Playing the Beggar

Consider this recent comment by Dr. Jimmy Draper on what he has observed in the fifty churches he has preached in this year:  “There are so many concerns: lack of baptisms, lack of real discipleship, still losing 80 percent of our kids when they graduate from high school before they get out of college, and the same thing with kids coming into the teen years. We need to refocus on things.”

What would we do if we knew that 80% of our children were sick with a deadly virus?  Would we pray any differently than we do now? I imagine that we would.  I imagine there would be prayer vigils until there was a break in the epidemic and health returned.  

I declare that we are suffering a spiritual epidemic that can be stopped anywhere locally where God's people have the faith to cry out until healing comes.  Teens are not less likely to be single-minded for the Lord because they are young.  Instead, they are more likely to be single-minded for the Lord... because they are young.  History.. not recent history, but distant history illustrates what happens when God hears the prayer of His people and gives a fresh visitation of spiritual awakening.  Today's church is walking in the rewards of past victories of God.  But we are losing ground.  There is a new generation to be won from Satan through the power of God.

He will not come until we become like the biblical character, Jacob, who insisted that he would not let go of the Lord until he was blessed.  The Holy Spirit will not return to town if we do not even believe that we are needy.  Needy people are beggars.  Rich people are resting in recliners.  We are needy, and it is time that we play the beggar.  There was a church that Jesus rebuked for saying "I am rich and have need of nothing."  He said, "You do not know that you are blind and naked" (see Revelation 3:14-17).

Close your eyes.  Forget the perfume, cosmetics, grooming, jewelry, straight teeth, nice cars with power windows, stained-glassed windows, wall-to-wall carpet, central heat/air... Think: burgeoning prisons, epidemic of teen STDs, broken homes, young adults who grew up in church and went to college and now talk hateful of preachers, chemical abuse epidemic, galloping credit card abuse, shrinking/aging congregations, declining missions offerings, declining baptisms....  This is our current trend.

What is the one thing that you and I can do to make a dramatic reversal of this trend?  That is simple to answer.  We need to stop grinning like we just won the lottery.  We need to start playing the beggar.  We need to cover ourselves with sackcloth and ashes.  We need to do just exactly what we would do as a church if we had 80% of our high schoolers sweating deliriously in a sickbed with a deadly virus.  We need to start wailing and howling and weeping for God's blessing upon our sick kids.  He will hear our cry and heal our kids.  He will.

On the Humiliation of the Dying Process

These thoughts have come to me in response to viewing the excellent presentation of Pap's Place. It was presented on August 22 and 23 by the drama team of West Plains' First Baptist Church. It is an excellent parable on how dying with faith affects a family. It undertakes the heavy question, "Why does God allow His people to deteriorate in such pitiful ways while dying?"

Christian theology really helps me a lot here. Ephesians 1:14 teaches that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. This means that our current salvation status is merely a preview or a foretaste. It is only the tip of the iceberg. This Christian life is a transition of the kind where the former phase slowly fades out while the new phase slowly fades in. We are earthly and also heavenly. The outer man is perishing and the inner man is growing (2 Co 4:16). Here's the result: we live a paradoxical life of divine honor as the children of God mixed with a humiliation as dying sinners. The Christian life has splendor and radiance in Christ, and it has humiliation in Adam. Dying is dirty business; like taking care of newborns, except much nastier. Dying is human, and we are still human. If we will look closely, at least in the case with believers, we will see glimpses of God in them as they look past their suffering and see the glory which awaits them. "I suppose the sufferings of this present life cannot be compared to the glory which will be revealed in us" (Rom 8:18). In the last stages of dying, we return to Calvary and ponder the ugliness of human sin as seen in the death of God's Son and as seen in the death of ourselves. Dying is like the gospel: it is a mistake to dwell only on the cross and forget the empty tomb. Believers must remember that in addition to having an ugly death bed awaiting, they also have their own empty tomb to anticipate.

The Damage of the Neo-Orthodox Pulpit

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 

for men will be lovers of themselves....having a form of 

godliness, but denying its power." -- 2 Timothy 3:1-5

We are living in the last days as indicated by current trends: global communications, global transportation, global politics, global economics, multiplied diseases, global wars, and Mystery Babylon's "all faiths lead to God."

So, we should expect to be seeing the things listed in 2 Timothy 3:1-5.  One of the things listed there is printed above.  What is the meaning of having a form of godliness but denying its power?  I think a helpful way to explain it is to compare such Christians to painted fire and plastic flowers.  A painted fire looks warm, but there is no heat there.  Plastic flowers look pretty at a distance but upon CLOSE inspection one discovers no sweet aroma there.

