Whose Side Are You On?

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PART 1

Joshua 5:13-15
13. When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14. “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15. The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

Are You friend or foe?

This story of Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land used to baffle me.  Specifically that God gave Joshua directions to go conquer the land, and yet, does not say He is for us.  Then the Commander of the Lord’s Army appears with a sword in hand.  Joshua then asked a question; Are you friend or foe?  In the Amplified Bible it states it this way:

V13-14 And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And He said, No [neither],

This was the confusing part, God tells Joshua to go and conquer Jericho and then He (Jesus) appears and when He was asked; “who is God for?”  Jesus answered neither!  I do not know about you but that would set me back a little if I were in Joshua’s shoes.  You would think if God told you to conquer the land, He would definitely be on your side!  Right?  NOT SO FAST!

After much meditation on this, the Spirit of God showed me what was happening here.  You see, Joshua asked the wrong question or made the wrong observation, the same as I did.  The question is not “Is God for us or for them.”  When it comes to God, the question should be; Whose side are YOU on?   This is a far more important question to ask!

Let me clarify a little more, actually, God just gave me a deeper revelation just as I am writing this. God has no favorites!  Romans 2:11: For God does not show favoritism. (NLT)  The correct question was;  “who was on God’s side?”  Jericho or Israel?

We can see that this was made VERY clear by Joshua’s REACTION.  Joshua showed that he understood what the Lord was saying to him by his response.

V 14 And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant?  

Jesus was not there to serve Joshua but to be served.  He was the Commander.  Joshua knew who was standing before him.  He fell down and worshipped.  Joshua would have never done this for any ordinary man, for the law states we shall not worship anyone but God.  Then Joshua because of his quick observation received something as great as Moses received. The next verse state this.

V15. And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Lose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. [as stated in Exod. 3:5. to Moses at the burning bush]   

When Joshua heard these words as he looked at the “Commander of the Lord’s Armies,”  he must have known these words from his great mentor Moses.  Moses must have shared the story of his meeting with the Eternal God and his experience 100’s of times.  NOW Joshua is hearing and seeing this same person who spoke those words to Moses.  This time God was in His human form, (Jesus) What a thrill for Joshua!  God had spoken to Joshua earlier in Chapter 1 of the book of Joshua but here was God, standing in his presence.  It is one thing to hear the voice of God but it is quite another thing for God to stand physically in front of you.

I know firsthand, I had the same pleasure on June 10, 1985.  Jesus appeared to me and saved me from my addictions and set me on a new path of serving Him.  Back to Joshua.

Joshua knew who was standing before him and he decided right there to bow in worship and declare his allegiance to the Lord.  He was on God’s side and he was God’s servant!

Another Example in the Book of Joshua

Earlier in Joshua 2, we read about Rahab, the prostitute.  She made the very same decision.  She decided to turn against her own people, her king and the city of Jericho to serve the Lord.  Even when the king questioned her and it could have cost her, her family, and the spies lives, she stayed faithful to the Lord.  Not only that, she did not even know the Lord!  She had only heard the stories of Eygpt and other conquests many years earlier. She decided no matter what, she would serve the Lord even though she was not an Israelite.  She decided to turn against the only world she knew and by faith serve the God of Israel.

God rewarded her by not only saving her and her family.  Rahab went on to be the great-grandmother of King David and was also in the genealogy of Jesus (The Gospel of Matthew.  Chapter 1:5)

 

PART 2

Personal Application

Studying American history, you will find that this question of (Whose side is God on?) comes up a lot.  There was no time in history that this question was asked more than in the Civil War.  The North and the South were brothers and were also filled with Christian leaders who were in charge.  Examples were the Northern leader Abraham Lincoln with Ulysses S. Grant as his right-hand man and then the Southern leaders of General Robert E Lee and General Stonewall Jackson, who were famous for their Christian leadership even though they actually opposed each other.  All had asked the same question;  Whose side was God on?  The answer was: Neither!  The answer was the same as it was for Joshua.

Another time in history was a time that greatly confused the nation of Israel.  The Messiah appears and is walking the land.  Soon the Jewish followers received a hard lesson in their experience with Jesus.  Was not the Messiah here for Israel and also here to destroy the yoke of bondage that was being applied by the Roman occupying army?  Jesus’ actions confused and infuriated the zealous Jews that were opposing Rome.  How could Jesus the Messiah, heal a Roman Centurions servant, speak to a Samaritan woman and cast demons out of the daughter of a greek woman?  How could He tell the Jewish followers to love their enemies and to carry their packs not the legal one mile, but two!  Whose side was the this Messiah on anyway?

We must have the understanding that God is for everyone!  We are all His children on this planet.  Today’s Christians are no different than those of old, even with all the cultural issues we face today.  Christians have in the back of our minds, of course, that God is for us!  After-all the Bible declares that!  If God is for us, who could be against us.  Right?  Once again the answer is neither!  Yes!  God is for you in your personal life but never at the expense of another person or their harm.

God is not for the Christian and against the homosexuals, drug addicts, dealers or even the liberal agenda.  God is so far above our petty policial and social issues that separate us as a people.  God has a far greater agenda then we could even begin to comprehend.

John 3:16 screams at us: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD (not the Christians only) and to verify that, I John 2:2 states; And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only (Christians) but also for the whole world.

2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Whose side are you on?

When Joshua asked that question and got his answer, he responded correctly.  He completely understood the answer given by the Commander.  He then bowed and worshipped the King of Kings.  His response was; I am here to serve you, Lord!  I am at your command. 

I believe that most Christians reading this, would jump to say; “His will, not mine be done!”   We know this intellectually and theologically.  But our everyday actions might just prove otherwise.

 Christianity-Hedonism 

I believe so many will claim this until push comes to shove!  Our wants and desires against the Lords. Our desires to be happy and to be prosperous and enjoy the pleasure of the American dream at any cost.  So many of us are not into flagrant evil or sins but we as Americans have become extremely consumeristic and self-serving and drowning in materialism.  Even the church has an undercurrent of self-centeredness, self-serving ideas which are a brand of hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure, sensual self-indulgence).

