JUSTIFICATION: I'm ninety-five percent saved!

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'"

John 3:3

Reuters is reporting the Metropolitan Police in London, England, are finding it difficult to bring in sufficient recruits. So the agency has loosened its requirements – ignoring tattoos and criminal records.

“This wouldn't apply to people who had shown criminal intent, like burglary,” a spokesman said. “If you hit the target on 19 of 20 criteria and miss it on one we’d consider your application.” That’s because you get an extra point for insight into the criminal mind.

Not so in heaven … only those with all the qualifications (the blood of Jesus) need apply!

We need to understand, in the same way a theater won’t admit with half a ticket the Lord will either! It's either 100% saved by grace through faith or it's not! Christ's all-sufficient sacrifice is not up for negotiation.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Justification

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Holy headlocks and saintly slams!

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Ephesians 6:11-13

The Associated Press recently reported on a wrestling priest in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Sergio Gutierrez, with clerical collar, has been in the ring for 25 years. It’s true the bouts are staged but there’s still an occasional outbreak of real violence; Gutierrez has broken his nose, ribs, ankle, and arm.

Gutierrez is known in the ring as Fray Tormenta: Brother Storm. Proceeds help fund a 200-bed home for underprivileged boys Gutierrez opened some 15 years ago.

Brother Storm is training Manuel Ortega, another priest, to wrestle part-time to also raise more funds. Ortega holds a black belt in karate, which he earned before entering the priesthood.

Popular in low-income neighborhoods in Mexico, professional wrestling sometimes draws crowds upwards of 10,000. Fans see the matches as a kind of morality play: good versus evil. One of the priests’ major opponents, Damian, is a taunting, mocking wrestler with 666 on his forehead and flames around his eyes.

The real match, the one Paul calls “our battle”, is real and vicious warfare. Yet, the devil wants the Soldiers of the Cross to view it with the same earthly eyes as spectators at a Brother Storm match.

Satan’s greatest weapon is deception; if he can deceive large numbers of believers into viewing our battle as nothing more than religious extremism … well, the body of Christ would be no different than Adam and Eve in the beginning … “naked” and “afraid” [Genesis 3:10].

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Spiritual warfare

GRACE: God? I'm thirsty!

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

Ephesians 2:8-10

It never failed but that our kids got thirsty the minute we were too far from the house to get them one.

Problem: how do we get water to satisfy their thirst? Solution: take them to the source of water or build a conduit for water to flow from the source to them.

So too with God's grace. It’s in heaven where we cannot go at the moment, far from the thirst of our hearts.

However, God, who spoke the heavens and the earth in existence, has said faith is His conduit for His grace. What a conduit can be to our need for water, faith is to our need for God's grace.

So it makes no sense to seek another solution ... there’s only one link between heaven and earth and that link is faith in the Son of God.

Christianity, Grace,
Illustrations, Religion

REVENGE: The All-flesh sin!

"For we know Him who said, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.' And again, 'THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.'"

Hebrews 10:30

When Marie Lupe Cooley, 41, of Jacksonville, Fla., saw a help-wanted ad in the newspaper for a position that looked suspiciously like her current job — and with her boss's phone number listed — she assumed she was about to be fired. ... .

So, police say, she went to the architectural office where she works late Sunday night and erased 7 years' worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5 million. ... .

As for the job, Cooley originally wasn't in danger of losing it. The ad was for Hutchins' wife's company. The firm told FOXNews.com that Cooley no longer is employed there.

Revenge offers up a plethora of temptations with related biblical admonitions: unforgiveness [Matthew 6:12], thought-life [2 Corinthians 10:5 (also obedience)], spiritual gifts [Galatians 5:22; specifically "self-control"], self-incrimination [Matthew 7:1-6; 12], God's example [Nehemiah 9:17b], and much much more.

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."

Ephesians 4:31

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Revenge

EVANGELISM: The greatest danger to the Bride is her health!

We once lived in a mobile home park. Now you must understand, a mobile home park is a place where most everyone has enough time on their hands to be sure you're doing all you should be doing and "watch" you doing it.

One of the things that are evidently important to “seasoned-citizens” is your yard; you are regularly visited by people you don’t know, whose only interest is what you have or haven’t done to your yard.

