When Preaching Becomes Entertainment

If there is a priority focus in my life at this point, it would have to be preaching and teaching the Bible.  In my thoughts there is nothing that is more crucial to the life of a church than a pastor who entirely concentrates on the principle set aside in Acts 6:4—prayer and ministry of the Word.  It is a BIG deal!  There are so many voices that are vying for my ears, my mind, and ultimately my soul and I realize that others are in this same cycle of life as well.  The most important voice we can hear is the one that is rooted in Scripture.  The spiritual health of the minister and the life of the church often rise and fall with the commitment that a man has to this calling of preaching.  It requires discipline to stick with preaching through the Bible week-in and week-out, year after year.  At this point of preaching for almost 30 years, I cannot even scratch the surface of what has taken place within my soul because of the untold hours of Bible study, prayer, reading of books, listening to sermons, meditating on the text, agonizing over the lack of personal skill, and knowing the highs and the lows of sermon delivery.  When we take preaching seriously, we align ourselves with the emphasis that Paul put on preaching in 1 Corinthians 1:17-31.

A Book Recommendation - Don Basham, Deliver Us From Evil

I am quick out of the chute this year having already finished a book in the first week of the New Year.  This book is not a particularly new book with an original publishing date of 1972 but it has gone through at least thirteen printings of the original edition.  Furthermore it has gone through a revision in 2005 and I have the second printing of that copy also.  Last year, I wrote several lengthy posts of some personal Bible study notes as I trackedthrough Kay Arthur’s book, Lord, Is ItWarfare?  Those are still available although I did not complete them because I had started writing with a fountain pen as described in the first post of this year.  I do have those notes written in another journal and perhaps may need to revisit them and post the rest of them.

Spiritual warfare has always been an interest of mine and I have more than 100 books in my personal library that deals with this subject.  The only subject that I have more single volumes about is holiness which logs in at more than 150 books devoted to that subject.  I have discovered over the course of the years that when you read and study about personal holiness and spiritual warfare together that you will have to come to grips with the very close link between to the two.  A commitment to personal holiness gives a Christian great power when he is dealing with the attack of the devil.  Indeed!  A real live devil who is not a concept, theme, or ideal planted in the human consciousness but an arch-angel who fell from heaven to lead a rebellion against God.  Spiritual warfare operates in zones that attempts to weaken the commitments that we make toward personal holiness and when we fall in the battle, we suffer and those around us suffer. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 4, Day 3

This is Week 4, Day 3 from the devotional Lord, Is It Warfare?  There is something that you will find as you develop a disciplined approach to a daily time in the Word.  Your mind and spirit will be stretched by the Scripture and you will also find a rhythm that as time passes in your devotions that you refuse to allow a rushed attitude to consume your time with the Lord.  (Although today’s entry is relatively short compared to some of the other ones.)  Busyness and hurry are great liabilities to us as we read through the Bible.  The soul is greatly fed as you work slowly through these assignments because overcoming the rush and hurry of devotion moves your thoughts into places that you would not normally be able to go.  That is why I know that the messages that I preach weekly make their most impact when they are “crock-pot” fare versus quick, grab it as you can “microwave” pabulum.

-We all come from Adam no matter what evolutionists and scientists might imply.  We were also created in the image of God. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 4, Day 2

If you have not purchased your own copy of this devotional, Lord, Is It Warfare?, I want to encourage you to do so (Used books on Amazon start @ 0.42).  Not only is there an opportunity to interact in a personal journal with your own notes but the guide is designed in such a way as to encourage you to mark up your Bible.  Today’s entry is a little shorter than usual simply by the nature of the assignment that was given.  Following are my own reflections.

