Fallen! Fallen! Turn to Christ!

Biblically-Anemic Preaching: The Devastating Consequences of a Watered-Down Message

by John MacArthur


Those who are familiar with my ministry know that I am committed to expository preaching. It is my unshakable conviction that the proclamation of God’s Word should always be the heart and the focus of the church’s ministry (2 Tim. 4:2). And proper biblical preaching should be systematic, expositional, theological, and God-centered.


Such preaching is in short supply these days. There are plenty of gifted communicators in the modern evangelical movement, but today’s sermons tend to be short, shallow, topical homilies that massage people’s egos and focus on fairly insipid subjects like human relationships, "successful" living, emotional issues, and other practical but worldly—and not definitively biblical—themes. These messages are lightweight and without substance, cheap and synthetic, leaving little more than an ephemeral impression on the minds of the hearers.


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Jesus in a wafer?!?

"...We are not to dream of such a presence of Christ in the sacrament as the artifices of the Romish court have imagined, as if the body of Christ, locally present, were to be taken into the hand, and chewed by the teeth, and swallowed by the throat... Paul, in the Epistle to the Romans,( 8: 9-1l,) shows that the only way in which Christ dwells in us is by his Spirit. By this, however, he does not take away that communion of flesh and blood of which we now speak, but shows that it is owing to the Spirit alone that we possess Christ wholly, and have him abiding in us."
John Calvin

Paul Washer - This is War

HT - Truth Matters

They were not carried to heaven on beds of ease!

(Charles Spurgeon)



"Woe is me--that I dwell among these scoundrels of Meshech! It pains me to live with these people from Kedar!" Psalm 120:5

As a Christian, you have to live in the midst of an ungodly world, and it is of little use for you to cry, "Woe is me!"

Jesus did not pray, "O that you should be taken out of the world!" And what He did not pray for--you need not desire! Better far in the Lord's strength--to meet the difficulty, and glorify Him in it.

The enemy is ever on the watch to detect inconsistency in your conduct; be therefore very holy. Remember that the eyes of all are upon you--and that more is expected from you, than from others! Strive to give no occasion for blame. Like Daniel, let your godliness and piety be the only faults which they can discover in you.

Seek to be useful--as well as consistent. Perhaps you think, "If I were in a more favorable position, I might be able to serve the Lord's cause. But I cannot do any good where I am!" But the worse the people are among whom you live--the more need they have of your exertions! If they are crooked--the more necessity that you should set them straight! If they are perverse--the more need have you to turn their proud hearts to the truth. Where should the physician be--but where there are many sick? Where is honor to be won by the soldier--but in the hottest fire of the battle?

When weary of the strife and sin which meets you on every hand--consider that all the saints have endured the same trial! They were not carried to heaven on beds of ease!--and you must not expect to travel more easily than they! They had to hazard their lives unto the death, in the midst of the battlefield--and you will not be crowned--until you also have endured hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Therefore, "Be courageous! Be strong!" 1 Corinthians 16:13

A.A. exposed...

I attended a couple of A.A. meetings in the past at the invitation of an alcoholic who professed Christ. It wasn't too long into the meeting that I began to feel uncomfortable. This generic 'god of your understanding' they profess stirred anger within. After the meeting, I tried to explain to this woman who invited me how broad and universal this 'god' was; certainly not the God of the Bible. That was a few years ago...sadly, this woman is battling multiple addictions; she's rejected Christ and lives in bondage to homosexuality.
I received the link to this article from John Lanagan that really 'hits the nail on the head' when it comes to exposing A.A. I encourage you to read and share...

C.S. Lewis warned against A.A. cofounders' spiritualism

by John Lanagan

…holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these. (2 Timothy 3:5)

Increasingly, we see a false repentance to a false god. It is like watching the pieces of an unholy puzzle being assembled. The goddess worship of The Shack, Emergence/homosexuality (homospirituality), contemplative practices, and the 12 Steps are all joining together as the rudimentary “roots” of something even bigger. While it may also have Rome, this coming system will have neither the Biblical Christ nor His followers.

Many have difficulty recognizing Alcoholics Anonymous’ 12 Step spirituality as anti-Biblical, much less as a rudimentary cog in this rising apostasy. Why? Sadly, with time and familiarity, even a wolf can masquerade as the family dog.

The 12 Steps are an integral part of our culture. For years Christians have participated in A.A. and “Christ-centered” 12 Step groups. This participation is increasing, as pastors ignore Scripture and allow A.A. meetings to be conducted in the very House of God.


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The truth about the birth of the Roman Catholic Church

Time and time again I've run into devout Roman Catholics who insist Peter was the first pope {even though the office of popery isn't found anywhere in scripture!}. They also claim the 'church' referenced to in the bible is fact the Roman Catholic Church {they have selective hearing, for when the truth of what the word 'church' means is given, they act as if they didn't hear}. I found this short, concise post at Christianresearchnetwork.com and thought it was worth posting...

