That Old Serpent

 "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Rev.12:9

"And the Lord God said unto the woman, what is this that you have done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Gen.3:13

It is interesting that the serpent arrives in the Garden of Eden in the early days of creation and from the moment that we see him he is actively deceiving people to rebel against God. I believe that the serpent in Genesis chapter three and the old serpent in Revelation chapter 12 are the same being. 

How the serpent got into the garden is the wrong question. He traveled a lot and it seems that when he was cast out of heaven he was cast to the earth. Since his dreams of being like god were smashed, he uses that idea to entice humans into an impossible idea. You shall be like God through secret knowledge.

"For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Gen.3:5

I believe that the judgement on the serpent in Genesis chapter 3 of slithering like a snake is actually talking about being earth-bound and having an earthly perspective. That the way to the heights of heaven was cut off for the serpent. It doesn't mean he could never go there. We see him somewhere in the heavenly realm in Job chapter one.

"And there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." Job 1:6

Note that in this verse Satan is not called Lucifer, and he is given no special treatment or status in this group. He is a spiritual being, but he has lost all of his previous glory. Look at Satan's answer when the Lord asks him where he has been.

"...Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Job1"7b

While the sons of God traverse the heavenly realms, Satan is earthbound. And he busies himself accusing and deceiving and harassing humans like Job or you and I.

One more thought. Look at the judgement on the serpent in Genesis again.

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Gen.3:15

This first is a prophecy about Christ. The seed of the women, suffered and died, but in so doing destroyed Satan's power and usurped his right to rule. Also note that in life, the heel that is wounded becomes the weapon that will  destroy the one who hurt you.

"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19

I do not think that it was a snake talking to Eve. I believe it was Satan, deceiving her even with his appearance.

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." 2Cor. 11:14

Sin robbed Lucifer of his God like appearance just like it robbed Adam and Eve of their God like appearance. Sin makes big audacious promises that are like a well designed trap to lure men and women into destruction

Let There Be Light

 "Then God said, let there be light; and there was light." Gen.1:3

The very first act of creation was the creation of light. Light was. It did not come from somewhere. It did not travel at all. It just was. 

Science has put a speed limit on light, as though light travels. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of light by science.

When science seems to contradict the Bible, I choose to believe the Bible.

God made the creation story simple so that we could understand it. If God explained the advanced physics of creation the Bible could not hold it all. God is much bigger than we can understand. God is much wiser than we can understand. God is God and we are not. The big lie of Satan is that you will be god-like. Your eyes will be opened to understand deep mysteries. It was the desire to be like God that ruined Lucifer and turned him into Satan. It was the desire to understand dark mysteries that drove Eve to sin with her husband. 

The Bible is clear enough that we can never say it was too hard to understand. 

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deed were evil." Jn.3:19

"Then Jesus spoke again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Jn.8:12

Thoughts on King David

"So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife. So David also took  Ahinoam of Jezreel, and so both of them were his wives. But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David's wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim." 1Sam. 25:42-44

It was hard being a wife in ancient times. You were treated like property, to be taken or given at the will of your father or your husband.

David had married Michal, the daughter of king Saul. It was evidently a troubled marriage. And once David had left, Saul gave his daughter to someone else.

The wife of Nabal was beautiful. And once Nabal was dead, David wasted no time securing her as his wife. And while he was in the neighborhood, he took another woman to be his wife also. 

God had warned Samuel about the dangers of having a king. He didn't mention having a harem just like the heathen around them. But David sure had one.

People think that their status or position in life exempts them from God's rules and laws. God is not mocked.

David was a man after God's own heart. Until he became wealthy and powerful. Then he was forbidden from building a temple. David was fast becoming just like his heathen neighbors. God had warned them against having a king. He knew what would happen. And it did, sending the whole nation into Babylon.

Disciples Today

The word disciple is a commonly used Bible word. The word discipleship is a word that does not appear in scripture. A disciple is basically a student. A disciple is one who follows both the teaching and the teacher. Disciples are those who try to use thought followed by endeavor.  A disciple is one who on one hand sits and learns from a teacher, and on another hand gets practical experience in putting into practice the things that they have been taught.

A disciple does not have to live with his teacher, nor does he have to spend every waking moment with his teacher. He has to hear what the teacher is saying and he tries to watch how the teacher is living. In a local church a disciple is in every service, paying attention, taking notes, and watching what his pastor is doing.

One thing that works is that by being involved, a disciple can be involved in real ministry that helps real people. People get saved, baptized, filled with the Spirit, and locked into church. Ministry is the method by which this all happens.

A disciple never reaches a point where he graduates from the program. It is a life-long process of learning. The relationship between the teacher and the disciple can grow and it will change over time. But he will always be the teacher and you will always be the disciple.

Discipleship is the process by which all of this happens. It has produced the Fellowship that we are a part of. Winning souls, making disciples, and planting churches is what we do. The key to making pastors is first making disciples and then helping them to learn how to be a pastor.

Names of God

 Many years ago, when I was just a disciple, pastor Mitchell taught a Sunday school series on the redemptive names of God. There are seven of them. It is strange that I still remember things that happened so long ago.

Our pastor here started a new Sunday school series on the names of God. He has taken on a big task. The Bible is a book about God. He is on every page. Trying to distill that down to an adult study series will be a big task.

This is why we pray for our pastors. They need wisdom and inspiration. 

My Thoughts For Today.

The complexity threshold has been on my mind recently. I do not fully understand what this implies. I do know that as civilizations or businesses or even churches grow in complexity, they become so unwieldly that it take more to run them than we get a benefit from their size.  Every civilization from the beginning of recorded history has followed this curve. Sometimes, a collapse, rather than being a negative, is actually a way to shed complexity that we can no longer afford.

Has any church in our Fellowship that has reached a size of stability had a new wave of explosive growth? I hear a lot about latter rain revival, but my poor brain cannot come up with one example of that happening to any of our larger churches. We evangelize and we get people saved and we see them baptized. But we do not grow in attendance. It's like we can make converts, but are we making true disciples?

A disciple is a learner. They hunger and thirst for righteousness. They hunger for solid Bible preaching. They speak in tongues. They give money. They learn how to be a real Christian. They do not just say a sinner's prayer.

Science is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. It discovers the laws by which the natural world works. This is the complexity threshold. It is not the devil fighting against us. It is not God unwilling to pour out His Spirit upon us again. It is the natural course that every revival has taken throughout history.

The best is yet to come. We may have to wait until we get to Heaven to see that. 

A Sermon

 Here is a nice three point sermon for my brothers who do not seem to know how to put a sermon together.

1. There is an external enemy.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walk about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1Pet. 5:8

2. There is an inner enemy.

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man..."1Cor.10:13a

"Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." 1Pet.5:9

3. The God factor.

"but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able , but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1Cor.10:13b

Add some quotes and an illustration or two, and maybe a poem, and this will preach.