The Truth In HD

Volume 2, Issue 11 November 2012

BRINGING THE TRUTH INTO FOCUS

Adornments Around Our Neck

..then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, Who is on the Lords side? Come to me. And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. -Exodus 32:26 Moses started down the mountain, carrying in his hands the tablets made of stone, written on either side the laws of God. He descended to the place where Joshua remained, and Joshua was alarmed. While hearing the cries coming from within the camp, he feared the people of God were being attacked. As Moses and Joshua drew closer to the people, there stood an idol surrounded by a multitude of Israelites dancing around it. Moses threw down the tablets, burning with anger. The sacred stones lay in fragments before an idolatrous crowd, saturated in their worldly pleasures. Moses cleared the camp by throwing down the idol and burning it so that the people would feel his sorrow and anger. Aaron, having allowed such sin to continue, faced Moses questioning. Moses cried out, asking who was for Jehovah. Who has not forsaken their God? Who will come forth from this sin and serve the Lord before any idol? The Levites stepped forward. Some had indulged themselves in the nations sin, yet many had refrained from it from the beginning. Moses commanded them to take their weapons and march through the camp, kill the people of Israel leading the sinful practices. In carrying out this command, many had to kill their own brothers, friends, and neighbors. The obedience of the Levites was the consecration of themselves to God. They were rewarded the honor of guarding and protecting the tabernacle (Numbers 3:5). These men of Levi stepped forward, seeking righteousness and following the wisdom of the Lord. The book of Proverbs central concern is practical wisdom for living. Levites knew what it meant to truly live that particular day. We read (Proverbs 1:7) that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The essence of wisdom is a hearts trembling before God. The willingness of the Levities to walk towards Moses stems from the deep desire to make themselves right before the Lord. My son, do not lose sight of them- keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. (Proverbs 3:2123) Adorned on the neck of every believer is the wisdom of our Holy God. The armor Paul tells us to wear during battle is the necessary parts of a spiritual life with God. Strapped around the shoulders, hanging tightly around the neck is the breastplate of righteousness. Not only does this protection of righteousness defend us from schemes and attacks from evil, it reminds us of the need to keep our hearts on track with God. The weight of this plate should remind us of the responsibility we have with the Lord. The Levitical priests, because God had consecrated their tribe, were given the command to intercede for the people of Israel. They had to be adorned with both the ephod and the breastplate. Both pieces were woven by the same type of craftsman as the inner curtains of the sanctuary of God. The shoulder pieces of the ephod were made of gold and had a stone on each side engraved with the names of all the tribes of Israel. Likewise, the breastplate had twelve precious stones embedded into the gold with the name of one tribe on each stone. Therefore, the priest wore a memorial upon their Inside this issue: heart. Hanging around their necks was a reminder of the provision and protection of God, the source of wisdom. The Church You Can Believe In Today (Part 2)
2 3 4 5 6 9 A Royal Priesthood Go! Confessions of a Thankful Heart Faith Revival Blessed Are the Meek

The Levites were blessed with the opportunity to adorn their necks with the memorials of God, not by luck, but through their boldness to seek God first. If we are to receive Gods wisdom and wear it around our necks, we must be righteous before the Lord and serve him over any idol around us.

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The Truth In HD

The Church You Can Believe In Today (Part 2)

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. -Col 2:8 NIV In religious circles (and I dont mean Christianity) there are counterfeits, in some preachers and lay people alike. There are some that profess one thing and live or do another. And there are the perceptions of what the church looks like, or what people think the church is, and often times the perception is based on those who do not have any kind of understanding regarding the Church of the Bible. Theres not much from the worlds perspective that we can really believe in today regarding the church because, in many instances, what the world call the church is influenced by societal trends, opinion polls, the opinion of people who have influence, some politicians and their ungodly and immoral stances, some who call themselves the church (including cults) and some who call themselves Christians, and even some pastors. I have spent several months and even several years trying to reconcile this and to understand all of this from a Biblical perspective. I have, at this point in time, come to these thoughts: What Gods vision OF the church is and what mans vision FOR the church is are two entirely different things, and often times we in the church confuse the two. Every one of us, as pastors, wants our congregations to grow and we want to see God move on our people. Over the last twenty to twenty-five years however, that priority has been taken to a level of reckless abandon. In some cases we have tried to rationalize through misinterpretation of the Scripture why we need grow (and we do) and why we need to use the methods that are cutting edge to make a difference. I would suggest to you that mans vision for the church has come down to methodology and we have spent years trying to transplant ideas from other success stories to our own congregations. No doubt sometimes they work, however, we seem to never hear about the churches that pastor divide and conquer over these methodologies. Thats why we are warned by the Apostle Paul that, no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. I have been in several Ministers Meetings over the last two to three years where those leaders in positions in the hierarchy have been saying that most congregations are either declining or are plateaued. These are some of the same people who have fought the good fight of methodology for all these years. What they are admitting is that all this STUFF they have bought into and championed HAS NOT WORKED! If I were them, I would not be going