-This world was not always in the condition that it is in now.  It once was a perfect paradise that hosted God and His creation of Adam and Eve and the host of things that filled the world.  In a single moment, the unity of God and His creation was shattered by the wily snares of the serpent.  He tempted Eve and she fell to an unimaginable state. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 4, Day 1

I would like to offer a bit of explanation for my two-week layoff from writing.  On early Tuesday, April 15, my mother-in-law passed on to her eternal reward.  I have literally known her my entire life as my parents moved to Dothan when I was two and we started going to church here in Dothan.  My father-in-law had started the church a little over a year prior to our arrival.  In that little home missions setting the Lord was at work but also His grace was at work in my own life too.  I married Teresa, the Patterson’s oldest daughter, in August ’86 and my life was entwined even more in the Patterson family.  My mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer about four years ago and despite surgery it came back with a vengeance in January 2013.  A little over two weeks ago, her condition rapidly deteriorated and she required around the clock care.  I preached her funeral this past Friday and it was one of the most challenging ones that I have had to do.  However, it has made heaven all the more real to me and her illness caused me to dig into the Word and really look at what it has to say about heaven and where saints go when they pass from this life.  I would tell you this, I have done a great disservice to myself and to our church for not preaching more about heaven and the resurrection.  I specifically did something special when I realized that her condition was not going to improve outside of a miracle, I got a leather-bound journal and started writing in it massive amounts of Scripture on what heaven was to be like.  There are old hymns that have fallen out of our worship services that I wrote in that journal.  Furthermore, I read sermons from the old masters of the past and found that they preached about heaven from a whole different angle than what is preached today.  Suffice it to say this. . . you must make it to heaven!!!!!  No matter the cost, it has to be a priority in your life. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 3, Day 5

I want to pick up with the Week 3, Day 5 portion before moving to Week 4, Day 1 for tomorrow.  I got behind a bit last week but I really did not want to omit Day 5 because of some of the content that I ran across as I was journaling through it.  I will not add Day 6 or Day 7 because it is primarily the summary of the previous material in the week with a host of Scriptures that are designed to bring out various descriptions of the devil.  The following is pretty much the exact content of my ramblings in my journal. . . with a fountain pen J.  Specifically a TWSBI 580 medium nib loaded with Pelikan 4001 Turquoise ink J.

-Note that the people who are involved in the spiritual war are saints.  The devil has no need to attack those who are already in his kingdom.  If you sometimes have a tendency to think that evil-doers have an easier path, the Bible very clearly articulates this in Psalm 37 and 73.  Those psalms both have the same theme. . . the prosperity of the wicked.  On the other hand, never think for a moment that they are never without troubles, difficulties, and huge battles with their conscience.   

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 3, Day 4

Starting out with a great apology, I had fully intended to work through this segment last week.  I know that some of you are following along with your own copy of Lord, Is It Warfare? and your journal and you have been reading some of my thoughts in addition to what you are doing.  I apologize for not getting on with this last week but I had some time pressures that sort of knocked me off of my routine.  The next thing that I thought about doing was moving on to the next week in this series but there were some things in Week 3 that I felt like would be important and I did not want to omit them from the series.  I will certainly do my best to get back on track in the next few days. 

Beginning with Week 3, Day 4 there are a lot of recommendations concerning working through your Bible with a fair amount of passages.  As I worked through some of those passages, I was troubled by them and that is the reason that I did not just skip to Week 4 because I wanted to address my own troubles in a Scriptural and honest way in the way that we often view God.  Job 2 has a tendency to rattle some of our Americanized ideas about the identity of God and how He may operate in our lives.  Again what follows are the exact notes that I have in my own personal journal. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 3, Day 3

We are continuing to work through the devotional by Kay Arthur, Lord Is It Warfare?  The focus is on the fact that the devil often fills the role of a roaring lion.  What follows are the notes that I have written in my journal. 

-Of all the names in Scripture for the devil, none is used more frequently than Satan.  It is used 55 times in the OT/NT.  (1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 1:6; 1:7; 1:8; 1:9; 1:12; 2:1; 2:2; 2:3; 2:4; 2:6; 2:7; Psalm 109:6; Zechariah 3:1; 3:2; Matthew 4:10; 12:26; 16:23; Mark 1:13; 3:23; 3:26; 4:15; 8:33; Luke 4:8; 10:18; 11:18; 13:16; 22:3; 22:31; John 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:18; Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 7:5; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 1:20; 5:15; Revelation 2:9; 2:13; 2:24; 3:9; 12:9; 20:2; 20:7.)

