Volume 3, Issue 5

May 2013

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people on that list are "still" unrighteous in today's world. Every single thing on that list can most definitely be applied to today's culture, no argument. And for further clarification purposes, in case you are wondering, 'homosexual' is translated from the Greek word arsenokoites meaning "one who lies with a male as with a female." We cannot get around it. Homosexuality is a sin. If we are approving of the world's opinion, we have already "put away" our integrity (vs. 5). 'Put Away' or cuwr means "to turn aside, depart." Do not depart from your integrity! Do not approve of the world's opinion, do not declare them right! In fact, if we truly love them, we must stand for the truth for "saying it's okay is enabling them from following God's plan" (quoted from a dear friend). We are pushing them further from righteousness when we approve of their opinion. That is not, and never will be, love. Today I challenge you to be like Job: Hold fast to your righteousness and do not let it go. Stand for the truth. Do not let your heart find fault with you, or reproach you. Love the world but do not agree with them.

b y In case you have missed it, the debate of same sex marriage has become quite the to-do. From individuals, to companies, to churches - everyone seems to be picking a side. In fact, I rightly did so myself. However, while I was speaking truth and Biblical fact (marriage should be between one man and one woman), I was carelessly venting and, more than likely, affected my witness. We must be careful of the words that we use but we can and SHOULD speak the truth, no matter what the consequences. Just because we are speaking truth in saying the marriage is for one man and one woman, does NOT mean that we hate homosexuals. In fact, we are called to love them as Christ loved them: unashamed, with arms wide open. But there is a difference between love and approving of someone's opinion. Job 27:5-6: Far be it from me that I should declare you right; Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go. My heart does not reproach in any of my days. For a little bit of a background here, Job's friends were trying to tell him that he had messed up somewhere, that he had sinned, that he was wrong. While I am sure that Job loved his friends, he still knew that they were wrong and he was right. That is where these words come from - Job is rightly sticking up for himself.

" eclare you right"is translated from the D Hebrew verb tsadaq. The lexicon explains that the interpretation of tsadaq in this case should be something along the lines of "to declare any one to have given a right opinion...to approve of any one's opinion". Job did not approve of their opinion and he let them know it! For if he approved of their opinion, he would be forsaking his integrity. After all, "If we must not bear false witness against our neighbor, then not against ourselves. The same goes for us. If we approve of the popular opinion of man right now in saying that same-sex marriage is okay, we are forsaking our own integrity. Just for clarification purposes, Dictionary.com defines 'integrity' as "adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty." As Christians, our moral and ethical code is taken from the Bible. The Bible clearly says that homosexuality is wrong (and not just in the Old Testament). 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, not the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (emphasis added) We cannot just pick and choose what

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Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. (Gal 6:1-5 NIV) It seems as though when we talk about healing in the life of the church, we generally talk about divine physical healing. There is certainly a need for that and the need for all of us to look to God to provide that kind of healing. In fact, He commands us to pray for the sick for their healing. But we also need to talk about the need for spiritual healing. In fact that is probably more important than the need for physical healing. Sin is a problem so deep in ones soul that it leaves us spiritually dead. There is nothing good about that and nothing good that come out of being in that state. The Scripture says, Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. The NKJV says, 1Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Also, the Scripture says, Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins (James 4:17 NIV). It takes knowledge to sin. In other words, we do not just unknowingly or unconsciously commit sin as some believe and teach. It is a willful act of the person committing the sin. If someone who professes to be Christian sins, no matter what the circumstances are, right, wrong, good or bad, it still comes under the category of sin. It could have been a lapse in judgment, a bad decision, or a mistake, but it is still sin no matter what we call it or how one got into it. Sin is when we miss Gods mark. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4 NIV) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1Jn 3:4 KJV) The discussion of sin or understanding what is happening in the life of someone who is sinning is not really thought about while in that way of life. In our day, there are things that even in the life of the church and among preachers, as a result of political correctness, have caused us not to think about,

