"Believe" is posted all over the decorations and advertisements each Christmas Season. However, I want to pose a few simple but logical questions. What are we to "believe" or whom are we to "believe"? Is this an endorsement of "Faith in Faith" or a motivational technique for positive thinking? Must we "believe" everything everyone else "believes"? Does merely "believing" something is true make it truth? NO! Belief must have an object to trust which is grounded in the truth. Belief and believe are very important words in the Bible. In the King James Version of the Bible, "Believe" is found 124 times in New Testament and" Faith 245 times". We are not told to just "believe", but are told to belief the testimony of the Word of God (Romans 10:17). We are challenged to believe the eyewitness testimony of the Apostles concerning the life and works of Jesus Christ. I believe in the truth of Christmas as it is presented in the Bible. I believe the baby born 2,000 years ago is the Messiah (Luke 2:1-20)! I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came from heaven on a mission to reveal the love of God by satisfying the righteous demands of God by glorifying His wisdom of making possible grace by His death on the cross and rescuing us from the power and penalty of sin through His redemptive and vicarious death and resurrection (Romans 3:21-26). Christmas is more than "believing" in something or someone. Christmas is the joyful celebrating belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ is excluded then Christmas becomes the "Holidays". I am not politically correct but I am biblically correct ! Let me ask you a few questions. First, what do you believe? Second, why do you believe it? And Finally, what difference does it make in your life? There are all types of belief held by people some which can be labeled as superstitions, urban myths and hypothetical hypostasis. The birth of Jesus Christ is grounded in history and His life is one of the most documented lives in history. Evidence abounds that the testimony of Scripture concerning the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is fact, not fable! Jesus Christ's impact upon the Apostles was so powerful that they refused to change their testimony and they authenticated it by their martyrdom. The goal of their recorded testimony to Jesus Christ can be summed up in the words of the Apostle John, "and truly Jesus did other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John20:30-31). I believe! I believe Jesus Christ is the Savior! Do you "believe" or do you believe in Jesus Christ?
'"It's the most wonderful time of the year" is a phrase from a song I've heard Andy Williams sing over the years. As a Christian, the wonder of Christmas for me is much different from that of the unbelieving world. I love the Christmas decorations and festivities, but all of that is so hollow. The real wonder is Jesus Christ! In Isaiah 9:6, the prophet dipped his pen in prophetic glory declaring Messiah would be called "Wonderful"! The Hebrew word means He is a wonder! He will be like no one else who ever walked this planet! He will inspire awe and worship because of His uniqueness! What is so wonderful about Jesus Christ? First, He is the Eternal Son of God who was pre-existent with The Father and co-equal to the Father (John 1:1-4). Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh. The babe in the manger is Jehovah God! No wonder Paul wrote, "great is the mystery of godliness" in I Timothy 3:16. God the Son took on human flesh and humbled Himself to walk among us. He is not 50% God and 50 % human. He is 100% God and 100% human. He is the God-Man! This why He accepted worship, forgave sins, and declared He was sent from heaven! He is not one of the greatest men to live nor is the greatest man to live! He is the one and only God-Man! Totally unique is our Lord Jesus. The virgin born Son of Mary is the Son of God! This will cause you bow in wonder and awe in worship! Second, He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophets wrote about, through divine inspiration by the Holy Spirit, concerning the coming Messiah! He is the appointed and anointed Messiah! For hundreds of years prophecies were given to nation of Israel concerning the coming Messiah. Jesus is identified as the Christ over 600 times in the New Testament. The New Testament writers declared Him as the fulfillment of over 300 prophecies concerning