Tag: sin

MEMBERS ONLY

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 7:21 ” Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

All I want to do is go about the Father’s business and not know it. A good way to start is to do a great work and let others take the credit for it. What a joy it is to pile up treasure in glory. I learned this from Paul when he wrote the prison epistles.

Here Paul was in a literal hole in the ground prison; hot, humid, filthy and vermin infested writing Philippians, the “joyful” epistle. He looked out and saw all the cities he threw the match of the Word at explode in a fourth of July of converts and prospering churches. He did and gave them the credit and they abandoned him to this deplorable condition of being a captive for the Lord. Yet he said, “Rejoice, again I say rejoice!” What a saint of Christ to model ourselves after. Paul-like for me is much more within range than Christ-like.

Believe in Christ in spite of having not seen Him. This will cause you to love Him and it will convict you of sin so that you repent. One look at Him and you will not be able to do otherwise. Like metal to a magnet, you will be attracted to and absorbed by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Living a holy life requires that you be wholly His. A surrendered to his loving arms invites also other to do so because if you love Him to love His equally. WE love one another because He first loved us. We would not know what love and holiness are apart from His revealing Himself through the Word and the lives of unbelievers.

So let me ask you, “Does your church know the real you?” I’ll bet they do and they just haven’t been critical because they need your membership and tithing. You can bet the world knows you if you are not His. They embrace relativism and abhor any absolute accept the statement; “They are no absolutes” which negates itself. A tragic comedy of errors that even you may have believed. We lie so much about our lives we begin to live out an illusion. But I guarantee you, Jesus knows you and you are not going to get anything past Him. Pretend that you are hand-cuffed to Him like the criminal you are and watch how quickly your life and living change!

MATHETES

By Rick Mathes

Acts 11:26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

What in the world is “Mathetes?” Is it one of my relatives or a Greek root of my name “Mathes?” I wish it was but no it means “disciple.” It is also the title of the oldest recorded sermon. It is a must read.

In the meantime, back to the verse we are studying. You must be a believer as they were back then and not polluted by the carnality of the now. You can’t walk through a coal mine for 2,000 years in a white suit and not get soiled. So let’s go to a spiritual laundry room and take a closer look at what a joy there is in awaiting and preparing for the King to return. It is only in a steadfast faith will we ever step into the original faith beyond our grasp.

When we have the earnestness of those primitive followers we have an industry of assuredness that all we touch is blessed and in His will. We know we know that if we consecrate our bodies as Solomon anointed the Temple, the Shekinah glory shines once again and it shines in us.

Believers, true to Christ, have a special tact and confidence that leaves all other claims of religions from other gods in the dust. In short; He is alive! His death on the cross was the ultimate self-sacrifice and example for all Christians to follow. He says we must pick up our cross and follow Him or else! (My paraphrase) And when we do, our old self die and the Holy Spirit abides in us and gives us life as we have never had it before.

What response can a Christian have but faithfulness to the source of faith. Faith, by the way, is all that is beyond your grasp. If it was within reach and you accomplished it, you would take credit for it no matter how hard you tried to mask it in religious humility.

The true test is when the going gets tough. But the real test is endurance. The P in TULIP is perseverance. Real Christians don’t quit they pressed on. It is truly a matter of patience. We must do things in His time not necessarily ours. We accomplish His purposes as Christians in His perfect permissive will but rest assured it is perfect. When we breathe our last and glance back, we will be astonished at the genius of His plan and shaping of our lives for His glory.

Now we are back to where it begins: God’s love for us as disciples. Father God is the lover, Jesus is the loved and the Holy Spirit is the love between them. All of that is wrapped up in the privilege of being a Christian mathetes.

 

MASKED MAN

By Rick Mathes

Romans 7:21 (NASB77) ²¹  I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good.

The ship’s place is in the sea but God pity the ship when the sea gets into it. Likewise, the Christian’s place is in the world but God pity the Christian if the world gets the best of him. Satan’s consuming passion for his legions of devils to pollute and rot all that God meant for good.

We were made in the beautiful image and likeness of God so you can bet your last dollar that hell is targeting us with artificial pleasures and sensations that metastasize spiritual cancer to eternal death. Our countrymen and women spend billions on their appearance, our outward look at the expense of our inward purity and virtue. Contagious diseases are sweeping our communities in epidemic proportions.

