THE ARMY OF GOD

                                                                 The Army of God 

You know I heard this term batted around the “Church” today the Army of God and often wonder what does that mean? It seems we take a military flare to evangelism from songs like “Onward Christian Soldiers,” “Stay on the Firing Line,” and others. And hear of this great end-time revival promised by the preachers and teachers of today, how the ranks of God’s Army will swell and we shall overrun the enemy, well, that is not what the Bible says. The Bible I read talks about a “falling away.” Paul in 2 Thessalonians shares, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) By this verse it sounds like there is going to be great deception on every hand and many Christians will fall away from the faith, then they will be deceived. This does not sound like the making of a great Army of God to sweep the earth. At this point in my article I must ask this question: What happened to the Army of God? There is something wrong with the Army of God or what the New Testament calls the Body of Christ today. Now I will NOT call it the “church” because we, you and I, are the church not some building or given denominational name. But, something is terribly wrong. What is it? The answer is not hard to discover. In fact, it is as clear as a bell. The Body of Christ has lost it's focus. It has forsaken the basic Truths of Christianity. Or, to be even more direct about it, the Body of Christ has left it's first Love, Jesus Christ, and has become centered in other things. What are some of these other things? Well, for one thing, the church has become focused on itself as an organization. This has been going on for two-thousand years. Another thing we, who make up the church, get focused on is the serving we do FOR Christ, rather than on Christ Himself. And thirdly, many of us simply settle for a religion centered around Christ, instead of a relationship in Him. God did not intend things to be this way. The early church was not like that. And, if we look back at this early church, we may discover the true intention of God for His Body, and an example for us today. Over two thousand years ago, a group of disciples, exhausted and frightened, huddled together in an upper room, waiting for what they were told would be “the promise of the Father.” What was this “promise of the Father?” And what impact would it have on their lives? The last three and one-half years had seen these disciples experience possibly every emotion on the spectrum. They had, at first, curiously followed a man named Jesus of Nazareth. Later, He would specifically call them to be His apostles and disciples. What an adventure they were in for! These disciples had seen Jesus perform miracles beyond anything they could have imagined. And His preaching! It was such a radical departure from anything they had ever heard before. They did not fully understand many of the things He had spoken to them. But, rather than be a cause for apprehension, this was a source of hope. For they had come to understand the most important thing of all: Jesus was God who became man. The Son of God. The Word of Life. And He had chosen them to be His messengers. In the last seven weeks, these disciples had seen Jesus crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. He had spent forty days opening the scriptures to them. And after seemingly only a few days they had seen Him taken bodily up into the heavens. Even before the crucifixion they had recognized that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew. 16:18) But, only now was it beginning to dawn on them what all of that meant. Only now were they beginning to see that their Messiah had come to redeem the entire world. So, they waited. They waited for this “promise of the Father,” which, said Jesus, you have heard of Me. “For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” (Acts 1:4-5) There is nothing recorded in the Gospels or the Book of Acts to indicate that Jesus explained to these disciples any more than that. There is no indication that they knew what to expect, or how to act. They were simply told to stay in Jerusalem and to wait. To wait for this “promise of the Father.” Now, it is so easy to fall into the mistake of placing ourselves in that upper room with the disciples with our frame of reference for Christianity, thinking that it was their frame of reference. But doing so is nonsense for we must remember that these disciples had no frame of reference for Christianity. To this point, there WAS no Christianity. On the day before Pentecost, there were no churches. Only synagogues. There were no ministries. No one was preaching Christ. In fact, the Bible, as we know it, did not yet exist. The New Testament was not yet written. The Old Testament was available, but mostly in those synagogues. With few exceptions, scripture was communicated orally. Rarely were copies carried around by the common man. When they were, usually what was carried was some portion of the Old Testament, rather than the entire work. So, if we place ourselves in the upper room, we must first erase everything we know about Christianity. We must pretend we have never been to church. We must imagine that we have never read a word of the New Testament. We must forget how a Christian is supposed to act, and how a Christian is supposed to talk. We must push away every religious tradition we have learned, and we must forget every religious bias we have acquired. Our entire vocabulary regarding the things of God must be altered. Now, of course, the adjustment we must pass through to be in that upper room involves more than just the things we must erase. There are likewise many things we must add. First of all, we must replace everything we have learned “about Christ” with something better: A personal experience with Jesus Christ Himself. After all these disciples knew Him as a human being. They had walked and talked with Him. So instead of only believing that Jesus died and was raised, we must imagine what it must have been like to have witnessed these facts first-hand. The disciples in that upper room had seen their lives shattered, their deeply rooted religious traditions overthrown, and their Master crucified. And then they had seen it all somehow made right through the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Now they were waiting for “the promise of the Father.” Here is the question: If we could start all over again, and erase the last two-thousand years of Christian history and experience, and get back into that upper room, waiting for “the promise of the Father,” if we could do that, would the result of our Pentecost be something we would recognize as the Christianity of today? Or has the Christianity of today, indeed, the Christianity of the last two-thousand years, strayed so far off course, that it barely resembles what God began that first Pentecost? Would the disciples recognize today’s Body of Christ as being the offspring of the church of their day? Written by David Stahl