Messiah, of which 29 were fulfilled in completely in His life and death. In Luke 4:17-21, Jesus Himself declares He is the long-awaited and hoped for Messiah, and this why He declared the Scriptures testify of Him (John 5:39-40). The shock waves cause by those bold statement left the Jewish leadership reeling in unbelief that a carpenter's son could make such audacious claims, and those statements still cause the same reaction in today's world! However, the record of the New Testament is clear Jesus not only made the claim, but he also backed up the claims by the miracles He performed and the message He taught! No one else had healed the blind, lame, deaf, and raised the dead. No one else had held authority over the demons, the environment, and circumstances like Jesus Christ! He declared He was the Way, the Truth, and Life. Further more, He declared unless you believe in Him, not merely believed Him, you will die in your sins! No doubt this was the cause for the peoples reaction that "He speaks with authority, not like scribes and Pharisees" as they listened and watched Him. Yes, Jesus Christ is the Messiah and His birth is the long awaited coming of the Savior! Let us adore Him! Third, He is the Redeemer. Jesus Christ came to redeem and rescue us for our sins! In Mark 10:45 Jesus states, " For the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many". Isaiah 53 declares Messiah would suffer death for His people. Jesus Christ did this by His death on Calvary's Cross. He died as the Lamb of God, which had been pictured in the Old Testament sacrificial system, who alone could redeem us from the penalty and power of the curse of sin and the Law! Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. The concept can be traced to Old Testament law that a near relative could redeem a family member from slavery and debt. Jesus Christ was born of virgin to become like us in order to redeem for us all that was lost in Adam's sin (Romans 5:12-21, Galatians 3:10-4:7, Hebrews 2:10-18)! God the Father sent Jesus Christ to die in our place so that Holy God could grant us heavenly grace (Romans 3:21-23). There is no other way for a Holy God to grant mercy and grace. Hallelujah, what a Savior! In His death of the cross, Jesus died twice, both a physical death and spiritual death, in our place! That is why He cried out in the darkness on Calvary's Hill, "my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me" as recorded in the Gospels. For three hours, Jesus Christ bore our sin in the darkness of the wrath of God! He was a voluntary, vicarious, and victorious Sacrifice! After the time in the darkness, he cried out "it is finished'. He did not say I am finished but it was finished! He completed mission of salvation by His perfect death for us! Jesus Christ was born to die for us! Mary had a little lamb and His name is Jesus! Come let us adore Him! Are you saved? Fall on your knees and praise Him! And finally, He is the Risen Lord. Jesus Christ rose again on the third day! He lives. Every day is a Resurrection Day because He lives (Romans 8:31-39, I Corinthians 15:1-58). He broken the power of death! He returned to heaven after 40 days of post resurrection instruction to His disciples. He is coming again as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In the words of the Scott Wesley Brown's song, "This Little Child", "In the midst of this darkness there is a hope and light that burns, this little child someday will return"! Jesus Christ is coming again! He will fulfill all of the rest of the prophecies given to the prophets concerning the reign of Messiah who will rule in righteous and justice. He is the Savior! The little child born in Bethlehem is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! He is the Wonder of Christmas! Hallelujah, What a Savior! He is the only Hope for a sin screed and sin sick world filled full of hatred, violence, and anguish. He is the Greatest Christmas gift. Oh, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
