Do Not Think I Came to Bring Peace, But a Sword

 

Christ's 27th Command:

By Brother R. Michel Lankford

 
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. Matthew 10:34 (NKJV)

Please Read: Matthew 10:24-39, (Which is the full context of the command)

 

Understanding the Command

This is not the first time that the Whole Testament challenges us to direct our thinking correctly:
· Deuteronomy 6:4-9 tells us how often we are to think and speak God's Words (cf. Joshua 1:7-8; Psalm 1).
· Isaiah 26:3 tells us to fix and stabilize our minds on Almighty God, and He will keep us in perfect peace when we Trust in Him (cf. John 14:27).
· Isaiah 55:1-9 tells us that redirecting our thinking is part of the repentance which will bring God's abundant forgiveness into our lives.
· The whole gospel account according to Matthew describes to us how to think according to the kingdom of Almighty God.
· Romans 12:1-2 clearly tells us that if we want to know and do the will of God successfully, we must let God renew our minds, so that our thinking patterns and our behaviors will not conform to the sinful and ungodly world (cf. Romans 8:5-8).
· The whole book of Philippians tells us how to keep ourselves encouraged by developing a God and Christ centered mindset.
So as you can see, developing a God centered and Christ centered mindset is a key to living as a successful disciple. Those are just a few examples on how the idea transcends the Whole Testament of Scripture.
The only imperative or command in Matthew 10:34 is, "Do not think..." Once again, Messiah is pointing out that in order to obey God and persevere in obeying God through difficult times, we are going to have to learn to think correctly.

 

Understanding the Principle behind the Command

When Messiah is saying, "Do not think...," He is not seeking or desiring to exercise some mystical form of mind control. He is trying to prepare us for the reality of living in a sinful world. Messiah's trying to prepare us to survive, to overcome, and even help us to thrive in the midst of difficult times. An essential part of doing that is that we must learn to think correctly.
Proverbs 13:12 specifically tells us that, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is the tree of life." In Biblical language, to hope literally means to place "a confident expectation" in a specific result. According to the proverb we just read, having our confident expectations not be fulfilled, when what we hope for does not come to pass, then we become heartsick. That is why it becomes vital for us to put our hope and our confident expectations in the right place, so that our hopes have a better chance of being fulfilled and less chance of being deferred.
In about 20 years of service to our Lord and Master, I've seen many would-be disciples become utterly crushed because their expectations and hopes were not fulfilled. Without fail, some diligent investigation has always proved that they were expecting God to do something or to prevent something, and the outcome did not occur as they hoped or expected that it would.
Without fully conceiving or admitting it in their conscious mind, many believers believe that God failed them or let them down in some way. The belief that God let them down because their confident hope was deferred and they became heartsick is not accurate of course. Those that correctly place their hope in the Lord will not be disappointed (see Romans 5:1-5; Romans 9:33; Romans 10:11; 1 Peter 2:6).
In my experience, investigation has always proved that the problem was that the disciple actually places their hope in the wrong place. That is to say, they placed their confident expectation towards a result that either God did not actually promise, or if God did indeed promise what they were expecting, the promise was made with conditions attached which the believer clearly did not rightly fulfill, and that is why they did not receive the result they were expecting. The reason that God and Jesus Christ gives us very specific instructions about how we are supposed to think is because God does not want us to put our hopes and expectations in the wrong place, and as a result we would make ourselves heartsick needlessly.
This is why such false teachings and worldly philosophies such as the Roman Catholic's ecumenical movement for example, (which tries to artificially produce unity and peace on earth through control and political means) is so dangerous, because it produces a false representation of what it means to be Christian, and a false expectation at the same time. The Roman Catholic Church is not alone in trying to sell this pipe dream to the body of Christ. Both the seeker sensitive movement and the emerging church movement so prevalent in the Protestant churches have also attempted to push the doctrine of peace and unity on earth at virtually any cost, even if it means abandoning sound biblical doctrine and truth to do it. There are many who will call themselves Christians in our present day who incorrectly believe that the primary goal of the church is to unify the world into a universal lack of conflict. This is a misconception. The primary function of the church is to preach and demonstrate true repentance and how to be disciples who function according to the decrees of the kingdom of God, so that sinners will repent and escape the judgment that is sure to come. That's the primary function of the church.
Beloved, I dislike conflict, confrontation, war and devastation as much, if not more than the average person.
Yes, it would be nice if every heart, if every mind, if every person's will and every soul were correctly aligned and agreeable to Almighty God, to Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit. It would be awesome if every human being's goal was to actively overcome their garbage, to correctly obey and apply God's principles, and each one treated their neighbor as they themselves would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12). If all we have to do is make nice and shake hands, it would be great. Wouldn't it be lovely if all we had to do was hold hands with our neighbor swaying back and forth, (in unison of course), and sing Kum ba yah, my lord, Kum ba yah. That would be great. It would also be called the garden of Eden before humankind fell into sin, or the kingdom of God.
As a result of the misconceptions and misplaced expectations such as the ones described above, many people have even taken up the dangerous practice of judging God. Think about it. How many of us have heard the old-line, 'Well, if God was for real, then how come there is so much pain, sorrow, suffering and death in the world?'
The answer is simple. It's called SIN. When God gave us the world, it was in perfect order. When God first gave us the world, there was no evil. At that time, there was no sorrow, no disease and no death (Genesis chapters 1-2). Almighty God gave humanity (Adam and Eve, and we their descendants) were given the stewardship and guardianship of the perfect world He created. In Genesis 3, we see that humankind started listening to and then obeying the devil instead of obeying God.
Each successive generation has since followed the exact same pattern of devastation. The answer to the skeptical question, "Well, if God is for real then why is the world in such a mess?" When God gave it to us it wasn't a mess. We are in the mess we're in because each successive generation disobeys God and listens to the devil, and satan then takes unfair advantage of the mileage that we give him. We sin, and we are the ones who bring devastation into the world. Beloved, we need to quit blaming God for our sins and the wreckage it creates.
The truth is that right now, we don't live in the garden of Eden anymore, nor do we live in the kingdom of God yet. There will be a time when God renews all things. At that time there will be no more sin or sorrow, no more pain and no more death for the people of God (Daniel 9:24; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-9). Until that time arrives, our job is to repent and turn away from evil, persevere and grow in knowing and obeying Almighty God and Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we can overcome the evil that is in the world through our faith (1 John 5:1-5; Revelation 21:7).
In the meantime we can seek for peace, we can pursue peace, (Psalm 34:14; Romans 12:18), but we should by no means set our hopes and expectations there, because our hopes will be deferred if we place our hope and peace on earth while we are in our present age (Jeremiah 6:14). Until the great day of the ultimate Restoration finally arrives, Messiah tells us that He did not come to bring peace. He specifically tells us not to put our expectations there, lest our hopes be deferred and we would lose heart. God's people have a lot to persevere through and overcome before we finally see The Great Day of Restoration, and we need to be prepared. That's why Messiah tells us exactly what we should expect in the meantime:
· If you love Almighty God and Jesus Christ and your goal is to do right in His eyes, then we should expect that both the sinful world, and those in the religious world who are hypocrites will hate and revile us for it, just as they did the Messiah (Matthew 10:24-25; John 3:16-21; Matthew 5:12).
· If you love Almighty God and Jesus Christ and your goal is to do right in His eyes, then we should expect persecution and not applause, at least not yet (Matthew 5:11; John 16:1-4; James 1:2-4; 2 Timothy 3:13).
When God's word instructs us to direct our thinking a particular way, He does so for a particular reason. He does it for our protection. God knows the future and we do not. When God tells us to think or not to think in a certain manner, it is because He does not want us to put our hope and expectation in the wrong place. He does not want us to get our hope deferred and to make ourselves heartsick when our misplaced expectations are not fulfilled.

