Letters Letter from the Editor Letter from the Editor Welcome to our 22nd edition of MORNING STAR! As we approach the end of our second year of publication, we feel it's a good time to get some specific feedback from our readers. So we're sending out a survey! Changes in the format of the magazine will begin with Volume 3.1 based on the responses we receive. Instructions on how to return this survey are found at the bottom. Thank you for your assistance in this matter, we hope to make MORNING STAR an even better publication in the future. In His service, Toby Trudel Editor in Chief -------------------------------------------------- MORNING STAR - Readers Survey Name: City/State/(Country if not U.S.): How do you receive MORNING STAR? (check one) __ Download from America Online __ Download from Compuserve __ Download from GEnie __ Download from Delphi __ Download from Internet __ Download from a local BBS (BBS name __, city/state __, number __, sysop __) __ Disk Subscription __ On disk from a friend __ Hard copy Your network I.D./screenname: __ Which edition do you read? (check one) __ DOS edition __ WINDOWS edition __ MACINTOSH edition __ Hard Copy (For DOS edition readers) - What improvements to the "Reader" application would you like to see? (Reply __) Which section of the magazine are you MOST interested in? (check one) __ Features __ Biblical Studies __ Christian Life __ International Which section of the magazine are you LEAST interested in? (check one) __ Features __ Biblical Studies __ Christian Life __ International Which are your THREE (3) favorite Biblical Studies columns? (select three) __ New In Christ __ Old/New Testament Study __ Special Studies __ Messianic Studies __ The WORD For Today __ Prayer Guidelines __ SCUDS Which is your least favorite Biblical Study column? (select one, reply __) Which are your THREE (3) favorite Christian Life area columns? (select three) __ Anee M'amin __ Testimony __ Ministry Focus __ Education __ Music __ Chef's Corner __ Praise and Prayer __ Potpourri Which is your least favorite Christian Life area column? (select one, reply __) Is the magazine itself too long? __ too short? __ about right? __ Which sections would you like to see columns added to or deleted from? (check one reply for each area) Features Area: add to __ / delete from __ / stay as is __ Biblical Studies Area: add to __ / delete from __ / stay as is __ Christian Life Area: add to __ / delete from __ / stay as is __ International Area: add to __ / delete from __ / stay as is __ What other types of columns would you like to see in Morning Star? (Reply __) What themes would you like to see Morning Star cover in the Feature Area in the future? (Reply __) Do you make copies of Morning Star for friends? If so, how many? __ Do you share it with your church? If so, how? (Reply __) Do you upload Morning Star to a local BBS? If so, please give the BBS info: name/city/state/number/sysop What other ideas would you like to recommend to improve the magazine? (Reply __) Can you recommend sources of articles and stories for Morning Star? (Reply __) RETURN THIS FORM TO: America Online: Return to "Patoby" Other Networks: Return via Internet email to: mstarmac@aol.com US Mail return: P.O. Box 7755, Nashua, NH, 03060 Fax return: 603-883-0466 Commentary Commentary O EARTH, EARTH, EARTH, HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD! (Jeremiah 22:29) by J.C. Trudel Naples, Florida In Jeremiah Chapters 21 and 22, the prophet is warning King Zedekiah and the nation of Israel of the forthcoming Babylonian captivity. In 21:5, he even says that God will fight against Israel and that He will do so in anger, fury and great wrath. Why? Chapter 22:5 explains that it is because the Jews had forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them. What the prophet revealed was horrible, and what could he do but cry out: Hear the word of the Lord. If Jeremiah was living in today's sinful world, he would cry out the same warnings, as worse chastisements are about to come upon this nation and the world. Dr. D. James Kennedy on his Sunday morning televised Coral Ridge Hour program from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, had a series, which began March 1st 1992, on the "Modern Myths of today". It dealt with the sick spiritual condition of this nation and on how it is rapidly drifting away from God and he quoted someone as saying that: "If God does not bring judgment on this nation, He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." Dr. Kennedy pointed out that according to the Barna Research Institute of California, who monitors religious opinions in America, 62% of the adult population of this country believe that "There are no absolutes, All truth is relative". In the age bracket of 18-25, the figure goes up to 74% and they also reported that 83% of America hold the view that man is basically good, which is totally contrary to Bible teachings. He also noted that most American homes have a bible, which clearly shows that most of America is ignoring or defying God's Word. One has only to look at the total history of the world, its social and political convulsions, its immoralities, its wars. Even secular Plato knew the darkness of man's heart when he wrote: "Only the dead have seen the end of war". How can anyone look at what is going on in America and say that anyone is good? We still all come short of the glory of God and without God's grace, there is no hope whatsoever. How can people be so blind and self centered to believe that they are good? The answer is that false teachings are more abundant and are deceiving many. People are now looking at themselves in the mirror of these false teachings rather than in the light of God's Word. By removing all absolutes, the humanistic teachers have removed the Most Absolute of all, GOD, from the minds of people. No absolutes can mean only this: No God, no Savior, no Divine inspiration, nothing that can absolutely condemn evil of any kind. We do not use the word "Evil" in today's world, we say someone is sick, not evil, just as suicide is now called "Death with dignity", not the murder of oneself. A whole new language is being developed to make evil more acceptable on a public scale. It is not surprising that the Humanistic Manifesto and the Theory of Evolution appeared on the world scene at about the same time. Both have one principal purpose, which is to remove God from the world's mind and heart. People now believe, for the most part, that it took millions of years for the world to become what it is, and that we evolved from monkeys. It is no longer believed, even among many Christians, that God can speak and create some thing out of nothing, after all, He must follow the timetable and methods invented by the Evolutionists. To such Christians, I can only wish that they return to God and His word, or they may get what they deserve, an Evolution type of resurrection. In 1st Corinthians 15:51,52 Paul tells us: Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but WE SHALL BE CHANGED, "IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE", at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. I believe that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, (Hebrews 13:8) and that He, "THE WORD" , who created the world in six days, who brought back Lazarus and others from the dead in an INSTANT, can, and will do the same for those who have received Him as personal Lord and Savior and believe that His Word is absolute. John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was not anything made that was made." It was not a long term accident, a long term evolution, it was as God planned. In Isaiah 55:9 God speaks of Himself and says: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. The knowledge of earth is so miniscule when compared with all the universe around us, yet, in human pride the evolutionists have made evolution appear as fact when it is only a theory, and too many weak Christians are deceived because they do not know God and His infinite power, but find temporary comfort in false human teachings. The humanistic teachers and the atheists have succeeded in removing God from the schools and the books used in schools. The line between good and evil have been blurred so badly by the lack of absolutes that hardly anyone wants to call evil what it is, even if the person doing the wrong is involved in Satan worship. He is called odd, unusual, even wonderful Magic Johnson will not admit to being immoral, He was stupid, he did not practice safe sex. And the way he is being honored is absolutely nauseating and shows how spiritually ill our nation is. Even in our schools, we must teach the children all about safe sex, which truthfully should be called "safe sin", and give them contraceptive devices so they can sin safely and as early as possible. How evil, how evil! How long can God hold His wrath? Everyone wants freedom of speech, freedom of doing anything they want, freedom to destroy their unborn babies ... OH! We do not use the term baby anymore in the clinics, it's P.O.C. (Product of conception). Freedom is sought indeed, but it is not freedom FROM sin, but freedom TO sin. It was so clever of the Humanists to claim that Einstein's Theory of relativity applied to everything when it applied only to Physics, not to Ethics. Only Satan could provide such an evil cleverness that is leading so many to eternal perdition. Satan has his humanists, atheists and error peddlers so deceived that they cannot see that they have reached lower depths than Satan in spiritual degradation. At least Satan believes in God (James 2:19) and he trembles, he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God as Matthew 8:29 quotes the devils about to be cast out from a man : "And, behold, they cried out, saying. What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?" Then we find an absolute fact that the devil knows he has a time of torment ahead as they ask Jesus:" Art thou come hither to torment us before the time". Revelation 14:10, 20:10 tells us that Satan and his followers will suffer eternal torments; what an absolute to look forward to. The Bible in Galatians 6:7 warns: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." If one is to look very honestly at our country and the world, trying so hard to establish some form of morality without God's absolutes as standards, we easily see mankind already reaping what it has sowed, whether it's the Aids epidemic, corruption at all levels of society, the ozone layer problem (Rev.16:9), pollution, increasing crime, and on and on we could go. God will not be mocked and He is already showing His displeasure with a world that is ignoring Him and His commandments. We have become as the nation of Israel described in Judges 17:6 "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Jesus in Matthew 24:35 warned that His word is absolute as he says: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away". Then in verse 37 He tells that as in the days of Noah it shall be when He returns. The conditions in the days of Noah are described in Genesis 6:11,12; "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted His way upon the earth." Is the earth corrupt? Read your daily papers. Is the earth filled with violence? Look at increasing crime, look at the millions of mothers who are sacrificing their unborn on the altar of evil times, look at never ending wars, look at the increasing domestic violence. Like in the days of Noah it is. In Luke 17:28 we are also told that as in the days of Lot it shall be when Jesus returns. Genesis 19:1-11 tells us of the immoral, perverted conduct that prevailed in Sodom. Verse 4 says: "But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, BOTH OLD AND YOUNG, all the people from every quarter." In verse 5 these perverts wanted to have sex with the angels who had manifested themselves as men. In verse 8, Lot, in desperation, offered his two daughters, but the male perverts wanted only the men. Perversion and deviate conduct are rampant in the seminaries, churches, and religious orders. Mainline churches have split on those issues, and Christians are hesitant to leave such perverted churches as they don't want to lose their friends of many years. Yet, we are commanded to come out of the unclean things if we are to be received by the Lord. (2nd Cor.6:17). Paul in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 warns that we are not to keep evil people in the church. In verse 13 he writes: But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. Church leaders in general have become toothless, milque-toast, perhaps fearing the loss of their job which offers them many earthly comforts and prestige. In Galatians 2:11-14 we see that Paul rebuked Peter for acting in a non-christian manner. If the leaders of the churches had shown Christian fortitude as demanded in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 and cleansed the seminaries and churches of perverted and immoral people, we would not see the splits and confusions we are seeing today. A few months ago I wrote to the General Superintendent of a major denomination to complain about a problem we had faced in a large Fort Myers church, only to receive a platitude letter, from his assistant, which totally ignored the problem we had faced. We no longer belong to that denomination. We felt that the leadership did not want to make waves and just let things ride, especially since the pastor involved is very prominent in that denomination. Courage hardly exists in today churches, they feel they can't afford to lose people and will not take any risks. In many churches that profess to be Christian, there is never an altar call for sinners to come to repentance. One cannot tell the people that they come short of the glory of God, that they are sinners. They must be made to feel good or they might not be back. Can anyone believe what is being preached there since they lack the conviction to preach as told in the Great Commission, calling sinners to repentance, and telling them what they must do to be born again and receive eternal life. In Acts 17:11 we are told that the Christians of Berea heard the Word from Paul AND they checked the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul had told them was so. We are in the last days, and more than ever we must also look at the Scriptures to check on our pastors as so many are now teaching the new social (feel good) gospel. Even in the Bible studies, one must be alert. We used to have a Bible study where I worked every Wednesday, with some pastor from one of the various city churches as teacher. One day, a new teacher began by saying that God had sent Jesus down to earth because He did not know what was going on. I felt grieved in my spirit and firmly reminded him that God knows every hair on our head, every bird that flies, and that being infinite in all things, omniscient, omnipresent, HE has known everything from the beginning of the universe. He said that it was his opinion, and I reminded him that he was there to teach the Bible, not his opinion. He later expressed that he had trouble believing in predestination. I felt he did not know God's word, or only believed what fitted in his liberal mind. I did not return while he was teaching. Bible studies are very popular, but they should be taught by people who know the Bible very well since, as it is often said, "a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing" and a poor teacher can teach what he thinks the Bible says rather that what it says. God in Deuteronomy 4:2 warns: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." In Rev.22:18,19 we are again warned not to add or remove from God's word. Some teachers, with good intentions, go overboard in stretching the meaning of Scriptures. A pastor who had trouble getting people to work in the ministries of his church brought out the idea in a sermon that there will be tears in heaven shed by people who did not work enough for the Lord. Rev 7:17 ends with: "... and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev 21:4 says: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." God was speaking of past things, not heavenly things. To read otherwise into it is to imagine a high form of purgatory in a lesser heaven which is erroneous. The sermon may have scared someone into doing some works but we should not do things for God out of fear, but to honor and please Him as 1st Corinthians 10:31 tells us: "Do all to the glory of God." We must take God's word, as it is, not as we would like it to be. It may point an accusing finger at you, if so, you better have a good look at yourself and your life before it's too late. And if you are not saved (born again), you must go to a solid Christian church and see the pastor or someone qualified to lead you to salvation. If that is not possible, you must, with all the sincerity of your heart; 1. Confess to God that you are a sinner and tell Him that you sincerely regret your sins. 2. Ask God to forgive you of your sins. 3. Tell Him you want His gift of eternal life, made possible by the death of His Son Jesus at Calvary. 