Are you putting yourself in chains?

We are going to continue on in the book of Galatians this week. This book is a road map for the pure Gospel of Jesus, the Gospel Of Grace that was given to Paul. As we study this book we will see a problem that still exists today………..

Galatians 1:6

6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

When you study this book you will notice right off that Paul does not spend a lot of time on pleasantries… He writes a couple lines of greeting, but then get right into the subject of this letter. This shows that he was very concerned about what he was hearing from this Church that he had founded.

In our verse above the Greek word that is translated as “soon removed” is metatithesthe. In context, it means “ a deserter in the military or a turncoat”. By using this word we can assume that Paul was not only upset at what was going on, but was also broken hearted.  Paul was shocked that those in the Galatian Church would drop what he had taught them so quick. That they would listen to another person who was changing things was just unfathomable to Paul.

It is important to point out here that the people who were doing this DID NOT deny the facts of the gospel- that Jesus died and rose again.  What they denied was that The Lords sacrifice was adequate....

 Sound familiar? The teachings that these people were bringing in to the Galatian Church were that a person is saved by faith plus keeping the law, and that the believer is sanctified and enabled to live a holy life by faith plus keeping the law. My friends this is a total and complete lie.

 The Grace Of God IS sufficient for Salvation. You do not need to keep the law, to follow a set of rules, regulations or rituals in order to be saved.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee made this statement in regards to this teaching:

"This is one of the oldest heresies known, and it is still with us today.  It is adding

something to the gospel of grace; it is doing something rather than simply believing something. It

is faith plus something rather than faith plus nothing.  Every cult and 'ism' has something for you

to do in order to be saved."

Now think about Dr. McGee’s statement for a minute….. What he said is true. I have studied religions extensively, and I can tell you that each one that departs from the true Gospel adds things. We are of course told NOT to do this. From the Old Testament to the New, we are warned not to add things to the Gospel….

You will notice that the other “Gospel” that these people were trying to get the Galatian Church to believe was not really another Gospel at all, it was a PERVERSION of the Gospel Of Jesus.

Galatians 1:7

7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

These people used a tactic that is still used today. They take just enough of the Gospel as told by our Lord and then they add their own things into it so that it sounds plausible to those who are looking for a quick fix…..

 Do this, do that, give this, give that and you are saved. Why do they do this? Because by adding things in and by making it so you have to participate in a ritual or do a certain thing in order to be saved they can keep control of you. By making these rituals and telling you they are “mandatory” or that they are an “obligation”, they can withhold Salvation from you if you run afoul of their rules….

 When they do this they change the Gospel from what it truly is, a message (Good News) of FREEDOM, into the bad news of bondage. They do exactly the opposite of what the Gospel of Jesus is for, and that is to set people free from the bondage of the law.

 If a bunch of legalism, rituals and other mumbo jumbo could have saved us, then there was no reason for Jesus to suffer and die as He did. By adding this junk to the Gospel of Jesus, they make His sacrifice worthless……

We have to stay true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in the next verse:

Galatians 1:8

8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

My friends, the Gospel message is the message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Period.

 If you believe in that, and accept Him as your personal Savior that is all you need to do. Everything else is nothing but man made rules.

If we look in the book of Acts, where Paul and Silas were in prison and after praying and praising The Lord, they were set free by and earthquake, the jailer asked them what he needed to do to be saved. What was Paul’s reply?

Acts 16:31

 31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Cant get much clearer than that…….

My prayer for you to take away from this message today is to stay true to the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are way to many Churches and denominations that  do not preach to the pure gospel of grace alone for salvation. 

  They try to bring us under the law.  Some teach dietary restrictions, some teach certain days must be observed.  Others will try to say certain church affiliations are necessary to gain salvation. Still others will tell you that you have to follow their rules to the T in order to be saved…….

  They do this through not only through pressure, but also through misguided education of those who are new to The Faith. There are denominations out there that require you to take classes on their rules and regulations in order to become a member of their Church.

  These new converts are not grounded in the pure gospel and do not know any better, but if they pick up their Bibles and read them they will see that all these rituals, traditions, whatever you want to call them are nothing but a bunch of man made rules designed to keep these young ones in Christ under their thumbs.

 They do this to build their membership rolls and by building their membership rolls, they fatten their bottom lines through giving. Their purpose is to keep you in bondage, but the purpose of Christ is to set you free.

