TEN COMMANDMENTS
People who proclaim they are of the Christian faith have a strange way of demonstrating their support of the Ten Commandments. Although these commandments form the basis for all of Christianity, charlatans within and out of the church are choosing to ignore some of these 10 basic rules of The Way. I use the term "The Way" instead of Christianity because much of the practice of Christianity today does not fall within the guidelines of Christ's teaching. If you disagree with me, I urge you to study the four gospels. If you're strictly a New Testament Christian, I remind you Christ frequently quoted from the Old Testament and was aware of all the "Jewish" teaching. Even Satan knows the Old Testament. We should know it, too.
Much of the clamor and blustery commotion on radio, television and publications is centered on sexual related matters. The fact is these people (including pastors) are singling out social issues to lead people into passing legislation for control. Before you hit "delete", please read the rest of this paragraph. If you are going to purport to be a Christian, you must not ignore a commandment that deals solely with sex. That is the Seventh Commandment (Exodus20:14). "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
I may have missed something, but I haven't seen any state or national movement to enforce the sin of adultery as a crime punishable in a court of law. It is a common sin, committed both by Christians and unbelievers. A sinner can repent and be forgiven. That is true for every sin except one: Matt. 12:31. The unforgiven sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. When you do this, you are denying the power of God. So...an adulterer can be forgiven for straying. The adulterer may commit the same sin more than once. The person can be married more than once, but the sin may be forgiven. This is a common occurrence, even among church attending Christians. Pastors do this and are reinstated as the church leader.
Since this adultery is a violation of Christian law, should all adulterers be criminally prosecuted and/or fined and jailed? There is a move on to do just that, except it's not for adultery. It seems there are many people professing to be of faith who want to criminalize certain sex related issues, but not adultery. These other sexual issues are flash points to
support a modern form of vigilantes. Very little thought is given to the entire sexual issue. When the word "sex" is used, it is "tuned" to exotic sex--intercourse and oral sex. It is explained only as sex, with nothing to do with companionship, love or assistance.
Have you examined pictures of these couples? Most same sex marriages are between older people. If you had the "opportunity" to see the couples who came to the hospital for treatment, you might understand that the need for companionship was a main reason for many couples. There are many people alone in our country, and if you are old or in any way physically limited, you will understand the need for a caring and even loving companion. There is no sex involved. The hue and cry about same sex marriage reflects the "dirty" minds of many smug, righteous people.
Marriage between a man and a woman applies for the purpose of procreation. Our society offers certain privileges and benefits for married couples that are available only for married couples. By not permitting same sex marriages, these people are denied access to tax supported
funds. Is there some reason a Christian can't understand the need of love and companionship without physical sex? Is everyone possessed with a "dirty" mind? Check out a hospital or assisted care facility to get a decent understanding of the horror of being alone.
How can a professing Christian attend and support a church whose pastor tells his congregation to "use a stick to hit the limp wrist of a son to prevent him from becoming a homosexual?" I'm moving on to another subject here--changing horses in mid stream. I want to stress that this kind of general teaching is not from Christ. It has no place in the pulpit. This guy reminds me of the West Baptist preacher. A limp wrist does not indicate a future homosexual. Christ did not teach a Christian should whip or force anyone to make them accept and perform as a Christian. If you know history, you know both the Jewish religious leaders and Rome tried to enforce obedience to their wishes. Even Rome would have released Paul, but the Jewish religious leaders wanted Christ dead. Think about that, and do a teeny bit of research before you decide to join a pastor like the one I mentioned. (I saw his sermon.)
I won't comment on homosexuality except to say scripture describes it as a sin. So is lying a sin, and cheating, and gossiping. All these sins can be forgiven. We are not to judge how they conduct themselves as long as they don't harm us. If you pre-judge, that is a sin. Look at Matt. 7:1-2. "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." We need to remove our sins first. We may try to help them overcome that sin, but, again, physical and mental force are not tools given us by Christ. We should encourage them to attend church. Our job is to witness Christ to them. Where better than the church?