Perhaps the twentieth century will be remembered in eternity as the era when preachers became scientific crowd-builders.  The use of ear-tickling, "chicken soup for the soul" preaching combined with superior programming that sucked members out of area churches having rinky-dink programs combined also with having pastors who knew more about business administration than sound doctrine has shaped modern Christianity into a form that looks good from a distance.  But listen to insiders who belong to such modern mega-churches, and one hears too many tales of adultery, hatefulness, half-truths, and power politics.  The small churches are no better off.

Within the Southern Baptist Convention the trend down the tubes began in the 1940s.  A new way of being conservative was invented in Europe (Karl Barth etal), and it was called "neo-orthodoxy."  It was based on the belief that science was right and the Bible was wrong in scientific things.  But the scholars who fathered neo-orthodoxy believed that the Bible was the good book, the best source of stories that inspire the faith that inspires love.  Neo-orthodoxy therefore taught a form of Christianity that looked and sounded conservative.  The differences between neo-orthodoxy and real orthodoxy could only be found upon close inspection.

In Southern Baptist life there was a shift in the pulpits.  Some pulpits became calm, sentimental, and sweet.  Sermons grew shorter and more topical.  Sermons became "talks."  Preachers started saying more often "I just want to share a few things with you today" and less of "thus saith the Lord!"  Sermons had less Bible and more stories.  The goal was to inspire people with "faith" and their kind of faith was optimistic and sentimental, meaning that faith was a feeling; a good feeling about yourself, your life, your neighbor, your God, and your world.

Other pulpits became extremely narrow.  Their only goal every week was to deliver salvation sermons.  "Get saved" was all some people were hearing from so many pulpits.  Pastors were afraid to tackle the heavy-duty intellectual questions of the day.  So many grew up as my mom and dad in Southern Baptist churches that did not try to tackle heavy-weight subjects.  Still today, many prefer that a preacher be a soft romantic glow rather than be a light as bright as surgical lamps.  Churches need preachers who shine like headlights for nighttime driving.   

I know I've heard my dad tell of how he grew up believing that Darwin's Theory of Evolution was true even though he grew up in a Southern Baptist church that always had seminary-trained pastors.  When he was a young adult, fresh out of the US Navy and practicing law, his church, First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas, called Rev. Cliff Palmer as pastor.  When bro. Palmer preached Creationism, my dad decided to schedule a visit with him, "To find out how such a smart man as he could honestly believe in a literal six-day creation of the world."  When dad left Palmer's office, dad was a changed man and a convinced Creationist.

Here's a sample of the damage done when people spend a lifetime under a neo-orthodox pulpit:
1.  "When a Christian dies, he becomes an angel."  (ignorant of biblical angelology and biblical anthropology)
2.  "Demon spirits are not real.  A demon is really just a psychological disorder."  (ignorant of biblical demonology and biblical anthropology)
3.  "We don't ever do church discipline because it's judgmental."  (ignorant of biblical ecclesiology)
4.  "We don't require wives to be submissive because that comes from primitive cultures and is neither modern nor democratic." (ignorant of biblical theology proper, biblical cosmology, and biblical pneumatology)
5.  "Eldership (meaning pastoral management) is not the Baptist way." (ignorant of biblical ecclesiology)
6.  "To be saved, one should just ask Jesus to come into his heart." (ignores biblical soteriology)
7.  "To be spiritual means to be spontaneous, to go with gut feelings after praying about it." (ignorant of biblical pneumatology)

This ignorance of biblical theology is the result of the new view of the Bible.  Because of neo-orthodoxy, the Bible was no longer viewed as a fact book, a resource of facts and truth.  The new view was that the Bible is a book of inspiration of feelings of devotion to God and charity toward neighbors.

This is how repentance fell out of gospel preaching.  This is how the new definition of salvation became just positive.  Did you know that just accepting Jesus does not circumcise the heart?  Where there is no death to sin and the world, there is no new beginning in Christ.  We should call sinners to the Cross to hear them say "O God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" not merely to hear them say "Yes, the gospel is true and I believe it." 

So, in conclusion, my brethren, I am begging, again, that no matter how much you dislike reading books, please, please, please read the Bible and read good books on doctrine.  ----Bro. Spencer

Quotable

"The gospel is light, but light is not the gospel.  