-Devil—DIABOLOS—Accuser, slanderer, from the verb that means to attack, to curse, to be an adversary, to resist.  All of these actions are the way that he will choose to operate in our lives.  Whatever is necessary to cause chaos and opposition is the goal. Thirty-five times he is called, devil, meaning “slanderer.”  (Matthew 4:1; 4:5; 4:8; 4:11; 9:32; 9:33; 12:22; 13:39; 15:22; 17:18; 25:41; Mark 5:15; 5:16; 5:18; 7:26; 7:29; 7:30; Luke 4:2; 4:3; 4:5; 4:6; 4:13; 4:33; 4:35; 7:33; 8:12; 8:29; 9:42; 11:14; John 6:70; 7:20; 8:44; 13:2; Acts 10:38; 13:10; Ephesians 4:27; 6:11; l Timothy 3:6; 3:7; 2 Timothy 2:26; Hebrews 2:14; James 4:7; l Peter 5:8; l John 3:8; 3:10; Jude 10; Revelation 2:10; 12:9; 12:12; 20:2; 20:10.)

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 3, Day 2

Thanks to all who have sent e-mails and other social media messages that have encouraged me that this is helping.  As always, I think that what John Wesley wrote in one of his journals more than a hundred years ago about how that spiritual growth and reading the Bible and devotional material were very closely linked.  Frequently I give great consideration to the blessing that we have for being able to read especially when the statistics note that the majority of the world’s population cannot read and are illiterate.  There is some benefit to writing down lists in your journal of the simple things in life that you can be thankful for.  Such as being able to read, clean water, antibiotics, a functioning city sewage system, a yard that needs mowing, glasses, peanut butter, and a bag of jalapeno flavored kettle chips.  Thank God that you are able to sit up and read a book late at night in a quiet den or living room on a sofa or easy chair.  Gratitude flows when you start writing down your blessings!  Paul encouraged us that in everything we are to give thanks (1 Thess. 5:18). 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 2, Day 5

Week 2, Day 5 of Lord, Is It Warfare? opens up a huge and somewhat muddy theological answer that has been debated and argued for a long time perhaps even centuries.  The looming question is ‘did God create evil?’  Did he create the devil purposely to trip us up?  Did the devil have a free-will as man did?  Those types of questions can fit into the place that Paul told Timothy to avoid.  He told him that there are questions that simply create and “gender strifes” (2 Tim. 2:23) and he told him to avoid those kinds of things.  It has been my experience that oftentimes some of the foolishness in the name of “academics” that goes on in seminary classrooms do not strengthen faith in the Word or confidence in God.  So this is one of those sorts of questions.  I am aware of one thing in this matter; I have been filled with the Spirit. . . It empowers me. . . but I have an enemy who wants to destroy me!  That is the fact and there will be a struggle between good and evil until God intervenes. 

From the Scriptural passages the devotional brings out, it is noted in John 1:1-3, Nehemiah 9:5-6, and Colossians 1:15-16 that all things were created by God.  I made a connection by reading a little further over in John 3 that men choose darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.  Therefore I would come to a conclusion that at some point apparently the devil possessed a will that moved him toward the trap of pride and he attempted to exalt himself against God. 

The lesson that I need to take away from this would be the fact that I must live out Romans 6 and fight against the tendency for pride to consume me.  The only way to effectively live above and beyond this is for my life to have a complete dependence on the Spirit and walk out Romans 8 so that my mind is Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.  Pride in the heart of the devil is what led to him being expelled from heaven.  Remember that Jesus said it is not what is on the outside that soils a man’s life but rather the things that are stored in his heart (Mark 7:20-23). 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 2, Day 3 & 4

I am again combining two days of Lord, Is It Warfare? because the length of Day 3 was comparatively short and I chose not to go down a rabbit trail although as you shall see, I did with Day 4.  Day 3 dealt with the Ezekiel 28 passage that describes a lamentation or a funeral dirge of sorts for the king of Tyre.  But as you look at the passage, there are a couple of observations about different words in verse 2 as compared to verse 12.  My primary translation for this devotional study has been the ESV. 