I saw a sign with a handsome young black child and under it was the wording, “The mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The prominence of our brilliance and superiority of thought has been decimated to hours of veggie tunes and mindless video games. The disposition of our attitude has peaked in “Who cares?” The futility of our efforts to make a difference is limp and impotent without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We can do all things physical, mental, educational, vocational and Spiritual if only we will unleash the creative God of the universe in our lives!

Materialism, the god of possessions and affluence has become thick mud under our strained wheels of progress. Property, success and fame with all the glitter and flashing lights point “This way to heaven!” into the surprising flames of that eternal furnace we have tried so hard to avoid.

The junk-yard dog in us is reduced to a whimpering puppy. Just a little praise balloons our self-image in importance and might. Our ability potential and capacity is nothing but an illusion of masked evil. Our strength against the demons is cotton candy to their blow torches of dissemination. But in Christ we can do all things. So take the devil’s mask and pit it off to epose him for who he truly is. Repent and the Holy Spirit will restore you so that you can once again walk with God in the cool of the evening in peace.

MAN VS. GOD

By Rick Mathes

Romans 2:10 (NASB) ¹⁰  but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

HUMANIST MANIFESTON

We believe that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, god, ritual or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species.

Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful. They distract humans form present concerns, self-actualization and from rectifying social injustices.

We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience.

Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stem from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life.

Reason and intelligence are the most effective instruments that humankind possesses. There is no substitute, neither faith nor passion suffices in itself.

No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.

CALVINISM

Total Depravity

One speck of sin (darkness) forbids you to stand in God’s Light. We must be totally holy or wee will never see God’s presence; only the imputed righteousness of Christ will do.

Unconditional Election

We didn’t save ourselves, we can’t. God chose us or we wouldn’t have chosen Him.

Limited Atonement

Those who refuse His death on the Cross with languish in Hell forever. This is His justice.

Irresistible Grace

Like metal to a magnet, we are drawn to Him, His purposes and His will.

Perseverance of the Saints

We don’t give up!

The choice is yours to make: by grace or works. Consider, the effect is not the cause of the effect. The cause caused the effect. Think, a lighter flame did not cause the lighter flame, the lighter fluid and a spark was the cause. A tear does not cause crying. The physical and emotional sadness causes the tears. It is not by works that we are saved or everyone would be bragging.

When you see the word “works” just substitute it with “effect.” With this in mind, you will see all other “works faith” including the religion of humanism in a whole different light. His Light!

MAN GOD

By Rick Mathes

Romans 1:3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,

Jesus was born a descendent of David through His son Nathan to Mary, His mother. He Holy Spirit caused this hypostasis; a miracle to occur so that He wouldn’t be born of Joseph naturally whose linage from Solomon was cursed. A baby was born that was God incarnate. The angels exploded the heavens with joy and Satan’s swarms of death stinging demons went into a frenzy of venomous oaths to kill the King of Glory. They did kill him eventually only to have Him rise from the dead on the third say as He said He would. Death stung Jesus and died!

Jesus was a man’s man in any measure you may use. The perfect Man is not only worth emulating but also our God in the flesh is deserving of all our worship. Yes, He was born of a woman and was God clothed in the flesh blood. He grew in stature but also in wisdom from His text book mentor, Isaiah.

As many of us have, He would go hungry, homeless and suffer much discomfort and also walk and rest in such luxury as His close friend Lazarus would provide Him with. The women fussed over Him and His gang hung on His every word and eventually died with His name on their lips.

Even from the cross, He pulled back His heavenly glory and pitifully cried out with His parched throat, “I thirst.” His physical attributes were very real and human. Consider that He didn’t have the strength to carry a 50 pound crossbeam to the hill of Calvary. Even before that, He rested at the well with the Samaritan woman and how about when He fell asleep in the boat as it was tossed and turned in that violent storm? He was real Man that bled real red blood like we all do as was evidenced by the Centurion who confessed Jesus as Lord.

The real torture that demonstrated His manhood wasn’t on the cross that was anti-climatic. The horror of the hell He was about to suffer came upon Him in the garden. It was so terrifying that He prayed that it might pass and He sweat blood!