4.Tell Him that you receive Jesus in your heart as your personal Lord and Savior, and that you want to follow Him. 5. Thank Him for the precious blood Jesus shed to wash away your sins upon your repentance. 6. Ask Him to send the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen you in your newborn life in Jesus. 7. Thank Him often for your salvation and share your new life with your brothers and sisters in Christ. 8. Read God's word each day after a prayer to the Holy Spirit. God bless you. The judgment of earth is coming very soon and the earth will become more Godless as the time approaches and false teachers and prophets abound. Without the Word of the Living God as the Absolute, the day is almost here when they will not know Him at all, and will not repent when the calamities ruin man and the earth he has worshiped. Revelation 6:15-17 tells us what will happen "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondmen, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand." Yes, they will pray to the rocks, how foolish man can become without God as his Absolute. Do not be foolish like those who do not know God or those who have rejected Him and salvation through his Son Jesus-Christ. Know His sacred Word and watch the signs of the times as Luke 21:36 tells us. "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all those things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." "O earth, earth, earth, hear and read the word of the Lord" Staff Listing Staff Listing MORNING STAR A Multimedia Christian Publication P.O. Box 7755, Nashua, NH 03060 Phone: 603-883-4624 - Fax: 603-883-0466 --------------------------------------------------------- EDITOR IN CHIEF Toby Trudel - Nashua, NH SENIOR EDITOR - Biblical Department Geoffrey Kragen - Roseville, CA SENIOR EDITOR - Christian Life Department Teresa Giordanengo - Canonsburg, PA SENIOR LITERARY EDITOR Al Murillo III - El Paso, TX ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jerry Johnson - Modesto, CA Joseph A. Nigro - Oradell, NJ Jeannine Robinson - Mississauga, ONT Moishe Rosen - San Francisco, CA Clark Stephens - Huntington Beach, CA Dale Strand - Dublin, CA Rick Thrasher - Santa Clara, CA J.C. 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Chung Mei Ln #87 Taichung, Taiwan 407, Republic of China INTERNET: timt@misgate.gmi.org US-TAIWAN LINK: Donald Cutting, Enosburg Falls, VT SOUTH AFRICA - Santie Vandenplas 5 Hillary Street, Eversdal Cape Town, South Africa 7550 "The Mutant Pencil's Pad BBS: 27 219190300 INTERNET: svdp@sunvax.sun.ac.za --------------------------------------------------------------- MORNING STAR is produced and published monthly, by a staff of born again believers in Jesus, located across the United States of America. Correspondence to MORNING STAR may be sent via the U.S. Postal Service or one of several computer networks. ELECTRONIC MAIL LINKS INTERNET: mstarmac@aol.com (Toby Trudel) AMERICA ONLINE: MStarDOS (Steve Paulovich) GENIE: M.Wilkinson1 (Mike Wilkinson) COMPUSERVE: 70743,603 (Jorge Lopez) FIDONET: 1:106/3118 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK: 8:3003/0 (Walter Bauer) CHRISTIAN DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: 8:2013/0 (Walter Bauer) POLICENET: 150:402/53 (Walter Bauer) To receive a free copy of the MS DOOR program, which allows viewers to read the magazine onscreen, contact: Alan Graff P.O. Box 131 Wheelersburg, OH 45694 FIDONET: 1:2260/50 Theme: REVIVAL Revival Revival REVIVAL by Pastor David Blacksmith First Baptist Church Sonoma, California Recently I've been experiencing the movement of God in my personal life that is unquestionably revival. Just last week I shared with beloved saints at my church how this got started, and where I believe its taking not only me and my family, but our church, the churches in our city, and the Church throughout our great land. Now don't let me infer that it all begins with me. Hardly!!! I'm merely a recipient of what's going on all over our nation's churches right now. And what is going on all over our nation's churches? The beginnings of revival! And when revival breaks loose in the churches, a great outpouring of God's Spirit will take place and a harvest of souls will be reaped for Christ... a spiritual awakening for the lost. Would you agree with me if I said that our country, our state, our city desperately needs the outpouring of God's Spirit ... that people need life changing deliverance from the numerous bondages and be transformed by the mighty power of God? Would you also agree with me if I said that our city's churches ... all of them... could use a healthy dose of Spirit sent, Spirit filled, God ordained revival ... that would last not merely a week, but all year long? If you said yes to those statements, than what must we do in order for God to initiate such a revival? Are there any prerequisites to this revival, to this reaping of a harvest for souls? Indeed there is. The Great Awakening that spread across the world in 1905 began in a prayer meeting. Seventeen people were present. A young man by the name of Evans Roberts gave a challenge and invitation from God's Word. The people responded. In as short a time as four months later, over 100,000 people came to Christ. Revival and spiritual awakening spread over the entire globe. What was the message that young Mr. Roberts gave, that prompted the people of God to respond? Here it is: 1. CONFESS EVERY KNOWN SIN TO GOD! (1 John 1:5-10; Psalm 66:18; Proverbs 1:28-30; 2 Corinthians 7:10) 2. MAKE EVERY WRONG RIGHT! (Matthew 5:23-24; Mark 11:25-26; 1 John 3:15) 3. STOP EVERY QUESTIONABLE HABIT! (1 Corinthians 10:31-33; Colossians 3:23-25; Romans 14:12-13) 4. OBEY THE HOLY SPIRIT PROMPTLY! (Ephesians 5:18; Romans 8:1-2,14; John 15:16; Romans 14:12-13) 5. CONFESS CHRIST OPENLY! (Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 10:32-33; Acts 3:19; John 1:12-13) Please take the time to look at the Scriptures. They'll do you more good than my words. And as you do, take notice where the Scriptures are directed ... to the Church! Not to the unbelieving, unregenerate world, but to believers! If we desire to see revival break forth in our cities, you and I (assuming you, the reader, are a Christian) must repent, confess every known sin to God; make right what is wrong in our lives which includes relationships as well as responsibilities we've shirked; make a conscious effort to stop every habit that is contrary to the holiness of God; be obedient to God's Word as He speaks to us through His Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, once we the church, have set ourselves apart for Him, can we speak forth for Christ with power and effectiveness. "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). The church must humble itself before God, else He will resist. I am reaping a grand benefit by this revival in me. It began on my knees, and will continue only while I remain there. Won't you join me? "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches." Of Revival and Sacrifice Of Revival and Sacrifice OF REVIVAL AND SACRIFICE by David Morrison Arlington, Virginia Nicholas Lubelfeld, my very first pastor and still long time friend, notes every once in a while that Revival is a lot like the weather, people talk about it a lot but hardly anyone tries to do anything about it. Well, in my own life I have noticed that the waters of revival, the closer companionship with the Lord, the sense of His presence, the answered prayers (even when the answers have been no) have come when I examined my life and re-converted some aspect of my heart to His will. In short, when I have come to Him in prayer, confession and sacrifice has He drawn closer to me. Now most of us, I believe, are familiar with the first two parts of this process. Prayer and confession should be bread and butter to a Christian life but what about sacrifice? Is there anything, dear readers, that we are unwilling to give as followers of Jesus Christ? Jesus the Christ preached the good news of God's Kingdom as many things, most of them elusive. The Kingdom of God is like a pearl which, when found, is worth everything we own. The Kingdom of God is like a silver coin lost on the floor and searched after diligently until found. It is like a shepherd who seeks anxiously after His one sheep when He already has ninety-nine. It is like the few seeds planted in good soil which endure the parching heat, hungry birds and encroaching weeds in order to bring fruit for the harvest. The kingdom is the narrow door, the eye of the needle, the path which is worth the loss of our money, family, friends, and even our limbs in order to attain. The question before this essay is simply thus: Is the Kingdom we preach, live and say we seek the same one that we will find, one day, in Christ? Or do we perhaps chase a Kingdom whose king looks more like us than like Him? The word sacrifice is an interesting word. Its roots are found in the Latin words 'sacra', meaning holy, and 'facio' meaning 'to make.' Thus all sacrifice is meant to make holy and we see this reflected in even the most mundane aspects of our worlds. Our entire lives are made of sacrifices. Since you have chosen to read this publication as far as this line you have sacrificed time you might have spent doing something else. If you wanted to be a better student in school, a better friend, a more caring child, parent, or spouse you have had to sacrifice something. Efficiency experts and time managers like to speak of sacrifice as 'setting priorities' (it is more palatable that way) but whether in a fortune five hundred boardroom or our own lives the principle is the same. We cannot see results without first having causes - and sacrifices create causes. What then are we willing to sacrifice to gain the Kingdom of God? Closely linked to the notion of the Kingdom throughout the Gospels is the notion of repentance - the turning away from one way of life in favor of one in line with the Kingdom. And what kind of life is that? It is a life which reflects our citizenship as a subject of a King. No longer are we to be our own rulers, sheep on our path or, as St. Paul calls us, 'children of wrath.' No, rather we are to be both the children and slaves of God, both heirs to the Kingdom and servants at the throne. Paul writes in his first letter to the church in Corinth that just as those in physical servitude are spiritually free in Christ, so too those in physical freedom are bound to the spiritual service of Christ. It is the truth that rests near the heart of Christ's teaching on the Kingdom. Friendship and freedom are, in fact, found in self-sacrifice and service freely offered. If we hunger for revival and taste it not, could there be a problem in the amount of service we freely offer? Sacrifice is like an account into which we both make deposits and withdrawals. If, on the one hand we willingly put aside things that our flesh, self-will, or desires might tempt us to seek, we gain in return the freedom to live more completely as children of God. If I make a choice to take a job which, while paying less, still offers me time to volunteer in God's service than I have sacrificed an element of money - but I have gained the joy of seeing someone understand about Christ for the first time. If I am unmarried and chaste I lose a temporary pleasure - but I gain the freedom to see people more quickly and completely for who they are inside rather than what they look like outside. Saying no to something always means saying yes to something else, and I feel we often ignore the balance of the equation. Once a young man with money, a yuppie of the time, came to Jesus to ask for an answer. Teacher, the young man said, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Keep the commandments, Jesus replied. But Teacher, the young man said, I have kept them, what else do I lack? Jesus looked deeply into the young man's heart and loved him. Then Jesus told him what he didn't want to hear: go, sell all your possessions, and follow me. The young man, the scripture says, went away sad. Jesus asked of him what he could not give. As we seek revival may we all pray for the vision to understand what Jesus would have us give and, upon understanding, the courage to give it. Amen. Reluctant Admissions Reluctant Admissions RELUCTANT ADMISSIONS by Dave Breese From the CHRISTIAN DESTINY Newsletter - 2/93 No one will deny that the duty and the privilege of the Christian is to communicate the Word of Life to people who are lost. In no other way does the Church more universally touch the world than in the individual conversations of Christians with unsaved people. Individuals talking together about something exceeds by a hundred fold all other forms of human interaction. Therefore, it is obvious that the most potentially fruitful form of spreading the Gospel and winning others to faith in Jesus Christ (the reason why we are in this world) is