How many times do we hear: I got to go to church and get my battery recharged!  or as one popular Christian song states:  I got to go get my worship on!  The acts of worship and going to church are not about us!  We are there corporately, to give thanks and to worship the King of this Universe.  The act of meeting for the church is all about HIM!  I do understand, when we do worship there is a wonderful kickback for us, but that is not it’s a primary function!  Taking time from our busy lives to worship and give thanks to God is the main reason for going to church.  Unfortunately, we have reduced God down to a spiritual blessing Santa Claus, who is here to serve us and our desires, and not vice versa!

What the church is really about, we throughout the window!  The equipping the saints for ministry.

 

PART 3

 

Ephesians 4:11-12: And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

Service

Where do we go to see these people or to have equipping time?  In Church!  But if you ever have been involved in a church, you will know in most churches that 10% of people serve and 90% are there as spectators, to get what they came for at that church.  Some come for the feeling it gives them, for a religious duty or tradition or any other reason people go to church.

If we study the dynamics and the statistics of those who do come, we can see it is not about serving God and/or His plan for this world.  Just watch when the Pastor asks for help in service and the running of the church.  The response is not good except for the 10% who you see in multiple areas of service in the church due to the lack of support.

How many of us have a God-given call on our lives but will not pursue it due to the fact it will cost us way too much, or how many have been called and then quit due to the price being too high.  I have witnessed this in Bible College.  In ten years, I saw the majority of those who were called to change the world quit ministry because of the many hardships that are involved.

  Finances

Another area is money and giving.  Studies show that only 2-3% give a tithe offering in most churches.  We know that where you sow your treasures, that is where your heart will be.  Sadly, many place their treasures in their own desires and in their toys. How many who claim to be Christians only tip their church or don’t even give a dime to global missions, but they can go on trips regularly, buy cars, motorcycles or boats and do home improvements.  They do very little if anything to spread the gospel in foreign countries and foreign missions.

Our Time

How can we claim to be Christians, when the only time we have anything to do with God is on Sunday, while the rest of the week is for ourselves, to serve our own wills, our own desires, and goals? How many have a regular daily devotional time or Bible time?  When do we actually spend time with God?  When do we seek Him, to try and know Him and search His plan for our lives?  We see these “Christians” on Sunday, but who do they serve from Monday to Saturday?
So I will leave you with this question:
Whose side are you on?  Who do you serve?  Is God here to serve you or are you here to serve Him? 
I personally believe that in these “last days,” we as Christians, need to step back, reevaluate and see who serves who in this thing we call Christianity?  Like I have said before, many of us are not into evil or active flagrant sins but we have an undercurrent that says this is about accomplishing my will,  my personal goals and success, and it is not about us serving Him and accomplishing His will for the planet and our own life.
The final results
Do a Google search and you will see that between 6000-10,000 churches in the United States close every year.  Most of the Christian money in the World is in the U.S and of that only 2-3 % is given to the work of the Gospel.  The United States has moved into a Post Christian nation which is rapidly joining the rest of the world.
Today we have more money, more T.V., and more satellites to spread the Gospel than at any other time in history.  However, look at the statistics in every area of Christianity and it is pitiful.  We are failing miserably.  It Is easy to see.  If 95% of all God’s money is in the United States and His people only give 2-3% back…that means we are spending over 90% of God’s money on ourselves.
Have you ever wondered what God thinks about that?  Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14.  A man gave one of his servants 5 talents, then another 2 talents and then the final servant 1 talent.  Now, jump down to verse 24 and you will see that one of the servants only gave back the one talent he was entrusted with.  The master did not even get the interest on his money.
What do you think God will say when He returns and asks His servants today what they did with His money?  Read the reaction of the master to the servant who made excuses and hands him back his 1 talent.  What do you think God will say to us when he takes account and we say thanks Lord, I took a great vacation with your money.  Or better yet, thank you, Lord, how do you like my new house and new cars?  Lord, don’t you believe we made a good investment with your money?
The United States has become a Post-Christian nation.  We have joined the rest of the world.  Just look at England and the rest of Europe, where once the Gospel was powerful.  So I ask you again WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Missionaries-Jokers in the Deck of Cards!

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Missionary work should never be an afterthought of the church because it is Christ forethought.- Henry J. Van Dyke

Jokers In A Deck Of Cards

I believe in today’s church of Jesus Christ, that missionaries have become, no more than “jokers in a deck of cards!”  They serve some purpose when you need them but for the most part, they are separated from the deck and put off to the side or simply discarded.-Dennis Stauffer

 

 

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A Word from the Lord: When You Are Going Through The Storm.

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A Powerful Word From The Lord, When You Are Experiencing Storms In Your Life.

Romans: 12:12: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (NIV)

Then the Lord spoke this to me:

Be patient, I am here.  I am in the storm with you.  I am only sleeping and at rest.  The storm that you fear is nothing to me and my mighty power.  It possesses no real danger, even though you think it does!  At my word, the storm is all over!

 

How I Taught My Daughters To Use Their Faith This Christmas, 2018

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A Christmas Present To My Children:

How I Taught Them How To Use Their Faith This Christmas

One of the unique opportunities we have is to teach our children how to see God and how to watch Him move in our lives!  I personally believe that the major reason we lose our children when they grow up in the world is because we take them to church!  Yes, you read that right!  We take them to church, but we never introduce them to God.  As Christians, we manage to get them in Sunday school to say the “sinners’ prayer” and accept Jesus in their hearts…

But, as I have learned through thirty years of Christianity and working with people, most of the parents (adults) of these kids, never had a true experience or encounter with God themselves.  Even as adult Christians who are saved, if they were to get totally honest and sincere, would confess God is at a distance, and they truly hope that He exists and that there is a heaven.  Unfortunately, in their hearts, they can not even convince themselves that God is real.  So many go to church each week, sing-songs and hear sermons, but when you get down to the very heart of it, so many do not really know if God truly exists or have ever heard His wonderful voice.  So as for the parents, so goes the children to follow their pattern, that is if they even continue to believe!  

