Building Wisely

Greetings from the beautiful Dominican Republic!

Today I want to talk with you about something that is important in each of our lives and that is in regard to how we build. We are all involved with building something. God has created us to be builders! He put within every one of us—whether we are male or female, young or old—a desire to be productive, to achieve, to succeed, and to build. That desire is part of who we are because it is part of who God is. 

So today I would like us to consider not only what we are building but also how we are building. Just because we are building something doesn’t mean that we’re using wisdom, and it’s easy to think that we’re being wise wherein we may actually be proceeding ahead foolishly. In order to have a proper perspective, I want us to go right back to our creation. We should ask ourselves: “Why am I here? What is God’s ultimate purpose for giving me life?” 

We could study the Westminster Protestant Catechism, and find that they have cooked man’s existence down to two principal points:

1.     To glorify God

2.     To enjoy Him forever

Sometimes we get hung up on the “enjoying” part! We don’t think God exists for us to enjoy Him. God wants this to be fun! We would do well to ask ourselves this question every once in a while: “Am I having fun yet?” God does not want this to be drudgery. I know that there’s something to be said in regard to the “baptism of suffering,” but even in that, we are supposed to count it all joy! God wants us to enjoy this Christian experience, this journey, and He wants us to be reminded of why He has given us life. He didn’t have to do that; He was very sufficient in and of Himself. He chose to create you and I, to give us life, and to place us on this earth for such a time as this! 

We exist for a purpose, but ultimately, before we can break down all the bits and pieces of that purpose, we must understand that it is for His glory and that He would have us to enjoy Him forever. God’s not a mean old Daddy; He’s a good, good Daddy! He loves us and wants what is best for us, and He knows what that is better than we do ourselves!

With all of that in mind, each of us is called and placed here on the earth to work, build, and to do so according to the purposes and plans of God. We all have the desire to build, but are we doing so according to the plan of God? I think the most essential part of what we’re talking about is that it’s not what we build that is of the utmost importance, it is how we build. 

In the Kingdom of God, motivation is everything in regard to pleasing Him. Now, we being human, we judge nearly everything on what we see, what we hear, and how we feel. We determine what’s good by those three factors. We tend to follow the proverbial saying of, “I calls them as I sees them.” 

We judge based on appearance and what we think we hear, when many times what we heard was not even what was being said. We will immediately think we heard something and then begin to quickly judge the motivation of other people as though we are able to see his or her heart! We would never stop to consider that what we heard them say was not even what they said! 

There’s example after example in Scripture of this in action. In fact, wars have been waged, blood has been shed, and lives have been lost . . . all based upon misperception and bad judgment. We find people judging people and their motivation and half the time we don’t even know our own! Come on, somebody. 

We think we know our hearts. “I’ve searched my heart.” Well, it’s about time you let God do that. He may have a different determination. 

This really is a positive message, and we will continue on with it in the next blog. It is certainly valuable to consider this topic of how we are building. We’ll be looking at this in greater depth and hopefully be able to accurately evaluate if our building has the proper foundation needed in order to support God’s purpose in our lives. In the meantime, may God bless you abundantly in everything you put your hand to, and I’ll be in touch again next week. 

Grace and Peace,
pg

A Message From The Heart

This may seem like a difficult or hard message to receive. In fact, it may be one of those that is intended only for those who have “ears to hear,” as I am quite sure many will not want to receive it. 

Over the past thirty years, the Lord has allowed me to witness and be involved in a variety of spiritual “movements” that included everything from tent revivals to the prophetic and on to the apostolic waves of more recent times. With that being stated, it is time to voice some challenges and concerns. This is not intended to be negative, as I am a man of faith.

One of the great concerns involves the American church’s need, or hunger, for sensationalism. By this, I mean that it seems many spiritual leaders are seeking the next big thing. All the while there is a desperate lack of unction or anointing. People have a difficult time discerning the difference between drama and dynamics. It seems a bit appalling to see churches using spectacular light shows and smoke machines in an attempt to reproduce the presence of God’s glory. Some people have a hard time telling the difference between a counterfeit and the real thing. Many preachers have quite simply become motivational speakers. A good number of worship leaders are mere stage entertainers, and prophets are too moved by profits!

I miss the likes of David Wilkerson. I can certainly state that I did not always agree with him, but I have always respected him for passionately proclaiming the message that burned in his bones. Where are the true prophets of today? We need the voice of one “crying in the wilderness.” I fear that if we heard such a voice as that of John the Baptist, the church may well want his head on a platter! We need modern-day prophets like Isaiah and Elijah. Today, we have many that call themselves prophets, and they really seem to be “life coaches” that are skilled in psychology and motivating folks through positive mind control. I would categorize some of these as “pop-culture prophets.” I use this term because of the influence they have on a society that follows the latest fads.

Here is a recent quote that was published by a very popular pop-culture prophet:

“Don’t listen to negative prophetic words and reports. God is still in charge and releasing something new for you.”   

Now, speaking as a “word of faith” preacher/teacher, I understand the power of confession. Additionally, it is quite clear that “God is in charge.” However, one has to wonder about the first statement. What if God were commanding repentance and turning from sin? There are many instances in Scripture where God’s prophet spoke some very negative words. What was the result? They were usually put to death.

The Body of Christ has a sin problem! Yet, all we want to hear are pleasant sayings.