At first, this seems picayune and a slightly irritating; but, as the Lord is fond of doing, this can provide you with an opportunity to reach out to these wonderfully nosy people. Not only that, but it can teach you something else: don't plant and ignore.

Plants need constant care. They must be constantly fed, watered (strangely they get very thirsty), nourished, protected, and pruned. But no matter how hard we work, some plants just don’t respond to what we do for them. We have to get beyond them.

The Lord never had it in mind that His disciples should be planted, then forgotten.

He challenged Peter to care for and protect His sheep [John 21:15]. The writer of the book of Hebrews says the mature disciple eats solid food [5:14].

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ONLY, BUT ON EVERY WORD WHICH PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD’” [Matthew 4:4]. Jesus said to the woman at the well,

“Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water which I shall give to him shall never thirst; but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

John 4:13-14

Jesus taught that His Father would prune fruit-bearing disciples, but that who were fruitless would be taken up and thrown out [John 15:2].

My experiences with plants have taught me well … I‘m now watering, feeding, protecting, nourishing, and pruning all my nosy neighbors for the glory of God.

Christianity, Evangelism,
Illustrations, Religion

SIN: The Christian's protective clothing!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

Ephesians 6:10-13

As I understand it, nuclear medicines glow in the dark and appear very ominous when seen for the first time. I’m told, those who handle these isotopes must wear lead-lined aprons and gloves.

Brief encounters, or controlled treatments, with the medicines won’t hurt the patients, but continuous every day handling is quite risky. So medical personnel, who do so, take extra precautions to protect themselves.

Sin is different from these highly dangerous potions: whereas the latter do not endanger the patient, even the smallest of sins is dangerous to believer or non-believer alike.

Some people’s lives are such that they encounter little sin; yet, even they must go to Christ to be cleansed [1 John 1:9-2:2]. The serious believer, however, takes precautions and puts on the whole armor of God that he may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

Those, especially, who are committed to ministry come under intense attack. To go to battle against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places [Ephesians 6:12] is serious business, only a fool would engage the enemy unprotected.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Sin

WOMAN: Sex of the battlers!

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless."

Ephesians 5:25-27

The English professor wrote on the chalkboard: punctuate this word string: “woman-without-her-man-is-nothing”!

Male students wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”

Female students wrote: “Woman! Without her, man is nothing.”

[Adapted from Coolsigs]

Christianity, Gender,
Illustrations, Religion

NATURE: Careless Code Recycling Causes Killer Kangaroos!

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

Ephesians 5:1-2

It’s being reported that the reuse of old, object-oriented computer code has caused tactical stress for Australia's armed forces.

As virtual reality simulators assume larger roles in helicopter combat training, programmers have gone to great lengths to increase the realism of each scenario. This can include very real landscapes and wildlife (i.e., herds of kangaroos, since disturbed animals might reveal a helicopter's position), as in the case of the Northern Territory's “Operation Phoenix.”

The head of the Defense Science & Technology Organization's Land Operations/Simulation Division reportedly instructed program developers to model the local marsupials' movements and reactions to helicopters. To achieve certain efficiencies, programmers appropriated some code originally used to model infantry detachment reactions under attack conditions, changed the mapped icon from a soldier to a kangaroo, and increased the figures' speed of movement.

After release, some hotshot Aussie pilots, eager to demonstrate their flying skills for visiting American pilots, buzzed the virtual kangaroos in low-flight simulation. The kangaroos scattered as planned, and the visiting Yanks nodded appreciatively ... then did a double-take as the kangaroos reappeared from behind a virtual hill and launched a barrage of Stinger missiles at the hapless helicopter.

Apparently the capable programmers had forgotten to remove that part of the infantry detachment coding. Objects in computer code are defined with certain attributes, and any new object defined in terms of an old one inherits all of its attributes.

Humbled programmers learned to be more careful in reusing object-oriented code, the Americans gained new respect for Australian wildlife, and simulator supervisors report Australian pilots strictly avoid kangaroos now.

[From June 15, 1999 Defense Science and Technology Organization Lecture Series, Melbourne, Australia, and staff reports under the title “Mutant Marsupials Take Up Arms Against Australian Air Force”; via Good Clean Funnies List, online at http://www.gcfl.net; “This funny was received from Rodney Ford,” published December 1999. Edited for publication by SIEW.]