"Let us learn what history has to say. Before the year 590 AD, with the ascension of Gregory the First, there was no centralized Roman authority. It was not until the tenth century, when the eastern and western churches split, that there was anything known as the Roman Catholic Church—tenth century of the Christian Era—a thousand years after the fact." (Roman Catholicism—Peter the Rock, Church Tradition and the Bible, CD Rom, available from Walter Martin’s Religious InfoNet)

Dr. Walter Martin

Declaring War on the 'Sinner's Prayer'

HT---Truth Matters

Bored to tears

“If your heart takes more pleasure in reading novels, or watching TV, or going to the movies, or talking to friends, rather than just sitting alone with God and embracing Him, sharing His cares and His burdens, weeping and rejoicing with Him, then how are you going to handle forever and ever in His presence...? You'd be bored to tears in heaven, if you're not ecstatic about God now!” -Keith Green

JUDGMENT

I originally found this at defcon and had to share it with you. This is a MUST watch for everyone who professes Christ...

Following Hard after God!!!

Written by A.W. Tozer

How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of "accepting" Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. In the midst of this great chill there are some, I rejoice to acknowledge, who will not be content with shallow logic. They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray. "Oh God, show me Thy glory." They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God. I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long in vain. Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him and then proceed in the way of simplicity. Now, as always, God reveals Himself to "babes" and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without doubt, God will quickly respond. We need not fear that in seeking God only we narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One. The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever. by A. W. Tozer "The Pursuit of God" www.watchword.org/

All men are born evil - Paul Washer

He Humbled Himself

"He humbled Himself." Philippians 2:8

Jesus is the great teacher of 'humility of heart'. We need daily to learn of Him. See the Master taking a towel and washing His disciples feet! Follower of Christ--will you not humble yourself? See Him as the Servant of servants--and surely you cannot be proud! Is not this sentence the compendium of His biography, "He humbled Himself"? Was He not on earth, always stripping off first one robe of honor and then another--until, naked, He was fastened to the cross; and there did He not empty out His inmost self, pouring out His life-blood, giving up for all of us, until they laid Him penniless in a borrowed grave?

How low was our dear Redeemer brought! How then can we be proud?

Stand at the foot of the cross, and count the purple drops by which you have been cleansed. See His thorn-crown; mark His scourged shoulders, still gushing with encrimsoned rills; see His hands and feet given up to the rough iron spikes, and His whole self to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness, and the pangs, and the throes of inward grief, showing themselves in His outward frame; hear the horrid shriek, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me!"

If you do not lie prostrate on the ground before that cross--you have never seen it! If you are not humbled in the presence of Jesus--you do not know Him. You were so lost that nothing could save you--but the sacrifice of God's only begotten Son. Think of that, and as Jesus stooped for you--bow yourself in humility at His feet.

A sense of Christ's amazing love to us--has a greater tendency to humble us, than even a consciousness of our own guilt. May the Lord bring us in contemplation, to Calvary. Then our position will no longer be that of pompous pride--but we shall take the humble place of one who loves much--because much has been forgiven him. Pride cannot live beneath the cross! Let us sit there and learn our lesson--and then rise and carry it into practice!

C.H. Spurgeon

gracegems

Be reconciled to God!

I am bothered by a phrase that has become such a cliché in the Christian community, yet, it is NOT found anywhere in scripture. The phrase is ‘I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ’. Nowhere in scripture does the Lord Jesus Christ command us to have a personal relationship with Him.
The word ‘relationship’ is defined as ‘a state of connectedness between people (especially an emotional connection)'. To be reconciled to a Holy God is more than a mere ‘emotional connection’. It involves a transformed life, a complete change from the inside out. This is not at all like any relationship known to man.
I do not find in scripture where Christ commands us to have a relationship with Him; we should desire to know this amazing God who saves, we should desire a certain intimacy with Him; but we must not confuse human terminology with what the Bible actually says…’be reconciled to God’. Below are passages concerning reconciliation…

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God”-2nd Corinthians 5:18-20

The definitions of 'reconcile' and 'favour' are...
Reconcile- Greek katallassō-return to favour with, be reconciled to one, to receive one into favour. From the root word allassō-to change, to exchange one thing for another, to transform.
Favour – Greek charis-good will, loving-kindness, favour-of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues. {from blueletterbible.org}

Notice what the Apostle Paul states in verse 18, ‘hath given to us a ministry of reconciliation’; verse 19, ‘hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation’. The message of the cross is one of being reconciled to a Holy God through His Son. It isn’t a call for a ‘relationship’, as if Christ was our bff! We must not forget, God is exalted high above His creation, He is worthy of all glory and honor. We dare not lessen His sovereignty by using human terminology when referring to our being reconciled to Him. The Apostle Paul urges lost sinners to be reconciled, or returned to favour with, or get in right standing with a Holy God. He doesn’t encourage us to have a relationship, connection or experience with the Lord of all creation. Paul implores, encourages, beseeches those who are lost in sin to get in right standing with the Ancient of Days. By using ‘relationship’, which is human terminology, we ‘cheapen’ the reverence due a Sovereign God. We must bow the head and the knee to the Creator of all things; let’s not lose sight of who is deserving of our approaching the throne of grace with humility as well as boldness. Those who have been saved by His grace are now in right standing with the God of the universe; those in darkness must be urged by us to be reconciled to Almighty God. May we not lessen the severity of sin and the separation it causes, may we proclaim God’s truth as it is written!

Revival Hymn

I visited Paul Washer's Heartcry site, and listened to this 'revival hymn'. I will share a quote from this which states, 'If Christ were to return, He would not cleanse the temple, He would cleanse the pulpit'.
I cannot express in words what I heard and felt as I listened. I recommend this to all who desire to serve Him.
To download and listen, click here....

Or, if you prefer, you can watch.