Christ did not attempt to establish a theocracy. He knew, and history has proven religious based societies fail. Except for God's choice of Israel as His people, even Israel would not exist today. There is a strong Christian movement to establish laws that would create a theocracy.
For some reason, people want to govern by heavy-handed law rather than by Christ's process of choice. Christ never forced anyone to do anything, and neither did the apostles. He expressed physical anger just once, and it concerned love of money--the current dollar symbol that is replacing the cross. See His action in Matt. 21:12-13, "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, 'It is written, My
house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.'"
Christ expressed extreme oral anger in Matt. 23: 1-36. I pray you will read these passages, as they are among the longest in His discourse. I will summarize them because of the length, but the sub title tells you what the subject is, "Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees." Jesus points
out the people were being misled by wrong teaching and man-made extended rules and regulations. This is a warning to us to carefully examine our religious leaders. Of course you have to know the meaning of scripture to make an intelligent decision. That takes time, and we
all know time is MONEY, right?
I've heard professing Christians cite various verses of Proverbs as the basis for persecution of Christians and non Christians. You do understand that Proverbs is not Christ's teaching, right? Oh, it's important and a part of scripture, but it wasn't taught by Christ or a priest. It is solid advice from a very wise man, and I'll tell you how you can easily make a mistake in the use of passages. Turn to Proverbs 6:16. "These six things the Lord hates, Yes seven are an abomination to Him. A proud look, a lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren."
Proverbs was written by King Solomon and several other writers. None were religious leaders or priests. The Book is advice and wisdom, but not part of Christ's teaching. The first clue is a word in verse 1, HATES. Christ never taught anything but love. Even when He berated the Scribes and Pharisees, Christ never used the word hate. He only listed the many ways they were misleading the people. I hear and see hatred all around me, and both political and church leaders are guilty of tarnishing the truth and gold of Christianity.
When the Israelites told the prophet Samuel they wanted a human king to lead them instead of God, Samuel warned them they would suffer under a human king. Read 1 Samuel 8:1-22. This is another lengthy read, but if you can't correlate these verses to the movement toward a theocracy, the consequences will be similar. You may not be a political or church leader, but if you fail to understand these consequences, your support means you are falling into the same pit as the Israelites. Christ brought us the four gospels. That is God's Word. That should be our manual of operation. Using any other scripture without actually understanding it is a sin. It is forgivable, but it's still a sin.
Rev. Walbear
WORST SIN
You do know there's one sin worse than all others. Right? That's the situation if you're not saved. There is only one thing (sin) that keeps you out of eternal life, and a committed Christian does not have to worry about it. Why not? Because if your acceptance of salvation was sincere, you have the presence of the Holy Spirit. The only thing that cancels out a trip to Heaven is denial of the Holy Spirit. Christ warns us in Matt.12:31, "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men." That is because the Holy Spirit represents the very power of God. If you deny the power
of God, you are denying God.
To review this fact, we see that a real Christian can't deny the Holy Spirit because it is part of the commitment. Therefore, there is no worst sin for a Christian. All sins are of equal value because each and every one of us exhibits man's failure of righteousness. Isaiah 64:6. "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;" The 10 Commandments (plus 1) and the teaching in the four gospels give us the standards we must follow to fulfill our commitment.
If there was a "worst" sin, you might think murder would top the list. Even a murderer who repents, confesses his sin to God and accepts Christ's offer of salvation, has eternal life. No single sin of any kind except blasphemy cuts mankind from eternal life. That's why it is so important that we don't keep unsaved people from attending church. Of course we expect a saved person to work on curtailing the actions that were/are involved in any kind of sin.
If there is no action to change, we must conclude the commitment was not real. An individual may not be able to eliminate the sin overnight, but there should be evidence he/she is trying. It is also important to understand the sinner (including us, individually) needs the companionship of other believers to help clean up the path towards righteousness.
