A.W. Tozer on True Prophets

Posted: June 14, 2009

Great industrial concerns have in their employ men who are needed only when there is a breakdown somewhere. When
something goes wrong with the machinery, these men spring into action to locate and remove the trouble and get the machinery rolling again.

For these men a smoothly operating system has no interest. They are specialists concerned with trouble and how to find and correct it.

In the kingdom of God things are not too different. God has always had His specialists whose chief concern has been the moral breakdown, the decline in the spiritual health of the nation or the church. Such men were Elijah, Jeremiah, Malachi and others of their kind who appeared at critical moments in history to reprove, rebuke and exhort in the name of God and righteousness.

A thousand or ten thousand ordinary priests or pastors or teachers could labor quietly on almost unnoticed while the spiritual life of Israel or the church was normal. But let the people of God go astray from the paths of truth and immediately the specialist appeared almost out of nowhere. His instinct for trouble brought him to the help of the Lord and of Israel.

Such a man was likely to be drastic, radical, possibly at times violent, and the curious crowd that gathered to watch him work soon branded him as extreme, fanatical, negative. And in a sense they were right. He was single-minded, severe, fearless, and these were the qualities the circumstances demanded. He shocked some, frightened others and alienated not a few, but he knew who had called him and what he was sent to do. His ministry was geared to the emergency, and that fact marked him out as different, a man apart.

To such men as this the church owes a debt too heavy to pay. The curious thing is that she seldom tries to pay him while he lives, but the next generation builds his sepulcher and writes his biography, as if instinctively and awkwardly to discharge an obligation the previous generation to a large extent ignored…

The Progression of Sin

Posted: June 13, 2009

Where does sin begin and what are the effects of sin?  In Romans 1 the Apostle Paul gives us the answer to this question.  There is a progression of sin and  Paul says it starts when we:

Step 1:  Romans 1:18 = Reject the truth. When we reject the truth of the Scripture we ultimately start down the road to destruction.  When we reject the truth the next step is …..

Step 2: Romans 1:21 = Distorted thinking. Paul writes that their thinking “became futile” and in doing so their “hearts became darkened.”  They claim to be wise, but they became fools.  When there are no absolutes in the world and we take God out of the equation, our thought processes are faulty, our conclusions are inaccurate, and our bad decisions begin to bring judgment upon us.  Distorted thinking leads to ….

Step 3: Romans 1:24-25 = Idolatry. Our distorted thinking makes us look into ourselves instead of looking up to God.  When we make our thoughts, ideas, and opinions the law of life instead of the will of God we ultimately become self-centered and not God-centered.  What does modern day idolatry look like?  Where do you spend the majority of your time and money?  Who/What does our society worship?  Idolatry always leads to …..

Step 4: Romans 1:26-28 = Sexual immorality and moral perversion. Idolatry always leads to sexual immorality and moral perversion.  Look around our world.  Pornography is a multi-million dollar business.  Recent studies show that the sale pornographic material is greater than the NBA, NFL and major league baseball combined.  Internet pornography is climbing the charts as one of the leading causes of divorce in our country.  Child sex trafficking is a growing business and Atlanta is the center of commerce.  Rejecting the truth, distorted thinking, idolatry, and moral perversion lead to …….

Step 5: Romans 1:29-31 = Chaotic lives and society. In these verses of Scripture, Paul, tells us that sin brings us to a place of no restraint.  We become a people and a society that is corrupt and without self-control.  The next stage is …..

Step 6: Romans 1:32 = Complete Impenitence. When sin is full swing and at it’s worst, society, begins to approve of (even applaud) the sins of others.  This is also the state of the person who has no conscience of God.  They’ve turned from God (the truth) for so long they loose the ability to see truth.

This is a sobering picture of what happens when we deliberately turn from the truth and we expel God from our thinking.

Tell me what you think?

Jody

SIN: THE REAL TRUTH

Posted: June 9, 2009

The Encounter team is really excited about the move to the fellowship hall for the summer.  Many people are working double time to make the transition as smooth as possible.  I hope you will come out and join us – it’s going to be awesome!

This past Sunday we started a new series in Encounter titled “Sin: The Real Truth.”  Sin is a word we really don’t like to talk about, but it’s vitally important that we understand the effects sin can have over our lives.  But remember what Jesus said about the truth?  He said, “Knowing the truth will set you free!” (John 8:32)  Over the next three weeks I want to dive into the Bible so each of us can  know the “Real Truth” about sin.  I think our lives will be better for it.  If you missed the first message you can listen to the podcast or the video should be up by Wednesday afternoon (6/10).

Join us this Sunday as I’ll deal with the issue of “Temptation.”

Jody