 If you are a new Christian and you see the Church you are attending in this message, my advice to you is to run and run fast. Find a Church that preaches the true Gospel of Freedom in Christ. A person who is in bondage will not grow, but a person who if free in Christ will have no limit as to what He will do with your life……….

God Bless You Alll!!!

Pastor Brian

Millionaire Jesus????

The Prosperity “Gospel”

I have written sermons and done an audio series on this subject before, but while reading through Paul’s letter to Timothy this morning, I read some  verse’s that,  although I have read  before, the true meaning of this them did not strike me until now…. This is a great reason why everyone (even those of us whose career it is to preach the Word Of God) should actually read it with an open mind and no pre-conceived notions beforehand or agenda (like writing a sermon) beforehand. Instead we should just read the Bible for the pure JOY of reading it…

ON to our topic though………………..

The verses I ran across in my opinion shoots a HUGE whole in those who preach this prosperity “gospel” and also in those who pervert the Gospel Of Jesus Christ to line their pockets.

1 Timothy 5:5-9

5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

From the context of this letter, its seems that Timothy was dealing with some people who came into the Church that Paul had left him to oversee preaching that God wanted people to be wealthy.  The Apostle has some pretty strong words to describe these people (Verse 5).  The fact is my friends is that this kind of trash is nothing more than idolatry. These “Ministers” are making a mockery of our Faith for their own gain, and are collecting millions of dollars doing it. They come in, tell you to empty your wallet and trust that God will fill it back up as if by magic….. No work required….. It saddens me and it angers me when I see this thing going on.

While researching this blog, I listen to several videos of these “Preachers” taking about this subject. The worst one I saw was a man who was preaching in front of a large crowd, and instead of glorifying God in his “sermon”, he spent 45 minutes talking about the material possessions that he had. Everything from a Rolls Royce for him to luxury cars for his children to a $16,000.00 (no that is not a typo) DOG…..  Not once was giving to those less fortunate mentioned, not once was feeding the hungry mentioned, nothing. The only thing that was mentioned was that if you brought your money and gave it to them then God would bless you…. This is not only wrong on many levels, it is a PERVERSION of the Gospel.

Yes we are told to give, and if you are attending a Church you should give to that Church.  If you are attending a revival and The Lord lays it on your heart to give of the resources that He has entrusted you with then do it, but do not give expecting to get.

Jesus addresses this in Luke’s Gospel:

Luke 6:35
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil

Even some who do not identify with totally with this perversion of the Gospel still in some ways are influenced by it. I was told by the leader of an online Christian Church that I should DEMAND tithes and donations from those who I provide a “service” to.  Serving the poor and those in need is not conducive to this type of “theology”, and it goes against EVERYTHING that I stand for.  By demanding money from those who have nothing or by demanding that people give money to get a blessing, these false prophets are trying to one up the promise of our Lord:

Luke 6:37

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

This verse is Jesus telling us that if we give, then HE will cause people to give unto us. He DID NOT say to give and you will get a Mercedes….  Paul reinforces this teaching by telling us in our Verses above that we need to be happy with what we have. If we have food and clothing then be content.  Paul also mentions it again in his letter to the Philippian Church:

Philippians 4:11-13

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Notice the key words here are in verse 13, doing all things THROUGH CHRIST. Not through some preacher selling you some kind of program. My friends, these people are not true Ministers, they are motivational speakers who use our Faith to get rich.

You may ask me why it is a bad thing to have nice clothes or a nice car or a big house.  It isn’t. IF GOD HAS CHOSEN TO GIVE YOU THESE THINGS then rejoice in His blessings. The problem comes in when you get caught up in this mess and obtaining things becomes the primary focus instead of telling people that God sent His only son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. And from the videos I have watched and even from the meetings from these type of preachers I have personally attended, I can tell you that the focus is not on God supplying our needs, it is on (as one of these guys so “eloquently” put it, “releasing the money”.  