No doubt about it, He suffered, bled and died and was buried like you and I will someday find ourselves, planted in the soil that God created us from. The Bib le and other records verify, without any doubt, He was a real historical figure that walked this earth as we do. He was descended as a man from Heaven and returned a King that had conquered death for us.

LOVE LETTER

By Rick Mathes

John 5:39 (NASB77) ³⁹ ” You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;

It’s not a much the what as it is the who. You may have your theology with some error but if you  are right with the who, “Jesus” you will be just fine as you keep pressing on to the whole truth.

You can find both in the Holy Scriptures. All we need to know is there. Mark Twain once commented, “It’s not what I don’t understand about the Bible that worries me, it’s what I do understand.” My yardstick of a true believer is: Bible only, Jesus only, Grace only, and Faith only. Let’s examine a few of the building blocks of what we do understand and make every effort to apply and then evaluate the following:

1. You must take up your cross, die to sin an rise to life.
2. It is a natural reaction to the Word to pray fervently.
3. The church is commanded to unify and be in one accord.
4. The response to the Word is to become a soul winner.
5. The Gospel begs to be discussed and searched as a good Barean.
6. It overflows in your spirit and in your way and you will preach the Word.
7. Once the Holy Spirit quenches your understanding you will be responsible.
8. Nothing will silence you as you exhort and encourage.
9. A natural consequence will be to rebuke and correct.
10. All of Hell will do all it can do to deter and stop you.

You can count on the devil attacking you unexpectedly and on your blind side. While you are fast asleep at night, the devil is doing push-ups and planning your destruction in the morning. He is rabidly consumed with a passion to destroy Scriptures and grasp you for his.

He knows your weakest point and that is where he aims his missiles of sin, to kill and destroy any trace of repentance and to ignite the sins within and destroy and trace of repentance and to ignite the sins within you to a furnace so hot it can melt diamonds like butter on a skillet.

Satan is deceitfully friendly as he teaches you that the Bible “contains” the Word of God as other books do. He will twist and turn Scriptures so that you wink at sin and put off all effort of pursuing holiness with a once burning desire that is now only a faint glowing ember.

LOVE IS

By Rick Mathes

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,

All you and I really need is to be loved with a genuine love that loves us warts and all. I never knew what agape love was but through His love in my wife. She glows with His unconditional love for me which I know is a reflection of Him. This passive love is a warm fuzzy that doesn’t go away. I can sense His arms around me and the comfort of the Comforter He left behind just for me.

This passive love power ignites and becomes most active when we show up for duty. Our Commander-in-Chief commands us to be kind to others including our enemies. He is convinced tht the Sword (Word of God) will prevail against the gates of hell. That’s love in action.

Competition seems to drive everything but love. What would happen if you became very generous and gave your love but freely to thinking about leaving some love with everyone I come into contact with sound like great but challenging fun.

The danger of this vulnerability is not being taken advantage of as much as it can be personal pride. When your focus transfers from grace to works, from Him to you, humility is the casualty. Widening your love out to a society form an individual will relieve this temptation of religious pride and widen your horizons of humanity.

The essence of this love is unselfishness. We become lesser so that He might become greater. When you exchange all you are for all He is, He becomes love with your skin on. When people sense love in you are they drawn to Him?

Your disposition changes and your good temper results in your conduct that drives toward righteousness. Understand here that the only true righteousness is in Him. Your love for Him, your public profession of faith will be accepted for what it really is, sincere. So we return to where be began and that is God is love and your loves to others is His.

LOST NATION

By Rick Mathes

Romans 1:25 (NASB) ²⁵  For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen,

There is no hiding the truth. America is badly tarnished and has lost its former glory. My father was killed in WWII protecting our essential values and today all I have left is a purple heart and the flag that draped his casket. God has all but left America but I believe He’ll be back!

To throw a match and walk away is destructive criticism. To throw a match and stay to put out the fire is constructive criticism. So in order to remain positive and know God has a purpose for us I propose these steps to a solution that will lead this beautiful country back to the throne of grace so that we may declare God bless America once again and really mean it.

Allow me to offer that our big God can and will restore our nation with your prayers, volunteer time and financial support.

Regeneration

I went to my last Southern Baptist Conference over 30 years ago and have not been to another ever since. Why? I’ll explain. I was the featured speaker so I milled among the pastors to pick up some current information that I could use in my speech. To a man all they discussed was how to get a bigger church with more salary and a better pension plan! No one said one word about baptisms.

