GUARDS AGAINST HERSEY

The foundational truths, like a threefold cord, has been lost by the Body of Christ and unless the Body of Christ gets back to the fundamental principles and doctrines on which she was established she will continue to be what she is today an irrelevant collection of groups of people trying to seek God through the blindness of not knowing truth and real power. That guard against heresy, these threefold cord I speak of is: the Scriptures, creeds, and the hymns. To understand the importance of these cords we must look at them through the power of the Holy Spirit, something else that has been lost in the Body of Christ. Let us face it the Holy Spirit has been watered down by the Pentecostals, the Church of and Assembly of God, and evangelicals. He has been explained away by the Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, and worse the 1,000s of non-denominational churches out there which most of them having strange, unscriptural, and mostly ungodly doctrines which have hyper-spiritualized the Holy Spirit into something He is not. Boy could we tell you about the ungodly churches just in the Jacksonville, NC area, but I will save that for another article. Where is the power of God? I can remember growing up as a child being in a service and suddenly without warning the power of God falls; people crying out, running, shouting, repenting, snot running out of noses, tears running down faces, but it has been a long time since I have seen the Holy Spirit move like this. Today pastors preach their guts out and give an alter call and no one responds. What has happened? Could it be heresy has snuck into the Body of Christ? I do believe the Holy Spirit has not changed maybe it is us who has changed by allowing deception and heresy (false teachings and doctrines) in the camp. The Holy Spirit will NOT move in the mist of lies, confusion, and self exaltation. Today I believe the greatest need in the Body of Christ is not another blessing or another new ministry, but a heart seeking examination of what we believe and why we believe it. Sin has entered the camp and it needs rooted out by shedding the light of truth on practices and beliefs in the Body of Christ that prevents the Holy Spirit from working while exalting the flesh of man. God, in is wondrous love, has given us a way of escape to get back on track if we only stay in the paths He has ordained and directed for us to go. That way is maintaining the ways that was once delivered to us from the fathers of the faith from days passed. Let us look at these threefold cords that will prevent heresy and a continual shift away from God through the eyes of the functions and activities of the Holy Spirit. First off He is a worker and needs us, for we are His instrumentality, or the means by which He accomplishes His work. We are the canvas the Holy gets to paint on, we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). Paul tell us we are man up of three major areas, spirit, soul, and body. I think no one would differ with that thought, but the Holy Spirit employs instrumentalities to carry out the work of the Father in these three areas of our triune being. He does this by means of the various ministries of the Spirit of God and He works with these ministries through the Body which is not the "Church" because WE ARE (the people) the "Church." I am speaking collectively of the Body of Christ. We are the Body of Christ the Church. I do not mean any particular denomination, but rather the Body of Christ consisting of all true believers that are born again through faith in Jesus Christ whether they are in the Pentecostal sheepfold, the Presbyterian, the Episcopalian, or whatever. The idea being if we are truly born again through faith in Jesus Christ then we are all one family, one great body of Believers regardless of what denominational tag we may wear. Remember what Paul said, “Henceforth, know we no man after the flesh.” And yes the LORD is mightily working today calling many people out of all denominations and is calling out a new people composed from the whole spectrum of faiths to make up His Bride. God is on the move and I am moving with Him. What counts is our personal relationship to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is active as a person and to keep up with Him we must not run after the denominational worldly ways to draw men to the LORD. To be honest we should be interested and jealously seek the LORD that we might be used by the Spirit of God as the need demands. If there is no need then there is of course no demand. The LORD is not encouraging that we make an empty display of things as the Body of Christ is doing today, but the gifts are available to meet a particular need. Now here is the need, to go back to the foundational principles by the Spirit of God to restore the power and authority the Body of Christ once had. For this to happen we MUST restore the knot of the threefold cord of the Scriptures, creeds, and the hymns. These three guards the Body of Christ against heresy. All three agree concerning the power and doctrine of the Holy Spirit and is the foundational support that the early Christians depended on for their revelation and guidance. The first cord is the Scriptures. This is where we must begin because anything not built on Scripture is not of God and will not stand. I think of the sudden explosion of the Vineyard churches in the mid to late 90s how they would explode on the scene and just as fast as they were planted they dried up and withered away as grass from lack of a spiritual foundation in the Scripture. The Vineyard churches were built on music (not hymns) and a fleshly approach that appealed to emotions, but Scripture does not appeal to our emotions oh no Scripture will put a nail in the heart of our emotions. Hill Song churches today remind me of the Vineyard churches, remember, if your hands and feet move before your heart it is your emotions and probably not of God. Sadly the Body of Christ has replaced the Scriptures for technology, commentary, and other's revelation. I was talking with my son Daniel a few days ago and he was asking me my thoughts on a story in the