Bad Dad? (Radio Broadcast)

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
(Luke 11:11-13 – ESV)

People often say that if we ask God for something good He won’t give us something evil, and they use this text as proof. This is true. However, we might ask God for something, and yet receive something else from someone else and think it is God who gave it. Just because we ask God for something doesn’t mean anything we get is from God. True, if you ask the Father for a fish, the Father is not going to give you a snake. But that is the test – if you get a snake, you know it wasn’t God who gave it to you.

Instead of looking at your own desires for it to be something good, look at what is produced. You may want a fish, but you may be asking the wrong source. It is not “look at what is given and it must be good”, but “look at what is given and you can know where it came from”. It is not that whatever comes must be deemed as good, but that whatever comes must point to the source.

What we receive must be consistent with whatever else God has already revealed. If God doesn’t give it, you don’t want it, no matter how “good” it may seem. James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

You may be wanting and hungering and needing something God isn’t going to give, but Satan will, and so when you get it you automatically think it is from God because you asked for it. To your mind it was good to ask for it, and so whatever you got was good, it was from God, or so you think. But there is the problem, we may have thought we wanted something good, but we have actually asked amiss, for our own desire to be an instrument in an area God doesn’t want us to deal with others in. We may be asking for something God isn’t giving, like some made up mantle or whatever, then when something else comes we think we got what we asked for but what we got was some counterfeit.

We must be wary at all times, not knowing the extent to which God will allow the enemy to influence our lives. If we leave a foothold to Satan, God may allow him to use it to test us to see if we are truly faithful or not. It is as if we come asking and waiting and we will wait till we get something, but perhaps God isn’t the one who gave it. As if all the asking seeking and knocking means we can always get what we ask for, even when it isn’t what God wants for us. There are things, even good things, which God in His providence does not desire for us to have. It is not about our desire it is about His.

Our motives are not what we think they are and too often we judge them by our feelings and so then God becomes a projection of our best feelings, our inclinations to do “good”.

So when we ask God for something good, it is true He won’t give us something bad, but that doesn’t mean we will get anything at all, and it isn’t true that He will prevent us from receiving something bad from someone else just because we “claim” this verse as our protection. You can “get’ something, and it not be from God.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 – But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

We can be Christians and receive the ideas of false spirits, not necessarily possession, but false doctrine and false signs and wonders and teachers, and false systems, etc. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

We must be diligent and on guard against counterfeits. We cannot just wait around till we get something and then declare that it is of God. We must learn to discern, to test what is going on. How can we do that if the something we are waiting on is some anointing that some prophet claims we can have if we ask for it or receive it when it isn’t found in scripture or it is twisted out of its context and made to seem like something we can have when it isn’t? That is the problem when using Luke 11:11-13 as some sort of defense against counterfeit gifts; when we ask for something God doesn’t allow, doesn’t want us to have, or simply doesn’t exist. So you may have this verse memorized, and that is good, but you cannot have it as an unbeatable weapon in your arsenal against deception.

Some think that their motives are pure, saying, “I just want to be used by God”. Well then just be used by God right now in whatever you are normally doing. Oswald Chambers said, “Drudgery is the test of genuine character. The greatest hindrance in our spiritual life is that we will only look for big things to do” (My Utmost For His Highest: June 15).

Now what we often mean when we say “I just want to be used by God” is that we want the excitement of being used by God in some mighty way, or what we think is mighty. However, anyone who can go about the daily life giving God the glory and being excellent in whatever they are doing now, that is the person who is being used by God.

If you are growing in grace, not gifts, but fruit and holiness, in repentance and faithfulness, God is using you. If you are evangelizing out there everyday without those power gifts, God is using you. Remember those in Matthew 7:21-23, they thought that doing God’s will was using power gifts to do His work. They had the power but they didn’t have Christ.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

I Don't Agree with the Prayer of Agreement (Radio Broadcast)

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
(Matthew 18:19 – ESV)

I love praying, and I have taught on prayer and preached on prayer many times and for many years. It is one of my favorite subjects and one of my favorite things to do. Whether it is by myself or with others, it is something I am wholeheartedly committed to, without reserve. I firmly believe in the power of prayer, but of course that power needs to be defined biblically.