Growing up, the church people I was surrounded by were pretty set in their beliefs of sin, and especially the "worst" sin or sins. That meant some people were not treated well. These worst sins included a host of activities such as liquor, smoking, murder, divorce, infidelity
and several others. The one sin that actually caused more grief than any other was not usually mentioned. It seemed each denomination had a differing value on different sins. The more righteous people believed they were, the more that denomination discriminated against
others. Instead of increasing the circle of fellowship, this attitude turned non Christians off. When we began this ministry, we were surprised at the number of people who wanted nothing to do with Christianity because of early church experiences.
Things haven't changed much in the minds of many people who claim to be Christians. They continue to preach on the subject of selected worst sins. Many do have different sins at the top of their list, and this continues to turn off many people who have the power to intelligently reason. You would think a person who claims to be a Christian would at least know something about their manual, the bible. At least they should know something about the New Testament.
Yet, the worst sin syndrome seems to have claimed the forefront of knowledge. Along with this attitude is the fixation on sex, which some people think is part of everything.
Before we examine some of today's worst sin theories, let's take a look at one sin that probably causes more anguish than any other, and it's easily passed over. It is something we all do, and it seems there are two main reasons it flourishes. One is the lack of education, and the other is lack of religious knowledge. Religious knowledge is the very basic of the 10 Commandments. It is Ex. 20:16, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." We need to get a full understanding of FALSE WITNESS. When you lie about a matter related to another person, that is false witness. When you pass along information about a subject without checking for fact or accuracy, this is GOSSIP. If you don't know, don't tell. You never know how many people you have somehow damaged because it's usually impossible to tell all people who heard the gossip the truth. Worse yet, the damage can destroy reputations, families and organizations.
Murder and infidelity may impact quite a number of people, but they don't have the impact gossip may have. Millions can be affected by false information (gossip). Dictators and big time financial people are successful because they peddle false information (gossip). An example of that is our political campaigning. The same is true in all aspects of our society, including sports and religion. Many Christians make a mistake by accepting information without checking where the material originated. In religion, the various "man" rules can tell you the denomination. Rules do vary from church to church, but there are usually many that are similar. When a speaker or pastor from the group details activities, they will be from the "teaching" outreach of the denomination. Before you fall in line, take the time to check these instructions with scripture. Our churches today are inundated with pastors who mix religion and opinion. When you follow opinion or teaching not in the gospels, you become a purveyor of gossip.
One of the best ways to spread false information is to manufacture an emotional issue. There are many such issues, and embellished with suspect information, create a flash issue that spawns vigilante action. Once this gets started, any grain of truth is trampled, and the result brings harm to innocent people. Today's society is guilty of verbal "hanging." Behind this phenomenon is the lust for control, power and money. For some pastors, it is job stability. They may not know the facts, and they may not want to take a chance in rocking the boat of influential church members. Some pastors will not speak about certain areas of scripture or subjects that are "hot button" subjects in their church or denomination.
Most people rate politicians below the proverbial used car salesman for accuracy or honest information. Yet, these same people listen to similar information from the pulpit without bothering to verify the information. Many denominations and churches have themselves become political organizations. These developments go right back to the acceptance of gossip. A mixture of truth, half truths and falsehoods results in a toxic message. It is often so much
easier to evade the truth. It is difficult to preach the truth, even though you base the information on scripture. Truth frequently hurts, and few people want to be hurt. It's much easier to go with the flow. Satan's representatives have an excellent background in how to influence people and lead them astray. Satan's teaching staff appears to be more dedicated than the Christian teachers.