Reformation

Accurate doctrine is critical. Calvinism is not an optional theology, it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, pure and simple.

Revival

You can yell and shout and preach, praise and condemn a dead body and nothing will come to life without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

Revolution

We must take our Sword (the Word of God) to the authorities and soundly remind them of the Judeo-Christian values our country was founded on. If that doesn’t work, resort to stronger means of turning our nation back to Go so that we can once again sincerely sing “God Bless America.”

Don’t get me wrong. I would give my life for all religions to have the right to worship freely. They have an inherent right to be wrong. We have the imperative from Jesus Himself to be free. Jesus is the only Way!

LORDSHIP SALVATION

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 7:21 ” Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.

The NIV says to confess Jesus IS Lord and the NAS for us to confess Jesus AS Lord. Both IS and AS are the same word in the Greek but they have a far different meanings in English. IS Lord, is “easy-believism” in your head and AS Lord, is “Lordship Salvation” in your heart. Reead Evidence Deserves a Verdict by Josh McDowell for the former and The Gospel according to Jesus by John MacArthur Jr. for the latter. Here are the necessary precepts of true Lordship.

• There is no justification without regeneration. You must be born again and bear fruit accordingly. That means your talk will prove itself by your consequent walk.
• Faith without works is a dead faith. The cause always produces an effect. Your new self in Christ will show itself as Christ does the Father’s business through you.
• Justification proof is perseverance. If you are elect and are children of the promise, you will press on. Perseverance never gives up no matter how bad it gets.
• Faith in a Savior who is not your Lord is a false faith. You must be under His management or you are not His. The rest of your life is none of your business.
• To follow Christ you must bear your cross. Unbelievers will mock you, the world will hate you, and you will be persecuted maybe even to death. You must die to your sins!
• No one will see God with holiness. No darkness, not even a speck or sin will allow you to stand before God. Only Christ’s imputed holiness will due. Anything else won’t.

If you really take these six points to heart you may not be able to sleep tonight until you repent of your sins, submit to His Lordship and obey His commands. There is too many who think they are Christian and they aren’t. They think they are going to heaven and they are really destined to hell. Please don’t lie to your self.

Get real with Him or walk away, but don’t just stand there in your own self-righteousness. If you don’t you will be the laughing stock of hell’s Saturday Night Live Show. You are only entertaining demons. Think about this!

LOOK CLOSELY

By Rick Mathes

By Rick Mathes

John 1:36 (NASB77) ³⁶ and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and •said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

John 1:39 (NASB77) ³⁹ He •said to them, “Come, and you will see.” They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

We have two ears and two eyes but only one mouth and they should be used proportionately. You can’t learn by talking. You need to hear, listen, learn, apply and then evaluate but nothing teaches well than what you see and experience.

Begin by looking backward to a dying Christ. Listen carefully as He whispers your name and devotes His last breath to you and gave his life that He might live through you. Then look upward to Jesus pleading your case before the Father. I can hear His day, “Daddy, look at the scars and know I loved Rick as you do and I gave my life that Rick might live.” Inward you will see the glory of our Lord living in you. Once converted you become a living sacrifice, a holy temple. The Holy Spirit dwells in you and points forward to your redemption when Christ returns to reign on earth as He does in heaven.

The gates of heaven are blown off their hinges with the regeneration of mankind which is soon to come and bring a present day reformation of godly doctrine written in the blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit revival tghat is sure to follow will produce a revolution in you innermost places wehre Satan once had his strongholds. Freedom has a price and it is worth it.

Why should you come to Christ now? You were far away in the gloom of futility and your only salvation is to draw near to him. The closer you get the more restful you will feel. The peace that surpasses all understanding is merely being next to him and protected from His adversary, Diablo. How sweet is the fruit of your vine when it is watered by His Word and nurtured by His presence?

What fruit can we expect to blossom form this vine that we have begun grafted too? At the top of my list is: a full pardon. When I learned I was forgiven I dropped to my knees in my pastor’s office and wept. It gave me a strange new peace I had never enjoyed but I know now I had an assurance of salvation. A joy unspeakable rose up in my heart until I thought I would explode. Now, I finally had a real hope of avoiding hell and stepping into glory and everlasting happiness.