HOME GROUP MEETING 18 FEB 25

Home Group Meeting: 18 February 25 Judging vs. Discernment A. We live in a day and age where RIGHT and WRONG no longer have any meaning – or at least the goal is to try to make them have no meaning. Instead of absolute Truth, we are being told that there is only relative Truth, that is, Truth is whatever you think it is – or Truth is what you believe. In some peoples mind, the answer is that you really cannot know the Truth – even some professing Christians say this. In effect, what we are seeing is a world that more and more intends to do what is right in it’s own eyes. B. As a logical outcome of this nonsense, people are being told that they should, "not judge." If I say that Robert Schuller is a heretic, some are offended, because we are not supposed to judge. But read the NT. Did Paul name names? It is certainly possible to become a person whose has appointed himself the judge of everyone else, and to set oneself up as the superior person – there are many, "discernment ministries," out there doing that. But according to the Bible, we are not only to preach the Truth, but we MUST also preach what the Truth IS NOT. Read the epistles. Everyone of them was written to combat error. One way or another they all come back to that. In the end, you really cannot preach the Truth unless you expose the error. Your message won’t be clear otherwise, and because many are looking for affirmation of their error, they will otherwise try to make what you say agree with them. C. People like Robert Schuller, Joel Osteen, and many others on TV today, are leading millions astray. They have already rejected all counsel and appeal. I know this because they themselves have bragged about doing so – and ridiculed their critics. It is far beyond that point. Thus, in accordance with Matthew 18, and other teachings of the Bible, they ought to be named before all. I am not naïve enough to think it will do any good. But that was never a criteria given by Christ for doing it. We are to name them in order to separate light from darkness, and in order to protect the Body of Christ. D. But nevertheless, there are thousands of Christian people who will say that this is, "judging." Yet they themselves, if they gave it any thought, would see the folly of such a claim. For example, let’s suppose someone does object when I say that someone’s conduct or teaching is right or wrong. Suppose they say that this is, "judging." I submit that such a charge is, itself, hypocritical. Why? Because they are saying it is wrong to say something is wrong – and by doing so they are saying something is wrong! So THEY are now judging ME. They are violating the very principle they demand – that we never judge anything! The point is, once you condemn someone for judging, you are judging. It ought to be obvious that there is something flawed in the kind of reasoning that eliminates all moral reasoning from our thinking. It just doesn’t work, but creates a moral and logic circle that cannot be resolved. E. The fact is, once you eliminate morality from our thinking, you eliminate all sanity. Once you eliminate the possibility of Truth from our thinking and reasoning, you create a moral vacuum. In fact, it really isn’t possible to eliminate morality, Truth, or right and wrong from a person’s thinking. The reason you can’t eliminate those things is that we are MORAL CREATURES. We have a built in moral nature – even if it has been twisted through sin. Morality is woven into the fabric of what we are as human beings. F. If you examine yourself, you will see that this is true. You make moral or value judgments continually. You do that even if your judgment is nothing more than about how you feel, what you like, or whether it is a nice day outside. How much more we do this in relationships! The moment we don’t like someone – even if we don’t say or think it, maybe we just feel it – we are making a judgment OF THEM according to how they affect US. You cannot escape this. It is how you function – right or wrong. G. You and I are continually making choices as to what to say, what to think, and how to act. We may not make those choices with a moral yardstick next to them, or even give them much thought. But most everything we think, say, or do is based on our inward sense, or upon our inward desire, to do right and wrong. H. Human beings were created with a moral fabric – and this functions whether we care about God or not. In that case, it will not function according to the Truth, but it will function. People may try to deny absolute Truth or right and wrong, but they know better. They WILL react the moment someone does wrong TO THEM! They DO make moral judgments all the time. And as I mentioned earlier, even if I deny the existence of right and wrong, I am making a moral judgment in doing that – I am saying that it is RIGHT to say that there is no such thing as right and wrong. This is self-contradictory and hypocritical, and frankly, it is so obviously so, that God holds us responsible for proclaiming such a lie. I.The fact is, there is NO escape from right and wrong. And the reason is not only because we are made moral in nature, but more so because we are created totally accountable to God. Accountability to God is a knowledge that is built into us. The fact that many neglect it, deny it, and push it away to the destruction of their conscience, doesn’t change anything. In fact, the necessity of DEALING WITH IT BY PUSHING IT AWAY proves that morality is IN US. J. You and I have never been given the right to decide Truth. You and I have never been given the right to determine for ourselves right and wrong. In fact, you and I have been told that we are forbidden to do those things. Rather, we have been told that we are accountable to God, and if we want to live, we need to turn to Him.