A final thought on this, and perhaps the worst thing of all. Some (in fact most) of these prosperity preachers say that poverty is a curse and that Jesus himself was rich because He could not have been cursed…. This goes against the teachings of Jesus… If He was rich then why did He have Peter catch a fish with a coin in its mouth to pay the temple tax? I mean come on folks, even if the treasurer (Judas) who held the common money bag for the Ministry was not with them at that point, it stands to reason that they would not have been walking around broke. I do not know any person who is rich or even well off that does not have SOME money with them at all times for expenses like that.  Why did he have to use the upper room of another person’s house to celebrate the Passover when he could have paid for a room at an inn? There are many other examples, but I will stop here. The fact is my friends that The Lord DOES want you to be blessed, but this does not justify pursuing material things at all costs.

I have included a link to one of the many videos I watched while researching this blog. I think you will be shocked when you view it…..

Get That Money???

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Be A Light In The Darkness...........

A candle is a small thing, but one candle can light another. When it does this,  it’s own light increases, and the original candle does not loose anything by giving its light to another……

And a candle, no matter what its size, provides light no matter how deep the darkness is around it. As Christians, we are called to be like a candle,  not only shining our own light in a world of darkness, but also giving that light to another who needs it.

When you are a Christian, and you truly have Christ living within you, you will be full of light. You will never again be in darkness because He provides light for your path and for the path of others. Jesus tell us in John’s Gospel:

John 8:12

 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Candles come in all different shapes, sizes and colors, and each one has a purpose. There are candles meant to light a whole room, there are candles that relax you, there are big candles, small candles, long and skinny candles, short and fat candles and  on… BUT all candles, no matter their shape or size all share the same traits.

They give light where there is darkness.

A candle that is not lit is just a piece of wax. The sole reason that a candle exists is to give off light. Now I know that there are “decorative” candles that people put in their homes because they like the shape or the color, but that candle never fulfills its true purpose until it is lit and starts burning. Paul talks about this in his second letter to the Church at Corinth:

2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Think about that for a moment…. The Creator of all things, the One who commanded light to be created is shining in our hearts. We then have an obligation to make sure that this light that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ shines bright in our lives and gives light to all who we would encounter.  How do we do this? By making sure that we are a shining example of the light of Christ. Once a candle is lit, it needs to be put in a place or on a candle stick so that the maximum amount of light is given off and can be seen by all. We cant just hide that candle… If we do, it is nothing but a waste. Jesus tells us this in Luke’s Gospel:

Luke 11:33

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.

Way too many people whose lives have been lit by the light of Christ are putting their candle in a secret place. They let their light shine on Sunday’s and Wednesdays when they go to Church and are around other Christians, but when they leave the building, they put that light away.  The only way that people know they are Christians is if they see them walking into a Church building. Otherwise you could never tell by the way they live their lives.

 Why is this? Because they put that light in a secret place…. This my friends should not be. We must let that light burn bright. From the front pew of the Church to the daily grind of our jobs. If we do not show that light that The Lord has caused to burn within us, we are not doing anyone any good.  

Think for a moment about a lighthouse that would guide a ship into a safe harbor. When lighthouses first came into being, the light that came from them was little more than a huge candle (although made of wood and other materials instead of wax, but the principle was and still is, the same). A light was burned and reflected onto the water so that the ships captains would see where the rocks were and not run aground. As the old story goes:

A battleship lookout noted a light in the distance on a dark, foggy night. After noting the light’s coordinates, the captain recognized his ship was on a collision course with the light. The captain instructed, "Signal the ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees."

 The return signal countered, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees."

The captain signaled, "I’m the captain of this vessel, change your course 20 degrees."

The response from the light was, "I’m a seaman second class, you’d better change your course 20 degrees."

By this time the captain was furious. His signal curtly ordered, "I’m a battleship, this is the captain speaking. Change course 20 degrees, this is an order"

 The reply: "I’m the lighthouse and if you do not change your course, you are headed for a shallow reef that will sink your ship”.

How many people do we know today that are in our lives who are like the stubborn captain? Family, friends, co workers? All headed for the rocks of destruction. WE, who have the Light Of The World shining through us, must stand steadfast and let that light shine so that those we come in contact with will not crash on those rock, but instead will be guided safely into the harbor that is the love of Christ. Like the stubborn captain, they may argue, the may refuse to change their course, but if we stand firm, if we keep showing them the light, it will make a difference……

In closing today, I want to share a couple things about candles and how we need to aspire to make our lives like a candle. 