I am reminded of an Old Testament account found in 1 Kings 22. Here we see the king of Israel detesting the prophet of God. Verse 8 sums up how the king felt:  

1 Kings 22:18  “… I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.”

1 Kings 22:13   Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”

1 Kings 22:14   And Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak.”

I understand that, according to 1 Corinthians 14:3, he that prophesies “speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.” 

This does not mean that the purpose of a true prophet is to make folks feel comfortable with sin or other forms of spiritual neglect. I recall a time when believers felt a bit “uncomfortable” when in the company of a true prophet of God. It was as though that individual could see into the hidden part of our lives; we may have feared what they saw! Today, we have a very different disposition. Many can’t wait to hear something that tickles the ear but rarely changes the life. We see no reason to fear a holy God; it seems as there is no cause for repentance. After all, “God is love.” He is love and that is exactly why He calls us to turn and follow Him, His ways, His will, and His Word.

Without true repentance and humility before a holy God, man will move down a path of confusion and despair. The Lord calls us to repent. This is not from a posture of mere judgment. Rather, He loves us so much that He provides the avenue of mercy that can only be experienced through true repentance. 

America continues to stand on the edge of a very steep cliff. I refuse to believe and accept that God has turned His back on a nation that He founded for an incredible purpose. However, if His people (the church) refuse to heed His Word and do what He commands, there will be very serious repercussions. 

It is incumbent upon those who are called by His name to turn from idolatry and the lusts of the flesh. It is time to return to the God of Salvation. May we stop being conformed to the world and truly be transformed through the process of renewing our minds which Apostle Paul wrote about. 

May we cease seeking to be entertained and endeavor to be enlightened; may we deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Grace & Peace,

pg

The Triumphant Church, Part 7

Romans 8:31, 32: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” How many things are “all things”? ALL! I’ve studied this word for nearly thirty years, and I’ve used various lexicons, dictionaries, and concordances. As nearly as I can tell, the word “all” still means all!

 

Do we understand that God makes everything He has available to us? Do you believe that? All things! Paul repeats that phrase: “God has given to you all things.” He’s given you His kingdom. He’s given you the mind of Christ. Paul said, “For ‘who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

 

What does that mean to have the mind of Christ? Well, do you believe that Christ is God? Then don’t tell me that you can’t get God’s thoughts. If you have the mind of Christ, you are capable of doing it if you will seek Him. This can only be found in His Word and in His presence. You’re not going to get God’s thoughts by being bent on doing things your own way.

 

Look at Romans 8:33: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect?” Who are God's elect? We are! It is God who justifies. It is Christ who died, rose, and is seated at the right hand of God. It is He who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Distress? Persecution? Famine? Nakedness? Peril? Sword? Paul says, "It is written that for your sake we are killed all day long and counted as sheep for the slaughter," and then he goes on to say "that in all of these things we are more than conquerors."

 

We’re not just conquerors, we are more than conquerors. The Greek word is “upernikaw” (pronounced hoop-er-nik-ah'-o), which means to utterly vanquish, to go beyond conquering. It’s slam-dunk, then rub it in your opponent’s face. It’s beyond conquering. God has called you and I to utterly vanquish the works of darkness on the earth, and it begins in our own lives!

Peace and grace,

Pastor Emory

The Triumphant Church, Part 5

Let’s look at Romans 8 beginning with verse 31. Paul says, “What then shall we say to these things, if God is for us, who can be against us?” This is the first thing you need to determine. Is God for you or against you? Here are a couple more things to consider. Are you for or against God? Are you working with or against Him and His will for your life? Every decision you make is in agreement with either your adversary or your friend.

Your enemy, the devil, roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. You’re either aligning yourself with your adversary, or you’re lining yourself up with your very best friend, Jesus Christ. In order to be in right alignment with Him, you have to be in agreement with God’s Word. In order to be in agreement with His Word, it is necessary to know what it says! Therefore, you must study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). 

If you don’t know whether you’re walking in agreement with God, find out. How? Discover what His Word says! Come into agreement and align your life with what He has spoken.  

The Psalmist said that God showed His works to Israel but revealed His ways to Moses. What are we most focused on? What are we most interested in? Simply seeing the works of God (which are great and glorious and thank God for them), or are we intent on learning His ways? Will we allow His ways to become our ways? Many in the Church have this mindset, “Well, you know, God’s ways are higher than my ways. I can’t think like God thinks.”

Once you get your mind renewed and understand that you have the mind of Christ, you can think the way He thinks! I’m not saying that God’s thoughts still aren’t higher than ours or that His ways are not beyond our comprehension at times. What I am saying is that in any given situation, you can know the mind of God for your life. It is necessary to have knowledge of God and His Word!

Too many Christians are spending too little time in the Word of God, and then they can’t understand what’s going on in their lives; therefore, they become weak. This causes them to be defeated, live to a great extent “purposeless lives,” walk and run in circles, and never really accomplish that which God has created them to do. God has called you to be victorious! It is imperative that we get this truth established in our hearts and minds so we can live a triumphant life.

Grace and peace,

Pastor Emory

Encourage Yourself!

"David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6, Amplified).

I felt prompted to give a word of encouragement to our friends and family. In the Scripture above, we read one of the keys to continued success in business and ministry.  It is evident that many are feeling the pressures that come with an active life. Family, work, relationships, finances, and a myriad of other challenges can bring us to a place of distress and heaviness at times. David was considered a great leader. In fact, to this day many regard him as one of the most outstanding leaders of all time. Yet, even David, the great man of God, was acquainted with feelings of distress and despondency.

David knew how to deal with the feeling of defeat. He knew where to turn in moments of confusion and despair.