THE CRITICAL NEED FOR SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT (HGM 28 JAN 25)

Home Group Meeting: 28 January 2025 The Critical Need for Spiritual Discernment “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of your eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of your own eye; and then shall thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5) A. Spiritual discernment is the result of knowing Jesus Christ. If you know the Truth Himself, you are going to, well, know the Truth that pertains to Him – you are going to know what is of Him. This is, of course, a progressive revelation into which we have come. B. We really must understand that discernment is the result of knowing Christ. Too often we make discernment a THING or a GIFT – and think of it as something we are able to do as a thing unto itself. No. For a Christian, EVERYTHING is connected to life in Christ, and NOTHING operates independent of our relationship with Him – nothing that is of God, that is. Thus, discernment does not operate independent of Christ, but rather, is a product of our relationship with Him, and knowledge OF Him. C. This tells us how to know error. Error is not simply bad theology, although there is plenty of that out there. Rather, error is a misrepresentation of Christ Himself. One way or another it is that. Thus, I cannot know error unless I know the Truth. D. I do realize that it is possible for discernment to operate purely on a theological or intellectual level. People DO have brains, and even an atheist can spot hypocrisy and some error. But the discernment of the Holy Spirit is much more than simply being able to compare notes and come to conclusions. The discernment by the Holy Spirit means that I am able to sense whether something belongs to Christ or does not. It is all based on HIM – whether it fits into HIM. F. Unless we know Christ, and therefore have HIM as our basis of discernment, we are going to use something else. Usually, we will use our understanding, how we feel about something, or whether something appeals to us. Sometimes Christians just don’t think. They simply resign and let others think for them. G. If there is one thing the church needs today it is the discernment that comes from knowing the Person of Jesus Christ. The fact that there seems to be so little discernment out there today is simply evidence that many, including leaders, DO NOT know Him. H. The consequences are everywhere. The growing trend in churches today is the compromise of Truth for the sake of unity. Churches compromise to keep members and get them. This compromise is not merely seen in WRONG things being preached. It is seen in RIGHT things being eliminated. Preachers like Joel Osteen openly brag about the fact that they never preach that we are sinners, must repent, or that there is a Cross that each of us have to meet. This, we are told by people like Osteen, is not necessary. We need a positive gospel, they say. And the fact that millions follow them in their error simply gives them all the more boldness to continue preaching it. I. would seem that today more than ever, whatever will get the people in the pew is what is accepted as Truth. Or people just don’t care about Truth at all. Either way, the trend of the last 10-15 years is one of, "anything goes in the name of love." People like Osteen, Rick Warren, and Bill Hybels – all of whom have ties to, or are echoing heretic Robert Schuller – concentrate on YOU, and on making YOU the center of God’s universe. And since we all care about ourselves, we eat this stuff up. And yet this kind of message is actually THE message of antichrist. J. Antichrist is basically Christ without the Cross. In other words, antichrist is man IN ADAM affirmed – religiously, just as he is, and without the need to meet the Cross. The modern gospel of self-esteem is the fullness of the gospel of Satan. That is not an extreme statement. It is the Truth – and it is HERE, right now, in the churches. It is one of the most subtle, yet damaging, deceptions ever perpetrated on the Body of Christ. Draw your own conclusions about what that means as to the times in which we live. All of this comes back to a lack of discernment, and the usual result: Trying to do for God, on the wrong basis, what only God can do on the right basis. God wants His church unified IN CHRIST, and in the Truth. Today we are trying to unify the church by compromising with both.