A candle, being made of wax is mold able. It can be shaped into any form that the person doing the molding want it to be. So must our lives be. We must let The Lord mold our lives into whatever shape He wants them to be. Not all shapes will be the same and they shouldn’t be, but each shape will have its specific purpose.

Also, as I mentioned before, candles are just pieces of wax. In order to be used properly, they must be lit. But before they can be lit, they must have something inside them, something that can not be removed and that carries the flame.  In a candle it  is a wick, in our lives, it is Jesus Christ.  So get out there, find some darkness, and light it up with your candle.  There is a world in darkness that is waiting for the light and we, as Disciples of Christ are called to be that light….

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Whose Church Is This Anyway...........

A mother looked out a window and saw Johnny playing church with their three kittens. He had them lined up and was preaching to them. The mother turned around to do some work.

A while later she heard meowing and scratching on the door. She went to the window and saw Johnny was BAPTIZING the kittens. She opened the window and said, "Johnny, stop that! You’ll drown those kittens.

Johnny looked at her and said with much conviction in his voice: "They shoulda had thought about that before they joined MY church."

This story, although funny, shows a real problem in the Church today. Now when I say “The Church”, I am talking about the ENTIRE body of believers from every Denomination. From Catholic to Pentecostal…

And yet, even though we are all walking the same road and believe in the same Lord, we tend to forget who the Church belongs to….

 Like little Johnny in our story above, we do things and tell people who come into our Church doors that they must do things because it is OUR Church and that is just how it is. 

  Maybe because of tradition that has been taught and handed down for generations, maybe because we have a very charismatic (in the physical sense not the denominational sense) Pastor who teaches things that way and people follow them to a fault, or for whatever reason, the fact is that many people think just like little Johnny and forget that the Church is not ours, it belongs to Jesus. The Church is HIS Bride and like any good husband or fiancé, He will not put up with another usurping HIS place……….

As I spoke about in last weeks sermon there are an estimated 30,000+ Christian Denominations active today, each one conducting their Worship services a little differently, and yet they all Worship the same God.

 

Here is a question; have you ever seen a person, maybe a co-worker that you do not know all that well, that has a cross on their desk or some other Christian symbol near them. You strike up a conversation and usually the first thing you ask (because you see the symbol) is “Are you a Christian?”. What answer do you get? When this has happened to me, I normally get answers such as “I am Catholic” or “I am Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, whatever”…… My point is that they did not answer your question. Instead of saying “Yes I am”, they instead told you what Denomination they claim.

The biggest problem facing The Church today is this sort of thing. These Denominations claiming that they are the only way. They claim that if you do not do things their way then you are not truly saved…. My friends nothing could be further from the truth.

If we turn to Pauls letter to the Ephesians, we will see that he lays it out. This is what we called in my teenage years “straight up talk”:

 Ephesians 4:2-6

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

When this Epistle was written, it was to address a newly formed, multi-cultural Church. There were some problems that were arising in this Church because new converts were separating themselves from others IN THE SAME CHURCH based on their culture.

If we look at the Church today, it is plain to see that most have forgotten or choose to ignore verses 2-3…

2- With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love

Way too many Pastors/Leaders and even members of Churches today are not practicing lowliness and meekness. Instead, we see their faces plastered on billboards, their pictures displayed as soon as you walk into the Church, and even printed material that tells you how to be a Christian (from their perspective, not from a Biblical perspective).  That is not lowliness, that is self-promotion…..

If we look at the word meekness, we will see that it is an even stronger warning to the Church. In the English language today, meekness has become something of an insult. People equate being meek with being week. But if we look at the original Greek word that was used we find a whole different meaning…

In the original Greek, the word translated as meekness is “prautes”, and its meaning is "openness to God and man."  In the context then that Paul used it in this letter,  it implies a determined effort toward a conciliatory attitude,  involving tolerance and flexibility towards our fellow man, and a readiness to accept the Word and the will of God.

  So if we apply that to the universal Church, it means that even though we may not agree with some of the things that people do in their Worship services and we may do things differently, as long as they hold to the core belief of the Christian Faith, they are still or Brothers and Sisters in Christ and we should not be fighting with them. What is the core belief? That is easy as it is probably the most quoted and memorized scripture:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

You will notice that it does not say “whosoever believeth in him AND speaks in tongues, whosoever believeth in him AND recites the Lords Prayer, whosoever believeth in him AND ANTHYING….” No, it says WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH.