conversation--talking to people. No exotic incantations, no stately forms of worship, no robes, no candles, no scowling ecclesiastics are involved in t his process-just people talking with people. But alas, this opportune activity is also the point of greatest failure. Mention of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gracious salvation is totally absent from the conversation of most people who would have us believe that they are Christians. Either mention of the name of Christ is absent or, worse yet, it is but a reluctant admission of Christians. The reluctant admission is the worst testimony of all, it is worse than nothing. Better remain silent than reluctantly admit with accompanying embarrassment that you are a Christian . To choke on the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, reluctantly admitting that you know Him, is the sickest form of confession. (To do it in a mere spoken ritual is the next sickest form.) Jesus said, "Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of Me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38). This should be read by all. Nothing is clearer in the Scriptures than the call to be an earnest, bold witness for Christ. A mumbling, foot-dragging identification with Christ is hardly what the word "witness" means. The reluctant witness will do little more with his words than diminish the prestige of Christianity and cast doubt as to the reality of his personal faith. One of the easiest declinations in this world, however, is that of slipping from being an articulate speaker to an incomprehensible mumbler. This is why the Apostle Paul requested his friends to pray for him, saying that we should be "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds; that in this I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (Eph. 6:18-20). Notice that Paul prays for this boldness, both for himself and for all of the saints. We can be sure, therefore, that the concern of the Lord is to forestall that Satan-engendered embarrassment that turns the Christian from one who speaks well about the Savior to one who mentions Him not at all. The advent of spiritual dumbness in the life of a Christian can be an evidence of one of several forms of spiritual sickness. One possibility is that this strangely silent Christian may have been affected by spiritual subversion. The Christian, because of the introduction of false doctrine into his life, may be slowly ceasing to believe the truth of the Gospel. When the once proud witness for the Savior becomes ashamed of Jesus, that's the beginning of other troubles. Spiritual inarticulation may also be an evidence of personal sin. The Scripture teaches that the righteous person is as bold as a lion. Conversely, the Christian with unconfessed sin will be tongue-tied until he makes it right with the Lord . His problem is not that he needs a course in witnessing, but he needs !o heed the admonition of I John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Pray earnestly for the person who no longer speaks of Christ and watch for the odor of Satan in the room. To slide back from overt testimony into spiritual reluctance happens not only to individuals, but also to churches, organizations, and ministries. How many churches do we all know across the nation that used to stand proudly and defiantly for the name of Christ? They were evangelistic, prayerful, earnest, and were not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. But now, it is not like it was. Churches and whole denominations have begun talking about a hundred interesting other things than the Gospel of Christ. Having then moved to spiritual amnesia, forgetting their true mission, they've turned out the lights on Wednesday night, Sunday night, and they even grow dimmer on Sunday morning. With the denominations, it is worse. In concentrating on something called "social action," they have forgotten that only the Gospel ill effectively change anything or anybody. They are embarrassed at the message of a crucified Savior and t he blood of the cross is of no account to them . Ichabod is their present name. Many Christian organizations, for the same reason, are fading in our time. Almost all the great Gospel and media ministries had, in their earlier years, a great cutting edge. The founder believed, with what seemed like excessive passion, the truth of the Gospel. As a result, the crowds gathered and the support made a great ministry possible . Those crowds and that support is disappearing today with some formerly significant ministries. One can look through the magazines of some ministries--those who have not canceled publication--and find hardly the mention of the name of Jesus Christ. There are ministries today that once stood on the inerrancy of Scripture, redemption by the blood of Christ, salvation by grace alone, the security of the believer, the soon-coming Jesus Christ, the distinctive nature of the Church, and especially, Calvary--Calvary was the center of it all . Now it is different. Now the theologians and the scholastics (schools are more than often the center of spiritual defection) are telling us we must rethink these precious truths. So often, then, rethinking leads to redefinition; redefinition to redaction; redaction to "reconsideration in the light of new scholarship," and soon it is all over. At the core of the collapse of many a great movement is that its second or third generation leaders simply became ashamed o the name of Jesus Christ and the combatant nature of the founding fathers. The movement then ceased to be an army and began to be a hospital, or even a rest home. All o this very common set of defections in our time begins when we move from an overt testimony of Jesus Christ and His power to save to a reluctant admission that maybe we know Him . Once again, the ministry of Christ in our time needs to stand with the Apostle Paul when he said, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16). All who have but a reluctant admission of a faint relationship with Christianity would do well to stay home in the closet until the Spirit of God brings boldness and power to that trembling spirit. Then and only then will that life be used to accomplish a result worthy of Christ in this wicked and adulterous generation. Reform or Revival? Reform or Revival? REFORM OR REVIVAL? by Richard D. Land From LIGHT magazine May/June 93 In the wake of the 1992 elections, some evangelical Christians have openly questioned whether Christians should make involvement in the nation's political process a priority, arguing that Christians and their churches should address only spiritual problems and withdraw from confrontation with governmental evil and injustice. As one Baptist pastor put it right after the election, the world "will never be changed through the political system . . . The only thing that we as Christians should want from our government is . . . let us be free people in a free land with free churches to go out . . . and evangelize and witness and disciple . . . Give us the opportunity to do that and then we will make the change in the moral climate." This pastor's words express the justifiable frustration and disillusionment Christians feel with political leaders who have been long on rhetoric during election campaigns and short on reform when governing has commenced. Clearly, attempts to rectify societal immorality and injustice by political and governmental reform alone are doomed to failure. The premise, however, that Christians should focus only on evangelism is just as wrong as the premise that political reform alone is sufficient. Christians have a responsibility to do both. The Baptist Faith and Message affirms a call to involvement with the world when it says that "every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society." The confession also says Christians not only "should oppose, in the spirit of Christ, every form of greed, selfishness and vice," but "should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love." King Josiah stands as the classic example that reform from government alone is never sufficient. After Josiah's heart was changed by the Word of God, he carried out a thorough reform of the nation, rooting out idolatrous and wicked behavior. However, his reforms proved temporary because the people's hearts were not changed, merely their habits (2 Kings 22-23). Spiritual revival alone is also ineffective in rectifying societal evil and injustice unless the connection is made between belief and behavior and unless Christians understand that as redeemed beings we are called to be salt and light in society (Matt. 5:13-16). The withdrawal for too many years by too many evangelicals from societal and political engagement has led to many of our nation's problems. Peter Berger, commenting on surveys revealing that the people of India are the world's most religious and the Swedes the most secular, described America as "a nation of Indians ruled by an elite of Swedes." That is precisely what happens when believers disengage from political involvement. As Chuck Colson put it, "Christians must contend for biblically informed morality and justice in the halls of power," but "what we do must flow from who we are" (Christianity Today, 2/8/93). We must never embrace the false dichotomy of reform or revival, but revival and reform simultaneously. And when that happens, an exciting equation emerges: "Revival + Reform = Reformation." And Reformation is what our nation desperately needs. Nothing less is required and nothing else will suffice. How to Overcome Sin How to Overcome Sin HOW TO OVERCOME SIN by Charles Finney Edited and paraphrased by Keith Green Contributed by The Manna System "They said therefore to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" (John 6:28-29) There are multitudes of anxious Christians who are inquiring what they shall do to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. They overlook the fact that "this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith" (1 John 5:4) that it is with "the shield of faith" that they are to "extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16) They ask, "Why am I overcome by sin? Why can't I get above its power? Why am I the slave of my appetites and passions and the sport of the devil?" They look all around them for the cause of all this spiritual wretchedness and death. Sometimes they think they have discovered the answer in the neglect of one duty, and at another time in the neglect of another duty. Sometimes they imagine they have yielded to one sin and sometimes in yielding to another. They put forth efforts in this direction and patch up their righteousness on one side, while they make a tear in the other. Thus they spend years running around in a circle, making dams of sand across the current of their own corruptions. Instead of at once purifying their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9), they are engaged in trying to stop the overflow of its bitter waters. "Why do I sin?" they inquire; and looking around for the cause, they come to the same conclusion: "It is because I neglect such and such a duty!" "But how shall I get rid of sin?" Usual answer: "By doing my duty, that is by ceasing from sin." Now the real question should be: Why do they neglect their duty? Why do they commit sin at all? Where is the foundation of all this mischief? But all this only brings us back to the real question again: How are we to overcome this corrupt nature, this wickedness, and our sinful habits? I answer, BY FAITH ALONE. No works of the law have the least tendency to overcome our sins, but rather they strengthen the soul in self-righteousness and unbelief. THE GREAT AND FUNDAMENTAL SIN WHICH IS AT THE FOUNDATION OF ALL OTHER SIN IS UNBELIEF. The first thing to do is to give that up - to believe the Word of God. There is no breaking away from one sin without this. "Whatever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23) "Without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 11:6) Thus we see that the backslider and convicted Christian, when agonizing to overcome sin, will almost always try to use the works of the law to obtain faith. They will fast and pray and read and struggle and outwardly reform, and thus endeavor to obtain grace. But all this is in vain and wrong. Do you ask, "Shall we not fast and pray and read and struggle? Shall we do nothing but sit down in cheap security and inaction?" I answer: You must do all that God commands you to do; but begin where He tells you to begin, and do it in the manner in which He commands you to do it. That is - in the exercise of that faith that works by love. (Galatians 5:6) Purify your hearts by faith. Believe in the Son of God! (1John 5:10) WHAT IS "FAITH"? The first element of saving faith is realizing the truth of the Bible. But this alone is not saving faith, for Satan also realizes the truth of the Bible, which makes him tremble. (James 2:19) But a second element in saving faith is the agreement of the heart (or will) to the truth understood by the mind. It is a cordial trust or resting of the mind in those truths, and yielding up the whole being to their influence. Now it is easy to see that without the consent of the will, there can be nothing but an outward obedience to God. A wife without confidence in her husband can do nothing more than outwardly perform her duty to him. Works of law may be performed without faith, that is, we may serve from fear or hope or some selfish motive, but without the confidence that works by love, obedience from the heart is naturally impossible. By what I've already said, I mean that to seek the grace of faith by mere human works is an utter abomination. It is as abominable as to attempt to purchase the Holy Spirit with money. (Acts 8:20) It is to set aside the testimony of God's Word concerning our utter depravity (helplessness) and attempt to pawn off our unbelieving, heartless works upon an infinitely Holy God. It is an attempt to purchase His favor, instead of accepting grace as His sovereign gift. To give any other answer to one in unbelief, and to tell him to perform any work with the expectation that by it he shall obtain faith is to confirm him in self-righteousness, to prolong his rebellion, to lead him to settle down in a self-righteous hope to produce in the end, discouragement and blasphemy. Because repentance, faith, love, and every other holy exercise both IMPLY and PROCEED from faith - without confidence in the character and requirements of God, it is impossible to repent. FOR WHAT IS REPENTANCE BUT HEARTILY TO JUSTIFY GOD AND CONDEMN OURSELVES. So it is equally impossible to exercise a trusting love in God without faith. Submission to God implies the exercise of confidence in God and in His requirements. Faith is the only exercise that receives Christ with all His powerfully sanctifying influences into the heart. The Bible everywhere represents the sanctified soul as being under the influence of an indwelling Christ. Now the exercise