by Bruce Wilson

around telling everyone what is happening in the life of the church. They are admitting failure and do not even realize it. They are sounding the alarm now that we need to change direction; we need to figure out some other way. HOW ABOUT THE WAY OF THE BIBLE? Maybe even this, If all else fails, read the instructions! In our case that would be the Bible. So back to my original thought, what needs to be seen is Gods vision of His Church, because no matter what anyone else see, Gods vision of the Church is what really matters. His vision of the church is all throughout the New Testament and is foreshadowed in the Old Testament. His church is not based on popular opinion, but is made up of those who are willing to take up the cross and follow Jesus. His is a vision of people who are a holy people that are shining the light of Christ in this dark world. His is a vision of those who are being saved being added to the church through spiritual birth, not through a class or a committee saying a person is a member. The church is Gods and it is for Him to say who is in and who is out based on the condition of ones heart. Mans vision for the church, try as men and women may, has been nothing but methodology, how we do church. I would submit to you that in spending time reading about methodology, going to conferences about it, and trying some of it, the problem is, time after time, we leave out the most important part: The Holy Spirit! I have read books and looked at websites about church growth that never mention the Holy Spirit. How insulting is that to God, that we would actually think we know more than Him or think that we can figure things out apart from Him? I know we dont come right out and say that, but isnt that what we are doing when we consult with the world on how to do church? What about those churches and pastors who have church for people who dont like church? WOW! Can you be a Christian and not LOVE Gods church? There is only ONE church, the Church of the Living God, the Church of the Bible. Dear friends, here is what God sees, And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isa 35:8-10 NIV). God bless you on your journey on the Holiness Highway.

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The Truth In HD

A Royal Priesthood
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. -1 Peter 2:9,10 NIV Have you ever considered our tendency to hold someone in high regard even though we really know nothing about them? Our society is consumed by anyone that has attained some sort of celebrity status. We hang up pictures of them; we even have people who make a living by following celebrities to get pictures of them in compromising positions. We have magazines and TV shows devoted to the latest gossip. We have reality shows to follow the daily lives of these people (even though we know, or should, that it is scripted anyway). Sometimes we as Christians are just as consumed by these things as the world. We also totally ignore the lifestyle, the beliefs, or moral standard of these people. It is not difficult to find celebrities who are devout atheists, or outspoken supporters of many immoral things, and these people are able to sometimes influence the views of those who blindly follow them just based on status. We are a chosen people. We were chosen by God before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:3-10 says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will-to the praise of His glorious grace, one he loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of Gods grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Before we were formed God had a plan in place that all man would have the opportunity to be part of that royal priesthood in Christ. As we have sacrificed and surrendered to Him, we were adopted into that family and became priests of the Church of God. We were chosen by God and blessed with every spiritual blessing! We are a royal priesthood. Our Savior is the one great High Priest. All authority is in Him and everything is under Him. By His grace He has made the Church to be a holy priesthood and all those who are saved in His name are priests unto God. Under the ancient Law the priests only entered into the temple, the high priest alone into the holy of holies, and that but once a year; but now the veil which hid the holiest place is rent in twain, and all true Christians may enter as priests into the immediate presence of God, having boldness to enter into he holiest by the blood of Jesus (Pulpit Commentary). The priests in the old covenant came with sacrifices. The apostle tells us in 2:5 we are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Prayer is a sacrifice: Let my prayer be counted as incense

by Josh Wilson

before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! -Psalm 141:2 ESV Praise is a sacrifice: The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God! -Psalm 50:23 ESV Giving to please God and not for the glory of man: Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. -Hebrews 13:16 But the chief sacrifice that we can offer is the sacrifice of ourselves. My Son, give me thy heart, is the Lords requirement. If we give Him that, we give Him all: it is a poor gift, worthless in itself, but yet precious in His sight because He first loved us, made more precious still by the precious blood of Christ which was shed that these hearts of ours might be cleansed and purified for a holy offering (Pulpit Commentary). We are to be a holy nation. Nations of the world may have earthly riches, or great culture, or great military. They will always have things that set them apart from other nations. The church is a holy nation. Without holiness the Church is nothing. If not a people sanctified and set apart for the Father, the Church ceases to be a spiritual people and begins to be a captive people living in weakness under the power of world. The Church is a nation of spiritual power and influence. We are to be a distinct people to be known by our demonstration of holiness declaring with our lives the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. We are to declare His praises: I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. Psalm 57:9 We understand the great mercy and grace of God, lifting us from our sin and despair and adopting us as His children. Our lives should be constant praise and worship. Because of His great love for us we should live a life that displays that love for all mankind that they too would gain vision to flee from darkness and embrace His great light. We have a tendency to hold people up, almost as idols. Sometimes we ignore what they are living for and what they stand for. We praise peoples gifts and talents above their commitment to the God we are committed to. We need to take this to heartBut you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. We are to seek things from above. In light of Gods promise and our calling as the Church, I believe we have a great responsibility to pursue His guidance and direction. Too many times we are more than willing to seek the counsel of men than the counsel of the Spirit. We are to be set apart for Jesus only. He is the one High Priest and it is by His grace that we have been adopted as priests. Let us begin to pursue Him living up to that call.