Many who want to make more of the power of prayer than they ought will claim that this verse teaches something it does not. They will say that if two or more Christians agree in prayer about any specific issue, God will accomplish the prayer. Is that what this verse teaches?

It is good to agree with other believers in prayer for God’s will, certainly this is true. But if this idea about the “prayer of agreement” was true, why then doesn’t God answer all our corporate prayers in accordance with our desires? It is obvious then that there are qualifications to this idea, at best, and it might not even be biblical, so we need to think about it while looking to the actual text.

It isn’t as if there are three votes to be cast, and if you and your prayer partner agree that you want things done one way, then God, His will notwithstanding, has to observe the majority rule. Now you may balk and try and explain the position away as not actually being like that, but it really does boil down to that, doesn’t it? Does your agreement automatically make God to be in agreement? Of course not, we would all say, so let’s look a little closer at this idea, shall we? Let’s not just agree to disagree, but let’s take a look at the text, and see if we can clear up our disagreement by clearly seeing what the text does or does not teach. Agreed?

There can be a real problem with certain ideas drawn from “proof texts”. While they might sound good, and be based on scripture, and in many instances the single verse provided appears to confirm the teaching, on closer examination we see that the verse has been pulled out of the context in which it was given and is claimed to say what it does not. Oh, this particular verse does “say” what it “says” but it does not clearly teach what it simply says.

We cannot simply use “verses in a vacuum”, in other words, we cannot pull them out of their context, and make them say what we want them to mean, thereby becoming “verse ventriloquists”. This is what the kingdom of the cults do all the time; they pour their own meaning into the words. Although we have all had our difficulties with misinterpreting texts and teachings, when we can by God’s grace find our way to the truth, we need to take it as it is.

When looking at texts, we can understand them to apply to Christians universally, such as Matthew 28:19-20 (go therefore and teach all nations), or to someone or something specifically, such as Matthew 10:5-6 (do not go to anyone but the Jews, a command for the disciples only and for that particular time period only, overruled by the Great Commission), or principally, such as Philippians 2:3-4 (Paul was speaking to a particular church but the principle of Christlike behavior applies to us) or not at all, as with 2 Timothy 4:13 (Paul tells Timothy to bring his papers, which we are obviously not to do). Texts meant specifically may also apply principally, so sometimes texts that aren’t teaching on a particular subject may still give us a principle to follow and apply to other matters.

Matthew 18:19 is part of a group of 6 verses, beginning with Matthew 18:15 and ending with Matthew 18:20. This section of scripture is about church discipline, and not specifically about prayer at all. The asking part is about the offended parties going to the leadership as part of the process of that discipline. Church members are asking church leaders to do something, in accordance with standard protocol. So this verse, in the asking part, is not about people asking God, but people asking people.

However, does the verse apply in principle? What about the binding and loosing aspect from verse 18? What about the Father doing something from heaven?

This verse does apply in principle, but not with respect to prayer. This was Christ telling the disciples that the Heavenly Father would ratify the decision of the church leaders. This wasn’t about giving church leaders or “prayer agree-ers” unlimited authority, it was Jesus telling us, in principle, that when proper disciplinary procedures are followed in the church, the leaders have the right to deny fellowship to the person who won’t repent of their sin that they committed against another believer. The binding and loosing has to do with the disciplinary decisions being made; God vests a certain authority to the church.

This is why other passages dealing with the handling of disputes and handing out discipline in a Christian manner, such as 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 are so important, and why church membership, once again, is seen to be an essential for the New Testament believer, not an optional ideal. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is applying what Jesus was teaching here. If you are not part of a local assembly, you are undermining part of the foundation for your Christian life. You need to be a vital part of a local fellowship of believers. This is not just about attending this or that church once in a while, or moving from church to church, that would escape this scenario and all like it, and now YOU KNOW IT.