It is interesting that David finds himself in this state of mind soon after experiencing success. It was declared that Saul had slain thousands, but David had slain tens of thousands. He was riding high on emotion. However, upon returning from the battle, David was informed that the enemy had come in and taken his wives captive. In fact, though none were slain, the wives and children of all his warriors had been taken! His followers threatened to stone the great leader. No wonder David was “greatly distressed.”

The example of David's story holds an important life-lesson to which each of us must give attention. The Scripture states, “But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

As ministers, missionaries, managers, and leaders of varying degrees, we would do well to learn where to turn when we seem to be overwhelmed. David turned to God. He encouraged himself and found strength in the presence of the Lord. He most likely reminded himself of all that God had brought him through in times past. He may have spoken the promises of Jehovah. He lifted his voice in worship to his Creator.

We must follow this example as we continue in the fight. Life is full of challenges, and at times we may feel like giving up, giving in, throwing in the towel and shouting, “No mas!” God is calling us forward, never backward. If things need to be set in order, then we must do what needs to be done. However, we must remind ourselves that God’s goodness, grace, and glory are everlasting.

So never, never give up! Give no place to the enemy! Get into God’s presence and allow the anointing to bring strength and healing; then get up and go again, for God has called you to recover what the enemy has stolen. You can do ALL things through Christ who gives you strength!

Grace & Peace
Pastor Emory

The Triumphant Church, Part 3

I’d like to talk about growing in grace. It makes me think of a group of women who recently went on an Encounter Retreat with my wife, Vickie, leading the way. That Encounter Retreat was simply an opportunity for the participants to grow in grace. Peter said that we should grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. How do we go about doing that?

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” The preceding verses tell us how we can do that. It speaks of Jesus Christ as being our Mediator and our High Priest, the One who was tempted in every way such as common to us, but He was found without sin. He becomes our qualification. Through faith, we are made ready to go before Him, and nothing that we do in and of ourselves qualifies us to do so. In fact, as we all know, if we go before the throne of God unworthily, that makes us eligible for death. You have to meet the requirements to go before the throne of a king.

You’ve seen movies where some crackpot goes before the king unworthily, and what happens to him? His head is cut off! He’s either thrown into a dungeon, set on fire, or some other equally terrible outcome. Nobody just walks in boldly before a king, no less the King of the Universe! I mean we’re talking about God, the Creator of everything that we see, right? He’s the ultimate King! We dare not approach His throne in an unworthy manner. So the writer of Hebrews gives us the qualification: only through Christ. Can you imagine? We have the privilege and honor of coming before God’s throne! He says not only can we enter boldly, but once we get there . . . BOOM . . . what happens? Two key things take place.

• We obtain mercy. That’s automatic! Mercy is waiting for you at the throne. Why? Because without it, you’d be zapped! In and of yourself you don’t qualify. So without mercy, the moment you step before the throne, you would turn into a pile of ash! Praise God, mercy is there just waiting to be obtained. 
• The Scripture says that we find grace. We don’t just obtain it; it’s not automatic. We find it! There is a biblical principle connected to “finding.” Jesus teaches the following lesson. Knock and the door will be opened; ask and you shall receive; seek and you will find! What is it that we seek? We are seeking grace. What is grace? Grace is the divine influence on the heart and the reflection seen in the life.

What have you been seeking? When you ask God for grace, what are you asking for? Many Christians don’t even know. They simply ask, “Oh God, give us grace, give us grace, give us grace.” What is grace? I’ve become a bit more calculated in this. Do I really want to ask for grace? Because when I ask for grace, I’m asking for God to divinely influence my heart. “God, I need grace in this relationship; I’ve been offended by a brother. Give me grace.” Do I know what I’m asking for? Literally, what I’m saying is, “God, I need Your divine influence on my heart and the reflection of that influence to be seen in this relationship.” “Oh, oh, oh, I thought maybe I was asking God to change the other person, God would dump some mercy on them, or that God would just move and do something!” What I’m asking is that God would change my heart and the evidence of that transformation to be seen in my life. That’s what grace is! Do we understand that? We might be a bit more careful asking for grace after we’ve grasped this. No, we need to ask for more grace. We need a greater grace. Why? Because many times our hearts are not right.

The good news, no, the really great news is that we can come boldly before the throne of grace, obtain mercy (which is right there waiting for us), and we find divine influence for our heart. We know that the reflection of that influence can be seen in our lives.

Now what does this have to do with the triumphant Church? Next week we’ll pick up with the topic of being an overcomer. God is trying to show us that this is the way for us to live a victorious life! This is how we succeed! We’re going to read how Paul goes through so much in his life, yet he says, “Thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph!” He says things like, “In all these things we are more than conquerors.”

God hasn’t called us to simply conquer; He’s called us to do more than that. We’re going to do it by the grace that God provides every time we go to Him and ask for divine influence. It’s through the work He does in our hearts, my friends. It’s not through our own strength, ability, good looks, or just because we think we’re all that. Without Christ we are nothing, but through Christ we can do all things, which means we are more than conquerors through the grace of God that is working through us! 

~ pg

The Triumphant Church, Part 2

As I’ve said before, a lot of people want to be a testimony without going through the test! There is no shortcut with God; He’s going to take you through the process so that your life becomes the sweet-smelling fragrance of Christ. Frankly, Christians who haven’t gone through anything are the ones who lack the fragrance. You’ll see it in the fruit. Those who have been tried, tested, and put through the fiery challenges of life tend to keep their eyes on Christ. If you keep your eyes on Christ, in the end, not even a hair on your head will be singed. You won’t even have the smell of smoke on you so long as you’re walking with the Fourth Man.