One of my favorite Christmas songs and one of my favorite Christmas movies share the same title, "White Christmas". In the South, a White Christmas, snow on the ground at Christmas, is a rare but festive occurrence. The Weather Channel has a "White Christmas" Probability Graphic that appears during the daily broadcasts and on their website. The percentage of probability for snow on Christmas differs greatly from region to region in the lower 48 States. However, you and I can experience a "White Christmas" regardless of where we live. You read my statement correctly! In Isaiah 1:18 is the statement, "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow." The Prophet Isaiah penned the glorious announcement that forgiveness of sins includes the cleansing of sin's stain! He compared the cleansing work of forgiveness to a fresh snow. It does snow in Jerusalem and the other mountainous regions of Israel. I can just imagine Isaiah looking out over a fresh snow that covered the Temple mount and transformed the dark and dull winter colors into a wonderland of white. The Holy Spirit led him to use this graphic picture to help us visualize the one of the wonders of the forgiveness of God! Can anything remove the stain of sin from the soul? Is there Anything remove the foul stench of guilt and condemnation in the conscience? Yes, the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ does remove all of sin's stain (Hebrews 10:19-22)! Have you been saved? Have to come to Jesus for the "cleansing flow"? As the old song states, " there is power in the blood". All the psychiatrists and life coaches in the world can't bring heaven's snow to your heart. All the self-help books on store shelves do not contain a solution that will remove the sin stain. Only God can cleanse a wick heart and make it pure. Before you can forgive yourself, you must experience the forgiveness and cleansing by confessing your bankruptcy to the Lord (Matthew 5:3-8). You can't save yourself! The glory of Christmas that the angels announced to the shepherds is that Jesus Christ is the Savior (Luke2:8-11) and only Jesus Christ has the authority to forgive sins on earth (Mark 2:9-10)! Do you want to experience a "White Christmas"? Regardless of the names or degrees of your sin, in spite of the ugliness and darkness of your sin, you can experience cleansing by confessing Jesus Christ as your Savior! This is the greatest Christmas gift! 1 John 1:9 states, "if we confess or sins, He is Faithful and Just, to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". Formula 409 cannot do for you soul what 1 John 1:9 will do for your soul! Do you want to have a "White Christmas"? Accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you will, you find Isaiah 1:18 to be true and you will experience a "White Christmas" right where you are living today! Merry Christmas!
Why does real, heaven sent, Holy Spirit caused revival remain absent form so many of our churches? Revival will not begin until we have a holy dissatisfaction with the spiritual drought plaguing our churches and our burden drives us to our knees to cry out in desperation for a flooding torrents of heavens refreshment! We are not desperate rather we are complacent and unbelieving! So many no longer believe in the ole' time religion takes and shakes the soul and transforms the church! Our complacency has led to a causal Christianity that causes the Lord Jesus to be sickened with our halfhearted commitment and self-absorbed worship( see Revelations 3:14-22)! We are bankrupt and the Devil is on a rampage in most of our churches! We are blind! We are like the people in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, "The Emperor's Clothes", in which the king was deceived and swindle by crooks into believing they had tailor made him a new suit of clothes when in fact they made nothing! They so deceived him that he walked down the street naked and everyone was afraid to speak the truth except a child who exclaimed, "he has nothing on"! Satan has so deceived the church in many places with spiritual blindness while we continue to blindly congratulate ourselves with wonder at our ministries and buildings. Yet there is no brokenness over sin, no tears over the many who are in bondage to sin as we witness adultery and abuse destroy Christian homes, no concern over lack of spiritual vitality and fervency, little hunger for the teaching and preaching of the Word, no shame that the testimony of Jesus Christ by the church is dishonored by the unethical and ungodly lives of its' members, and no burden for the Lord Jesus to magnified above all else! We are sleek and streamlined in our organization, dressed in the latest technology in our worship, contemporary in our marketing, and cool and hip in our sound byte sermonettes, but SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT!
