assessment of situations, ideas, or people in the church but can be completely unChristian in the way we handle the situation, displaying the fruit of the flesh instead of the fruit of the Spirit.
When the old man comes up, we display the works of the flesh.
According to Galatians 5:19-21, the works of the flesh include hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions and dissensions.
How easy it is for us to manifest the works of the old man when we know that we are right! How easy it is, when we are right, to act contentious and hateful, to have outbursts of wrath and selfish ambitions and to create dissensions.
If such is the case, then, though we are right, we become wrong.
If the Spirit is abiding in us then His fruit will always be apparent, which according to Galatians 5:22 and 23 are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Let's close with Galatians 5:25 and 26, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
The idea was this: The time when the old man usually comes up is when we are right.
Meaning that we can be in the right, theologically, and be correct in our assessment of situations, ideas, or people in the church but can be completely unChristian in the way we handle the situation, displaying the fruit of the flesh instead of the fruit of the Spirit.
When the old man comes up, we display the works of the flesh.
According to Galatians 5:19-21, the works of the flesh include hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions and dissensions.
How easy it is for us to manifest the works of the old man when we know that we are right! How easy it is, when we are right, to act contentious and hateful, to have outbursts of wrath and selfish ambitions and to create dissensions.
If such is the case, then, though we are right, we become wrong.
If the Spirit is abiding in us then His fruit will always be apparent, which according to Galatians 5:22 and 23 are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Let's close with Galatians 5:25 and 26, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."
Friday, April 9, 2010
Is God Responsible for Disasters and Calamities?
From a conversation I was having with a Facebook acquaintance:
"Mr. Hardy...consider Job. Who afflicted Job, God or Satan? Satan. Does Satan have power to afflict whomever he will on this planet? No. Who gives him permission...who decides what he can and cannot do? God. Job does not blame Satan for his affliction. Instead he comes to God and asks "Why?"
What amazing faith had Job...when his wife told him to curse God and die, what was his reply? "Shall we accept the good from the Lord and not the evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips." (Job 2:10)
When Satan had slaughtered all of Job's sons and daughters...what did Job say?
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
Was he wrong to say it was God who had taken away his family? The next verse says again, "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." (Job 1:22)
Job was right and still faithful, understanding that God is all powerful, a mighty God, and NOTHING can happen in this universe unless He allows it. NOTHING is out of His control.
But whatever happens, we always know we can trust God. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
In considering the character of God, we must not over-emphasize His mercy to the exclusion of His justice. The same God who hung on a cross to take the punishment for my sins is the same God who rained down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, the same God who destroyed the entire planet's population, excepting 8 souls, the same God who sent His angel of death to take the life of every firstborn child upon whose door was not the blood of the lamb.
Make no mistake...God is love, but He is also justice."
"Mr. Hardy...consider Job. Who afflicted Job, God or Satan? Satan. Does Satan have power to afflict whomever he will on this planet? No. Who gives him permission...who decides what he can and cannot do? God. Job does not blame Satan for his affliction. Instead he comes to God and asks "Why?"
What amazing faith had Job...when his wife told him to curse God and die, what was his reply? "Shall we accept the good from the Lord and not the evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips." (Job 2:10)
When Satan had slaughtered all of Job's sons and daughters...what did Job say?
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)
Was he wrong to say it was God who had taken away his family? The next verse says again, "In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." (Job 1:22)
Job was right and still faithful, understanding that God is all powerful, a mighty God, and NOTHING can happen in this universe unless He allows it. NOTHING is out of His control.
But whatever happens, we always know we can trust God. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
In considering the character of God, we must not over-emphasize His mercy to the exclusion of His justice. The same God who hung on a cross to take the punishment for my sins is the same God who rained down fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, the same God who destroyed the entire planet's population, excepting 8 souls, the same God who sent His angel of death to take the life of every firstborn child upon whose door was not the blood of the lamb.
Make no mistake...God is love, but He is also justice."
