Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

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August 2007 Issue

Aug 1st, 2007
Charles Wesley
Uncategorized

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify
A never dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill.
Oh, may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will.

Arm me with jealous care,
As in thy sight to live;
And oh, thy servant, Lord prepare,
A strict account to give

Godly Sorrow Worketh...
Aug 1st, 2007
A. W. Tozer
Uncategorized

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. 2 Corinthians 7:10

It is a fact that the New Testament message of good news, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,” embraces a great deal more than an offer of free pardon.

Surely it is a message of pardon – and for that may God be praised – but it is also a message of repentance!

It is a message of atonement – but it is also a message of temperance and righteousness and godliness in this present world!

It tells us that we must accept a Saviour – but it tells us also that we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts!

The gospel message includes the idea of amendment – of separation from the world, of cross-carrying and loyalty to the kingdom of God even unto death!

These are all corollaries of the gospel and not the gospel itself; but they are part and parcel of the total message which we are commissioned to declare. No man has authority to divide the truth and preach only a part of it. To do so is to weaken it and render it without effect!

The Drums of War
Aug 1st, 2007
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

The drums of war are rolling like thunder in the mid-east, while in the west there are feverish attempts to reach a peace agreement. The leaders in the west are fearful of a cataclysmic mid-east war that would disrupt oil supplies and perhaps destroy economies as a result.

The whole world, including Israel, is totally committed to establishing a Palestinian state on land God has committed to Israel.

The problem is that the Islamic nations do not want peace; they want to drive Israel into the sea. The peace they will accept is a peace that puts them into a better position to destroy Israel. This is exactly what happened in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

The world is divided into two camps, those who seek to destroy Israel and those who seek to divide Israel’s land for peace. Both are defying God and His Word.

Iran and Syria with their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah are poised to launch an all out war to destroy Israel. Israel is increasingly being positioned to ultimately resort to nuclear weapons to defend herself (called the Sampson option) from all out attack.

The Purpose-Driven Church
Aug 1st, 2007
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

In the past ten years a large percentage of churches in North America and around the world have changed from traditional churches to contemporary Purpose Driven Churches.

This is a profound change; it is a total departure from what the Scriptures teach the church should be. It is a change which involves a change of vision. It is a change which involves a takeover of the church by those who have a totally unbiblical vision for the church.

Dr. Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life and the Purpose Driven Church has stated, “When you reveal the vision to the Church, the old pillars are going to leave. But, let them leave, they only hold things up.”

That statement reveals that a profound change in the church is being undertaken. A careful study of the change involved will reveal that the church is being fashioned into something that is not the Church of Jesus Christ.

Look at some of the outward changes that are a part of the pattern of the purpose driven church.The word church is often eliminated, and replaced with the words campus or Christian fellowship, etc.

Words like sin – lost – hell – unsaved – heaven – are eliminated from the Pastor’s message.Altar calls for salvation are eliminated.

1. The terms “saved” and “lost” are replaced with ‘churched” and “unchurched” implying that to be churched is to be saved.
2. The removal of the Hymn Books, taking away much of the doctrinal teaching of the Church’s music.
3. Business meetings are eliminated; often biblical offices such as Deacons are eliminated.
4. The pastor or a new leader, with a few assistants, takes charge of all church business.
5. New Bible versions are used, often just verses flashed on the screen.
6. The pulpit is changed or removedThose who are not Purpose Driven Supporters are marginalized.Closed meetings between the Pastor and chosen Staff Members without reports to the congregation.
7. Service times are changed, some services may be eliminated.
8. A repetitive 40-day Purpose Driven Study Program, which stresses psychological relationships with each other, with community and the world.
9. The choir is eliminated, taking away its devotional impact.
10. The singing of repetitive praise lyrics, an appeal to the emotions rather than the mind.
11. Purpose Driven films are used prior to the service or during the service.
12. The organ and piano are replaced with Rock Band instruments.
13. Dress styles are changed to casual dress; we are not here to meet with a sovereign, awesome God.
14. The décor of the church is changed to eliminate any resemblance to the former church.
15. For the youth, the emphasis is made on fun and partying.
16. Music is changed to Contemporary Rock Style
17. The Sunday School, the teaching arm of the Church is eliminated or drastically altered.

These changes turn the church around 180 degrees and leave the church unidentifiable as the Church of Jesus Christ. The church is masqueraded so that the world feels comfortable about coming in. If numbers is your only objective, this is a good strategy.

Far more important than the outward changes is the fundamental changes as to what the church believes, what the church is to be, what the church’s message is, and what the church is to be doing.