AMERICA ALMOST GOT IT RIGHT

The 2024 General Election between President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was “truly” an historic event and at the same time a very painful eye opener to where America is spiritually. Yes, Donald Trump won the election going away in a landslide, but there were also many losers, maybe 104 million. According to the 2020 US census there are 331 million people in the United States. But, as the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election campaign unfolded, it appeared that the outcome of the close race between Trump and Harris will depend on which candidate does a more effective job of getting their supporters to the poll to vote. A new national survey by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, led by Dr. George Barna, indicated that voting enthusiasm in 2024 is significantly lower than in 2020, and that a massive number of Christians who regularly attend church services were not likely to vote in the November election. Sadly, this was the case in this election. Christian churchgoing voters have historically supported the more conservative major-party candidate in a presidential race and appear poised to do so again this election cycle, albeit with fewer of them casting a ballot than in the most recent presidential race. The research indicates that as many as 104 million people of faith (to include religions like Muslim, Hindu, etc.) will not be voting in the upcoming election on 5 November 24 and among those, 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church will NOT cast their ballot. Now I am not sure why so many “Christians” walked away from their doing their reasonable service and duty before the LORD. Maybe they were vilified, called extremist by the Democratic Party, and then marginalized or maybe just apathic I do not know but, what do you expect when millions of so called “Christians” support (give their time, talents, and resources) to the Democratic Party that advocates for: abortion, sodomy, lesbianism, transgenderism, and so much more ungodly and just down-right lascivious social lifestyles. As we can see by the results of the 2024 election God rejected the Democratic Party and the 32 million folks that did not vote. The Bible is crystal clear to our duty and responsibility to be a part of a civil society. America is a representative Republic not a democracy. Not a majority rule of government, but we elect representatives according to our constitution to make up the government that will oversee the affairs of our country. In Romans, Paul shares with the Church in Rome their duties and obligations to exist in the Roman society. Paul writes, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. 2Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 3For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: 4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. 5Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. 6For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. 7Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. (Romans 13:1-7) Also see 1 Peter 2:13-18, to what we must do to please God in society. In other words, it is our duty and responsibility to be involved not with the politics of the day, but it is our reasonable service, our duty, before God, to be salt and light, to speak about, pray about, to stand up, and be God’s voice in the moral and spiritual issues of OUR day. And if we do not then when have sinned. And, if we support ungodliness and debauchery like the Democratic Party then we have sinned and cannot, must not, call ourselves a “Christian” until we ask God to forgive us of our willful sin and then repent. I was amazed to find out the main groups that made up the coalition that supported candidate Harris were the: highly educated, folks making over $100,000 a year, and people who possess no faith. While Trump put together white men and woman, black men, Latinos in huge numbers, union workers, the military vote, truly a cross section of America. What a picture of the truth! Now here is the downside spiritually of the 32 million self-professed “Christians.” Sadly, God could not count on the “Church” in America to do His will on earth as it is done in heaven. God’s intention for the millions of Christians in America is not to be political, but spiritual. Not to get involved in the lower-level issues, but stand in the moral high ground with God and proclaim, “righteousness exalts a nation” to stand in the spiritual hedge for the nation that they find themselves in. But no, these 32 million so called “Christians” not only failed God, but also failed America and those Christians that did what God wanted them to do. My friend, America was not established by God to spread freedom and liberty around the world, oh no. Liberty and freedom are a by-product of the Gospel message. America was established to replace England, because of England’s waywardness to truth and righteousness and the rise of humanism in her churches, as the country on the world stage to share the wondrous message of the good news of the Gospel, but lately she has slipped from 1st to 13th place in sending missionaries to the world. Unless America gets back to doing what God wants for her, she will slip slowly away like England and God will raise up another country to replace her. God and His message will NOT be stopped. If God was going to do anything in this election (which He did) He knew He would have to work outside the “Church.” What an open indictment on the “Church” in America. And God did some amazing things in the election. Sadly the “Church” itself made itself non-relevant and obsolete by walking away from what God was doing. God saw He did not need the nominal, denominational “Church” to do His will for America. This my friend ought to shake you, if you are a Christan, to your knees. Now, I do not want to focus on the amazing return of Donald J. Trump, how God saved his life from assassination not once, but twice, kept him through 12 trumped up (no pun intended) legal cases and assorted political wranglings, not to mention the character assassination from his first four years when he was President, and so much more. But make no mistake, God has called Donald J. Trump, (not as a savior, but as the President of the United States of America) for such a time as this, to restore the United States of America back to her former place of service and so that God could once again be glorified. So that she once again can share this wondrous Gospel message around the world again and then freedom and liberty will ring from shore to shore and sea to sea. I am reminded of the words spoked by the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, he said, “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests—and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning— and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!” You know with President Trump winning the election, in a landside, not only in the Electoral College, but also in the popular vote, he was handed a mandate by the people to govern the way he said he was going to govern during his campaign and I believe he will (God willing), as long as he is not assassinated (God forbid). My friend, there are some really crazy, sick people in this world. We need to keep President elect Donald Trump in our prayers. Karen always says, “if the heart is wrong then the head will be wrong.” But, not only was President Trump handed a mandate to govern the country, but you know what my friend, so was the ”Church” in America. Sadly, God knew He could not count on 32 million so called or self-proclaimed “Christians.” He knew they would not vote for the truth of the word of God and stand up for His righteousness in the land. So, what will He do in the future with the “Church” in America? Sadly, unless the “Church” in America wakes up, gets back to God, and shuns the ways and teachings of this world, God will have to set her aside and it will watch Him move on the earth as He moves in the heavenly. God always has a remnant of people who believe Him, who loves to serve Him, and He will use them to accomplish His will on earth. If you were one of these 32 million and there is air in your lungs, there is still time to turn to the LORD, if not then your future is the shelf, even though you probably will go and work your fingers to the bones at some denominational church, while your eternal home with God is in doubt. Thank God He gets to make the call. Written by David Stahl