A Plea to a Spectrum of Adventists
A reply posted in response to an article carrying on about trivial matters!
"This issue is taking valuable focus away from God's true work of reformation of character and soul-winning!
We will give account for every misspent hour of bickering over this nonsense!
As if it even matters what the "majority are feeling at the local level"...the majority has never been a sign of truth. In fact, the opposite is nearly always true.
Israel was always plagued with unbelievers and wicked men, and so it is to this very day. God's people of today are likewise infested with worldliness, pride and arrogance...defying the plain 'Thus saith the LORD's we are given in Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy! Instead we rely on our own wisdom and reasonings and sense of what is "right" and "true" and "just" in the culture in which we find ourselves. But this also is nonsense! We have, to a VERY large degree been found standing in stark opposition to the God of heaven and we will be held accountable...the judgment is coming, and quickly...and when it arrives it will not matter how eloquent our speeches or how sincere our hearts.
Repent now and turn from your wicked ways! For why will you die??"
"This issue is taking valuable focus away from God's true work of reformation of character and soul-winning!
We will give account for every misspent hour of bickering over this nonsense!
As if it even matters what the "majority are feeling at the local level"...the majority has never been a sign of truth. In fact, the opposite is nearly always true.
Israel was always plagued with unbelievers and wicked men, and so it is to this very day. God's people of today are likewise infested with worldliness, pride and arrogance...defying the plain 'Thus saith the LORD's we are given in Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy! Instead we rely on our own wisdom and reasonings and sense of what is "right" and "true" and "just" in the culture in which we find ourselves. But this also is nonsense! We have, to a VERY large degree been found standing in stark opposition to the God of heaven and we will be held accountable...the judgment is coming, and quickly...and when it arrives it will not matter how eloquent our speeches or how sincere our hearts.
Repent now and turn from your wicked ways! For why will you die??"
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Brethren of Experience?
Those That I Recommend
There are those teachers whose concrete trust in God's Word and the word of His prophets coupled with their willingness to accept and practice every plain truth revealed in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy, even when such a truth cuts decidedly against their own nature, and whose level-headedness being not bent toward fanaticism or undue excitement lends themselves toward being used by the Holy Spirit as a teacher.
But even the most powerful recommendation cannot be taken for truth, for we are admonished in 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
And further, by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17:11 we are told of the Bereans: "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
So, here are some teaching spirits to test:
Eugene Prewitt
Dave Fiedler
Randy Skeete
You would do very well to take the time to look through the sermons available by these gentlemen and having looked, to listen, and having listened, to see whether these things are so...for if what they teach is true, the state of our church is largely slumbering and in dire need of a great awakening. This especially effects the younger generation of Adventists who are being pulled very strongly to the side of unbelief by those in our faith who are found "having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" - 2 Timothy 3:5
There are those teachers whose concrete trust in God's Word and the word of His prophets coupled with their willingness to accept and practice every plain truth revealed in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy, even when such a truth cuts decidedly against their own nature, and whose level-headedness being not bent toward fanaticism or undue excitement lends themselves toward being used by the Holy Spirit as a teacher.
But even the most powerful recommendation cannot be taken for truth, for we are admonished in 1 John 4:1, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
And further, by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17:11 we are told of the Bereans: "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
So, here are some teaching spirits to test:
Eugene Prewitt
Dave Fiedler
Randy Skeete
You would do very well to take the time to look through the sermons available by these gentlemen and having looked, to listen, and having listened, to see whether these things are so...for if what they teach is true, the state of our church is largely slumbering and in dire need of a great awakening. This especially effects the younger generation of Adventists who are being pulled very strongly to the side of unbelief by those in our faith who are found "having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" - 2 Timothy 3:5
Friday, April 2, 2010
If We'd Only Let Go (Sunday in Scripture)
But The Radio Preacher Said So!
The other day as I was driving to work listening to a radio preacher who was saying something like, "Now there are those people who say that if you go to church on Sunday, that's the beast's day. Have you ever heard these people? Now that's not right and we have the church meeting on Sunday in the Scripture." And on he went with his thoughts, believing the matter settled.
