CAN A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL BE SAVED?

King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

Acts 26:27-28

You can expect the governments in Islamic republics and communist dictatorships to pass laws that are hostile to Christianity. After all, those governments are established upon tenets that dismiss the glorious benefits of the Gospel of Christ or deny the God of the Bible HIS rightful place in their society; however, when Western democracies whose histories are replete with the influence of Christians pass laws that are antagonistic to the faith it leads one to conclude that the officials who enact such laws must either be ignorant of their heritage or have chosen to despise their heritage. Excessive secularism eventually decomposes a culture as the very ingredient that makes such a society possible, freedom of conscience and religious liberty, are repressed in favor of flawed philosophical reasoning.

It is my belief that there may yet be a small percentage of genuine Christians serving at the local, state, and federal levels of government; however I believe that the vast majority of elected officials and bureaucrats need confrontation with the claims of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They need to be reminded that people are indeed created in the image and likeness of God, that God is the Judge of the universe and HIS laws must take precedence and be the template for all legislation affecting morality and religion. Government officials at the highest levels must be told that HELL is prepared for the followers of the Wicked one regardless of their estate in this life; but mercy and grace is afforded to those who rule in the fear of God. Political leaders are bought by the highest bidder, but they need to come to know the One whose blood paid the debt of sin they owe. Yes, a government official, a politician can be saved, if he or she heeds the call of the Baptist:

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Matthew 3:8

Perhaps some will be persuaded to become genuine Christians and mend their ways.

THE BIBLE STILL WORKS

I am currently conducting Revival meetings in the Caribbean on the island of St. Martin. Even thogh the culture of the people is somewhat different than American culture, I quickly observed that in the services the response to the Gospel was no different than when I proclaim it in the United States, Africa, or any other Caribbean nation. If the word is 'rightly divided' it will affect the souls of men in a remarkable way and invariably elicits change for the better. The Bible does not 'contain the Word of God.' The Bible IS the Word of God; verbally inspired, authoritative and preserved for 21st century man to amend his ways and fall prostrate before a Holy God.

Wherever the Bible is preached there is a healthy outlook on life evidenced in the behaviour of the listeners. The men will fulfill their God given leadership role and the women theirs; there will be no confusion regarding gender issues. There will be reverence for the God of the Word as the people that profess to believe HIS word change to conform to the teachings of the Bible, instead of searching for a Bible that condones their self centered practices. Those that follow the teaching of the Bible in this age will escape the moral decay and spiritual apostasy and stand with confidence before the Almighty; those that dismiss its admonitions will be caught spiritually unclothed and suffer the greatest of shame for their iniquity.

If God does shower us with a Heaven sent revival it will compel men and women to become reacquainted with the Bible as their Textbook for living.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James 1:22

FOR THIS ALONE WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL

I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Psalms 69:30

In the course of a year there are many experiences that seemingly intrude into our lives. Some of these we welcome while others we may find troubling; nevertheless, through it all we are preserved. Thanksgiving is a time for celebrating God's goodness and HIS kindness toward us in Christ our Lord. Thank HIM for the wonderful things that you have encountered and thank HIM that the negative wasn't even worse. If your basic needs and that of your family have been met, for that alone you should be thankful. If you have retained your sanity and powers of reasoning you have cause to be grateful. If you were able to maintain your household and retain your shelter, you certainly have cause to be thankful.

All other accomplishments and benefits we received may be viewed as bonuses. This way we do not lose our perspective on life, which is itself a gift from the Almighty. Look around and consider how much grace and mercy has been bestowed upon you. May your problems fade in the brilliance of God's blessings on your life.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FOR THE 21st CENTURY

As the world plunges into spiritual darkness with its accompanying moral decay the voices of concerned Christians should be heard more and with vigor. Those that exclaim, 'what good will it do' have allowed themselves to be propagandized and demoralized by this fallen world. We as God's elect need to occupy till HE comes for us. As long as we are in the world we are Christ's ambassadors and each one has a ministry.

In the 21st century the Christian's message must be:

I. Clear; that there be no doubt as to what we believe and where we stand on the cultural and spiritual issues of the day.

