Charleston Tragedies

The shooting of 9 innocent people in the Emmanuel AME church in Charleston, SC has captivated and horrified the nation. No American is unaffected by this event. This tragic event has been a catalyst for many more tragedies thrust upon the American people.

"These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Proverbs 6

Please click on the podcast link to the right to hear the message.

Profane and Holy

For nearly a year now I have listened to a radio preacher with great delight. His expositions are solid and right on the mark with the text of scripture. Stephen Davey is founder and senior pastor of the Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, NC. I am traveling this weekend to nearby Greensboro and decided to spend an extra night and attend the early morning service at Colonial. Davey founded the church about 30 years ago and has grown with such success that he is now the president of a seminary associated with the church. They have 3 worship services on Sunday morning. I did not know what to expect with a church so large. I prayed before attending asking God to give me a spirit of lowliness and mercy. My morning devotion ended up being Philippians 2:1-3... "in lowliness of mind esteem other better than yourselves."

As I walked into the building rock music was playing over the PA system. That was a bit unnerving to me but I was determined not to pass judgement. I arrived 10 minutes early and sat in the rear of the sanctuary observing the people and testing the spirit to see if it was of God.(Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.I John 4:1) What I saw was disturbing in light of the preaching that Stephen Davey delivers. There was no spirit of reverence. People were chatting and socializing. In my opinion this should be reserved for after a worship service. When one attends a worship service they should go in reverence and expectation that God is going to meet with them that morning. The congregants minds were NOT focused on worshiping God.

There was an orchestra on the platform of about 50 people. I don't believe the scriptures are opposed to an orchestra but I'm not sure that it lends to "singing and making melody in your hearts to the LORD". Eph. 5:19. Orchestra's too often become the focal point or an instrument of a production rather than that of worship. That is precisely what happened. While the congregants were mingling and socializing, instead of preparing their hearts to worship God, a man started speaking over a loud speaker. The first words spoken in the service were, "Alright guys, lets do this service right. Cue the lights, turn up the sound......." It was a production of entertainment in the spirit of this world. It was Godless and irreverent. Colonial Baptist church was nothing more than another seeker friendly mega-church. I promptly exited the building with tears in my eyes. OH LORD, where is Your remnant?

I cannot for the life of me understand how Stephen Davey can preach as he does and yet mix the profane with the holy. This is the deception that will be so strong in the latter days that if it were possible even the very elect would be lost. Pastor Davey, I have a word for you,

" 15But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: 16They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge.....23And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean Ezekiel 44:15-16,23

Pastor Davey, as well as you can exegete the scripture you have failed this commandment of the Lord. I call you to repent of this wickedness and break up your fallow ground. Stop allowing the external Godless environment of this pagan society to dictate how you serve the Lord.

Fallow Ground

Fallow ground is ground that has become hard and unable to receive life giving seed. This hardness occurs because the external environment such as wind, rain and sun have an adverse affect making the ground hard. The external environment of the Christian in this pagan culture we live in has made the average American christian calloused and insensitive to its surrounding un-Godly environment. If God is to rain down righteousness we must take extreme and sometimes painful measures to break up our fallow ground. Listen to the 11 minute podcast message to the right of this post and break up your fallow ground.

Seek the Lord while He may be found.

True and False Conversion pt. 2

In the last message we looked at a few things which are not conversion. In this message we will look at three things which are vital to conversion:

I. Conversion Involves a Response to God's Calling
A. Our Sin Nature is Contrary to Responding to God
B. Christ Compels us to Respond

II. Conversion Requires Revelation
A. Revelation of our Sin Nature
B. Revelation of our Savior

III.Conversion Requires Regeneration
A. Old Things are Passed Away
B. All Things Become New



Please click on the 20 minute podcast message to the right.

True and False Conversion Part 1

Professing Christians today seem to give little thought to what they are associating themselves with. This embrace of the world by Christians could be indicative of false conversion on a broad scale.

What Conversion is NOT

1. Conversion is Not belonging to an institution known as your local church.
The local church is NOT the body of Christ. There may be Christians in your local church but the Body of Christ is not an institution.

2. Conversion is Not Baptism
Baptism does not save you nor is it a part of salvation. It is subsequent to salvation.

3. Conversion is Not Behavioral Modification
If conversion was simply a matter of changing my behavior then Christ died in vain.

4. Conversion is Not tithing
I Cor. 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

5. Conversion is not mere confession
You say you believe in God. So does the devil and the devil trembles.

Please click on the 15 minute podcast message to the right to hear this entire message.

What is True Conversion? Part 2 coming soon.