If we don’t run the race, how can we hope to attain the prize? If we don’t endure the test, how can we hope to be the trophy of which Apostle Paul speaks? Paul had received and understood the revelation of Christ from God. If you turn to the first several verses of 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul speaks of receiving revelation from God. Because of that revelation, Paul was strengthened, able to endure, and subsequently triumphed! In fact, he consulted with the Lord about three times regarding the situation he was in and the challenges he was facing. Every time the Lord responded to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

A lot of people say that Paul had sickness in his body and that’s what he was inquiring about. There’s absolutely no indication that he was speaking of sickness. In fact, the Scripture could not be clearer about the opposition to which Paul was referring. He was very specific and stated that it was a messenger sent from Satan to buffet his body. A demonic power was trying to hinder him in the work of God, trying to get him off track, trying to distract him, and trying to get his eyes off of Christ and onto his own problems and situations. It had nothing to do with sickness or disease. It was a demonic spirit! So the Apostle consulted the Lord and said, “Lord, what’s up with this?” Well, that would be modern-day lingo. The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Now a major point needs to be made today regarding “grace.” Many people believe that grace simply means, “the undeserved, unmerited favor of God.” In researching this word “grace” as the Apostle Paul used it, we discover that the definition goes beyond unmerited favor. It means, “divine influence upon the heart, the reflection seen in the life.” That’s what grace is.

Over and over in the New Testament, we see this as the definition in reference to God’s grace. It’s not simply, “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense,” and it’s not only unmerited favor! It goes deeper than that. It is God’s divine influence on my heart and the reflection of that being seen in my life! So Paul has consulted the Lord, and He said, “My grace is sufficient for you.” What He’s saying is, “My divine influence upon your heart and the reflection of it being seen in your life is sufficient, for in your weakness, I’ll make you strong. I am strong in man’s weakness.” How? By grace, not just by unmerited favor! “I am made strong in you through My divine influence upon your heart!” We need to allow God to influence our hearts! This is how we receive grace.

 A lot of people say, “Well, grace is just this ‘free’ thing; it’s ‘intrinsic.’” No, it’s not just intrinsic! The more we open our heart to God’s grace, the more we experience it! What are we experiencing and receiving? Divine influence upon our hearts! This is how the grace of God changes a man’s heart. This is how the grace of God changed my heart! My heart was so hard; I was a Christ-rejecter, my friends! I literally used to tell Christians where to go in no uncertain terms. I told them where to go, how to get there, and to leave me alone! I had become so hard-hearted and closed until one day, in a moment, divine influence hit me and changed my stony heart into a heart of flesh and love. The divine influence of God changes a man’s heart.

Yes, it’s undeserved. Yes, it’s unmerited, but oh, how deeply it can penetrate even the deepest and darkest of hearts! I think that one of the greatest compliments a Christian can receive is, “Man, you’re not the same person. What’s happened to you?” I know in my case there were family and friends who said, “Oh, Emory got religion.” And I’d tell them, “I got a whole lot more than religion; I got Jesus. I have a relationship with God! I grew up in religion, and it didn’t bring life.

So keep in mind the accurate definition of grace. Let it be indelibly inscribed in your hearts and in your mind. It is divine influence in your heart and the reflection seen in your life. 

~ pg

The Triumphant Church

It used to be that I couldn’t understand how you could have your “Post-tribber,” your “Mid-tribber,” your “Pre-tribber,” and your “No-tribbers.” I have since become a “Pan-tribber.” I used to make fun of people like me, but I have adopted the “Pan-tribber” philosophy of: No matter how it turns out, it’s all going to pan out. It’s all going to be okay according to the plan of God, and I don’t have time to weary myself on trying to figure out exactly when Christ will return. This much we probably can agree on: Christ will return and when He does, He will return for a glorious Church.

A glorious Church is a triumphant Church; it is not defeated, diseased, confused, perplexed, or weak. A glorious Church is without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. This is the Bride for which the Groom, Christ, is returning. The really good news, and the crux of what I want to share today, is that the Church described above is a triumphant Church! It is not because we are triumphant in and of ourselves. It’s because God causes us to be triumphant. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 2:14, wherein the Apostle Paul wrote this: 

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” 

If we are in Christ, we have a promise from God that we will always triumph. I really like this part where Paul says, “Through us, God diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” We’re the perfume of God . . . His diffuser! Through us, He releases the fragrance of His life because we are in Christ. Our lives are mirroring His life. Now to some it can smell like death, Paul said. In other words, to some people, Christians stink. They carry with them the stench of death, and that is because in our representing Christ, it is a reminder to the world that there is a God, and in the end all of us will be judged by the one who has given us life. To build on that succession, because there is a God, it reminds people that Jesus is real, and as a result, those who are following Jesus can become a stench to those who are rejecting Christ.

To those who believe in Him, we smell good . . . at least to each other. There’s a difference between the “Lazarus Syndrome” and the fragrance of Christ. The “Lazarus Syndrome” is “he stinketh by now.” But we carry the fragrance of God; He diffuses that through us. I love the way the Amplified Bible states it: 

“But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.” 