As a former atheist that became a believer and a Christ-follower, when I met Jesus in the flesh and heard His voice audibly on June 10, 1985, I knew Jesus was real.  I don’t hope He is real anymore, I know He is real.  Since that time I have had a connection to Him and am able to hear His voice regularly.  As a parent and a minister, I want to convey and share the experiences I have had with God for the past 30 years with my children.  I want them to see Him as clearly as I do.  I never want them to say this was my parent’s belief but it is not really mine.  So I take every opportunity to let them experience and witness God in action.  This Christmas was one of those times.  God has never let me down before, so I knew He would help and come through as He always does.  I will share this opportunity with you.

Dad Are We Not Having Christmas This Year?

This year has been an unusually tough year for DSI Ministry.  I believe God is moving us to the next level soon, as things are now really changing.  An example is that donations are way down and work has been extremely slow.  You might think this is the time to bail out and do something different.  I know the Lord, and this is a time that God Is taking my faith to the next level.  When times get rough, it is not time to pack up and quit, instead, it is time to exercise my faith muscles.  That way we will be able to move to the next mountain.  (During the last few years I feel like I am lost in the Himalayan Mountains.  This is due to all the high mountains we have had to cross).  On with the story:

It was 10 days before Christmas.  My daughter called me and asked about our Christmas Tree.  She wanted to know why there were no lights or balls to decorate with.  I confessed that the ministry and my personal bank account was at a -$56.00 dollars after an unexpected bill came due.  Prior to this, even though it would bankrupt us to feed all the children every week I told Maria to keep feeding the children.  Then, the Saturday after our ministry was down to -$56, and I suspended the feeding, God asked me if I trusted Him.  I personally knew he had never let me down.  But at the moment, with the stress of finances and my daughter’s cries due to the fact there was not going to be a Christmas or even decorations, I buckled.  I responded: “you are pushing me to my limits and I am not sure at the moment!”  

This is when faith came alive in me.  I told the Lord I was going to trust and I was going to put His name on the line with the children!  He was going to supply my needs or He was going to be a liar! Harsh words I know, but He has promised and I have been faithful every week and even break the bank to feed the children.  So I told my girls we will have Christmas, there will be decorations and we also will feed all the families who come to our ministry dinner.

10 Days To Christmas 

I put God’s Word and His credibility on the line with my children.  God is either faithful or He is not, however, I know God is faithful.  So I put everything on the line in front of the kids to see God work. I explained: “we have no money, no work and it is 10 days before Christmas.”  I asked my daughters; “Do we still have that old Christmas tree under the bed?”  They looked and said:  Yes but there are no lights or decoration for it!  I said; “Put it up”  They protested and wondered why we would put up a tree with no lights, no decorations, and no money for presents or even Christmas dinner.   I told them we will watch God put decorations on the tree, supply presents and we will have Christmas dinner.  In addition, we would also give 25 Christmas dinners away to families who were in the same spot as we were.  I put God to the test because I knew He has never failed me!  God is always good to His Word.  Even though my stress levels were through the roof and my emotions screamed you are a fool, I knew God would come through. 

By that Tuesday, I finally received work.  I was to house sit and to watch a friend’s dogs over the Christmas holiday.  She even paid me in advance.  With that money, we were able to pay the last of our utility bills.  I told my wife that with what was left, to buy food and buy a few decorations and lights for the tree. The kids were excited.  However, even though my family spent the entire night decorating the tree, my teenage daughter still asked about presents and all the rest I had promised.  I told her to continue to watch, pray and trust God, He would come through!  He always does!  She believed me and we prayed over the phone.  

3 days to Christmas

The tree was up and we had no money!  Then it all changed!  I think I shared our plight with only one family, who I share a lot with to relieve some of the stress.  I did not tell my roommates, my board or even my vice-president and his family.  I left this between God and me. Then the donations began!  There was a little money that came in from our monthly partners with a few extra as Christmas donations.  We now had the money for presents and enough for 25 Christmas dinners for people who came to our ministry for help. 

I then told my children:  You see, I told you to put the tree up and God will decorate it.  If He decorates it, He will definitely put presents under it!  If He blesses our family, He will definitely bless the other families who live in poverty around us.  He will not only bless us but everyone around us.  That Christmas eve and morning, 25 families came to Hands In Action and received their Christmas dinners for their families.  My children woke up and saw a fully decorated tree with presents under it with a hot Christmas dinner.  It all happened in those 10 days before Christmas. My children had a front row seat and watch God do some amazing things!

MY CHILDREN AND OUR MINISTRY WATCHED JESUS’S “HANDS IN ACTION!”  HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL! 

Find Out What Kind Of Faith You Really Have?

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There are three kinds of faith in Christ:

1. Struggling faith, like a man in deep water, desperately swimming.

2. Clinging faith, like a man hanging to the side of a boat.

3. Resting faith, like a man safely within the boat and able
to reach out with a hand to help someone else get in.

D.L. Moody  (my personal hero of faith)

Quiet! Jesus Is Sleeping! What To Do, When We Are Sinking In Life’s Storms?

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Mark 4:35-41: On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.”36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

Shhh, He’s Sleeping

As the wind blows at hurricane force and the waves beat them back and forth, what do they do?  These were experienced fisherman, this was not their first fishing trip or storm.  These guys grew up in these boats, this was second nature to them.  It was basically, all they knew.   But, they have never have seen anything like this.  They were about to drown.  That boat was not going to hold together, even with all their collective experience, this was the end for them.  What do we do now?

Have you ever been there?  I am, right at this moment.  God tells you to do something and you know without a doubt, you are in His will.  Then an unprecedented storm hits and it leaves you in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of a raging hurricane.  You have been here before, this is nothing new, (you think) but now, everything you know is about to sink and go under.  Your nerves are shot!  You have tried everything you know.  The things that have got you through these tough time before, are not working anymore.  You are now stumped and full of fear and frustration.  There is no turning back, there are no other options!  You are stuck in the middle of this situation and all hell has broken loose.  You think there is nowhere to go.  You cannot make it to the shore in front of you and there definitely, is no way to go back to where you were before.  WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?

