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Dec 24 2015
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America Needs revival

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“Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place” (II Chronicles 29:1-5).

 

One of my mentors said a statement in one of his sermons that went something like, “As the preacher goes, so goes the church, as the church goes, so goes the nation.” No doubt the preacher has a huge impact on the church. One of my brothers in Christ used to tell me that the pastor sets the tone for the church. It makes sense to think that if the pastor is spiritually strong, so will the church be; if the pastor is spiritually weak, so will the church be. However, saint of God, you will not be able to blame your pastor for your spiritual shortfalls because you have a Bible and the Holy Spirit teaching and strengthening you. I have seen Christians in dead churches rise above the prevailing attitude of that church and go on to be men and women of God. None of us have a legitimate excuse.

When it comes to the thought that the church impacts a nation, there is great truth to that. Yet I would not be too quick to make an absolute out of it, especially when we know Rome was a morally wicked nation that persecuted Christians. In the midst of Rome; the early church was united and powerful. I am sure that the early church had some impact on Rome. When Rome did concede to the church, we got the Roman Catholic Church out of it.

You don’t need super spiritual eyes to see that America is corroding at an incredible rate, and that the church in America is turning carnal and lukewarm. It seems that many of us are quick to blame the church for the deterioration of America. In some ways, we are making a correct judgment. It sure looks like America is failing because the church is failing. As we see moral failure in the church, we see America falling even deeper into the pit of moral degradation. As we see the church downplay and skirt around the truth, we see a nation with politicians bankrupt of integrity. I do think it is safe to say that as the church in America is, so is America.

However, the Bible also teaches us that in the last days, evil will abound and love will grow cold. This is happening right before our eyes. It is a fearful thing to witness, yet it is also exciting to see the very words of the Bible become such a reality in our day. Have you ever heard the term “relevant?” I am sure most of you have. It is a term that is used quite often in church advertisements. They want to let everyone know that they are relevant to today’s culture and that their preacher preaches relevant messages. I was having lunch one day with a pastor who was passionately telling me how he wants to preach relevant messages. I was a little confused by this statement, so I asked him to give me an example of how the word of God isn’t relevant to our day. He immediately replied back, “Well, the word is always relevant.” To that I say amen, to that I say then preach the word. So I encourage any preacher who wants to preach a relevant message to just preach the word of God. Have you ever considered that I Timothy 4:1-3 and II Timothy 3:1-5 speak more of the day we live in than the day that Paul penned those scriptures? The things that Paul wrote in those portions of scripture were pointing to a future day. We are in that future time right now and these scriptures are being fulfilled in an incredible way. How much more relevant can the word of God be than that?

So I make the point that the church does have an impact on the nations, yet I am convinced we are living in the days that nothing can stop the increase of iniquity because the Bible says it is going to happen. I am not suggesting that we all lay back and do nothing, for the Lord could delay His coming for some decades. I can’t help but to see that the signs are all around us and I believe that we are in the very closing hours of this church age. While society is deteriorating at an alarming rate, we must understand that we are still called to be light and salt to our nation, no matter what condition she is in. It seems that the nation is having a stronger influence on the church than the church is having an influence on the nation. If that be the case then the church is in desperate need of revival.

I believe revival of the church in America is the greatest need of this hour. The American church has become so Laodicean in that she thinks she is rich and in need of nothing, but knows not that she is wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Yet God never chastises His people without leaving them with great hope. God invites us to buy gold tried in fire that we can be spiritually rich. He invites us to buy white raiment to cover our spiritual nakedness and anoint our eyes with salve that we can see the kingdom of God.

The southern kingdom of Judah had its ups and downs. The northern kingdom mostly had its downs. The northern kingdom was the first to fall because every king, since and including Jeroboam, did evil in the sight of the Lord. Judah had twenty kings. Eight did was right in the eyes of the Lord and twelve didn’t. One of those kings that did what was right was Hezekiah. He was the son of Ahaz. Ahaz was wicked and closed the house of the Lord. Hezekiah opened it back up and brought revival to Judah. He had all the filthiness removed from the holy place. Saints, we need this kind of revival here in America. America may have gone off the deep end, but we can still experience a revival amongst the church. Revival isn’t for the spiritually lost, though it affects them. Revival is for the church. You can only revive something that once had life. You can only wake up a people after they have gone to sleep. You cannot revive someone that hasn’t been born again. There has to have been life at one time. However, when the church does experience revival, it has a great impact on the lost. When saints are revived there is a renewed desire for evangelism and there is a holy fearful conviction that flows from God’s people. PRAY FOR REVIVAL!

 

“And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things” (Acts 5:11).

 

Nov 16 2015
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Hypocrisy, Satan’s Greatest Sermon

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Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines hypocrite as: a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.

