Do We Despise the Word of God?

I believe that by and large the church, the Body of Christ, is in a very unhealthy condition. (Certainly in America) Take a good look at the church and you will see something that should be alarming to us. There is a good portion of the church that is absolutely ignorant of God’s word. You will see outright rejection of God’s word by many, and in fact you will find some who actually despise the Word of God. The Bible gives us a snap shot of other people that fell into this trend.

Amos 2:4, (KJV) ...they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments...

2 Chronicles 36:16 But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

I see this a a firm and sobering warning. It is clear: to despise the Word of the Lord is to invite his wrath, not against those in the world, but wrath directed "against his people" who despised His words. We have this clear example and warning, and yet we see this very thing taking place within the church in America. Survey the American church and you will find a sizable number of pastors who openly deny that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I recently read a review of a "so-called" Christian Theology book, written by an ordained minister who said that Paul could never have written some of the things he wrote if he had the advantage of some of our modern day Moral Theology classes. In his mind, man's intellect today is far superior to God's inspired word. This is what is being taught in many of our seminaries. No wonder the church is in trouble! Survey the church further and you will find thousands who "say" they believe the Bible is the Word of God, but their actions, or the way they live their lives speak loudly that they despise God's Word, because they reject what they say they believe and they embrace a lifestyle that is contrary to God's Word. Walk into most churches today and you will find couples who are not married, yet living together in sin, and the church ignores this, justifying their apathy with statements like, "it's not my job to judge. (Oh really?) Movies and television today flood our lives with a plot line where young couples routinely end up in the bedroom shortly after meeting, and we just accept this into our homes and minds of our children. No wonder marriage is in decline in America? If someone does stand up and cry out against the immorality, they are mocked, labeled old fashioned, out of touch and judgmental. And the result of this moral decline? We have an epidemic of sexually transmitted disease among our youth and record numbers of unwed mothers.

Jeremiah said: "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The Word of the Lord is offensive to them. They find no pleasure in it."

I see the church today in these words. I speak on a regular basis with those who profess to be Christians, who know exactly what the Word says, but they "close their ears" to the Word, rejecting the Word, choosing to follow their own desires. Our society today has rejected the Word of God and now, the church is also rejecting His Word. We "justify" our disobedience with phrases such as, "God knows my heart." You're right, he does know your heart, and his Word says, " The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

Most pastors will read the Word of God for themselves, yet they deny the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, denying the Gifts of Spirit and there validity for today. With our intellectual enlightenment, we no longer need this power. They close their ears to this part of God's Word, finding them to be offensive and in so doing deprive themselves and their churches of the "demonstration of the Spirit's power" in confirmation of the Gospel (1 Cor. 2:4). It seems the more educated the church becomes, the less they believe the Word of God. God gives answer to this mindset: "They wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?" (Jer. 8:9)

The world today, including the church, is in grave error in that we exalt the wisdom of man above the the wisdom of God. Paul addressed this by saying:

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." (Romans 1:22)

"The wisdom of the world is foolishness in God's sight." (1 Cor. 3:19)

We are warned of this time we live in recorded in 2 Timothy 4:3 " For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

I believe that is the church today. They don't want to hear correction and the ways of the Lord, they want to hear messages that make them feel good about themselves and how to have "their best life now" on their terms, not God's terms. They don't want a message that requires change (repentance) they want to hear that they are ok just as they are. And there are plenty of teacher/preachers out there willing to deliver exactly what these folks want to hear. As a result, we see a nation turning her back on God. We see homosexually not only tolerated, but being forced down the throats of our children. We see our President openly declaring that America is not a Christian nation. We see families persecuted for having Bible study in their homes. (It has begun... see this story: San Diego Bible Study ) Our economy is tanking. Morality is disappearing. Our rights and freedoms are being stripped from us. I am reminded again of the words of Jeremiah: "Why has the land been ruined and laid waise like a desert that no one can cross? The Lord said, 'It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. Instead they have followed the stubborness of their hearts."

I believe the church, by and large is in a spiritual desert because she has forsaken the Word of God out of selfishness and stubborness. The church in America must repent. We cry out for revival, but revival must begin in each of us. It begins with repentance and a return to the standard of God's Word. It must begin in humilty as we confess that we have sinned and we ask God to forgive us and we turn away from our way of doing things, and return to righteousness. Our only hope is found in this verse: "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themsleves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." (2 Chron. 7:14)

Memorial Day: Remember!

Today is Memorial Day here in America, but the sad truth is that for most Americans it is simply a "holiday", a day off work or school. It's the kickoff to summer. BBQ's will be working in full force, parks will be filled with millions around the nation, and families will hold reunions. For millions, it's another excuse to party until they drop. For some, it's just another day.