Not so in my mind. I began to think to myself how saddening it is that someone can take something that they've heard all their life or something that they've heard some preacher say and take that position as Bible truth without checking it out for themselves.
The First Day of the Week in Scripture
Yes...there are mentions of Christians gathered together on the first day of the week in the Bible (The Bible doesn't say "Sunday" but "first day of the week"). In fact, there are eight passages in which the first day of the week is mentioned in the New Testament, and I'm familiar with every single one (and you should be too, whether you follow God's Ten Commandments or whether you worship on Sunday). If you look at all of the texts, two things become very apparent: None of the instances were in any way alluding to a new commandment that Christians should worship on Sunday, and none of the instances were Jesus saying anything about Sunday.
Take a minute to go read all the verses which mention the first day of the week (Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor 16:2), and you'll find the truth becomes clear: those who disregard God's 4th Commandment and choose to worship on Sunday have absolutely zero biblical support for their actions.
The Scenario
This made me think of a hypothetical scenario: If there were a man who had somehow grown to adulthood without ever hearing anything at all about the Bible or Jesus or Christianity, and someone gave this man a Bible and said, "Read, for this is the Word of God" and he believed those words and read the Bible front to back and received no input from anyone...what would he believe?
One thing is for certain: the idea of worshipping God on Sunday rather than Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, would never have even crossed his mind as a possibility. Why? Because the Bible simply doesn't teach it!
What else would he believe? Go read your Bible and figure it out! ;-)
The Conclusion
Friends, we can have that type of pure, authentic, unadulterated and undiluted view of God's Holy Word...if we'd only let go of the traditions of men that pervade every corner of Christendom and resolve that for every doctrine we hold we must have a plain "Thus saith the LORD" from the Bible!
The other day as I was driving to work listening to a radio preacher who was saying something like, "Now there are those people who say that if you go to church on Sunday, that's the beast's day. Have you ever heard these people? Now that's not right and we have the church meeting on Sunday in the Scripture." And on he went with his thoughts, believing the matter settled.
Not so in my mind. I began to think to myself how saddening it is that someone can take something that they've heard all their life or something that they've heard some preacher say and take that position as Bible truth without checking it out for themselves.
The First Day of the Week in Scripture
Yes...there are mentions of Christians gathered together on the first day of the week in the Bible (The Bible doesn't say "Sunday" but "first day of the week"). In fact, there are eight passages in which the first day of the week is mentioned in the New Testament, and I'm familiar with every single one (and you should be too, whether you follow God's Ten Commandments or whether you worship on Sunday). If you look at all of the texts, two things become very apparent: None of the instances were in any way alluding to a new commandment that Christians should worship on Sunday, and none of the instances were Jesus saying anything about Sunday.
Take a minute to go read all the verses which mention the first day of the week (Matt 28:1, Mark 16:2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, John 20:19, Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor 16:2), and you'll find the truth becomes clear: those who disregard God's 4th Commandment and choose to worship on Sunday have absolutely zero biblical support for their actions.
The Scenario
This made me think of a hypothetical scenario: If there were a man who had somehow grown to adulthood without ever hearing anything at all about the Bible or Jesus or Christianity, and someone gave this man a Bible and said, "Read, for this is the Word of God" and he believed those words and read the Bible front to back and received no input from anyone...what would he believe?
One thing is for certain: the idea of worshipping God on Sunday rather than Saturday, the seventh-day Sabbath, would never have even crossed his mind as a possibility. Why? Because the Bible simply doesn't teach it!
What else would he believe? Go read your Bible and figure it out! ;-)
The Conclusion
Friends, we can have that type of pure, authentic, unadulterated and undiluted view of God's Holy Word...if we'd only let go of the traditions of men that pervade every corner of Christendom and resolve that for every doctrine we hold we must have a plain "Thus saith the LORD" from the Bible!
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