ALL THINGS ARE OUT FROM GOD - BIRTHED FROM ABOVE

A. We read earlier that only God can birth from above. A person has to be birthed from above by being joined to the Lord. Without Christ in us there is NO birth and NO LIFE. But if Christ is in us then we have ALL – all that is from out of God in Him. B. Only that which is born of God is of God. Nothing that is birthed by man is of God. For example, how many of us understand that God must give BIRTH to a church, just as He gives birth to the people in it? People cannot simply decide to start a church, and then hand it to God, expecting that He will bless it. The mere fact that anything WE birth is birthed by flesh – it is birthed of flesh if we initiated it – ought to tell us that it is not birthed of God. C. But for some reason, we think that if we do things for God that He will bless it. Or if we start things in the name of Christ that Christ will inhabit it. We have this notion that if something is in our heart to do that it is in there because God put it in there. No. It may be a created and initiated by our natural man – not so much in rebellion against God or to the disregard of Him – but it may be a product of our natural, religious man, thinking that it is our job to think up ways to keep God moving. D. In the end, if flesh births anything, it is of the flesh – and at some point, it will produce the results that flesh produces. It will serve self. It will serve the flesh because flesh gave it life. Look around in the church today. Everywhere you find the gospel of ME, myself, and I. A gospel that says that Jesus came to make you happy, successful, and prosperous. A gospel that says that Jesus came to bring out the best in you, and help you find your truest self. This is flesh. E. Jesus did not come to bless your natural life – He tells you to LOSE IT. He tells you that there is nothing in the natural life that is compatible with God. Rather, if you lose your life, you will find true life in Christ. And in Christ is all that we need both materially and spiritually. F. Along side of this gospel of ME is almost a complete blindness to Jesus Christ. Christianity is Christ in us, the hope of glory. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature – and in Christ are all things that are from God. Yet today, the reality of Christ in us, and the desire of God to form Christ in us, is almost never discussed. People don’t know it, and don’t know TO know it. Here we have the essence of Christianity, and the very purpose of God, and it is off the table for discussion. This is what happens when Satan blinds people. And once Satan blinds people to the reality of Christ in them, he can more easily get them to operate from out of the natural life -- and convince them they are living from out of God. This is deception. G. Again: The reality of Christ, and the meaning of Christ in us, and God’s purpose of forming Christ in us this is the reason Christ came. It IS Christianity. Yet if you would preach this in most local churches, or on Christian TV, you would either get a blank stare, or meet great opposition. This is how far things have fallen from the Truth. Even in those places where there is some little Truth on these matters, it would seem that even that is buried beneath an avalanche of money, members, and the soul power of people. H. To abide in Christ by faith requires a total surrender to Him as Lord – not because I feel I must, but because I want to surrender. It requires that I not only take my hands off of my life and leave it alone to God, but it requires that I WANT to do so – I gladly do so. It means that I will birth nothing of myself and that I will not resort to the flesh to solve what ails me. I. Does that sound hard? It might seem scary – most of us, despite all of our great confessions of faith in the LORD are quite terrified that if we do nothing about ourselves, or our ministry, that God might also do nothing. And we will go down the drain. Well, our attitude ought to be that if God will do nothing we will gladly do nothing – and if everything crashes so be it. Indeed, the sooner the better. The work of the Cross will bring us to such an abandonment. It spells freedom. J. God is quite willing and capable of not only birthing that which satisfies Him, but of looking after it. If we really believed this, we would not be using the ways and methods of the world to try to prop up our churches. There would need to be NO money raising campaigns. No drives for members. No blessings promised, or threats of punishment from the LORD, if we give or don’t give. We would not use craftiness or wisdom of words or emotional drama to try to move people. We would not need signs and wonders. Rather, we would simply abide in Christ, preach the Truth in Christ, and let the chips fall. Have we ever considered what God might do if He were actually given His place and sovereignty? K. Do you want to know why the early church was so powerful in the Lord? They had NO money. They had no TV, written materials, or audio tapes. They didn’t even have a Bible to carry around. They had only Christ in them. But they changed the world – because they let God have His way, first with them personally, and then to do what He wanted. They were not perfect, but kept their hands off of God’s property. God could therefore do what He wanted. God could be sovereign. Today, we expect God to come down and fit Himself into what we have birthed. He won’t. L. For the last two-thousand years, professing believers have created one form of religion after another – and pasted the name of Christ on it. Roman Catholicism is a big example, but the Protestants have done the same. We have created laws and principles. Religious rituals. Belief systems. We have created an entire priesthood or ministry around it. We have built our temples. Yet God will NOT inhabit any house made with hands. He inhabits only people through Jesus Christ. M. What is the solution to all of this? Not to find a better way, “to do church.” No. Not to read the book of Acts and try to create from it a template to follow. No. The solution is to get back to the foundation – the person of Jesus Christ. But not just to a theological Christ. We have to get back to the essence of Christianity, which is, “Christ in us, the hope of glory.” N. We have to get back to the fact that if we are in Christ that we are birthed new creatures – that all of the old is passed away – and that all things are brand new and from above in Christ. And that all things pertaining to the new creature of OUT FROM GOD as the source. And we have to learn Christ, allowing God to form Christ in us. We must renounce and forsake the old as the source for anything. This is the will of God. It is what He has birthed and it is all that He is going to do.