However, most people don’t want to submit themselves to God’s people. They don't have to worry about failing a test they don't have to take. Many will never submit to discipline, either from the church, or in some degree to the scriptures themselves. They never give up the right to be the final arbiter, and this is the glaring problem in many so-called Christians. The gospel truth is that submitting to God means that we also have to submit to one another.

Now realize that this passage isn’t about handing out punishment without any procedure; this is a very specific plan of action for grieved parties. It is not a decision in relation to the salvation of the sinning Christian, but only in relation to their association with the fellowship. The agreement part is in relation to the process employed in verses 15 through 17 that results in the decision to expel the sinning person from the fellowship.

As a matter of prayer this text does not apply at all. It isn’t about a universal prayer power, it does not specifically deal with prayer, and it does not apply in principle either. It is a good and wonderful thing for believers to dwell in unity, and to pray together in God’s will with faith. However, with regards to how it is taught and understood in some circles, I do not agree with the prayer of agreement, because the bible does not teach it, especially from this verse.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Still the Small Voice? (Radio Broadcast)

…the LORD was not in the wind… the LORD was not in the earthquake…the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
(1 Kings 19:11-13 – ESV)

How many times have you been told that in order to “hear God” you need to listen for that “still small voice”? Yet when we see Elijah actually hearing words, it wasn’t necessarily in that still small voice, or the gentle whisper, as your Bible version may say. No, the gentle whisper, or still small voice, was the end the demonstration, the earth, wind, and fire preceding it.

Now notice, after Elijah heard the whisper, he then went back to the front of the cave, and THEN he heard a voice speaking to him. It was the same question as before, and Elijah answered the same as before. The text seems to indicate that it wasn’t the still small voice that spoke the question again, but that the whisper led Elijah out, and then he heard as he had before.

Even if the voice that came to Elijah was in that same whisper, there is only one time in the whole Bible when God possibly spoke in a still small voice, and yet for some reason we have people trying and people teaching others to try and hear the still small voice.

Yet, the still small voice wasn’t inside of Elijah, it was outside the cave.

In the Bible we don’t read of anyone who clears their mind to seek the voice of God and actually hearing from God. We see people going about their routine when God suddenly speaks to them.

If God wants to get your attention he doesn’t have to wait until you are still or get quiet. As a matter of fact, as we have said before, when Psalm 46:10 says “be still, and know I am God”, it isn’t God telling us to be still and then we will hear Him, it is God telling His enemies and His people that He is God and so we should shut up!

So it would seem as if this is certainly not the way to hear from God.

Oh, and by the way, when God spoke, whether it was in that still small voice or not, it was to tell Elijah that He accepted his resignation (vs. 15-18). Yes Elijah would still serve for a time after that, but really, now, are you resigned to taking one scenario in the scriptures and making that your final position on the voice of God, when He says elsewhere, “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty” (Psalm 29:4)?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Avenue of Oaks (Radio Broadcast)

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.

(Jeremiah 17:7-8 – ESV)

We hear it said time and again, as if it were some new revelation, either saying that the children are our future, or that the children are our right now. I want to dispel those notions right here and now. Children are not our future and they are not our right now. The old folks are the right now, and they will be the right now in the future as well.

How and why, you say? Think about it. By the time children become our future they will be older. When will we wise up and discover that the future of the church is in its old people not its young people? Young people will be growing older just like the rest of us, and hopefully the emphasis is on the growing not the older but the wiser. Yes we need the young people for many things, but what we need is for them to start young and grow old with God. So yes lets get them in while they are young, but lets grow them up so they can be old and mature as well.

The way to get them young is to show them hope for when they are old. I want a church full of old saints, a community of spiritual sages, wise old oaks who burn on a low simmer but whose kindling embers are real fuel for the younger set giving them something to look forward to.