The use of an inflammatory issue seems to work very well in leading some Christians into concentrating on one issue and overlooking others. The fact that there is no sin to keep a Christian from eternal life is swallowed in an emotional reaction to elevate one sin to the "worst" status. That is happening today in America because professing Christians don't know scripture. Christ never brow beat anyone to become a Christian. He taught how Christians
are to react to all people. He gave them a choice. Christianity can't be forced on people. The Great Commission directed us to LEAD people to salvation, not force them. Mark 16:15 directs us, "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'" It is not our judgment to condemn those who choose not to accept His offer, as verse 16 tells us their refusal condemns themselves.
A Christian's job is to preach the word (witness), move away from those sins we seem to enjoy, false witness (gossip), and judgment. Some Christians are not better than others (more righteous), and every one continues to have a problem with some kind of sin. If there is a
difference between denominations, preachers or individual Christians, it is because of the lack of knowledge of scripture and research of facts. Christ's directions are clear in the four gospels. Study them.
Rev. Walbear
CENTURION CONNECTION
Every day we read or hear about faith from prominent people, leaders and it seems everyone who wants you to believe whatever they have to say or sell. The importance of faith to this ministry is evident from the name, Faith Walk. It is important to understand exactly what faith is and isn't. For starters, an expression of faith should also reveal the basis of that "faith." It is the basis of your faith that is all important, and controls what you may expect from that "faith."
An outstanding example of faith is found in Matt. 8:5-13. This is lengthy scripture, but we need to carefully examine all these verses, because it tells us what will happen when we take the
word "faith" lightly. "Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented..' And Jesus said to him, 'I will come and heal him.'" A centurion was a very important Roman citizen, who commanded 100 soldiers and frequently was in charge of a political district. "The centurion answered and said, 'Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, "Go," and he goes, and to another, "Come," and he comes; and to my servant, "Do this," and he does it."
Let's examine this closely before we continue. The centurion understands FULL authority. The Roman government was cruel with punishment, but it was a society of law. The Romans had their various gods, but not the true god. Therefore, citizens held the belief that an authority over you was in effect the instrument of god with power including life and death. They had courts of law, but positions of authority ruled. Their religious faith may have been non-existent, but their faith in leadership direction was clear.
To resume, from verse 10, "When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven . But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion,'Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.' And his servant was healed that same hour.'"
First, we see the centurion had full belief that Jesus could act as the true God. There was absolutely no doubt. He had total faith, not just ideological words used by so many "Christians." You may not have realized the centurion prayed to Jesus/God for the healing. His
words were a prayer, and he did not "expect" an answer--he KNEW his prayer would be answered. His words were REAL faith, not just what we see from so many professing Christians today. Their claims are frequently words without heartfelt impact. Unfortunately, many prayers fall into this category.
Secondly, we see that God acts according to His will, and there is no limit on time or location. Prayers for healing or other things may not necessarily be fulfilled. But, without total FAITH, you should not be surprised when nothing seems to happen. There is an element of time, varying from instant to longer periods of time. You must also understand that if doubts creep in, the healing or answer to prayer may be withdrawn. The word "faith" should be understood as "belief," because we may misunderstand another verse of scripture.
This explanation may seem confusing, but if you read Hebrews 11:1-3, you will see the clue that separates faith and belief. The Apostle Paul (or whoever wrote this epistle--there is some differing opinion on this) wrote to explain the difference between creation and the history of man. To do so, he had to explain that no one saw the process of creation, and that doesn't mean we should always expect to see God's work. A good example is radio waves. Paul said, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible."
Still sound confusing? This verse (1) is not a description of faith, but a description of what faith does. "Hoped for" relates to the reality of things (substance). Faith (belief) treats the prayer substance as reality, even if the unseen faith proves what may be unseen is real. This
is not always the situation, because often you can see the result. It is interesting that many Christians have a problem believing in "miracles," but that is often the case. The best example of this is faith healing. Some good bible teachers don't believe in faith healing. They have seen fake situations, especially where a fee was charged. Real faith healing should not be about any money. You see, God does the healing, not the person praying. The person praying is only reinforcing the prayer of the person seeking healing. That is why both people involved in faith healing must not doubt results. Healing does not always happen, because God may have other plans. That doesn't mean He didn't hear your prayer or doubt your faith; it just wasn't
timely.