It’s critical we model the right people; as Christians it’s important we model Christ Jesus. When people imitate others, they inherit the attributes of the ones they imitate [1 Corinthians 15:33]; when we imitate the Lord, we inherit His attributes … faithfulness, goodness, kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, etc. I believe Paul called these the “fruits of the Spirit” [Galatians 5:22-23].

When we’re born-again, God appropriates the code originally intended for righteous lives, changes the mapped icon of our hearts from Satan to Christ, and increases our spiritual movement.

He does, however, allow some of the old, object-oriented code to remain … something we call free will. That’s why every once in a while, when we drop our shield of faith, there’s the devil, or one of his henchmen, slinging flaming missiles at the opening in our armor [Ephesians 6:16].

Christianity, Illustrations,
Nature, Religion

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Sunday soldiers - reproach to Christ!

"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."

2 Timothy 2:15

Recently, I encountered the term "Sunday soldiers." Curious, I did an Internet search and discovered the term was quite popular during “the war between the states,” our own Civil War.

“Sunday soldiers” were understood by veterans of battle to be those who saw little or no action; they were also known as “kid glove boys” or “parlor soldiers.” The terms were used as insults or signs of contempt. To be publicly referred to by one of them placed you in the camp of the coward or labeled you as unpatriotic.

In an interview for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in about 1918, Lot D. Young, a Rebel veteran of the Civil War, gave this testimony before his death:

“On the 22d of January following I was twenty years old - quite a youth you are ready to say. But I had been a soldier almost two years, being a charter member of that little band of ‘Sunday’ soldiers - the ‘Flat Rock Grays’ - and which constituted an integral part of what was known at that time as the Kentucky ‘State Guard.’ This little company of citizen soldiers were in their conceit and imagination very important and consequential fellows. Invited to all the noted gatherings and public affairs of the day, dressed in gaudy and flashy uniforms and flying plumes, filled with pride and conceit, they did not know they were nursing their pride against the day of wrath.” [“Documenting the American South: Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade: Electronic Edition. Young, Lot D., b. 1842 © Copyright 1998 by the Academic Affairs Library, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]

In other words, they were all show and no go!

The church is an army, the army of God; and we are considered soldiers of the Cross. We are admonished to wear all the armor of God at all times; to be ready in season and out.

But today the visible church is pregnant with Sunday soldiers – the “Flat Bottom Grays” –which constitute an integral part of what is known as “Christian church.”

This little company of lay soldiers are, in their own conceit and imagination, very important and consequential Christians. Invited to all the committee meetings and socials of the day. Filled with pride and conceit, they don’t know they’re nursing their pride against the day of wrath. They are, when the bottom-line is reached, all show and no go! They are armorless and powerless.

Someone should tell them that those of the losing side in our war were also known as rebels.

Apostates, Christianity,
Illustrations, Religion

SEALED: Marked for Eternity!

"Mark the blameless man …"

Psalm 37:37

"… you were sealed in Him …"

Ephesians 1:13 [also 4:30]

"… sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads ..."

Revelation 7:3

I was reminded the other day of how our American hobos marked the homes of those who befriended them.

Contrary to urban legends, American generosity is not a guaranteed commodity. Going from town to town and living on the road many times resulted in an empty stomach. Handouts were often few and far between. So when a generous person was found, it was a good idea to remember where they lived, should you pass their way again.

The mark was well-known to those on the road; hobos could quite easily travel from border to border and coast to coast never lacking for a meal or a grubstake.

God has marked those who belong to Him. The Bible says, "His name shall be on their foreheads" [Revelation 22:4]. And it also says we have been sealed … the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His” … [2 Timothy 2:19].

But God has also marked others: "who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" [Jude 1:4].

Then again, Satan also has his mark [Revelation 13:16-17]. Oh, beloved, be certain of your mark [2 Peter 1:10-11].

Christianity, Illustrations,
Justification, Religion

CONFLICT: Defined As "To Strike Together"; Pro or Con

IT'S IN THERE SOMEWHERE: [Ephesians 4:1-3]

During the football season, we are witnesses to a wonderful illustration of conflict resolution. The ball carrier (ball firmly tucked under his bent elbow, fingers firmly over the end of the pigskin) is hit violently; the ball spurts from his grasp and bounds randomly first here and then there.

