"FOLLOW THE LEADER"

Here is a verse that we used in Sunday's message that some folks don't understand the intention of this verse...

Hebrews 13:17 (ESV) Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

To help break this verse down and get a better understanding, we first need to go back to verse 7 of the same chapter...

Hebrews 13:7 (ESV) Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

It is important to recognize which leaders we are to submit to and why we should submit to our leaders.  Verse 7 says we are to imitate their faith after remembering how they lead and considering the outcome of their lifestyle.

So as we look at verse 17, why are we supposed to obey our leaders and submit to them?  Here is an answer from one of the commentaries that I read...

1.  God called leaders to watch over our souls. They are concerned about our welfare, growth, holiness, purity, knowledge, faith, love—about our trials and temptations—about our sicknesses and diseases and suffering. Therefore, we should listen to them and obey their counsel and exhortation.

2.  God called leaders to know their accountability. This keeps the leader from abusing us. The leader knows that he is accountable to God and will stand before God to give an account as to how he led. Therefore, we can rest assured that if a leader is God-called, he will not mislead us. He is accountable to God and he knows it.

3.  God-called leaders can be grieved and hurt. If we follow them, they are filled with joy because the work of Christ goes forth. The world is reached for Christ and people are ministered to. But if we fail to follow our leaders, they are hurt and grieved, for the work of Christ is hampered and we are not growing in Christ like we should. When we oppose our leaders, we stymie our growth. We stop growing and begin to cause hurt and pain and division in the body of Christ. We become tools of destruction instead of instruments of love and care and nourishment.

And note: our disobedience and rebellion affects us. It does not profit us. We lose out on the contribution and growth the leader could have contributed to our lives.
Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Hebrew, James.

So follow your leaders so that all might grow in unity and in faith as illustrated in this passage from Ephesians...
Ephesians 4:11-16 (ESV) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

"DO YOUR BEST"

2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
This verse says to 'do your best'.  Are you doing your best to be diligent as you seek the approval of God?  When it comes to God's Word, that should be your biggest concern.  Have you studied His Word enough to approved by Him?

This verse also uses the word 'worker' which shows the effort needed to present yourself to God.  We are to study the truth and handle it properly.  We are not to teach our own ideas or man-made philisophies.  We are to teach truth.

We are to handle His Word correctly... not adding to it or taking away from it.  Not twisting it or taking it out of context to make it fit our agenda.  We are work hard at becoming approved by God in our studies.

You will also see the phrase 'who has no need to be ashamed'.  If we study His Word properly and intentionally, we will handle His truth correctly in our personal lives and in our churches.

Are you doing your best when it comes to your Bible study?  Would God give you an A on your report card?  Can you apply God's Word to your life correctly without changing it or taking it out of context?  Are you doing your best?

 

 

VIDEO- JACOB'S BAPTISM AND 'DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES'

"CELL PHONES IN THE CHURCH?" Part One

I had a friend from our church ask me several weeks ago the following question: Would it be wrong to use the Bible only on kindle or nook?  I have also had many discussions about when to use a Bible app on your cell phone and when to use an actual Bible.  

I love technology as much as the next guy and I also have the English Standard Bible on my phone as well as the Faithlife Study Bible (http://faithlifebible.com/).  I am very thankful for the ability to read my Bible and the study notes provided at any time during the day no matter where I am.

But what about using that Bible app in a church service or Bible study?  I read this question this morning...

I was sitting in church a few weeks ago and I didn’t have my Bible with me, so I looked it up the relevant morning passage on my IPhone (instead of using the pew Bible I might add.) I have several great Bible IPhone apps that I use (all the time) when I don’t have a Bible on me or when I need to look up a passage by keyword or topic. Anyway, while I was quietly reading the Scripture one of my friends, who was in the balcony and could see me on my phone, texted me, in fun, to “get off my phone in Church.” I tried to explain to her later that I was using my Bible App, but I don’t think she bought that as an excuse.

As a pastor, I have several concerns about the use of Bible apps being used in church services.  To copy the writing style of the book of Ecclesiastes...
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to use your Bible app, and a time to use your actual Bible...

First I will express my concerns about this subject, then I will give you some comments from other pastors.  I think it is great to have access to your Bible on your phone wherever you go, being able to read a few verses here and there throughout the day.  But I am totally convinced that the church is not a place to use your cell phone and here's why...

1.  Too many people in our churches are not familiar with the Bible which means they can't find the various passages of scripture which is why so many churches give the page number that corresponds with the pew Bibles provided each week.  So instead of trying to learn more about where the books of the Bible are, many folks would rather search their electronic Bible and find it.