God is in control of everything; it's His universe. All material blessings belong to Him. That includes land and buildings. It also includes the leaders in government. Leaders in the remainder of the world serve at the Lord's pleasure--even dictators and ruthless bigots. God has His reasons and has explained them in scripture. The problems faced by leaders in both the church and government are with us because these leaders don't know, understand or follow scripture.
There are two problems in particular religious leaders fall prey to: not realizing practically the entire Old Testament records punishment when people bastardize worship; and people can't be forced to follow any particular brand of religion. Even secular history bears this out.
You can't force anyone to be a Christian or Muslim short of laws or physical punishment (jail or death). Don't our pastors and religious teachers know scripture tells us we must be called to respond to Christ's offer of salvation? Christ never taught that people had to follow any man-made laws to be His followers. The key word for Christians is "choice."
Now that we've taken a hard look at faith, hope and belief, let's look at prayer. We can separate prayer into three categories. Yes, not all prayers are equal. We have the "casual" prayer that Jesus describes in Matt. 25:31-46, where people have needs and prayers are given, but nothing of material substance. It's summed up by the comment, "I'll pray for you." If you are at a long distance away from the person in need, a serious prayer carries weight. If you are in personal or close contact, and something material will help, that is required if possible. It's "putting your money where your mouth is." The third category is the after effect of answered prayer. Christ talks about this in Matt. 17:11-19. Ten lepers asked Him to heal them, and He did. Only one of the 10, who were all healed, returned to Christ to give thanks and glorify God. This man was a Samaritan, not a follower of Christ, and a religious "foreigner." These verses
indicate that God expects a recipient of special blessings to at least recognize the work of God.
Do we recognize the little frequent blessings each day and wait for something with bells and whistles? Do you attend a church that features bells and whistles, placing true study of the word as a secondary feature? Music and special events are not wrong, but they should not be the main reason for worship. Worship is to thank and glorify God, not to have amusement and fun. The switch from bible study to fun was clearly pointed out recently by a pastor of a
mega television ministry who said God wanted us to have fun and enjoyment. We are to worship us, not God. And this ministry takes in six figure amounts in its weekly service. It seems that a large number of American Christians must agree with this directive. I pray
you are not caught up in a fun and games ministry.
Rev. Walbear
YOUR RAP SHEET
Christian friend or non Christian friend, have you ever thought about your rap sheet? Christ died to erase and cover your sins, but that doesn't mean you didn't have a rap sheet before you were saved. It may have been torn up by God when you accepted Christ as Savior, but that doesn't mean you should now act superior to others you consider unsaved. Salvation does not give you a special standing or privilege, but rather makes you a servant.
Salvation erases your sins and gives you the presence of the Holy Spirit, but that only gives you the option to be Christ-like with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Salvation enables you to cross the threshold to eternal life. The original price tag was free, but that isn't the end of the story. If you really act Christ-like, you will begin to start another rap sheet, but it will be a works sheet. Your call to duty is given in James 2:17, "Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead."
People talk about their faith all the time, but frequently their faith is exhibited as a special free pass to eternal life. They may have said a few words to accept Christ's offer, but their heart wasn't really committed. If you are committed, the Holy Spirit will "nudge" you frequently when there is an opportunity for you to do "good works." James spells it out in chapter 2, verse 15. This admonition is a repetition of Christ's instructions in the gospels, Matt. 25:31-46.
Don't think that these passages are only for nations. God judges each person individually as well. James found it necessary to repeat the admonition about good works because many people
thought the free pass from Christ also entitled them to loaf and ignore Christ's gospel teaching.