As I read Mark 4:35-41. It was like I was reading it for the first time.  My ministry is in trouble and like the disciples, this is not my first rodeo.  I have been here before.  I have seen the hard winds of trouble blow before and God has always brought me through.  Now, however, everything I used to know is not working.  The things that I have seen before, for example, people calling me to work odd jobs during these hard financial times isn’t happening.  For 15 years, it has worked and never failed!  But now, the storm is like nothing I have ever seen before.  This is a storm from Satan, just like the disciples were facing.  That was no normal hurricane force winds they were facing.  That was something in all their years they had never seen before.  This was Satan, out to destroy them and the Messiah.  The disciplines had, and I have no answer except…

Jumping to the wrong conclusions!

Let us look at the story again.  The disciples in their fear and panic jumped to the wrong conclusion.  Jesus was sound asleep on a pillow and not even disturbed by the wind the waves and even getting wet.  He was asleep as if He was on a nice calm beach and enjoying the soft breeze and sun.  Unfortunately and incorrectly, the disciples came to the wrong conclusion… He did not care!   But how?  The wind and waves were about to sink them.  Why was He asleep?  Why did He seem not to care and seem so distant about the serious situation they were in?

Have you ever made that mistake?  In the middle of your storm, when you need Him the most, He seems to get quiet and distant.  I did, just the other night, as I was praying (really complaining)!  I accused Him:  “while I was new in Guatemala, 10 years ago, you spoke loud and clear three times. You wanted me to stay.. and I did!  Now things have hit the fan and I am holding the bag!  You are nowhere to be found!”  Or is He?  Maybe Jesus is just asleep!  Maybe He is right behind you!

What to do next?

Well, let us wake Him up!  That was the disciples next step.

And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Like I just mentioned above, they accused him of not caring, not being there when they were in trouble, just like I did.  Then I read the verse above and His reaction later to this storm.   Waking Jesus was not a good idea!  He was not pleased and I can relate.  I hate being woken before I am ready to get up.  I get into a seriously bad mood if you disturb my sleep and you better have a cup of coffee in your hand.  I can see Jesus is the same way!  

But what were they to do?  “Come on, the boat is filling with water and it is sinking.  They were trained fisherman and they knew when a boat is about to go under!  What else should they have done?”

Have faith!

Have faith?  Just believe everything is going to work out fine?  That is what you are saying?  This is not a fairy tale, these guys were about to die or at least they believed so!

I have taught this many times and now I am being taught by the Holy Spirit:  Have faith!   What is faith?  Faith is taking God at His word, no matter what you are facing!   So what was Jesus’ last word to His disciples before He went to take a nap?   This is very important!  What did Jesus tell them!

V35b: “Let us cross over to the other side.”  

Jesus did not say: “let us go halfway and drown!”  He said: “let us go to the other side!”  Jesus never says what He does not mean.  He also knew what was going to happen.  He actually had to force the disciples into the boat to go.  They knew a storm was brewing on the horizon.  So, if they had faith (taking Jesus at His word), they should have known they were going to be ok and they were going to make it.  Despite the circumstances, that they were facing.

That is our problem also.  The Word tells us His promises, but when the winds of adversity blow, we just fold up and want to run.  He said: “go to the other side.”  That means we are going to make it.  When the Word of God says; “He shall supply all your needs according to His riches.  That does not mean, go look in the bank account and see if He is telling the truth.  He promised and all HIs promises are “yes and amen.”   So do we wake Him?   NO!  We need to stand in faith, let the winds and waves do their damage, but let Him sleep!   He is in complete control even when He sleeps. 

One Word!

 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!”And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

That was it!  All that banging and pounding of the winds of Satan.  His powerful waves filling the boat and which looked and seemed lost!   Then, Jesus woke!  Then, one sentence later!  It was all over!  The power of Satan, the circumstances that seemed so overwhelming to these experienced fishermen, was over in a second.  One word and it was done.  Nothing that we face is overwhelming to Jesus!  Nothing is too hard for Him to fix.  He is never rattled or caught off guard.  He is never rushed or panicked like we are.

40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”   

He was not rebuking them because they did not stop the storm. They really had no precedents for that.  Who could stop a raging hurricane in its tracks?  We can and know this because we have the scriptures to stand on but the disciples had no clue this could happen.  They showed that in verse 41: “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

So what was Jesus upset about and why was He questioning their faith.  Like I said earlier. V35b: “Let us cross over to the other side.”   He gave them their destination but they doubted His word!  They were going to the other side and they ended up doing just that!

What shall we do?

Do we wake Jesus when He seems to be asleep, distant or quite in the midst of our problems?  No!  Let Him sleep. (metaphorically)  Let us stand on His last word to us. Take His promises that are in the Bible and stand on them.  He never lies and He does not break His promises.  So do what I am doing today.  I am not going to wake Him up.  We all have to learn from this story.  In just one word, in one second, Jesus wakes up and makes his move.  All the storms we face will come to an end.  Let the winds blow and the waves crash against us but we must stand in complete confidence.  He is in control and when He sees your faith in action, then He will make all your financial, health issues or any other problems we are facing come to an end.  So, just let Him sleep and know that when He wakes, it will be all over. There is nothing too hard for Him, if we just stand on HIs Word.  Just like the disciples, what they thought was their end was over in a moment.  The monster storm was history at His command.

As I read this scripture and mediated on what I shared I had doubts,  was I reading too much into this?  Then while reading another devotional the Lord opened my eyes to His Word which says this:

Romans: 12:12: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Then the Lord spoke this to me:

Be patient, I am here.  I am in the storm with you.  I am only sleeping and at rest.  The storm that you fear, is nothing to me and my mighty power.  It possesses no real danger even though you think it does!  At my Word, all is over!

 

Is The Bible Really Telling The Truth? Is There Really Peace On Earth Or Did The Bible Lie?

