Voice of Truth - Absence

Sorry for the absence. My great grandmother is in the hospital and not doing well. Pray for the family. Hope to resume writing soon. It is an honor to serve in this way. Thank you to all who have already been praying for this situation. God is good and will work all things, even death, for His glory. I have seen more strength in this 90 year old woman, than I see in people half her age. When I have felt like complaining about something, this experience has helped me remember what is really important. Love God and love your family. Never get so wrapped up in work or service that you forget to love. I sometimes fall into that trap. I sometimes get so involved in serving others, that I neglect my family. If God called you to have a spouse, He expects you to honor the commitment to that person. No Scripture study today, just some words from the heart. Thanks for the love and support. To God be the glory.

Voice of Truth - Youth

Now that I have begun to work with the youth group, I have looked at some youth related statistics. The first thing I looked at was the fact that 70% will leave the church between 18 and 22. How do we reverse that trend?

2 Timothy 2:22 - Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

We need to be teaching the truth of this verse. The church reaches out to them in worldly terms to make a connection. But too many times we fail to turn that connection into an opportunity to teach the pursuit of righteousness, faith, love and peace. Many youth just can't see how the Bible is applicable to them. They must be taught how to apply the Scriptures to their lives. Discipleship needs to happen before they leave home. When they leave home they need to know how to find answers in the Bible and to be able to defend their faith. Most college campuses are not Christian friendly. If not equipped with the proper tools to defend their faith, they will quickly abandon it. Unfortunately many adults can't defend what they believe in. How many churches actually provide teaching on how to defend the faith? Not many that I am aware of. This is crucial with the number of false teachers prowling around today. The second part of the verse says with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. The key here is the with those part. Young adults are not making connections with other Christians when they leave home. As parents and leaders, we must make sure that connection is being made. No Christian can survive long without the fellowship of other believers.

As I looked at some survey statistics by Lifeway Research, I found some encouraging news. 39% of them will return if gently nudged by their parents or other family members. Another 21% will do so at the gracious urging of friends or acquaintances. If you have a child in that 70%, find encouragement in these numbers. Be patient and faithful in calling them back to the faith. Don't give up God is faithful in all things. Pray that glory be to God in their return.

Voice of Truth - Ephesians

Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

I came across these verses while reading Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. These verses are filled with commands for the body of Christ. If you are in a leadership position in your church, are you following verse 12? Are you equipping the saints and building up the body of Christ? As a Sunday school teacher, it has caused me to look at how I approach class. Am I merely going through a book or am I finding ways to equip the class for service? We must find ways to show that Scripture is applicable today and not just in biblical times. God's commands are the same today, yesterday and tomorrow.

Verse 14 calls us to no longer be children. Today too many people are tossed around by the latest hip doctrine and newest trickery of man. We must be teaching immature believers this. So many people in our churches today are caught up in the the teachings of Joel Osteen, T D Jakes, Joyce Meyer and all the other feel good prosperity teachers. If you are in a leadership position, it is your responsibility to turn people away from false doctrine and teachers. But as verse 15 says, we need to speak the truth in love. All correction and discipleship needs to be done with the correct attitude. Not with a I can't believe you listen to that person attitude. Our duty is to build the church up, not tear it down. Verse 15 goes on to say we need to grow up in all aspects. Notice the word all here. Some people can quote bible verses with no end, but have never grown in their relationships. There are leaders who don't know how to be servants. There are servants who never want to step into a leadership position. We need to grow up in all aspects. We should be striving to be like Christ in all areas of our life. Yes, that includes our lives outside of church.

Verse 16 shows that every part of the body is important. The proper working of each individual leads to the growth and building up of the body. We all have a part to do. If you are not doing your part, you are stunting the growth and building up of the body. God has given you gifts that your church needs you to be using. Never undervalue any role in the church. Everyone from the pastor, to the person who cleans the bathroom is important in the life of a church. When you are faithful in the small things, God will give you bigger tasks in the future. I never imagined myself writing a blog that has had close to 100 visitors now. But when I started being faithful in the small things, God started using me in ways I could never imagine. I have to admit I have been fearful at times, but He has always given me everything I have needed to do His will. If you are looking to do big things for God, remember we do nothing for God. He works through those who are faithful first in the small things. Start today, doing what God is calling you to do. Your church needs you to do so.