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preach about, and teach about it. We are in a state of out of mind out of sight. We should at least think about what how God looks at sin. There is an awfulness inherent in sin! In the awfulness of sin there are consequences to our actions. Some of those consequences last a life time not only in the life of the person who committed the sin, but to those who have been affected by the sinner. There is the need for accountability among Christians. When someone is being restored from sin, there have to be those they are accountable to in the Christian Community, the Church. How are we caught in a sin? Someone might have to point it out to the sinner, in love. The Holy Spirit might pour out conviction on the sinner, and it could be through the preaching of the Word. It also could be through intercessors, prayer warriors, or all of the above. All circumstances are different and you cannot paint with one broad brush every situation as the same. The Scripture goes on to say, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. (Gal 6:1 NIV) How should Christians react, or act toward someone caught in sin? That depends on how the person caught in the sin reacts or acts. Are they truly sorry? Are they

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showing humility before God? Do they want to be restored back to God? Are they willing to do what it takes to be restored? And follow a path of restoration? The reaction of the person caught in the sin will help other Christians determine if they are able to help gently restore the person of if the person will continue in a state of rebellion. As Christians, however, we should have the desire to Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Gal 6:2 NIV) We have a God-given responsibility to be concerned about others, not just sin issues, but the burdens that others have to bear in this life. The sin issue again is important and is probably in a sinners life the most important issue. They need Christs forgiveness and our willingness to love them through whatever it is they are dealing with. Fulfilling the law of Christ is fulfilling the law of love. We are obligated to fulfill Gods law! We are to be obedient to fulfill Gods commands. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. (Gal 6:3-5 NIV) In his book Why Revival Tarries Leonard Ravenhill says, There are three persons living in each

of us: the one we think we are, the one other people think we are, and the one God KNOWS we are! He goes on to say, But too often we hide ourselves from ourselves lest the sight of ourselves should sicken ourselves. Let us invite the searching eye of God to locate this corrupted, spotted, stinking Self in us. Let it be torn from us and crucified with Him, so that henceforth we no longer serve sin. (Romans 6:6) For several years of my ministry I served on a Credentialing Services Team. Often we sat in judgment of others actions and sometimes sinful actions. It was a sobering responsibility making decisions that affected a persons life and could alter their direction and be life changing for that person. Everyone around the table realized it could have been one of us in the hot seat. In fact, there were times we had to do the right thing Biblically and it was most difficult, but our foundation was and always is Gods Word. We should not compare ourselves to others, that is too easy to make ourselves look better then we probably are. The plumb line is the Word of God and how God looks on us that is the standard. Finally, this passage tells us, for each one should carry his own load. (Gal 6:5 NIV) We are responsible for our actions, both good and bad! Today in our society the younger generation in some circles are taught to blame others for their prob-

lems and not to take responsibilities for their own actions. That philosophy is certainly contrary to what the Bible teaches. We are responsible for whether we sin or not and we are responsible to help those around us that are sin sick. God wants to use Christians in that way and He wants us to love those who need help. That is our responsibility as Christains. Having said all of this, the point? If ever there should be a place of healing, if ever there should be representatives of God here an earth, if ever there should be an atmosphere of healing it should be with Gods people, His church! We need to be a healing community within our local communities. The only answer for this sin sick world is Jesus Christ and Christians shining the light of Christ. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psa 46:1 NIV)

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Most of us seem to lose sight of tragedy over time. Once the devastation is a sufficient distance from us, it just sort of melts into the past and we go on with our lives. As Christians, we should begin to pick up on the common theme that runs through all these tragedies. The tragedy that Im, of course, referring to is Boston, and all the other senseless events of murder. We have experienced the guns of Connecticut, the knife slashing of Texas and now the bombing of Boston. The only common thread is, of course, evil. It is difficult to understand people who do these sorts of things. We try to understand them by comparing them to the way we live and nothing makes any sense. But we have a different reference as Christians to compare these events to, one that we cannot lose sight of. We read Ephesians 6:12, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Acts of evil cant be legislated away by outlawing any inanimate object, nor through better education or therapeutic counseling. Evil will exist until the end of time! Its really time we get this as Christians. Sometimes we come across like everything