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GO!

by Kenny Seidler
we are for the most part involved in the preaching and teaching Go of the Great commission. But this Go also includes teachers, evangelists, and those that encourage. Ephesians 4:11-16, And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Romans 12:6-9 gives us another list of gifts that enable us to equip for the work of ministry. There the list is prophecy (exhorting the Word of God), serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and mercy. These too are a Go. Go lead, teach, preach, give, encourage, and show mercy. We are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head of the Church; we are to become Christ like in our doing and saying. And when each of us is doing, our GO working properly, we grow and are built up in Love! Jesus in giving the Great Commission did not have to tell the eleven about being the church, about being united in their doctrine, or about building their relationships. That, they already had. The Church today is divided into different denominations and congregations and a lot of the congregations are just strangers to oneanother. They meet once a week for an hour or so and then they go their separate ways until next week. They do nothing together, have no fellowship, and without fellowship the only Go you are going to see is the go of going home and the go of separation and division. All to often this is where there is no Go of the Great commission and the church building and the inward turning are all that is left. There has to be a Go of fellowship, of unity, and of oneness, a joining in the Go of the Great commission. The Gos of the Great Commission are part of a healthy going and growing church. The Go of the mission field is where you are, where you have been placed, and in what you are doing. Before the mission field, whether it is in or out, here or there, there is the Go to prayer. There is not a soul who cannot go to prayer for the Gos of others as well as their own. And prayer should be our first Go before under taking any other. Our missionary is still doing mission work raising money for orphans and the homeless in that African village, but, every time the door to her home opens she still sees the mission field; Roughly 155 thousand people die every day. 6250 every hour, about 105 every minute and that number is increasing every day. Here is one of the greatest reasons to Goonly 3 out of 10 people claim to be Christian worldwide. That means that today roughly 104 thousand people will die separated from God forever. GO!

I used to think that if I gave my life to Christ He would send me to Africa as a missionary and in my mind I used to picture untold hardships, disease, bad water, and the absolute worst; no indoor plumbing. Instead God has placed me in the center of a loving rural community, it is here that Ive had the privilege to come to know a missionary who lived the life I have always dreaded, raised in Africa living 2 hours from the nearest store and about 9 hours from the boarding school she attended, if the muddy roads were passable, she experienced living in the bush lands and the poverty of the African people for about 10 years. In Matthew 28:19-20 we read; Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. This is the Great Commission. Now The Great Commission is all about making disciples, and I want to make that clear, but there is a little word in it that has taken on many different meanings: Go. It is often expressed as Missions to other lands, foreign and mysteries places, deep jungles, and desolate country sides, just like our missionary experienced in Africa until she was about 20. My Wife and Daughter traveled with the church to the impoverished towns and back streets of Mexico. They lived in tents so that they and others could build houses of mortar and chicken wire for people they had never met. Friends have been to the dumps of Mexico City where orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children scavenge for food, clothing, and anything they can sell. They went to teach, help, and feed the children who live there amongst the garbage. Others have been to the backwaters of Belize traveling by bus on single lane dirt roads cut into the mountain side to help build a church. That was the Go for them. Still Go to others has meant ministry in our own country on Native American reservations where they taught the Word of God and helped to build houses, and school buildings. Our youth groups, womens groups and Mens groups within the church have helped at soup kitchens in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh feeding the poor and homeless, they have cleaned and helped take up and tear down tables, swept floors and cleaned toilets. They too answered the Go of the Great commission. There are those who see the Go as an effort to reach into the communities in which the church has been placed, they stop and talk with folks on the street, do neighborly things like wash windows, rake leaves, or household chores for the elderly. They clean vacant lots and paint fences and buildings not just for those who are unable but also for the community at large. Single moms get their cars oil change, children are watched, and food is dropped off. Sometime they just give of their time and sit and talk with a lonely soul. In their Go, as with the others, they will share their testimony and be a witness for the Gospel in not only what they say, but also in what they do. Then there is the Go of equipping. That Go is done in classes and groups through the teaching and instruction of the saints and this is where you see a lot of Pastors. We too travel to foreign lands and local soup kitchens, but