Three seconds elapse and the ball will have traveled no more than thirty yards, but not necessarily in your preferred direction.

Three more seconds slip away and the ball is smothered under a dozen testosterone factories, housed in two to three tons of male flesh, but not necessarily in the possession of your man.

One by one the component parts of the pile are pealed off, top to bottom. Finally, the pile is whittled down to a few hot, struggling bodies until the player with legal possession of the ball is identified. By this time another six seconds has gone by and in professional sports, time is valuable.

A similar thing happens in conflict resolution. By the time referees get to the scene of a conflict the combatants are struggling fiercely and its cause is buried beneath a heap of time, circumstances, contributing factors, participants, situational milieus, and temperaments. Before the cause can be identified, each component of the pile must be pealed off from top to bottom, one by one. By now, a lot of time has passed and in the game of life, time is precious.

Communicating the need for patience to the combatants by a referee is essential to the process and its success.

CHURCH: The Bride is bloodied and bruised by not down or out!

THE DAVIE POPLAR: [Ephesians 5:27]

Clearly the contemporary church in the Western world is not what she should be; in fact, she's pretty beaten up for a gal who's engaged to the King of kings.

Davie Poplar is a large tulip poplar tree, approximately 300-375 years old, located on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, named in honor of a Revolutionary War general, and founder of the university, William Richardson Davie.

The most enduring legend associated with the tree is that as long as Davie Poplar remains standing, the University will thrive. If it falls, the University will crumble. As such, many attempts have been taken to preserve the tree.

In 1918, it was struck by lightning, and fear that the tree was dying led the University to make a plant grafting, called Davie Poplar Jr. Later, another tree called Davie Poplar III was planted nearby from a seed of the original tree.

In 1996, Davie Poplar was badly damaged by Hurricane Fran, after which the trunk was filled with cement and strung with cables to keep it up.

The Church of Christ (not the denomination) was founded by another military hero, the Captian of the Lord's Host; this officer is far greater than Gen. Davie.

His Bride has also been hit by lightening, and on several occasions, out of fear that she was dying, grafts were talen. And her seed has birthed children everywhere.

But here in the last century, as a result of the beating the church has been receiving from the enemy, you would think she had also been "filled with cement and strung with cables to keep her" standing.

But, glory to God Almighty, He will neither forsake her or depart from her.

Source link >>>

DOCTRINE: For "Workmen" who don't want to be ashamed!

LOWERING THE BAR! [Ephesians 4:11-16]

Someone told me of a small high desert community which organized a marching band. They got high marks for spirit and good intentions, but not for music.

You see, in a town where the high school’s senior class is usually less than a couple of dozen, it’s difficult to find anyone to play an instrument, let alone play one well. They didn’t audition and interview potential members; they bribed, cajoled and promised, accepting any who came forward. The fact is they lowered their standards till every instrument had a player. But their performances? Horrible!

Most of us understand when standards are lowered in a situation like the above but what if a professional orchestra were to do this? An orchestra is organized to combine unique independent musical elements into a harmonious and melodious whole, there’s no room for degradation of standards.

A church is a lot like a symphonic orchestra, though far more consequential. A church is also like a small town, there seems always to be a dearth of people for their labor pool. Most small churches would get “high marks for spirit and good intentions,” but not for impressiveness.

Small churches can’t afford to cajole and manipulate just to increases in membership; taking any and all who come. Small churches must resist the temptation to degrade quality for quantity. Churches are intended to be organized to combine independent “natural” giftedness into a “supernatural” harmonious union: there really isn't room for degradation of standards.

Far too many churches have been willing to lower standards regarding membership, even those concerning office holders. If we can imagine the ruin degraded standards would bring upon a professional orchestra, why do we have so much trouble seeing the dangers of degrading biblical standards for The Body of Christ?

One reading of the New Testament is enough to impress the reader of the importance of overcoming and perseverance … I suggest we revisit those passages and stop becoming entangled with the world just to increase Body fat! (added 2/25/06)

LIGHT - Let the be no darkness at all!