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Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

For the longest time, people have misinterpreted this verse.  So many have mistranslated this verse to state that God was saying there will “be peace on earth”.  Many have used this verse to mock the Bible and say;  “Here is your proof that the Bible does not have errors in it.”   This would be true, if the Bible was saying, there will be “peace on earth amongst men and nations.”   Unfortunately, you do not need to be a history scholar to know there has never been peace on this earth.  Since the fall of man, there has never been peace. There have been wars from the beginning of time.  There has been nation against nation, race against race, family against family.  Is the Bible wrong?  NO, IT IS NOT!
Since the Garden of Eden, with the help of Satan, man has turned his back on God.  We like to do it our own way.  As the song says: “I’ll do it my way”.  And we have been doing it our own way ever since the Garden.  If you look at our history of this world, we have made a complete mess of it.  Then, we have the nerve and the arrogance to blame God for our mistakes.  We say things like “If God is in control, why are there wars and all these horrible things going on?  We as people do these things.  We start wars, we let people go hungry, we rape and murder, then we turn around and blame God for all of it because He is supposed to be in control.  As a result, man has put himself at war with God and has separated himself from God. We walked away, not God.  We did this because of our own pride and self-will.
So if you translate this verse “peace on earth” to mean “peace on this earth” it is wrong. That is not what God meant in this verse. 

So what does God mean?  

Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
God knew mankind could not make peace with himself, his surroundings, nor even with God.  We on our own have no hope.  God wanted to restore His relationship with us because we are His family, His children.  He loves us and does not want us to perish for all eternity.
So God became a man, became human.  His name was Jesus.  On that first Christmas Night, a baby was born, in a manger and that baby was God.  In the book of Matthew, one of His names (and there are many), Jesus is called, Immanuel; “God with us”.   Jesus was more than just a man, more than a great teacher, more than a great prophet.  He was God in human form. 
The reason, God became a man, was to reconcile us with Himself.  Simply put:  What the devil stole in the garden, God wanted back. God wanted his family back!   God desires that no one follow his own way and perish into hell.  That choice, that decision, it’s ours – it is up to us.  God is offering His hand in friendship. Peace between you and Him.  The question is, do you want it?  Will you take His hand?
2 Corinthians 5:17: So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

 Let’s break this down!

God declared peace, a truce, an end to the war of sin and indifference that has existed between us and God.  God wants peace with you.  God wants you to be a part of his family.  In Romans 5:8;

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,  Christ died for us.

Even while, we are the sinners, the guilty ones, we have hurt one another, turned our backs on God and we live for ourselves.  God reaches out His hand and says: “I will pardon your sins, I will never hold your sins against you because I paid for them.”  God does not let sin go, he doesn’t sweep it under the rug.  He is a Just Judge and we, are all guilty.  If you don’t believe this. You can do a self-examination of yourself.  Just go to Exodus 20 and read the 10 Commandments, have you ever broke one, just one?  You are guilty as the rest of us!

But the good news is that; God died for us on the cross, he paid for every sin we have ever committed.  Because of this, you do not have to pay for them.  Jesus paid them all.  Why?  Because we are his children and He loves us.  He wants peace with us.  He wants you to come back home.  He is offering His hand in friendship and in peace to you.  He will never hold anything against you because it’s paid for.  He did that for you.  Since God paid for all our sins, there is nothing separating us from God, nothing between you and God.  There is peace, no war and no hard feelings between you and God. This is what Christmas is about.  God became man and died for everything you have ever committed that was wrong.

So does this sound too good to be true?  Do you want this peace?  Then how?

Let me show you!

  • We were guilty:  We all turned your back on God.  We wanted to live our lives our own way, by our own rules.  This has left us empty, unfulfilled, guilty, and shamed.  Even worse, we tried to cover it with addictions to cover the pain.  We can go from one thing to another to find happiness without God.
  • Repentance:  This is a fancy religious word, that means to turn around, change direction (U-turn).  When I heard this truth, I was drinking, drugging and living life my way.  I knew I was going to hell. So when I heard the gospel I changed my direction.  So instead of heading to hell without God, I turned around and started living with God.  I just changed the direction and purpose of my life.
  • Believe that Jesus was God:  God became a man (Jesus) and Jesus has experienced everything we will ever experience except sin.  He knows what it is to be poor, lonely, rejected, and despised.  You can bring anything to Jesus without feeling shame.  He understands it all.  So come to him.
  • Jesus came to die: Jesus was born to die for our sins. To pay the price for our sins. On Calvary, he took all your sins and paid the price for them.  He did this as a gift, not for a price.  It is free – without works, for whoever is willing to accept.  Then, after He was crucified, on the third day, He rose again, so we also may rise (like Jesus did after death) to eternal Life.  Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
  • This is how you receive your Christmas gift.  Simply ask!  In your own words, nothing religious!

Jesus, I realize that I’m guilty of turning my back on you, living my life my own way, desiring things that are not good for me.  I want to repent, turn my life around.  I want to thank you, for dying on the cross, forgiving all my sins (past, present, future) and never holding them against me.  Thank you for the blood you shed on the cross, that washes away all my sins.  I want to make you my Savior, my Lord, and King today.  Amen.

This is what Jesus meant by peace and goodwill to all men, for whoever accepts this free gift of eternal life.

A Word From The Lord To DSI Ministries

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A few weeks at the gym, I asked for a word for DSI Ministries. This began to flow out of my spirit. I grabbed my notebook and began to write this as it flowed from my spirit. I believe it came straight from the Lord.  

 

DSI Ministries is a root, it is planted deep into the ground by God, himself. We lay in darkness and we are planted deep.  As a root, no can see us, people walk by, they will walk over us and not even notice. They cannot see us yet!

But:

A mighty tree is about to grow and one day produces much fruit for the kingdom of God.

 

 

 

Why Should We Ever Teach A Baby To Walk? It Is So Dangerous! How We Practic​e This In Our Churches! Part I

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Hebrews 5:13: For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.

Why should I teach my baby to walk or even to eat solid foods, IT IS JUST TOO DARN DANGEROUS!  They could fall or choke to death.  I prefer they just crawl their entire life and drink milk from bottles, it just so much safer for them!  What if they learn to walk and then they fall or he/she climbs the monkey bars and then breaks his/her neck?  What if I teach them to eat solid food and they choke to death or they end up with digestion issues?  

