Monday, January 26, 2009

Nature Change

Nature Change - audio






This Sunday I ministered on Transformation, coming from Romans 12:1-2. The Word of God calls us to present all of who we are to God, as living sacrifices, daily getting on the altar of holiness and conformity to God's will and lighting the match and staying there. The Bible calls us to stay on the altar even when things get heated, throughout good times and bad times, the Christian is to give God all of who he is. The way that men are able to present themselves as holy acceptable sacrifices to God is through making the decision to be sanctified by God and not conforming to this world. Non- conformity to this world means that the Christian is not to be molded by the external, shallow, empty devices of this age or fashioned by this world, the culture or any of its standards. Many on this path of conformity would even attempt to conform Christ to an image rather than conforming themselves to the Jesus who never changes yesterday, today and forever. Today we see largely in the American church a "Jesus" that embraces homosexuality, abortion,and the external devices of the flesh. We see a "rock" Jesus, a black, white, asian, and Indian "Jesus" a hip-hop "Jesus" a "contemporary" Jesus. This conforming Jesus relates to men by "meeting them halfway" and relates to their culture. The God of the Bible relates to all men equally and did so by becoming flesh, being born of a woman, and walking the earth as a man for 33 years. Neither Christ or any of the Biblical figures in the Bible ever conformed to the culture in order to reach men. God has done everything necessary to relate to man.....by becomming a man.., and for men to say that He cannot relate to this present age without all these external shallow methods that will "attract people" is blasphemy.
We must be transformed on the altar of the living sacrifice ,if we are ever to see the kingdom of heaven and enter in. We must be born again, made a new creation, putting off the old man and putting on the new and we must be sheep in sheep's clothing...not sheep in wolves clothing..we must be good trees with good fruit,and houses built on the rock. We must be transformed by the renewing of the mind, the changing of our hearts and by the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

In the Beginning was the Word...






John 1:1-5 audio click here


This is a Bible Study teaching I did on John 1:1-5. I originally intended to get through verse 5, but I only managed to get through verse 3. Lord willing, verses 4 and 5 should be up by next week. The Lord has been showing me the importance of expository teaching and preaching, and how the Christian can get a full understanding of the Word of God when they "study to show themselves approved" verse by verse in context of the Word. So many times, we grab "one liners" and cling to those scriptural cliches, when the Holy Spirit wants to inspire and give us the full revelation of scripture that He gave to the men who were writing these eye witness accounts by the unction of the Spirit of the Lord.
I dont know how long it will take me to even get through the first chapter of John, but I encourage you to take this journey with me, or even begin one of your own, taking a book from the Bible and unpacking it. It will greatly benefit your life spiritually, mentally and in your daily walk.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Narrow Way

The Narrow Way - audio ( click here to hear the sermon )


This sermon of the "Narrow Way" is the second part to the previous sermon I gave called "The Broadway". The Narrow Way and the Narrow Gate is the only way to salvation and eternal life. The Narrow Gate represents Jesus Christ and His unchanging goodness and severity. Men must conform to enter this gate rather than conforming the gate to fit their desires. We cannot add to or take away anything from Christ and His gospel and men must be saved on His terms. The narrow gate is fixed and intolerant, it is a personal gate which only allows entrance for one at a time. The cares of friends, family and the pleasures of this life will not fit through the gate, and the Christian on his journey will have to forsake all to enter in. Will you put forth all effort to enter in?




The narrow way is not an interstate where men can speedily rush twoards their desires and pleasures eventually leading to everlasting destruction. The narrow way is a path where men are given a lamp unto their feet and a light that gives guidance one step at a time. The narrow path is a disciplined path, a path of holiness; it is not trodden begrudgingly but those who are on it love it, they would have no other way. The narrow way is a lifestyle change, a total course change, from going with the world and its ways, to going totally against it in all things
Are you on the narrow path?