 

Successfully Obeying the Command

As with every Biblical command, the most important discussion to have is, "How do I obey this command successfully?" This is a particularly tough question to ask whenever the commands and promises of God we encounter lean contrary to our preferences are comforts, but that is when it is most particularly important to ask this question and take steps in agreement with God's direction because it will take more than just the usual effort. So how can we strengthen ourselves to persevere in the midst of difficult times and overcome them? This is by no means an exhaustive scriptural list, but here are the basic instructions:
1. Acknowledge and admit your present difficulties. Bring them to the Lord. Admit them, do not deny them, but commit both yourself and your present difficulties to the Lord. Ask God to help you to be especially careful so that you will continue to apply His Words and Principles correctly in the midst of your present challenge (Psalm 37:1-9).
2. Reframe your situation within your mind. This is one of the hardest things to do, but it is an absolute must if we are to overcome successfully. We have to remember that in this world we will have tribulation (John 16:33). We will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). We should not be surprised when it occurs, (1 Peter 4:12). What we have to remember is to reframe them in our mind. That is to say, we have to attach the correct meaning behind our suffering.
a). Our sufferings and challenges are known to God. He is not unaware of them, and yes He does care about us in the midst of them (Matthew 10:29).
b). We must remember that God intends to use our weaknesses challenges and difficulties for our ultimate well-being, in order to refine and transform us into the nature and character of His Son Jesus Christ. Remember that our pains and challenges are intended to transform and restore us, and never to destroy us (Psalm 106:1; Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:28; James 1:2-4; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 5:1-5; Revelation 21:7). The key; the difficult part is to persevere in trusting and obeying God and continuing to do what pleases Him until our victories are manifest. That's the tough part, but it makes the difference between restoration or ruin. The scariest part is that the choice is in our own hands (Galatians 6:7-10).
c). The last thing we have to remember when we are trying to reframe our challenging situations in our mind is to remember to turn the tables. Think about it. If the persecutions, the trials, the tribulations and the challenges are happening just as Messiah forewarned us they would, then in one sense this too should serve to actually increase our hope in our minds. That's because, if the difficult times which Christ's forewarned are happening just as He said they would, then that means that the promises and benefits of persevering in obeying God and keeping faith in Jesus Christ are also equally true, and therefore, this should serve as an encouragement to us to persevere until we successfully overcome.
3. Abide in the Words of God and Jesus Christ (John 15:1-11): We hear that word a lot in church, but very often we get so busy that we don't take time to really digest what it truly means to "Abide." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th edition) actually describes the word abide quite well. To abide means to endure and wait for without yielding. In the biblical sense, to abide literally means that we take up residence and establish our lives in a particular location. In this case, we are to take up residence, establish our lives, practice doing God's word repeatedly, endure and wait in the words of God and Jesus Christ without yielding that position. If we learn to do that we will eventually win and overcome through whatever difficulties we encounter.
Prayer: Almighty God, Lord Jesus Messiah, and gracious Lord Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. We do not relish difficult times, but your word makes it very clear that we will have them. Resenting it, resisting it, whining complaining, grumbling, and fretting about it only wastes valuable energy that we need in order to overcome, so please help us not to do that. Help us to think correctly so that we will not be deceived or disillusioned. By your grace and mercy, help us to respond correctly to our difficulties. Help us to abide in Your Word. Help us to correctly do Your Word, and help us to persevere in doing Your Word until we thoroughly overcome. In Christ's name, amen.

In Spirit and in Truth

By Brother Michel Lankford
 
Many believers are familiar with the biblical account of the woman at the well. We're all familiar with how Messiah struck up a conversation with her. He started out talking about everyday things and gingerly move the conversation over to her eternal needs. He started out asking her for a drink so that he could offer her eternal, living water.
As you will remember from the Bible study techniques review that we discussed in the blog (April 20,2011), whenever you want to find the key passages from any chapter of Scripture which you are reading, remember to look for God first. If you see a passage in your study chapter that describes God's character, God's desires, God's commands, God's principles, or God's promises clearly defined, then those types of verses must take priority as your key verses. In the case of John chapter 4, we see Messiah describing exactly what, God desires and requires from those who would worship Him. I've identified the key verses for you to save time on this occasion:
"Jesus *said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman *said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us." Jesus *said to her, "I who speak to you am He." John 4:21-26 (NASB)
1. In John chapter 4, verses 21-26 are your key verses. Here's why we know this to be true. First, it identifies who Jesus as the Messiah (V. 26).
2. In this passage we understand that worship without knowledge is not as effective, not as acceptable (V. 22).
3. This passage identifies from where our salvation comes (V. 22).
4. This passage identifies what acceptable worship is and what the Father seeks. God seeks people who will worship Him, both in the right spirit and according to the truth (V. 23-4).
Several things struck me hard as never before when I was studying this passage this time around. I thought I would share them with you. I hope that it will help you as you become a more obedient disciple of God and Jesus Christ:
a. “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.” He said to her, “Go, call your husband and come here.” In this postmodern politically correct age, many ministers are fearful of confronting sin, but confronting it is the only way to bring God's real and lasting healing and salvation into people's lives. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, Messiah proceeds to tell the woman that she has had five husbands and the when she was living with now was not even her husband. He was not cruel about it. He was not insulting, but He did confront sin. He did not sidestep the issue. If we are going to be effective disciples and disciple makers, then we must confront the issues of sin in our lives(John 8:31-38).
b. Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Jesus operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, He operated in those gifts very naturally. He did not call attention to Himself or to the gifts, merely for the sake of the gifts themselves. He did not allow the gifts in which He was operating to overshadow the ministry that the Father sent him to do on behalf of the woman.
c. "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." The Samaritan woman commented that she knew Jesus was a prophet because He was aware of her sins and confronted her with them.
Many theologians speculate that she might have been trying to distract Jesus by bringing up theological questions. She may have honestly wanted to know because she had a desire to be restored back to God. I tend to lean in that direction because God the Father specifically sent Messiah to her, (cf. John 5:19), so she must've been seeking to be restored before God. Otherwise Jesus would not have been sent there by the Father. Moreover, the text does not explicitly tell us what the motives of her heart were, so when in doubt, it is much more charitable that we should assume the best instead of the worst.
Moreover, her question reveals something of the universal question that sooner or later, every worshiper will face. How do I really know that the way I worship God is really and truly acceptable to the Lord? If you truly care about your relationship with God and doing what pleases Him, then you will face that question at one time or another.
Whatever her motives were, Jesus used her question is a teachable moment. He used it as an opportunity to get God's true message across to her and to the generations who would be reading the passage about her.
In her own way, the Samaritan woman revealed that she had an understanding of God which our modern and postmodern theology is rapidly losing. She understood that as gracious as God is, He does not always accept every form and every method, or every act of worship simply because we offer it to Him. She understood that God does have real and concrete standards about what He accepts, and what He does not. She also realized that there was a real division in debate among believers in Almighty God about what was right and what was not right when it came to worshiping the Most High God.
It turns out that her question truly did and in fact still does have some real theological merit. It so happens that the Samaritan woman understand something which modern-day Christendom is rapidly forgetting. God is pretty particular about what He does and what He does not accept in our worship. This aroused my curiosity. Scripturally, is there a way to tell what kind of worship God accepts, versus what kind of worship the Almighty will reject? The answer is yes. Scripture is surprisingly quite detailed about what God requires, and what it means to worship God in spirit and truth. In the past few blog entries we discussed the kind of worship that God rejects. In this blog entry, we will focus primarily on what God does accept in worship.

