What To Remember When The Flames Close In...

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12

 

 

 

When I arrived home this evening I logged into my Facebook page and saw a link to a news article that talked about a fire at the church my uncle pastors in Mesa, Arizona. Reading the article, I was able to find out that no one was hurt in the fire, but that there was extensive damage.  This is an obviously devastating loss to my uncle and his congregation, and my heart goes out to them as I lift them up in prayer.  I reached out to my cousin to make sure everyone was alright, and I'll contact my uncle in a day or so, when the shock of the event has settled some. 

 

As I sat and absorbed the thought of the fire and the overwhelming stress that must be engulfing my uncle and his wife, my heart broke.  I grieve inside because of the anguish I know they must feel along with the faithful parishioners at their church.

 

And then one word came to mind.

 

Sovereignty.

 

If you've ever experienced a great loss, you will understand this next statement:  When you're in great distress, the last thing you want to hear is that God has a plan.  I know when my father died I became angry when people told me He had a purpose in my loss.  When you're nursing deep wounds, you don't much care what the ultimate purpose is.  You only know you're hurting.  Well-meaning people say things to us that, while true, often sound clichéd and trite.  To have someone say "all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose," can come across as callous and unfeeling.

 

And yet, the Word of the Lord stands true.  Regardless of the sensitivity and timing of people, the Word of the Lord stands true. 

 

As the years have gone by since my father's death, I've learned to differentiate the message from the messenger in situations like these.  I've learned that sometimes people simply want to feel helpful, so rather than remain silent, they speak the only words they can think of. 

 

So, as I was looking at photos of a fire that occurred today, some twelve hundred miles away, the word rang in my mind like a bell.  Sovereignty. 

 

You see, we've forgotten about sovereignty.  In our self-sufficient, Western culture, we hardly even understand the concept of sovereignty.  This crucial aspect of the very nature of the God we claim to serve is completely lost on us.  And, what little we do grasp of His sovereignty is often the object of our resentment.

 

Our culture teaches us that we must be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-important in order to be strong and at peace.  We're taught, even in churches sometimes, that we must fend for ourselves and rely on our intellect, strength, and common sense to navigate the storms of life.  If you're financially stable, emotionally balanced, and socially connected, you will have all the tools necessary to face any difficulty.

 

And then it happens.  Then the real difficulty hits.  Then the fire strikes.  Then a loved-one dies.  Then a major illness occurs.  And you're left to realize that all the social connection in the world is meaningless, all the financial stability upon which you once relied is gone, and your emotional stability lies crumbled at your feet.

 

As I watched the news footage of the Mesa fire today, I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that our Father is sovereign.  He answers to no one and His purposes are mysterious to us only because we often can't be trusted with the details.  He can do as He wishes, when He wishes, and for whatever purpose He chooses.

 

It sounds like a harsh truth.  One we don't want to hear.  But it shouldn't be.  It should come as a source of comfort!  Our God can do whatever He wishes!  He holds within His hand the power to create and to destroy.  He gives and He takes away.  He does so of His own accord and according to His own will.  He has chosen to never break a promise, and He's promised to carry us through our toughest times! Our God truly is magnificent and loving! 

 

As my uncle stands in the parking lot of the church he's pastored for the past fourteen years, the heavy scent of doused coals hanging thick in the air, I'm sure there are tears in his eyes.  I'm sure there's a deep ache in his heart.  I pray, though, that this same word will ring in his mind right now.

 

Sovereignty.

 

For, if we truly live in the faith we claim, we place our trust in a sovereign God.  He is faithful.  He is mighty.  He will never leave us, nor will He forsake us.  He always provides.  The God who was not created by anyone answers to no one.  Nothing can stop Him from accomplishing His will.

 

As my mind pictures Uncle David looking sadly upon the smoky debris of a burned out building, I picture a loving Father looking down, knowingly nodding. "I've got this all under control, son.  Trust in Me.  My love for you has never faltered and never will."

 

 

 

 

 

Please prayerfully consider contributing to this hurting congregation.