Christ is the gospel.  Christ is not a positive influence.  Christ is THE LORD."

The Mission

To give the Ozarks community a preview of the kingdom of God by building a church of Christians who are God-centered and Bible-based.

 

To give—it is better to give than to receive.  Christ asked the Father to leave us in the world that He might send us as He was sent.  We are here to bless.

 

The Ozarks Community—Our relationships go far beyond the city limits of West Plains.

 

A Preview—God has called us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.  If we are not living in submission to the authority of God’s Word, then we are not spiritual; rather we are hypocrites, and Jesus has pronounced woes upon the hypocrites, and believe me, they are full of woes.

 

The kingdom of God—the kingdoms of this world will be replaced by the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.  Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things that you need shall be added unto you.  God’s kingdom is not of this world.  The kingdom of God is within you.  The kingdom of God consists of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  The kingdom of heaven is at hand, and is the most beautiful thing on earth.  Jesus is Lord now.  He has all authority in heaven and on earth.  All things in heaven and on earth cannot resist being manipulated by Him as needed for the furtherance of the gospel and for the fulfillment of prophecy.  So, let us be bold and confident and ambitious.  Let us give.  Let us pray.  Let us go. Let us be different from the world.  Let us be persecuted without shame.  Let us be full of good works.  Let us be loyal to the household of faith.  Let us be colonies of heaven on earth.  Let the world see the redemption that is in Christ.  Let the world see the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

 

Building a Church—Jesus used this word.  He said, “I will build My church.”  Paul said, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.  According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.  But let each one take heed how he builds on it” (1 Co 3:9-10).  So, we are directed to partner with God in building His church.  We should build it as a wise master builder.  We must build with gold, silver, and precious stones.  Sound doctrine is required. Sloppy words, cute sound bites, and shared ignorance will not build a solid work.  Sound construction requires a careful plan to build the Word into the lives of church members so that when the storms of life blow, their house will not fall (Mt 7:24-27).

 

A church of Christians—a people who are only concerned with what Christ and His apostles say on matters; a simple people who are not ashamed to say “I know nothing but Christ and Him crucified;” a people more concerned about what God says than what the public says; a people who recognize the fact that the greatest genius on earth is found in the precious promises of the living God which are sufficient for all things pertaining to life and godliness; a people ignorant of many cosmopolitan things and whose only excuse is: “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”  Let them be a people who choose to live in the real world rather than the modern world, meaning that they walk by faith, not by sight.

 

God-centered—Humanism says that the highest good we can do is whatever promotes the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of another person.  Being good Samaritans is not the highest good or the best compliment.  Foundational to our lives must be our practice of the private devotions of prayer and meditation upon Scripture.  It is not enough to do many good works.  To do good we must be good.  So, we must be godly.  Without godliness, in due time a do-gooder will be proud, he will be hateful, he will be carnal, and he will be led astray by the Devil’s lies.  A man may be full of the spirit of this age and still be a do-gooder.  Entering the presence of God is a man's greatest need.  "In YOUR presence is fullness of joy, at YOUR right hand are pleasures forevermore!" (Ps 16:11).

 

Bible-based—Holiness is beautiful.  Eternal life is given to those who pursue holiness.  Lives built on God’s word withstand the storms of life.  Being Conservative, Moderate, Emergent, Fundamental, Baptist, Traditional or Mainstream are not adequate stars by which to navigate.  Those definitions change from generation to generation.  What’s conservative to one generation may appear loose to the previous generation and silly to the next generation.  We need a fixed reference point for life.  Obedience to the words that were given by the Holy Spirit will be adequate for each generation in every nation on earth.  A Bible-based man is a wise man. The other is what the Bible calls “a fool.”  Let us not be fools.  Let us have a Bible-based (BB) prayer life, (BB) gender identity, (BB) family role, (BB) form of spirituality, (BB) church role, (BB) vocational form, and a (BB) citizenship.   

On the Killing of George Tiller

It reminds me of the words of Christ to Simon Peter: "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52).  Tiller never put away his sword and it finally caught up with him.  The murderer was murdered.  The abortionist was aborted.  As Jesus also said, "Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!" (Mt 18:7)  The abortionist and the vigilante killer are a matched pair.  Let us find in this no pattern for the saints to applaud.  Let us rather mourn for both persons.

The Prosperity Gospel and the Persecuted Church

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?  ~Mark 8:34-36

(Snagged from John Piper.)