d. "You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know...."
According to Nelson's illustrated manners and customs of the Bible, the mountain upon which the Samaritans worshiped was mount Gerizimi, which from The Samaritan point of view was the place where Abraham offered Isaac and where God first revealed Himself (Genesis 22:2 ff). By Jewish tradition, the place where this occurred was the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
On Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritans worshipped, they were known for their emotionalism and their ecstatic speech---but they had ignored key truths from the Old Testament...so they had the spirit without truth... much like many contemporary worship services today.
On the other hand, at Jerusalem, where the Jews worshipped, they had made OT truth an old, dry, lifeless set of rituals...it was truth without spirit....much like many traditional services today.
Pastor John MacArthur comments; "The worship that occurred on Mount Gerizim was enthusiastic heresy. The worship offered at Jerusalem was barren, lifeless orthodoxy. Jerusalem had the truth but not the spirit. Gerizim had the spirit but not the truth. Jesus rebuked both styles of worship when he said, ‘God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.’ The two enemies of true worship are Gerizim and Jerusalem. Sincerity, enthusiasm, and aggressiveness are important, but they must be based on truth. And truth is foundational, but if it doesn’t result in an eager, excited, enthusiastic heart, it is deficient. Enthusiastic heresy is heat without light. Barren orthodoxy is light without heat."
In order for the worship to be acceptable and pleasing before the Lord, it must be done in the right spirit, and it must be done according to the truth. Otherwise, it simply is not acceptable worship. We will give more details on that later.
For me, the comment, "You worship what you do not know, we worship what we do know," was a pretty profound statement for the King of Kings and Messiah to make. Think about it. He is acknowledging that the Samaritans had a tradition of trying to worship Almighty God, but that at the same time, they were worshiping God in such a way, that their worship demonstrated that they did not accurately know the One whom they were worshiping, nor did they truly understand what God required and desired from them. I sincerely believe with all my heart, that the very same thing could accurately be said about modern day American Christendom.
When you look at what is commonly accepted in church, and you compare it with the Whole Testament of Scripture, it is abundantly clear that very often we accept things and we present things as worship that neither Almighty God, nor His Son the Messiah would recognize as something honoring to Him. For the record, I am not talking about the various instrumental choices. I'm not talking about whether you use hymnals are overhead projectors. I'm not talking about whether you sing hymns or choruses. All of that amounts to window dressing.
However, when we adapt worldly, American business mass marketing and manipulation techniques and call it being "seeker sensitive," it shows that we don't really know God and understand what He requires from His disciples. When we accept motivational speaking, and we resent the unadulterated Word of God being exposited, we demonstrate that we don't really know the God that we worship. When we accept teachings of the false prosperity message as fact, even when Scripture does not accurately support it, that clearly shows a definite lack of understanding. When we accept worldly postmodern philosophy and heresy which denies the gospel and refuses the authority of Scripture as doctrine, and we blend that into evangelical Christianity, and we call it an emerging church, it not only shows a lack of understanding, but it's a dangerous heresy. That's not worship, it's a tragedy.
What seems even worse to me is that while many in modern-day Christendom acknowledge and even lament all of these enormous fallacies as being problematic, so many of our Christian so-called leaders in our day seem to take a lackadaisical almost fatalistic response to the problem.
The response I hear most often, even among those who agree that this is a problem will be, "Well, we are in the last days, and this is what's supposed to happen in the last days." Yes, I agree that we are in the last days. Yes, I know that evil men and imposters will get worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived (2 Timothy 3:13). Yes, I know that we are in a time when people do not accept sound doctrine. We are definitely in the season where people are gathering up teachers for themselves that only tell them exactly what they want to hear (2 Timothy 4:1-4), but we are told to hold fast, Preach the word, to be ready in season and out of season. We are told to convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. We are told to be watchful in all things, to endure afflictions, to do the work of an evangelist, to fulfill our ministry (2 Timothy 4:2-5). We are expressly told to earnestly contend for that faith which was once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). So where is it written that because we are in the last days and difficult times are prophesied, that we who call ourselves the Lord's servants, should roll over and play dead? Where is it written that we should coexist with wickedness and even call heresy Christian in the name of grace and tolerance? Where is that written?
e. "For salvation is from the Jews..."
In one sense the modern attitude is not surprising. We have a history of forgetting that our salvation truly is from the Jews. For almost 1700 years, the organized church establishment has systematically trained people to either discount or totally reject 59% of Holy Scripture. This is a practice that continues to this day, because that is what you do when you treat the Old Testament as obsolete. In reality though, to discount or reject the instructions of the so-called Old Testament means that you also have to reject almost 5% of the New Testament as well. So altogether, when one rejects or diminishes the instructions of the Old Testament they are actually rejecting almost 2/3 of Scripture altogether. And still we have the nerve to wonder why we do not seem as thoroughly equipped for every good work as the saints once were.
When we actively bring forth the very same names, practices, and feast days and traditions that were used to worship pagan sex gods for centuries, (which are really demons; 1 Corinthians 10:20-21; 1 Timothy 4:1) but still we eagerly enfold and embrace them into Christian faith and practice, and we call it worship unto Almighty God and Jesus Christ, and we do it in direct rebellion to God's commandments, then it's obvious we are demonstrating that we are worshiping what we do not know.
What blows my mind is that the Christian establishment will lament how many pastors and ministers are ensnared in sexual sin (some estimates place the number of pastors addicted to pornography at almost 40%). We will hear from the various pulpits how shameful it is that 66% of Christian marriages end in divorce. Is it any wonder? If we actively invite and embrace sex demons into the church every winter and spring, (in direct violation to God's commandments I might add), then how can we rightly hope to overcome them through the summer and fall?
Beloved, even the Samaritans in Christ's day would not have accepted the practices we tolerate as a common part of worship, and yet Christ said that they were worshiping what they did not know. How much more ignorant would Jesus consider the modern Christian? I shudder to think of it.
We have clearly demonstrated over and over again that we are worshiping what we do not know, just as the Samaritans were doing in Christ's day. Let those who have ears to hear take heed of what the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures say. Let those who are wise and discerning, grow in understanding. Far be it from us a Lord that we should choose to remain ignorant for the sake of our own pleasure, comforts, and traditions.
"But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Since God is looking and seeking for people who worship him in spirit and truth, it stands to reason that we should first understand what that means.
To worship God in spirit: To worship God in spirit obviously means that our spirit (since the word spirit in the verse is not capitalized), it is not referring necessarily to the Holy Spirit, but to human spirit, must be correctly aligned with God. That means that we cannot be worshiping false gods nor should we be worshiping the True God in such a way that dishonors Him. We spent  multiple blog entries that idea and giving the Scriptures behind it, so there's no point in reiterating it now. Suffice it to say that in order for worship to be acceptable it has to be completely agreeable to Almighty God, to the Messiah and to the the Holy Spirit. It cannot invite or embrace anything that would be offensive to the Almighty at all.
To worship God in truth: The second criteria that Messiah gave to describe the kinds of worshipers that the Almighty was seeking to worship Him were those who worship God both in spirit, but also in truth. So what does it mean to worship God in truth? I believe that is a vital question. If you look at the word in the original biblical language the New Testament Greek word used is; alētheia ^[1] meaning; that which is in accord with what really happens, facts that correspond to a reality, whether historical (in the time/space continuum, or to be accurate in the realm that moves beyond time and space So, in order to be true worship it must be accurate to what is happening both in this realm of our present reality and also in the realm of the next.
Now there can be no reasonable doubt in any person's mind that there is no place where God is worshiped more purely than in the Kingdom of Heaven. We know for certain that God is worshiped most purely and accurately in that realm. To worship God in truth means that we would worship God in a way that agrees with what is truly happening both in this realm and in the next. So imagine for example that we were in the presence of the most Holy Almighty God. Imagine for instance that you are all of once fully aware of His perfection, His perfect love, and also His capacity for justifiable wrath over wickedness.
Please, use your sanctified imagination for a moment. What do you think would happen in Glory if a person approached God with the name of a demon sex goddess on his lips and he then heralded her name in a praiseworthy manner right along with the name of God's Son Jesus Christ? What if the 'worshiper' insisted that even though he was using the name of this demon sex goddess, it was really okay, because he was really trying to honor Jesus Christ, the risen Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world? Can you sincerely tell me beyond a reasonable doubt based on the Scriptures that such a practice would be acceptable in the courts of Glory?! A snowball would have greater chance of surviving a Mojave desert summer, than for such a behavior to be accepted in God's kingdom, and you know it. We know that in God's Kingdom, even the wedding guests who refuse to wear the robes that the bridegroom provides will be bound hand and foot, and cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:11-13). So, what do you imagine he would do to the 'worshiper' in our example? Is there any biblical basis to believe that his behavior would pass, while the improperly dressed men is howling in agony? Think about it.
Even in modern English the definitions and synonyms for the word truth is very telling. It is very close to the word used in the original biblical language. Here are the synonyms for truth even in our modern-day language according to Encarta Encyclopedia: Synonyms: fact, certainty, reality, actuality, veracity, verity; reality, fact, accuracy, genuineness, precision, exactness, legitimacy, veracity, truthfulness; honesty, candor, integrity, dedication, loyalty, devotion, fidelity, uprightness, sincerity.
Please, to Not continue to use the name and traditions for worshiping the Babylonian goddess of fertility (Easter) to honor the resurrection of Messiah. That's Roman Catholic tradition of men. It's not worshiping God in spirit and truth. What's more, it's expressly forbidden (Jeremiah 10:1-2; Deuteronomy 12:28-32; 1 Corinthians 10:15-22; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Mark 7:9-13).