BETTER TO BE BLIND! [John 8:12; Illumination, Jesus, Life] (Added 3 June 2006)

Imagine no red rose, no blue sky, rolling but grey hills, and a several shades of grey Monarch Butterfly. Without light, there is no color. Color is just bands of light reflected off an object; which bands are reflected depends on the nature of the object. Without light, things would be very plain … AND VERY DARK.

So too without Christ … imagine no hope, no love, no future, and no present purpose for living.

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Without the light of Christ, there would be no spiritual blessings, no sustaining grace, and no “daily bread” worth eating. Just as it is impossible to receive mail without a delivery address, it is impossible to receive a true blessing outside the person and authority of Christ but it is the individuals nature that brings His ultimate blessing.

TAGS: Blessings, Color spectrum,
Darkness, Illumination, Nature

COME INTO THE LIGHT! [1 Peter 1:19; Revelation, Sin, Truth]

One of our church janitors was in my office the other day and told me a fascinating but sad story.

A hardworking man finally had time to go to a night baseball game with his family. They were doing the usual things: eating hot-dogs and peanuts, drinking cokes, and complaining about the prices.

His wife, a registered nurse and mother of his three kids, said something and he turned in such a way that the park lights were directly in his eyes. She gasped and took his face in her hands to have a closer look. Her suspicion was correct, his eyes were jaundiced, a sign of several serious diseases. Within a few weeks her childhood sweetheart and the father of her three children was dead.

Man must come into the light of God to see the ravaging affects of his sins. He is little more than the walking dead without the cleansing power of the blood of the Lamb. The Light reveals the truth for all to see. Many will come into the light too late. [1 Corinthians 4:5]

TAGS: Blood of the Lamb, Death,
Kingdom of God, Sin

CONSUMED BY HIS POWER! [2 Corinthians 4:4; gospel, power (God's)]

My associate pastor, Dan, used to work for Orkin (the pesty people); he was pulpit supply for me this morning and I was blessed to hear an illustration he used on the whole armor of God [Epesian 6:10-17].

Orkin evidently had special Maglites with custom commercial grade batteries in them ... make that battery. Instead of four D-cells it had a single, long battery. I gather They're like those used by law enforcement. At any rate he said it was a blessing when he was crawling around in attics and under houses; it would light up the area from one end to the other.

He used this tool to illustrate the power of the Light of God, Jesus our Lord. When an ordinary flashlight was shined directly into the beam of light coming from his Maglite the beam from the common flashlight was consumed by the power of the more powerful light.

So too the power of Satan, when it is exposed to the Light of God.

TAGS: God, Power of Satan

LAVA LAMP BELIEVERS! [1 John 1:6,7; apostasy, believers, nominalism, testimony, witness]

Lava Lamps have made a comeback in recent years (2002). Many of today’s versions are more creative than when they were first introduced some forty years ago.

All lava lamps have one thing in common, none of them are adequate as a source of light. They're called a lamp, but they're not a lamp.

The age of their introduction was an age of darkness and half-light. People in that day didn’t want a lot of light. You might say they wanted just enough of the real thing so they could call the facsimile by name of the real thing.

Unfortunately, many Christians aren’t much better than lava lamps; they don’t really want the whole Light of God, just enough so they can go by the name of the Genuine Light yet remain in the shadows.

TAGS: Lava lamps, Testimony, Witness

TURNING TOWARD THE LIGHT! [Ephesians 5:7-10; other topics - Holiness, Righteousness] (Added 3 June 2006)

Our adopted daughter, Naomi, was admiring one of her mom’s houseplants. Her older sister, Jennifer, asked her if she noticed how the plant leaned toward the light coming through the front window. She said, “Yeah!” He sister then told her, “If you turn the plant around halfway, the plant will lean back toward the light inside of a week.” Naomi said, “Wow!”

Likewise genuine Christians; separate them from the Light, or turn them away from the Light, and inside a short period of time they will have leaned back toward Him.

TAGS: Conversion, Nature, Turning

Topic TAGS: Christianity, Homoletics, Illustrations,
Light, Preaching, Religion, Sermons

ETERNAL SECURITY - Once sealed, always sealed!