of faith is an opening of the door by which Christ is received to reign in the heart. If this is so, the proper direction plainly is to do that which receives Christ. If this is done, all else will be done. If this is neglected, all else will be neglected, of course! SOME HELPFUL REMARKS You see why the Church is not sanctified. They overlook the office and necessity of faith as that which alone can produce acceptable obedience to God. They are engaged in efforts to obtain faith by works, instead of first exercising faith which will produce within them a clean heart. And in this way they seek in vain for sanctification. How common it is to see Christians bustling about with outward efforts and works - fasting and praying, giving and doing and struggling - and after all this, they do not have the fruits of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, AGAINST WHICH THERE IS NO LAW." (Galatians 5:22-23) You see why the Bible lays so much stress upon faith. You see what the difficulty is for those who are constantly in a complaining state in their walk with the Lord. They seem to know they are wrong, but do not understand what the foundation of their wrong consists of. They sometimes think that a neglect of a certain duty is the grand difficulty, and sometimes their mind fastens upon something else that is the prime difficulty in their case. They set themselves to break off from one sin and another, they practice this self-denial and that duty, and all without that faith that fills the heart with love. Thus they go round and round in a circle and do not see that unbelief is their great, their damning sin, without the removal of which NO OTHER SIN can be repented of or forgiven. All their efforts are entirely legal, hypocritical, and vain until they exercise faith. If persons without faith, in an unsanctified state, set themselves to obey the commandments of God, their efforts must necessarily be legal, self-righteous, and destructive. To them the directions of the Gospel, as well as the commandments of the law, are a horrible pit of miry clay, the more he struggles the deeper he sinks. Every effort at obedience without faith is sin, and as it confirms self-righteousness, is sinking him further and further from God and rational hope. And the more violently he struggles, the more desperate and alarming his case becomes. The clay surrounds him and cleaves to him, suffocates and kills him. Just so the commands of God to an unbelieving heart are a snare and a pit. Without faith, there is ruin and damnation in them. To the careless, unawakened sinner who knows nothing of his lostness, it might be important and proper to direct his attention to the law of God to bring conviction - not with the expectation of promoting holiness in him, but of convicting him of sin. Thus we find Christ requiring the rich young man who is wrapped up in self-righteousness to keep the commandments, bringing out before his mind his supreme love of the world and of things. (Luke 18:18-23) You see how to the Jews and to all unbelievers, the commandments of God are a stumbling block. All outward conformity to them is useless and ruinous. Love without faith is impossible. And consequently, the merciful directions and instructions contained in the dos and the don'ts of the Bible are made the food of self-righteousness and the snare of death. But to those whose souls are full of faith and love, the commandments of God are just the instruction which they need when, in their ignorance, they earnestly inquire what they shall do to glorify God. "Do this and avoid that," and the like, are just the things upon which hearts of love will seize as the needed directions of their Heavenly Father. But someone may inquire, "Do not men learn to exercise faith by what you call legal efforts and an obedience to the legal directions?" No. They only learn by experience that all such directions are vain, and that they are totally depraved and dependent, which they ought to have believed before. They set themselves to pray and read and struggle, expecting at every meeting they attend, with every prayer they make, to obtain grace and faith. But they never do until they are completely discouraged and despair of obtaining help in this way. And the history of every self-righteous sinner's conversion and every anxious Christian's sanctification would develop this truth: that deliverance does not come until their self-righteous efforts are proved by their own experience to be utterly vain, and abandoned as useless - and the whole subject thrown upon the sovereign mercy of God. This submitting a subject to the sovereign mercy of God is that very act of faith which they should have put forth long before, but which they would not exercise until every other means had been tried in vain! But perhaps you will say, "If by this self-righteous struggle they learn their depravity and dependence, and in this matter come to prove by their own experience the truth of God, why not encourage them to make these efforts as at least an indirect way of obtaining faith?" Answer: Blasphemy and drunkenness and any of the most shocking sins may be, and often have been, the means of working conviction which has resulted in conversion. Why not encourage these things to possibly bring about ultimate salvation for some? The truth is, when a sinner's attention is awakened and he is convicted and puts forth the inquiry, "What shall I do?" and when a Christian, struggling with his remaining corruption, puts for this same inquiry, why should they be thrown into the horrible pit of which I have spoken? Why not tell them at once, in the language of the text, -This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent"? (John 6:29) Let me say to you who would make the inquiry, "How can I overcome sin?" don't wait to fast, read, pray, or anything else - don't expect to break off from any sin in your unbelief! You may break off from the outward commission - you may substitute praying for swearing, or reading your Bible for reading magazines, outward employment and honesty for theft and idleness, soberness for drunkenness, and anything you please - but this, without faith, is after all, only exchanging one form of sin for another - it is only varying the mode of your rebellion towards God. For remember that in unbelief, whatever your conduct is, you are still in rebellion against God. Faith would instantly sanctify your heart, sanctify all your doings, and render them in Christ Jesus, acceptable to God. My dear friend, you inquire whether you shall obtain holiness by reading the Bible, or by prayer, fasting, or by all these together. Now let this sermon answer you and know that by neither nor by all of these, in the absence of faith, are you to grow any better, or find any relief. You speak of being in darkness and of being discouraged. No wonder you are so, since you have plainly been seeking sanctification by outward works. You have "stumbled over the stumbling stone." (Romans 9:32) You are in that pit of miry clay. Immediately exercise faith upon the Son of God! It is the first, the only thing you can do to rest your feet upon the Rock - and it will immediately put a new song into your mouth! Taking Practical Steps Toward Revival Taking Practical Steps Toward Revival TAKING PRACTICAL STEPS TOWARD REVIVAL by David Bryant From INTERCESSORS FOR AMERICA NEWSLETTER Excerpted from "The Most Hopeful Sign of Our Times: A Growing Prayer Movement Points America Toward Spiritual Revival" 1. Believe that God wants revival. Pray that God would bring revival. Pray that s God will give you faith and a genuine vision for revival, until you know you are committed to be a part of this great movement of prayer. 2. Join a small prayer group with friends and associates who share your vision. s As you pray, seek to recruit still others. Begin to set the pace in prayer for the Body of Christ. 3. Work at integrating the prayer movement into these four "C" areas of your Christian experience: Closet prayer (personal prayer life) Cluster prayer (in small group settings) Congregational prayer (when an entire church convenes for intercession) Concerts of prayer (when several congregations gather to pray comprehensively for revival). 4. Seek out "pools of renewal" in churches and organizations within your community. Identify which churches and ministry groups are concerned for revival, especially those that already are praying. Then try to "dig the trenches" between them, enabling them to flow together and form a vast reservoir of renewal that can make a difference throughout your entire community. 5. Be equipped in your prayer life and in your efforts to mobilize prayer. The many resources available include books, tapes, conferences, and local and national prayer ministries. 6. Get involved in a communication network that will keep you informed about developments in the broader prayer movement. Historian Richard Lovelace says one of the most important factors in the great spiritual awakenings of the past was communication about what God was doing in other localities. Various Christian publications, radio and TV broadcasts, and revival-report telephone hotlines of national prayer ministries can keep you in touch. 7. Whenever possible, visit other places where the prayer movement is flourishing. Talk to the leaders and learn from them. Then bring back a report to your own church or prayer group. 8. The most important step you can take: don't give up until the answer comes. It is by faith and patience that we inherit the promises, according to Hebrews 6:12. Listen to the entreaty offered in the 1840+s by British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon: "Oh God, send us the Holy Spirit! Give us both the breath of spiritual life and the fire of unconquerable zeal. You are our God ... The Kingdom comes not, and the work is flagging. Oh, that you would send the wind and the fire! And you will do this when we are all of one accord, all believing, all expecting, all prepared by prayer." Spurgeon lived to see God answer his prayer. God is ready to do it again in our day. Bringing Renewal to Hopeless Churches Bringing Renewal to Hopeless Churches BRINGING RENEWAL TO HOPELESS CHURCHES by Tom Claibourne and Dale Meade From CURRENT THOUGHTS AND TRENDS 4/93 Excerpted from "Reviving the 'no hope' Church" The opportunity for a new start following a failure is one of the distinctives of Christianity. While most Christians acknowledge this opportunity for an individual, many fail to allow its application to congregations that have gone into decline. To the alarm of some observers, it would seem that a great number of people believe that once a church starts downhill, it can never be reversed. Because of this failure-oriented mindset, many churches disintegrate unnecessarily. While some churches really are declining, and renewing a struggling church is a monumental task, the barriers can be overcome. Churches should begin by recognizing false ideas that have perpetuated the "no hope" mentality. The power of God should not be sold short - it is His church, after all, and He is able to bring about the needed changes. Human effort alone cannot sustain or build a fellowship. The histories of many churches will reveal that a large percentage of' them have experienced periods of stagnation at one time or another, yet have survived and even flourished. Sometimes it is wise for small churches in an area to band together for some efforts, so that all may benefit from a quality endeavor or program. A "fierce sense of independence" and attitudes of pride or competitiveness are not part of God's plan for His people. Growth can occur even without costly programs and evangelism efforts as churches acknowledge that it is God who gives the increase. New members and new leaders can bring new life into a church and can even help overcome obstacles that have stymied growth in the past. The remnant of faithful ones has always been God's starting point for renewal. Finally, the "no hope" mindset demonstrates human impatience for results, rather than waiting on God. Churches must learn to pray and to be faithful in carrying out Christ's commission to the church. Solutions for the declining church can be found. Sometimes two struggling congregations will merge and become more fruitful than either one could have been alone. New churches need to be planted and older ones strengthened. Both individuals and churches can experience revival. Biblical Studies New In Christ New In Christ WHAT HAVE YOU DONE SINCE? For inspiration read Matthew 16:21-28 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him . . . follow Me" (Matt.16:24). While attending Oxford University, a young medical student named Wilfred Grenfell heard D.L.Moody preach in London. As a result of the message, he was converted to Jesus Christ. After Grenfell completed his education, he went to the Labrador Peninsula in Canada as a missionary. Several years later when he saw Moody again, he introduced himself to the evangelist and thanked him for leading him to Christ. Moody replied, "I'm glad to hear that, but what have you been doing since?" Dr. Grenfell told him with great joy how he had been serving the Lord in Labrador. "Do you have any regrets?" Moody asked him. "No, " Grenfell answered. "The only regret is for the person who comes to Christ for salvation, but then does nothing for Him." Sometimes when believers give their testimonies they speak in glowing terms of having received Christ 20, 30, or 40 years ago. We rejoice, of course, whenever we hear of the saving and keeping power of Christ. But an even greater blessing is shared when fellow believers tell about how they have been serving the Lord, not only down through the years but also at the present. If you have come to Christ for salvation, that's wonderful. But the important question now is the one Moody asked Dr. Grenfell: "What have you been doing since?" Jesus said, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit" (John 15:8). That's what we should be doing! O let us be faithful to Jesus, The faith we confessed let's renew; And ask Him this question each morning: "Lord, what will You have me to do?" THERE ARE A LOT OF CHRISTIANS WHO ARE DOING NOTHING, BUT THERE ARE NO CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE NOTHING TO DO. New Testament Study New Testament Study This issue features the eighth in a series on the Epistle of 1 John. On some occasions this column with be called Old Testament Study. In either case studies will include Psalms and books from both the Old and New Testaments. LOVE MAKES THE CHURCH GO ROUND 1 John 4:7-21 I recently read an editorial in the religion section of my local paper. It talked about the reemergence of Jerry Falwell, and possibly the moral majority as well. The basic assumption was that with Clinton's election, the religious right would become more active. The author saw this as very dangerous. About the same time radio personality Larry King, in a very sarcastic manner, was saying how