In a nutshell my friends that is the whole message. If you believe in Jesus and what He has done for us, then everything else is man-made doctrine and dogma that has nothing to do with the core message.

So instead of getting hung up on all these man made things that people try and tell you that you must do or follow, we need to get back to the basics of the Scripture above, and strive to do as we were instructed to do in Verses 3-6 of our text;

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

God Bless you all and I ask today that you go in peace with a new found love for our Christian Brothers and Sisters.

God Bless You All

Pastor Brian

Not Against Us? Then you are for us.......

In the world today, it is estimated that there are between 30-35 Thousand Christian Denominations. While most of these hold the same core beliefs, they go about things in different ways.

 Some have set liturgical Worship, others freeform. Some dress in robes, others in suits and some very casual….. (I am guilty of this one, as I have been known to preach in shorts and a T-Shirt, and about the only time I wear a robe is when performing a wedding).

 Some view Communion/The Lords Supper/The Eucharist as central to the service while others only do it on special occasions. Then there is the whole Transubstantiation/Memorial debate (which is an entire sermon unto itself).

 The way things are done in Church and the reasons they are done that way are as varied as the members themselves….. Some are based on their interpretation of the Bible, others based on long held  Tradition’s.

No matter where you stand on these  or other Dogma issues, what we will be talking about today is the “my way or the highway” mentality, and why this is wrong and goes against the teachings of Our Lord…….

People, even those who were closest to Jesus when He walked this earth, have always bickered over this type of thing, and in the years since then it has not gotten much better. In fact it has, if anything, gotten worse, and has caused mass killings, crusades against others, witch hunts, you name it….. as we look at Luke’s Gospel we will see the start…….

Luke 9:49-50

49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.

50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

The last portion of Verse 50 is the most important and profound statement that Jesus makes on the subject, and one that if we truly follow His teachings, should put the whole denominational debate and in-fighting to rest.

 If we look at what was going on before and after Jesus made this statement, and the context in which He made it, we will see that even though He was right there, some of the disciples thought that they were the only true Christians, and that everyone who claimed the name of Christ had to follow them,  or they could not be Christians. 

 Even His disciples, who had traveled with Jesus, spent a lot of time in His presence, and knew Him better than anyone on the earth, and should have known what He stood for,  still argued and fought over positions of power……

Luke 9:46

46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.

 This Verse from the King James Version, is kind of watered down. If you look at the original Greek passage, “a reasoning” means an argument. In fact, the first part of the Verse translates to “satan taking possession of them and thoughts coming to their mind”. We can assume from the context of the Verse that the Disciples were talking about this when they thought Jesus was out of ear shot…. But, He knew their thoughts.

Luke 9:47

47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,

So he takes a child and gives the child the place of honor next to Him. This is significant because children were seen as unimportant at that time. I am sure that their parents loved them, and they wanted to see them grow into adults, but the fact is, children were considered to be little more than their parents property. Kind of like the old saying that “children should be seen and not heard”.  But Jesus tells his most trusted advisors, the ones who he spent the most time with and who he trusted to carry on His message this:

Luke 9:48

48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.

In this way, Jesus gently but firmly rebukes His Disciples by doing something totally out of character for a normal adult in Biblical times, let alone a Rabbi or teacher. He gives a child, who according to the customs of the time, should not even be close to Him, a place of Honor, and tries to show them that if they would be great, they must become the least of all. The message though doesn’t sink in as we see further on in Lukes Gospel:

Luke 18:15-17

 15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

Again here we have Jesus breaking with protocol and tradition of the culture and the religious people of his time by taking children and giving them a place of honor next to him. Why? Because a child believes what they are told without question. A child trusts those family members who are older than them without question and without asking for proof…. That is why we must receive the Kingdom of God like a child.

Now back to our original verses:

We can safely assume that the person who was casting out these demons was a true follower of Jesus (not like the seven sons of one Sceva mentioned in Acts 19). We don’t know anymore about this person than what is written, but we do know he followed The Lord and believed in Him, otherwise he would not have had the authority to cast the demons out. And yet John tells Jesus that he forbade him to cast out the demons and to call upon the name of Jesus because he did not follow along with them (or in modern terms was not part of their fellowship)… Sound familiar?

