Dangerous Trends

In

The Church of Jesus Christ

I have a burden for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s vineyard is being trampled by the presence of dangerous wolves among the sheep. We should be alert today for the creeping errors of the Emerging/Emergent Church movement. Satan is the author of all deceptions. Satan is the father of all lies.

Recently I was speaking with another pastor who lamented that there has never been such a day like this in his life time where there are so many different heresies and threats to the cause of Jesus Christ. We face the onslaught of  the New Perspective on justification by faith alone, a watered down gospel that is heavy on God’s love but light on God’s call to repentance and holiness, Postmodernism, The Emergent/Emerging church movement, Secular Humanism, the New Atheism, the rise of Islam and the call for a Caliphate, Political correctness, multiculturalism, the return of ecumenism,  the use of gimmicks to build the church, and at the same time we see the death of Western Civilization, a departure of biblical worship, an eroding of the authority of the Word of God, an eschatology of pessimism, and a incipient worldliness that is creeping into the church. This does not include the long list of cults that are among us such as Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, the New Age movement, Hinduism, and reincarnation, Buddhism, and a host of other religious cults.

When we consider the dangers of the Emerging/Emergent church movement what things should we be alert to? First, we must resist any form of tampering with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Second, we must be wary of any one or any movement that suggests that the church has been in error for the last 1700 years. Run from such nonsense as fast as you can. Third, when anyone starts to water down preaching and adopts a casual, trite, and silly manner of delivering the Word of God we must run from that as if we are fleeing the plague. Fourth, we must be alert for the departure of throne room worship. Worship matters! If we lose the art of biblical worship we lose everything. It is that important. I draw a line at worship. Cross that line with a worldly, carnal, silly, casual approach to God and you have become an agent for the demise of the historic faith that was once delivered to the saints. 

An article written on a blog by a concerned Christian expressed this concern about the presence of error creeping into the church:

“My heart is troubled. I found out my church is beginning to adopt some of the “Emerging church” doctrine.  It is scary to see such deception creep into our supposed “safe places” and through people who should know better.  It is where God wanted us to be able to recharge in between venturing out into this world to be His light.  This time it is so sinister as to use “missionaryism” to our communities as the topic.  A topic that every church wants to improve on and do the Lord’s work by bringing others to Christ.  But the methods they are suggesting are dangerous and disarming.

I feel we may be losing ground to these feel good/new age Emergent’s.  In this new approach, they stress that we (the saints) need to leave our Bibles and God’s word behind and go out and make friends with non-believers (sojourners) in a non-confrontational manner by joining their groups and once we have become friends, we are to invite them back into our community groups, which they are calling “incarnational communities”.   There we can fellowship with them in a non-discriminatory manner to show them God’s word without confrontation.  To tell you the truth, the actual process feels deceptive to the non-believers and somewhat cult-ish. It was the word “incarnational” that set off alarms so I began doing some homework on its roots…

I can’t believe they said to leave our Bibles behind and go out into this world.  Are we really to become part of this world to bring non-believers to Christ?  After we are born again, we are to be in this world but not of this world.  God’s word tells us that we are to be his light to the world by living differently due to my faith and the hope that my faith in Christ gives me.  God’s word (the Bible) is one of the items God said “above all” do not leave behind.  It is part of our holy armor Paul describes in Ephesians.

Ephesians 6:10-20 – (NKJV) – The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (emphasis added)

God’s word is our sword. It is how we awaken those asleep, sow His seeds, and protect ourselves from our enemy.  This is a time of spiritual warfare…With our churches infiltrated by the likes of Rick Warren and Brian McLean where do we, that are battle weary from living in this world (but not of this world) go…  There is more deception out there than I can possibly describe.  It is now a wolf in sheep’s clothes.  We need to be on guard from the “Emerging” doctrine.  We need to stay watchful within our churches and keep our armor on because: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).” 