Voice of Truth - Todd Bentley

Why are so many fooled be false teachers? I have recently come across a man named Todd Bentley. He is part of several ministries, Fresh Fire Ministries and Ignited Church being the main ones. This a man drawing 10,000 people a day in Lakeland Florida. When you read the belief statement on his websites, his statements are perfectly within orthodoxy. When you get into his claims and testimonies things go out of control. He claims his conversion was similar to Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus. He claims to be a modern day prophet, much like Elisha. And he claims to have healing power and to have raised people from the dead. I find him to be more of a Benny Hinn of this generation. He does the typical slaying of the spirit thing, where he lays hands on a person and they suddenly fall down and flop around. He actually ran across the stage and kneed a man in the stomach who had colon cancer, because God told him to. I must have missed that kind of healing in the Bible.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 - 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

I think the time has come where we are seeing this on a regular basis. He claims to be doing what the apostles did in the New Testament. The purpose of healing and miracles by the apostles was evangelistic in nature. It was always done in the name of Jesus and for the advancement of His kingdom. Mr. Bentley will go through several healings and rarely even mention the name of Jesus. You will hear plenty about demons, vampires and white lights. His classic line after someone falls down is, "you don't even know why you fell, do you?". One lady gets up and says into the mic, "because you pushed me down". I write this now because he will be in Louisville tomorrow, not far from home. We need to pray the people who attend this event will have discernment as to what is false and what is true. He claims to have visions of Heaven and of Jesus in his room talking to him. If he is truly having visions, my guess is they are demonic in nature. This is a very dangerous man and a very dangerous situation. We need to be sure we are judging all thinks according to Scripture.

Voice of Truth - The Shack

Is it alright to portray God against His nature in works of fiction? I ask this question because I have been deciding whether to write about a book called The Shack. I have been hesitant to criticize a book by a christian author. This book is on top of the christian book charts, and has been endorsed by the likes of Michael W. Smith. After wrestling with this for a couple of months, I heard an interview with the author last week. The author, William P. Young was very disturbing to listen to. Let me start by saying I have not read the entire book only portions posted online. But I have been greatly disturbed by what I have read, and his replies to questions on the book.

To start there are good parts to this book. The book does represent the Trinity fairly well, as well as the need for forgiveness and a personal relationship with God. But now let's look how he describes the characters in the book. God the Father is an African American woman named Papa. Jesus is a Middle Easterner dressed with tool belt. And the Holy Spirit is an Asian woman named Sarayu. First problem is the fact that God the Father cannot be seen. 1 Timothy 6:16 - who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. Next problem I have is that God is not a woman. God is always referred to in the bible as the Father. When questioned on this in the interview, Mr. Young quickly took the egalitarian position that there is no male or female. He uses the often misused verse Galatians 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus,". This is the same verse used by churches promoting female pastors. This verse is simply saying that there is no favoritism when it comes to salvation. Salvation is for every kind of person and we are all one in Christ. He uses this verse to say God can be either male or female.

He goes on in the book to say that God submits Himself to humans. To defend this position in the interview he used Luke 1:38 - And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. He says that this is Mary giving God permission to go ahead with his plan. And this is an example of God submitting to Mary's will. This is the same faulty doctrine that has led to Mary worship in the Catholic church. There is only one instance in the bible I know of, where any member of the Trinity submits to any human. Galatians 4:4 - But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,. Jesus was born under the Law and would have had to obeyed His parents as a child according to the Law.

Lastly, I want to look at the books Universalist leanings. He starts by saying the all sins of all people are forgiven, even those who chose not to have a relationship with Jesus. He refused to answer when questioned on this in the interview. If you have not come to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are still dead in your sins. Here is a excerpt from the book; Jesus said, "Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptist or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don't vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my beloved.". He says that Jesus has no desire to make them Christian, He just wants to join their transformation into children of God. This seems to be a reoccuring theme, but no man comes to the Father, except through the Son. Jesus is the only way. Not everyone will go to Heaven.