I, myself grew up in a family that marked this day annually as the day that a great number from our church held an annual picnic and cookout at Beaver Dam State Park in Plainview, IL. It was always a great day of friends, fun and food. It typically meant the first sunburn of the summer. We ate and played volleyball until it was too dark to continue on. For years, this WAS Memorial Day. I am ashamed to admit it, but as a youth, into my teens and even after graduating high school, I had no concept of what Memorial Day was really even about. Ironically, it was during my time in prison that I made this discovery. It was there in prison that I met some grissly old veterens who asked for and received permission from the warden to have a ceremony in the yard. It was only a few minutes long, but while being jeered and taunted by the anti-war men, the mulim men and others who just hated America, these men spoke briefly about their time in the military, watching some of their closest friend sacrificing their lives and how that even living in prison they were so blessed to be Americans and that they would never forget the sacrifice their friends and brothers paid for our country with their own blood. For the first time in my life, I looked on the American flag with deep respect and these old men became heroes in my life. Those few moments in the yard of the prison had a profound impact on my life that still lives on after all these years. I a couple of hours, my family will jump in the van and head downtown to watch the annual Memorial Day parade. I love the antique cars and tractors that will be there. I love seeing my girl marching in the parade. But the highlight for me is when a bunch of old guys come by in their uniforms. Some of them will be marching, some too old now to keep up so they will be riding on a flatbed truck or trailor. Those men and women are my heroes. If you look, I can promise you tears will well up in my eyes as they come by. The hardest part is when the family members come by holding pictures and signs of their sons who have died in Iraq. My heart breaks for them, and I for one am glad these families will come out march in this parade to honor their sons and family members. It brings it all back to rememberance that Memorial Day is a day set aside for our nation to remember those who gave their life for this nation and the freedoms we possess. Ironically, in that same parade today will be the same group that is there marcing in every parade, protesting the war. The are just too ignorant of the fact that those wars fought are what gave them the freedom to protest the war. It's sad they cannot see this.

Today, many of you will be firing up the grill, going to picnics, spending time with family... and all that is ok; it really is. But I hope you will take a moment to remember those who gave their life fighting for our nation, giving us the opportunity to have the freedom to party, if you will.

Help! I'm Going to Jail!

No, I've not backslid or returned to my old ways...

I'm proud to tell you that I'm being locked up...that's right, I'm going behind bars to help Jerry's Kids© and MDA.

To be released on good behavior I have to raise bail and I need your help! All you have to do is click here to make a secure, online donation before 06/17/09. Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee me an early release. I can't wait to add you to my list of contributors.

Thanks in advance for your help. Don't hesitate to call or email me with any questions.
Together we'll make a difference!

I'm counting on you, click here to donate. If the link above does not work, please cut and paste the address below into the address bar of your Internet browser. https://www.joinmda.org/2009galesburg/dawgar8/

Ya Got to Have Some Action

Some years back I heard a preacher on television tell a story that went something like this. Sorry, I just can't recall who it was... been like 25 years ago, but I'll tell it best I can from memory.

One afternoon a group of people were sitting in a nice restaurant that was filled with others enjoying lunch. The door opened and a man staggered in and over to a table, prepared to sit down but then collapsed into the floor. Several people rushed over to assist him, picking him up and setting him into a chair but he really seemed to be quite confused and disoriented. Someone splashed water onto his face while another spoke to him asking him over and over if he was ok and what was the matter with him. Finally with a very weak voice he responded that he just did not know. A doctor happened into the restaurant about that time and the owner asked him to check the man out. In very short order the doctor assessed that the man was in the final stages of starvation and malnutrition. He told the owner that this man was literally within 30 minutes of starving to death.
The owner rushed into the kitchen and told the chef to prepare some food for this man, exclaiming, "We certainly don't want this man starving to death in my restaurant!" 20 minutes later the chef and the owner came of the kitchen with a plate filled with delectable looking food. They sat it before the man and said, "Sir, do you see this plate of food?" He responded that he did. The owner asked him if he believed that he ate this food that it would prevent him from starving to death. Again the man responded that he did. The chef asked him again if he thought that if he ate the food, it would save his life, and again that man responded that he believed it would in fact save him. Others that had gathered around now asked him, "Do you believe that if you eat this food, you will regain your strength and live?" He responded, "Yes, I believe it will keep me from starving and that I will regain my strength and I will live." He began to say it over an over, "I believe it will keep me from starving and that I will regain my strength and I will live."
Now rememer, the doctor had said that within 30 minutes this man would die of starvation. So, 29 minutes later, while the man was repeating, "I believe it will keep me from starving and that I will regain my strength and I will live" he fell into the floor again, the doctor examined him and pronounced him dead.