Bible. Well I shared my thoughts and he went into other events that were not a part of the Scriptures so I asked him where he got these events and he said from commentary reading and then he said, "after all most preachers get their messages from commentary." Now this may be true, but it is not of God. I told Daniel I can only defend the Scriptures to the extent of what is written in the Scriptures anything written outside the Scriptures is another man's revelation. Most pastors get their Sunday sermon (a good moral lesson not a message direction from God) from other's books and commentary. If so they are not getting something from God oh no they are preaching another's man's revelation, what God has revealed to that man. Great as the revelation was there is no authority and power in what God has revealed to another man (apart from the Scriptures) no matter how gifted the speaker is. Getting a word from God will cost you something of which most preachers and teachers are too busy and/or do not have the stomach to endure God's dealings and judgments. Oh no it is easier to get something off the internet or out of some commentary. NOTHING my friend replaces Scripture yet the Scriptures have been laid aside even trampled on and the Body of Christ is now in an ungodly mess that ONLY hearing and internalizing within our heart and soul can fix. The next cord (second) is creeds. You know most Christians do not know what they believe. Oh they will say they believe Jesus saved them from their sin and they are on their way to heaven, but after that they do not really know what they believe. Did you know there is such a thing as an unbelieving believers? All Believers believe in Christ or they would not be Believers, but not all Believers believe what is spoken from the pulpit. Now I will be honest there may be times when it is better that we do not believe in what we hear, but there are also times when God is sending to us His pure word, His message to our hearts, and yet some in the audience (in spite of being a Believer) will not believe. And why? Because most Christians are so busy working for God they never become the work of God. I was in a church one Wednesday night and one of the movers and shakers in the church asked for prayer. She said Satan has her so busy doing things she does not have time to do more in the church, well foolishly I spouted (I am sorry I can only take so much foolishness) out, "that is not true." We, needless to say, are no longer are welcome at that church. But the truth is we do what we want to do and when we want to do it. Satan does not make us do things we just like blaming Satan for our short comings and mistakes. So too many Christians are reading Christian fiction they never get around to reading the creeds written by the fathers of the faith. The creeds are a declaration by the fathers of the faith and what the Scriptures taught. The Apostles Creed (AD 390), Nicene Creed (AD 392), and the Athanasian Creed (AD 415). These declarations of faith and of the Holy Spirit and of the Father have come down through the years and this is what the fathers of the faith believed, what was handled down from one generation to the next. When companies of Christians met they declared these truths some while having their tongues cut out, while others had their ears burned off, others their arms and legs torn asunder. Martyred the old saints of God knew the truth. They wrote these creeds, they lived these creeds, and gave their lives for these creeds they gave these creeds to us and the world for the ages. Yet today they have been discarded as rubbish for something that tickles our ears, for something that causes our tongue to flap in the breeze while saying nothing, and all for an emotional stir that moves our arms and legs. What a huge contrast indeed. I think we will have much to apologize for to the fathers of the faith. And the third cord is hymns. With the introduction of amplified musical instruments (mid to late 40s) into entertainment and sadly into the "nominal" church began the end to real understanding and true believe in God. No longer were the words the focus, but now the beat and rhythm took center stage. Who cares what the message is just give me a beat and rhythm that will drive my spirit. We also saw this play out in the 60s in a huge way with the counter culture, anti-war revolution that swept the US. Believe it or not it was the same anti-Christ spirit that fostered the counter culture, anti-war revolution also fostered the death of the hymns. Instead of the Body of Christ affecting the culture the anti-Christ culture affected the Body of Christ tapping into a spirit of greedy fleshly assent to God not to mention the masses this new media can draw. People means power, influence, and money. Hollywood learned this a long time ago and sadly most churches are following their bad example. They and other organizations learned music affects our spirit nothing stirs our spirit and get us up more than an arousing song or even a good march, but hymns affects our soul. Hymns cause us to stop and reflect on the message and what we are hearing. Since our emotions are NOT engaged there is time for an inward reflection. Then mediating on hymns enables us to understand what the fathers of the faith has believed down through the centuries. Songs like, "Sweet Hour of Prayer," Blessed Assurance," "At the Cross," these and so many more hymns that have great meaning and impact in our heart and soul. Hymns connect us with the Christian folks of the past. Sadly many Christians want to forget the past even as we see this play out in the back drop of our culture wanting to rewrite history or just remove things we do not like. Some questions I would ask are, "are we going to seek God together? Are we going to stand by that masterful threefold cord God has built as a foundation for the Body of Christ to prevent heresy or shall we drift away from the foundation to satisfy our fleshly lust? Will we stand firm on the Scriptures, creeds, and the hymns? Like all things in God time will tell, but one thing God's word tells us is, "a threefold cord is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