 This is what a lot of Churches do today. They claim that if you are not in communion with them, then you have no authority, you are not a real Minister, etc. etc. Don’t these people READ the Bible that they claim to know so much about? I guess not, because if they did, they would understand that even though you may follow a different path, as long as you believe in Jesus, and call upon His name, you are a Disciple of Christ.

So no matter what label you choose to wear as a Christian, be it Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, whatever, we still serve THE SAME LORD and we will all end up with Him at the end of our days on this earth.

My prayer today is that Christians, no matter what denomination they claim, will come together and build the Kingdom Of God. Lets lay aside our petty little differences and focus on what is important….  Only in this way will we ever be able to reach a lost and dying world with the message of Christ.

God Bless You All

Pastor Brian

Moving Forward In Christ, New Year's Sermon, 2013

As we stand here in the final 48 hours of 2012, and we look ahead to 2013, it is a good time to reflect on the year that is ending and to look forward into the year that is soon to begin. It is also a good time for God’s people to take inventory of their walk with the Lord. Of course just like every year, people all over the world are at this very moment pre-occupied with planning their celebrations for New Year’s Eve, and also are busy writing down their resolutions for the New Year. I ask you today that as we go through this sermon and more importantly, after the service has ended, the lights are off and we go our separate ways for the last time this year, to take some time and just be still, be with God, and reflect on what He has done for you this year and what He will continue to do in the coming year.

People celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in different ways. For some it is the “last hurrah” of the Christmas season, with a last party or dinner to be planned, cooked and served. Others attend a Church service (usually know as a “watch night” service. Some go to a fireworks show that is put on in many cities across the world.  Some don’t do anything special, maybe spend the last few hours of the year with family and maybe watch the fireworks from across the world on TV.

My wife and I (and sometimes the kids) usually spend New Year’s Day taking down the Christmas tree and packing away the decorations. I enjoy doing this (even though I do get a little sad because I love Christmas time), but it is a great time to reflect and remember special times and blessings not only of the Christmas season that has just passed, but also of Christmases from years past. For me doing this not only has a practical side in getting the lights and decorations taken down and put away, but also a spiritual side as we will see in going through our sermon today.

Some things must be kept; some things must be thrown away

While taking down the Christmas lights and decorations, I check them before packing them away. In the case of the lights, if I find frayed or exposed wires, or strands that have had one to many staples put through them, then these are thrown away because they are a danger.  In our walk with Christ, it is much the same… We must get rid of the things which are a danger to our Christian walk, the things that if we continue to use them become a danger that could hurt us. Paul tells us in his letter to the Church in Colossae that we have to put off these things:

Colossians 3:8

 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

These things are like the exposed wires on the Christmas lights. If you keep them around and plug them in, they could cause you a nasty shock and even start a fire. So you need to throw them away.

Think about Paul’s words in this verse above:

 Anger, wrath, malice:

 How many people who claim the name of Christ do we know that are full of these things. It is sad but it is true. This past year, we have really started to expand our presence on the various social networks online, and I see these things on a daily basis on the Christian and Church pages. People writing angry things toward one another, fighting over some small point of doctrine that they do not agree with, people fighting and ready to come to blows over insignificant things that they (NOT THE LORD) turn into this huge deal. This happened to me early in 2012 when I made a reference (based on a story that was told to me) of people using something other than “consecrated” hosts for communion (this story was of soldiers getting ready to go into battle not knowing if they would survive taking communion using what they had available which was their C-rations). I was blown away by the response from a “Christian leader” that was so full of anger, wrath and malice. It saddened me greatly that this person would be this way, but all I could do as turn the other cheek and not lower myself to that same level.  We need to take stock of ourselves and if we have these things against anyone, we need to throw them away and start fresh. We have to get rid of these things and live in the love of Jesus

Colossians 3:14

 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

Then there are the other two:

Blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth

When we think of blasphemy, we normally think of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), but the context that Paul is using here in the letter as translated from the Greek writing means “to slander”. It can refer to slanders directed at God, but Paul is talking about slanders directed at other people, specifically other Christians. This happens when we insult and belittle others through gossip or when we put others down behind their backs.