Bill Clinton had hired people like Phyllis Schaffley and others from the "religious right" to speak out against him. He supposedly did this because he knew that their "hatred and intolerance" was so far out of touch with reality that they would help him get elected. Now obviously King, as well as the author of that editorial don't realize one point. The moral and social values of religious conservatives are often more in line with the mainstream of the country than positions held by the social reconstructionists of the left. However, there is a problem here. Aside from the fact that those who holding sound moral values are never pictured accurately by the media, these people sometimes do feed the attack against themselves. Too many times those who represent themselves as part of the religious community don't manifest the love of God for the sinner. Their style comes across as aggressive and hostile. Yes, Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple and made a laughing stock out of the Pharisees. But His ministry was directed with love towards the sinner who desired help. We will more effectively spread the Gospel if people see our love more frequently than they see our righteous indignation. This is why we need to put more energy into loving people rather than doing our own brand of social engineering. A good example of the positive approach is shown by Habitat For Humanity. This Christian-based group builds or restores homes for those needing shelter. They don't trade the home for the Gospel, but they live their faith in front of the ones they serve. And they always give a Bible to the new home owners. When we get to eternity, it will be very interesting to see how much influence this group had for the Lord Someone once sang, "Love Makes The World Go Round." Well, that really isn't the case. Love however does make the church go round, or at least it should. I get the feeling that I've been teaching the same message for several articles now. If we are going to teach on the letters of the "Apostle of Love," then the focus is on the importance of love within the church. Until we get it right, this is probably for the best. When doctrinal battles arise in the church, it is easy for love to fly out the door. If one side of the discussion is being presented by those who are in rebellion against God, and therefore unloving by definition, it can be easy for us to fall into the trap of responding with hostility. When someone in the church toys with false teachings, it is easy to be more frustrated than loving. However, it's only when we give truth, or correct doctrine, in the context of love will real growth occur. God saved us in love. He desires our growth. We help one another grow through love. And John's focus in the passage 1 John 4:7-21 is that love is the hallmark of the Christian life. His readers were encouraged to examine the lives of the false prophets. In so doing, they would realize that it was God's love that was missing from the lives of these individuals. vs. 7: The test of Christian living is the demonstration of God's love. All that we do or say should be a testimony to God's love in our lives. Biblical love comes from God. Only God can consistently love us in an unselfish way. God's love is the model for ours. ". . . and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:2). John is not talking about saving knowledge. When he refers to the knowledge of God, he is talking about the knowledge that comes through a close relationship. As we abide in Christ, growing in our knowledge of Him, His love will be manifest in our lives. Remember, the false teachers claimed that knowledge of God was attained through esoteric principles. These had no correlation with how one lived. John said, if we know God, we are His children. The proof of this is God's love found in us. vs. 8: In contrast with the love shown by God's children, there is no godly love found in the lives of the unbelievers. "Consider," John might say to his readers, "the unloving lives of these teachers who strive to influence you." vs. 9-10: John makes it clear that when he speaks of godly love, he is identifying the love of God lived out on the cross. Christ Himself expressed this when He said: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). God's love for us defines what love is. That love was the sacrificial love of Christ on the cross. He loved us so much He was willing to die for us so we could receive eternal life. Our own love isn't biblical love. Biblical love is God's love moving through us to one another. This means that we don't have to experience the "warm fuzzes" in order to love one another. vs. 11: When we struggle with loving one another, we need to step back and reexamine ourselves, desiring an accurate self-image. As we see how much God loved us while we were in sin, we can then be motivated to love others. Obviously, we are no better than them. " But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). God's love and sacrifice for us, is to be the motivation for us in turn to love others sacrificially. vs. 12: And it is as we love in this manner that the world can see God's love. Christ has placed us here on earth as His body. It is only as we love that people can see God's love. We must never forget that in all we do in the church we are representing God's love to a fallen world. We must consider all our actions in light of the question: Does this decision show God's love to the world around us? vs. 13-16a: The presence of the Holy Spirit is the final validation of Salvation. Without the Holy Spirit, no unregenerate can be saved. At moment of salvation, the new believer is simultaneously indwelt by the Spirit. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9). The presence of the Spirit results in the believer glorifying God. What some theologians forget is that it is the Spirit's function to glorify Christ, and not Himself. This is why it is inappropriate to allow a focus on the Holy Spirit to obscure the glory of Christ. "When the Counselor 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" (John 15:26). Note: John is saying that believers will not only testify for Christ, but they will be accurate, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, in their testimony. The problem with the false teachers was that the christ they talked about wasn't Jesus Christ. The proof of salvation is an orthodox testimony of the incarnation. Only those who are of Christ will testify accurately as to Who He is. Confidence of salvation is dependent on Who God is, not deserving salvation. God, in His loving mercy, took on human form and died for sin. We are saved because He loves us, not because we deserve it. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes God's love real in us. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:5). vs. 16b-18: The public testimony of salvation is not the claim of esoteric knowledge. It is not some mystic statement about the "Christ consciousness." The sign of salvation is the presence of God's love in the life of the believer. We are saved because God loves us and His love flowing through us confirms our salvation. Biblical love can only exist and be perfected in a close relationship with God. It cannot be counterfeited. The false prophets apparently showed a significant lack of love. God's love in us is also the basis of our confidence as we stand before Him. We may lose our works, but we will always be able to stand before God, anticipating an eternity with Him is full confidence that He loves us. We have nothing to fear, for God's love paid the price for our sin. (John is specifically talking about fear of judgment.) This not only means that we don't have to fear eternal judgment, but we don't have to fear that when we do sin, God is out to "get us." I know that we sometimes feel this way. But, we have a loving Father who desires restoration, not punishment. Even when He has to discipline it is because He loves us. Therefore we don't have to fear His discipline. In the broader scheme of life, we have nothing to fear from circumstances either. We have a loving Father who cares for us. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4: 6-7). It makes sense when you think about it. If God loves us enough to die for us, then we have nothing to fear, either in judgment or in life. This isn't because our lives will be perfect, but because God watches over us. He allows all the occurrences in our lives in order to perfect our relationship with Him and our dependency on Him. vs. 19-21: John summarizes all this with the truth: we love in response to the love of God in us. We are incapable of loving as God loves, except as a response to His love though the power of the Holy Spirit. The test for the prophets was the presence of God's love in their lives. They claimed to be of God, but unless they manifested His love, they were clearly liars. They were not of Christ. Love of God means keeping His commands. They didn't love. They didn't keep His commands. They weren't His. By extension, the readers of John's letters must have been showing God's love, because they were His. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him" (John 14:21). So where do we go from here? First, we need to start by understanding just how important it is that we express this love. Stott put it this way: "God's love which originates in Himself and was manifested in His Son is perfected in His people. It is 'brought to perfection within us' (NEB). God's love for us is perfected only when it is reproduced in us or (as it may mean) 'among us' in the Christian fellowship." As believers we are to be the manifestation of God's love before a fallen world. 1. There are many practical ways we can show God's love. Husbands can love wives. Parents can love children, and visa versa. This means that we have to put aside selfishness, or a me first "attitude." Instead, in consideration of all that the Lord has done for us, we need to care for others. Agape means being willing to be inconvenienced for the needs of others, whether within our family or within our church. Within the church, we always must strive to balance all we do in truth and love. "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work" (Ephesians 4:15-16). Next, let us be concerned with our responsibility to the world. The church is to be the presence of Christ in the midst of a hostile and unloving world. How the church loves its enemies will be a testimony to the reality of God's love in providing the way of salvation. "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (Luke 6:28). Remember, all that we do, in our relationships with each other, in our families and in the family of the church, must be carried out with the desire to demonstrate God's love through us. All that we do as members of our communities must also be done with the ultimate desire of making God's love real to those around us. God sent Christ to show His love. Now He sends us out to continue the process of showing His love. Let us pray that we never lose sight of the responsibility to love those whom Christ died to save. 1. Stott, John R. W., THE EPISTLES OF JOHN, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1983, p. 164. Special Studies Special Studies The Tri-unity of God is one of the foundational doctrines of Christianity. At the same time it is also greatly misunderstood. Frequently Jews believe that Christians teach a plurality of gods because of the doctrine of Tri-unity. And some cults actually do teach multiple gods, misusing this doctrine. But even among Christians there is confusion related to the facts behind the Godhead. In this article, Dr. Wootten continues his survey of Bible doctrine with a discussion of the Trinity. GOD IS REVEALED THROUGH THE TRINITY Dr. Charles A. Wootten Whole Counsel Ministries, Inc. One of the great Gospel truths, one of the major doctrines of the Bible, is that of the Trinity. The Trinity is presented in the Bible from start to finish "even though the word 'trinity' is not used. The Bible uses, instead, the word "Godhead" when speaking of the threefold God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;" (Colossians 2:9 (NKJV)). On the very first page of the Scriptures, we read (according to the Jewish Publication Society of America's translation of Genesis 1:1): "When God began to create the heaven and the earth: the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind (or Spirit of) from God sweeping over the water." In the first chapter of the Gospel according to John we are told: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4). And who is the "Word"? We read on: "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). So the Word who was in the very beginning with the Father is none other than Jesus Christ the Word made flesh. He who was seen at the Creation and was its creator. There are many other Scripture passages relating to the Trinity. We have just seen the presentation in the Gospels of the record of the baptism of Jesus. We were shown the Son of God standing in the Jordan, the Father speaking from heaven and the Holy Spirit descending upon Jesus. "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: 'You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased' " (Luke 3:21-22). Many times in the Gospels, Jesus speaks of his Father in heaven, and He promises to send the Holy Spirit to take the place of Jesus when Jesus returns to the Father. We read in Acts 7:55, "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." Here again the three Persons of the Trinity, the Godhead, are distinguished. In the benediction within the second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul wrote, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:14). Throughout the Bible we find reference after reference that continually point toward the fact that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit," three distinct persons in one Godhead. Ephesians 4:4-6 reveals the unity of the Church reflected in the Trinity. "There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Let us examine these verses in detail. The third person of the Trinity: one Spirit, the animating Principle of one body -- the Church; the Source of its life and ever watchful Guardian of the Church's unity; the Inspirer of the one hope (verse 4). Where the Spirit of Christ dwells as a living entity, He finds or makes for Himself a body. No man can say, "I have the spirit of religion. I can dispense with forms. I need no fellowship with men. I prefer to walk with God." God will not walk with men who do not care to walk with His people. The oneness of communion among the Church is governed by a singleness of vision. The old world fell apart because it lacked a commonness of vision. The Church today is feeling that same strain with multitudinous Bible versions, the pressure of society to hyphenate origins, these and more causing division rather than the common vision of unity. At least the old world gloried in its past where today the