We would want to lock up parents who thought like that.  Put them in a mental institution or take their children from them!  These parents would be completely illogical!  But we take this very same mindset and bring it into our churches and we believe we are being logical.  What am I talking about?  Well, let’s dive in and find out.

The Holy Spirit brought this idea to me this recently.  I was sitting in a church which puts a lot of importance into bringing in new people. To be fair, I do understand their stance on this.  This church has lots of babies (new) believers and unchurched people coming into their sanctuary on a regular basis.  I want to say this because I want to be fair to them, I do understand their mindset.  However, there are way too many churches who coddle their congregations with this soft-sell approach who do not regularly have or are not courting new people the majority of the time.  They only want to be seeker-friendly and they also want to play it safe by not offending the people who come or seem to be to spiritually weird.

First: Giving

As I said, If you use my analogy above about parents who will not teach their children to walk and eat solid food because of the dangers, then you would have to list them as unfit parents!  But in the spiritual realm, we have too many leaders who practice such things when it comes to spiritual gifts and leading their people to be mature and strong Christians.  For time sake, I only want to use two examples while expounding this idea.  However, leaders with this over cautious mindset are across the board when it comes to spirituality in the church.

While sitting in church recently, the Holy Spirit brought this idea to my mind when the pastor said;  “… we have boxes on the wall and if you would like to give they are there.”  He went on to say; “we do not talk about money because it is too offensive for some.”  So “give” if you are moved.

When we read in the New Testament about giving money, we do not read about giving a 10% tithe as in the Old Testament Malachi 3.  Rather, I believe the Apostle Paul, while writing in the New Testament in 2 Cor. 9:7, wants us to be good and cheerful givers. I believe they teach giving in the same vein as the sowing of seeds.  There is a lot of teaching on this but for sake of space, I will not go into depth on this.  If we look at our finances from God’s perspective, we can see God looks at the money the same as a farmer looks at seeds.  When a farmer gets seeds, he plants them and they yield a crop.  What if after the crop is harvested, he eats all the food and the seeds from the harvest?  Then the next year, they will not have any seed for a new crop.  They will starve.

The universal principle found in the book of Genesis 8:22 of “seed, time, and harvest” is applied to almost every living thing on this planet.  In the New Testament, it is also used to teach about money issues.  Most people during the Biblical time period were an agriculturally minded society (we, for the most part, are a technology–minded society).  They understood completely when Jesus and the writers of the Bible talked about seeds, time and harvest.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increased the fruits of your righteousness,

The above verse is one of many teachings on sowing seed in the Bible, but here Paul is specifically talking about finances.  I know that sowing is also used to teach about our time and resources.
When Church Leaders refuse to teach their congregations these Biblical principles, they instead teach poverty mentality in the kingdom of God.  The scriptures are clear: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.  That is what is happening in the kingdom of God here on Earth now.  Unless you adhere to these Biblical principles, you will normally want to sow to the flesh.  And as we know the flesh says; “the more I keep, the more I have!”  So giving is completely unnatural, the Spirit of God living within you is what allows us to sow Biblically, it is a SUPERNATURAL event!
So today, many believers are struggling because they have not been taught Biblical Finances with their money.  Pastors think they are being safe but instead, they cripple their congregations and the ministries within their church.  I know!  My ministry struggles for lack of finances.  Like most of us, I also still struggle with a lot of these principles.  However, because I went to Charis Bible College where I learned sound Biblical financial principles concerning money, I am moving in the proper direction.  But I admit, I am still a work in progress.  I know pastors do not want to take a chance on offending their congregants with Biblical financial giving because even in my early Christian walk I went to many churches who played it safe or only taught giving by the Law.
Second: Praying in Tongues
The second area of playing it safe can be illustrated through the concept of praying in tongues.  Recently, I applied to be a prayer minister at a church.   When I mentioned that I graduated from Charis Bible college, I was asked not to pray in tongues while in the prayer line because it might concern or upset people.  I agreed, but only because after serving many years as a prayer minister with a major ministry, I learned that I can only use my prayer language when the person receiving the prayer requests it or I am waiting and praying to myself to build myself up.  So that was OK by me!  However, this did show me the heart and misunderstanding in many of our churches.  The big question is WHY!
If you have been Baptized in the Spirit,  you will know that all spiritual gifts and power are locked inside the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” and released through the speaking of tongues.  As I mentioned earlier I was saved in a church that did not believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the speaking of tongues as a private language, nor in the “Gift of Tongues, which is a gift to the church.
I spent 18 years frustrated having no power to perform my duties as a youth pastor.  Let me prove my point:  If you do not have the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” have you ever read the Book of Acts or the Gospels and wished you could operate as the Apostles did in the first century?  I know what you are feeling.  I did that for 18 years as a youth pastor, watching children get sick and or die and not being able to do a thing but offer some half-hearted sorry prayer of unbelief.  God’s Will, will be done! (how pathetic I was).
I know the difference today!  I have seen so many moves of the Spirit and healings since I finally believed the Bible rather than the man-made doctrines I was taught.  These are doctrines that go against the very word of God.  In one example; I saw two women who were important in my life receive news that they had stage 3 breast cancer.  I was asked to pray the prayer of faith for them and they were both healed.  I can’t tell you the thrill when I saw them later and asked how their treatment was going.  They both told me they did not need treatment because their cancer disappeared after I prayed for them.  I believe both women would have died if I had not prayed for them.  Both of them were unbelievers at the time and defeated in their sickness.  They are both alive today.
Another instance occurred when I received a call from a friend who had a seriously sick baby.  I was asked to drive them to the doctor due to bad weather.  As I drove them I began praying in tongues.  When we got there I asked the parents if I could lay hands on the baby and pray. As I commanded healing in the baby, we all agreed for healing.  As I finished I had a “Word of Knowledge” but at the moment I did not realize it.  I said: When you see the doctor.  He will say to you; “Why are you bringing a healthy baby to be treated?”   I left them as they went into the doctor’s office and then went to wait at a coffee house.  I was very surprised when I received a call just a few minutes later from the parents to pick them up.  When I got back the parents were overjoyed.  What I said as they left the car came true.  By the time they reached the doctor, the cough and serious congestion I had witnessed on the drive there was gone!  The doctor asked why did you bring me a baby who is not sick!  Who knows the outcome if we did not lay hands on the baby and pray for healing into his body.
One more example, not to glorify me or my ministry in any way but to glorify God and to show you, if you were like me and ignorant of the gifts in the Bible. I can’t begin to tell how frustrating it was for those 18 years when I was powerless.  During those years, I watched my own daughter get sick and other friends some of whom got sick and died.  All I could do was sit there and worry and offer some faithless prayers of “please God if it’s your Will, do something!”
For a final example, I would like to share with you about a time when I was on a prayer line in Kansas City with a major ministry.  As I was praying for people, two women came for prayer.  But before they came to me the Holy Spirit spoke up and asked me: “Do you want to see how Jesus healed the Servant of the Centurion in the Gospels?”  I said yes!  However, I did not have a clue what was coming next!  Then two elderly ladies came to me and asked if I could pray for their sister who was in an ICU unit in a Kansas City Hospital and was expected to die!  I immediately knew what the Holy Spirit was referring to!  My faith skyrocketed because of the question the Holy Spirit asked me!  Before we prayed, I told the ladies what the Holy Spirit asked me!  Then both ladies, who were both women of faith, were immediately built up in faith as I was.  We all prayed for this lady in the hospital and they left.
The next  Monday, when I return to the phone prayer line where I also worked for the ministry, I was asked if I was in Kansas City over the weekend with the ministry?  I said yes!  I was informed by a praise report from a call originating in Kansas City that the lady in the hospital immediately got healed before she even knew she had been prayed for.  She then she sat up and signed herself out of the hospital completely healed and recovered.  Her sister later shared that they went to receive prayer for her at the gospel truth rally.  What a joyous reunion they must have had!