There are many ways Christians influence others by their actions and words. The most serious mistake I usually encounter is that by leaders, religious or otherwise. This non-Christian mistake seems to be an immediate turnoff. It's a smug look of self satisfaction. The
bible explains it as self righteousness. Frequently, such judgment is made based on appearance or looks. Remember, Christ treated each person as a friend and companion. If you are a Christian, and especially if you hold a leadership position, do not let your station lead you to believe you are special. One of my boyhood examples of a real man of the cloth was a priest who did his ministry work on the waterfront. By waterfront, I mean the harbor area such as
San Francisco. His beat wasn't a church, but bars and dives that populate such areas. It was a tough venue that catered to a wide variety of tough guys, sailors, crooks, scarlet women and booze. Like Christ, this priest had the Holy Spirit power, and his presence was to spread the Word, but also to practice Christian principles to help those in need. He prayed for them, but he also provided other help and guidance.
Self righteousness is a bigger turnoff than drunkenness to many people. Drunks don't usually act as though they're superior to you. Most self righteous people treat others as inferior, especially if you are not well dressed or unkempt. When I come out of the barn sometimes, I'm not exactly spot clean. Some visitors have a mindset that my looks place me as a manure caddy. This amuses me, because I have the advantage of knowing a great deal about them from their
actions, and they are misguided by my looks. Most people don't expect a minister to fork manure, dig potatoes or milk a cow. When they engage me in conversation, they sometimes have a difficult time figuring out what I am.
Many self righteous people wear their "look" for others to see. My wife and I were in a parking lot recently, and we were parked next to a car that had "clergy" on a window and several slogans on the bumper and elsewhere. I waited in the car while she went inside a
store. In a few minutes an older couple emerged from the store. I watched them approach down the aisle and noted their body language and dress. I bet myself these were the people from the
religious car. I was correct. The couple left, and a short time later my wife returned to the car. She asked me if I saw the people who were from the religious car. I replied yes, and I knew who they were when they entered the aisle. She said she thought she knew who they were, too, because of their manner and the way they were dressed. She described their clothing, and was correct. The giveaway wasn't really their clothing, it was the smug look on their faces.
Christ believed this subject was so important, He devoted 36 of 38 verses of Matt. chapter 23 to the self righteousness and false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. Christ adapted Himself to the people surrounding Him. He was not an "elite", and He shunned the places reserved for VIPs at gatherings. He broke bread with saints and sinners. How can you "save" people if you exclude them from church? Church is where you are supposed to learn about God and His Word. It is not the place to go to show how "religious" you are.
Our ministry is not housed in a traditional church "building," and we have no set congregation that supports our work. We reach out to people in several states and work one on one in our local community. People locally are in the poor to modest range, and work together in sharing food and labor. Only part of the neighborhood is saved, but most work together. We supply messages on a regular basis, and much of our time is spent counseling. The Holy Spirit
guides us in our work, and we expect the Holy Spirit to "touch" those He wants to contribute to the ministry. We put out one call for financial support, and it was answered by an anonymous donor who paid our taxes. People who are righteous don't have to assume a position of self righteousness. Only God needs to know you are following His direction.
Good works is not just supporting a ministry or charity. It is providing for a specific need. If you look at the explanation of works in the first part of this message, you see how Christ identifies the term. So now we get to your Christian rap sheet. And yes, you do have a Christian rap sheet. God awards crowns to people in Heaven. If you doubt this, check the following passages in scripture: 1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Peter 5:4,
and Rev. 2:10. These are heavenly crowns, nothing like earthly crowns that eventually disintegrate. These are eternal awards, crowns of glory, earned through obedience to Christ and His teaching. They may mean nothing on earth, but in heaven, awards are eternal.