Easter: Pagan or Christian?

Deuteronomy 6
12Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

Deut. 7
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. 6For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God

2 Kings 21
Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah. 2And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. 3For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. 4And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord said, In Jerusalem will I put my name. 5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. 7And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the Lord said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever.

2 Chronicles 33
God was angry with Manasseh causing him to be taken into captivity in Assyria. While in Assyria Manasseh cried unto the Lord God and found repentance in his heart. God restored him to the throne of Judah and Manasseh destroyed the pagan idols and tore down the altars to the false gods and found favor in the eyes of God.

2 Kings 23
Josiah gathers all the elders of Judah unto Jerusalem and reads from Gods law. He renews a covenant with God and throughout this chapter he tears down the altars of Baal. He destroys pagan images and idols. He destroys the houses of homosexuals. He rids the land of witchcraft, sorcers, pagan religion and practice and this pleases God. “21And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the Lord your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.”

God commanded the Hebrew children to destroy all traces of pagan religion in their midst. This was a constant battle throughout the Old Testament. People are instinctively drawn to false gods because they don't exist. These false gods can be manipulated in your mind. They can also be very dangerous as a gateway for Satan into the hearts of people. This is why the true and living God abhors these pagan false gods. They are lies that distract from the true and living God. In a previous message I explained the meaning of the first commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”. Of all the commandments God gave this is the most important. The word “have” in this commandment can have a broader meaning than simply to “possess” another god. This word “have” actually means to simply “acknowledge” another god even exists. In spite of these stark warnings throughout the Old Testament Christians for 18 centuries have defied this commandment and acknowledged the false pagan Teutonic goddess of Spring called Easter. Easter is not a season like spring. The word Easter comes from the pagan Teutonic goddess Ostre. The customs and traditions that surround Easter are from the ancient pagan practices involved in sacrificing to Ostre. Bunny rabbits, chicks and colored eggs all are part of this pagan religion. This is why non-Christian people can celebrate Easter because Easter has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus Christ. The transference of this pagan god into the Christian religion is probably one of the earliest examples of the Catholic practices of accepting pagan customs, traditions and even gods into the religious practices of the church. According to church historians the earliest mention of Easter was early to mid second century. Well into the second century Christians did not celebrate the resurrection as a feast or holy day. Early Christians observed Passover with Jesus as the Passover Lamb. The resurrection was celebrated every Sunday because that is the day that Jesus rose from the dead.

The early Christians would not have said, “Happy Easter” to one another. Paul and Peter would have been livid to think that a false pagan god would be associated with the Passover Lamb and resurrection. Paul states in Ephesians 5:11 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Paganism has no place in the church and Easter has no place in the vocabulary of a Christian.

I read, admire and respect greatly the reformers such as Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and later Wesley but I cannot understand why they never opposed this pagan influence in the gospel. What is more disturbing is the number of people who acknowledge that Easter has absolutely nothing to do with Christ but they have Easter sunrise service, Easter egg hunts and such. By the way, the sunrise service also has nothing to do with the resurrection story. I know the scripture says the women rose early to go to the tomb. Sacrifices were made to Ostre at the rising of the sun. This “rising sun” is a part of the etymology of the word Easter. This is not some small matter to be taken lightly. God does not take it lightly. In Exodus 32 we find the impatient Hebrew children eager to worship something because Moses had been in the mount a long time. So they made a golden image of the Egyptian calf god Apis and ascribed to that calf the name of Jehovah. Moses burned the image, ground it into powder cast it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) 26Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.

And they killed 3,000 Israelite men. Usually, the scriptures only count the heads of households when there is a counting like this. The number of people that died was probably closer to 15,000. To ascribe something so profane as Easter to the most significant holy day of the Christian year is nothing short of sacrilege. Whenever Jesus hears a Christian say, “Happy Easter” it must sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to Him.

I submit to you that Easter was born in the mind of satan as a distraction from the meaning of this holy event of Christs resurrection and dilution of the message of Passover which is to be a memorial FOREVER.

“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever”. Exodus 12:14

Jesus is the Passover Lamb. And what did His death accomplish?

Christ has conquered death, hell and the grave. The next time someone says, “Happy Easter” respond by saying, “He is Risen”.

Who is on the Lord's side?

The Lamb of God has Been Slain

Exodus 12
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

11And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’S passover. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. 13And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

Matthew 5
17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

John 1
29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

I Corinthians 5
6Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

I Peter
18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Revelation 5
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Is it really that difficult for Christians to give prominence to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice rather than acknowledge a false pagan Teutonic goddess instead? More to come in two days.