 This goes right along with filthy communications…. Again when we thing of this we may think of Christian Brothers and Sisters telling dirty jokes or lusting after a person (either in their lives or that they see on TV). This of course should not be, and if that is in your life I tell you to throw it out as well. However, the translation from the Greek and the context that Paul is talking about in this letter means: “abusive speech”.  Words that are thrown around in an attempt to hurt or wound someone.   How many times do we see this in the Church?  Sadly, too many.  And my friends those who listen to such garbage without calling the person speaking it on the carpet, are just as guilty as those who utter it out of their mouths.

What else do we need to throw away out of our lives? In Chapter 2 verse 8, we are given some examples that we need to follow to make sure that our lives are pleasing to God:

Colossians 2:8
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

All of the things here could fall under the heading if false doctrines….

Philosophies – This refers to wisdom of men. Man has invented some strange belief systems over the years, and every single manmade belief system is at variance with Jesus Christ. If what a person teaches is not backed up by the Word of God; that system is to be avoided by the believer.

Vain Deceit – This phrase means “empty tricks”. It refers to those who deceive through trickery or through a slick message. Again, if the message is not Jesus it is not of God. If the focus is not on Jesus and His shed blood, it is not of God!

Traditions of Men – Believers are warned to be careful of long held beliefs. Just because people have believed something to be true and have been taught that something is true, does not make it true! We are not to base our faith and our walk on the traditions of men, no matter how godly or worthy of respect the man may be. We are to base our belief system on the Word of God alone!

The Rudiments of the World – Again, believers are warned against falling away from a mature faith to accept a simplistic doctrine. This phrase refers to an alphabet, or things in a row. It speaks of simple things in contrast to deeper truth. We are to stay with the Bible and try every teaching against the clear Word of God.

Then we have probably the hardest one for a lot of people to understand, and even harder for a lot of people to let go of:

Colossians 2:16

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days.

If we look at this Verse in context, Paul is talking about Foolish Demands that some Church leaders put on people.  As believers, we are to watch out for these people who would place us back under the Law. Jesus came to deliver us from legalism, and we are to stand in the liberty that we have been given in Jesus Christ. At the moment of His death, when He said the three most powerful words ever uttered by a human being, all that legalistic mumbo jumbo was put to rest there and then. When Jesus said IT IS FINISHED, the law was fulfilled once and for all time. Because that was the purpose for Jesus coming to this earth. So here now Paul is telling us that “no man has the right to be their judge”. If you have been saved by Jesus, then you have been delivered from the demands of the Law and are now under Grace.

I know I am stepping on some toes and so was Paul, but this is directly from the Word Of God, so if this offends, GOOD. That means that The Holy Spirit is pulling at your heart and telling you to lay these things aside and get back to The Word, because being a Christian does not consist in the keeping of man-made rules and rituals, but in a personal, relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we are taking stock of our lives and throwing those things out that hinder us in our walk we also have to remember those promises that will help us in our walk and keep these things in our hearts.

 When I pack away the Christmas decorations, I find ornaments and trinkets that remind me of good times and events. The ornaments that we purchased for each of our children for their first Christmas, Ornaments that belonged to my Grandmother or my Mother and Father in law, ornaments that my wife and I purchased for our first Christmas together and each time we purchased a new home….  

When taking these off the tree, and before they are packed carefully away, I pause and reflect on those events and remember the joy of watching my children open their gifts on Christmas Morning, and the joy of planning where the decorations would go when we had moved into a new home.  And even though these special things may be packed away, I know exactly where they are and could get to them if I needed to at any time of the year.  

So it must be with the Spiritual things. We must remember that God has given us things to keep in our hearts. The fact that there has been a death for all of us, and more than that, there has been a resurrection!! That we, by believing in Jesus and crucifying our old lives along with Him have also been raised with Him to a new life in Him:

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Not only that, but we have a promise from God that this world is not the best that there is. That although we may live here for a short time, our hope lies in spending eternity with Him!! Everything we do must be filtered through this promise. And even though we may face battles with the flesh and with the devil here, we know that we have already won!! 

Through Jesus Christ we are truly destined to win and we can not be defeated!! One day we will stand in His presence, and no matter what we may have to go through here, when we look upon His face it will be worth it all!!

I know that this may be a lot to take in, but as we stand here on the cusp of a New Year, let us take a good, hard look at our lives and at our walk with the Lord.

Let us retain & remember those things that assist us in our walk with The Lord, and lay aside anything that would hinder it.