new world destroys its past. Nothing holds men together like unity and hope. Christianity holds out a splendid crown of life. It promises our complete restoration to the image of God, the redemption of the body with the spirit from death, and our entrance upon an eternal fellowship with Christ in heaven. The Christian hope supplies to men the hope of their calling in Christ Jesus. The Christian hope works for the regeneration of humanity. The Christian hope looks for the actual ingathering into one in Christ of all things in all worlds, as they are already gathered in God's eternal plan. The second person of the Trinity: one Lord whom we are called to serve. Our willingness to be obedient to Him molds us into one compact unity. One faith (verse 5), one body of inviolable truth, one code of divine commands, one Gospel of promise, presenting one object of faith. One baptism (verse 5), one gateway of entrance into the company of believers forming the one Church, one initiation common to all. Christians may differ as to the mode of baptism and the age at which it should be administered, but all agree it is an institution of Christ, a sign of spiritual renewal and a pledge of the righteousness that comes by faith. The first person of the Trinity: one God, the supreme and final unity, who is "the Father of all," who is above all, and through all, and in you all (verse 6). He is the Father of the whole creation, even the Father of Christians. He is above all. He reigns supreme. He is through all. His nature pervades our frame, His eyes search and try our souls, His influence preserves our spirit. The Trinity is such an important part of the fabric of the Church that it is unimaginable to think of the Church without the unity of the Godhead. Next: God is revealed in the working of miracles and other matters. Messianic Studies Messianic Studies THE TEMPLE Where Did It Stand? Where Will It Be Rebuilt? Part 2 of a 2-part article By Harold A. Sevener From THE CHOSEN PEOPLE magazine When the archaeologists came upon the gate it was filled with debris from the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by Titus, as well as from earthquakes and other conquests. They were, however, able to enter through this gate to an underground corridor which would have led up to the Temple Mount. From this corridor other tunnels led off in different directions. Almost immediately the Arabs demanded the tunnel's closure for fear of their own holy site just above it. Right now this gate is bricked up. But history is not silent concerning the subject of tunnels under the Temple Mount. Josephus describes a tunnel between Herod's Fortress Antonia at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount and the Temple Site. He states, "There was an occult passage built for the king. It led from Antonia to the inner temple at its eastern gate, over which he also erected for himself a tower, that he might have the opportunity of a subterraneous ascent to the temple, in order to guard against any sedition which might be made by the people against their kings." (Josephus, The Antiqlities of the Jews, Book XV, Ch. 11, p. 474) A secret tunnel was par for Herod's paranoiac course. But the record speaks of subterranean passages not only for the king but also for the priests. Why for the priests? Talmud and rabbinic writings, as well as those of Josephus, tell us that Jerusalem and especially the Temple Mount was such a sacred place that no public or private facilities could be built on the Temple Mount. MISSING DEAD SEA SCROLLS A passage in the Temple Scrolls (one of the missing Dead Sea Scrolls that came to light after the Six Day War) describes where these facilities could be built. The passage states, "And you shall make them a place for a "hand" [Heb., latrine, privy] outside the city to which they shall go out, to the northwest of the city, roofed houses with pits within them into which the excrement will descend so that it will not be visible any distance from the city 3000 cubits." (Column 46:13-16) Candidly, if a priest, during his hours of ministry in the Holy Place became defiled or had to relieve himself he would exit through these underground tunnels and make his way to the "hand" (latrine) outside the city. THE ESSENE SCRIBES In their temple scrolls we know the Essene scribes recorded in exact detail how and where the "hand" was to be built. But was it ever built? Did it even exist? For 1700 years an obscure reference in Josephus waited to yield up the answer. In describing the location of a certain wall around the Temple Josephus states that it "...extended through a place called Bethso to the gate of the Essenes..." (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book V, Ch.4,p.78) Now, the place Bethso and the Essene gate were a puzzle to scholars until two men brought years of study and research to bear on the problem. Dr. Yigal Yadin, in his book on the temple scroll, writes, "Not until the 19th Century did two scholars come up with an ingenious suggestion. They were the American, Edward Robinson, and Rabbi Joseph Schwarcz of Jerusalem, celebrated explorers of ancient Israel. "With a scholarly intuition they proposed that Bethso could be the transliteration of two Hebrew words, "Beth" (which means house of) and "Tzoa" (which means excrement). Both these words are used with those very meanings in the passage of the scroll under discussion. WRONG TRANSLATION "The suggestion of Robinson and Schwarcz prompted some scholars to attribute to Josephus' Bethso, a meaning similar to that of the gate normally translated from the Hebrew as the Dung Gate (for the Hebrew word for dung could also mean quiver) and because of the similarity there was a tendency to ignore the directions in Josephus and conclude the Essene Gate, whatever it might have been, was close to the Dung Gate of today, in the southern wall of the city. "The text in Josephus, however, is quite clear. Both the Bethso and the Essene Gate were on the western side of the city with the Bethso nearer to the northwestern corner in line with the location of the hand in the scroll, to the northwest of the city." (Yadin, The Temple Scroll, pp. 180-1) This confirms the location of the hand to the northwest. The shortest route from the Temple to this area would have been through the western wall of the Temple-via the gate found in the Western Wall of the Temple when the Rabbis' Tunnel was dug. Since we already know that this gate is directly opposite the Eastern or Golden Gate (and therefore right behind the Holy of Holies) we can safely surmise that this was the very gate through which the priests, when they became defiled for Temple service would leave the Holy Place. They would exit via this gate and out the western gate of the city wall. This gate within the Western Wall, accessible today only through the Rabbis' Tunnel, positions for us the exact location of the Temple. It is rather ironic that the very gate through which one would pass because they were defiled would be the very gate by which today we can now identify the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. What stands above the tunnel, on top of the Temple Mount, in the path of a straight line drawn between the Eastern Gate and the gate found near the Rabbis' Tunnel? Amazingly, it is not the Dome of the Rock. How did the Muslims come to lay siege to the holiest place on earth? In A.D. 70, Titus captured the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. Then in the year A.D. 130, the Emperor Hadrian visited the ruined city and he ordered that a Roman colony was to be built on the ruins of Jerusalem. He held a ceremony for the plowing of furrows to mark the projected walls of his new city. He gave it a new name, Aelia Capitolina. For almost 200 years Aelia Capitolina was an unimportant Roman provincial city with some Christian inhabitants, a few pilgrims, and a few brave Jews who would risk their lives to lament and pray at the Western Wall over the destruction of their holy Temple. EARTHQUAKES AND FLAMES In 363 the Jews were allowed into the holy city and they started to rebuild the Temple. Jewish tradition, as well as Christian tradition, tells how earthquakes and flames of fire burst forth from King Solomon's Stable and prevented this construction. In 614 Jerusalem was conquered by the Persians. The Persians allowed some of the Jewish people to return; they wanted to rebuild their holy sites. But once again Byzantine Christianity fought against the Persians and the Jews were expelled. But in 636 the Arab world had descended upon Jerusalem and in March 638 Christian Jerusalem capitulated to the armies of the Muslim, Caliph Omar. A French bishop who had made his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the year 670 recorded that the Saracens (the Arabs) had erected a large square wooden hut on the ruins of the Temple. Then, Caliph Abdel Malik adopted Jerusalem as the major holy city of Islam. He destroyed Mecca and he began the building of mosques on the Temple Mount. In 691 he completed the Dome of the Rock with his four gates facing the four corners of the compass. At the Dome is the irregular surface of what is called the Sacred Rock, 15 x 12 meters in size, beneath which is a small cave, seven meters wide by seven meters long and accessible by steps. The cave is lit by a circular hole in the ceiling, giving the rock one of its names-the pierced stone. Supposedly, it was in this cave Abram, David, Solomon and Elijah prayed. It was from here that the angel Gabriel directed Muhammad to heaven. Through the marble slab of the floor one is said to be able to hear the roar of the river of paradise, or the water gushing to the Qas, the large wash basin, from the cisterns under the Temple. Traditionally, this is the center of the world. According to Muslim belief it is for the holding of the souls in paradise and, according to their tradition, the Dome of the Rock was built over the Holy of Holies of the Jewish Temple. DOME OF THE SPIRITS However, as we now know, modern scholarship may not confirm this thesis. As we've already indicated, if an imaginary line was drawn from the center of the Eastern or Golden Gate directly across the Temple Mount to the western gate found in the Rabbis' Tunnel, it would dissect a small arabic building called Qubbat el-Arwah, the Dome of the Spirits. Dr. Asher S. Kaufman, writing for the BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW states, "Has this Arabic name preserved an ancient memory of the holiness of the site? In Sinai, where the glory of the Lord appeared before the whole community of Israel, Moses and Aaron addressed the Lord as 'God of the spirits of all mankind' (Num. 16:22). (See also Num. 27:16; Ezek. 37; Job 12:10) Dome of the Spirits is certainly an appropriate name to mark the dwelling place of the Lord's name, the center of His divine presence. "But this cupola also has another Arabic name, Qubbat el-Alouah, or Dome of the Tablets. In the Holy of Holies in Solomon's temple was kept the Ark of the Covenant, now lost, containing the two stones, tablets of the law, given to Moses on Mount Sinai. AN ANCIENT MEMORIAL "According to M. deBogue, the name Dome of the Tablets was given to this cupola because it is dedicated to the memory of the tablets of the law. Once more a name preserves the ancient memory of the location of the Holy of Holies." (Biblical Archaeological Review , Mar-Apr, 1983) But even more fascinating is the fact that under this cupola which stands approximately 15 feet high there is a flat piece of the bedrock of Mount Moriah. This flat piece of bedrock fits perfectly with the descriptions given of the Even Shetiyah, the foundation stone which was found in the Holy of Holies upon which the Ark of the Covenant rested. Interestingly, Dr. Kaufman points out another fact which would locate the Holy of Holies over this present site of the Dome of the Winds. He states, "Another impressive identification of a Temple mount relic, although not nearly as spectacular as the Holy of Holies' podium, involves a cistern explored by Wilson and his successors. "The Mishnah describes a pit in which libation offerings were gathered (Middoth 3.3, Me'ilah 3.3). The entrance to it was located between the porch and the altar of sacrifice (Jerusalem Talmud, Sukka, Ch. 4, Halachah 6). This pit conforms to the location of the cemented cistern which is sited so as to avoid undermining the foundation both of the hekel (the temple building) and the altar." (B.A.R., p. 54) CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE I believe the excavation of the Rabbis' Tunnel, gives to us conclusive evidence that the Temple was located north of the Dome of the Rock. Scholars like Dr. Kaufman and Dr. Lambert Dolphin have drawn diagrams showing the superimposition of the Second Temple on the Temple Mount with the Holy of Holies located over the Dome of the Winds. Such a location would allow for both a Jewish temple as well as the Dome of the Rock and the El Aqsa Mosque to stand side by side. According to Scripture, there will come a day when a covenant of peace will be drawn up between Israel and the nations (Dan. 9:27). Could it be that that covenant of peace will guarantee the rebuilding of such a temple on this actual temple site? Jesus predicted that when such a temple does stand it will be defiled by the abomination of desolation which would signal the time of the end. All of the pieces are coming together like the pieces of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Israelis will continue their excavation within the Rabbis' Tunnel. Having finished their excavation along the Western Wall they'll continue along the northern wall, and as the political situation allows, they will once again reopen this bricked-up western gate. They will proceed to explore the chambers, the hidden caves, the reservoirs, looking for further clues and relics of the Temple that once stood upon this site. Could it be that they will one day find the Ark of the Covenant? Could it be that they will find other significant scrolls that verify the exact site of the Temple? Each year, as our tour groups visit Jerusalem, we, as permitted by the authorities, visit the Rabbis' Tunnel, examining for ourselves the physical evidence pointing to the actual location of the Temple. Later, as we stand upon the Temple Mount we look toward the Mount of Olives and our hearts quicken with anticipation as we remember the promises that one day (perhaps very soon) God's glory (our Messiah, Yeshua) will once again appear. READY TO REBUILD In the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem there is a group of young Levites who are currently studying the temple scrolls, preparing themselves for the day when the Temple will be rebuilt, and the sacrificial system reinstituted. Elsewhere in Jerusalem there are rabbis and scholars who are researching, dreaming, and planning for the rebuilding of the Temple. Plans have actually been drawn and funds are being raised. At