II. Consistent; that we not be like a reed that sways back and forth with the changing winds.

III. Caring; that we might speak the truth in love and show people the love of God in action.

IV. Character supported; we must speak because our message is right and needed not because it is necessarily popular.

V. Content filled; some will seek to marginalize us by portraying us as 'religious nuts' or 'religious bigots.' Be prepared for that disservice and fill your message with time tested truth and Christ honoring convictions.

VI. Clean; the message we bring must not be polluted with selfishness or used to promote a political ideology. The messenger must not allow himself to be bought or bribed so that he and his message become corrupt.

VII. Credible; by carefully researching the information he presents, never exaggerate nor embellish the message and use the authority of the Word of God as your foundation.

The lamp, lit and full of oil, is most needed after dark.

That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Philippians 2:15

JESUS IS THE ANSWER

A contemporary Christian song has the words, 'Jesus is the answer for the world today, above HIM there is no other, Jesus is the way.' A nice tune; however it does not specify exactly for what issues is Jesus the answer. It is of paramount importance that you understand that when a person receives Jesus into his life, he is going to experience CHANGE. This change will always be positive, though not without its share of trials. As the Spirit of the Lord begins HIS work in your life you will be led to confront the unholy patterns of behavior that have hindered your spiritual growth in the past and you will come to realize that Jesus is the answer for your major life problems.

I. Jesus is the answer for a cold heart; when HIS presence is real to you, you will not be callous and uncaring.

II. Jesus is the answer for a polluted heart; HIS cleansing power is unmatched by any theory or philosophy of man.

III. Jesus is the answer for disturbed heart; the One who calmed the wind and the waves can capture peace for you as well.

IV. Jesus is the answer for a malicious heart; grace can convert an evil doer before his life on earth is extinguished and he wakes up in flames.

V. Jesus is the answer for the broken heart; HIS healing power is effective to bind up the wounds created by disappointment, betrayal, and dishonest dealings against you.

VI. Jesus is the answer for the deceived mind; like Saul of Tarsus, you will need to acknowledge that religion, education, and heritage will not get you into Heaven.

VII. Jesus is the answer for the confused mind; leadership and instruction is a strong quality of the Good Shepherd and sanity is something that HE is skilled at maintaining.

Sin in the life breeds complications, righteousness brings solutions. The Lord Jesus Christ provides answers and solutions for all of these problems and many more with the condition that you accept HIM as your Saviour and serve HIM as your Lord. Don't rehearse your problems, request a solution.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Matthew 11:29

THE BIBLE AND TECHNOLOGY

Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

I believe it is a good idea to use the technology of today to propagate truth. The church where I serve as pastor has a website: www.vbctampa.org; it has a weekly live webcast and 24/7 programming: (THINK_SMART_TV); I have videos on YouTube (type The Freesmart in the search box), and sermons on other websites. I also use a laptop computer with a projector to conduct 'PowerPoint' presentations during some of my services. One of my deepest desires is to see God raise up a Biblical Education Center with high tech equipment being used to train people from pre-school to college. Yes, I do own a television. The technology itself is neutral, men may use it for noble purposes or for nefarious purposes. The natural laws that were set in motion at creation enables men to generate electricity which powers most of the devices we use today to communicate virtually anywhere and at anytime. Those same laws also led to the development of the computer processor that is able to manage millions of pieces (bits) of information in a single second.

When Mr. Gutenberg invented the first printing press in the 15th century, it was used to print a copy of the Scriptures; for the first time it became possible for every soul on the planet to have a copy of the Word of God. Now we have huge libraries of books that give insights into the archaeology, history, geography, culture, language, spirituality, and prophecy of the Bible.

Daniel predicted that knowledge would be increased and it has in the development of the present cyber centered technology which some have used for evil, and probably will be used in other ungodly ways in the future. This element of fact should not discourage Christians from mastering the technology that it might be used for the glory of God.

In the same manner that 15th century technology was used by the church to get its message out to the masses, 21st century technology may be the final medium for communicating the eternal truth of the Word of God to this generation that they might be saved.

WILL AN ASTEROID HIT THE EARTH?