Do you know that you are a trophy of Christ’s victory? The Word says that, “through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.” We are diffusing the knowledge of God as we go. Now keep in mind that this is being written by Apostle Paul, a man who is acquainted with tremendous challenges and conflict in his life. He had been betrayed and ended up being confined in prison and put to death. In fact, we will look at the criteria that qualified him for the title, “Apostle.” Through all of these things that he endured, he said, “Yet none of these things move me.”

If you look at 2 Corinthians 11:24, you’ll see a list of qualifications that Paul gives us: 

²⁴ From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— ²⁸ besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 

I wanted us to read that so we’d be reminded that Paul was a man who was familiar with tremendous challenges, obstacles, and conflicts in his life. He was also a man who was full of faith. Sometimes I think that when people hear a faith message, they think that it might be coming from someone who has no knowledge of pain or loss in their life.

Apostle Paul was well-acquainted with the challenges of life and ministry. Yet, he says of his life, that through all of these things, none of them moved him. He said that in Acts 20:24. Why? Because he was a man who was motivated by the love, knowledge, and the Spirit of God. So none of the challenges that surrounded him had the ability to knock him off course, or to get him to move in some other direction. Christ was his compass, and he had set his heart on following Christ. I want to remind us that without trials there can be no triumph! How are you going to be a winner if you’ve never won anything? How are you going to be triumphant if you’ve never been tried?

~pg

A Powerful Gospel, Part 5

Many want forgiveness, but they do not want to repent. Repentance does not simply mean, “God, I’m sorry. Oops, I did it again.” Repentance involves a sincere change of heart and mind and a determination to change the way I think. In order to change the way I think, I must get my mind renewed. In order to get my mind renewed, I must study to show myself approved unto God, a worker who needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

A church without the Holy Ghost is simply an institution offering a religious experience. Now I’m gonna go out on a limb and some may not like it, but that’s okay. It’s my humble opinion that we’re seeing extremes in the Church today. We’re seeing a lot of what is being put forth as spirituality, and many people are basing their Christianity more on their feelings and experience than they are on the Word of God.

I had a lengthy discussion about this again with Apostle Kelly when we were together in Connecticut. The level of spiritual frivolity is very disturbing. Spiritual frivolity: not a whole lot of substance, not a whole lot of Word, not a whole lot of life-transforming truth being preached, but everybody comes mainly to have a good time. I can go to a rock concert and have a good time! I need truth. I need the Word. I need conviction. I need transformation. I need repentance. Repentance is a good thing! I don’t need to simply learn about heaven coming down to earth; I need to understand that hell is just as real. I’m all for heaven touching earth, but you better know that if you aren’t getting heaven, you’re getting hell.

Let’s look at Jeremiah 1:12. This is where it comes down to the nuts and bolts, the practical application for this week. God had given Jeremiah a vision, and He asked Jeremiah what he saw, so he told Him. God let Jeremiah know that he had seen well, and then He reaffirmed it in chapter 1, verse 12:

¹² Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

One thing that God wants you and I to know is that He does not slumber. He doesn’t grow tired; you can’t wear Him out and neither can the devil. God is active and alert. He’s wide-awake, and He doesn’t need Red Bull or RockStar. The Scripture in the Amplified says that He is active and ready to perform His Word.

I remember on one occasion meeting with a doctor in regard to my late wife. I went into his office alone and he said, “Well, Pastor Goodman, you know I’m a Christian.” I said, “Wow, I didn’t know that, that’s great.” He replied with, “Yeah, I go church almost every week. Now maybe the difference between us is this: I really don’t believe in a God who needs to be involved with my daily life and decisions.” To which I replied, “Well, yes, then there is a difference because I believe in a God whom I need involved in my day-to-day life.” The doctor said, “I just believe that God gives us knowledge and wisdom and the ability to make our own decisions,” and I said, “Yes, He’s given us the ability to make our own decisions, that’s why I need Him in my everyday life because I’m prone to going the wrong way.” Evidently this doctor didn’t think that he had a propensity to make bad decisions and that he didn’t need God.

We can see how “accurate” everyone is in his or her own opinion and knowledge base, huh? Man, all of the financial experts and all of the medical experts, people practically aren’t dying anymore today, right? And it’s like man is saying to God, “We got this, God, we don’t need You in our day-to-day life.” Well, you know what? We need Him in our daily life. When I’m getting out of bed, I’m tempted to say, “Hey, God, I’m getting out of bed now. Please keep a close eye on me because I’m prone to going the wrong direction and doing what I shouldn't.”

I had someone say this to me just the other day, “Oh Pastor Goodman, we need you to do this, and we need you to do that, and you don’t know how people are looking to you.” I said, “Brother, don’t be putting that weight on me; if you see a red “S” on my chest, it doesn’t stand for “Superman,” it stands for “Stupid.” I know some of you right now are correcting me in your mind saying, “You’re not stupid, you’re one of the smartest guys I know.” Ha!

God is alert, active, and ready to perform His Word in you! What’s that tell us? Get the Word coming out of your mouth! Change the way you talk. You say, “How do I do that?” Change the way you think! “And how do I do that?” Change what’s in your heart.

“Your Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”
“Guard your heart for out of it flow the issues of life."

God is looking to perform His Word in you and through you. God can be tested. He doesn’t mind being tested, and you know why? Because He’s faithful. Get the Word coming out of your mouth. Finances? Speak the Word. Healing? Speak the Word. Don’t ever stop speaking the Word.

“Speak the Word only, and My servant shall be healed.”

Let’s be diligent to get the Word in our hearts and coming out of our mouths that we might be a demonstration of the Gospel of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen?