Many times people think support and tithing is represented mainly through donations or other financial means. When it is used as a tax break, it violates Matt. 22:17-21. The entire story of Christ begins with scripture giving the reason Mary was going to Bethlehem. Christ spent His entire lifetime from birth to death paying taxes. It is not wrong to be generous financially to a ministry, but God examines the reason for generosity. You may not like this explanation, but it is the simple truth in how God assesses the donation: does it appear on your rap sheet? If the donation was to reduce taxes to any government, the purpose was to YOUR benefit as well as God's. If it was not to reduce taxes, it was to God's benefit. Before you delete this message, please have the patience to read a bit more about giving. If you give, give
anonymously. All money belongs to God, it's really not yours,
The difference is explained in Luke 21:1-4. "And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. (These were small copper coins, the smallest currency) So He said, '"Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.'" This explanation makes it tough on generous givers and ministry workers. Serving God and Christ isn't easy. Look at scripture history. We name buildings and sports stadiums for the donors--people, and now corporations (who are considered a person, but don't resemble Christ as a likeness of God and the Son). The glory goes not to God, but to a person with lots of money.
If you are a Christian, you do have a rap sheet in heaven. For the unsaved, there is also a rap sheet. There is a final judgment for them, so no one escapes a rap sheet. Your history is recorded, and that should tell us we need to study history to learn from mistakes. Your history on earth is recorded on earth and may be lost, but your history in Heaven is eternal.
Rev. Walbear
SIFTING FAITH Most people believe in a God of some type, and many non Christiansare used by God to accomplish His purposes. Unsaved people play amajor role in God's creation as well. God selects the people He knowscan fulfill His plan. We may think we know how we can best serve God,but He sifts people and assigns His tasks to those He selects. We cannot do the picking and choosing (sifting). That's a good thing, becausemany people we select or appoint are really not able to accomplish His mission. One major thing we must understand is, our mission is never completed. If we post a sign that says "mission accomplished", Satan has a hearty laugh, because he knows the door is open to completely overturn what we have accomplished. To give you an idea of how God does some of His sifting, please turn to Judges, chapter 6. Before we begin, I want to stress again that God's displeasure can be seen here following yet another period that Israel fell away from God and brought about oppression. The people were laboring under the rule of the Midianites. God always rescues His people, and chooses the leader. Then He uses a sifting method to fill the ranks of His army. Don't forget God has the most powerful army in the universe. Refresh your memory and go to Joshua 5:13,14, where the commander in chief of God's army makes an appearance. God has no conscientious objectors. All of Israel feared the Midianites, and that included Gideon. God,however, knew Gideon would be obedient if he replaced doubt with trust and belief. Mark this carefully: trust and belief. We throw that word "trust" around quite liberally, but somehow our belief in God frequently is lukewarm at best. Gideon couldn't believe he was God's choice to lead the rescue. His doubt was not so much fear of the enemy, but rather that he wasn't equipped to handle the responsibility. Gideon was willing to take on the task, but he wanted reassurance that God had indeed selected him. Sometimes Satan selects individuals and assigns certain tasks. This has led to many serious problems in the church and Christianity. Satan knows many men allow personal desire and ego to lead them away. An angel of the Lord was sent to Gideon where Gideon was threshingwheat in a winepress. He was using the winepress to hide the wheatfrom the Midianites. Gideon asked why the Lord had not used a miracleto overthrow the Midianites (Judges 6:13), and the angel told him they would be defeated "as one man." That seemed pretty far fetched to Gideon, and he asked the angel for a sign. Did he ever get a sign! The offering placed on a rock was consumed by fire from the rock! In verse 25 we see the recurring reason Israel was under oppression. They were serving Baal rather than God. Their priests (pastors) were no longer following God. This can be a subtle change over a period of time spanning an entire generation. It continues to happen. The verses 22 through 32 give us a lesson in the stupidity of peoplewho follow a false god. After Gideon and his servants destroyed the altar of Baal, the Midianities wanted to kill Gideon. His father challenged them to "plead" before Baal. In effect, he