It was recently reported that an asteroid passed within 9,000 miles of planet earth. This is a relatively short distance in astronomical terms; less than half the size of the diameter of the earth. Should an asteroid collide with our world the devastation would be overwhelming; millions would die and the earth would never be the same. Astronomers admit that they are not able to track all of the asteroids that come close to our planet and may one day crash into it. I do not consider myself a prophet of doom, but you must be told that the Bible prophesies that indeed a large object will strike the earth in the future when God's judgments are unleashed on the inhabitants of the earth because of their rebellion against God:

Revelation 8:8-9 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

The great tribulation will be the most horrific period in the history of mankind. It will be characterized by tremendous unprecedented upheavals in the heavens. Christ referred to these days as a time in which "the powers the heavens shall be shaken." (Matthew 24:29) When that event occurs it will signal that the age of grace has ended and the time of worldwide judgment has begun. Because mankind rejected the simple soul-saving message of the Gospel of Christ they will reap the proper wages of sin, which is death.

But as of this writing the age of grace has not yet ended. There is still time to accept Christ's offer of salvation. The true church is not destined to wrath, (Romans 5:9) it will be removed from the world before the final awful massive object hits the earth. It will happen someday; your time is running out.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13

FAITH DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

Years ago our church had a great financial need due to recurrent budget shortfalls. I had hoped that a group of men who were employed making average wages would pool their resources to satisfy the need; little did I know that help would come from another source. A gentleman who was new to the church and a recent convert, but unemployed, announced that he had received a gift and would be happy to donate most of it to meet the church's financial need. It didn't seem logical, but I accepted it anyway.

This was just one of many instances of people being used to answer prayer. That God would use fallible humans is seen in the testimony of the fugitive murderer Moses, the weak compromising Aaron, the rebellious and womanizing Samson, and the adulterer and murder conspirator David. All of these men had major character flaws, nevertheless they exhibited uncanny faith in God to accomplish what otherwise would have been impossible feats.

Faith doesn't need to make sense, it cannot be solved mathematically because the circumstances surrounding the events that we are hoping will come to pass don't always add up. When someone is healed through prayer of what seemed like a terminal disease and the physicians can't explain how or why it happened, that's a legitimate miracle of faith; God deserves the credit for it.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

When the churches return to trusting God like they should, instead of trying to humanize HIM and bring HIM down to our level, then we shall begin to see mighty works done once again.

PEOPLE THAT HATED PREACHERS III

The greatest preacher to ever walk the face of the earth was the Lord Jesus Christ, yet even HE encountered opposition from enemies.

Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him.
Matthew 26:3-4

The religious leaders hated Jesus because HE interrupted their money making business in the temple, HE exposed them as false shepherds, and HE demonstrated that they were really selfish oppressors of the people, calling them hypocrites, a brood of vipers, whited sepulchres, and fools. At every turn, Jesus outwitted them and demonstrated HIS superior knowledge of the Scriptures (HE is the WORD.) Therefore, they conspired against HIM, they found and paid the traitor to betray HIM, accused HIM of blasphemy and had HIM crucified.

The men who rejected Christ actually served to fulfill God's will and prophetic Scripture, however their vicious venom is evidence that absolute unpolluted righteousness will be opposed in a world of wicked norms. It comes with the territory; it is the price of opening one's mouth to exalt the word of God in a world where many are in conflict with it. I love the words of the apostle concerning this matter:

Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Hebrews 12:4

PEOPLE THAT HATED PREACHERS- II

The king was holding a conference with his chief officers to determine if his planned military campaign against an old enemy would be successful. The king consulted with his association of prophets who told him what he wanted to hear; namely, that his assault on the Syrians would be successful. It is at this point when the king's true spiritual condition became known:

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. . .

1 Kings 22:8

The unnamed king of Israel in the account was Ahab. He had imprisoned the prophet Micaiah because of his prophecies concerning him and his policies. Ahab had married Jezebel, who was a sorceress and worshipper of Baal, the Canaanite god. Ahab and Jezebel led Israel further into idolatry and provoked God's anger.

Micaiah eventually gave Ahab and Jehoshaphat the word of the Lord:

Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

1 Kings 22:23

The prophet Micaiah is a type of the faithful preacher who has been charged with reproving, rebuking, and exhorting while preaching the word of the Lord. He was hated because he refused to water down God's message in order to obtain material gain like the false, lying, prosperity preachers that served the apostate king Ahab and his wicked wife. It should be noted that God vindicated him:

And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

1 Kings 22:34-35