WTFMT 43 FOR HGM ON 23 MAY 17

WILDERNESS TRUTHS FOR MODERN TIMES-43

TEXT:   "The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high." (Habakkuk 3:10)

 

I. THE PURE IN HEART SHALL SEE GOD

 

A. The prophet Habakkuk makes a very strange statement concerning seeing God. Relative to this statement from God's own mouth in Exodus 33:20, ". . . there shall no man see me and live." But Jesus comes along and says' "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:9) There is a possibility of seeing God.

B. There is a possibility of seeing God after death to self. Everything that looks into the eyes of God must melt and die! It is still true that you cannot see God and live. Yet it is also true that the pure in heart can see God. The heart must be purified from selfishness. One must die to self.

C. In the very process of learning God by being with Him and ingesting His Word the believer comes to a gradual dying. When the dying is sufficient in the sight of God He can have a trust in the believer not to spend His resources on the desires of the flesh. The more we move away from self as the center the greater the opportunity to see God as the center.

D. In seeing God we are able to see what is in Him. That is we get a view of His character which transcends the ability of language to describe. We SEE His purposes. We SEE a heart which is indescribable. We SEE His intentions. We even can learn God well enough to move with Him on His pathway for our lives.

E. If we learn to walk God's pathway, living in His will, we like the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace will not be concerned about what God will or will not do. The reason for this lack of concern is that we have learned God well enough to know that He is concerned for us. Thus we can, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (I Peter 5:7)

F. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew God well enough that they were certain of their deliverance. God could deliver them outside the fiery furnace keeping them from even going into it. God could deliver them out from the fiery furnace bringing them out once they were thrown into it. God could deliver them in the fiery furnace through physical death. They never questioned God about their situation or about what He would do, because they knew Him!

G. If we know God well enough we would know of His greatness and unlimited power, we would know of His love and care, and of His mercy, kindness, and longsuffering. There would be no room for questions or doubt. In learning to know God, we can become so full of Him that it leaves room for nothing ungodly.

H. The Bible does not say, "Love casts out fear." But it does say, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." (I John 4:18) Love which is complete enough crowds out elements contrary to it. We can become so full of love that fear cannot find any room in us.

 

II. PARTING THOUGHTS

A. God gave the provisions necessary for learning to know Him. In referring to the time in the Wilderness of Sinai, "Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:" (Nehemiah 9:13) As man reaches for all that God provides and continually takes in as much as he can he will learn to know God.

B. The importance of knowing God is seen in God's efforts to reveal Himself to man. "You came down on Mount Sinai," illustrates God's efforts. For God to "come down" on Mount Sinai would mean that He traveled an unimaginable distance. He left heaven and came to the Wilderness of Sinai. Or did He bring Heaven with Him? "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place." (Psalm 68:17) In the Wilderness of Sinai Heaven comes down.