This is not a time for compromise. This is not a time for apathy. This is a time for action. Where are the prophet’s on the wall sounding the alarm that the Lord’s people are being led astray by those within her own ranks? Where are those who have discernment? Where are those who passionately care for the glory of God? May the Lord awaken His sleeping church and cause many of His prophets to sound the alarm before more of His people are led astray.

Defending The Gospel

Dear Berean Family, this video was prepared a while back and I am just using it now. I trust it blesses your hearts. May the Lord use us to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to the world in which we live. God bless you all!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving this week! I will be sharing with you on Wednesday night as we praise God and give Him thanks for all of His many blessings.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dickie

Developing A Prayer Life For The Lord

If we are going to develop a significant prayer life we need to keep in mind the following things:

1. We must have faith- faith that God does exist and that He does, in fact, hear us when we pray and that He delights when we draw near to Him in prayer and holy communion.

2. We must have passion- a passion that drives us to our knees and that moves us from apathy, indifference, and lethargy to a passionate storming of the throne of grace in pleading before God.

3. We must have a secret place- a place set aside where we can call it our Bethel (house of God) where we draw near to God in secret and passionate prayer.

4. We must have a specific time- a time where each day we get alone with our God and pour out our hearts to Him in prayer and supplication.

5. We must have a plan- a plan that gives us direction and a framework by which to lift up our petitions to our Lord. Pray through the Psalms or the Lord's prayer. Make a list of your prayer requests and keep a journal on you prayers and answers you receive to your prayers.

By all means make sure you are spending time every day with the Lord wrestling in prayer. The Hidden Life of Prayer by David M'Intyre is a wonderful book on prayer. Anything you can read by E. M. Bounds on prayer will be a great blessing to your soul. 

In the days to come let us join together at the throne of grace and seek God's blessing on our loved ones, friends, and our nation that we might see God's mighty hand once again in our land.

God bless you all,

Love in Christ,

Integrity

Integrity

Recently, my wife gave me a book to read by Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of Moody Church. The book was Who are You to Judge?  It is an excellent read on a topic that so many Christians are greatly confused by. I recommend that everyone read this important study on biblical judgment and discernment. Many times when a pastor takes a stand against something that is evil, corrupt, or dangerous he is  viewed as a trouble maker, a sower of discord, a judgmental person or a divisive person. I have seen a number of godly pastors called these things over the years. And this is tragic! 

Without commenting on all of the sections of this book there was a section on integrity that I thought was especially good. D. L. Moody said “Integrity is what you are in the dark.” People can hurt your reputation but they cannot hurt your integrity. I have known some people over the years that work extremely hard to build a good reputation while neglecting character. Unfortunately, many people do not know the difference between these two.

Here is a list of things that people of integrity do not do. People of integrity do not:

1. Fear man
2. Compromise their convictions
3. Lie
4. Fail to keep their word
5. Allow money, fame, or love of popularity to influence their decisions
6. Fail to keep their commitments
7. Make themselves look better than they really are
8. Take advantage of others
9. Lord over others
10. Use false guilt to manipulate others
11. Let their emotions or feelings cloud their judgment
12. Break their promises
13. Promote themselves
14. Allow others to promote  them with false praise and hero worship
15. Refuse to take counsel from godly sources
16. Think more highly of themselves than they ought to think
17. Walk in the spirit of pride
18. Justify sinful behavior
19. Read their own press clippings
20. Manipulate others with gifts, money, or praise
21. Use self pity to attack others
22. Show partiality
23. Fail to bind their conscience with the Word of God
24. Intentionally mislead and deceive others
25. Speak out of both sides of their mouth

We all talk about integrity. We all want integrity. But how difficult it is to truly be a person of honest character, and deep personal integrity. May we all strive to be holy men and women for the Lord that we serve.

I am praying for our Berean family that the Lord will bless you all and manifest Himself to you and fill you with His peace and love. 