Hang with me... I'm going somewhere with this.

Here is the question I have to ask. The man said with his own mouth that he believed that if he ate the food it would keep him, that he would regain his strength and save his life. The question is: Was that true?
The man died sitting right in front of a plate full of food, and said with his own mouth that he believed that if he at the food it would save his life. But he died.

Why did he die?
Because he did not eat it! (Duh?)

My point is that what he believed was true. It is a proven fact that if we eat food, we will not die of starvation. You might die from a heart attack. You might get hit by a car and die. You might even get struck by lightening, but you will not die of starvation if you eat the food. Right?
This man believed that. What he believed was absolutely, 100% truth, yet he died... because he did not eat! Believing is not enough... you have to eat! You have to act on what you believe.

It does not matter if you sit in church every time the doors are open. It does not matter if you read your Bible 2 hours a day. You have to put into action or act on what you believe. This is faith! Faith without works is DEAD! There is a difference between believing and faith. You can believe all day long with all your heart and still die. Most people believe. Few have faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God. Don't misunderstand, the two work together. Your actions, the things you do, are based on what you believe. You must have some knowledge (which brings belief) in order to act.. put faith into action. But again, it is not enough to believe something, you have to act on it in order to reap a personal benefit. What you believe can be absolutely true (just as the man in my story) but the benefit comes in the action. We cannot fault the man one iota for his belief, but he failed in his lack of action.

So, today, I want to tell you that while what you believe is vitally important, if you are not putting action to that belief, then your faith is dead.

Just something for you to think about today.

It's Time to Swim

Don't know who it is for, but felt impressed to post this short note
for someone who thinks they are in over their head right now.
Be encouraged. God knows where you are and you are in His hands.

Isaiah 43:2 says:

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee…"

You know, we go through these times. It get's rough and sometimes the
water seems like it will overtake us... but God says, "No, they shall not!
I've got you! You can make it!"

There is a song I love that goes like this...

Thought you had 
all the answers 
to rest your heart upon. 
But something happens,
don't see it coming, now 
you can't stop yourself. 
Now you're out there swimming... 
In the deep. 
In the deep. 

Life keeps tumbling your heart in circles 
till you... Let go. 
Till you shed your pride, and you climb to heaven,
and you throw yourself off. 
Now you're out there spinning...
In the deep. 
In the deep. 

Listen, something I've learned... you can't really swim until you get
in the deep. Trust God.
He's taking you somewhere you've never been before.

Discouragement

It amazes me how things run in cycles. In the last 36 hours I have spoken to several folks who have been feeling discouraged. Let me say first of all, we all have to deal with times of discouragement. Yes, all of us. At some time or another, discouragement comes crashing in on each one of us. Some it hits harder and even more frequently. But it is a fact that each of us does face times of discouragement. The trick is in how we deal with it and knowing that we must battle it, and how to battle it so that discouragement never gets the upper hand. There is a vast difference in having discouragement and discouragement having you. When you are discouraged you are still in control, but when discouragement has you, it is in control. We have to learn how to handle discouragement from a Biblical perspective.

First, we need to recognize what discouragement is. In the literal, it is to dis-courage, or to remove courage... or to lose heart. It is allowing something to cause us to lose the desire and motivation to continue doing something that brings purpose and satisfaction to our lives. When a Christian becomes discouraged, it means that they have lost the desire and motivation that they once had when they first came to Christ. There once was a time when they were excited, even thrilled about going to church... now they just don't have the desire or motivation to attend church anymore. Anything and everything gets in the way and they just can't seem to make it to church. In reality, they've lost heart, they are no longer encouraged... thus, they are discouraged. The challenge is to examine what has caused this discouragement and to confront it head on, before we totally succumb to it. Some of the factors that lead to discouragement are weariness and fatigue, a loss of purpose or vision, a loss of confidence in yourself or others, and a loss of security, or fear.
Any of these and all of these if allowed to build will suck the courage right out of any of us and we find ourselves discouraged. So, in battling discouragement, or in preventing it in the first place we must make sure we get the proper rest, both physically and spiritually. The best way I know to not lose vision is to stay connected to it. Start laying out of church and you can bank on the fact you will become discouraged. Start missing time on a project and you will lose heart. You've got to stay with it. Each of these builds upon the other. One key I have discovered is that when you stop listening to God, it means you are listening to others. Duh!? Keep in touch with God! Fear comes when we start listening to the wrong voice! Be careful who you are listening to. Not everyone who offers you advice has your best interest at heart. A sure-fire way to recognize that discouragement is trying to come upon you is that you start developing the urge to run. You feel like quitting church. You feel like quitting your job, or walking out on your marriage. Get the idea? Something has ripped off your courage. When you see it coming, it is time for rest. It is time for you to re-organize. Many times we are doing the right thing, but we are doing it the wrong way, so we need to stop, rest, reflect and re-organize. So many give up on their dream when all they needed to do was to re-organize a little. How many churches have messed up and sold out the dream or vision by pastors becoming discouraged and leaving when what they needed to do was back up, rest, re-organize and get alone with God until they were encouraged? One of the best things you can do when you are discouraged is to encourage yourself. How? One of the best ways is to remember all the things God has already brought you through. To remember His faithfulness and provision. Remind yourself that the Father loves you and He has good plans for your life, plans to prosper you and not to hurt you. Get into the Word. Review and rehearse the promises of God. They are your promises.