2.  People who are familiar with the books of the Bible are can locate various passages faster than those who are typing it in their electronic Bibles.  We are told to study God's Word as illustrated in 2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

3.  We already have too many distractions during the service because someone forgot to silence their phone so why add more possible problems?  If your phone is on and someone texts you or calls you, then your phone is either going to buzz or sound off like a smoke alarm in the middle of the night.  Then everyone around you is looking at you instead of paying attention to what is going on in the service.  And if your phone is silenced but you notice that you got a call or text, you will be tempted to reply to it.

4.  Even if your phone is silenced, it would appear that you are playing with your phone and not paying attention to what is happening in the church service.  You might say something like 'That's none of their business.' but that is not what Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV) Abstain from all appearance of evil. or 1 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV) But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.  So even if your phone doesn't make a sound, you are still being a distraction regardless if you reading scripture or texting your friends.

    5.  If you are using the Bible app on your phone, you will easily be tempted to check your texts, facebook, or emails.  You might reply 'No, I wouldn't.' but the temptation is there just waiting for you to get distracted enough to take a peek.  And then once you stray from the right path, each step comes that much easier.

Here is the reply I received from Dr. Gregory Cochran, one of my fellow pastors in the Nelson Baptist Association...
I had them searching through the book of 1 Thessalonians, and the Bible users (as opposed to the phone/iPad users) were able to scan through more material, more quickly. There are advantages to digital devices, but there are also disadvantages. Paper bibles are easier when multiple references are used in quick succession. I think there may also be better retention with the written word over the digital word. But, clearly, there is no evil in using digital. (But there may be serious distractions--such as tweets, email notices, and facebook updates). I know of one instance in which a man in our church received a spam message from a friend of his which was pornographic while he was using his phone for its Bible app. There are definitely dangers associated with digital.

I hope to have more follow-up from other pastors for you to consider but for now, here is the bottom line.  Read your Bible, study your Bible, soak up as much as scripture as possible.  If you are at home, at work, at a restauarant, or anywhere else outside of the church, use your Bible apps if you wish.  However when you gather with other believers in a worship service, Sunday School or Bible study, put your phones away and use your Bibles as a sign of unity and respect to others.

"DOES YOUR SIGN MATCH WHAT'S INSIDE?"

Where would you expect to find this sign?  Maybe somewhere along the east coast of Amercia?  There may be a sign like this in that coastal region but this sign is actually in the Philippines near a fishing town called Tibanban.

And if you ate at a restaurant called New England Restaurant, what kind of food would you expect to eat?  Maybe lobster, shrimp and other seafood dishes?  Not this time.  The New England Restaurant sells Chinese food.

So, since this was a Chinese restaurant, what kind of music you expect to hear in the New England Restaurant?  Oriental instrumental?  Wrong again.  How about old rock songs like 'Smoke On The Water' and other songs that we knew from the 70's and 80's?

So this is a New England restaurant that serves Chinese food to the great folks of the Philippines while playing American rock music.  Not exactly what you expected, was it?

What about your life?  Does your 'sign' match what is really happening on the inside?  Some folks carry the sign that says 'I am a Christian' but live a life that says otherwise.  Look at what we find in the book of Titus...

Titus 1:16 (ESV) They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Does that sound like you?  Are you telling everyone one thing and living the other?  Please be honest with yourself and honest with God on this one.  If you are not living a life of true integrity, then you won't have a solid foundation to stand on.  Pretty soon, your life is going to fall in and you are going to wonder what happened.

Here is another passage that describes what is going on in America today...
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV) But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,
treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Pretty strong words, don't you think?  Do you want these words to describe how you are living your life?  I sure don't.  If you see some similarities in your life that match these verses, then would you please pray today that God would forgive you and turn your life around?  This is so important and I hope you understand this.  Don't be rebellious towards God.  It will totally destroy you.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CHICKEN"

By now, you have heard about the controversial remarks from Chick-fil-A's president, Dan Cathy who said "We are very much supportive of the family - the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that".

So now the big discussion is who is going to eat more chicken and who is not going to eat more chicken?  No matter which side of the debate you are on, have you considered what companies are supporting the same belief system that you are?  What other companies are known for showing Christian values and what companies are known for supporting organizations such as the LGBT?  Are you aware of where your money is going?  Why only focus on Chick-fil-A?

As a Christian and a Southern Baptist pastor, I do not hesitate at all to say that I agree with Dan Cathy's statement that marriage is between one man and one woman.  And I will be supporting Chick-fil-A this week and I am very thankful for men like Dan Cathy who will stand for what is right even it means that Chick-fil-A sells less chicken because when it is all said and done, it's not about the chicken at all.  It's about biblical integrity and that's one area that has really suffered in America in the last several decades (and longer).

The real question is "Do you really know God?".  If you don't believe in Him, that doesn't change the fact that He is the Creator of all things.  Trying to deny His existence is like trying to deny gravity.  Even if you don't believe in the law of gravity, I promise you that if you step off balcony, you are going to hit the ground hard.