As we seek to remember and commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, let us care enough to remember to pursue worship the way He says that He wishes to be honored and remembered. Remember, words mean things. It is not honorable worship to God unless He specifically agrees that He is honored by something. God be with you.   Do you really want to set aside the expressly written Commandments of God in order to uphold the tradition of men? Is that excellence in Christian discipleship? Almighty God, Lord Yeshua Messiah, and gracious Lord Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us. Mercifully forgive us and grant us grace whenever we have failed to honor and worship You as you have desired and deserve to be worshiped. Mercifully transform us into a people who inquire and pursue after what truly pleases the Lord. Mercifully transform us into people who become the worshipers after whom the Father seeks. Amen. Michel Lankford

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^[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Greek (New Testament) (electronic ed.). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

Reviewing Fundamentals: Bible Study & Worship

By Brother Michel Lankford

 

 

 

Bible Study Techniques Review

For seasoned students of the Scriptures, this may seem like elementary school, but I was reminded of an important Bible study tip which is worth reviewing. Sometimes the Bible can seem overwhelming. You look At a chapter with more than 50 verses. It can feel daunting to some students who might not be sure on what they should focus. You love God's word, you want to respect it. You want to obey it successfully but how can you be sure that you don't miss the key points. Here are the must-do's::
1. Ask God to send the Holy Spirit to help you learn His Word and obey it successfully.
2. Read the whole chapter through before you start studying. It is tempting to skip this step if you are a more seasoned Bible student, because we tend to want to get to where were going as fast as we can, but I don't recommend skipping this step because the Holy Spirit might want to speak to us and show us things we have not seen before, so we should still read the chapter before focusing in on our key passage. It also helps to ensure that you are less likely to take the passage out of context.
3. Focus on God first. Before you get into the details of your study, remember to focus on God first. What I mean is when you are reading a Bible chapter, look for those things that identify God and Jesus Christ before anything else. Look for the verses and words that describe who He is, what He desires and what He requires, before looking for other details.
For example, we know that in Jeremiah chapter 9, verses 23-24 are your key verses in the entire chapter, because those specific verses give us specific details about things in which God says He delights, and becoming a person of character in whom God delights is the whole point of studying Scripture:
"Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD." Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NRSV)
For another example, we know that in Micah chapter 6, verse 8 is your key verse because it describes what God requires:
"He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 (NRSV)
4. As we have mentioned before, the next step is to find the commands, promises, and guiding principles. If you look for and apply all of these things, then your Bible study will be far more fruitful.
In today's blog we will continue looking at various aspects of worship that God does except and bless.

 

 

A Review of the Key Principles of Biblical Worship

 
Remember What Is Worship: Biblically speaking, worship literally means "to bend or prostrate oneself toward." In the English language it comes from the words worth-ship. So in the most literal sense, whatever we give or attribute the most value, importance or worth to, and whatever we obey most closely, that is what we truly worship. That's because of course whatever we obey most closely is what we consider most important or what we most truly value. Just to give one example, if I follow my own opinions or the opinions of my friends more closely than I follow the word of God, then in reality I'm really worshiping myself or my friends instead of God in that particular area of my life. That's because I would be caring more about what they said, or caring more about what I wanted then what God said.
Remember what is Idolatry: Idolatry is the worship of; (the bending or prostrating oneself toward in order to obey); any person, supernatural entity, place, thing, philosophy or ideology which is NOT in fact the Almighty God described in the Scriptures; Who is perfect Love (1 John 4:8), and Who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1-31). The One True God created us (Psalm 100:3), and revealed Himself to Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, among others. By definition, anyone who believes and follows the Almighty God as He is revealed in the Scriptures is called a God worshiper. Anyone who does not worship the Almighty God as He is revealed in the Testament (Genesis-Revelation), is in fact an idolater, (one who practices and commits idolatry, or the worship of false gods). It must be noted that all idolatry, in all its forms and functions is expressly forbidden by Almighty God throughout the entire Testament of the Scriptures. In fact, Scripture clearly points out that all those who follow and worship false gods, are in reality following demons (1 Corinthians 10:14-23), which are fallen Angels who seek to steal the worship that rightly belongs to Almighty God.
Throughout the entire Testament of Scripture, people are directed to repent; to turn away from any worship of false gods and to learn how to worship the One, Only True, Almighty Creator God, as He deserves and desires to be worshiped. Those who do this will be forgiven and accepted by God (Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 15; Ezekiel 18:19-23; John 4:24).
It must also be noted that while God's mercy and forgiveness are incredibly lavish upon all those who repent, who turn away from what God says is evil, and who turn to do what is good; the penalty is equally lavish for those who refuse to turn away from idolatry. Those who choose to retain idolatry, who choose to continue worshiping false gods (which are really demons pretending to be gods), such idolaters will in fact go to hell (where all demons and up cf. Matthew 25:36-44). They will be in torment and agony without mercy forever (1 Corinthians 5:11, 6:9; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 21:8; Revelation 22:15). Therefore, any person who would be a successful God follower must be diligent to get rid of all forms of idolatry with extremely forceful prejudice. Nothing short of your eternal life hangs in the balance.
Remember That God Does Not Automatically Accept All Worship Offered in His Name: Even the worship of Almighty God must be done correctly and in a manner that God approves. In other words, not all worship of Almighty God is automatically approved by Almighty God, simply because we offered it to Him, instead of offering it to a demon pretending to be god. On the March 31, 2011 entry of this blog, we gave no less than eight concrete Scriptural examples of worship that was offered to the real God, but it was not accepted, because it was not done as God required.
Remember to Avoid Syncretism: One such example of the types of worship that is offered to God, but that is not done in a manner in which God approves is called syncretism. Some people incorrectly believe that just as long as we don't carve out a statue, as long as we don't call it a god, as long as we don't light candles to the statue, as long as we don't bow down toward or pray to a statue that we carve, then we are not committing idolatry. While it is true that all these things described are overt forms of idolatry, there are also subversive forms and practices of idolatry which we are instructed to avoid throughout the entire Testament of Scripture. In the blog entry dated April 3, 2011, we gave a detailed explanation of syncretism, and why God forbids it. To summarize and review: Syncretism is the blending, the mixing and the combining of idolatrous beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of various religions and combining or homogenizing them together into a new faith and practice in order to try to worship the real God. Let's say for example that I took various aspects of Biblical Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Islam, I mixed it all together and tried to bring it into my philosophy and worship of Almighty God and His Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. That would be syncretism.
It is critical to remember that both in the Hebrew and Christian fulfillment Scriptures, the practice of syncretism is completely forbidden.
Remember that all Scripture is anointed by the Holy Spirit of God. It tells us how God wants us to live. It tells us what God will accept and what he will not accept (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Remember that all the Scriptures God caused to be written in the past were written for our instruction, (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11), this would include what is commonly called the Old Testament. The Messiah said the same thing (Matthew 5:17-20). So if we do not follow the instructions and principles that God gave us throughout the entire Testament of Scripture, then we are in fact being disobedient and it is not acceptable worship. It's that simple.
So in what places and examples does God demonstrate to us in Scripture that He does not want or accept syncretism?
· Israel had been in captivity in Egypt for more than 400 years. When God delivered them from their captivity and brought them safely out, they adapted Egyptian cow worship into their worship of Almighty God. They created a golden calf. They gave it Almighty God's name. Basically they were saying that worshiping the golden calf which they created was the same as worshiping the real God as long as they gave it Almighty God's name, and as long as they gave it credit for what Almighty God did. Then they created a feast and celebration of their own design and called it a feast and a celebration unto YHWH, Almighty God. It's critical to note God's reaction here. Almighty God, who revealed Himself to Moses, was most definitely not honored or pleased with that practice. He did not accept it as honorable worship of Him, even though they did put His Name on it. In fact Almighty God was so completely incensed and angry that He was actually prepared to destroy the entire population of Israel and start over with Moses. Moses acted as a type and shadow of the coming Messiah and intervened, so God minimized the punishment on the people because of Moses' intercession (Exodus 32:1-18).
· When God's people were about ready to enter the land which God had promised to their forefather Abraham, Almighty God restated His laws and principles to the people. Within this retelling of the Law, Almighty God gave instructions so that the people could avoid repeating the horrible sins of idolatry that they had committed in the wilderness. His specific instructions were included in Deuteronomy chapter 12. It is worth noting that during his ministry, Jesus Christ the Messiah quoted out of Deuteronomy more than any other portion of Scripture. Here God gives another example that the way to avoid falling into idolatry is to avoid applying the principles of syncretism altogether.
o First, as long as God's people are living where God placed them they are to utterly destroy and obliterate anything and everything that was used in the worship of false gods (Deuteronomy 12:1-4). They were to make sure that even the name of those false gods were never brought to memory again
o They were to make sure that they never copied any of the ideologies, philosophies or behaviors toward Almighty God which the pagans did before their gods (Deuteronomy 12:4, 13).
o Some people believed that as long as they are thinking and meditating about God and Jesus Christ that they can use pagan practices and bring it into the worship of God and Jesus Christ because they are not meditating on ungodly things while they are offering their worship. God's word rejects that assertion (Deuteronomy 12:8, 30-32).
o God restates and summarizes the whole principle again in Deuteronomy 12:28-32.
· God restates the same principle again through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:1-2).
· One of the common misconceptions in modern-day Christendom is that God only rejected syncretism in the Old Testament. In truth, the same principle is restated in the so-called New Testament:
o Jesus said that we were not to imitate the way that idolaters or pagans pray. We were not to implement their methods and practices of praying into our prayer life with Almighty God (Matthew 6:7-8).
o Jesus said that we are not to focus on and worry about things or think about things in a manner that pagans and idolaters think and worry (Matthew 6:31-33; cf. Romans 12:1-2).
· Was the same principle restated again by the apostles who witnessed the resurrected Messiah? Yes it was.
o For example, many of the apostolic letters were written with warnings to the churches not to implement the pagan and worldly philosophies of Gnosticism into the worship of Almighty God and Jesus Christ, because combining Gnostic beliefs with their worship of God and Jesus Christ would eventually cause believers to deny the truth of God's word and the gospel. Colossians, Philippians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and 1st John were all written with the expressed purpose of refuting Gnosticism or other pagan philosophies, and exhorting believers to instead maintain true faith and allegiance to Almighty God and Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
o In 1 Corinthians 10:1-22, the apostle Paul clearly restates the principle discussed in Exodus and in Deuteronomy. He even repeats some of the exact language used. Clearly he was saying God followers are not to implement any ungodly practices into our worship of Almighty God, primarily because it could confuse the unbeliever and prevent him from turning away and being saved from his idolatry. So out of concern for unbelievers we should make extra effort to separate ourselves and all Christian worship from any manner of idolatry so that the unbelievers can see a clear difference (1 Corinthians 10:14, 21-22).
o In 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, the apostle Paul restates the exact same principle of avoiding syncretism, only he does so even more clearly than he did in the first instance.
o In 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, the apostle Paul overtly states that we must scrutinize and test everything, (in effect carefully compare everything with Scripture). We are to hold fast to that which Scripture says is good, and to strictly abstain from that which Scripture says is evil. The apostle Paul goes one step further. Believers are not only to abstain from those things which are overtly evil, but true God followers and worshipers are to also abstain even from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Now that's an interesting distinction which Christians often neglect in our modern day. In Biblical terms, it is not enough merely to avoid the actual substance of all evil and wickedness. This we should certainly do, but Scripture also tells us to avoid and abstain from even the forms of evil.