Much more to say, but this is becoming long. Let me just encourage someone right now by reminding you that our God is a good God and he loves you passionately. He wants you to be the head and not the tail... on top and not the bottom. He has good things in store for you! If you are discouraged today, the first step you need to take is toward God, not away!

The "Rewards" of Ministry

So often we pastors only share the hardships and draw backs of ministry, but there are also great blessings. Yeah, sometimes it is hard and sometimes it is stressful and even frustrating. But then there are days like today. I've had more people than I can remember tell me how the sermon I preached today really ministered to them at just the right time. That, for me, is a real pick me up, and confirms within me that it was indeed a word from God. I've had a couple of phone calls from folks telling me that God has been challenging them through the messages I've been preaching in recent weeks. I've had several talk to me either in person, on the phone or by text message telling me how they are growing in the Lord. Two people sent word thanking me for being there to help lead them to Christ.
This is what it is all about. Every late night phone call, every stressful week... those things fade from memory when you hear what God is doing in the lives of those whom you shepherd.

Man, I love doing what God has called me to do!

Who Is In Control

A couple a days ago I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who made the statement, "Can you even imagine what it would have been like to be Adam and to walk with God daily?" I didn't really say much to him at that time, but that thought kept running through my mind the more I thought about it, the more I began to think about how he was missing such an important part of having a relationship with Jesus Christ. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Literally, we walk with God 24/7. The sad thing is, most people fail to realize what it means to have the Holy Spirit living in them. We have such a misunderstanding of what a privilege we have and honestly, we neglect our Lord. I think it is because we have such a misunderstanding of the presence of God. The fact is, we have come to the point that we associate a building that we call "the church" as the place of worship and thus, God's presence. Many have become conditioned to think that they must go to "the church" to get in or experience the presence of God. We have in effect limited God to a particular place at particular times. This is not what God intends for us at all. His abiding presence in us means that God intends for us to stay in constant communion, constant harmony and walking with him at all times. But the sad fact is that we act as if there is a switch by which we can shut God's presence on and off as we will. As I have thought on this, I've come to realize that the real problem is that we have not acknowledged who the master of the house is. Instead of submitting our bodies and lives to God, we have, in effect, given him a room in the house. We try to limit God to one room, one area of our lives and we remain in control of the whole of the house. I wonder how our lives would change if we really, I mean really, submitted ourselves wholly to the Lord? What if instead of allowing God out his room once in awhile, we allowed his purpose and authority to rule the house? What if we spent time communicating with him daily... not just throwing out our demands and wishes for the day, but actually listening to him and obeying him. I believe that instead of once in awhile experiencing the presence of God, we would live, breathe, walk and move in his presence and power.

The question really comes down to, "Who is really in control of our lives?"

Urgent: A Cry for Help

I have never tried anything like this before, but I have a friend in the ministry who has planted a church on a reservation of Native Americans in North Dakota who is facing some serious; really serious financial troubles. The people of the community Daniel is working in are strapped with extreme poverty, drug and alcohol abuse and conditions that are just unimaginable. I received word today that Daniel and his ministry are facing an extreme financial crisis and they need help immediately.

I'm challenging people and churches to help out. You may not be able to do much but if a lot of people do a little, it will add up to make a huge difference. I'm asking every church that can to send $100 (or more) this week and to take a special offering or do a fund raising project for this ministry in the next 30 days. For those in the Church of God, this is a missions project and has a number. I don't have it with me right now but I will get it and post it on this message later today.

If you can help, mail your offering to:
Pastor Daniel Bean
P.O. Box 433
Dunseith, ND 58329


If you have questions and need answers, feel free to call me. My cell phone is 309-335-6480

Let's bless this ministry together!