BURNED JUST ONCE! [Ephesians 1:13,14; regeneration, seal (of Holy Spirit)]

Our church secretary, Patsy McDonald, just informed me CD’s now have a fail-safe feature burned into them preventing more than one copy from being made. The manufacturers and producers do this to prevent the lose on their valuable products. Once is all they allow.

God has likewise burned a fail-safe feature into the spirit of "the redeemed" [Ephesians 1:13]. We are originally created in God’s image, then regenerated by the precious blood of Jesus and sealed for all eternity by the Holy Spirit to prevent the loss of His most valuable possessions. Once saved is all that He requires. Glory to God!


CROSSING GUARD! [John 1:12,13; atonement, redemption, salvation]

When I was a little boy I was instructed in how to cross the street at intersections, with and without traffic lights. My elders told me the signal lights were preset for a minimum number of people; they told me I would have to wait until that many people had pushed the pedestrian crossing button. So we all pushed the button again and again until the signal changed.

I trusted the wisdom of my elders in those days; I really thought, for the longest time, I could make the signal change by pushing that silly button. Nearly wore my index finger out doing it.

I’m sure you’ve noticed, if you’re paying attention, how many people still push the pedestrian button over and over, believing, as I did, they have some control over the lights. What is amazing to me is how many grownups still do.

Grownups really do amaze me, especially concerning changing things. In the same way the pedestrian crossing button must only be pushed once to let the system know we’re there, we must only receive Christ once, in order to cross over, changing our eternal destiny. There’s no way to change the entry made to the system once that eternal button is pushed. There’s no standing on the corner of Atonement Avenue and Redemption Road saying, “Opps! I didn’t mean that.” The signal won’t flash a message back saying, “You started to cross before the light changed, your right to cross is revoked!” Or, “You’re too slow, go back and start over.”

We’ve all heard “Christians” who tell of the many times they’ve received the Lord, as if they had something to do with crossing over. Or they say, “It didn’t work the first time.” We’ve also heard those who tells us salvation can be lost and we must receive Christ again. We must be perfectly clear on this: salvation is of the Lord, it is a gift of God [Ephesians 2:8]. Once God saves a soul that soul is saved for all eternity. Push the crossing over button once, sincerely, that’s all that’s needed.

IMPRESSION - At least make an impression!

TOO MANY WATERBED SAINTS! [Ephesians 1:18-21]

Ever notice the difference between a water bed and a pillow top bed? On the former, no matter how much it’s slept on no impression is left; on the latter, the more its slept on, the greater the impression.

People’s lives are like that. Some lives are lived and leave no impression; like a finger pulled from a glass of water, when the finger leaves the water closes in behind and no one would know the finger had ever been there.

Other lives are lived and the impression left behind requires decades, even centuries, to erase. A very few are never erased because of the depth of their impression on this world (Socrates; Plato; Michelangelo, Da Vinci; Mother Theresa, Stalin, Hitler, Pasteur, Edison, Noble, Carver, Gandhi, Confucius, to name a few).

Only one man has left an eternal impression, our Lord. When all is over and the ash is blown away, only one name will be above all names, the name of the man Jesus Christ.

DISCIPLINE - What the student is supposed to learn!

GENTLE PERSUASION! [Hebrews 12:7, 8 (9-13); other topics - body (Church), chastisement, surrender]

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

In order to blend eggs by hand, the eggs are broken into a bowl designed for that purpose. The cook then takes a wire whip and aggressively whips the eggs. More often than not one egg yolk will refuse to cooperate; the cook must stop the whipping and deliberately break the obstinate yolk.

God desires the body of Christ be a blended whole; He desires each of His children have “a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart.” [Psalm 51:17]

Chastisement (discipline) is never a pleasant thing. But God desires each child work, properly and supplying the essence of who he or she is according to his or her gifts. This causes “the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” [Ephesians 4:16]

Predictably, one member won’t break under the gentle persuasion of the Lord; in such a case, breaking is called for.

How wonderful it would be if we could all fear God, yet not fear the strengthening process of His discipline.