We think young people are more important because they have more life to live but actually they need old people, old people are more important because they have more life to give. They have a lifetime of living with Jesus and all those young folks are coming that way too, we all grow older, even if we die young, the day we die we will be a day older than the day before etc., and we had better be longing for continued growth. Spiritual life is not meant to be an early peak and then slow fade out; that is a flawed concept. It is not our physical or mental strength that gives the gospel its power but God and the relationship with Him is the demonstration of that power. Why would it ebb backward unless we are backsliding, and do you mean to tell me that all older people are on a downward slide spiritually just because they are physically? Think about what you’re thinking with that type of nonsense.

In a sense the old oaks matter more, at least as much as we all do but they matter more than they did, not less, because they have grown more with God over time. They may be able to do physically less, but their relationship ideally had ought to be more. Spiritually they can do more in prayer, etc. mentoring or just being a witness by being alive. The old oaks can take the heat, and they can bear a dry season, and they bear fruit when others don’t. If you grow old with God you can count on abundant fruit even as the seasons change.

When you don’t respect the hope of the elders you don’t respect the hope for yourself, because that is they way you and I and all of us are headed. Even if we die young, we will die older than we were before we did. It is no wonder so many want to delay the onset of aging they don’t have anything to look forward to. People see it all as if youth and vigor is all that matters, and as if only youthful vigor means useful vitality. Instead the truth is that spiritual vigor comes through maturity, and that should be increasing as we age.

We need to model the spiritual fact that we can be looking forward to growing old as opposed to merely getting old. Young person you need to find an oak. Adults get growing and become an oak. Old folks make sure you stay old oaks by keeping others lit. We are like trees that are planted by the water (Psalm 1:3 / Isaiah 61:3) and we need more oaks. We need to keep showing all our people the right path, that of growing older in God. In our church communities, let’s surround our young ones with hope. Let’s become an avenue of oaks.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Yes it IS About a Building (Radio Broadcast)

…when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
(Ephesians 4:16 – ESV)

We so often hear, “church isn’t about a building”. Well let this old preacher man tell you something. They are all wrong. Yes it is about a building, a building up of one another in love, and you cannot do that sitting at home as well as you can sitting in a pew, let alone getting involved beyond that. You are better off to sit idle in church than sit isolated at home.

The Apostle Paul says we have been given teachers as a gift from Jesus Himself for the building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). The text doesn’t say building up your body as Christ but THE body, the whole body, and if you are missing you aren’t being built up together you are missing out altogether. How can each part be working properly when you aren’t working with the rest of the Body at all?

Now you can say, “no that isn’t what we mean by building” and I would say I know. What you mean is that you won’t commit to a local group of people who want to worship, fellowship, and be in discipleship with one another like the New Testament teaches. You might say back, “Well how do you know what I’m thinking you’re just a stupid little old preacher man?” Well you are right, I am just a stupid little old preacher man, but that is the point now, isn’t it? Your nonsense can’t even fool me, a stupid little old preacher man, what makes you think you can fool Jesus?

Now about that building: if the true marks of the church exist, the people could meet in any facility, even outside, that is certainly true. I think we should heed God’s words in Isaiah 66:1-2. Indeed some buildings may be impressive but they aren’t holding a real church, the people in the pews and the pulpit are as pagan as can be. They are compromised and apostate. Whole denominations are like this.

However, it is the same for individuals. We must also understand that although some think of themselves as a living temple of the Holy Spirit, their heart condition tells the real story. They are dead. If you aren’t being built up along with others, you aren’t a temple you are a vacated building.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

The Lone Ranger in Danger (Radio Broadcast)

…that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith…
(Romans 1:12 – ESV)

In the verses surrounding our text here, Paul defines a main purpose of his prayers for the Christians at Rome, that he might see them personally. Face to face time is most always better than letters or anything else: communication is good, but companionship is better. Discipleship happens best person to person, not person to program. Paul wanted to see them and live as a light before them (Philippians 2:15). Is it better to learn from the manual or learn from the man? The Bible is more than the Owner’s manual; it is how we meet with God himself (John 5:39). It is about more than principles; it is about a Person.

Paul is determined to see them that he might be able to help strengthen their faith, but it is not only that Paul will give, but also receive from them.