Father, we thank You for Your Word. May it be forever sealed and indelibly marked upon our hearts today. I pray that each person who reads this will have something to take with them and apply to their lives, homes, marriage, business, finances, whatever it is, God, that he or she may implement this message in some practical way. May we not be of the camp that is involved in preaching a powerless Gospel, for Your kingdom, Lord, is not one that is lacking in power. It is the power of God unto salvation, and we thank You for that which is working in our lives today!

 ~ pg

A Powerful Gospel, Part 4

One of the greatest miracles of salvation is the indwelling of God’s Spirit. He came to prepare a temple, and that temple is you! The only way that the temple could be properly prepared—regenerated, sanctified, dedicated to the purpose of God—was if it was first washed in blood. When you came to Christ, that’s really what happened. You weren’t only being forgiven of your sin. You were being called out, and your life was being dedicated to Almighty God as something holy, and now the way was prepared for Him to take up residence in you. You have God on the inside of you! Wow! To me, that’s the greatest miracle. Not just being forgiven of sin, but that God would see something in us . . . and it wasn’t that we qualified on our own . . . God chose us! He called us out of darkness and said, “Boom, I’m setting you apart because I want to live in you.”

In the early verses of Matthew 11, John the Baptist was in prison. He sent his messengers to go and ask Jesus if He was “The One.” Was He the Messiah? I think Jesus’ reply was very interesting to those sent by John the Baptist. His response speaks volumes! Did you notice that He merely referred to the evidence? He didn’t say, “Go and tell John that I Am,” so that maybe they’d fall to the ground or something. He didn’t make any attempt to convince them of who He was or who had sent Him.

Jesus simply said to the messengers of John, “You go tell John that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf are receiving their hearing, the dead are being raised. Now, who do you think I am?” This was evidence of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the Gospel of the Kingdom is not a powerless message that simply attempts to feed the hungry or clothe the naked. The Gospel of the Kingdom is filled with power, and the purpose of that power is to produce evidence that the Kingdom of God is here! It is the same power that is available to us as the Church. We are Christ’s representatives on the earth, so we must ask ourselves, “Are we accurately ‘re-presenting’ Christ?”

It’s good, honorable, and noble to feed the hungry; the Red Cross can do that. I’m not against it. I feed the hungry; I give money to the poor. It’s hard to believe, but I go jogging most mornings now. I know you all want to see evidence. I take a three-mile run and then go jump in the ocean. I meet people on the way, and I don’t mind giving food or money to the hungry or clothing to those who need it. I’ve been involved with that for a long time. Listen, if that’s all we do, then we are preaching a powerless Gospel, not the Gospel that Jesus preached or demonstrated while He was on the earth.

Society, the Church included, seems to think that Christ came simply so we can be made better. That’s contrary to the truth! Listen to these words by General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army (which used to be one of the most effective Gospel-preaching organizations in the world about one hundred years ago).

He said, “I consider that the chief dangers that confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.” That to me pretty well describes a powerless Gospel.

I’m going to stop there for today, but next week we’re going to wrap up this message. Christ is calling us to be His “re-presentation” on this earth. We’re going to talk more about doing what He did and being the Church for such a time as this. The world needs us to be everything that Christ has created us to be!

~ pg

A Powerful Gospel, Part 2

Greetings from the beautiful Dominican Republic!

In the last blog we focused on the ability of God's power to transform us. We're going to pick up there and talk a bit about how that translates into making us a new creation!

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." That is one of those simple verses we've known for so many years, and yet, ponder the words carefully: a new creation. "Old things are passed away and a few things have become brand new, and you get to choose what things you want to be made new. Now, if you don't want those things to change, then you're okay. You just come to therapy every Sunday." NO, that's not what the Word says! It says that all things are made new! That's radical transformation . . . not evolution! A Christ-less Gospel is a powerless Gospel, and it would appear that society, particularly modern society in America, tends to gravitate towards this mindset. That, in turn, leads to a form of righteousness, but it denies the power of Christ. When all you have is a form of righteousness that denies the power, that equates to nothing more than religion!

Every major religion in the world has the ability within it to make a person "better." If that is all it's about, you might as well convert to being a Muslim or a Buddhist. Now those are some peaceful people! I've hung around Buddhist societies before. Do you know one of the things that a Buddhist notes about Western culture? They believe that if a person loses his temper or gets frustrated in a grocery line, it is a clear sign of weakness. You or I might think that someone is just being short-tempered, but the Buddhist is probably thinking, "This one is weak." They tend to lean towards the belief that if a person is strong, then those deficiencies in behavior will not surface. There is something to be said for that . . . I mean . . . come on, if we can't even bear to wait for three minutes in a grocery line or at a red light, who then shall stand in the day of adversity? But the transforming power is not simply about becoming "better people." Having the power of the Gospel activated in our lives gives us the ability to demonstrate God's miracle-working power.

So many times the Church attempts to try and meet the needs of the world using worldly means. This is not to say that feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are not valid or great works to pursue. A good question to ask ourselves when pursuing those types of works is: "Am I doing this for God's glory and for His alone?"

Jesus came preaching the Gospel. It was not a message of how to evolve, how to better your life, or even how to become a more acceptable person. He came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and it was not a message of simply being rescued from something, it was a proclamation that God's Kingdom was and is yet at hand. He was making very, very clear to us that not only can man be saved from something, but that he can be saved unto something!

