Bible Ballistics: Worship or Worldliness Pt. 3 May 4,2014

Continuing our look at Worship/Worldliness, let’s delve into the scripture and evaluate our perceptions of ‘worship’. What is worship? Most of our churches now have “worship leaders”, instead of ‘music directors’. Is music worship? We can worship through music, but in and of itself music isn’t necessarily ‘worship’. The dictionary says worship is “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity”.   If we revere and adore God, would it not follow that we would desire to obey Him. Does His word give us any indication of what is acceptable worship? Real worship is seen in a life lived in obedience to God, and submission to His Holy Spirit—in or out of church.

We’ve written in our earlier articles, that God calls us to be holy, and that God’s judgment will begin with the ‘house of God’ (1 Peter4:17). God will judge us according to His ‘Word’ (Hebrews 4:12-13). He called those who went their own way rebellious, even their leaders. In Ezekiel 22 He also calls us to differentiate between the ‘holy’ and the ‘profane’ ( Profane: to treat something sacred with irreverence or disrespect.) Have we allowed and brought so much of the world into our churches that we no longer recognize that we may be profaning the very God that we claim to serve? Have we abandoned the ‘holiness’ of our God to once again cleave to the things of the world that we were saved out of? And not only cleave to them but actually bring them into His church. Let’s see what Jesus had to say in John 2:13-14,

“And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.”

Jesus made a whip and ran the sellers and moneychangers out? He makes it clear in verse 16, that we are not to make God’s house a place of ‘merchandise’ (a mart or emporium). Matthew gives us more insight when he records the second time that Jesus ran people out of His Temple, (and it was His because He is God)!!

Matthew 21:12-13, “And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

Jesus reminds us that His house should be a ‘house of prayer’. Simply put, a place where we commune with God and He with us. Are we betraying the ‘house of prayer’, and seeking to create an amusement park? Are we going our own way and profaning God or seeking His heart and mind in all things?

Have we so focused on making the house of God ‘comfortable’, that it’s foreign and profane to God? Have we been so eager to transform the church into a palatable dish for the world that we have lost the power of God? Do we depend on the latest programs, books or plans to reach people, rather than depending on the ‘preaching’ of the Gospel, and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit? Are we turning our churches into a ‘den of thieves’ ?   Is God honored or profaned in our lives and gatherings? Do people know that we are following Jesus, or have we become so much like the world that there is nothing distinctly ‘Christ-like” in us, or in the church?

Are we honoring the one who purchased us with His own blood? Are we living as those who are forgiven, cleansed and called to walk in God’s way? Or do we go the way of the world? Hard questions that we must answer.

Hebrews 9:13-14, “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Saved to serve!!

Hebrews 10:4 & 12,”For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins….But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; “

1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

We are blood bought, and become the Temple of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit, and we are held accountable. Are we defiling the Temple—our physical body and the corporate body, the church?

We are representatives of God to the world. What kind of representative are we? Are we calling the world to holiness or yielding our ‘holiness’ to be appealing to the world? We must remember that the truth of the gospel is not always, in fact seldom is, appealing to the lost. Conviction is most uncomfortable, but it is the only thing that leads to salvation. Is our corporate worship reverent and godly, or is it fleshly and worldly? Does it call people to know God better, or lull them to rest in their own self-righteousness? Are we patterning our lives and worship to follow God’s Word or popular trends? Are we offering sinners new and eternal life or just temporary relief?

Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

Luke 18:13, “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”

The word for ‘merciful’ here is the same word that is elsewhere translated propitiation (payment in full for sin). A repentant sinner bowing before the Holy God and asking for payment for His sin. That should be our goal, to lead sinners to bow at the cross seeking His forgiveness and salvation through the blood of Jesus.

Isaiah 29:13-15, “ Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. 15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?” (Jesus referred to this in Matthew 15:8-9)

Our salvation makes us the temple, the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. Is HE at home in me? In my church? Is HE pleased with my choices or ashamed?  What does God say about us? Are we drawing near to God in reality or pretense? You must decide!!! Does God have my heart and my life, or do I just talk about it? Only you and God know the answer to that question.

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”   #56    Worship or Worldliness Pt.2

I’d like to continue in our examination of our attitude toward worship, and search the scriptures for answers.

Ezekiel 22:25-27 says, “25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. 26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.”

I’d like to share two other verses before we comment.

1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Just a few comments:

If I have been born again, I belong to Jesus and our Father God. I’ve been bought with a price.

If I belong to God, then I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.

My life is to reflect Him not my old self.

I am to strive to be obscure as a servant of God not a spiritual ‘super star’.

I am to see and project the holy and know that there is a difference between the holy and the profane,

and walk in ‘holiness’

not profaning God’s name,

His character

or His word.

We are the temple of God and we are held accountable for being a pure and holy temple. And corporate gatherings of God’s people should exalt the holy not the profane—and that would be God/Jesus.

Where are we walking today? Only YOU can answer that question.

We’ll continue our consideration of ‘worship’ on Sunday, Lord willing.

So?  Here’s our shot for the day—????? John 12:32, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”

So?  ?????? Who are we lifting up?