o Even the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, makes a veiled reference to avoiding syncretism. Now this particular reference is not as blatant of an example is all the others in Scripture, but if you do some digging you will discover that it is there. Remember in the book of Revelation Jesus Christ told John to write a letter to the church at Ephesus? He said that one of the things that search had in its favor was that they hated the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which Jesus declared that He also hated. Now, if Jesus said that they were doing certain deeds which he hated, those are definitely needs and actions we want to avoid. It takes a little digging, but through various commentaries and encyclopedias I discovered that among other things the deeds of the Nicolaitans included compromising the faith by incorporating ungodly worship practices and combining it with the worship of Almighty God and Jesus Christ. We know for example that at least the sins committed by these people included eating food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. It was equated to the sin described in Numbers 2:1-2 which was worship of Balaam (the worship of various Sun god in the region, while trying to worship God at the same time (Harper's Bible dictionary).
The point is that from Exodus to Revelation, God makes it incredibly clear that we cannot incorporate any of the practices, methods, and festivals used that were routinely used to worship pagan gods and bring them into the worship of Yahweh, or the Messiah Jesus Christ. From the beginning to the end of the Whole Testament God emphatically abhors every such practice.
In the next blog, we will discuss what it means to worship God in spirit and truth. Hope to see you there. God be with you.
Brother Michel

I Know It in My Heart, Therefore It Must Be True?

How Do We Accurately Measure Our Worship?
By brother Michel Lankford
 
In the last few blog entries, we've been discussing the ideas of biblical worship. Our series began by dispelling the comfortable and popular notion that God accepts everything and anything done in His name as long as you do it with what you believe to be a sincere heart. Scripture tells us to love God with all our heart (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Matthew 22:36-40), but hear me on this. There is absolutely not a single place in Scripture where we are told to use our hearts as the ultimate measure of our worship, or is the ultimate measure of our relationship with Almighty God. In reality, Scripture tells us exactly the opposite. In truth we cannot depend on our heart to give us accurate information about either our worship or our relationship with God. That may sound completely contrary to what you are accustomed, but Holy Scripture is abundantly clear that I'm telling the truth:

a. The human heart is wicked and can easily be deceived (Genesis 6:5-6; Jeremiah 17:5,9; Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; James 1:26; 1 John 1:5-10).

b. Except for Messiah, no human being ever sought after God, or persistently did what was right with God (Romans 3:10-18; Hebrews 4:15).

c. There are even some occasions when we can be right with God, and our hearts will tell us that we're wrong (1 John 3:20).

d. We are expressly told to guard our heart (Proverbs 4:23). It is precisely because it can be attacked. It can be deceived. It can be led astray from the things of God.

e. Yes, indeed the time will come in the future, when our transformation will be complete, and the renewed covenant is completely manifest. At some point in the future God will write His commands on our heart, and no man will have to teach his neighbor about God (Jeremiah 31:31-34), but we are obviously not in the full manifestation of that promise yet. If we are, then why are any Bible study groups still necessary? In this world There are plenty of people who do not know God or His ways, even among those who consider themselves born-again believers. One need look no further than George Barna and his research Institute to understand that this portion of Scripture still has yet to be fulfilled and manifested, because obviously it hasn't fully happened yet.

You may say to yourself, well, our hearts remain perfectly clean after we come to Christ. Oh really? Then why did James write a letter to Jewish believers who had faith in Christ and were dispersed throughout the world (James 1:1-3), that they should cleanse their hearts, (James 4:8)? Why then did Paul later restate the same idea to believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 7:1)?
We are told to draw near to God with a sincere heart (Hebrews 10:22), but nowhere are we told to measure our relationship with God or our worship according to the sincerity of our own hearts.
Considering everything His Word says about the true condition of the human heart and its unreliability, I ask you, would God ever ask us to use it to measure something so important as our relationship with God and our worship of Him? No Way!! Even after we are saved, cleansing our heart is a continuing process of sanctification and therefore the human heart cannot and must not be relied upon to measure our right standing with God or our worship, simply because even though our hearts are in the process of being renewed, the human heart is not reliable enough to give us an accurate account of so critical a thing as our relationship to God and our worship of the Almighty. As well-intentioned as we might think we are, both God and Jesus Christ are abundantly clear that no matter how sincere a person is, not everything done in His Name will be accepted. We gave no less than eight scriptural examples to that fact (i.e. 2 Samuel 6:1-11; Matthew 7:21-23), among others.
Since according to the Scriptures, the human heart is not the appropriate measure of our relationship and of our worship of the Almighty, then what is? God wants us to believe and to know that we are in right standing with Him, (whenever indeed we are; 1 John 5:13-14), but if such knowledge is not to be based on the subjective and sometimes misleading intuition of the human heart, then upon what does that knowledge correctly rest? If our hearts are not the standard we should use to judge our worship and relationship with Almighty God, then what is the standard? What is the correct measure that God has provided for that absolutely critical task?
The Almighty has provided two accurate measures which we are to use to accurately judge whether we are right in our relationship and in our worship of Almighty God. One is the Holy Spirit, and the other is The Word. Both witnesses must agreed together that our relationship and our worship are correct before we assume that it is. Both the Holy Spirit together with the written and Incarnate Word must agree together that we are right in our relationship and our worship of the Almighty, before we can safely believe that we are.
For as it is written:

"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits. ” (Matthew 7:16–20, NASB95 with bold emphasis added)

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ” (John 13:35, NASB95 with bold and emphasis added)

Again, that's fruit. Scripture gives us a further explanation of what fruit we should be seeing if our relationship and our worship is truly correct. For as it is further written:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ” (Galatians 5:22–25, NASB95 with bold and emphasis added).