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The Truth In HD

Confessions of a Thankful Heart

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. -Psalm 50:2 We dont have to look very far in our day to find criticisms of the church. We need go no further than our local Christian bookstore to read about all the ways the church is getting it wrong. If we arent feeling ambitious enough to go to the bookstore we can find this attitude perpetrated on thousands of web sites. If you type the question, Whats wrong with the church today? into Google you will find 76,500,000 hits. A lot of the criticism deals with the idea that we are too narrow when it comes to doctrine, and that the church today is judgmental and legalistic. Everywhere we go we are told that doctrine doesnt matter anymore and we need to change course and focus entirely on the mission of getting people to make a profession of faith, even at the expense of compromising the Word of God. We call that being missional. Is it possible that in spite of all the criticism, maybe the church isnt so wrong on some of these things? I understand that there are certainly issues in every congregation that need to be addressed, but as I consider some of the things we claim to be wrong I find that I dont think they are all entirely bad. In fact, I have to confess that I am grateful for some of them. The Issue of Narrow Mindedness. We have all struggled with those who will not open their mind to the truth God has to reveal to them, and I understand that this is a problem. But some people in our day seem to want us to be so open-minded that we will accept things that we know to be wrong. We are expected to ignore what the Bible says about divorce and holiness. We are considered narrow-minded if we make the claim that God has called us to live above sin. I am thankful that there are some who are willing to be true to Gods Word in spite of the unfounded accusations against them. Some of the greatest influences on my life and ministry are those who have been willing to stand firm in the truth whether its popular or not, and for those faithful men and women I am grateful. The Issue of Legalism. Scripture teaches us that we are called to be holy, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16, 17). Dont mistake this, Im not condoning that we become tyrannical about the way people dress or look. I dont believe that those things make us holy, but I do find a standard in Scripture for Gods people. There are some things that Christians just should not do. And there are some things in Scripture that are very clear and should not be compromised. This postmodern idea that truth is different for everyone and each person should use the Bible as they see fit has no basis in the revelation of God that we have in Scripture. Countless thousands are misled today by those who teach that we can live however we want to live as long as we claim to be a Christian. We have

by Nick Wilson

lost the glory of God that comes through the transformed lives of those who are truly saved. I am grateful for those who will uphold and teach the standard set for in Scripture of Christlikeness. The Issue of Judgmentalism. Im not saying that we are free to tell everyone we meet everything theyre doing wrong. I am saying that I am grateful for those who are close to me, and their willingness to tell me when I am off base. I am grateful that they will tell me when I am not thinking clearly and can do so without fear of me telling them they are judging me. We claim we want to be submissive to God, but the fact is that, at times, we deceive ourselves and are blinded to things in our lives that need to be pointed out. The Issue of Truth. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them (Hebrews 13:8, 9). We are told that everyone has a different doctrine, so it is not worth our time to study it. In a world that does not recognize definite truth I am thankful for direction and guidance from Gods Word. We do not have to stumble around in the darkness trying to find direction. God has called us to a life lived in His light! This keeps us from being subject to the constantly changing whims of man, the trends of the world, and the fads embraced by the church. It is truth, Jesus told us, that will set us free! When other search for some foundation in this sin-cursed world, we build on the truth of Jesus Christ. What greater gift could God have given us than Jesus, the embodiment of His truth and character? I do not claim to know every truth in all the world, but we can stand firm on what God has revealed to us. It is unchanging, uncompromising, and definite. I am thankful that we can sing as we did in days past, When the voice of heaven sounded warning all to flee, from the darksome courts of Babel back to Zion free, Glad my heart to hear the message and I hastened to obey, and Im standing in the truth today. The world around us teaches that the church is irrelevant to our modern culture, and if Gods church is to survive everything must change. Despite the constant rhetoric, some of these things are not wrong. In spite of the difficulties we face today, the church is still Gods city. The church remains a place where God provides for, and empowers His people. We talk a lot about the things that arent going well in the church, but I remain grateful. Grateful for the people God has placed around me to share this journey of faith. Grateful for the truth of His Word and those who have made it their lifes work to carry that truth, clergy and laity alike. Maybe we would be better served if we quit worrying so much about what we think is wrong, and spend our time doing what God says is right. My ministry has never been without trial. There have been difficulties and frustrations, but as I reflect on the church, I do so with a grateful heart.

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The Truth In HD

Faith Revival!
Abram, we must consider, lived before the written Word of God. He didn't have the privilege of looking back over a community of faith to notice past experiences of how God had been involved with His people. So Abram has an experience with God and life changes. In Gen. 12:1, God told Abram to leave his land and family to follow Him to the land He had for him. The initial command was for Abram to leave land and family, and Abram took with himself Lot and his family. In these opening days of Abram's experience with God there is a considerable amount of trial and error, and in the error we come to see the inadequacy of "freely interpreting what God has to say" instead of adhering strictly to His words. This is something we keep experiencing; of course, in life humanities unwillingness to adhere to what the Word of the Lord is always comes into play. Satan's uses what seems like his favorite ploy of slightly twisting God's Word, tempting man to turn away from God. When Satan spoke to Eve, he simply played on what God had said, introduced a variance to God's Words and the course was set. Eve ate, believing they would gain wisdom. Adam lived in openness and purity in relationship with God, freely enjoying fellowship with God, and when he ate, he died to that purity and holiness. In willfulness, evil entered from the acceptance of doubt, through self interpreting God and making self God which broke the purity and holiness of the relationship. Look today in our culture how the human reproductive ability has become a constant source of dispute and doubting each other and God. The culture has labeled reproduction as a woman's right to choose and coupled that with the action of aborting an unwanted pregnancy. Let's back up and consider a core issue for a moment. The silent and not so silent male supporters of woman's right to choose have a vested interest in maintaining this "right" with women. The shared vested interest value behind the right to choose is, of course, sex without consequence. Behind it is God's outline for sexuality, one man with one woman in the confines of faithful marriage. Clearly think about this. At the core is the desire to remove God's Word from our lives and culture. When you have a politician affirming a faith stand that life is sacred and begins in conception and then acting as though it is completely congruent to affirm, but women have a right to choose, we should be calling into question their ability to lead anything when they promote they affirm two completely different positions at once. I should not apply this strictly to the cultural politician. It happens with Christianity. We may question an individual's real relationship with God by their words, but in some cases they have audience in the circle called Christianity and thus influence whether we like it or not. When man chooses to question God and His Word, either through Satan's method of the doubtful question, "Did God really say?" or through the Abram method of loosely interpreting what God has said to accomplish a desired end that we have already determined that's where we want to arrive, then