TOTAL SUBMISSION

Now let me start by saying I am not there -- total submission, but as long as I have a heart to get there all is well with my walk with the LORD. You know I am not sure if we will ever come into this intention of the LORD for us in this life. One of my favorite verses in the Scriptures is found in the Song of Songs. It reads, "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? (Song of Songs 8:5) Now there is a particular quality about the one who is coming up from the wilderness that attracts special attention. They are “leaning” upon her "Beloved." This position of leaning demonstrates a critical truth that must include our walk with the LORD wherein we have become completely dependent upon Him. Something has changed during their time of being in the wilderness which has resulted in them becoming totally submissive upon the LORD. Throughout Biblical history the LORD often uses the wilderness to teach and purify His servants in order to qualify them for His purposes. The wilderness speaks of a barren and desolate area, but if one looks close they will see a well watered place of God's bounty hidden in hardships, confusion, uncertainty, and yes even failure. It is a place where inner needs become intensified as they seek satisfaction and there is no availability of things necessary to meet these needs. Here needs can only be met through an internal soul searching, reflection, openness, and an utter dependence on the LORD. In Genesis (which may be a spiritual arrangement) we read where the LORD planted a garden in Eden supplying everything that could be desired by man. It provided an environment of both beauty and provision – complete beyond imagination. “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:8-9) Adam and Eve then were placed in this garden and commanded: ". . . of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) This made them totally dependent as they were required to obey the word that the LORD had spoken to them. Now the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was fair game for food. After all God did say, "every tree of the garden you may freely eat" and that included the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but God added if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil "in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.” Our total submission to God always comes with choices the LORD has arranged things this way. Strange how the LORD sets this arrangement up to measure our faithfulness. The Scriptures are full of examples where the LORD gives us choices. One is found in Deuteronomy where God sets life and death before us on which all of mankind balances. "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;" (Deuteronomy 30:15) God said look at life here look at death I set them both before you, now you choose. We choose in word and in our deeds. For Adam and Eve the only restraint to their eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the word that the LORD had commanded them that they were not to partake. This tree was in the midst of the garden. It was very desirable and easily available to them. Eve had observed that the fruit of this tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired (Genesis 3:6). I wonder how Eve knew this? Herein was Eve’s problem the fruit of this tree was very appealing. However she knew that God had said no. As we know the attraction was so enticing and the fruit seemingly so desirable (sounds like today) that Eve disobeyed and partook. Yes we can blame Satan to a degree for Eve's disobedience, but Eve carried her disobedience to the next level when she gave Adam of the fruit to eat and he did. Strange the Serpent did not tempt Adam only Eve. Why then did Adam eat? Only God really knows (I was not there), but maybe Adam knew the penalty of death hanging over Eve's head and he loved her so. All of the other animals in the garden had a mate again I do not know, but through this act of disobedience Adam and Eve forfeited their position of total submission upon the LORD not only for them, but for all mankind. Adam (and Eve to a certain degree) made a willful, conscience choice to eat of the fruit. They failed to overcome their fleshly desire in the test that had been placed in their pattern of life. As a result of this the process of death entered their being and they no longer "leaned" upon Him. Along with this they lost all that would have developed on their behalf had they been obedient and overcame in this testing. I wonder what the Garden of Eden held for mankind and the world if Adam and Eve would have passed the first test for man. The Scriptures are silent concerning what might have taken place in their relationship to the LORD had they chosen to remain submissive and obedient to Him. The only clue that we have as to what might have been is to consider the outcome in the testing of Jesus in the wilderness. Ah the wilderness again. Jesus took upon Himself, in human form, the identity of a second Adam and then faced a test that was similar to the one that the first Adam had faced. “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry. 3And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, 4It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:2-4) Jesus overcame in every situation where the first Adam failed. Jesus was an overcomer where Adam was not. An overcomer is one who submits to the LORD and then abides in a "leaning" position upon their Beloved. This is an indication of their complete trust in and dependence upon the LORD and it is the result of having become obedient and submissive to the will of the Lord. We just choose correctly as automatic as breathing. Our becoming an overcomer means that we are rising above all that is less than the LORD's revealed or known best. It involves our facing the test of the wilderness and remaining dependent upon the LORD for provision. Adam and Eve were tested concerning the possibility of their becoming overcomers, but because of the desirability and the attraction of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they choose for their own seeming good and failed to overcome. All spiritual gain must be tested if it is to abide and become productive. Adam and Eve failed their test while abiding in a perfect environment and entered death. Jesus had to face a similar test in order to qualify for the place in life that Adam had forfeited. In contrast to the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden Jesus faced Satan in the barren environment of a wilderness that provided nothing. “And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterward hungry.” (Matthew 4:2) There was nothing available that could satisfy the intense hunger that Jesus felt. Then Satan appeared to Jesus and suggested that He turn stones into bread in order to satisfy His gnawing hunger. There was nothing inherently wrong with turning these stones into bread, except that God had not said to do so. Jesus refused to act and waited for supply from His Father. Had Jesus exercised His Deity in order to provide for His own need He would have become independent. He qualified by remaining in a place of total dependence upon His Father for provision. This was exactly where Adam and Eve failed. The sin of Adam and EVE was not eating the fruit, oh no even when we sin it is not the act, but the intention of our heart. Sin is to miss the mark, to know right, but do wrong, to do that which God said not to do. The sin of Adam and Eve (especially Adam) was they thought they could be independent from God and do as they felt best. They could decide for themselves what was right or wrong. Jesus confirmed His complete dependence upon God when He said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Jesus refused to act apart from a word from the LORD and came forth from the wilderness in the “power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14). Power in God comes by allowing God to work in our lives helping us to make right choices. We also will be tested, as Jesus was “if” we desire to come into a relationship of total submission. Those who choose to abide in this position of will then be led by the Holy Spirit into a specially prepared wilderness where we will develop a deep inner hunger (maybe even a dissatisfaction) along with an intense desire (even a frustration) in some area of our being. Then at a critical moment when it seems to us that the LORD is no longer interested in our problem and He is delaying His answer the enemy will be allowed (like with the Serpent) to come and tempt us. He will try to provoke us to act in some way to produce or to bring about the satisfaction that we desperately long for which is presently apart from the LORD’s provision for us. If we will steadfastly refuse this temptation and stand fast, in due time, the LORD will feed us. If we will be patient during our times of being tested and wait for the LORD's provision for us then it can truly be said: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.” (1Corinthians 2:9) Maybe even some of the things in the Garden of Eden God intended for Adam before his disobedience. The first Adam failed and lost his place or position as an overcomer. This was regained by Jesus who overcame as the last Adam and now we too can become an overcomer. Jesus was faithful in maintaining His place of dependence. There is no greater joy than that which comes from making a determined choice to become dependent upon the LORD and then to faithfully abide in this newfound place of total submission until the greater day comes. Now we can no longer blame Adam, Eve, or even Satan for us not coming to total submission to the LORD. He is waiting.