When will someone stand up say we need a real revival and a radical transformation of the attitudes and actions of the church? Revival will not come until our eyes are opened by the Spirit and we become separate like Isaiah and Habakkuk cry out for spiritual healing and real revival (Isaiah 6 and Habakkuk 3)! We need a fresh awareness of the Holiness and Majesty that only the Holy Spirit can cause the soul to experience! Then we will have revival! Like Habakkuk ,I say Lord revive your work in our time! Let it start with me! The is a popular myth in the Body of Christ today! Let me spell it out clearly by saying real biblical growth is the result of the Holy Spirit working in and through His church. We can draw crowds, raise funds, and build buildings but only the Lord builds the church! Let us come clean about this matter! The church is not built by programs, personalities, or performances. Here is where we meet our failure today. Too many churches are trying to copy some mega church instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to form the church! Each local church is unique and has a special ministry from the Lord! Read the Book of Acts and you will discover the phrase "and the Lord added to the church". A study of Acts reveals an emphasis upon prayer, preaching and teaching, evangelism, discipleship. and ministry by the local church! The Lord blessed these early churches with the power and presence of the dynamic anointing of the Holy Spirit. The church is the Lord's and the work is the Lord's work He does thru us by the Holy Spirit! Who is building your church? Could this be the reason there is so much hopelessness and aimlessness in less than "mega churches"
Should a Christians confess their sin? Yes, even though we have been saved, a proper understanding of the Word will lead to daily confession of sin. There are five views concerning the confession of sin by believers among Christian teachers: 1) Confession of sins is completely unnecessary because we are under grace; 2) Confession of sins is a psychological exercise to help one feel better. 3) Confession of sins is necessary because salvation dealt with past sins, Christians can lose the position of forgiveness by not confessing which ultimately leads them to Hell. 4) Confession of sins earns the confessor grace as sins are confessed to a priest followed by some meritorious work there by gaining the blessing of God. 5) Confession of sins is part of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit within us the restores fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I hold to the fifth view concerning the confession of sins by a believer. My understanding of 1 John 1:4-10 leads me to view sin as a serious issue for all believers. As long as we walk the earth, we will deal with the presence and power of our sinful natures. Therefore, we all sin, and the sin has great ramifications upon our daily walk with the Lord through indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit! God is light and in Him is no darkness. God does not sin nor tolerate sin. The Holy Spirit is as much God as the Father and the Lord Jesus. He does not lead us to sin nor can He condone our sin! When we sin willfully, it breaks fellowship, not relationship, with the Lord! While we are under grace, it is not an excuse to sin or to have a flippant attitude about our sins. I do not believe a Christian can fall from grace and lose salvation for the very reason we cannot walk in darkness habitually (Romans 8). We can backslide, we can sin, but we cannot do it successfully because the Holy Spirit convicts, chastises, and corrects. The Holy Spirit will always points out our sin in attitude and action. He prods us in our circumstances!This is the reason why the most miserable people in the world are out of fellowship Christians, no lost people! If I confess my sin to the Lord Jesus Christ, not some priest or minister, and repent the Holy Spirit will not be grieved within me and I can experience His gracious work. If I grieve the Holy Spirit then His work within me is quenched. Spiritual drifting will begin - away from prayer, away from the Word, away from the worship with believers, away from witnessing, away from godly attitudes and actions! I open the door for Satan's deceptions and distractions. I begin to excuse sin and go deeper into sin. It effects not only me but all my relationships as well! But a Christian cannot continue on indefinitely in rebellion because of the convicting work of the securing presence of the Holy Spirit. If one can sin successfully, they are not saved!He will lead you back to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentance and confess of sin. Not salvation again, but restoration because of the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us! You should read John 13:3-10. Here is where there is much division among teachers of the Word about this passage as well. Jesus in washing the feet of the disciples made appoint to remind them if they had bathed, only a washing of the feet was necessary. It was the custom of Middle East for guests to have their feet washed by the host when entering into the home. Why? The roads were dusty, muddy, and sometimes the sewer ran in it. Although the guest had bathed, the feet became dirty during the travel. The teaching of Jesus is that a believer has been completely bathed at salvation! Praise the Lord! Yet, we need cleansing as we walk in this world. This where I believe John's teaching In 1 John 1:5-10 comes into view. We need daily cleansing in order to stay in fellowship. We must confess