can be so perfect here that we are already in heaven, but that just isnt the truth. There is real evil and there are real evil people. John Bolton, former ambassador to the U.N., shared the following concerning negotiations with rogue states and terrorist groups: When Washington acts as though adversaries are our mirror images, we not only misperceive what we are dealing with, we are potentially endangering ourselves. Mirror imaging is a serious institutional problem at the State Department, one that repeatedly distorts our policy formulation and impedes achieving U.S. objectives. It is closely related to the phenomenon of moral equivalence, which sees all parties to a dispute as relatively comparable contributors to the problem. Aggressors and those acting in selfdefense, for example, are both seen as equally contributing to an undesirable cycle of violence. Merely because we see ourselves as reasonable, practical people looking for mutually acceptable ways to accommodate differences does not mean those across the other side of the negotiating table share that mindset. If they have very different worldviews and see us as limp-wristed, week-kneed embodiments of a decaying civilization, for example, why should we expect them to parley as we would? As Christians when we look at the unsaved world as a group to be

enticed through some sort of publicity stunt, we dont understand the real issue any better than Washington understands the rogue regimes and terrorists. When we think evil is just an alternative lifestyle, we are like people standing on a train track believing the oncoming train will stop just because we are standing there. Good luck with that! Darkness cant force light out but light can eliminate darkness, and in the spiritual realm that only happens when people turn from the prince of darkness to Jesus Christ, the Light of the World. As Christians, we need to rise to the challenge of taking the light forward into every place our day takes us. There is nothing that can stop you from being a light-bearer for Jesus. That takes us to another issue. These horrible domestic acts of terrorism cannot be fought off by religion. Religion, as Marx said, really is the opiate of the masses. In religion many Americans have fallen asleep to evil. But Christianity isnt religion; its a relationship with the Lord of Glory, who is the Light of the World. April, over the last twenty years, has been the month for some of the most horrific acts of violence in our country, Waco, Columbine, Oklahoma City, Virginia Tech, and now Boston. Boston comes on the annual celebration of Patri-

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ots Day, the day the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the Revolutionary War. Lets not lose sight that evil hates Freedom and all true Freedom is a gift of God. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1) . Every Christian is called to be a warrior of faith and freedom and to stand firm, never losing sight of the reality that the battle doesnt end until the end! And the end will sound of a trumpet blast that will awaken those who have died in the Lord and those who are alive will be caught up to be with Him in the air. Meanwhile, beloved, we have to stand and stand firm, never giving an inch to the evil one. Our battle is real and it is the one that will make the difference in eternity for many. We are called to unite with The Lord of Freedom and victory in prayer to call many out of the North, South, East and West, that they may come into the Kingdom. Now is the time, today is the day that we recognize that our stand in the Lord is the most important thing we might do. Now is the time and today is the day for us to resolve to be Warriors! We cannot allow terrorism to drive fear into us and we cannot cower from the fight. Warriors for Christ must be our resolve and commitment unto the end when we hear that trumpet sound marking the final victory! To fight the fight, we must be immersed in faith. It is faith that connects us with God and it is

faith that keeps us seeking the move of God in our lives, and in the Church, that will make a difference. Evil isnt overcome in the flesh! Evil is overcome through the power of God released in His people. Ephesians 3:14-21 challenges us to keep seeking the power of God and trust Him to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. vs20-21. God is moving in us with His power to awaken the Body of Christ to be His living witness to a lost and dying world and as He revives the Bride, the world will be drawn to Him. In that supernatural move of God we call revival evil is defeated and God gets the glory. Isaiah 43:6b, Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth. Do we not see the mighty hand of God in that verse? We attempt to do the work of God in human strength so often, and use the techniques of the world so much, that we seem to lose sight of the fact that we serve a supernatural God who desires to have a people for His own glory. And the truth of His people is that He calls them out of darkness and walking in the shadows to live in Him, the Light of the World. In Romans chapter 12, the opening verses get quoted quite often, present your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God and we dont seem to notice the end of the chapter, Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it