Rick Warren stated on May 23, 2005, at the PEW Forum on Religion, “the word fundamentalist, actually comes from a document in the 1920’s called The Fundamentals of the Faith, and it is a very legalistic and narrow view of Christianity,” The five fundamentals of the faith to which Warren objected are:

• The inerrancy and full authority of the Bible.
• The Virgin Birth and full Deity of Jesus Christ.
• The bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
• Christ’s Atoning, vicarious death for the sins of the world.
• The literal Second Coming of Christ.

These doctrines are the basic irreducible essence of Christianity - to reject these truths is to reject Christianity. Doctrinally, Warren is changing the very foundational beliefs of the church.

It is not that the fundamentals of the faith are being denied in Purpose Driven Churches, it is that they are no longer behind the philosophy and practice and teaching of the PDC.

The PDC is preaching a gospel that is not the gospel of the New Testament; it is called Easy-believism. Subtle changes can make a profound difference.

I believe that at some point, the heart of every unregenerate person desires salvation without repentance and a change of life. That is the great contrast between genuine Christianity and all other religions. (Luke 13:3, 5).

Fill the church with the unsaved, preach easy-believism and watch the church grow. Easy-believism is the gospel without repentance and a change of life. You can gather a multitude around that type of a gospel. The multitudes of Christendom and the multitudes of the Cults verify that, but when you build a church on easy-believism, though you may have some Christians in it, you do not have the Church of Jesus Christ.

When you look at Revelation 2 and 3, you find Christ removing the candlestick (decommissioning) those churches who depart from the Word of God. (See also Matthew 7:21-23).

Rick Warren has stated, “It is my conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart … it may take some time to identify it but the most likely place to start is within the person’s felt needs”. This is psychology, not the gospel. The gospel does not consist of meeting the felt needs (desires), the sinner must turn from his or her own desires before they can be saved. This is another gospel, which is not the gospel. This is the ground work for easy-believism. Galatians 1:6, 7.

The PDC has abandoned another vital aspect of the church, SEPARATION. The PDC seeks to make the church appear like the world in every possible way. It creates an environment in which the world can come in and feel at home.

All down through the history of Israel and the church, a mixed multitude has brought destruction to the people of God. (2 Corinthians 6:17)

The church is called out of the world, to be separate from the world. The PDC is determined to change that! The church is called to go outside the camp bearing the reproach of Christ. It is warned not to love the world.

The church is not to bring the unsaved into its fellowship. The church is commanded to go out into the world, to win men and women to Christ, to baptize them and then bring them into the fellowship to be discipled. Subtle changes can make a profound difference.

Ecumenism is a part of the PDC; it is at the leading edge of bringing all of Christendom together. The church is commanded in scripture not to fellowship, or associate with those who depart from sound doctrine. (2 John 10:11, Jude 3)

I believe the Purpose Driven Church is the part of the great last days’ apostasy (Matthew.24:5)

If you are a follower of Christ, I urge you to come out of the whole Purpose Driven and Seeker Friendly Movement. (Revelation18:4, Matthew 24:24).

Wait On the Lord
Aug 1st, 2007
Art Sadlier
Uncategorized

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary: and they shall walk, and not faint” Isaiah 40:31.

Waiting on the Lord occupies a large place in the Scriptures. It is a major tool of the Lord in preparing His servants to serve Him.

Abraham spent a lifetime waiting on God to send the promised blessing.

Moses spent forty years quietly waiting on God.

David was prepared to be Israel’s greatest king, alone in the wilderness, tending the sheep.

Elijah spent much time waiting on God to prepare him for a powerful ministry. He sat in a quiet place all alone for a year, waiting on the Lord. There were no coffee shops, TV, newspapers, family or friends, just Elijah and the Lord. He spent two and one half years waiting on God at Zarephath. Before Elijah could raise the dead, call down fire from heaven or call down the rain, he had to learn to wait on the Lord.

Paul spent a year in the Arabian Desert alone with the Lord.

The Lord desires to prepare you to glorify Him, but that preparation involves, quiet waiting on the Lord. How are you making out with this call on your life?

Not to Wait on the Lord is to:

• Reject God’s place in your heart and life
• Usurp God’s guidance
• Allow the flesh to lead you
• Guarantee defeat

To Wait on the Lord is to:

• Learn to resist the rationalizing of the flesh nature
• Learn to say no to the flesh natures impulses
• Learn how to find the will of God

What are you Waiting on the Lord for right now?

What are you in danger of rushing into, by not Waiting on the Lord that will change the course of your life?