 

For those of you who have asked, there is now a PO Box address for financial donations regarding the church fire. If anyone would like to send in a financial donation/love gift of any amount (this would also be tax deductible) you can send it to the following: We appreciate your generosity, love and prayers during this difficult time.

NEW LIFE ASSEMBLY OF GOD
P.O. BOX 1325
MESA, AZ 85211

480-834-3312

www.mesanewlifeaog.org

 



This I Believe

In an age in which seemingly vast numbers of people are confused about their beliefs or experience an ongoing evolution in their belief system based upon public whims and political correctness, I see a need to make clear statements and acknowledge the beliefs that form the foundation of my character.  Therefore, I will take this opportunity to publicly state where I stand on the most important issues in history.

I believe God created the heavens and the earth.  In His unfathomable brilliance, He fashioned the stars and the planets, the moons and the space within which they move.

I believe since God created space and time, He is bound by neither.  This is the concept of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence.  He is the beginning and the end, and sees all from where He stands.  Therefore, no circumstance or event is beyond His ability to control.  He is never surprised or caught off-guard.

I believe God is sovereign.  Though in many cases He has revealed His reasoning to us in His word, He is not obligated to do so.  He has chosen to order the universe the way He sees fit.  That is His right and His prerogative.  He does not need to condescend to explain Himself to me.  Likewise, mere mortal mankind is foolish in its attempts to refashion God in its own image, for He cannot be contained in human understanding or will.

I believe mankind chose selfishness and disobedience rather than honor and holiness.  Through this choice, sin entered the human race.  Because of that sin, mankind now struggles under the self-chosen curse of sinfulness.

I believe God poured out His righteous wrath on the earth in the form of a flood, nearly wiping out life on the earth.  This was a holy cleansing in which God not only showed His anger but also His mercy.

I believe God made a covenant with Israel when He chose to send His Son to dwell among them.  This covenant has often been broken by Israel, but has been upheld by the great Creator as He has protected, prospered and defended His chosen people throughout the ages.

I believe God sent His Son to dwell among men.  He was miraculously fully God and fully Man.  He was the perfect example of love in action, mercy exercised, and grace personified.  He was the only person to live a sinless life.  Because of the conflict between His sinlessness and the scourge of sin that clings to mankind like a plague, He was rejected by men, arrested, and murdered.

I believe Jesus, God's Son, arose from the grave victorious over death.  In this act, He demonstrated His transcendence of the laws of nature.  He is, once again, not bound by space or time.  He is all-powerful and undefeatable.

I believe Jesus ascended to heaven, where He now abides with the Father.

I believe God sent the Holy Spirit as a Comforter, to guide and direct those who have committed themselves to Him.  The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, the three facets of the Personhood of God.

I believe mankind can have a personal relationship with Almighty God, through Jesus Christ.  That relationship is the ultimate reason for man's creation.  For, God desires that His creation should seek Him in love and worship.

I believe that maintaining a relationship with God requires devotion and commitment, that faith without works is dead and useless, and that our loving Father is willing to embrace imperfect humans who seek to honor Him in all they do.  He has given us the pathway to His embrace in His revealed Word.  Our task is to follow hard after Him by seeking to live by the precepts He has given us.

I believe that, just as selfishness and disobedience introduced sin into mankind, so selfishness and disobedience are the foundation upon which all sin is built.  This is why God revealed His commands to His people, starting with "You will have no other gods before Me."

I believe that a time is coming when Jesus will return to earth to catch away those who have embraced Him in this life, and that others who have ignored the message of Christ will be left behind.  Not everyone who calls himself a follower of Christ will be counted among the true believers.

I believe that God has given man the choice of his eternal destination, a literal heaven or a literal hell.  Heaven, a place where those who know and love God will spend eternity with Him, and hell, a place where those who have rejected God in favor of selfish pursuits and disobedience will spend eternity in the torment of separation from God.

I believe these things to be true.  Therefore, I believe it is my duty to share this knowledge and reach as many as possible, not because I am important or special, but because I'm indebted to my Creator for His many blessings and am filled with love for my fellow man.  I wish that all mankind would embrace the Truth of the Savior and reap the reward of eternal life with Him.