said if Baal was god, he should\ be able to defend himself. Look at 1 Samuel 5:1-8. Dagon, the god of the Philistines, could not stand before the Ark of the Covenant, and the Lord brought so much disaster to them they returned the Ark to Israel. The Midianites did decide to organize a sizable army and settle the score with Israel for tearing down Baal. God does talk to mankind today, but so does Satan. Gideon now needed to remove all doubt from his mind so he could completely trust God's directions. We are approaching the sifting process, but still have to see Gideon in total trust and belief. Gideon asks for a sign guaranteeing success, and God had patience and gave it to him. The sign was a fleece that did the opposite of the mornings' normal settlement of dew. See Judges 6:36-40. If the fleece was wet and the ground was dry, it was a sign. Gideon still had some doubt, so he asked that the fleece be dry and the ground damp. God showed great patience, and Gideon now had full trust to follow God's directions. God had put His man in place because He knew Gideon had faith. What Gideon had to demonstrate was trust. The fleece brought that about. Gideon had summoned many men for the confrontation about to take place. This is when the sifting process began. God explained to Gideon the number of men to go forth for Israel had to be reduced. The reason: God did not want to give Israel the puffed up opportunity to take credit for His intervention. The victory was coming because of God's plan and preparation, not because of men and a nation who had fallen away were capable of doing this thing alone. This was to serve as a wake up call to worship God, who would deliver them from oppression. God decides when a mission is accomplished, not any man. We see here something God warns us about: pride. Too often we claim superiority in some way. We mistake confidence for pride. We should express confidence in work we do, but always remember we only have the gifts He gives us. To Him should go the glory. God used drinking water to sift the men. Of the 32,000 Israelites who responded to Gideon's call, 22,000 were dismissed because they had fear. That left 10,000, and that was still too many for God. God used water to sift the group even further. God separated the men by selecting only those who lapped water like a dog. That reduced the number to just 300 men. The military intelligence of the Lord's army and any army of mankindHe leads can accomplish anything. The normal way for an army to overcome the enemy is by superior numbers and having unlimited firepower. God does not need to rely on man's methods. To bolsterGideon's resolve, God sends Gideon and Purah down to the enemyencampment to spy on them. They hear two Midianites talking abouta dream. For those Christians who don't believe in conversations with God, or in dreams, verses 7:13,14 should make you think seriously about it. Remember Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." God does not change any more than His Son. God sent the Midianite a dream, and enabled Gideon to overhear thetwo Midianites discussing its meaning. The dream (Judges 7:13,14) wasinterpreted by the Midianites to mean Israel would defeat them. Althoughthe Midianites had a huge army and countless camels, the dream madethem fear "the sword of Gideon," (Judges 7:14) a well known biblicalreference. Understanding the fear the Midianites felt, Gideon was certainGod would give His people the victory. God's plan for the battle was
based on fear. When Gideon's 300 men carried out the plan (Judges7:16-22), confusion and fear so filled the Midianites, they fought eachother and fled. It was indeed God's victory. Men from the other tribes of Israel joined Gideon and his men, andpursued the fleeing Midianites. The act of faith and trust in God enabledIsrael to overthrow the oppressors and regain their land. Once Gideonfortified himself in faith and trust, he had the confidence of a man ona mission for the Lord. God can turn things around with miracles, butHe chooses to sift and use people. When a leader realizes and honestlyknows God is in control, there is an aura of confidence that is contagious and enables great things to be accomplished. Man's usual problem is to conclude he has accomplished a great work and the mission is complete. Satan never quits, and it is at the time of victory that is frequently the most dangerous. Man tends to begin celebrating, but Satan is reforming his plan. Any celebration should be to the glory of God. Gideon was asked to rule over Israel, but told them God would bethe ruler. There was peace for 40 years, but the people again abandonedworship of God and turned to idols. The lesson here is that when thingsgo well, we tend to forget why things are well. Our leaders and priestsdon't want to rock the boat by following Christ's teaching in the gospels.There are different kinds of captivity, and different kinds of idols. No nation can escape God when He passes judgment on idol worship.Rev. Walbear