by Henry Scoff

we are not only playing loosely with God and His Word but we are at the edge of setting ourselves up as our own god, or already have done it! Today the methodology for establishing doubt in the mind of God's people to arrive at a pre-determined end seems to follow a pattern. First the person will declare their allegiance to God. Next a particular area that is under consideration will be attacked specifically, for instance, consider this introduction, I love the Bible. This love goes back to childhood for me, to warm memories when my parents would read me Bible stories, either directly from a big, black, leather-bound King James Version or from a childrens illustrated story Bible. (Bryan McLaren p. 67, ch. 7 How Should the Bible be Understood? A New Kind of Christianity) After declaring his love of God's Word and winning your appreciation for his love of God's Word and open-mindedness, then we hear the satanic type question. "The Bible, when taken as an ethical rule book, offers us no clear categories for many of our most significant and vexing socioethical quandaries. We find no explicit mention, for example, of abortion, capitalism, communism, socialism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, autism, systemic racism affirmative action, human rights, nationalism, sexual orientation, pornography, global climate change, imprisonment, extinction of species, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, genetic engineering, space travel, and so on--not to mention nuclear weapons, biological warfare and just war-theory. (p. 68-69 A New Kind of Christianity, McLaren) In that paragraph, the same exact pattern unfolds that was presented to Eve, question through doubt inserted in your thoughts. Now another interesting attachment is the process of asserting support first, then inserting doubt to lead a group down a different and/or a predetermined path has been given much thought through the years, and uses. Hegel developed his dialect approach to leading group behavior which was picked up by a University of Chicago professor by the name of Saul Alinsky, who wrote an interesting book called Rules for Radicals. He teaches the use of developing group consensus to lead people in a desired direction. The idea in the consensus development follows specifically the pattern of declaring your similar belief and position, i.e. I love the Bible and a page later insert "but." Today we see this same behavior brought into Christian groups presented as the more affirming, loving method, avoiding conflict and any heated debate because that just can't be God's way. When anyone would present an opinion differing from the leader's desired outcome, then attitudes are brought into question, and why you are upset or angry" or whatever attitudinal action, can be questioned to undermine their position and continue to take the group towards the desired, predetermined outcome. In this consensus pattern, propositional truth or a propositional position is avoided at all costs. So let's follow the chain again...Satan, Hegel, Alinsky, group consensus and throw one more into the mix...governance policy. Why bring governance

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policy into this? Because if a governing policy can be created that is broad enough to allow an individual or a group to make decisions without clearing the decision with the larger owning body, then in relationship to the church, real "body life" is undermined. There is a core of guiding the Body of Christ called elders who are called to make certain types of decisions but they are to involve openness, which includes debate where propositions must be clarified and shown support for, through voting and taken before the larger body allowing for the same process of open debate on the larger scale, because no humanity is perfect. Governance policy becomes the vehicle to encourage consensus to undermine all propositional truth, which leads right back to "Did God really say!?!" Post modernity doesn't want to hear "Thus saith the Lord." Post modern people want to live in the willy-nilly, warm fuzzies of everyone has their own truth, what's true for you may not be true for me. Propositional truth is standing on God's Word and what we discover in it even when it is completely counter to cultural trends. Look at the cultural, political and even faith-based trend of believing only good will happen when you throw enough money in the right direction. In politics this game has been played continually and it filters its way into the life of the Church. When we come to compassionate and evangelistic ministries, the opinion to throw more money seems to persist, no one wants to be labeled as not caring for those in need or lost so if we are about to be labeled as not caring on the average, we will succumb and agree to throw the money! But is there more that has to be considered? In John 12:1-8 Jesus confronts the compassionate opinion of Judas Iscariot when Mary took the very expensive ointment and anointed Jesus feet and worshiped. Judas contended it should have been sold and given to the poor. Jesus' response is telling. He did not deny caring for the poor, but He affirmed a higher value of worshiping Jesus Himself. Does the higher value lead to better results in ministry to the poor? If you simply look at those involved in the encounter, Mary as best we know never turned away from following Jesus and Judas did, so his statement resulted in no benefit to the poor out of his own life! Our primary value must, of course, be Jesus first and personal sacrifice for Jesus. Before we simply vote on giving money, we need to clearly have established in our lives the higher value of Jesus first and His values in us. Many years ago I was attending a huge pastor's event that brought pastors together from every imaginable church group. One evening a group of us were walking through some shops and eating areas when we saw a street beggar. Many, of course, did the normal thing of ignoring and walking by. Only