Whose Side Are You On? The Battle of Jericho. Find Out What Side You Are On! Full Blog

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***If you have Read Part 1 and 2 please scroll down to Part 3

PART 1

 

Joshua 5:13-15
13. When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14. “Neither one,” he replied. “I am the commander of the LORD’s army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15. The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

Are You friend or foe?

This story of Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land used to baffle me.  Specifically that God gave Joshua directions to go conquer the land, and yet, does not say He is for us.  Then the Commander of the Lord’s Army appears with a sword in hand.  Joshua then asked a question; Are you friend or foe?  In the Amplified Bible it states it this way:

V13-14 And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are you for us or for our adversaries? And He said, No [neither], 

This was the confusing part, God tells Joshua to go and conquer Jericho and then He (Jesus) appears and when He was asked; “who is God for?”  Jesus answered neither!  I do not know about you but that would set me back a little if I were in Joshua’s shoes.  You would think if God told you to conquer the land, He would definitely be on your side!  Right?  NOT SO FAST!

After much meditation on this, the Spirit of God showed me what was happening here.  You see, Joshua asked the wrong question or made the wrong observation, the same as I did.  The question is not “Is God for us or for them.”  When it comes to God, the question should be; Whose side are YOU on?   This is a far more important question to ask!

Let me clarify a little more, actually, God just gave me a deeper revelation just as I am writing this. God has no favorites!  Romans 2:11: For God does not show favoritism. (NLT)  The correct question was;  “who was on God’s side?”  Jericho or Israel?

We can see that this was made VERY clear by Joshua’s REACTION.  Joshua showed that he understood what the Lord was saying to him by his response.

V 14 And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant?  

Jesus was not there to serve Joshua but to be served.  He was the Commander.  Joshua knew who was standing before him.  He fell down and worshipped.  Joshua would have never done this for any ordinary man, for the law states we shall not worship anyone but God.  Then Joshua because of his quick observation received something as great as Moses received. The next verse state this.

V15. And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Lose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so. [as stated in Exod. 3:5. to Moses at the burning bush]   

When Joshua heard these words as he looked at the “Commander of the Lord’s Armies,”  he must have known these words from his great mentor Moses.  Moses must have shared the story of his meeting with the Eternal God and his experience 100’s of times.  NOW Joshua is hearing and seeing this same person who spoke those words to Moses.  This time God was in His human form, (Jesus) What a thrill for Joshua!  God had spoken to Joshua earlier in Chapter 1 of the book of Joshua but here was God, standing in his presence.  It is one thing to hear the voice of God but it is quite another thing for God to stand physically in front of you.

I know firsthand, I had the same pleasure on June 10, 1985.  Jesus appeared to me and saved me from my addictions and set me on a new path of serving Him.  Back to Joshua.

Joshua knew who was standing before him and he decided right there to bow in worship and declare his allegiance to the Lord.  He was on God’s side and he was God’s servant!

Another Example in the Book of Joshua

Earlier in Joshua 2, we read about Rahab, the prostitute.  She made the very same decision.  She decided to turn against her own people, her king and the city of Jericho to serve the Lord.  Even when the king questioned her and it could have cost her, her family, and the spies lives, she stayed faithful to the Lord.  Not only that, she did not even know the Lord!  She had only heard the stories of Eygpt and other conquests many years earlier. She decided no matter what, she would serve the Lord even though she was not an Israelite.  She decided to turn against the only world she knew and by faith serve the God of Israel.

God rewarded her by not only saving her and her family.  Rahab went on to be the great-grandmother of King David and was also in the genealogy of Jesus (The Gospel of Matthew.  Chapter 1:5)

 

PART 2

 

Personal Application

Studying American history, you will find that this question of (Whose side is God on?) comes up a lot.  There was no time in history that this question was asked more than in the Civil War.  The North and the South were brothers and were also filled with Christian leaders who were in charge.  Examples were the Northern leader Abraham Lincoln with Ulysses S. Grant as his right-hand man and then the Southern leaders of General Robert E Lee and General Stonewall Jackson, who were famous for their Christian leadership even though they actually opposed each other.  All had asked the same question;  Whose side was God on?  The answer was: Neither!  The answer was the same as it was for Joshua.