our sins and repent in order to experience blessed leading of the Holy Spirit. Are you clean? "Where is God at" and "Why doesn't God do something" are questions some believers are asking as we witness the division, strife, and hopelessness of our culture! Our culture has a huge hole in it's soul, and nothing has filled the void! In this ever darkening hour, is there any hope? The church is almost the exact image of the culture which is our shame! Why are some many churches powerless, empty, hollow, lethargic, and carnal? Some believers have lost faith in the church! We have become a non-prophet people led by for- profit life coaches!! Is there hope? Yes, a Holy Spirit caused REVIVAL! We need the prophetic preaching of Word, I mean forth telling of the Word not a new foretelling, which confronts us with our sins and challenges us to walk in repentance and renewal as we depend upon the Holy Spirit! If the Holy Spirit left the churches today, few would notice His absence! We have grown accustomed to the worship with out the Spirit's leading and preaching without the Spirit's conviction! What can be done? We can do nothing but go back to the greatest privilege the church has been given, PRAYER! Read Habakkuk 3:1-2. As you read this convicting passage, keep in mind Habakkuk had the same questions about God in his dark day. First, he accused the LORD in chapter 1 and second, he argued with the LORD in chapter 2. Something happens we come to the third chapter. He appeals to the LORD for revival! Habakkuk pleaded for the LORD to revive His work in his day! In this day of instant communication and multiple ways of doing so, the church needs to come back to old fashioned prayer. The church can't tweet, twitter, text or email heaven. The LORD doesn't have an Instagram account or Face Book page. However, if you will get your face in His Book, you will discover the LORD answers knee-mail! Something happens when the church prays! Read the Book of Acts and you will discover a people with no political connections, no budgets, no buildings, and no multimedia, Oh help us, that turned the world upside down! How? through the power of the Holy Spirit unleashed through the privilege of prayer, church broken down every barrier and overcame every obstacle. I believe the record! It is not make believe! I heard about a preacher who went to a famous actor of the English stage who gave power performances. The preacher asked the actor what was his secret. The actor replied," I act as if my play is real, but you preach as if the Bible is a fairy tale"! God give us preachers who preach with a burning passion for the truth! Then the church will pray and then,only then, will the LORD grant times of refreshing! It is time for KNEE-MAIL!
Let the alarm clock ring! It is time to wake up! Far too long the church in America has been sleep walking from Sunday to Sunday. Like Rip Van Winkle, we have slept through huge cultural and social seismic events! Why does the church continue to have little or no impact upon our culture? Why are so many Christians AWOL? Does all that matter is "how many people came" and "how much money did they give"? As the years go by, fewer and fewer of us experience a fresh work of the Holy Spirit in the church, regardless of the Denomination, and church grows weaker. Romans 13:11-14 states it is time to wake up! Will somebody put some caffeine in the preaching? Will someone be the alarm clock to wake slumbering saints? I am reminded of the little girl who was told to be quiet in church. she asked 'why', and the response from her friend was 'that is were all the adults sleep'! How true! Sleep singing, Sleep listening, Sleep giving, Sleep, Sleep, Sleep.......! While we are sleeping, the Enemy sow his seed! I believe it would be enough to shake us up if we just once deviated from the standard Order of Service in the Baptist church!! That might cause a stirring! Almost everything we do is predictable and is likened to the swaying of a rocking chair! We start 11 o'clock sharp and end 12 o'clock dull! We need a new generation of young preachers on fire for the Lord. Like Paul Revere, they need to mount the pulpit and cry out to us at the sleeping time the Lord Jesus is coming again! Folks will never wake up until the pulpit is set on fire! Fire gets our attention! Fire is unpredictable as it is driven by the wind! Oh, that the Spirit would blow the fire across the hearts of our preachers. We need bold, broken hearted, preachers who preach with conviction the "the Faith once delivered to the saints". It will cost! I heard a young pastor for the Midwest last year share how much pressure he was under by the deacons of his church for preaching the Word. He was a combat veteran and former police officer. He stated never had he experienced such pressure and stress like that of being a pastor! They threatened him! He has a young family and a precious wife. The deacons threatened to have him fired because he was preaching that families should commit themselves to Jesus Christ as their first priority! The pastor told the church that ballgames, camping, fishing, hunting, shopping, or anything else should not be first priority. Jesus is first priority and that means being faithful to support the church in it's calling to the Great Commission. He told them to be faithful!! That was the reason he was under pressure from the church!!! God help us! It is TIME TO WAKE UP! Preachers preach the Word with fire! You represent the Lord that Heaven adores and Hell fears! IF you will preach, the fire will fall and the gates of Hell will shake! WAKE UP CHURCH!