We need to speak of God with reverence and awe. This is another book that portrays God as our buddy. A dumbed down and weaker version of the real thing. How have we gone from early Jews being scared to say His name, to the total lack of respect we show today? When we speak of God it should be with respect to His holiness, even in fiction. This book shows total lack of respect for who God really is.

Voice of Truth - Strength For The Weary

Well our VBS ended last night with a great turnout. It was a long, but rewarding week. I must admit this past week pushed me to the limit on several occasions. One thing never ceased to amaze me though. Every time I felt exhausted and didn't feel like going on, I always seemed to get a second wind. As I sit back and think about it, it brings a verse to mind.

Isaiah 40:29 - He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.

Every time I was beginning to get weary, I was renewed with strength. Doing the will of God is not always easy. But when we are following in His will, He will give us strength to go on. It is amazing to look back and realize there is no way you should have been able to do what you did. God helps us along the way and restores us when we are weak.

Galatians 6:9-10 - 9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

This verse applies to everyone, but today especially to the VBS workers. Although there may be times when it seems you work is not being fruitful, persevere. If we persevere to the end, in due time we will reap a harvest. There are many people at church working really hard at this time. And sometimes we can grow frustrated by lack of results. I want to encourage you all today. Keep working hard and doing good to all people. In due time a harvest is coming our way. Thank you for all the hard work everyone put in this week.

Voice of Truth - Reason For Church

Why do you go to church on Sunday? Your answer to that question will determine if you are content at your church. I have heard people say that they come to church on Sunday to get refilled. Church is not a once a week filling station. We should be getting filled on a daily basis, by a personal relationship with God. We should not be coming to church to be entertained. The big trend today is turn the Lord's day into a concert. If you attend church just because of the praise band, you are there for the wrong reason. The pastor is also not the reason you should be attending a particular church. If you go to a church just because of it's size, you are wrong again. Some people choose to go to a big church, because they think that means they must be doing something right. Well the biggest church in the U. S. is pastored by Joel Osteen. That should be enough said.

We should first and foremost be coming to church to worship Christ. He should be the first thing in our lives. Colossians 1:18 - He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

We are commanded to not forsake assembling together. Hebrews 10:25 - not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The main point I want to make is that we should never be going to church for what we can get out of it. If we are going to church for the correct reasons, (worshiping God, serving others and sharing our lives with others) we will reap unseen benefits. We must keep the focus of church where it belongs, Christ. If you leave church on Sunday saying I didn't get anything out of that. You have completely missed the point of church. Take the focus off yourself and put it on Jesus. When you leave church this week, ask yourself - Did I give God all the praise that is due Him this week?

Many new believers fall into this trap. The warm fuzzies of salvation wear off, and they think something must be wrong with the church. When the real problem is they were coming to church for the wrong reason in the first place. Church is a fellowship of believers called to be unified in an effort to do the will of Christ. For a church to be unified in this effort, we must all be focused on Jesus. Because of His blood we can now enter the holy place with confidence.

Hebrews 10:19-23 - 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Voice of Truth - Men's Fraternity

Men, the time has come to begin preparing for Men's Fraternity again. We will be doing year 1 again. We ask those who did it last year to repeat it again and bring others along this year. Many churches lack in the area of male leadership. We are called to be leaders in our homes and in our churches. This class will help you to become both. Men start preparing your hearts for this now. Ladies if you would like for your husbands to be a better leader, convince them to join us.

Genesis 3:8-9 - 8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

Men notice who God called after the sin in the garden, MAN. We are responsible for the spiritual health of our families and our church. Let's start being leaders and if you aren't sure how, find out. VBS is also this week, so I will probably be short and sweet this week. Men start thinking about what biblical manhood really is.

Voice of Truth - Tradition

There is a trend going in some church circles today, particularly among seeker friendly and emergent churches. That trend says that anything dealing with church tradition needs to be done away with or at least re-evaluated. Conservatives they say hold too close to tradition and should toss it aside to draw people in. As a self proclaimed conservative, I would say that statement is both true and false. Conservatives do sometimes hold so tight to tradition that they refuse to be open to new ways to reach the lost. On the other hand tradition has it's place in the church. We just must be sure that we don't turn tradition into meaningless ritual. We must be sure we are teaching why are traditions are meaningful. I believe the bible upholds the role of tradition.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us.