is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Isnt that call to submit and let God be God! Isnt that what He did in bringing Israel out of Egypt? He did it and was glorified. The first Protestant church was planted in Korea in 1884. One hundred years later there were 30,000 churches. Thats an average of 300 new churches a year for 100 years. One of the main means used in that work is fasting and prayer. In the overseas Missionary Society, churches alone have more than 20,000 people who have completed a forty-day fast. When we recover what it means to desire God more than anything else and cry out for Him to revive His Church, then the world will notice and lives will be impacted by the revival. Every one of us must stand firm with the spiritual Warriors resolve that we will seek the face of God and we will not let go of heaven until the Body of Christ is revived. All that we do for the Glory of God needs our hearts full attention. May we storm the strongholds of the evil one, with Warrior Resolve and the God-Glorifying shout of Freedom on our lips! Wake-up calls dont keep coming. There is a point in time when slumber just turns into deep sleep and the opportunity is lost. Today is the day and now is the time. Lets cry out for revival like never before with the renewed resolve of Spiritual Warriors!

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W i l s o n look at the beast in this way, and take such a stand is to ignore what immediately follows. Revelation 13:11 tells us, Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. Regardless of how we want to view the first beast in this chapter, we must admit that something which looks like a lamb but speaks as a dragon must draw a direct contrast to the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. If it draws a contrast to Christ, and the beasts of these chapters are interpreted as political systems (as the beasts in the seventh chapter of Daniel are defined) then this must be a false church. If we are to carry this contrary view of the beasts to its logical conclusion, we must still face the reality that there is a false church in the world today. Though some have chosen a less offensive way to interpret Revelation, it does not diminish the reality that Satan is working to counterfeit what God is doing through His people. Nearly 2,000 years after the establishment of the church, Satan continues to portray himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14)! He works day and night to convince us that we can turn Gods church into something that resembles the image of man rather than the image of God. He turns our attention from the Word of God to the ideas and gimmicks of man. He sits back and watches with great joy as man builds great structures of earthly power and authority within the church while ignoring the Holy Spirit who seeks to

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Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in from of people -Rev. 13:11-13 Recently my wife and I were away for a couple days. We were walking around Berlin, Ohio and found a little shop that sells parlor tricks. I have a few of these tricks and had been practicing them, so I purchased a few while we were there. One looks like a wallet. I can keep my money, drivers license and other necessities in it. It looks completely normal, but when one of the pockets is opened I can strike a flint and a wick inside catches fire. It looks like the entire wallet is burning, and when the wallet is closed the fire goes out. I thought it was fairly impressive, and my two year old niece agreed. But she is the only person to whom I have shown it who believes that I can make a wallet burn (without the help of lighter fluid). Nobody else believes that I have the power to do such a thing, and they shouldnt! To believe that would be to choose to live outside of reality. While few believe I can magically make a wallet burn, many choose not to live in light of reality in other ways. Consider the

church. Whenever the book of Revelation is mentioned we are immediately drawn into conversations about the interpretation of the symbols in this last book of Scripture. There are many today who debate the stands we should take on these symbols, and some have placed more importance on the debates about diverse views than the reality of what is being revealed by God. The twelfth and thirteenth chapters of Revelation teach of a series of beasts that rise up against Gods people (represented by a woman in the first few verses of chapter 12). Most can agree that the beasts represent opposition to Gods work through His church. But many will not take a stand in regards to what they represent specifically. Historically, the Church of God Reformation Movement views the beast of chapter thirteen as Papalism (and the author agrees with this view). However, there are some today who do not hold to this interpretation, but insist that we must teach a diversity of views. The problem with this is that we are so interested in diversity that we have neglected to understand the truth. Lets suppose that as some believe, the beast represents emperor worship in the ancient Roman world. In the minds of many this keeps us from making the assertion that the Roman Catholic Church is a false church. That seems like a comfortable stand to take because we do not have to address the issue of a specific false church. It presents no problems for us socially as we interact with others in our relativistic world. It allows us to embrace some of the pluralistic, post-modern views perpetuated in the church today. But to