The famous quote, " if not now then when, if not us then who", should be a rallying cry to the Church! Now is our time to stand for the Lord! I believe this is the message of Hebrew 12: 1-3! It is our time to be faithful. The faithful servants of days gone by have run their leg of the relay and have handed us the baton! When will the church wake for our slumber of complacency? Our churches are empty while there are more people lost in their sins than ever before! The prayer meeting is no longer the boiler room that fires and fuels but gather a glorified gossip session, if a prayer meeting is even scheduled. While we are playing games, the devil is sowing havoc in the fellowship. Discord, deception, and debauchery are the norm in many fellowships. But don't mention it, it might offend someone!! As long as we have a crowd and a surplus in the bank, we think we are successful! The truth is there is a Laodicean compliancy so strong we do not see how bankrupt the church has become in these days. Yet Sunday after Sunday, the church continues to get her dose of sugar coated teaching and cotton candy teaching. No wonder the church is in a coma! We are suffering for a spiritual diabetic coma. We need some protein! We need to hear anointed preaching and teaching that magnifies Jesus above His Church. We need to be humbled in the dust of our unworthiness so that we are enraptured with the glory of His grace! It is not about us; It is about Him. No wonder the Holy Spirit is so grieved when all that is spoken is our church, our worship, our programs, and our agendas. We give an appearance of success but we are empty of the power of the Holy Spirit! Have you ever seen the caution signs in a neighborhood warning children are playing, some churches need to put one at the entrance of their parking lots! When will revival come? I ask you "if not now, then when". I ask you "if not us then who". If the Lord delays His coming for another 10 years, what will happen in our churches? As we are slumbering, the devil continues to deceive church goers, enslave believers, destroy homes, divide fellowships, and ensnare another generation of young people who have never seen the church on fire with Pentecostal fire! Now is time for revival. If we will not beg for it who will? I ask you "If not now, then when. If not us then who"? You are either part of the problem or part of the solution! May God burden your heart today and open your eyes so that it may be recorded that revival came in our time!
War! Right now, war! Where is the fight occurring? Within the arena of hearts is all out knock down drag out! That is right, in my heart and in your heart a battle is waging. The conflict will continue as long as we have breath. It is time to take of the gloves and be honest! Every Christian I know has this same own going struggle between our sinful nature and the new person within us! Sounds crazy? Not to someone who takes serious the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Be honest, do you ever struggle to control your thoughts, words, and actions? Does a skirmish ever erupt in your heart when you are at the crossroads of a decision? I can tell you it happens daily! The Apostle Paul encourages to not give up the battle, but rather go on the offensive in Romans 6:13. Victory is ours when we yield to Lordship of Christ. Don't yield to temptation. If we are to walk in victory, there must be a conscious, moment by moment, yielding my thoughts and actions to Him. The road to victory begins in our minds. The battlefield of the mind is were the seeds for our defeat our sown by the Enemy, the Devil. Paul graphically describes his assault as "fiery darts" in Ephesians 6:10-18. Just like the Roman armies tactic of raining down flying fire upon an enemy, the devil will bombard you from every possible angle to set your mind on fire with discouragement, anger, bitterness, lust, and unbelief! Most Christians will never publicly admit it, but truth be told, we are in a daily siege. Let me encourage you to take up the fight! Allow the Word of God to transform you by renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). It is the key to victory. Every sin starts in our hearts. Read James 1:13-16. James describes an LSD trip! It is a bad trip. What does LSD mean? Lust, Sin, and Death. The LSD trip begins when temptation is allowed inflame the mind, the heart, the inner person. Too many of are suffering from inflammation of heart! Remember, this: Sow a thought, Reap a mindset; Sow a mindset, Reap an attitude; Sow an attitude, Reap an action; Sow an action, Reap a habit; Sow a habit, Reap a character; Sow a character, Reap a destiny. Quit saying as an excuse "I don't know what I was thinking"! Don't be AWOL from the battle. Yield your thoughts to His Lordship!!
|
Doug MillerEvangelist Archives
May 2021
Categories |