The word “prince” appears in 28:2 and comes from the Hebrew word, NAGID which has the connotation as a ruler, leader, prince, or a captain.  This position would be commonly for a leader in government, religion, or the military.  The word “king” is used in 28:12 which uses the Hebrew word, MELEK.  It is most commonly used for a man who is in a position of control of a city-state, small nation or government.    But there is a further idea that Ezekiel develops when he notes that it is speaking of a cherub.  This reduces the equation to the fact that this king of Tyre was a symbolic figure that could be the role of the devil.  This cherub would have been a dark angel or demon who was in charge of a group of angels.  This would define the role that the devil filled as we remember that Lucifer was one of the archangels.  At this point, the devotional encourages us to make the connection between the Garden of Eden as described in Genesis and the account that is given in Ezekiel 28.  I would think that we could see the very clear connection between the two especially when we look at the symbols and types that are used in other places in Scripture. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 2, Day 2 & A Short Rabbit Trail

This study guide, devotional Lord, Is It Warfare? has been designed in such a way that we are asked questions that aren’t leading but rather to help us to get to an understanding of what the Bible has to say about spiritual warfare.  Years ago, I can remember a writer, whom I have long forgotten, giving the advice that we are to interrogate the text when we are studying Scripture.  This is a very effective way to gain more than just a superficial knowledge of Scripture.  If you can recall the old description of an adverb, it is a word that describes who, what, when, where, and to what extent.  Those are useful questions to ask when you are looking at the Bible.

When we take a first look at the enemy, who is deceptive, deadly, and intent on destroying everyone who is in allegiance with Jesus Christ, we find him in Genesis 3.  A couple of other OT chapters also give a description of him.  There is the brief allusion that Isaiah makes in Isaiah 14 and there is a bit longer region in Ezekiel 28.  It is a passage that has reference to the king of Tyre but many biblical scholars also hold that imagery used by Ezekiel would fit the bill for the devil also.  What causes us to come to this view is because of the words that the prophet uses would in no way entirely describe a man.  While there are some descriptions that would fit a human king, there are also words that help us to see that the devil would qualify in this description also.

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 2, Day 1

I am going into the second week of the study guide/devotional by Kay Arthur, Lord, Is It Warfare?  Today we come at the concept of spiritual warfare with a bit of a different angle.  The first emphasis that should garner our attention is Jesus Christ.  All spiritual warfare must began with the understanding that the devil has been defeated at Calvary and through the work of the Cross.  The enemy has been defeated at the present moment, he has been allowed to operate on the earth until his appointed time of judgment.  Since one of the primary themes of Ephesians deals with this matter of spiritual warfare, it is clear that Paul came to some conclusions when he wrote Ephesians 1:15-23, in fact there are three truths to understand:

1.      1:18—There is a hope to which we have been called.  That hope helps us to understand that there is a point in the future of which we will have rest from the attack of the enemy.

2.      1:18—The riches of this inheritance or position has been given to us and is clear through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

3.      1:19—There is an immeasurable power given to the saint of God through the resurrection.

Jesus Christ is in a heavenly place.  He has all power, authority, dominion, and rule over the dark world of evil.  However, if this is the case then why is there a conflict that a born-again man has to contend with?  If the Lord has all the power in the in this world and the one we cannot see, then why the seeming triumph of evil right now?  Those are valid questions to consider.  These questions fall into a category called theodicy which basically is an understanding of why God allows evil to exist in our world.  Volumes and volumes have been written on this subject and there is no way to give an explanation in this very brief blog post.  It is perhaps a rabbit trail for another day.

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Days 4 & 5

One of the things that this study guide, Lord, Is It Warfare? works toward is getting our minds to think in a biblical direction about spiritual warfare.  One of the benefits of this is that it will move your mind to areas of Scripture and characters that exemplify the principles.  Day 4 and Day 5 are both relatively short although is some more interaction with Scripture that is necessary.  By virtue of this, you make a strong connection between the events of Acts 19 and the principles that are expressed in Ephesians 6.  One thing that comes to mind is the closing out of Ephesians 5 and beginning of Ephesians 6 where Paul speaks of marriage and the family.  The reality of the matter of it all is that these too can be battlegrounds that the enemy will attempt to insert himself into.  While spiritual warfare takes place in the heavens, it is played out in a very practical setting where we live our lives. 