after we had walked further did we realize a couple of pastors were missing. Later we found them only to discover they had taken the beggar for a meal! The greater value of personal sacrifice expressed in compassion meeting the beggars need. If in our compassionate ministries the greater value of setting people free from sin and poverty isn't established, then we only facilitate dependency. The poor have to be helped into the work force and the least must be reached by true expressions of Grace and faith so they in turn have opportunity to come to Jesus and not simply to be carried in dependency because, when it isn't supported, often their apparent faith dies. True faith results in true faith works which touch lives with the gospel and all glory goes to God! Consider Gen. 15:6 speaking of Abram, "And he believed in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness." Ray Dunning quoting Walter Brueggeman stated, "No other Old Testament text has exercised such a compelling influence of the New Testament." (p. 56 Abraham) We find the text in Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6 and then Galatians 3:7 makes the connection between us and Abraham, "Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham." Faith active in us becomes the prime ingredient to unfold a true work of faith. In fact, one of John Wesley's key verses concerning holiness is Galatians 5:6, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love." James, in expressing how works flow out of true faith, again refers to Abraham (James 2:23). For us to accomplish God's work then, "faith working through love," is the qualification and methodology for working together not a program, not training, but the work of the Spirit of God having transformed us out of darkness into light and setting us apart in the work of the Spirit of God! The Spirit of God working in and through the Word of God is always building the Body of Christ, The Church of God. Every local church is to be an expression of the universal church. No other program or entity should be wedged between the Spirit and Word working in people to build the Body. When the Word is proclaimed, salvation comes and the Spirit calls forth the various Body members to build the local expression of the Body. Every time a program or a method becomes more significant than the Spirit and the Word, they run their course and die off because they are the method of one and when the one is no longer leading, the method, the passion for it disappears. God's way calls for Abraham-type faith in us that is constantly cleansing the individual members of selfishness. This faith elevates the Spirit and Word, thus allowing the Spirit to speak in all and through all. The Spirit and the Word are Gods two witnesses and when they are set free among the people of God, then the Work of God advances. The people of God are not simply team players who are indoctrinated into another person's play calling, classified as the vision to which they are to comply, but are living members of the Body of Christ. They are neither angelic nor automatons but as

Maybe we fear letting go and letting God be God...

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Oswald Chambers observed, "A saint is not an angel and never will be; a saint is the flesh and blood theatre in which the decrees of God are carried to successful issue." (p. 95, Not Knowing Whither) Postmodern leadership philosophy places all people in one of two positions. They either are supportive of the leaders vision or they are not. The philosophy seems contrary to what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ and allowing for differing gifted people to bring input to the table. The view today seems to resemble the corporate mentality of team depicted at a place like Lowes. There are team meetings in which people are given the newest sales "tactic" in the form of a cheer, which is all about getting you to buy more! The Body of Christ isn't a team; it is individuals created in the divine image, each gifted to contribute. Maybe a better analogy is the quilt made of what appears to be random squares of material sown together. It becomes both beautiful and functional. The Body sown together through the Holy Spirit covers an area with the praises of God bringing glory to God as they together proclaim the Love of Jesus to the nations! Faith is tricky the moment we think we have it under our control and we are bringing faith to fulfillment. We do Abrahamtype actions and create an Ishmael and we know how that worked out. But when we submit to the Lord, then we do Mary-type things and say, "Be it unto me according to Your word, Lord."

blood. Rather, he has come to rely on the promise speaker. He has now permitted God to be not a hypothesis about the future, but the voice around which his life is organized. (p. 56 Abraham) Life fully organized around God is faith! Faith in the Word and the Spirit to bring the voice of God into our lives and into the Church producing, heaven-sent revival that brings all glory to God, restoring the Church to glorifying God through the supernatural work that only He can do. Jesus' words "I will build My church" get reinterpreted in the post modern culture of corporate leadership theory to mean, follow my human vision, recite my team slogans and we will gather a crowd of people. The Lord wants to discover those who would "Humble themselves and pray and call upon Him to heal the land", believing through faith that He will move in His Body, the Church.

Life fully organized around God is faith!