If you really know God, then you know what is right and what is wrong.  Those who support what is wrong will call you a hater and accuse you of being judgmental.  But Ezekiel says that we are to give the warning or else their blood will be on our hands...

Ezekiel 3:17-19 (ESV) 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me.
18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.

"A VALUABLE LESSON FROM CASH"

This man probably doesn't know it yet but he was used by God to teach me a lesson that I have already heard many times before but like so many of us, I needed to hear it again.  His name is Greg Cash and he specializes in video/photography in the way that he serves God.  'Cash' was part of our mission team to the Philippines and since I also love working with cameras, we had plenty to talk about.  Because we were shooting for different reasons, we were using different approaches.  I was just using the basic settings to get the quick shots but he was much more deliberate in taking each shot.  I had mine set to just point and shoot but Cash had a system that he used very well... one finger moved the dial, one finger on the shutter release, his thumb on the other dial, etc.

I asked him to use my camera for a few shots of me teaching or having fun with the people we were visiting and he would start changing my settings to take a better photo than he would have gotten if he just used the settings that I had it on.

So what is the valuable lesson that God used Cash to show me?  There were areas in my spiritual life that I had gotten lazy in as well... just point and shoot.  I had been praying but was I praying enough or the right things?  I had been reading scripture but was I being deliberate enough in my study?  Have I stopped desiring spiritual growth because I had gotten comfortable? 

Cash didn't take the easy way out.  He worked at it and it showed.  His films and his photos were very, very good and that was before he had begun to edit them.  I was 'scrapbooking' and he was creating art.  Big difference.

What about you?  Are you taking the easy way out or are you really giving God your best?

2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV) 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

"IT'S GREAT TO BE HOME"

For the last two weeks, I have been in the Philippines and China for a mission trip with three other men from our association.  I am very grateful for the time of laughs and fellowship with 'Doc', 'Cash' and 'Dr. Stan'.  The trip was very tiring in many ways but the laughter always created energy.  We had the privilege of teaching in three different areas of the Philippines and two of them were for the first time for our team (Cebu and Tibanban).

We had fifteen flights in fourteen days and got to meet with some wonderful people who wanted to learn about God and His Word.  In Cebu, we had a three-hour session with close to 30 pastors and church leaders.  In Mt. Carmel, we spent two days teaching thirty-five lessons to 53 pastors and church leaders.  On Sunday, July 15, I had the opportunity to preach at Seaside Southern Baptist Church which of course was right beside the sea.

We spent the next two days teaching 35 lessons to 26 pastors and church leaders in Tibanban on the patio of a building overlooking the sea.  God truly blessed us in many ways including showing us His glory through one of His sunsets.

We are very thankful to our partners who have helped us so much in this ministry and we continue to pray that the Philippines will be used mightily in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the surrounding countries who are dominated by Budism and Muslim faiths.





VIDEO- 'ONE KISS AWAY FROM DANGER'

'HOW GOOD IT IS TO LIVE IN UNITY'

Psalm 133:1 (ESV) Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

Unity is hard to acheive and even harder to maintain.  Unity can be present one minute and totally destroyed the next.  And even if you try your absolute best to maintain unity, you can only do your part.  Someone else can help you protect the unity in your group or destroy it based upon their attitudes and actions.

I have taught for years that the three key words to being a blessed follower of Jesus are FOCUS, BALANCE and MOTIVE.  These three words can help you understand so many Biblical principles just by asking questions like:
1)  Am I focusing on God or on myself?
2)  Do I have the right balance in my life in this area?
3)  Are my motives pure or self-gratifying?

So when it comes to unity, you can use these three key words like this:
1)  Am I focusing on protecting the unity in our group or am I only focusing on what I want to do?
2)  Do I have the right balance in my life as far as when to go along with the group and when to act as an individual?
3)  What is my motive right now concerning the unity in our group?  Am I trying to protect it so I look good?  Am I going against the grain so that I will get some attention?

It is not hard to spot someone who is not protecting the unity of their group.  It's the person who has started focusing on themselves, the person whose life is totally out of balance and the person whose motives are definitely self-gratifying.

John 17:20-21 (ESV) “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

John 17 shows us a prayer that Jesus prayed in which He asked God to make us one just like He and God are One.  And notice in verse 21 the reason for this request... so that the world may believe that God has sent Jesus!

Every time that you promote unity in Christ, you are proving to the world that God sent Jesus but every time you try to destroy the unity in your group, you are denying that God sent Jesus.

Titus 3:10-11 (ESV) As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,
knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Attacking the unity of your group is a serious sin in the eyes of God.  Titus 3 says that we are to warn them once, warn them again, and then if that doesn't work, take them out of the group.  Why?  Because that person is 'warped and sinful; he is self-condemned'.

So please be very careful how you live.  Make all efforts to keep the unity in your group and watch out for those who try to destroy it.  Pray for them but also confront them.  Titus 3:10 says to 'warn them'.