SPECIFIC TAGS:Brokenness, Hebrews

IN FULL UNIFORM! [Ephesians 6:13; Armor (of God), Discipleship, Preparation, Sanctification]

Somehow, the young man found himself standing directly in the path of an oncoming car, the driver hit her brakes; but before either of them could do anything it seemed the ten-year-old was shoulder deep in the windshield of the automobile. “Are you alright,” asked the driver. From inside the football helmet a squeaky voice responded, “I think so!”

The boy, a participant in Pop Warner Football, was on his way home from practice, in full uniform. The driver saw the boy too late to stop; the boy saw the car too late to get out of the way.

It is unnecessary to explain why we are admonished to ...

“take up the full armor of God, that [we] may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”

Much like the ubiquitous seat belt, the armor of God is, for the most part, unused by believers today. And yet the devil, that self-centered maniac who drives blind, loves to plow through unprotected children on the King’s highway.

God has provided the armor; but He has left it to us to put it on, one piece at a time. Why we don’t is a mystery. Perhaps it’s “won’t” rather than “don’t.” Perhaps the devil is not the only creature that’s self-centered.

JESSE WHO? [Matthew 10:26; Body life, Commitment, Consecration, Holiness, Righteousness]

Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

Thomas Firbank, in I Bought A Star, tells of a conversation he had with a formula race driver; he asked the professional why he took time to paint and polish the undercarriage as well as all of the other unseen parts of his race car. The driver responded, “If the metal is spotlessly clean, I can see at once if there is a flaw.”

The church needs to adopt this attitude; sanding, grinding, buffing, prepping, painting, and polishing every unseen part. Not so God can “see at once if there is a flaw,” nothing is hidden from His sight [Hebrews 4:13] ... so that we can see our own flaws.

Holiness is from God but the holiness of the saints is not; that responsibility rests wholly on our shoulders!

Soldiers are taught field discipline during peacetime, in the barracks. Polished boots and buckles, along with carefully folded underwear, are not needed during peacetime, nor are they essential for barracks’ life. This discipline is for the field during wartime. In the field, attention to detail IS essential … it cannot be learned under stress, nor is there time to do so! Every boot camp Drill Instructor knows this!

Every army knows (or quickly learns) it is a malicious policy which says during training, “We need not bother the men with the details; they’ll pick them up as they need them in the field.”

Too frequently today we are witnessing an undisciplined demeanor among “the saints”; worse, we are seeing it promoted by many of their instructors.

SPECIFIC TAGS:Commitment, Matthew

GENERAL TAGS: Chastisement, Christianity, Church, Discipline,

Homiletics, Illustrations, Religion, Sermons, Submission, Surrender

Commitment

AN ARMY OF ONE! [Ephesians 4:4-6; other topics - Perseverance, Sanctification, Spiritual warfare]

The U.S. Army unveiled a new recruitment slogan recently. The “Be All You Can Be” line, a cultural icon since the 1980s, was retired and replaced with “An Army of One.”According to reports, the Army hopes the slogan will appeal to a generation less attracted to military service than its predecessors.

Paul says the church has had that slogan for 2,000 years …“There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”Thus we know and proclaim, “I am an army of One in Christ Jesus … undefeated and unbeatable; overcoming and victorious!”

Ecclesiology (Church)

BACK DOOR ALARM [Various texts; Church Membership]

Chicago-based Aon Consulting’s Loyalty Institute conducted a study to determine why some workers remain loyal to their employers and others do not. The study, “America @ Work”, revealed the following five most consistent “drivers” in workforce commitment:

1. Management’s awareness of personal and family needs
2. Opportunities for personal growth
3. Meeting the needs of the firm’s customers
4. Benefit Communication (how clearly done)
5. Opportunity to keep skills up to par with the job ’s requirements

For more details see ...

The vast majority of church members are also someone’s employee; the church would do well to evaluate these factors in employee motivation and commitment as they relate to the exodus of church members. If the insight had an effect on the church’s back door it would be worth the time. With a few word changes one can see the application.

[“What makes workers stay?” The Costco Connection, July 1999, p. 9]

COST OF CONSTRUCTION! [Ephesians 5:25, 27, 32; Atonement; Propitiation]

Sydney, Australia, built a modern opera house with a design way ahead of its time. It’s a gorgeous building; a real wonder of construction and architecture. It took 17 years to build; the original estimate was $7.2 million – the actual cost = $110.0 million. The Premiere of New South Wales told cost critics, “The cost has become secondary to consideration of the perfection of the achievement.”