the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, established by Rabbi Israel Ariel, visitors to Jerusalem see temple vessels, clothing, and furnishings that have been prepared for actual use when the Temple has been rebuilt. These items have been made in exacting detail of the original temple vessels and furnishings. The Institute has already completed 53 of the 103 vessels required for temple worship. They have also completed the High Priest's garments and the breast-plate. Each stone in the breast-plate was carefully set, as Scripture and rabbinic tradition dictate. The temple laver can also be seen, along with the instruments used for sacrifice. Rabbi Ariel is currently trying to raise funds so the Institute can make an authentic "Menorah" (seven-branch candelabrum). The cost of such a project is in the millions of dollars. Also on display at the Temple Institute are biblical harps which were used by the Levitical priests in singing and chanting the "Songs of Ascent" and other melodies during times of worship, praise, prayer, and sacrifice. More recently, the Institute has been searching the nations of the world for a particular breed of cattle with color resembling the Talmudic description of the "red heifer." According to the Scriptures, the ashes of the "red heifer" were needed to provide cleansing for the instruments and for individuals working on or within the Temple (see Num. 19:1-22). Once this strain of cattle has been located, some of the cattle will be brought to Israel where they will be bred under close rabbinic supervision. The cattle, when bred, will have to meet strict biblical and talmudic standards (unblemished and without defect). Once bred, the heifer will be sacrificed, and its ashes will be used to purify the vessels, furnishings, and garments which have already been made. Likewise, the ashes will be used to purify priests who are currently preparing themselves for ministering in this future temple. It is the hope and prayer of Rabbi Ariel and others that by the time the "red heifer" has been bred, the new temple will be standing. It can then be dedicated to God. It would thus appear that the actual site of the Temple is known. The priesthood is being prepared, the temple funding has begun, and the articles and furnishings of the Temple (along with the garments of the priests) are already being made. As soon as ashes from the "red heifer" can be obtained and prepared, the temple site will be purified and made ready for building. When that has been accomplished, only the granting of permission by the Israeli authorities will be needed before the rebuilding of the Temple will begin. Prayer Guidelines Prayer Guidelines PRAYER AND PRACTICE Article 17 of the "Prayer and ..." Series by Michael Wilkinson "Then these men said, 'We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.' So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: 'King Darius, live forever! All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.' Therefore King Darius signed the written decree. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days" (Daniel 6:5-10). Daniel was a man of prayer. That is, he made it his practice to pray regularly. We are told that he had gone to his window to pray three times a day "as was his custom since early days." This may refer to his youth, or to the early days of his captivity, but the indication is that he had a habit of always praying three times a day. He did not allow anything to keep him from devoting this time to praying to the Lord, even when the king passed a law against such prayer. It was not the number of prayers, nor the simple routine that was important. It was the devotion to the Lord. Daniel kept all his appointments because he devoted time to prayer. When we pray in time of need, we are seeking His help, but when we pray in time devoted to prayer, we seek Him. Time set aside just to have fellowship with the Lord is valuable and edifying and essential to Christian maturity. Let us make it our practice to meet with the Lord regularly. In conclusion, please consider the following verses: "Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray. My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up" (Psalms 5:1-3). "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice" (Psalms 55:17). SCUD Warnings SCUD Warnings S piritual C ounterfeits U ndermining D octrine W A R N I N G S By Jerry Johnson *** INTER-OFFICE MEMO *** M B C Mediocrity Broadcasting Company ********************************* DATE: May 30, 1993 TO: Sid Video, Head of Program Development FROM: Vince Fascilate, Writer/Sitcoms RE: New Program Concept Boy! Have I got an idea for the upcoming T.V. season! You know how popular shows like Roseanne, Married With Children and the Simpsons are? Well, I figured we could steal the core concepts of those shows to make a new show, "Father Knows Worst." Yeah, it will be a take off on that old show that starred Marcus Welby, but with a classic 90's twist. You know, the dad is a totally self-absorbed jerk, no more intelligent than the family dog, Humper (you know how well that sexual innuendo sells). The mom's number one job is to emotionally emasculate the dad and, of course, the kids are far wiser than the parents, but especially dummy dad! I know, I know, you're probably saying you've heard it all before, but I really want to push the envelope with this one. You know how our shows are getting more sexual, violent and obscene -- let's see just how far we can go! Here's the set up: the daughter, Bambi (called Bimbo by everyone) is a prostitute in her spare time between classes at school; the boy, Bubba (called Butta by everyone) has a major gastronomical problem and flatulates every time he makes an entry; the mom, Tina (called Tiny because she's not big upstairs -- you know what I mean) feels really insecure and threatened by the open sexuality of her daughter, so the mom flirts with ANY male that comes around; and then dad (simply called dummy) is impotent and he has a real temper about Bubba always passing gas and belts him every time he does. This will be great! Anyone watching the show will feel good about their upbringing because no one's family is as messed up as this one. I think this is a real winner! We could even do an episode where someone over hears the dad say something to Bambi and they misunderstand, thinking there's some incest going on. In the end he's cleared and the family supports the dummy dad. It's the kind of stuff they'll remember at Emmy time! Let's get together and do lunch to work out the details. Vince Fascilate ******************************** The weird thing is, there might be a show just like this within a few short years if things keep going the way they are. And, if the viewers are liberal enough, it just might win an Emmy. "Family Values" We're all hearing that term bounced around; disparagingly by liberals and lovingly by conservatives, but my question is: Has anyone heard "family values" defined? No one I've asked has. Neither have I. It's just this vague, amorphous term that's taken on a life of its own like "Tippicanoe and Tyler, Too" (you have to check presidential history for that timely message). It's not so much a statement of what we believe as what, however vaguely, we are trying to protect. According to a good portion of TV shows most families seem to be single parent or blended families and the shows with dads tend to use his fragile ego and irrationality as a comedic focus. What gives many conservatives high blood pressure is not so much that the media is saying that non-traditional families CAN work, but that they seem to be saying that they are at least as good, if not better, than traditional one time married parents with children. This is becoming the center of the storm: What, in 1990's American society, is a "family"? Thirty years ago that would not have been a tough question. Today it is. Is a family: * any group of people who co-habit with some (and the stress is on the word some ) level of commitment? * a grouping of people that are drawn together because there is at least one significant other in the house, regardless of sexual orientation? * any grouping of people brought together from people of opposite sex getting legally married? Nope, it's not as easy as it used to be. "So how does this qualify as a SCUD that is threatening the church?" It qualifies because the media and the nation are seriously questioning if there is a "best" type of grouping of people that comprise the suddenly mysterious association known as a "family." This debate is being reflected on TV with blended families and single parent families and families with dummy dads being presented as the norm. And some people in churches are beginning to accept this new definition (or non-definition) of "family." "But everyone knows that 50% of all marriages end in divorce, so aren't blended or single parent families at least as common as traditional one marriage families?" Nope. But everyone knows those statistics!" Yes, because that is the statistic that everyone quotes. But, like all statistics, you can be "accurate" and still be misleading ... as many statistics quoted by politicians indicate. It is true that about 50% of ALL marriages result in divorce, but that includes second, third, fourth and thirteenth marriages. In reality, around 90% of all fourth and fifth marriages end in divorce, about 75% of all third marriages fail, 50% of all second marriages, but only 25% of all first marriages fail. It's when you put all those groups together that you get the "50% of all marriages fail" rule. So, in truth, about 75% of all first marriages continue to function. "Well, that may be true, but I've also heard that 90% of all families are dysfunctional. How about that?" How do you define "dysfunctional?" If dysfunction is any time people don't act like June and Ward Cleaver with Wally and the Beav then, yes, over 90% of us are dysfunctional and the rest are lying about it. But if you are defining "dysfunctional" as involving incest, physical abuse and neglect, I doubt that statistic has much validity. "But what about emotional abuse!? When I was 10 my dad called me stupid because I used a belt sander to polish his Ford Fairlane. I feel the hurt of that to this day! I was emotionally abused!" I have a personal operating theory about "abuse", partially based on my experience as a Social Worker working with SEVERELY abused children placed in the homes of professing Christians. First of all, we are all victims of our sin nature. I John 1:8 states that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Since we have a sin predisposition, anyone around us will feel at least some of the impact of the times that we are being selfish or grumpy or bitter or whatever. That is "normal." Not wonderful or even necessarily good. Just normal. So I do not believe that just because my mom was impatient with me because she'd had a bad day, that she was abusive. She was simply human. We constantly battle with our sin nature and issues and, at times, some of it spills over. That is life, not abuse. I believe that abuse occurs when someone makes choices that imposes the effects of their sin onto others. It is not spill over, it is targeted. This is seen in families with incest, severe physical abuse (usually done in frustration or anger) constant denigration of others ("you're stupid, ugly, a slut," etc.) or emotional and physical neglect. I believe that their abuses are evidence that the sin, be it lust, rage or chronic selfishness, have domination in their lives. They're not fighting the sin in their lives, they've surrendered to it. Frankly, it makes me furious that the world is defining "family" as an essentially dysfunctional and outmoded concept. Especially when, for thousands of years, "family" has been the setting in which children have become socialized and learn about rules, structure, interpersonal relationships and dealing with authority figures. And that, finally, brings me to the focus of this column. "All that was just an intro?!" It was more than just the intro, it was the foundation of what I want to say. I believe what we've been talking around is a core reason for the breakdown of American Society resulting in increasing violence, disintegrating structure and fluidity of beliefs. "You claim to know what's causing all this!?" A theory, but a plausible one. First of all, throughout our history only a portion of Americans have been true believers, yet the nation functioned because it held sound, foundational, Biblically based ideas regarding responsibility, work ethic, servitude to others and (this is the biggie) and respect for positional authority. "Positional authority? What's that? Only obeying people who are sitting?" Nope. It is giving respect to people who are functioning in an authority position because they are there, not because they as individuals necessarily deserve it. "Where did you get that in the Bible?" Here's just two BIG spots: 1) Saul. He was the first King of Israel, and a jerk! Yet chosen Saul as king. David let God handle the demotion. 