Christ Jesus or man?

Think on these things. Jesus does the drawing, we are to preach/teach the truth and disciple those who heed HIS call.

Bible Ballistics: “BBs”  #55

I saw a passage on Facebook this week that reminded me of something that I’ve been pondering for some time.

Ezekiel 12:1-3, “The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. 3 Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house.”

God told Ezekiel to live out a message to the rebellious captives in Babylon, that those still in Jerusalem would be judged. A people who were still living rebellious lives even while they were experiencing the judgment and discipline of God, himself. If we back up to the 8^th chapter of Ezekiel, we see some of the reasons that judgment had come upon them. They had done and were doing abominable things in the very temple of God. Their idols decorated and adorned the temple, while their leaders practiced abominable idolatry within the temple, the women were honoring their female idols at the gates, even as the men bowed down to the luminaries of the heaven.

What does this have to do with us? What about our churches? To what ‘idols’ have we bowed down? Brought into “God’s House”?  Do we depend on the empowering of the Holy Spirit, or idols of our own making? Where is the bold and Spirit filled preaching of the word of God? Are we depending on the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God, or the latest book, music and fads of the world? May we examine what we’re doing by God’s standard and fall before God in repentance and seek His face, His will and His word!!! Peter told in 1 Peter 4:17,

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

So here’s our shot for today….   May we examine

our hearts,

our lives,

our church practices,

and follow God not man,

no matter what’s popular?

So?? Remember Hebrews 4:12-13,

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

You decide—following God’s Word or men’s ideas?

Bible Ballistics: New Creation?? April 27, 2014 Vol.3 #24

I was reminded just today, of the import of knowing the context of any individual verse of scripture. Sometimes we fail to examine the context of individual verses. But we can’t truly understand scripture until and unless we search out the context. Meaning is always affected and colored by the immediate context of the verses.

I was reading 2 Corinthians just today and was moved by the connections that I observed there. I often us 2 Cor. 5:21, to remind us that our righteousness is imparted to us by Christ’s sacrifice for sins when we come to Him. But the context seemed to jump out at me today..

Let’s follow the flow of this passage and make application to our lives. In the beginning of this chapter Paul talks about our eternal, heavenly body/life and our present life in the flesh. He refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit who helps us live life by His power, not the flesh. He also reminds us that we are accountable for our actions in verse 10,

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

He goes on to remind us that our work is to be for God’s glory and the good of the body. And verse 14, where we’ll begin, shows us the conclusions that Paul was leading the Corinthians to. ‘For’, can also be understood as ‘because’, so let’s see what we can learn.

1 Corinthians 5:14-21, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Because of what? Because “the love of Christ constraineth us” Constrain means to compel or force. So it is Christ’s love that compels us to live for Jesus. That’s what Paul also tells us in Galatians 2:20,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

To say that ‘I am crucified’ is a picture of the ‘crucified life’. “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” Just as we learn from verse 15 above, “they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again”.   Christ was crucified for me, for my sin—His blood bought my freedom. So what are we to do for Him? Anything He asks? How? By walking in faith and obedience to Christ and His word, by His Spirit.

Paul goes on to say that we know Christ, not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Even those who knew Him in the flesh when he walked this earth, now know Him in the Spirit. And we continue on to see that those that know Christ by faith are new creatures. Christ gives us new life, and therefore Paul can say,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”

But we are not made “new” to glorify ourselves but to share in Christ’s ministry of ‘reconciliation’, (the restoration to friendly relations). Why do we need to be reconciled? Romans 5:10 tells us,

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Sin made us enemies, Jesus death in our place brings reconciliation to God. Without Christ and the salvation that He bought at Calvary, we have no hope. But when we are saved, we are reconciled to God, no longer His enemy but His child. Changed from an enemy to a son/daughter of God.

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Our focal passage goes on to remind us that when we are reconciled by God, we are made partakers of His ministry of reconciliation. We are reconciled by Christ’s sacrifice, and we are to share that reconciliation with the world. Why? Because of what we see in verse 21,

“21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

We are able to tell others because God has reconciled us. Because we are a ‘new creation’ we serve Christ by HIS power, not our own. We have the power to take this reconciliation to the world, as we live crucified lives by the power of His Spirit. The Good News for all who will hear.

Bible Ballistics: BBs #54    Where do I go?

Just a thought today on how faithful and dependable our God is, always. Let’s just walk through one of my favorite Psalms, and let it encourage our hearts.

Psalm 121

1 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,

from whence cometh my help.

2 My help cometh from the Lord,

which made heaven and earth.

3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:

he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord is thy keeper:

the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:

he shall preserve thy soul.

8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out

and thy coming in from this time forth,

and even for evermore.”

We serve the creator of the universe!!! When trouble comes (and it will) I look up to the God who:

1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

Genesis 16:13, “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”

Daniel 2:20-23, “Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:”

We serve the God who cares, who sees all, and who is the very essence and definition of ‘wisdom and might’. Take those problems, and questions, and issues that confuse to our faithful, sovereign, all knowing and ever-present God. He Cares about YOU!!