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Broadway

The Broadway - audio


This is a sermon that I was graciously given the opportunity to preach last Sunday, January 11th. The title of the sermon is called "The Broadway" and it comes from Matthew 7:13-14. All men start off on the Broad way and the road is wide, generous, pleasurable and accepting, all the while deceiving men by telling them that it leads to eternal life. This path leads to the unbearable wrath of God in hell, and many are on the path and enter through its wide, accepting gate. Because men start out dead in trespasses and sins, having their reason and understanding darkened, we were totally helpless to do anything that would take us off the broad way. The broad way is an interstate where men are traveling at high speeds, going from newborns to aged men in their lives, for they are only a vapor, and there are no rest stops or U- turns on the way.
Only Christ, because of the love for which God loved us, can open men's blinded eyes and pour out grace upon sinful hearts and take men off of the broadway which leads to destruction, and set them on the narrow path which leads to eternal life. I pray that you will be blessed by this message and look for "The Narrow Way" to follow next week...

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Another Gospel

4For if someone comes and(H) proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept(I) a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
2 Corinthians 11:4




The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great "brotherhood." It does not seek to drag down the natural man, but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation and appeals to "the best that is within - It aims to make this world such a comfortable and congenial habitat that Christ’s absence from it will not be felt and God will not be needed. It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence, and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, and dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.
A.W. Pink











In these days we must be careful not to fall into the deceptive trap of Satan's gospel, which presents another Jesus, another Spirit ,and another Gospel. Notice that this false gospel doesent come as Bhuddah, Mohammed, or Scientology or any other "religious" form...It takes the name of Christ, and as Jesus said in Matthew 24:4-5 "Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many." The false gospel isnt entirely different from the true pure gospel and the false Christ doesent appear totally contrary to the true Word made flesh...likewise the "other Spirit" doesent portray itself to be any different than the Holy Spirit...so whats the deception? The false Christ appeals to the people, he preforms signs and wonders (Mark 13:22), he brings hope, joy, and peace and happiness to people, and once again ...He comes in the name of Christ.The false Christ gives no glory to God, he brings glory to himself and preaches a man-centered message the focuses the glory on man. "Another Spirit" feels like the Spirit, it ignites like the Spirit, it moves you like the Spirit, but it caters to the soul and the flesh, to the emotions. The false spirit doesent convict of sin, it promotes self- esteem and appeases sin, it doesent convict of righteousness, it advises you of how to conform to the world while trying to serve Jesus too...it tells you how to serve two masters. The false spirit also doesent convict of judgment, it tells you that you can have your best life now here on earth and not worry about eternity. It doesent inform you that there is appointed unto everyman once to die and then the judgment. The false Spirit also doesent discern between what is acceptable in God's eyes and whats not. It believes that it can take the things of the world and conform them to the image of God. The false Gospel doesent inform men that they are sinners, depraved criminals in God's eyes and that His wrath is set upon them. The false Gospel tells men that they can do good works and evangelical activities in order to be right with God. The false Gospel preaches a salvation that is based on the sincerity of man's decision in praying a repeated prayer rather than telling Him to cry out to God with all his being...

Another quote by A.W. Pink in conclusion:

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers, but are for the most part ordained ministers. Thousands of those who occupy our modern pulpits are no longer engaged in presenting the fundamentals of the Christian Faith, but have turned aside from the Truth and have given heed unto fables. Instead of magnifying the enormity of sin and setting forth its eternal consequences, they minimize it by declaring that sin is merely ignorance or the absence of good. Instead of warning their hearers to "flee from the wrath to come" they make God a liar by declaring that He is too loving and merciful to send any of His own creatures to eternal torment. Instead of declaring that "without shedding of blood is no remission," they merely hold up Christ as the great Exemplar and exhort their hearers to "follow in His steps." Of them it must be said, "For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Rom. 10:3). Their message may sound very plausible and their aim appear very praiseworthy, yet we read of them—"for such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves (imitating) into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing [not to be wondered at] if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Cor. 11:13-15).

Friday, January 2, 2009

You will Suffer - John Piper

This is an amazing video done by John Piper discussing Suffering for Christ. Will you suffer for Christ? Are you part of the fellowship of His sufferings, bearing your cross along the narrow path, enduring shame and tribulation that comes with the most precious enduring faith? Many today believe that they can have a Jesus whom they will not have to endure for. They believe that the Christian should be able to live in a world where both worldly, carnal people and genuinely converted children of God should be able to get along compromisingly. This is a deception. We will have tribulation in the world, but we should be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world. We possess a most precious treasure in earthen vessels, and we will be knocked down at times, but we will never be knocked out! Be blessed by this video!