There's a whole new life available to those who want it. We would do well to evaluate our own lives. I would challenge you right now, very quickly, to look back and consider what a difference Christ has made in your life. Somebody might say, "Well, I wasn't that bad of a person to begin with." Another one might say, "I was a nice person then, I'm a nice person now, and I just want to be nice." You know, I've read a lot of books, and I've read the Bible quite a bit in the last thirty years. I've also read a lot of characteristics about men like John the Baptist and even Jesus Himself. Through all of that studying and reading, not even once have I ever read that, "Jesus was a very nice person." I've never seen it. "John the Baptist: he ate locusts, wore camel hair, and he was a very nice man." No, I don't read "nice" in any of the descriptive terms. I don't mean to insinuate that gives us a right to be rude; I believe that Christians never have a right to be rude.

The American church, frankly in my opinion, has become "too nice" in an attempt to be socially accepted. We want the world to like us, so can't we all just be nice? "Well, it's those Christians that are so intolerant." Tell that to the Mayor of Chicago. It's the Christians who are supposedly intolerant, but in the meantime, if you believe in the sanctity of marriage, "You are not welcome in our city." Just as bad, there are those who call themselves Christians and take on the posture of, "Right on, brother."

I'm going to pause here and carry on with this same train of thought in my next blog as there really is not a good stopping point, but there is much more to be said along these same lines.

My prayer is that we will wake up and stop trying to placate the world or be swayed by society's opinion. Let's refocus and get back to the principles and morals proclaimed throughout the Word of God!

~ pg

A Powerful Gospel, Part 1

Greetings! Vickie and I are excited about the turn of this New Year and everything that God has planned and is doing! We pray God’s best for you in 2013.

With that being said, I’ve been pondering something regarding our Christian lives and the direction of the Church. Let’s begin by looking at Romans chapter 1. Did you know that there is such a thing as a powerless Gospel, and it is being preached around the world and particularly in America today? In Romans 1:16, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.” That word power is dunamis, not exusia. Dunamis means, “dynamo, dynamite, the miracle power of God.” Paul says the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.

Today, particularly in America, I believe that we’re seeing variations of the Gospel being preached, even in Christian churches from Christian pulpits. There is a message going forth that sounds good, and it stimulates the senses, feeds the flesh, and builds the ego temporarily, but it lacks the power of God that brings about true salvation. I want to discuss that topic in this series of blogs as I’m concerned about it. I do a lot of reading and try to keep up with current events and what’s going on in the Church. I visit various ministries, travel around, and I observe. I’m going to be very honest with you. We’ve gotten to a place where it almost seems like the kind of coffee we serve is more important than what is being preached from the pulpit. “Oh, I’m going to that church ‘cuz they’ve got Starbucks!”

It’s like if we can just give them the biggest muffins, the best coffee, and the chewiest chocolate chip cookies, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll come back. Meanwhile, many times the Gospel that’s being preached under the Christian banner is a powerless Gospel. A powerless Gospel can feed a hungry man, clothe the naked, or visit the lonely in prison, but it lacks the ability to bring about true, radical transformation.

The Bible says that Jesus went everywhere preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom while He was on the earth, and everywhere He went preaching, the power of God was demonstrated. How do we know? Because He healed all manner of sickness and cast out demons; He cleansed the lepers; He raised the dead! There was true evidence of the power of the Gospel of Christ being manifested.

In many church circles today, we’re afraid to demonstrate the power; we’re afraid to preach the message. Why? Because it is offensive to many people. Many people are looking for a psychology/therapy session every Sunday morning at 10:00 AM. “Come to group session; we’ll talk about it.” But where’s the power of the Gospel of Christ being demonstrated?

The Apostle Paul said, “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” It has the ability to set the captives free. And I want to remind you of this: God did not save you just so you can be forgiven! God didn’t save you just so you can get to heaven. That isn’t found anywhere in the Word. God didn’t save you so you can feel better about yourself. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that God didn’t save us just so we can become better people.

Too many people are going to church because they think it will make them a better person. That’s like evolution. Over the course of time, that’s how a form of Darwinism has come into the church’s mindset. Christianity is not an evolutionary process; it’s a transforming process! Do you understand? That’s not to say that we don’t grow, live, and go on. The world and many in the Church would have us to believe that mankind is still evolving and that somehow we’ve become so much better than we were thousands of years ago. Really? If that is so, can you explain to me why more people have been brutally killed and slaughtered in the last hundred years than in all of the years prior to it in known history? Four thousand babies are murdered every day here in America. Can you explain that to me if we’ve become so much better at becoming humans? “I go to church so that I can be a better person.” Going to church ain’t gonna make you a better person!

What we need is the Gospel of Christ to become a reality in our lives, and the Gospel of Christ carries with it the power to transform us!

In Him,
pg

Stepping Out In Faith, Part 7

Good morning to you! I pray you are doing well and that every part of your being is prospering. This blog is the last in the series of “Stepping Out In Faith.” Vickie and I have found ourselves doing this quite frequently as we’ve been on an extended mission trip to the DR. Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support!

With that being said, let’s talk about stepping out in faith. It definitely requires motion/walking, which involves taking steps. We need to get our feet, minds, and hearts moving in the direction that God has told us to go, and He will be with us every inch of the way. The prudent man considers well his steps. Are we even taking steps? Some are standing still waiting for God to do something, but He has already dictated the direction in which He wants us to go. It’s up to us to take that step!

I encourage you to consider well the steps you’re taking. Are you being proactive to change your perspective on life and come into line with the way that God sees things? I’m telling you, that’s a game changer. Has God’s purpose become clear to you?