A MEDITATION ON CHRISTMAS

When I meditate on this time of the year and what we call the Christmas (word not found in the KJV of the Bible) season I must conclude this is the most divisive time of the year just ahead of Easter. I wonder why these two holidays divide so many people in the world. Now I will tell you from the start Karen and I do not celebrate Christmas how can we the word is not in the KJV Bible, but we do celebrate the birth of our precious LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. As Christianity began to spread many were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs among their converts. We even see this throughout the New Testament Church as Paul constantly battled against pagan and cultural traditions from taking root in the young Church. At first the Church forbade this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Bible historians claim that the Christmas celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also to the Persians (Babylonian Chaldeans) whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. Oddly enough it was during this period the three Wise Men (also Magi) (Matthew 2:1) learned of the Star of Bethlehem by reading the prophecies of Daniel the Great Magi (Daniel 1:1-7). Sadly this religious deception continues today, even though the faces and names has been changed the spirit and intent has not. We Christians seem to be good at making up things to satisfy our flesh for fulfillment. Now as I said Karen and I do celebrate the birth of Christ, there is a huge difference. As we watch the news we cannot believe all of the fighting to keep Christ in Christmas. Where in the Bible did Jesus ask us to remember His birth? Now I can find plenty of Scriptures in the Bible where Jesus has asked us to remember His death, “And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 25After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 26For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-26) Who wants to remember Jesus’ death when we can remember His birth? Yet few Christians really remember His death (Romans 6:3) while they go crazy in remembering His birth. I wonder why? Yes there is a wonderful story about the birth of Jesus in the Bible, but where are we commanded to make His birth an annual holiday like we in American have made: Independence, Veterans, or Valentine Day even Halloween? And when you merge religious with traditions and customs you have an unbeatable national money maker. Is not Jesus’ birth much more? Yes my friend I am afraid we have gotten off track and the merchants of the day (and for 100s of years) have capitalized on our selfish greed (maybe only in America, but I think not) and great presumption. The same way Hollywood has recently discovered the untapped market for Christian movies. I find it really strange how many Christians today would rather go to a movie then to Church to hear about Jesus. I wonder why? It is not about fighting to keep Christ in Christmas or even about a baby in the manger. You know we really like seeing baby Jesus in the manger, but you know my friend Jesus is not a baby any more, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:34) Today Jesus is not a defenseless baby in the manger He is our victorious King of kings, Lord of lords, and someday soon He is coming back to earth not as a baby, but as a judge (to kick butt) and rule (to set righteousness in order) in the earth. Something else we are puzzled about is why Christians want to beat up on the Atheist in Washington State who put a sign beside a manger display in the Capitol building. I thought we were to witness to them and tell them about Jesus? There is not much of a Christian witness when we shake our fist and gnash our teeth at someone over a wooden display. How can this sign destroy the eternal timeless message of our precious savior Jesus Christ? It cannot and will not. Has the love of God been displaced by Christians wanting their traditional religious symbols? I too can speak for God and sadly I must say yes. Jesus did not come so that we could decorate our trees and yard with gold and silver balls or blinking lights. Jesus did not come so Christians could deck the halls with a blow up Santa Claus and reindeer on their roofs and lawn. What do we do with these verses? “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not.” (Jeremiah 10:2-4) Maybe we should ignore them or maybe the Holy Spirit made a mistake? I think God is very clear in what He is saying, but we continue in the lie with Christmas trees (a German custom) out from our American tradition (now transported to the world) and because we do not want to offend family members. Just look at the Christmas trees in churches today? What do we do with these verses? The answer will be what we do with Jesus. Never forget the Gospel message of Christ is very offensive and at times even divisive to the non-believers, but truth is truth. Either we will stand for truth or compromise for the lie for the sake of peace on earth. The truth is Jesus did not come so we could have songs to sing at our annual Christmas musicals. It is amazing how old Christmas recordings from people long ago come back to life every Christmas. Jesus did not come so we could run ourselves to death, buying presents for people, while going further into debt. It is no wonder support in America for missionaries and humanitarian programs dwindle to almost to nothing this season of the year. I am afraid the true character and nature of man comes out during Christmas. We even plug in a written list to a jolly fat man in a red suit that drives a sleigh of reindeer around the world in one night to make sure we get want we what for Christmas. Why do we think we should get a present on someone else’s birthday? Our selfishness and self-centered nature really comes shining through. Oh Lord please forgive us for the indulgence of our wrong attitudes, greed, and lust. Jesus did not come to give us a Christmas season to feed our passions. The Bible is very clear why Jesus came. Jesus tells us in His own words, “The thief (not the devil) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus came so that we “might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” not to get a bunch of Christmas presents to satisfy our flesh. Jesus came so that we might (our choice not His) have the life of God dwelling within our heart and lives. The