Another time in history was a time that greatly confused the nation of Israel.  The Messiah appears and is walking the land.  Soon the Jewish followers received a hard lesson in their experience with Jesus.  Was not the Messiah here for Israel and also here to destroy the yoke of bondage that was being applied by the Roman occupying army?  Jesus’ actions confused and infuriated the zealous Jews that were opposing Rome.  How could Jesus the Messiah, heal a Roman Centurions servant, speak to a Samaritan woman and cast demons out of the daughter of a greek woman?  How could He tell the Jewish followers to love their enemies and to carry their packs not the legal one mile, but two!  Whose side was the this Messiah on anyway?

We must have the understanding that God is for everyone!  We are all His children on this planet.  Today’s Christians are no different than those of old, even with all the cultural issues we face today.  Christians have in the back of our minds, of course, that God is for us!  After-all the Bible declares that!  If God is for us, who could be against us.  Right?  Once again the answer is neither!  Yes!  God is for you in your personal life but never at the expense of another person or their harm.

God is not for the Christian and against the homosexuals, drug addicts, dealers or even the liberal agenda.  God is so far above our petty policial and social issues that separate us as a people.  God has a far greater agenda then we could even begin to comprehend.

John 3:16 screams at us: FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD (not the Christians only) and to verify that, I John 2:2 states; And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only (Christians) but also for the whole world.

2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Whose side are you on?

When Joshua asked that question and got his answer, he responded correctly.  He completely understood the answer given by the Commander.  He then bowed and worshipped the King of Kings.  His response was; I am here to serve you, Lord!  I am at your command. 

I believe that most Christians reading this, would jump to say; “His will, not mine be done!”   We know this intellectually and theologically.  But our everyday actions might just prove otherwise.

 Christianity-Hedonism 

I believe so many will claim this until push comes to shove!  Our wants and desires against the Lords. Our desires to be happy and to be prosperous and enjoy the pleasure of the American dream at any cost.  So many of us are not into flagrant evil or sins but we as Americans have become extremely consumeristic and self-serving and drowning in materialism.  Even the church has an undercurrent of self-centeredness, self-serving ideas which are a brand of hedonism (the pursuit of pleasure, sensual self-indulgence).

How many times do we hear: I got to go to church and get my battery recharged!  or as one popular Christian song states:  I got to go get my worship on!  The acts of worship and going to church are not about us!  We are there corporately, to give thanks and to worship the King of this Universe.  The act of meeting for the church is all about HIM!  I do understand, when we do worship there is a wonderful kickback for us, but that is not it’s a primary function!  Taking time from our busy lives to worship and give thanks to God is the main reason for going to church.  Unfortunately, we have reduced God down to a spiritual blessing Santa Claus, who is here to serve us and our desires, and not vice versa!

What the church is really about, we throughout the window!  The equipping the saints for ministry.

 

PART 3

 

Ephesians 4:11-12: And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

Service

Where do we go to see these people or to have equipping time?  In Church!  But if you ever have been involved in a church, you will know in most churches that 10% of people serve and 90% are there as spectators, to get what they came for at that church.  Some come for the feeling it gives them, for a religious duty or tradition or any other reason people go to church.

If we study the dynamics and the statistics of those who do come, we can see it is not about serving God and/or His plan for this world.  Just watch when the Pastor asks for help in service and the running of the church.  The response is not good except for the 10% who you see in multiple areas of service in the church due to the lack of support.

How many of us have a God-given call on our lives but will not pursue it due to the fact it will cost us way too much, or how many have been called and then quit due to the price being too high.  I have witnessed this in Bible College.  In ten years, I saw the majority of those who were called to change the world quit ministry because of the many hardships that are involved.

  Finances

Another area is money and giving.  Studies show that only 2-3% give a tithe offering in most churches.  We know that where you sow your treasures, that is where your heart will be.  Sadly, many place their treasures in their own desires and in their toys. How many who claim to be Christians only tip their church or don’t even give a dime to global missions, but they can go on trips regularly, buy cars, motorcycles or boats and do home improvements.  They do very little if anything to spread the gospel in foreign countries and foreign missions.

Our Time

How can we claim to be Christians, when the only time we have anything to do with God is on Sunday, while the rest of the week is for ourselves, to serve our own wills, our own desires, and goals? How many have a regular daily devotional time or Bible time?  When do we actually spend time with God?  When do we seek Him, to try and know Him and search His plan for our lives?  We see these “Christians” on Sunday, but who do they serve from Monday to Saturday?
So I will leave you with this question:
Whose side are you on?  Who do you serve?  Is God here to serve you or are you here to serve Him? 
I personally believe that in these “last days,” we as Christians, need to step back, reevaluate and see who serves who in this thing we call Christianity?  Like I have said before, many of us are not into evil or active flagrant sins but we have an undercurrent that says this is about accomplishing my will,  my personal goals and success, and it is not about us serving Him and accomplishing His will for the planet and our own life.
The final results
Do a Google search and you will see that between 6000-10,000 churches in the United States close every year.  Most of the Christian money in the World is in the U.S and of that only 2-3 % is given to the work of the Gospel.  The United States has moved into a Post Christian nation which is rapidly joining the rest of the world.
Today we have more money, more T.V., and more satellites to spread the Gospel than at any other time in history.  However, look at the statistics in every area of Christianity and it is pitiful.  We are failing miserably.  It Is easy to see.  If 95% of all God’s money is in the United States and His people only give 2-3% back…that means we are spending over 90% of God’s money on ourselves.
Have you ever wondered what God thinks about that?  Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14.  A man gave one of his servants 5 talents, then another 2 talents and then the final servant 1 talent.  Now, jump down to verse 24 and you will see that one of the servants only gave back the one talent he was entrusted with.  The master did not even get the interest on his money.
What do you think God will say when He returns and asks His servants today what they did with His money?  Read the reaction of the master to the servant who made excuses and hands him back his 1 talent.  What do you think God will say to us when he takes account and we say thanks Lord, I took a great vacation with your money.  Or better yet, thank you, Lord, how do you like my new house and new cars?  Lord, don’t you believe we made a good investment with your money?
The United States has become a Post-Christian nation.  We have joined the rest of the world.  Just look at England and the rest of Europe, where once the Gospel was powerful.  So I ask you again WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?