Ephesus, because of occultic influence, was a place that was driven by fear.  The shamans, pagan priests, and others given to the influence of the “curious arts” (defined as such in Acts 19) played and preyed on the fears of the people.  This caused me to consider the aspects of America culture where that we pay money to experience fear.  However, I would cause you to think in this way with me.  If the enemy can cause fear and use themes that have ominous spiritual outcomes to be confined to a movie screen, the viewer’s compartmentalize it and believe that there is nothing to it.  What a brilliant move but very deadly move by the enemy.  Kay Arthur notes, “Films, TV, and recorded music evidence increasing control from the ‘dark side.’  Occult images fill even children’s films, cartoons, and video games.”    

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Day 3

We are to Day 3, in the first week of Kay Arthur’s Lord, Is It Warfare? study guide.  You need fair warning to know that this entry today will force you to think through some matters that are facing our society today.  One of the spiritual battles that we face on a regular basis is when a there is a developing fearfulness of speaking about these things and how that you will be perceived among your friends.  It is very interesting the subtle peer pressure that is prevalent in the church these days both among ministers and members when we speak something that is solidly Word-based that is opposed to a humanistic bent.  Say what you will but this is spiritual warfare!  The same spirit pushing on Jehudi to take a penknife to Jeremiah’s words in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 36:23) wants to do the very same thing today. 

To combat this and other attacks, Paul gave us some instructions:

·        Be strong in the Lord—v. 10

·        Put on the whole armor of God—v. 11

·        Take the whole armor—v. 13

·        Stand—v. 13

·        Stand—v. 14

·        Put on the belt of Truth—v. 14

·        Have the breastplate of holiness/righteousness in place—v. 14

·        Put the shoes of the Gospel on your feet—v. 15

·        Take the shield of faith—v. 16

·        Take the helmet of salvation—v. 17

·        Take the Sword of the Spirit, the Word—v. 17

The following format is the manner that I have recorded these notes in my journal.  It does not follow an active paragraph style. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Day 2

I am continuing from yesterday as we go through the devotional study guide (study guide is a serious understatement) by Kay Arthur, Lord Is It Warfare?  I am in much encouragement of you working with this book and a handwritten journal.  At the end of this, I am certain that you will feel a sense of accomplishment but even more than that you are going to have developed a sense of understanding of what Scripture has to say about the matter of spiritual warfare.  Furthermore for those who serve in churches as Sunday School teachers, Bible study group leaders, and even pastors, you are going to find a wealth of material that will come to you at the right time as you are teaching.

One quick note of explanation for those who are not familiar with some of the Greek language that the New Testament was written in.  On yesterday’s post you would have noticed that after the words for flesh, lust, and war from 1 Peter 2:11 in yesterday’s blog there was a “G” followed by a number.  This is the system that was developed in the original Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance used by Bible scholars, preachers, and teachers who did not have a background in the Greek language.  Instead of having to know the language, the student could work with the number system. 

Lord, Is It Warfare? Week 1, Day 1

One of the top ten books for me in the honorable mention category from last year was KayArthur’s book, Lord, Is It Warfare?  I did use it in some of my own personal devotions but as I worked through it, I discovered that as a pastor, this book was a launching pad of sorts to go beyond the exercises that had been given in the book.  Therefore, over the next several weeks, I have intentions of putting some of my scribblings from the book margins and from my own personal journals that I composed.  Obviously the study guide has some areas of personal reflection and evaluation that I will leave out for understandable reasons.  I would encourage you if you are a regular reader of this blog to take some time to consider what will be covered.  Also I would greatly encourage you to get the book, get a journal, and get a pen and write.  For me, it ended up being about an hour time allotment but it will become one of the most eye-opening hours that you will spend during that day.    