I would like you to think about something for a moment. If we do not make it a regular habit of actively crucifying our flesh and our sinful nature, then in reality we are demonstrating by our lives that we do not, in reality, belong to Jesus Christ. Scripture cannot be more clear on that point. Please do not be deceived.
For as it is written:

"They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance." Titus 1:16–2:2 (NASB95 with bold and emphasis added).
Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. (Rev 14:12 NASB).

So we will know that our relationship with, and worship of Almighty God is correct because it will be evident by the fruit of the Holy Spirit being produced in our lives and we will be overcoming our flesh and sinful nature. Our renewed nature will be evident by its fruit.
The second accurate witness that God provides by which we can measure our right standing with, and our worship of the Almighty is both the written and Incarnate Word of God.
For as it is written:

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. "John 8:31-36 (NKJV cf. 1 John 1:5-10; James 1:16-27; 1 John 2:6).

Just as it is further written:

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. Psalm 119:9 (NKJV with bold and emphasis added).

Just as it is further written:

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:7-14 (NKJV with bold and underlines added for clarity and emphasis)

So then, abiding in; (that's living a lifestyle that is in agreement and in compliance to) The Word is what makes us disciples, and this will in turn produce the recognizable fruit of the Holy Spirit which is the second witness we discussed earlier. In reality, the very same measure that we use to judge our worship, is the same measure that we use to rightly judge our relationship with Almighty God. The Almighty has already described what he will do in a person that is truly be renewed by Him.

Just as it is written:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NKJV)

Did you happen to notice what the prophet said would be the real evidence that we are transformed by the LORD? When the Holy Spirit is living in you, and authentically doing His work within us, then according to the Word, what is the incontrovertible evidence that such a change has truly taken place?:

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

He said it again through the apostle:

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)

Beloved do not be deceived. When God is really and truly working inside of a person, there will be increasing and growing desire and ability to do what pleases God. Yahweh said as much. He said it through the prophets. He said it through the Psalmist. He said it through Messiah, and the same principle is testified to again by three apostles; mainly John, James, and Paul. So in review than, how do we evaluate our worship? How do we know whether it's acceptable to God?

• No place does God tell us to use the subjective measure of what we feel is right in our own heart to measure either our relationship with God or our worship of Almighty God. Instead of asking how we feel about something in our own heart God tells us to use two very specific standards.

•   Does it match the Holy Spirit and His fruit? (Galatians 5:22-25) Does it put us in a position of putting aside the sinful nature with its desires? Is what we are thinking, desiring and doing and worship, is it agreeable and consistent with the fruit and character of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25; Matthew 7:16-20). In other words, is it pushing me to overcome my own sinful nature and to purposely bend my heart, my mindset, my attitudes, my desires, my motives, my plans, and my behaviors, toward what Almighty God desires and what He says matches the character and fruit of the Holy Spirit? If it does, then it's acceptable worship.

• Does it match the Word? Does it accurately match both the word and commands of Almighty God and the Incarnate Word; His Son Jesus Christ?

Please understand, it is only when our love, faith, and our deeds of obedience intersect together with the Holy Spirit, the written Word of God, and the Incarnate Word, only then is our worship truly acceptable and the sweet aroma to the living God of heaven. May the Lord transform us by His Grace, so that we will truly become such worshipers as these. Amen.

Brother Michel Lankford

The Attitude and Mindset of Worship

By Brother Michel Lankford

The first principle of authentic Christian discipleship is that we must choose to look at and define any key words, concepts principles and ideas the way that God Himself looks at them and defines them in His Word.

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This Blog Will Discuss:

• What Is Worship?
• What is idolatry?
• Where is that in the Bible ?
• Attitudes make a difference in worship

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In the last few blog entries we've been dealing with the question of worship. In the original Hebrew and Greek biblical languages, to worship literally means, to bend one's being, bow down and prostrate oneself toward something. Our English term worship literally comes from the term worth-ship. This means to esteem and treat as having the highest value or worth in one's life and practice.
In effect, whatever or whoever you ultimately obey or follow is what you are worshiping, because you are bending your will and your behavior toward that person or principle. That's why for example we are told that even when we work for another person, we are to work as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:22-25). In effect, not only will this earn you a better reputation and witness for Christ on the job, not only will it bring eternal rewards from the Ultimate Judge, but keeping God as your focus when you make your choices at work will prevent you from worshiping your job, which of course would become idolatry in and of itself.
When we talk about worship of Yahweh through Messiah Jesus, who is our Great High Priest, what we are saying is that Almighty God is the One in our lives who holds our highest esteem. His Word, together with bringing delight to His heart is our highest priority and desire.
To worship successfully literally means that our heart, our mindsets, our attitudes, our desires, motives, our plans, and our behaviors, all purposely been themselves toward what Almighty God desires and says. That's what it means to worship.
To put it in practical real-life terms, when I make excuses for disobeying God's word, or I choose to fulfill my own desires instead of God's, in that moment I am really worshiping self, because in that moment, I am esteeming my own opinion, my own wishes and desires ahead of God.
For some of you, what I just said makes perfect sense. For others, this may sound different, or even a little high-minded. This brings about a very important teachable moment that is useful for any up-and-coming disciple, which of course being who I am, I cannot let it pass without addressing it.
When you hear something different than what you may have been taught to believe, it is okay to question it. The key is to remain open to the Holy Spirit and to the Scriptures so that you can at least remain teachable, in case it's possible that you may have been taught incorrectly; (sometimes even for our whole lives).
The constant chorus which we ought to keep in mind in order to remain teachable, but still hold fast to sound doctrine are these:
•    Is it opinion, or is it Scripture? Is what this teacher presenting, is it his own opinion or can it be thoroughly backed up and supported by Scripture?
•    "Where is that written?" Where do you see that in the Bible? Remember and never forget that Jesus Christ defeated even the devil himself by using the rightly divided written Word of God. If it's good enough for Messiah, then it is good enough for us (Matthew chapter 4; Luke chapter 4).
Now, some people tend to dislike what is called "proof text" preaching or teaching. That is preaching or teaching where every major point is thoroughly supported by a proof text or Scripture. To be honest, that is the only type of preaching and teaching that I prefer to either listen to or practice, because honestly, the only opinion that matters is God's and Jesus Christ's. I love you, but I was not born for you. I did not live a sinless life to redeem you, I was not resurrected from the dead for you. I did not overcome sin, death, hell, and the grave for you, but Almighty God through His Son Jesus Christ did. As much as I love you, I still better prove everything I say by the rightly divided written word of God, because His is the only opinion that makes any difference
So, when I say things like: "When I make excuses for disobeying God's word, or I choose to fulfill my own desires instead of God's, in that moment I am really worshiping self, because in that moment, I am esteeming my own opinion, my own wishes and desires ahead of God." What should your first question be, if you're going to remain open to learning and growing in the Lord, but also remain steadfast in sound doctrine? Remember both are critical.
The first thing you should ask yourself: "Is this Michel's own personal opinion or is it truly supported by the rightly divided written word of God?" If it is truly supported by rightly divided Scripture, then Michel just spoke or wrote under God's authority. At that point you become responsible for obeying it because you want to obey God in what you heard.
If on the other hand, what I said or wrote was not thoroughly supported by the rightly divided written word of God, then it becomes a matter of my own personal opinion or interpretation. At that point, your responsibility changes. You should investigate it further to see if it is truly wise counsel, and therefore it will not hurt you to follow it. Or, if when you investigate it, you find that it is contrary to the Scriptures, you are free to dismiss it. However, you are commanded to investigate  it if it's possible. For as it is written:
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. ” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–22, NASB95)
So, when I say, " When I make excuses for disobeying God's word, or I choose to fulfill my own desires instead of God's, in that moment I am really worshiping self, because in that moment, I am esteeming my own opinion, my own wishes and desires ahead of God." What is your first question supposed to be? Your very first question needs to be, "Is at opinion, or is it Scripture?" Your second question, "Where is that in the Bible?"
In the vast majority of cases, I try to be extremely diligent about not teaching my opinion, but you still need to ask the questions anyway. In this case, I spoke directly out of scriptural principle. For as it is written:
"So Samuel [Remember Samuel was an anointed prophet of Almighty God] said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:22-23 - NKJV with explanation in brackets, and bold for emphasis added).
As it is further written:
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5 - NKJV with bold added for emphasis).
Now, please look back at the most recent underlined portion of this document, where I describe fulfilling my own wishes and desires as being the worship of self. Was I speaking my own opinion, or was I speaking in complete agreement with the words and principles of Almighty God?
So, here Scripture clearly identifies stubbornness; holding onto my own desires, holding onto my own traditions, holding onto my own opinions, and coveting; craving my own wants passions and desires, ahead of obeying and being content with what God says or provides, then God Himself, through His Prophet and His apostle defines it as the sin of worshiping false gods. It's idolatry, period, end of story.
Beloved, believe it or not this is an eternal life or death issue. If Almighty God says that He delights in something, that He wants us to do things in a particular way, or he wants us to give up world void certain things, then we better make up our minds to come into agreement with him and obey Him. If we insist on stubbornly holding onto her own cravings and desires and appetites when God says, "No," then we are in danger of not inheriting the kingdom of heaven. How do I know that? God's word says it outright:

• We know that stubbornness is equal to idolatry in God's eyes
• We know that rebellion is equal to witchcraft according to the Scriptures.

We know that coveting is equal to idolatry according to the Scriptures.
Scripture is abundantly clear that those who retain such attitudes and behaviors consisting of either witchcraft or idolatry will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21).
In point of fact, if we retain those behaviors as part of our lives (then we will go to hell (Revelation 21:8). God forbid, and rather help us to repent). God is not kidding. If He says He doesn't like something, and we are attracted to it, then we better cooperate with God and allow Him to change our appetites and attractions. If He says that he delights in particular attitudes and behaviors, then we better start cooperating with God and let Him change our wants to agree with what delights Him. Do not be deceived. This is a life-and-death, a salvation or damnation issue.

Closing Prayer:
Almighty God Most High, have mercy upon me. As we enter Your Feast and appointed time known as The Feast of Unleavened Bread within the next few weeks, please help me to remove the yeast and leaven of sin out of my life. Help me to submit to You and to cooperate with You at every step. Graciously remove from my heart, my being, my character, my motives, my desires, and my behaviors anything and everything that is unfit to dwell in Your Eternal Kingdom. In light of this study, please remove all manner of idolatry, witchcraft and coveting, and help me to submit and cooperate with You, as you accomplish this great work of grace in my life. Help me instead to worship you as you deserve and desire to be worshiped. Help me to delight in, and to pursue what is truly pleasing to You. Mercifully transform my entire being so that you will find my worship a delight to Your heart. Please grant this according to Your unfailing love, and the work of Your Messiah Jesus, amen.

Syncretism: The Subversive Idolatry

By Brother Michel Lankford

This video gives a great litmus test to discern truth from error

 

What is Syncretism?
 
In the blog entry of March 31, we studied the fact that even though we are in the so-called age of grace, God does not accept every single act of worship that we bring to him simply because we do it in the name of Jesus Christ. In point of fact, this series of these next few blogs are about how to worship God in spirit and truth, or how to become worshipers that the father seeks. (John 4:22-24. In order to do that we have to understand what God accepts in worship versus what He does not.
On March 31, we studied the fact that being sincere and well-intentioned does not necessarily mean that God will automatically accept anything and everything we bring to Him (Matthew 7:21). We gave eight examples of worshipers whose gifts and offerings and ministries were rejected because they were being disobedient to God in their worship. Today we will discuss a practice which is come to be known as syncretism.

If you do not know what syncretism is, please do not feel badly. Being uninformed or ignorant is not necessarily a sin, but choosing to remain ignorant when you have opportunity to do better, then that would be sin (James 4:17; Amos 2:4-5; Isaiah 5:20-24). We are all learning and growing. I've been in the Lord's service almost 20 years now, and I only very recently learned what syncretism means and how dangerous it truly is to authentic Christian faith and practice.
Syncretism is the blending, the mixing and the combining of beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of various religions and homogenizing them together into a new faith and practice. It is critical to remember that both in the Hebrew and Christian fulfillment Scriptures, the practice of syncretism is expressly forbidden.
That is why we are told NOT to think according to the pattern of the sinful world, but instead to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), because God does not want us importing sinful ideas and homogenizing them into our relationship with God. That will defile our worship and sacrifices. Please understand that Romans 12:1-2 is not a New Testament idea. It's an Old Testament idea restated in the New Testament (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua1:7-8; Psalm 1:1-3; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Jeremiah 10:1-2; Proverbs 3:5-8). So the question is, would you like to prosper? Would you like for Almighty God to bless all your work and efforts? Would you like to be able to obey God so that you can be blessed? If you are wise, and the answer to all those questions is yes, then we simply cannot continue to think according to the pattern of the sinful world. We must submit to God and allow Him to change our thinking to agree with Him (Isaiah 55:6-7), because otherwise we cannot successfully obey Him. It's that simple, (Romans 8:5-8).
God did not, and indeed still does not want us to adapt ungodly, sinful or idolatrous ideas and practices into our worship of Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ. That's why He made certain explicit commands to the children of Israel. Remember, Christians are supposed to learn from these instructions as well. (Romans 15:4):
“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. “You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. “You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. ” (Deuteronomy 12:1–4, NASB95).
Did you notice that the very first instruction Almighty God gave to the people of Israel was to absolutely destroy and obliterate everything and anything even remotely connected to the worship of false gods? (Which incidentally, are really demons trying to steal worship that belongs to God; 1 Corinthians 10:20). Why do you think that the Almighty God made that the very first instruction they were to follow when they took possession of the land? Most of you who read this blog are smart people. You love God. You love Jesus Christ. Why did the Almighty give this instruction? Deep down in your heart, you know the answer. God does not want us thinking, believing, talking or behaving in any sort of agreement with people who worship demons instead of God. It's that simple. If we let it hang around, it will make it more difficult to really believe and obey God, it will cause people to fall away from following Almighty God.
*Please note: Asherim in Babylon was given the name Ishtar from where we get Easter
“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; (Deuteronomy 12:8, NASB95)
Please Note: God is NOT asking us to worship Him according to what seems right in our own eyes. He is expressly commanding exactly the opposite. He is commanding us to seek, to discover, to learn, and then obey what seems right in God's eyes, and then worship Him accordingly. That's worship. That is esteeming God's opinion as supreme. Anyone who says otherwise is bearing false witness against the Lord God of Hosts, an extremely dangerous practice. His opinion must supersede our opinion in all matters, otherwise it isn't worship. That's putting our own desires and opinions above what God expressly states. That's not worship. That's the definition of rebellion.
““When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ “You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it. ” (Deuteronomy 12:29–32, NASB95)
God absolutely does not want us to blend or incorporate idolatrous or pagan beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of various religions and homogenizing them together with worshiping of Almighty God. He is expressly forbidden it by His own decrees.
Wait a minute! Aren't those decrees in the Old Testament? Weren't those old laws abolished when Christ died and rose again? No, they were not, and anyone who says they were, is bearing false witness against the Messiah, and calling Him a liar. This again is an extremely dangerous practice which I strenuously recommend avoiding at all costs. Hear what the Lord, the Messiah and Christ of Almighty God has clearly spoken:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17–19, NASB95)
Please, make no mistake. According to the commands and teachings of Messiah Himself, in order for the teachings and principles of Deuteronomy 12 which we have just read to suddenly be set aside one or all three stipulations must take place:
1. Earth must pass away.
2. Heaven must pass away.
3. Every promise and prophecy of Scripture must be fully completed and accomplished.
I put it to you plainly. Is Earth still here? Yes. Is heaven still here? Yes. Has every single promise and prophecy of Scripture been completely fulfilled and accomplished? Our atonement for sin has been accomplished, but not everything else God promised is finished yet. For example, there are still components of the promises in the Abrahamic covenant that have yet to be fulfilled. For another example, according to the book of Hebrews, the day of atonement still goes on every year. Jesus our great high priest recalls before God  to recognize the blood that he shed for us. Through Jesus Christ, the method by which the blood is applied to our sin has changed, but the blood requirement itself has never changed.
So in the light of this, can we legitimately ignore, set aside or make null and void God specific instructions which we just read in Deuteronomy12? Well, we could, and we might even make it to heaven, but you should only do that if your best goal is to be absolutely the lowest citizen in the kingdom of God, because that's what Jesus said would happen. That wasn't my idea. Jesus said it. I'm just agreeing with Him. He is after all, the Messiah and the cornerstone of the church whose architect and builder is Almighty God. If you foolishly choose to ignore the Architect's specific instructions, then please do not be surprised if you have a more difficult time believing in applying God's word to overcome your difficulties, storms and trials in this life (Matthew 7:24-25)
The bottom line is that God has already given His specific and direct instructions concerning worship. When we are seeking to worship Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ, absolutely none of our practices should be imitations of what other false religions do in serving their gods, because as the apostle Paul points out, when we do that, we are really paying homage to demons.
Is this particular concept discussed in Deuteronomy 12 restated in the New Testament? It most certainly is. If I know that something has its origins in worshiping pagan gods, I should not endorse or participate in it, not just for the sake of my own conscience, but also for the sake of other people who could be led astray from following Jesus Christ. Even if I don't personally feel convicted that it's wrong, I should not do it as a testimony that I stand for and with Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:14-22).
The apostle Paul restates the same principle again in 2 Corinthians:
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. ” (2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, NASB95)