This is what I believe.  This is the message I deliver.  This is the passion of my heart.

Peanuts on the airplane...

Life is about the destination, not the journey!

I know, that goes against the tide of contemporary teaching.  We are constantly told to stop and smell the roses, enjoy life, focus on today, etc.

All of that advice has some merit.  We should not just numbly stumble through life, oblivious to the blessings that come our way.  We should seek adventure and chances for personal growth.  We should touch as many lives as we can with the love and grace of God.

All of these things are true!

However, as I was driving to work today I heard a brief snippet from a speaker who mentioned that nobody enjoys a trip so much that they choose to stay on the plane rather than go to their destination.  Even when traveling "first class,"  the plane ride is a means of getting us somewhere.

So much of the teaching today has adopted the humanist approach to life.  According to their philosophies, we should not be concerned with our eternal future, but should be focused on the beauties of the day-to-day human experience.  We focus on the blessings that come our way during this life.  We zero in on what we can get out of life--business success, popularity, companionship, financial benefits.  One pastor with whom I associated used boast about "the favor of God."

I am not demeaning the blessings of God. He grants us what we need to have in order to live the lives He's called us to live.  I am grateful for the many blessings He's chosen to give to me.  I have a beautiful family, a comfortable home, a few close friends, a car, a job, etc.  Those things are in my life because of the unmerited favor of God and I am grateful.

But those things are the peanuts on the airplane!  They are given to us to make this journey easier and more comfortable.  They are given to us to help us accomplish the tasks before us.  Those blessings are not to be our goals! 

We often cling to those blessings as though they were the goal.  Like the Children of Israel hoarding the manna that God had provided, we expend so much energy and time seeking our definition of the blessings of God.  And, like the Israelites experienced, those hoarded gifts spoil and decay.  God's love and mercy are new every morning!  He provides us with what we need for life.  He expects us to work hard and trust Him for what we need.  But, much like the mentality of the four-year-old in my living room, we confuse what we want with what we need.  We are so eager to obtain the little pleasures of life that we lose sight of the destination He has set before us.

Our goal is to be with God.  Our goal is to seek Him.  Our goal is to spend eternity in a love relationship with the One who lovingly created us.  We are the Bride of Christ!  We are traveling toward the Marriage Feast!  Why do we get so wrapped up in the peanuts on the plane?

For I, too, am a man under authority...

On Sunday, our guest speaker mentioned this passage of scripture.  It's found in Matthew 8.  A Roman Centurion approached Jesus and asked Him to heal a trusted servant.  The servant lay dying at the home of the Centurion.  Jesus immediately agreed to go and heal him.  However, the Centurion said, "I'm not worthy that you should enter into my home. If you just say the word, my servant will be healed."  Then he made a profound observation.

He said, "For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
As westerners, we often miss a subtle part of that statement.  We often rejoice in the authority we have. We sometimes boast about it.  An American might even say, "For I, too, am a man of authority."  It's the way we are raised and is the way we approach life.  In the Evangelical Movement, we've been taught to recognize our authority in Christ.  We write books about it.  We sing songs about the enemy being "under our feet."  I've even heard some people actually try to "command" angels or even "command" God to do something.  (This is not a practice I would endorse, as I'm not all that fond of electricity, fire or brimstone.)

This Centurion, however, had a different perspective.  He recognized the source of his authority.  He wasn't a man of authority.  He was a man under the authority of Rome.  When he spoke, he spoke with the voice of Caesar.  When he gave an order, his subordinates heard it as if Caesar himself had spoken to them.  He knew that Jesus spoke with the authority of the One whose power is beyond that of any man.  "...only say the word where you are, and my servant will be healed."

I read a book called The Existence and Attributes of God by Stephen Charnock a few years ago.  This was not a light or easy read.  It was written sometime in the late 1600s.  In it, Mr. Charnock makes some brilliant points.  At one point, the author posits that there is a little bit of atheism within each of us.  His rationale is that if we truly believed God to be who He says He is, if we truly believed the Bible as it was written, we would be far too terrified to sin.  We would never choose to anger a God who held all power over life and death in his very words.  A God who could speak the universe into being, who could part the waters of the sea, who could open the earth to swallow faithless multitudes, who could flood the earth, is not One you would want disappointed with you.  I tend to agree.  Just sayin'.