I’ve always been passionate about world missions; in fact, I was reminded about a time before I was even saved and still a kid. John Kennedy was the president, and he started this thing called the “Peace Corp.” I read a book about it, and I said to myself, “I’m joining the Peace Corp.” I wanted to do this, not only to go to remote places in the world, but I also wanted to help people. This was years before I became a Christian. I have a passion for missions!

Maybe you’re trying to determine what God’s purpose is for your life. Let me ask you a simple question: what’s your passion? Some of you might say, “Man, my passion is to get rich and make money.” There’s nothing wrong with that. You know why? Because guys like me need people like you, and you can give me the money to go do what God has put in my heart to do. We need one another. Activities in the Kingdom of God need to get financed. Who do you think is going to finance it? God has yet to cut a hole in the ceiling. We ain’t never had a hole cut in CCC’s roof for money to be dropped in, but we did have one case years ago where there was a hole cut in the roof—inside job—and they stole the whole safe with all of the Sunday morning tithes and offerings.

Finances come in through people. I don’t sit around praying, “God, just drop it from the sky.” No, it’s more like, “God, prosper your people so the Gospel can go forth.” We have airplane tickets to buy, and there are souls to be saved and disciples made. The Kingdom needs money generators; there’s nothing wrong with that.

What’s your purpose? What’s your desire? I’m not even asking for the motive behind it. If you have a strong desire to do something, chances are, that’s God’s purpose for your life. Right there. Boom. “Well, I’d like to be a nurse . . . I’d like to be a schoolteacher . . . I’d like to be a doctor . . . I’d like to be a lawyer.” God puts that desire in you because He has a purpose for you. Ya gotta be enthusiastic about God’s purpose. That’s what desire is: it’s enthusiasm to achieve something.

So Father, I pray for an ignition of passion; I pray, God, that we would do what’s needed to get our minds renewed and our feet moving in the right direction.

In Him,

pg

Stepping Out In Faith, Part 4

We think that the devil can put thoughts in our head, right? Sometimes we hear, “Don’t let the devil put them thoughts in your head.” The devil doesn’t have the power to do that! Now get this. Those thoughts are the result of your perspective.

What the devil CAN do is bring distractions into your life. When he brings those distractions, he knows just what will work. He gets you to focus on the wrong things and because our minds are not yet renewed and still carnal, we look at those things and they affect us a certain way.

Two of us could look at the same situation; we could even talk about the same person and have two entirely different opinions. Some people love me; others hate me. They won’t say it because they’re Christians, and they’re afraid to. God sees our hearts. You see, this leads to a life of frustration because some of you are going through life with love/hate relationships, not only with people, but also with things . . . with situations. You’ll love it on one hand and hate it on the other.

In an earlier blog, we used the example of walking around the room with your eyes closed as you listened to voices, sometimes even voices you think you can trust. “Take a left.” Well, you might trust that voice, take that left, and then run into a chair. The human inclination would then be to go through life blaming somebody else. No, you shouldn’t have listened to that voice! Don’t listen to all those voices!

Satan can bring these voices into our lives. He’ll get our eyes off the things of God, our purpose, and the prize, and before long, we’re going for the wrong thing. It works; it’s very effective. Think about the children of Israel. What was the greatest weapon against the armies of Israel? Well, I’ll tell you what I think it was: beautiful Pagan women! Man, if nothing else works, send the hotties! You read about that throughout the Bible; it works almost every time! It still works today!!! You watch men and some pretty thing walks by and every head turns. Huh? It doesn’t take much. What were those beautiful women? A distraction. “If we can get them to look at these women,” and what Israelite soldier ain’t gonna look at a pretty Pagan woman? So send in the beauties! It was simply a distraction to get their eyes off the prize and keep them out of the Promised Land!

How many distractions is the enemy throwing your way? The Bible says that, “He roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” How is he going to devour? How’s he going to steal, kill, and destroy in your life? He’s going to do it by coming after the Word of God in your heart and mind. If he can get you thinking about things that will bring destruction, and you think about them long enough and get them in your heart, you’re going to do it sooner or later given the opportunity.

We need to get our minds renewed so we are no longer thinking carnally, because to think carnally is to put ourselves at enmity against God. The carnal mind is at enmity against God. Now, walking in the promises of God requires that we walk in agreement with God. You’ll never walk in the fullness of His promises until you’re walking in agreement. Walking in agreement doesn’t mean, “Thus saith the Lord, amen, God said it; I believe it; that settles it!” We think that if we just put a bumper sticker on our backs, that we’re going to walk in the fullness of God’s promises. Do you really believe it, and are you really doing it? Are we moving in agreement with God? How do we do that?

We’re going to have to get our minds renewed. We have to be thinking like God thinks and get on the same wavelength! Now that doesn’t mean being woo woo or super-spiritual. Christianity is not simply based upon some spiritual experience; true Christianity is based upon the Word of God. I’m sick and tired of spiritual frivolity that is not bringing people to a fuller measure of God’s promises in their lives; it’s just giving them goose bumps and making them feel good for an hour a week. It’s cheap and it’s artificial.

True Christianity is based on truth and the Word of God is the final authority. It’s a whole lot easier to have some Shundai experience than it is to conform your life to the Word of God so that you might walk in the fullness of His promises! I feel better; I don’t know about you . . . but I’ve been wanting to say that. 

Thanks for joining me as we continue to look at steps we can take towards obtaining God's promises, and pitfalls we can avoid that keep us distanced from the prize.

~ pg