How To Stay Sane In An Insane World, Part 4

As promised in my last blog, I am going to begin covering the four-part prescription that I mentioned previously. This four-part “medicinal remedy” should be administered three times daily until your thinking comes into alignment with God’s Word. When all of the elements begin working together, you can experience a level of healing that you may have never previously attained.

NUMBER 1

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

We’re fairly familiar with these verses, but when it comes to the portion of Scripture that talks about the pulling down of strongholds, we may not be completely sure of what the Word is talking about there. We always want to spiritualize this passage and twist it to say, “tearing down the devil’s strongholds.” That is conjecture! Paul may or may not be talking about spiritual strongholds because there is no indication that he is referring to the devil or demons. He is talking about warfare, a battle, and a battlefield. He makes it very clear in the next verse when he says, “Casting down imaginations (KJV)."

Christians have some of the most vivid imaginations of any of the human beings on the earth. We imagine all sorts of things. We need to learn to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Where do we find the knowledge of God? It’s in the Word of God! So if anything is elevating itself above His Word, Paul tells us that we are to cast it down. Cast down whatever is setting itself higher than the Word of God in our lives.

Now, are there ever times in your life when there are things that seem to be more important than the Word of God? The Bible says to cast down arguments and every high thing and bring nearly every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Isn’t that what it says? No! Or does it say, “Bringing a lot of thoughts into captivity”? No! It says to bring every thought! How many would that be? Every thought is just that: every thought! Just think, this is only step #1.   

It’s not as difficult as it sounds, although it is challenging. You might ask, “Well, how do I know that it is contrary to the Word of God?” Well, you need to find out what the Word says! What’s more important to you? What the world says, what you say, or what the Word of God says? Hello??!! How are my thoughts stacking up in light of the Word of God? Am I thinking in opposition to God’s Word? To the degree that you think contrary to the Word, you’re going to live a contradictory life. As a man thinketh, so is he; you become the fruit of your thoughts.

Now, for some of us, if we cast down every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, there isn’t going to be much left up there! We just might create a big vacuum, but God has not called us to be empty-headed or airheads.

So, just to recap, the first thing we need to do is take every imagination and every high thing that is taking place in our thought life, and we need to cast it down. You can do this deliberately, and I know that you can because I can. Don’t think this is impossible; it is very practical. When you are thinking contrary to the Word of God, take authority over those thoughts and stop making excuses. Excuses are not going to gain you the victory. “Well, God knows that we’re just weak.” Yes, that’s why He’s made you strong! We need to stop with our Christian excuses. They’re not valid, Scriptural, nor pleasing to God. He has given us everything we need to live an overcomer’s life. It is up to us to implement the plan and utilize the tools. The tools are of no effect in our lives if we refuse to use them. At the same time, to the degree that we do use them, we will bear much fruit!

We will cover the other parts throughout the next couple of weeks. For now, begin to apply 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Every time you catch yourself thinking a thought that you know is contrary to the Word of God, dispel it immediately from your mind and replace it with something that is Christ-centered and lines up according to His Word.

Grace and 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 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

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 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