creative eternal life of God moving in us and out from us to the world. Also, in John Jesus tells us, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) Jesus came so that we might have life eternal (one part of salvation) which is knowing His Father (and ours), so that we too could “know the only true God” as Jesus did. So, we too could know the sublime unity of knowing God as Jesus did. I would think that would be worth far more than anything we can buy each other. Did you know, Jesus (even though the Prince of Peace) did not come into the world to bring peace as many of the major denominations and religions of the world tell us. Religious deception always leads us away from Christ into the traditional religious worship of the customs of man (like Christmas and Easter) and into a good works salvation thinking. Oh no Jesus Himself said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I am come to set a man at variance (Strong’s #1639 to cut into two parts, cleave asunder, sever) against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. 39He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39) Jesus has come to cut our hearts out of the world with His word, the sword. Jesus has “come to set man at variance against” or sever every relationship where we love someone or something more than Him. Jesus came so that we could take up our cross (not Jesus’) and follow Him. Jesus came so we could lose our life so that we could then find our life in Him. We know and are persuaded if we lose our life for His sake we shall find it. We also know many of our friends will disagree (we hope and pray this is not the case) with this article, but that is okay getting the truth of the Gospel message out is more important than our friends getting offended at us. If they get offended at us over this article we know they probably are not our friends anyway. We have learned this truth the hard way. Please do not allow yourself to be deceived (your choice) by any pastor or person that says, “it is not a Heaven or Hell issue or it does not really matter” oh really? This thinking my friend is just spiritually wrong and a very subtle form of deception that has been carried on for 100s maybe 1,000s of years by the religious denominations and merchants both working hand-n-hand to get customers. Sadly at the heart of why we focus on the Christmas story and baby Jesus in the manger is so we do not have to deal with a risen Savior. How much more religious can we (like the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17)) who could not totally sell out be than to bow down and worship the Christmas story and the sweet little baby Jesus in the manger? This satisfies our religious flesh and helps to ease our guilt and feeling of disobedience from rejecting God’s word to us. Who wants to allow God to deal and judge in their hearts exposing areas where we must allow Him to work? It is much easier singing another song about Christmas as we buy presents for our family or even as we buy a present for some poor people who live down the street who we neglect the rest of the year. It is far less painful to go to every church musical and spend all we have than for God to be able to show us who we really are. Who wants to allow God free rein in our heart and lives to conform us into the image (icon) and character of Jesus Christ? Very few people do and the rest continue in this traditional religious lie year after year. I think I will end with a very sobering word; if you need a traditional religious holiday to know God sadly my friend your heart is very far from Him and you will never come to know Him. Let us turn our hearts away from the religious traditions of Christmas and allow God to bring the truth of His character and nature to us. It is our choice whether we desire presents on Christmas morning or the knowledge of God, we cannot have both. Written by David Stahl

THE NEXT GENERATION

One of the biggest norms in Christ is change, but change is only good for us if it benefits what God is doing in our lives. If not, then the change will drive us and others around us away from the truth of God’s word and God Himself. One of the biggest changes I have seen in the “Church” today is the move to change the means, to catch the next generation for Christ. We must be careful here, we must use discernment not to throw out God in a desire to see the next generation come to Christ. Now, this is a noble desire, but always remember what you use to win someone to Christ with you have won them to that. So if, you use: rock Christian music, a new look in the sanctuary, a stage show with strobe lights or like most seeker sensitive churches turn out the lights to add a nightclub affect, fog machines, a new sound system, drama, painting, and so much more then you have won the next generation to that. But if you use the word of God and His ways, even though they may seem like they are old fashion to the new generation, still you have won them to the word of God. There is no hip Jesus my friend. The message to come to salvation does not change, the Gospel, saved by grace through faith. Now the means, the things used to support the message can as long as it does not reflect the world. Remember, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck and looks like a duck it probably is not a chicken. There must be a balance, there must be an awareness between the world’s ways that appeal to the next generation and what the Bible allows. The message of the word of God is not optional depending on the desire, likes, or dislikes of the next generation. I have seen Christian Churches and Bible Schools bend over backwards, for years, trying to satisfy students and make kids more comfortable hoping they will stick around, but usually what happens is the Church or Bible School comprises the tenants of the faith while saying they are making up for past failures of leadership. The old saying, “you must not let the chickens run the hen house” still applies today. If the spirituality and behavior, due to policy and structural changes of a Church or Bible School, begins to wain then that is a huge red flag to the leadership that signals a revisiting to the effectiveness of the change and then have the courage to go back to the old way of doing things if need be. Newer, bigger, brighter is not always better in God. I have seen this struggle between the old ways and the new