Touch Not My Anointed

"Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm." Psalm 105:15

There are people who, in pride and ignorance, find it easy to abuse and to misuse those whom God has chosen. The find it easy to criticize the church and to accuse the pastor, and think that God does not see or hear or even care. 

Out text is part of the retelling of Israel's journey from a family to a nation. In this story it tells of how God watched over them and helped them no matter how large or small they were. God who watched over them will without a doubt  watch over us.

We apply this text to warn those who criticize our pastor. Those who call into question his motives and his methods. Those who do this fail to understand that leadership is uniquely set in place by God, whether we like it or not. Having never been a pastor or a leader, they think that they know better how our pastor should do his job. We ought to support our pastor, not criticize him.

God's people are unique also. We are the body of Christ. We are an illustration of what God working in a group of people looks like. We are a light that shines in the darkness. We are partakers of the Divine nature. We are a city on a hill for the world to see.

Woe to anyone who harms those whom God chooses. 

A Lesson For Today

"The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." Exod. 14:14 

In our text, the children of Israel were between a rock and a hard place. Before them was the uncrossable Red Sea. Behind them was the pursuing Egyptian army. So what did the people do? They complained.

What do you do when you are facing difficult circumstances? Do you complain? Do you gripe and moan over how badly you think God is treating you? Or have you learned what the people had yet to learn?

The first thing that God told the people to do was to be quiet. "Hold your peace" means be quiet. Quit complaining. Sometimes, the best thing that we can do in a crisis is to be quiet. Stop stating the obvious. You must learn that what is obvious to you is not the whole story.

The second thing to do is to follow God's plan and "go forward" (Exod. 14:15). Once you know the mind of God, it is time to go forward in action. The way to victory is always forward, never backward.

The lesson to learn is that God is still in the plan and it is only through God that a solution becomes obvious. God told pastor Moses what to do and how to do it. Pastor Moses told the people what God told him. They followed the instructions, and afterward they sang about how great God was.

One more thing God told them to do. "Fear not". (Exod. 14:13). By silencing their mouths God silenced their fears. Think about that.

It was a good thing that pastor Moses was there to help them and not busy somewhere else. You do not need your pastor every time. But there are times when you really need him. These people really needed Moses. Just saying.

Liberal Theology

Liberal theology. Ring any bells with you? Liberal theology was an attempt to join the bible to Darwinian evolution. It was an attempt to make the biblical record match our current understanding of the natural world through science. It regards traditional faith as old fashioned and archaic and out of date. Liberal theology feels that faith is ever evolving and it must adapt to the current world view.

Liberal theology puts the emphasis on reason and personal experiences. It is changing the accepted doctrines into ones that the world will find acceptable. In liberal theology there are no absolutes. 

One thing liberal theology uses is higher criticism of the scriptures. They dissect the text and then when they put it back together it means something different. They spend a lot of time on the who and where and when of the biblical narrative and dismiss the essence of truth.

Show me a Christian who believes in evolution and I will show you a follower of liberal theology. Show me a Christian who does not believe in miracles and I will show you someone who follows liberal theology. Show me someone who wants to Christianize the world and I will show you someone who follows liberal theology.

Christianity is not a set of ethics and good ideas. It is God with us, the hope of glory. We will never impress this present evil world or get it  to accept our theology.

Let God be true, and every man a liar.

Thanks

 I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who stops by to look at or to read what I write here. I am just a man who has been saved a very long time and who has been through many trials of life. While I may not be in any official capacity in church, I have been paying attention and listening for many years and along the way I have learned a few things.

I figured out how to get comments to show finally. Feel free to comment anytime. As long as you follow my blog you can comment.

So God bless y'all and God bless His words. From my heart to yours, I bid you, adieu.

Judgement Has Begun

 "For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God. And if it first begins at us, what shall the end be of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" 1Peter 4:17

As time goes on, it becomes clear that those who have remained still have needs to be dealt with by the Bible. We have not arrived at a state of sinless perfection yet. Just because you have been saved a long time does not mean you are perfect.

Judgement here is applying the word of God to our lives on a regular basis. It doesn't necessarily mean hard or harsh preaching, though that might be needed from time to time. It does require a steady dose of the whole council of God. We need the washing of water by the word often. We need the sprinkling of His precious blood regularly

The Bible warns that if God judges us who are saved, let not the unsaved think that they will escape. The world and all who are in it will be judged by the same standards as us, yet without the covering God provides to us in Christ. The nations will be judged. Backsliders and rebels will be judged. No one gets a free pass. God is the righteous judge.

"And as it is appointed unto men to die once, but after this the judgement." Heb.9:27

So if you hear a sermon that cuts to the bone, thank God. He has not left you alone. He has not cut you off to wallow in your sin.

Unity Is Important

 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Psalm 133:1

Unity is a simple word that is easily misunderstood. And yet in a church it is a vital quality that makes what we do as a church work. Being of one mind about doctrine. Being of one mind in vision. All working toward the same goal and aiming at a common target.

Psalm 133 says that unity is like ointment. For us that means the oil of the Spirit. Unity is what allows the Holy Spirit to move and to work in our midst. Without the moving of the Holy Spirit we are just a religious club.

Psalm 133 also says that unity is like the dew. This speaks of blessing. The blessing of God comes upon a church that is unified in heart, mind, and spirit.

Our text says that unity is good and pleasant. It is a desirable quality to have.

Where does unity come from? First, it comes from our pastor. He has a plan. He has a vision. He has a revelation. When we buy into his plan and vision we are in unity. Second, it becomes real when the church stands behind it's pastor and supports him and gives to support their church. Money is a sure sign of unity.

I know that not everyone who sits in a seat at our church is in agreement with what we do. They think that they are right and that we are wrong. They think that they have a better idea. But, as long as unity outweighs stupidity we will see God's favor and blessing upon our church. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it's wrong.

Pray for your pastor that he will have the mind of God in every decision.

Music Or Ministry?

 Remember the worship wars? Back when Christian music stopped being a ministry and became big business? Back when worship music was being played on the radio? The struggle was between the traditionalists who loved God, and the CCM world who loved the worldly business of making music.

It was no surprise that once ministry music crossed over in the secular music business that the message would be diluted and the ministry would be replaced with making money. Using secular recording studios and using worldly musicians and following a worldly program for promoting their music to CHINO radio stations and religious book stores guaranteed that music and ministry would be replaced by profits and promotion.

Pastor Mitchell did not allow his musicians to follow the dream of success as a musician. He insisted that it was discipleship and evangelism and preaching that was God's plan for a local church. He allowed bands to do outreaches, but he did not allow bands to make records. Pastor Mitchell was dogmatic in making sure that bands were Christian not only in name but in lifestyle and in character.

"And the world passes away, and the lust thereof, but he that does the will of God abides forever." 1John 2:17

While CCM went after the lust of the world, we went after winning souls for Jesus Christ.