These verses I believe show the importance of honoring some of the traditions passed on through early church history. There are certain traditional ways we need to guard closely. Take a look at how marriage, baptism and the Lord's Supper have been changed by those who detest tradition. Same sex marriage is now acceptable in their churches because they believe that traditional marriage is outdated. It is a tradition we hold because it was instituted by God in the beginning.

Take some time to reflect on the traditions your church adheres to. If you don't know why your church follows a certain tradition, find out. If it is not a biblical reason, make sure it is not a stumbling block preventing you from reaching the lost. If the reason for the tradition is biblical, stand firm in the fact you are walking in the ways passed on to us from Jesus and the early church. As the verse says above, discipline a brother who is being unruly and not acting according to proper tradition.

Today, I am going to share part of an article from HeartCry Magazine. The organization that produces the magazine is HeartCry Missionary Society, which is under the authority of First Baptist Church of Muscle Shoals Alabama. This is an organization I support and encourage you to check out. Here is part of an article on the Lozi people of Zambia by Sean Reece.

The Laborers are Few
The Bible teaches us that the Lozi people are
in need of the Gospel. In Romans 1:16-17 and
10:11-17, the apostle Paul communicates with
crystal clarity that God calls sinners to salvation
through the preaching of the Gospel. It is
not through acts of community service or the
showing of films, as good and helpful as those
may be, but it is through the ‘foolishness of
preaching’ that God reveals sin, wrath, and His
provision of grace in the Cross of Jesus Christ
(I Corinthians 1:17-24).
Though there are a tiny handful of missionaries
trying to reach the Lozi, there is no Gospel
preacher in the vast, remote area where we
have been working. Worse yet, the villages
have already been flooded with false gospels
of “Christ plus...” The Catholics tell the Lozi
that they are saved through faith in Christ plus
religious ritual. The Seventh Day Adventists
tell them that they are saved through faith in
Christ plus keeping Old Testament laws. The
New Apostle cult tells them that they are saved
through faith in Christ plus following the authority
of the cult leaders.
Many of you who are reading this article are
familiar with the indigenous HeartCry missionaries
in Zambia who are working with
Pastor Conrad Mbewe and Kabwata Baptist
Church. All these missionaries are in the larger
cities of the northern and eastern regions of
the country. In the areas we will be working,
there is not one single church preaching a true
Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through
faith alone, and in Christ alone. In addition,
there are no indigenous church planters to
support. We have found a few believers, but
they are years from meeting the qualifications
for biblical church leadership. If the Lozi, scattered
throughout the vast regions of southwest
Zambia, are to be saved, they not only need a
preacher of the Gospel, but someone to train
other indigenous preachers. Therefore, in this
unique situation, HeartCry is preparing to send
cross-cultural church planters to the Lozi. Yet,
even in this, indigenous missions remains the
goal of the effort.
Final Word
One thing has sustained us through the selling
of our home and possessions, and walking
away from my pastoral ministry and my wife’s
teaching career. One thing has sustained us
through long months of agonizing uncertainty.
We want to know Christ. Christ has called us
to Zambia to know Him better, and that is our
primary motivation for going. Love for the
Lozi, a desire to plant churches, and all other
motives are secondary. We hope to follow in
the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, whose passion
to know Christ overflowed in the planting
of many churches for the glory of God. As
Paul wrote in Romans 11:36: “For from Him,
through Him, and to Him are all things. To
Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
I will conclude with an urgent request for
prayer. We are attempting a huge endeavor
that is destined to fail unless we have God’s
help in everything. If He does not speak and
guide, provide and preserve, this task will be
futile. In faith, we cast ourselves upon Him as
our only hope. Please pray for the leadership
of HeartCry, for the Lozi team, and that the
Name of Jesus might be exalted among the
Lozi and throughout the world.

I ask that you pray for the Lozi as well as the Reece families. Brothers Sean and Shannon Reece will be taking their families to Zambia in an effort to reach the Lozi. It amazes me the efforts Satan will go through to thwart the Gospel. False gospels are being taught even to people in western Zambia. We must pray for and support those preaching the real thing. In case you have not noticed yet, most of my blogs will pertain to missions, evangelism, or apologetics. The lack of these three things in churches results in decline or stagnation.