ways, so that the new generation will get involved, but I am not so sure that message will really work in God if not careful. The key between creating greater problem or touching a “true” spiritual need in the next generation is the leadership’s discernment and ability to know the difference between the things of the world and the things of God. We know what the world and the nominal church offers, I described them earlier in this article and the end result is confusion, loss of time and money, and usually the next generation wanting more and more of the world. I have seen it all over the world. You know, today there seems to be a great hunger from Churches to want to be like the seeker sensitive Churches in America. They look successful, crowds, dancing, singing, but not always so in God. NO! Each Church MUST be developed according to cultural norms and how God wants them to be developed. To follow and copy a failed non-spiritual format like the seeker sensitive movement in America is insanity and void of all spiritual values. So, what is spiritual discernment? Well, spiritual discernment is the result of knowing Jesus Christ. If you know the Truth Himself, you are going to, well, know the Truth that pertains to Him – you are going to know what is of Him. This is, of course, a progressive revelation into which we have come. We really must understand that discernment is the result of knowing Christ. Too often we make discernment a gift and think of it as something we are able to do as a thing unto itself. No. For a Christian, everything is connected to life in Christ, and nothing operates independent of our relationship with Him nothing that is of God, that is. Thus, discernment does not operate independent of Christ, but rather, is a product of our relationship with Him, and knowledge OF Him. This tells us how to know error. Error is not simply bad theology, although there is plenty of that out there. Rather, error is a misrepresentation of Christ Himself. One way or another it is that. Thus, I cannot know error unless I know the Truth. I do realize that it is possible for discernment to operate purely on a theological or intellectual level. People DO have brains, and even an atheist can spot hypocrisy and some error. But the discernment of the Holy Spirit is much more than simply being able to compare notes and come to conclusions. The discernment by the Holy Spirit means that I am able to sense whether something belongs to Christ or does not. It is all based on Him, whether it fits into Him. Unless we know Christ, and therefore have Him as our basis of discernment, we are going to use something else. Usually we will use our understanding, how we feel about something, or whether something appeals to us. Sometimes Christians just do not think like spending vast amount of money to change outward surroundings, like a sanctuary, to please fleshly concerns. And often they simply resign and let others think for them. If there is one thing the church needs today it is the discernment that comes from knowing the Person of Jesus Christ. The fact that there seems to be so little discernment out there today is simply evidence that many, including leaders, do not know Him. The consequences are everywhere. The growing trend in churches today is the compromise of Truth for the sake of unity. Churches compromise to keep members and get them. This compromise is not merely seen in wrong things being preached. It is seen in right things being eliminated. Preachers like Joel Osteen openly brag about the fact that they never preach that we are sinners, must repent, or that there is a Cross that each of us have to meet. This, we are told by people like Osteen, is not necessary. We need a positive gospel, they say. And the fact that millions follow them in their error simply gives them all the more boldness to continue preaching it. It would seem that today more than ever, whatever will get the people in the pew is what is accepted as Truth. Or people just don’t care about Truth at all. Either way, the trend of the last 10-15 years is one of, "anything goes in the name of love." People like Osteen, Rick Warren, and Bill Hybels all of whom have ties to, or are echoing heretic Robert Schuller concentrate on you, and on making you the center of God’s universe. And since we all care about ourselves, we eat this stuff up. And yet this kind of message is actually the message of antichrist. Antichrist is basically Christ without the Cross. In other words, antichrist is man in Adam affirmed religiously, just as he is, and without the need to meet the Cross. The modern gospel of self-esteem is the fullness of the gospel of Satan. That is not an extreme statement. It is the Truth and it is here, right now, in the churches. It is one of the most subtle, yet damaging, deceptions ever perpetrated on the Body of Christ. Draw your own conclusions about what that means as to the times in which we live. All of this comes back to a lack of discernment, and the usual result: Trying to do for God, on the wrong basis, what only God can do on the right basis. God wants His church unified in Christ, and in the Truth. Today we are trying to unify the Church by compromising with both. We just returned from three weeks in Romania and Ukraine what a wonderful time we had, how God protected and kept us from harm and death. But, In Romania we know of a church, my most favorite church in the world, and a Bible School that is in the throes of this change. Now I know the leadership quite well and know in God they will make the right decisions. I have attended this Church since 1998 and watched it go from a cold, dark place, where you prayed on the hard concrete floor on your knees to a warm, inviting place, where the presence of God is tangible and the life of God is imparted to the people. Year after year, as God moved, things changed, things were removed and things were added. Little by little (that is important) God changes the inwards things of the heart and as the inward heart changes so does the outward. Not fast, but slow little by little. I know the next generation likes things fast, flashy, and shiny, but God does not work that way. Change not to look like the world or even America, but change because God said so. There is where the safety of change is found, not in the change to look like someone else, but change to be in the will of God. Written by David Stahl