Spiritual warfare can be a slippery path that can lean toward fanaticism or formalism.  At the end of the day what we must take into consideration is what Scripture clearly and accurately addresses in this area.  If you have been in Pentecostal circles for any length of time, you have probably heard some very fanciful stories relating to this subject.  I am in that camp!  I have heard some of the most far-fetched stories that as the years have rolled on, I have dismissed them as pure imagination of the teller who had a motive of self-aggrandizement mixed with too much exposure to Hollywood.  On the other hand, because my father-in-law has been a district global missions director for over 30 years, my exposure to missionaries has probably been much higher than that of the average pastor.  Friends, neighbors and all ya’ll in between, when a missionary comes to town, the vast majority of them can tell you some very clear and accurate things concerning the dark side of the spiritual battle.  I would encourage you to spend time with these men and women and listen to what they have to say. 

Top Ten Books of 2013 - #1 - Standing Firm Through the Great Apostasy - Steve Gallagher

I come to this last best book slot, being #1, of the books I read in 2013 and have found again it to be a very provoking book.  I have gone back and scanned through and reviewed much of what I wrote in it back in January 2013.  I purchased the book in December 2012 primarily on author recognition.  I read a previous book by Steve Gallagher entitled Intoxicatedwith Babylon and found it to be a very good book.  I guessed that would have a pretty good idea of the content that Gallagher would take up with this book Standing Firm Through the Great Apostasy.  This is another book that falls into the category of our personal need for revival and a reawakening of the church to its true purpose.  As I mentioned in a previous post, books on revival and a true need for true repentance and godly conversion was what I spent the most time with last year.     

As a pastor, I often have to deal with very ambivalent emotions concerning the state of the church both locally and nationally.  There are times that I feel the great lift of faith to believe that there is an ardent devotion to the Lord and to His Word among those who follow the Lord.  There are other times when I find myself going into a tailspin at the shallow, uncommitted state that we slop around in.  Perhaps nothing like social media reveals the true nature and direction of where and what we are heading toward.  Jesus noted that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks and I think with our modern technological wizardry that now we can discover that the abundance of the heart is revealed through what the keyboard types, what the tweets reveal, and what the Instagram pics expose.  All of this social media exposure can be terribly disheartening when you began to understand the relentless onslaught of the world, the flesh, and the devil on the church.  Visit the profile pages of those who populate Facebook and you see many people who are so immersed in the entertainment venues of Hollywood, the music of Nashville, the insatiable appetite for the fads of Fifth Avenue, and all sorts of troubling distractions that you wonder if there is any hunger for God at all.  Some of what Gallagher addresses in the book relates to this.

Top Ten Books of 2013 - #2 - The Church Awakening - Charles Swindoll

We are at the number two spot in my book reviews of the best books that I read in 2013.  This book is one that published in 2010 and I got around to working with it in 2013.  Chuck Swindoll has been around for a long time and the majority of his books are primarily devotional in nature and it is rare that he would take on a subject like this concerning the need for revival in the church. 

I noticed something about my reading patterns in 2013 and that they were mostly concerned with personal revival and corporate revival among the church.  Anyone who is involved in ministry has to understand the reality that when a church is in a state of revival and devotion that things in churches go much smoother.  Churches that aren’t experiencing a climate of revival often turn inward and over the course of time will ultimately die.  We cannot afford for the local church to collapse even though it is under a very heavy attack both socially and spiritually in our day.  On the other hand, it is clear that when a church has well-defined boundaries and encourages its members to have a high input that the Lord can do great things with it. 

Author:  Charles Swindoll

Title:  The Church Awakening—An Urgent Call forRenewal

Publisher:  Faith Words, 2010

Top Ten Books of 2013 - Honorable Mention - Lord, Is It Warfare? Kay Arthur

This blog isn’t dead just sorely neglected!  For the last year there have been some other demands that required me to shuffle the blog to a lower rung in my life.  Perhaps I can give a very short explanation at a later point.  However I have a challenge of sorts with the year-end being the fact that I read more than ten good books, in fact so much so that there were some that did not necessarily make it into a “Top Ten” category but they are good enough that I feel they would be worth an honorable mention. 

Author:  Kay Arthur

Title:  Lord, Is It Warfare?  Teach Me to Stand

Publisher:  WaterBrook Press, 1991