Our faith is strengthened within the company of other saints. You may live as a virtual outsider from God’s people and wonder why you keep falling down, or wonder why the Bible seems so dry, or wonder why your faith just doesn’t seem as real anymore, or wonder why all you see is hypocrisy; you need fellowship to see that the plank in your eye makes you see everything as having a plank in it. We see our problems in the context of our community; then we can change.

(2 Corinthians 1:4) You need the comfort of others and you need to give comfort to others. The lone ranger’s are wrong; you do need church, but even if you didn’t, the church needs you.

Take the time to invest in someone others miss (James 2:8-9). Ephesians 5:21 – you should be able to learn from every Christian (1 Corinthians 6:17).

The poorest of the poor in God’s kingdom have something of value for you to receive; it is our pride that hinders us – when Paul says “for you all” he means even sandpaper people have value.

Paul is praying that God will allow him to see the Roman Christians in person so that he could give and receive from their mutual faith (2 Peter 1:1). He was passionate to be with others who have a growing and showing faith. Are you? God wants to guide, guard, and gift you, but you have to be in the lunch line to get fed. Do you want to be escorted, established, and encouraged?

Are we as Paul praying for God to guide us into fellowship with others so that we may be strengthened and comforted by our mutual faith? Do you pray that you will find one reason (person) to go to church, not one reason to stay home? Do you pray for those who don’t make it to church? Do you pray for others to come so that they may be blessed? What is your faith known for?

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©

Sandpaper People (Radio Broadcast)

…and the rough places shall become level ways
(Luke 3:5 – ESV)

Sandpaper people. You know, those folks that seem to always rub you the wrong way. We may not understand, but they are there for a reason. And guess what; you are a sandpaper person for someone else. We are all sandpaper people. We are all rough around the edges. So why do we need or have so much scraping going on? Lets try and shed some light on this subject.

Consider first how an oyster makes a pearl. The formation of a pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting a splinter. Something gets under its skin, as it were. The mantle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create its own shell. This eventually forms a pearl. So a pearl is a foreign substance covered with layers of nacre.

Spiritually speaking, we can relate the nacre to our love for one another. When someone is an irritation, when someone gets under your skin, cover them with the mantle of love. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8 – ESV).

Some people may seem like nothing but a thorn in your side. Remember what Paul said about his thorn, For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10 – ESV). Sandpaper people help you develop the pearl of patience.

Now think about diamonds. The transformation of a lump of coal into a diamond also involves a mantle. Diamonds are formed deep in the Earth, most likely in the upper mantle, and far below the level at which coal is found. Coal is never turned directly into diamonds. Diamonds are found only when brought up through volcanic action.

You see it takes some fiery trials to turn your lumps of coal into multifaceted, sparkling diamonds. We may believe that some people have nothing to offer us but heartache, headache, and bellyache. However, the poorest of the poor (even in attitude) have something of value for you to receive; it is our pride that hinders us. In his epistles, when Paul says he is praying “for you all” he means even sandpaper people have value.

Spiritually speaking, the mantle that fires those lumps of coal, the mantle that covers those irritants, and turns them into diamonds and pearls is the mantle of God’s love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:14).

The environment of believers will always be imperfect, but their rough edges will help to smooth out your wrinkles. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17). People are like “mirrors” in which we can see ourselves as we really are. Through others we can see attitudes and characteristics of our own immaturity – weaknesses in us that need to be perfected. If there is bitterness or a lack of love, it will become exposed. This is why some people run from church to church – because it exposes their bad side. But when you hide from church, you are exposed.

Sandpaper people are there to help us shine up, and for us to see our own rough spots. If a person remains an “island” to themselves they will never have to face up to the spiritual immaturity within them. But exposing themselves to the sandpaper people will cause them to face conflicts that must be overcome in order to grow up. A sign of a spiritually mature person is that they can be loving and patient with anyone (1 John 2:10 / Galatians 5:22-23). Sandpaper people may not even realize it, but God has them doing you a favor.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©