You see in his mind the result justified the pain and the strain encountered by the visionaries who accomplished it construction.

The Church is an edifice more beautiful than anything man has ever conceived or imagined and it cost much more than anyone ever conceived … you see, man estimated its construction cost at lives filled with obedient living but the real cost was the life of the Son of God.

After all, in the hearts of both the Son and the Father, the result justified the pain and strain encountered by the One who accomplished its construction.

ROLE OF THE CHURCH [Matthew 28:19-20; other topics, Equipping, Great Commission]

According to the Bible, God has given the job of “equipping the saints” to the evangelist and the pastor-teacher. Scripture says the church is the vehicle of God’s choice for accomplishing that job.

The role of the church in its simplest form is to fulfill the Great Commission. The role of the church in greater detail and in contemporary terms follows: the church is to be -

• a launch pad for the fulfillment of the Great Commission
• an arena for the worship of God
• a house of prayer
• command headquarters for the Lord’s army
• the 7077 M.A.S.H. unit for the care of saints injured in weekly spiritual warfare
• the saints’ seminary for the teaching of the truths and the ways of God to future church leaders
• the school of learning for the saints in general and
• the receiving and reeducation depot for those freed from the bondage of sin, death and Satan.

Obviously other parallels exist to which the church may be related.

GRACE (GOD'S): Divine Surrogate for What We Deserve!

AT THE TIME APPOINTED [1 Peter 3:15; other topics - Timing]

During the June 4th 1944, WWII Normandy invasion 25-year-old Pvt. Ray Aebischer’s parachute opened with such a jolt his heavy jump-pack was torn from his shoulders, plummeting to earth. Everything he needed to survive (machine gun, carbine, ammo, canteen, rations, personal items, etc.) was lost. Ray was so sure he’d never see his gear again he dismissed it from his mind. Pvt. Aebischer didn’t count on Emmanuel Allain.

One dar in October 1997, a letter arrived from Mr. Allain, a WWII aficionado and collector. He wrote, “I found in a farm in Normandy all the stuff (belt pistol, carbine ... suspenders belt, canteen, pocket first aid, etc.) of a soldier.” The name on several of these items was Ray R. Aebischer. Now 81, Aebischer said he was “dumbfounded.”

Last month he and his wife flew to England, where Allain met them with the wayward jump-pack in hand. “I could think of so many instances where I could have been killed,” he said. “I thought to myself, except for the grace of God, I could be there. The real heroes are still over there.”

[“Soldier’s D-Day invasion gear found 53 years later,” The Washington Times, June 14, 1999, National Weekly Edition, p.18; from a Newport News, Va. (AP) report]

LOVE CHANGES THINGS [Galatians 3:1-3; other topics - Law, Love]

Consider the widow woman who remarried: her first husband was a totalitarian man, very controlling, dictatorial, and unforgiving; her second husband was loving, gentle, patient, and forgiving.

While cleaning a trunk, she came across her first husband’s list of rules: first, arise at five AM, every morning; second, breakfast at six AM, sharp, three basted eggs, toast lightly buttered; third, all washing to be ironed, including sheets, cases, and sox, with starch in collars; and fourth, fresh coffee, three times each day. Other rules concerned exact amounts of salt to use in his meals, how she was to appear in public, and what things she was could say in the company of others.

The list confronted her with a horrible truth: she was still keeping her first husband’s rules. But she smiled when she realized she had been forced to keep the rules under her first husband, yet now she was glad to keep them because of her second husband’s love for her.

Love changes things. What seems to be burdensome under the authority of a loveless tyrant becomes a labor of love under the authority of gracious master.

There is no longer a need to keep the Law for we are "saved by grace through faith" [Ephesians 2:8]. Yet Jesus said, “Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” [Matthew 7:12] And Jesus’ half-brother said, “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. … So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.” [James 1:25; 2:12]

Anytime we need to be reminded of the difference between Law and Grace, all we must do is revisit the first five books of the Old Testament; there we’ll see the old taskmaster at work. We may then smile and know that we are keeping His law gladly due to His great love for us, and that while we are yet sinners [Romans 5:8].