Maybe we fear letting go and letting God be God because there just might not be any acclaim for us and only for the Lord. Ray Dunning in his marvelous little book "Abraham, The Tests of Faith" asks us, "What did Abraham believe: He heard nothing new; he saw no marvelous manifestation of power that is the significant moment of faith. Your energy hasn't increased, your own abilities weren't improved but you now saw God more clearly as the promise and you became fully centered in Him. Dunning quotes Brueggemann who states, "Surely it is not because he feels new generative power in his loins. Nor because he has new expectations for Sarah. The new promise for his life is not any expectation of flesh and

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Blessed Are the Meek

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. -Matthew 5:5 When I was in high school I decided to spend the beginning of one summer umpiring Little League baseball games to earn extra money. I did that for a few years and decided to do something more substantial, so I began to do high school baseball games. For a few years I took part in those games, and during that time something stood out that I had never noticed when I played baseball during my childhood. When a game begins both teams have a hope of winning. The players have received instruction from their coach in practice and they take the field to apply the fundamental principles of baseball that they have learned. They believe that as long as they apply what they have been taught by their coach and do not deviate from the plan there is little that can keep them from victory. But sometimes things dont go the way we plan. A player might make a mistake, or something unexpected happens that takes the focus from the plan. Many times failure to execute the plan can be catastrophic for the team. The players are not sure what to do and it becomes even more important for them to listen for the instruction of their coach, however, when things get bad enough that the plan changes, players begin to hear the advice of people besides their coach. The score becomes lopsided and one by one the parents in the bleachers begin to call out instructions to the team. They all know what needs to happen and what each player needs to do, and very few are shy about sharing that advice publicly. As the situation deteriorates, the only hope of the team is to listen through all the voices that call out to them for the one voice that will bring them together

by Nick Wilson

the voice of their coach. That is the one voice that will offer consistent counsel and bring the team together giving them the hope of victory. Our charge to carry the culture of Gods Kingdom into the world around us is similar to those baseball games in some ways. We have been called by God for a specific purpose, and to carry out a plan. God has taught us through His Word what we need to know to live within the culture of His Kingdom. As we live within Gods counsel that we receive in His revelation, we are confronted by voices that call out for our attention. People all around us know what we need to do, and how we need to live. Some know how we should handle our finances and what we should do with our free time. Among the voices that cry out for the attention of the church is the voice of trends. The things of this life go through cycles. Things become desirable and then their popularity fades. We see this in clothing, music, and many other parts of popular culture, and the church is not immune to this. For years the church has tried to incorporate popular elements of culture into our worship and the work of God. The purity to which Scripture has called us is compromised when we begin to allow the culture of the world dictate the culture of the Kingdom of God. We go through phases of using certain fads and programs, and then those pass and something new comes along. This should not be. We cannot allow the world to change the church, it is the call of the church to change the culture and the values of the world around us through the power of God. But the voice of trends calls out to us nonetheless. The church also contends with voices that originate a little closer to us. Tradition is often allowed to control the work of Gods church. At times it helps to focus us on the foundation we have been given, but many times it distracts us from that very foundation. We have, at times, been guilty of forgetting the call to invade this world on behalf of Gods Kingdom as we endeavor to maintain the traditions we have put in place. Our identity becomes so closely associated with certain traditions that it becomes almost impossible to follow the guidance of Gods Word and Spirit. Throughout the history of the church there have been times when Jesus could have said of us as He did of the Pharisees, in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. In addition to trends and tradition, values of the world call out to the people of God. The culture of the world always takes our attention away from God and points it to the riches that the world offers. The world continually tries to catch our gaze with things that it tells us we must have, and at times we allow ourselves to be convinced that we need what it has to offer. We get caught up in seeking wealth and possessions and it becomes impossible to carry out the call that God has given us to create a different culture in our lives. These voices are always calling us vying for our attention. But as

The world continually tries to catch our gaze with things that it tells us we must have...

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these voices cry out to us there is one that still, small voice that cried out to Elijah so many years ago that will give us the direction we need to live the lives to which God has called us. The voice of God calls out among all the voices of the world, pleading for us to sit back in a spirit of humility and meekness to listen for His direction. It transcends the culture and the trends, and even the tradition that we have put in place as Gods voice draws us to something more. It calls us out of the world into His marvelous light. The church today stands in need of those who will be meek enough to listen for this voice as it stands in stark contrast, and direct opposition to the culture of the world. God uses teachers who are not afraid to stand up for His Word and who will be sensitive to the gentle whisper of His Spirit. As unpopular as it may be to proclaim the whole counsel of God, it must be done. But the necessity of our day is men and women who will listen for this counsel, people who are not afraid to tackle the depth of Scripture and seek out all that God has to offer us. God called His people to this character of meekness long ago when he said, Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord If the Word is ever to move in power today we must be willing to listen to the prophecy of the Word and proclaim what God reveals to us through the power of His Spirit. Men and women who will say along with A.W. Tozer, I do not know what the future holds. But I know one thing: Rather than betray the sheep of God, rather than lie to them and deceive them and keep them agitated and stirred up with all kinds of popular topics; rather than take my material from Time magazine, Ill preach the Word to empty seats and sigh and cry for the abomination that is in the earth.