 

 

The Trail of Syncretism

 
In our modern, postmodern and very technologically advanced age we might think that syncretism and idolatry doesn't really affect us that much today. After all, we have the complete translation of the Scriptures. We have computers. With Google and YouTube you can find out almost anything you need to know, so surely the modern Christian church has progressed and advanced beyond the need to be on our guard against idolatry and syncretism. Surely in this modern technologically advanced age we don't have to worry about being deceived into adopting worldly and demonic philosophies into our faith and theology. Surely we have grown and progressed well beyond the need to worry about such things, haven't we? It might be comforting to think so, but if you are truly wise, you will not delude yourself into thinking that we no longer need to be on our guard against the subversive idolatry of syncretism.
Syncretism is not a new problem for the Saints to avoid. Within the first hundred years after the resurrection of Messiah, the apostles were repeatedly sending warning after warning to the church that it should diligently avoid blending Christian beliefs with the pagan philosophies of Gnosticism. Gnosticism effectively denies the physical life, death, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus Christ. In reality it claims Christian Enlightenment while denying the very gospel itself. The letters of the apostles Paul, John and Jude all contain strong elements exhorting the Christian church to avoid blending the gospel with the heresies of Gnosticism.
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. ” (2 John 7, NASB95)
After the death of John the apostle (circa 99 to 100 A.D), the church began to get flooded with countless philosophies and ideologies taken straight from pagan demonic religious practices, and brought them into Christianity. The pedigree of each of these ungodly ideas and how they became traditional within Christian faith and practice would take months to track down and weeks to read. It's a task worthy of Samson himself which I have no compulsion to undertake at the moment. However if you would like to know more, I strongly recommend the following resources:
Too Long in the Sun by Richard Rives
Time Is the Ally of Deceit by Richard Rives
In his books, Mr. Rives actually traces the problems of syncretism and the Judeo-Christian faith all the way back into ancient Old Testament times to the present day. He does a phenomenal job.
Frank Viola and researcher George Barna co-authored a book called:
Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. In this book, the authors explore how paganism has affected almost every modern Protestant church practice today.
By the time the Roman Catholic Church and its inquisitions held their tyrannical grip that became the dominant force in Christendom (circa 400 A.D.), not only was there virtually no faithfulness to the theology of avoiding syncretism as had been previously taught by the apostles, but under the Roman Catholic Church, adopting heresies into Christian faith and practice was actually commanded and ordered by the Roman Catholic Church. The only reason that practices such as Christmas and Ishtar (among many other practices) have become so entrenched in Christian practice and tradition is because the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Gregory I (540 A.D - 604 A.D), officially ordered that any and all pagan festivals were to be adapted or incorporated into Christian worship. This is again something that Scripture expressly forbids doing, but remember the Catholic Church claims that its authority supersedes all scriptural authority, which is a lie, (Isaiah 8:20).
 
The Modern Push of  Syncretism
 
In modern and postmodern times, things literally have gone from bad to worse. In the 1920s there was an all-out push to incorporate the theory of evolution and combining it with Christianity, in the 50s and 60s the push for the church was to accept worldly psychology into our theology. In the 90s the push was to apply more American business models, consumerism where you attempt to modify church in order to become more seeker sensitive which is basically the attitude of changing Christianity to what the customer wants. Once we became aAt t at modifying Christianity to what we think the consumer wants, the focus then became how do we modify church and adapted to reach the postmodern world and generation X.
In order to do that, the wildly popular emerging church movement is now actively teaching people to deny God, to deny Jesus Christ, to deny the Holy Spirit and to deny the Scriptures, all the while claiming to be evangelical Christians.
The whole basis of the emerging church and postmodern theology is to refuse to believe that there is any such thing as absolute truth. When you deny that there is such a thing as absolute truth, that can be known understood and followed, you are calling Jesus Christ himself a liar, while calling yourself a Christian and in some cases even a minister. Think about it. If you hold to the idea that there is no such thing as absolute truth which can be known, understood and followed, then you are denying Jesus Christ himself, because He IS the truth (John 14:6). If you hold the doctrine that there is no such thing as absolute truth then you are denying the people's only access and possibility of deliverance and freedom (John 8:31-36). If you hold to the false doctrine that there is no such thing as absolute truth, then you are denying the idea that God and His Son can bring salvation and eternal life (John 17:3). If you hold to the false emerging church postmodern doctrine which says that the truth cannot be known or followed, then you are denying a key function of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; Romans 8:14)
Beloved, if you understand your Bible and church history, you will understand that syncretism has never worked to accomplish what the Bible requires from God followers and disciple. It never helped the people of Israel become more faithful to Almighty God when they did it, and it does not help the Christian church when we do it:
We must remember and not forget this. Both the Hebrew Testament and the New Testament of Scripture expressly forbids the practice which has come to be labeled as syncretism. We are explicitly forbidden throughout the whole Testament of Scripture from blending the Judeo-Christian faith with the beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of pagan religions and worldly philosophies, and homogenizing them together into a different gospel. I beg you now as I have often times before, please do not let yourselves be deceived. We have been warned. If we fail to heed these warnings, we will be led astray, we will be deceived, and the damage to ourselves, our families and our churches will be incalculable: We Have Been Warned. Will we be wise and heed the warnings?":
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. ” (2 Peter 2:1–3, NASB95)
“Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Jude 1:3 (NRSV)
“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ” (2 Timothy 3:1–7, NASB95)

We have been warned. Will we heed the warnings or walk in deception?  Each believer must decide to be diligent, to seek and walk the narrow path that truly leads to life. the alternative is to be swept up into the broad, popular, smooth and well traveled road which leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).  Our internal GPS had better be reprogrammed to agree with and obey the written word of God , because of it was good enough for Jesus Christ to overcome the temptations of the devil ,  it's more than adequate for us.  So which road will you choose to travel?

Brother Michel Lankford.