2) I Peter 2:13-14 says "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men; whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right." Peter was telling believers to submit to the King, who happened to be Nero, a debauched Christian killer. Neither of these kings deserved the authority they had. But it pleased (and still pleases) God when we respect their positional authority if, for no other reason, than the fact that God has permitted them to be there and we are to trust Him for our well being, not the "kings." In my opinion the individualism and "me"ism of modern America has moved us from respecting positional authorities such as leaders, police, parents, pastors, etc. to judging how much respect we'll give them based on our subjective judgment of their "worth". "Where did you get an idea like that?" From me. I am, by definition of my birth date, a baby boomer. My whole life I've merely cooperated with authority figures I believed did not "deserve" my respect, while knocking myself out for those authority figures I was impressed with. You see, I was making myself the supreme authority and judge of all who I meet. Of course, that was a self-appointed position and not verified by anyone else. And, I really believe I'm not the only person who makes that subjective judgment. I believe most of us do that. If we don't like them, we only obey them enough to keep them off of our backs. They MUST earn our respect or they don't get it ... but I'd hate to be judged by that same measure. To personalize what I mean, let me talk about my two adorable, brown haired, brown eyed daughters, aged 3 1/2 and 2. I am their father (duh). I like to think I am a good father, but I know, emphatically, that I am not a perfect father (duh). When I have too little sleep or too stressful a day or they're too demanding or too loud (ever hear 25 Jumbo jets revving their engines simultaneously?) I can be too abrupt, not gentle enough in tone, not understanding enough of the urgency of two toddlers' worlds. In other words, I can easily NOT deserve the respect the position of Alexa's and Brianna's father. The trouble is, if my daughters treat me according to the respect my ability as a father deserves, my daughters are going to be pretty darn disrespectful. And they will subjectively judge me based on their pooled 5 1/2 years of extensive experience (not a thought a parent loves to consider). Then make them 17 and 15 1/2 and I break into cold sweats. The system (family or society) only works smoothly when the authorities are given the opportunity to learn and do their job. We can't afford the luxury of reinventing the wheel with every single authority figure we come in contact with. "So, you're really a closet autocrat who believes that no one should ever question authority?" On two occasions David asked Saul, in the presence of Saul's own army, why he was falsely pursuing David. Nathan, a commoner, albeit a prophet, corrected David for his sin with Bathsheba. Paul, at the time still an upstart in Christianity, corrected Peter for yielding to the Judaizers. In each case a relative nobody corrected the top man. But in each case I believe each of them were willing to pay the price that their actions could cost them. Their correction was personal, but each acknowledged the leader as such. In the 70's, 80's and 90's traditional authority has been not just questioned, but nearly brought to trial. We, as a nation, made the mistake of assuming that the failure of the individuals or systems (Nixon, Jim Baker, Jimmy Swaggert, L.A. police, and governmental anomalies as exposed on TV investigative shows), invalidated the position that person held, be it presidents, policemen or pastors. That has been a mistake. We have gotten our eyes off of concepts that have a strong history of functionality and sold them out because of the failings of individuals within the system. The rules don't just change, they become invalid. Schools, homes and the society as a whole are coming apart because we've pulled out the stitching in order to examine whether or not we like the thread. "Family" is bound by marriage, society is bound by a fundamental respect for the structure that holds it together, the church is bound by an understanding that we are to be like Christ, not merely better than the world. Next time: How fast food, ATMs and instant coffee have lead to increased alienation in our society. (No, I'm not kidding). Testimony Testimony A GAME OF DARTS By John Anthony From THE SHANTYMAN Newsletter May/June 1993 My life was a living hell ... Friends told me to pray, but I hated the thought of God. Just a little over a year ago, one of the most important events of my life took place. It all started one afternoon at a restaurant that I frequent ... a family-type place with reasonable food and a friendly atmosphere. I was playing darts with a couple of friends when I noticed a little boy watching us. It was obvious he wanted to play so we invited him to throw some darts with us. After a couple of games he left and rejoined his family . It wasn't long before he returned with his mother. We introduced ourselves and had the usual small talk conversation regarding children and the like. Shortly after, they left. I never expected to see them again. However, as the year wore on, this lovely lady and her son would come to the restaurant more frequently. Her little boy became quite well known by the dart players and had many games with them. His mother and I would sit and watch him play and we would get into the most delightful conversations, ranging from music, to the origins of the universe, to a little religion. Over the next little while we had several conversations and I began to learn of her faith in God. I had never been a particularly religious person, although I was brought up in the Anglican Church. In fact, I really only went to church for weddings and funerals. After some of the experiences in my life, I found it very difficult to believe in God. I used all the cliches and trite expressions: "If there is a God in heaven he wouldn't allow this or that to happen ... " About four years ago my world started to crumble around me. First, my young brother died very suddenly. He was not only my brother but my best friend. We golfed together, fished together, and spent many weekends at each other's homes. I think of him every day. It seemed so unfair because he was always so active and healthy. God dealt me a cruel blow. Three years ago my wife of thirty-one years fell in love with one of her much younger coworkers. She left my two sons and me on Mother's Day ... she'd known the man for three weeks. I was shattered. I couldn't deal with it and had to close my small business. I lost my home and everything that I had worked for. Friends told me to pray, but I hated the thought of God. First my brother, then my wife and my home taken from me. Why would God allow it? I thought I was a pretty good guy. During this period I learned that my young son had a major drug problem. He'd been stealing from me and his brother for the longest time to pay for his habit and had run up debts to dealers of many thousands of dollars. I paid off his debts to keep him from injury and/or death. I was involved with undercover police, paying back money stolen from his place of work. My life was a living hell, one disaster after another. I had no one to talk with about it. Life seemed pointless. God was my enemy. It was during my conversations with this lovely lady that I found someone to confide in. She listened to my tales of woe with patience and understanding. With her faith in Jesus she gave me a new insight into myself and my situation. She was a beautiful person and her life seemed perfect, yet as we talked I learned that she had not had an easy time herself. Her own life as a young woman had been shattered by rape, leaving her with deep physical and emotional scars. Yet these were things that led her to faith in Jesus Christ, rather than driving her away from God. I told her I thought religion was a crutch; that most people who were "saved" got that way because of some bad experience or deprivation in their lives. She told me something a Christian writer, C.S. Lewis, had said: "God whispers to us in our pleasures; he shouts to us in our pain." I had to agree that she was right. Eventually, I asked her if she would allow me to attend a service with her at her church. Of course she agreed. I had never experienced anything quite like the feeling that passed over me throughout that first service. A feeling of peace and tranquillity, something I can't quite describe, overwhelmed me when the congregation sang a chorus about seeking the Lord's righteousness, about coming to God in brokenness and laying all the shambles of life at the feet of Jesus. I looked at my friend's radiant face and I knew she really believed what she was singing. And I thought, if she believes it, there must be something in it. The next Sunday I went to church with her again, and was filled with the same wonderful feeling, even though, in terms of what was happening in my life, it was one of the worst days I have ever lived through. Late that evening I spoke with my friend in the library of her home. I told her I didn't know what I was doing there, that I was on the outside looking in. She told me, with a gentle smile, that Jesus was calling me, that the "Hound of Heaven" (1) was after me and that I wouldn't get away! And I actually found myself telling her I didn't want to. That night I gave my life to Jesus. On the surface, nothing changed, but things that seemed horrendous are now manageable, in the light of God's love, and as I study his word. I look forward with anticipation to each Sunday, when I can share with the congregation of my church in worshipping my Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought meaning, joy and love to my broken life. I wanted to call this a love story, because that's what it is. I never knew what real love was until Jesus touched my heart and showed me the truth ... that he loved me enough to die for me ... And all because of a little boy who wanted to play darts. (1) Description of Jesus from the poem by Francis Thompson - Ed. The WORD for Today The WORD for Today In Hebrews 10:25 we read, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." The responsibility of all Christians is to encourage one another. This series is intended to help provide some guidelines in the process of encouragement. The book, "Encouragement, the key to caring," by Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., and Dan B. Allender, is recommended reading with the series. Each message can be read in conjunction with the related chapter in the book. The series can be used as the basis of a group study in your church. Please let us know if you find the material helpful, or if you have any questions or suggestions. The article presented here is the seventh of fourteen messages given by Pastor Geoff Kragen. They were presented at Foothill Bible Church in Lincoln, California. LETTING IT ALL HANG OUT "Encouragement is the kind of expression that helps someone want to be a better Christian, even when life is rough." (1) In this article, I am going to take a different approach from the previous articles. Because of the importance of the material covered in chapter 7 of the supplemental text, I will examine these issues here. There are three ways people deal with emotions. We repress or deny them. We vent them. And sometimes, we handle them biblically. We will expand on these and see how the way we handle emotions will affect our ability to encourage others. Consider the following exercise: You have just told someone for the umpteenth time how to deal with a specific problem in their life. And for the umpteenth time, they said, "Thanks, that's a good idea. This time I will really do it." But you both know that the person has no intention of changing. How would you feel? (Think about someone that has done this.) Now, how will you respond to this individual? As we have considered in earlier articles, encouragers must have an accurate self-image. This is helpful if we are caring for others. We need to see who we are before the Lord. When we do this, we can truly appreciate God's love and mercy in our life. And then, we can reach out to others in a non-judgmental way. We need to have an accurate self-image. And as part of that correct view, we should understand how we handle our emotions. As we saw in the last issue, one of the appropriate characteristics the encourager manifests is temperance. Let me repeat from that article. Gene Getz defines temperance as "a clear perspective on life and a correct spiritual orientation... a man who is temperate does not lose his physical, psychological, and spiritual orientation." (2) This balance is to be in all aspects of life, i.e., dealing with food, drink, exercise, work, ministry, expressing spiritual truth and emotions as we relate to one another. It is much easier to care for others when we come from this balanced orientation. This is especially important in the area of emotions. How we handle our emotions will have a major effect on our ability to encourage others. First, our emotions affect our ability to function within the ministry of encouragement. Second, how we handle our emotions affects how we relate to others. Finally I'd like to note that I will write about these behaviors in the context of anger. While all emotions are effected by the choices to repress, vent or handle, anger is easiest to relate to. Repression of Emotions: There are several ways of dealing with anger and frustration. Repression, or denial is a socially acceptable approach. Unfortunately, it also can be very damaging. In the first place, the repression of emotion doesn't mean that the emotions aren't there. And repression can turn into denial. The individual that denies emotions usually needs to be in therapy himself, and not caring for others. We often find repression and denial going on where there has been serious damage to the individual. Where the child is rejected or physically abused for expressing emotion, they will learn to shut down their emotions to survive. There can be two results from this coping mechanism. The emotions will continue to shut down, eventually destroying all relationships. But, the reverse also can happen. Where emotions are pushed down, they can eventually break forth in some inappropriate manner. This can be through self-destruction, or through attacks on others. When we repress or deny emotions we are lying to ourselves. We say the behavior of others doesn't bother us, but this is not true. We are really rejecting an accurate self-image. I frequently deal with people who are angry with God. This is the way they feel. I know it. God knows it. To deny it is self-deception. Instead, they need to accept the fact they are angry. They need to understand why they are angry. Finally, over time, they will come to understand why their anger is misplaced. If someone has lost a child, or has been brutalized as child, it is easy to see why they are angry, and why some of that anger is God directed. And because it isn't "safe" to be angry with God, they deny or repress the anger. If we are to help these people, we need to be in touch with our own emotions. We need to feel what we feel. Our emotions will have significant effect on how we deal with other people's emotions. If the encourager suppresses his emotions, he may be shocked when others express theirs. His response to the person in pain may be, "How can you be angry with God. That's sin." Needless to say, this isn't a constructive response. In a desire to avoid venting our anger, which is sin, we then ignore our anger, or act as if it isn't there. We don't recognize that this is as much of a sin as the others. God knows what we are feeling, even if we don't, and, by denying the emotions, we don't give ourselves the opportunity to deal with the real issue behind them. The individual who represses his own emotions will be very uncomfortable with the emotions of others. This will seriously interfere with the ability to comfort others in their pain. Repression of emotions will eventually lead to severe damage in the person who is repressing. Finally, when emotions are suppressed, this can lead to venting. . . . Venting of Emotions: While venting may be one of the natural responses to repressing, it is a separate way of dealing with emotion. We all have seen the parent that practically knocks a child across the room for some minor offense. What has usually happened is that the parent is repeatedly telling the child to stop doing some behavior. Instead of correcting the behavior at the first occurrence, the parent keeps warning until overwhelmed with anger and frustration. Then the parent blows up. If the problem had been corrected at once, most likely it would have been solved. Instead, anger and frustration are allowed to build, and the parent move