see that in Scripture? When was it ever a risk to follow the will of God? We may face persecution or trials, but God has never done anything to give us the impression that He will not sustain us if we will follow His will. The meek are never alone. They spend their lives listening for Gods direction as they serve Him and do His work. They are willing to test the Word that Gods Spirit speaks to them. We have conditioned ourselves not to test the promises of God because Jesus said that we should never test God. That has become our excuse for disobedience. Jesus said that when He was tempted by Satan to do something that would bring glory to Himself rather than God. Scripture teaches us that Gods promises are for us and we can test the power God has promised to us. The entire ministry of Jesus was such a test. Everything the disciples did in His name was such a test. Scripture even tells us, Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby PUT ME TO THE TEST, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. The meek are familiar enough with Gods voice that they will trust Him as He speaks to them. Those who are not gentle and lowly enough to listen for Him will never be familiar enough with the shepherds voice to hear when He calls out from among those overwhelming voices of the world. The meek have power to walk through this life under the direction of Gods Word, and they also overcome temptation. Despite what we so often think, meekness does not make us a doormat. It is not weakness. Kenneth Jones wrote, The meek person does not fight back at persecutors, not because he or she is weak-willed, but because he or she is so sure of his or her right-

We live in a day when the voices of the world have become so strong that they too often drown out the voice of God. When we want to see a renewal of Gods power we invent a program in an attempt to bribe God into showing it. We get together and talk about what we should do and take the best of our ideas and ask God to bless them. Never in this process do we listen for the voice of God as He speaks His will to us. If we want to see the Word move in power we must be meek enough to listen for Gods direction as to how to carry out His will. Why is that so hard for us to do? It only makes sense that if we are carrying the culture of His Kingdom we should do it His way, but sometimes we just cant seem to get that. We might be humble and spend our time mourning for the state of the world, but unless we are willing to be meek enough to listen for Gods direction those things will not do much good. God leads those who will listen to His voice. Too many Christian lives and the work of too many congregations are trial and error. We just do what we think we should do and if that doesnt work we will just try something else. We convince ourselves that its alright to live that way because its risky business to do Gods work. Where do we

We live in a day when the voices of the world have become so strong that they too often drown out the voice of God.

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ness before God that he or she is willing to be mistreated since he or she knows that God and right will win in the end. Moses faced opposition from his own family when Aaron and Miriam opposed him. He could have had them excommunicated or even killed, but this man was so in tune with the will of God, and had listened to the voice that called out to him to such an extent that he did not need to give a heavy-handed response. Numbers 12:3 tells us, Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. He did not show weakness by being meek, but a resolve to follow Gods voice in any circumstance. This power came from a devout faith in the voice of the One who spoke the Word to him. He knew that He could trust the voice of God and when a question or a difficulty arose, Moses knew enough to listen for the voice that would guide him. He did not form an exploratory committee to research the sociological effects of the situation. He listened for God. It is not our ingenuity or determination that will deliver the culture of the Kingdom into the world. It is the Word of God working in and through our lives. This will bring the counterculture of God to those who are in need of it.

in this world as priests. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession They reflect His image in the place that He created to be His domain, or Kingdom. Look at the rest of the words of the Apostle Peter in this verse, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthoodthat you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. The meek are the ambassadors of Gods grace and mercy. They are stewards of the Word which He has spoken to, and through them. If we want to see Gods work in the world today, it will be when we take the time to listen to His Word as it is revealed to us by His Spirit. In a day when programs and ideas dominate the church, we would do well to remember that it is the meek who will inherit the earth. Maybe today we need a moratorium. Not on offshore drilling as those put in place by governments, but on programs and activities in Gods churchj. Maybe we need to spend some time meekly listening for the voice of God. We are called to carry His Word into the world, but when was the last time we honestly, earnestly listened for His voice? The church needs nothing more today than the voice of God. According to Leonard Ravenhill, If the church today had as many agonizers as she has advisers we would have revival in a year! Among all the voices of the world there is one that calls out to us and speaks of a future and a hope. He cries out as Jeremiah did so many years ago, I know the plans I have for youto give you a future and a hope. He has promised a blessed inheritance to those who will heed His voice. He has revealed Himself in His Word and speaks to the church today through His Spirit. Will we listen? God will bring His culture into the world today through those who are meek. Will He find such people within the church today?\

If the church today had as many agonizers as she has advisers we would have revival in a year! -Ravenhill

Scripture tells us that meek shall inherit the earth. They are heirs of what rightfully belongs to God. They need not create a revolution or train a great army, but usher the culture of heaven to earth by the power of God at work within them. They are those through whom God answers the prayer Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Those who will experience Gods power firsthand as He invades the earth with this heavenly culture are the meek. Men and women who will not charge ahead without direction, but who understand what it means to wait upon the Lord. God has given such people a call to represent Him

For more information on voices that call out for the churchs attention, see The Virtues of a Healthy Church by Bill Konstantopoulos. The idea of the voices of our culture was based on his writing on the topic.

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BRINGING THE TRUTH INTO FOCUS

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The Truth In HD is circulated in an attempt to lift up the truth of Gods Word. Those of us who write the articles contained in this paper are committed to carrying this truth to wherever God will lead us, and offer our help in whatever we can do to aid you in promoting doctrinal truth. If we can offer something to help you to this end please dont hesitate to contact us. Some of the writers are available for revival meetings, or other preaching engagements that you might have. We send this paper each month to carry the message of the gospel into the world, and our desire is to walk through any door God may open as we journey on this earth as ambassadors of His Word.