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This is Serious

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” – Romans 1:18

President Obama’s recently announced that he has changed his stand on gay marriage. This is another line that America has crossed.  What I am about to say is not an attempt to bash him.  We must pray for him.  We must also remember that our leaders are a reflection of us.

We are continuing down the road of ‘suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.’  I reference Romans 1:18 here because then Senator Obama had called this Scripture outdated and not applicable to today in an address he made on March 2, 2008.

“I will tell you that I don’t believe in gay marriage, but I do think that people who are gay and lesbian should be treated with dignity and respect and that the state should not discriminate against them. So, I believe in civil unions that allow a same-sex couple to visit each other in a hospital or transfer property to each other. I don’t think it should be called marriage, but I think that it is a legal right that they should have that is recognized by the state. If people find that controversial then I would just refer them to the Sermon on the Mount, which I think is, in my mind, for my faith, more central than an obscure passage in Romans. That’s my view. But we can have a respectful disagreement on that.”
– see http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27532

Romans 1:18-32 describes the indicators of a people who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness… and they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.”  Foremost of those indicators is not just the acceptance of homosexuality but the promotion of the practice.

Last week, the people of the North Carolina voted to ban gay marriage. The President’s made his statement just after this vote by the people of North Carolina.  I am very concerned and afraid for our country.  Why?  Our president has sought to justify his position and advance his political ambitions not just through “moral-ish” rhetoric but through nothing less than invoking the atonement of Christ.

ABC news reporter Robin Roberts interviewed the President who mentions his wife and his faith in regards to forming his new stance on gay marriage:

“This is something that, you know, we’ve talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do. And that is that, in the end the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people and, you know, I, you know, we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated. And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids and that’s what motivates me as president and I figure the most consistent I can be in being true to those precepts, the better I’ll be as a as a dad and a husband and hopefully the better I’ll be as president.”
– see http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-robin-roberts-abc-news-interview-president-obama/story?id=16316043#.T7ESBe381SU

The world is applauding this move through world leaders statements and legislation of their own.  Why so serious?  To quote The Joker from the movie The Dark Knight, “All they need is a little push.”  But this is not the way our Lord sees this statement.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” – Isaiah 5:20

Read these words from Hebrew 10:26-31 in light of the words of our president above and see if these words do not make you tremble for our country:

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

What I believe may be the worst step so far for our country, is not just the acceptance of homosexuality and not just the promotion of it.  But in one statement, the president sought to justify the practice by invoking the heart of the Christian message:  the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for believers.  This is very dangerous indeed for us all.  If God does not move the country away from this direction, the future for our country is bleak.

Unless….?  Not that another politician will change our future.  Christians must stop looking to politicians to do what God gave the church to do.  Our job is to make disciples of all nations.  We must wake out of our slumber.  Seek God’s face.  Beg Him to change us.  We must ask that He bring a true repentance to our country not like what we experienced after 911.  God has a deadline set in motion that was foretold long ago by Daniel, Ezekiel, other prophets, Paul, John, and Jesus Himself.  Either way, God is calling us to be alert, love people, share the Gospel with them, raise up disciples until He comes.  Are you prepared?

Every body needs to check this website.  This video gives great insight into a couple displaying God’s design for marriage. This link should work, but you may have to copy and paste into your browser. My bad~
Peace!

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/the-story-of-ian-larissa

These past few weeks have been a huge blessing in the life of our church family.  We have had many come to faith in Christ alone.  We can be excited about this and we should be:  the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner repents!  (Luke 15:10)  The power to deliver people from the bondage to sin is a work of God by the word of God through the people of God.  Let us take our confidence for God to change lives from the Word, not methods, or men; but the Word.

God has been at work for thousands of years through the use of words – more specifically, His Word.  From the very moment of Creation, God created the world and all that is in it through His Word (Genesis 1, 2).  He spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob revealing the covenant He would make with the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3).  He gave the law to Moses through His Word (Exodus 20).  He spoke to through His prophets to lead the people.  God the Son, the Word, then took on flesh to offer His life for those who believe (John 1:1,14; 3:16).

Fourteen guys from our church attended the Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville, KY last week.  Thabiti Anyabwile preached a message from 1 Timothy 1 about the Gospel that changed Paul – a man who was violently opposed to the Gospel.  He asked the question, “Can the Gospel change a terrorist?”  He offered these 9 marks of a gospel confident minister:

1. Position ourselves with those opposed the most to the gospel.
2. Share the gospel slowly and clearly.  Are we trying to release the gospel or rehabilitate it?  The only thing the gospel needs is to be unleashed.
3. Redirect our fears from man to God.  Fear being unfaithful more than unfruitful.
4. Preach the gospel at every sermon. From Genesis to Revelation, God is preaching 1 sermon.  Acts 26:19-20
5. Be careful with new converts.  Not all conversions are like Paul.  Most are gradual dawnings.   Is our confidence in our method or in the gospel?
6. Study the gospel in deeper and more bearing ways.  The gospel cannot be exhausted.  justification, substitution, joy, forgiveness, etc.  Acts 26:21-23
7. Preach to open eyes not just transfer information. Acts 26:18
8. Place your confidence in the gospel ; not you.  Is my confidence in myself or the power of the gospel itself?  Lack of confidence in the gospel shows up in frustration, depression, etc.
9. Rely on Christ and His power through you.  1 Corinthians  2:5 – Hearers faith will rely on the power of God; not you.

I believe being confident in the gospel will show itself in:

1. TRUTH:  Acts 20:27 – Don’t shrink from sharing the whole counsel of God’s Word.
2. LOVE:  1 Corinthians 13 – Don’t be a clanging gong.  Make sure you are motivated by love, not being right.  Love people.

We recently hosted a conference at our church focused on the family. A third of the teaching was about God’s design for marriage. Two-thirds of the conference dealt God’s design for parenting. The tendency for us in thinking about about our parenting is to think about skills, tips, and techniques. What I found was that the conference was really about character: how to form godly character in the hearts and minds of our children. What is true about our parenting is true about our pastoring and church leadership. The tendency for us in the church is to think in terms of what are the best tips and techniques in ‘doing’ church. Instead, the biblical focus is on the leader’s character which is formed in the mind first. For example, Romans 12:2 says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” This is also why Paul stressed to Timothy the character of an elder/pastor/overseer in 1 Timothy 1:1-7 and deacons in verses 8-13. We are to put away bad character and put on the new character we have in Christ (Ephesians 4:22-24). For example, a leader may have difficulty with facing conflict. What needs to be put off is the fear of man and what should be put on is courage. Courage comes from knowing God with the confidence He supplies. We are called to make disciples of all nations. This of course begins at home with our families then in our churches. Godly character will reach out to others who need to know Jesus. When a person comes to know Jesus, then our job is to help them put off the old and put on the new. The result of a growing godly character will be a group of servant leaders who are committed to one another and the gospel.

What’s up folks! Now we are legit! Welcome to the pastor’s blog! This is our first official blog post. What!?!? For real!!!!

Anyway, with that off my chest, this will be a place where I will pass along what the Lord has been pressing in on me, what He is showing me. We will also talk about important things going on in the life of our church, in the world today as it relates to our engaging the world with the gospel, and bible prophecy. I hope this will be a place of encouragement and challenge in our walk with the Lord and what He has called us to do. Look for more to come!

This is where pastor Joey will enter his blog posts.