 

Hypocrisy is Satan’s greatest sermon; hypocrites are Satan’s greatest preachers.

 

In my estimation there are few things that are as effective for turning people off from being a Christian than hypocrisy. Jesus showed great mercy on the Samaritan woman who had five husbands and was living with a man who wasn’t. He extended mercy to the woman caught in adultery when He said to her, “neither do I condemn thee.” However, when it came to the hypocritical Scribes, Pharisees and Priests, Jesus really laid into them. He had no problem openly calling these men hypocrites. If you look up the word “Pharisee” in some dictionaries you will find two meanings for the word. One meaning is that a Pharisee was a member of a Jewish religious group that followed the Torah. You will find a second meaning for the word Pharisee to be a self-righteous hypocritical person. This definition came about by the observation of the hypocritical life that the Pharisees lived. They said one thing, but did another. Jesus plainly described them.

 

“Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” (Matthew 23:2-3)

 

One of the biggest complaints that heathens have against the church of Jesus Christ is the rampant hypocrisy they see in those who profess to be Christians. Even worse, is when they see it in those that are ordained ministers. One reason for that hypocrisy, at least here in America, is we have far too many people that claim to be Christians that are not even born again. They cannot help but to live a hypocritical lifestyle to some degree, especially if they are trying to be religious. Those that are born again are promised power over sin, those that are not born again have no power over sin.

 

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the

sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (John 1:12).

 

No matter how much a lost person may hate hypocrisy, they can’t help but act in hypocritical ways at times. For the true born again believer, we have power over sin and therefore hypocrisy must be far from us. The devil is waiting around every corner ready to expose every Christian that acts in hypocritical ways. People hate hypocrisy. They hate it when a Christian preaches to others how they need to quit acting like a sinner, but then will go and live like one themselves. Jesus said of the Pharisees:

 

“… Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).

 

Jesus had no problem openly reproving the Pharisees. He spoke out, not just to His disciples, but to the multitudes of people of just who these Pharisees were:

 

“For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders;

but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23:4).

 

The scribes and Pharisees were quick to make up their own rules and use them to oppress others, but for some reason they never intended for those rules to apply to their own life. The Pharisees were very judgmental of others, but thought judgment would pass them by. The whole twenty third chapter of Matthew is a record of Jesus warning the people of the scribes and Pharisees and exposing who they were. Jesus even resorted to name calling, something you would think is strictly forbidden for any Christian to do. However, He wasn’t calling them anything that wasn’t true. Jesus called them blind guides, fools, whited sepulchers full of dead men’s bones, serpents and a generation of vipers. It might be hard to see Jesus in this light, but He did not tolerate open hypocrisy.

Seven times in the twenty third chapter of Matthew, Jesus said “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” It is clear to see how much Jesus hates the sin of hypocrisy. Jesus also gave a very strong warning to those who are hypocrites.

 

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation” (Matthew 23:14).

 

Saint of God, let me get right to the point. You can fool people, but you will not fool God. He knows your heart, He knows your mind, and He knows exactly how you live your life. Do you pretend to be something you are not? Do you try to portray yourself to have a greater love and devotion for God than you do? If you have been living a hypocritical life, God knows it, and with great grace He is willing to forgive you of your hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy doesn’t just offend God and irritate people, it is one of the most destructive things when it comes to raising children. I have pondered on why God gives us children while we are so young. You would think that we should have children toward the end of our lives when we have so much more wisdom. Although it may take more energy than wisdom when it comes to raising children (ha ha). It can seem overwhelming for a young couple to be given a child, which is such a wonderful gift from God, and face the responsibility of raising it. Mom and dad can feel so proud of their young one and yet feel so inadequate when it comes to raising the child. I want to give you some advice since I am a father that raised three boys. You may fail your children at times during those child rearing days, but one of the greatest things you can do for your children is DO NOT LIVE A HYPOCRITICAL LIFE. DO NOT BE A HYPOCRITE. Be the same in church as you are in the home; be the same when you are with other believers as you are with your family. I can’t help but to believe that hypocrisy by parents, especially dad, has caused more children to hate Christianity than any other thing they could do.

One thing that hypocrites do really well is talk spiritual. They quote scripture and say all kinds of spiritual things to get the attention of others, but yet their hearts are far from God.

 

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Mark 7:6).

 

I wonder how many proclaiming Christians are in church Sunday morning, singing the praises of God and offering up worship and then the rest of the week are living for the devil. That is called hypocrisy and again I will say, God is not fooled. He will reject those songs of praise and worship. Fellow believer, walk in the light God has given you. Be true to God and your fellow man and you will not have to hear, “Woe unto you.”