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"faithfulness" Tagged Sermons

LIVE NOT BY LIES

In September of this year, Rod Dreher published a book titled “Live not by Lies.”
“Identity politics are beginning to encroach on every aspect of life. Civil liberties are increasingly seen as a threat to “safety”. Progressives marginalize conservative, traditional Christians, and other dissenters. Technology and consumerism hasten the possibility of a corporate surveillance state. And the pandemic, having put millions out of work, leaves our country especially vulnerable to demagogic manipulation”. Rod Dreher
Here is the method of resistance he gleaned from those people who lived through totalitarianism:
• SEE: Acknowledge the reality of the situation.
• JUDGE: Assess reality in the light of what we as Christians know to be true.
• ACT: Take action to protect truth.
“Though lies may conceal everything, though lies may control everything, we should be obstinate about this one small point:
let them be in control but without any help from any of us…
It is the easiest thing for us to do and the most destructive for the lies. Because when people renounce lies, it cuts short their existence.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Even if, Solzhenitsyn continued, “we do not march into the squares and shout the truth out loud… let us refuse to say what we do not think…let us each make a choice: whether to remain consciously a servant of falsehood…or to shrug off the lies and become an honest man worthy of respect from one’s children and contemporaries.”
Such a person, Solzhenitsyn wrote:
•will not sign, write or print in any way a single phrase which in his opinion distorts the truth;
•will not utter such a phrase neither in private conversation nor in public, neither on his own behalf nor at the prompting of someone else, neither in the role of agitator, teacher, educator, nor as an actor;
•will not depict, foster or broadcast a single idea in which he can see a distortion of the truth, whether it be in painting, sculpture, photography, technical science or music;
•will not cite out of context, either orally or in writing, a single quotation to please someone, to feather his own nest, to achieve success in his work, if he does not completely share the idea which is quoted, or if it does not accurately reflect the matter at issue;
•will not allow himself to be compelled to attend demonstrations and meetings if they are contrary to his desire;
•will immediately walk out of a meeting, session, lecture, performance or film if he hears a speaker tell lies, or purvey ideological nonsense or shameless propaganda;
•will not subscribe to or buy a newspaper or magazine in which information is distorted and primary facts are concealed.
While these are not “all possible and necessary ways of avoiding lies,” wrote Solzhenitsyn, “whoever begins to cleanse himself will easily apply the cleansing pattern to other cases.” And then he warns,
“It will not be the same for everybody at first. Some will lose their jobs. But there are no loopholes… Either truth or falsehood: towards spiritual independence or towards spiritual servitude. If we are too frightened, then we should stop complaining that we are being suffocated. We are doing this to ourselves …”
Paul Craig Roberts, an American economist, and a professor of economics at several U.S. universities wrote in a recent article:
“The question each of us needs to ask ourselves, and one another, is why do we get so much misinformation about Covid from public health authorities, political authorities, and press prostitutes?
We get a lot of misinformation from health practitioners, because they get the bogus information from health authorities and from researchers ASSOCIATED WITH BIG PHARMA.
Take the issue of masks.
If the masks people are wearing protected against bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, there would be no point in N95 and higher rated masks. Medical authorities know this, so why are people told, indeed forced, to wear ineffectual masks?
Public health authorities know that the Covid death rate is greatly exaggerated. In the USA, only 9,000 were due to Covid alone.
So why do public health authorities withhold this information from political authorities and the public, and why do reporters not ferret it out? The information exists. It just isn’t reported.
Covid is being used to serve many interests. Among them, Covid is being used to complete the universal Police State by digitizing money. Once electronic money takes the place of currency, checks, and coins, your financial privacy and your control over your money and wealth will disappear.
Are Americans capable of learning? How many lies do they have to be told before they begin to wonder?” Paul Craig Roberts

From Murderer To MARTYR

We all recognize this man named Apostle Paul. We have heard of him and read his incredible letters that are a part of the New Testament in the Bible. But what do we know about this man? We know that he was and still is an amazing teacher, a colossal figure of the first century world. No wonder some churches and Christian denominations have assigned sainthood to this humble yet greater than life man.
I would venture to say that no other person in the Bible, aside from Jesus Christ Himself, had a more profound influence on his world and ours than this man, the Apostle Paul.
He was a powerful witness of God’s faithfulness. But he was not always that witness of God’s faithfulness. We sometimes forget that all human being, no matter how great an impact they had during their lifetime on this earth, CAME FROM THE SAME PLACE; A WORLD OF SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS AND PHYSICAL BRUTALITY.
Saul had a great upbringing. His parents were Pharisees, members of the party most fervent in Jewish nationalism and strict in obedience of the Law of Moses. He was a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city.
Saul grew up in a very controlled Jewish environment. Friendship’s with Gentiles was not allowed. Greek ideas were despised. His parents made sure that Saul could speak Greek, Latin and Aramaic, a language of Judea, a derivative of Hebrew.
Saul and his parents looked to Jerusalem as Islam looks to Mecca. Saul grew up in a home where he constantly was reminded that they are the People of Promise to whom alone the Living God had revealed His glory and His plans. By his 13th birthday, Saul had mastered Jewish history, the psalms and the prophets.
“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” C.S. Lewis “Mere Christianity”

IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD

In the World, but not of the World!
These are hard sayings and for many of us difficult to understand. Yet, at the same time, it is imperative that we take a closer look at the words spoken by our Savior Jesus Christ during His great intercession recorded here in the Gospel of John.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus was constantly a witness of God’s faithfulness. Whatever He said, whatever He did on this earth, it always pointed to the Father’s faithfulness.
Let me explain a very difficult subject regarding glory. When we seek glory, we do so at the expense of the glory of God. Not so with Jesus, because the glorification of the Son is the glorification of the Father. In other words, when the Son is exalted, so is the Father, because they are ONE. Here in this prayer, Jesus simply asked the Father for His glory back because He knew that He must be lifted up on the cross in order to be lifted up in the sight of the angels.
Jesus was ready to go home to be with His Father once again because His work on earth for which He came was about to be finished. He was the witness of the Father’s faithfulness without exception. He finished the work the Father has given Him.
According to Jesus own words found in verse 17, sanctification comes through the Word of God. The Word of God is the instrument God uses to separate us from this world system we are living in. It is that truth that eventually defines godly relationships. Or saying it another way, you cannot have godly relationships without being in the truth. And you cannot understand what a godly relationship looks like without understanding the content of the Gospel, the Word of God.
Neither can you and I understand what it means to LIVE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT BE OF THE WORLD apart from understanding the Word of God. It is the Word of God that will separate us, that will sanctify us, that will protect us from the Evil one.
This world may call us whatever they want, but a Christians true IDENTITY is not found in this world, but is FOUND IN CHRIST ALONE. We may live in spiritual Babylon today, but we are not OF SPIRITUAL BABYLON.
Understanding and Obeying the truth, the Word of God, will sanctify us, will separate us, will protect us from ever becoming a part of spiritual Babylon, becoming a part of this world. Daniel understood this and so should we. We are living in this world to glorify God. We can endure all things THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US. Daniel could endure, so can we. Daniel never compromised the Truth, instead he studied and obeyed the truth.

MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

I believe that the church in America as a whole is misunderstanding the importance of being witnesses of God’s faithfulness. We may be involved in evangelism, involved in church activities, involved in Bible studies, or involved in preaching and teaching. While all such activities are good in general, they are no prove that we are witnesses of God’s faithfulness.
We live in spiritual and physical dangerous times. This world is changing with lightning speed not to the better, but to the worse. Once again, the Lord “sees that wickedness of man is great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart is only evil all the day.” (Genesis 6:5)
So, how should we live as followers of Jesus Christ? Is there any hope? Can the church in America be turned around? Can the society in America be changed?
The answer to all these questions depends on THE WITNESSES OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS AND THE RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE.
God spoke to those who are witnesses of His faithfulness through His Word, that was written down by men MOVED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. Everything you and I need to know that pertains to life and godliness is revealed in His word. Notice that we are hearing what God speaks to us because WE KNOW HIM. And because we know Him, we take His word for what it says. We can hear God speak to us through His word.
Warning: A witness hears God speak and as accepted a FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH:
God’s way is better than my way;
God’s truth is better than my truth;
God’s promises are better than my promises;
God’s word is better than my ideas.
We have plenty of examples in the Bible alone of witnesses whose confidence in God and His promises was unshakable.
These witnesses:
• Refused to be deceived by their 5 senses. Their confidence was not in what they could see, taste, touch, hear or smell.
• Refused to put any confidence in the latest news reports.
• Refused to give up when the promises of God did not come to pass immediately for they knew God is faithful.
Moved by the Holy Spirit, they believed that God is 100% trustworthy. His timing is always perfect. In other words; seeing is not believing. This is a lie from the enemy of our soul.
During Noah’s time nearly all people were drugged one the fumes of their egos. Wickedness has become the number one, all-consuming human addiction. So, Noah was listening to God. Noah also had an unshakable confidence in what he heard from God. Noah’s faith in God was uncontaminated. But such faith needs to be tested. And surely, Noah’s faith, Noah’s confidence in God’s Promises would soon be challenged. By whom? By God!
Noah’s acceptance of this mission proved one thing beyond a shadow of doubt. This man had an unshakable confidence in God.
This was not a weekend project, or something he worked on in his spare time or in the evenings. No one to hire, no power tools, no chainsaws, no sawmills, no cranes, no Menard’s or Lowe’s. It took 120 YEARS to build. He did not give up. What a witness of God’s faithfulness.
Are you fully convinced of the faithfulness of the promises of God for your life? Remember, the promises of God are just as faithful, just as powerful, just as reliable and just as true as they were in the days of Noah or the days of Peter. If you have heard him speak to you today and have an unshakable confidence in God you are a witness of God’s faithfulness, moved by the Holy Spirit to bring glory and honor to God alone.

Hold Fast What You Have

Jesus is being identified as the Son of God in this passage alone. This is the only time in this book where Jesus is called the Son of God, which makes me believe that this church is meeting Jesus not as their advocate, their intercessor, but instead as the ultimate JUDGE.
And this Judge is missing nothing. His eyes like a flame of fire means that nothing can be hidden from him.
Yes, we as Christians can fall into sexual immorality, and idolatry, but we are not to have such a life style. And certainly teaching others in the church that such a life style is acceptable to God is bringing the judgment of God upon those who do so and the church that is tolerating such teachings.
The Lord said that He gave this false prophetess time to repent, but she loved DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT. She simply refused to accept the Word of God and to live accordingly.
Remember, the church in Thyatira was commended for their works, especially their works. But such work, when it replaces FAITH, which is a form of spiritual idolatry, is introduced to a church that is under God’s judgment.