 Let us move forward into this New Year listening to the Voice Of God and asking Him to remove the blinders and open our hearts and minds to a greater understanding of His Word. 

Let us listen to Him as He calls us out from behind those stained glass windows and back into the streets so that we can carry His message to a lost and dying world.

 Let us make 2013 the best year of our lives to the Glory Of God!!

God Bless you all and Happy New Year

Pastor Brian

A Charlie Brown Christmas, 4th Sunday Of Advent 2012

In our final Sunday Sermon before Christmas, we are going to look at a beloved animated Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Most of you I am sure have seen this special on television or on video. A stressed, depressed and over-burdened Charlie Brown, after seeing everyone around him obsessed with the commercial aspect of Christmas, (even his own dog Snoopy), and even after trying to get more involved in Christmas and being made fun of for buying a small but real Christmas tree instead of the “shiny aluminum one” that they told him to,  finally asks in frustration,  “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Linus tells Charlie Brown that he knows what Christmas is all about and responds by reading him the following verses:

Luke 2:8-14

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Sometimes today, it is easy to feel like Charlie Brown….. We are now only 2 days away from Christmas, and yet some stores have had Christmas decorations and merchandise on their shelves since mid-October. We have been bombarded by department store sales ads in our mailboxes, newspapers, TV screens and online since about that same time. Stores now are in the final push with some of them reducing the Christmas aisles to only a couple and already starting to put Valentines day merchandise out.  For those of us who celebrate Christmas for what it is, the birth of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ, it can get depressing to see Christmas ushered in and out so fast….

Maybe we NEED a Charlie Brown Christmas…. A Christmas where even though there may be gifts, that is not our primary focus.  Our primary focus being instead the gift that was given by God Almighty to all of mankind, that gift that was no adorned with ribbons or bow, but instead was wrapped in swaddling clothes, and was born in a manger.

If we look at the rest of our verses for today, we will find out who the first people other than Joseph & Mary, were to receive this gift, and why we can learn a lot from them……

Luke 2:15-17

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

Now why is it significant that the angels appeared to these shepherds? Because it set the tone for the life and the Ministry of Jesus. These men were the lowest people on the social ladder. They would not have been educated, most likely they could not read or write. They worked weeks at a time camping out in the fields while tending the sheep existing on what they could gather or possibly hunt from the land. They were expected to lay down their lives if it came to that to protect the flocks that they were charged with guarding, and yet they were paid next to nothing. And yet it was to these men who lived on the fringe of society that God in His wisdom announced the birth of the Savior to. And what did they do upon hearing the news? They went straight to Bethlehem and found Jesus and when they had seen Him, they told anyone and everyone who would listen what the angels had told them and that the Messiah was now born. These unlearned, rough men became the first evangelists of Jesus Christ!!

It has always been that way…. Even in the Old Testament, when God chose another shepherd who was just a boy to be King, it is those of low estate who will listen and be more receptive to the word of God. Kind of like Charlie Brown in the film, a person who is imperfect, who is not confident in himself understands and accepts the message of God. The message that Unto Us A Child Is Born…. And because of that willing acceptance and belief, people like that are often called to carry the message of Christ.

In Closing today, I just want to share a couple of things. When this TV special was released on December 9^th, 1965, it was released right in the middle of the “God is dead” phase. When academics and “enlightened” people said that they needed no God. Even the TV network execs did not want Peanuts creator Charles Shultz to include the Christmas Story from Luke in the special. They assumed that the audience would not want to sit through a reading from the Bible. Mr. Shultz, a devout Christian steadfastly refused and the scene from Luke was left in. Much to the surprise of the TV execs, 50% of TV sets in the United States tuned in to watch that special, it won an Emmy and a Peabody award, and even the critics in “enlightened” New York wrote that Linus telling the Christmas Story from Luke was the highlight of the season.

So my friends, I ask you today, on this last Sunday before Christmas, as we know that the wait for our Savior and Lord is almost over, to take a break from the hustle and bustle. Put down the shopping bags, the TV remotes, whatever it is that is occupying your life at this time and pick up your Bible. Read the 2^nd Chapter of Luke and really let its meaning get into your heart.

Maybe a Charlie Brown Christmas isn’t such a bad thing after all………..

God Bless you all & Merry Christmas!!

Pastor Brian