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lead us from Heaven. My purpose is not to encourage us to teach contrary interpretations of Scripture. We must approach Gods Word prayerfully, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But we must also act on what the Spirit reveals through the Word. I have been told by various people that they simply will not consider the views of Revelation taught by F.G. Smith, Lillie McCutcheon, and many others, because they are too divisive, or too offensive to those of Catholic or denominational backgrounds. They believe that we cannot take a stand against sinful behavior within the church today. How can we hold such a view in light of Scripture? And even if they hold the view to which they claim to subscribe, how can we ignore the reality of a counterfeit church in the world today? We are surrounded by professing Christians who have no problem accepting open homosexuality though Scripture teaches against such things (very clearly). And these condemnations of this sin are not just in the Old Testament. Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality (1 Cor. 6:9) Countless masses are being misled by this false doctrine. People are portraying themselves as Christians while promoting doctrine that will lead people to an eternity in hell! There are others who openly embrace the practice of abortion. We make excuses and speak in euphemisms to tip-toe around the fact that it is the murder of a human life. It is an act that stamps out the gift of

God: life. For the better part of ten years my wife and I have tried to have children. We have been to doctors and taken numerous tests. Through this process, we have come face to face with the reality that only God can give life. Man, in spite of his knowledge and accomplishments, cannot create life. It is something reserved only for God, yet we callously destroy this gift before it is even allowed to come to fulfillment in the one whom God has created (1 Tim. 6:13). There are Christians who support this! There are many scholars and teachers who have abandoned the Scriptural doctrine of creation in favor of evolution, despite the fact that there is a great deal of scientific evidence against that theory. To do this is to abandon the first few chapters of the Bible. It is to view the world from a perspective that eliminates Gods work and craftsmanship. As the world searches for meaning, professing Christians abandon the very thing that gives us purpose and definition in this life. These are only a few examples of the countless sinful acts that those who claim to be the church will accept and embrace. How can we dispute the reality of a false church? Our experience confirms what the book of Revelation teaches us. Satan is using the political systems of the world (and the church has largely become political in many cases) to lead people astray. Myriads of men and women have been led to believe that by joining these organizations they will inherit eternal life, despite the fact that Scripture portrays a beast that speaks with the full authority of the dragon of paganism represented in Revelation. This beast is a counterfeit for Christ,

it leads people in a direction contrary to His word. For too many years the church has taken the easy way out of interpreting the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We have looked at this prophecy from Patmos as a mystical story that cannot readily be understood by even the most diligent student of Gods Word. Over the past months I have begun to wonder whether we really believe this, or we simply do not want to acknowledge reality. Could it be that we have come so close to becoming one of these beasts that it is easier to assign another explanation to their nature and identity than to remember and acknowledge the place from which we have fallen? The letters in the second and third chapters of Revelation each contain the same call for Gods people, regardless of their circumstance, He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. The call of the Spirit rings out from the pages of Holy Scripture today to call us back to reality. He calls us away from our ideas, fads, gimmicks, leadership structures and programs, back to the pages of Gods Word. We spend countless hours chasing the fantasy that a church builds in mans image will thrive. Gods call is never a call to such a fantasy, it is always a call out of Babylon, a city built on mans ingenuity and pride, back to reality. Back to a worldview that embraces God, His creation, and His gifts while leaving the deceptions of Satan behind. No matter how we view this prophecy of Scripture, we must face the harsh reality that there are counterfeits. This is the reality in which we must live today.

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Be sure to check out The Culture of Gods Kingdom, a new book written by Nick Wilson. Its available on: Amazon.com Barnes and Noble Westbowpress.com Its also available for Kindle.