For several years I was involved in a church in California that was teaching some aberrant doctrines.  Of course, I didn't recognize it until God opened my eyes through His word.  The church was very heavily into the Word-Faith Movement.  It was a large church that had many prominent special guests each year.  I "rubbed elbows" with some of the most well-known individuals in Christian broadcasting, music and preaching.  It was exciting and I felt like I was really in the main thrust of a mighty move of God.
However, as I began to dig further into scripture (yeah, blast that inquisitive mind God gave me!), I saw inconsistencies between the teachings of my church and that of scripture.  I saw ministers preaching on key words and talking points, while overlooking pivotal doctrines of scripture.  I saw people by the thousands who absolutely ate up the uplifting messages that made us all feel important and powerful.  And I saw the faith of many of those same people crumble as they faced trials that their positive confessions couldn't combat.

The problem is that the Word-Faith Movement has something very much in common with the new age movement and secular humanism.  It's egocentric.  It focuses on the individual.  It extols the power of an individual's faith, while subtly taking the participants eyes off of the One with the true power.

May I take a moment and explain something very essential to the Christian faith?  The "original sin" was not the consumption of the forbidden fruit in the garden.  Sin preexisted mankind.  The original sin was committed by Lucifer when he determined that he would "ascend above the heights of the clouds" and would "be like the Most High."  There is a reason Yahweh God is called the Most High.  None can exalt himself above Him.  No one can stand beside Him.  He is the ultimate being.

Given that thought, who are we to say that we have authority?  Are we not mere men and women?
Many will quote the scripture where Jesus said those who have faith in Him would do "greater works" than even those that He had done in His ministry.  They'll tout the idea that this "proves" the authority of the believer and demonstrates the "fact" that followers of Christ are powerful beings whose words of faith can change the course of history.  There are many word-faith teachers who even claim that we become "little gods" who can speak things into being.  What they fail to recognize is that it isn't their words that does it.  They, in themselves have no authority.  They are as innumerable as the sand on the seashore, and yet they are as insignificant as a single grain.  Jesus said, just a few verses earlier that it was the Father who was doing the work.

Who are we, that we should think so much of ourselves?  It is God alone who can save and heal.  It is God alone who can deliver the bound.  It is God alone who can create.  In Him we live an move and have our very being! The only authority you have is that which Christ has given you!  You are mere man, not a god.  Yes, you can do great things.  However, you must remember that it is His power, His authority, and His glory.  We are nothing without Him!  As the song says, "Who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name...would care to feel my hurt?  Who am I that the bright and morning star would choose to light the way for my ever-wandering heart?"

Ladies and gentlemen, the first sin was self-exaltation.  The first sin was pride...thinking more highly of oneself than is proper.  Even the prophet Isaiah, when he stood in the presence of God was immediately reminded of his frailty and failures when compared to the brilliant glory he beheld.  Who are we that we should think more highly of ourselves?

Our God is able to save, deliver and heal.  We simply need to remember that it is God, not us, who has the power and authority.  You'll notice that this Centurion said he was a man under authority.  While he could walk in that authority, he was also governed by it.

Likewise, we, as followers of Christ, walk in the authority of Christ.  However, the authority is not our own.  It is His.  We use His authority at His bidding and for His pleasure.  It is not for our own gain, but for the glory of God.  The power in which we tend to revel is not ours, but Christ's.  Can we do greater things than raising the dead and healing the lame?  Yes!  We can demonstrate the power of God in our lives.  We can demonstrate the redemption of a lowly, sinful life into a life of dedication and worship to the God of creation!  We can lead others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!  We can be the vessels by which God transforms lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Yes, God heals!  Yes, God saves!  Yes, God delivers!  He takes joy in doing these things.  But it is not we who do these miracles.  It is God.  Best that we should remember this, for He will not share His glory with any man.