God bless you all, 

In Christ, Pastor

A Call For A Civil And Open Discussion

Of The 

Truth Claims Of All Religions

As a minister of Jesus Christ I have had the wonderful privilege of speaking all over the world sharing my Christian faith and defending the Bible as the Word of the Living God. I have been to India 16 times and  have preached to thousands of Hindus, Muslims and nominal Christians, along with those who truly know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I have been to England and Wales nearly a 100 times preaching and teaching the Christian faith. I have preached extensively all over the world from Israel, Europe, and many times in Africa, South America and Canada, as well as  the United States. I have had the privilege to preach the gospel in a number of major cities in the United States to crowds that numbered into the thousands (25,000) in one meeting in St. Louis. 

Through the years, I have enjoyed debating and discussing the truth claims of Christianity. If the Christian message is true, then it will stand up to the searching questions of all and any skeptics who may question the veracity and integrity of its message and its Messiah, Jesus Christ. I have had Jews, Hindus, atheists, agnostics, Mormons, people from almost every imaginable cult and Roman Catholics debate and discuss with me what they agreed with or disagreed with in the Christian faith. Most of the time the debates and discussions were civil and polite. On some occasions, those who disagreed with me became hostile, violent, and sometimes even threatening. As a Christian pastor, I welcome such discussions. I have nothing to hide, and I am confident that the Christian message is the only message that can stand up and defend its truth claims sufficiently against all attacks. There is an old saying that says, “When two people are debating, the one who loses his temper first is the one with the least to say.” I have never been afraid to listen to those who disagree with me on the subject of the Christian faith. I am confident that there is an answer for any objection that may be brought against the biblical teachings of Christ.

What I have seen, however, is that this openness and willingness to discuss truth claims is not shared by every other faith. Particularly in Islam the subject of the truthfulness of the Quran, the authenticity of the claims of Muhammad, the integrity of the moral life of the prophet Muhammad, and whether or not Islam is a peaceful religion are topics that most Muslims will not even begin to discuss. To even question these topics is, in many places, a call to war and you are in danger of being physically attacked or  you could lose your life. Many authors who have written against the Islamic faith have had “fatwas” made against them. These are calls to have them killed by any Muslim who may have an opportunity to silence them. Is there not something wrong with a religion that refuses to have an open and civil discussion about its truth claims? I think this is a serious problem for Islam and wonder what it is that they have to hide or fear?

I read this article recently from a Muslim who is calling for reform in his faith. He addresses the very concern that I am raising here. I trust that this man’s comment will be instructive and will help identify the problem that we are facing with this religious faith that does not allow open discussion of its truth claims.

Losing my religion to Islamic radicals and Western progressives

Aly Salem
The Wall Street Journal
October 29, 2014

Last week a Canadian Muslim gunman went on a rampage in Ottawa, killing a soldier and storming into the parliament building before he was shot dead. Authorities have since said he had applied for a passport to travel to Syria. Three Muslim schoolgirls from Colorado were intercepted in Germany apparently on their way to Syria, the base for attacks there and in Iraq by the terror group Islamic State. An August 20 article in Newsweek estimated that perhaps twice as many British Muslims are fighting for Islamic State as are serving in the British Army.

What could possibly inspire young Muslims in the West to abandon their suburban middle-class existence and join a holy war? How could teenagers in Denver or anywhere be lured by a jihadist ideology — or are grisly videos of Islamic State beheadings and crucifixions not enough of a deterrent?

What is so compelling about radical Islamism may lie within its founding texts. It is time we acknowledged the powerful influence these texts have had even on ordinary Muslims. The political ideology based on them has already dragged the Middle East back towards the Stone Age.

As a teenager growing up in Egypt in the 1980s, I liked to stroll through Cairo’s outdoor book market, fishing out little gems like an Arabic translation of War and Peace. One day I stumbled upon a book that shook everything I believed in.

The book was In the Shadows of the Koran, Sayyed Qutb’s magnum opus. The Egyptian writer, who died in 1966, remains arguably the most influential thinker in contemporary Muslim societies. He was the principal theorist of the Muslim Brotherhood and the intellectual impetus behind the Islamist parties it spawned. Qutb’s ardent disciples included Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri of al-Qa’ida. It is not an exaggeration to say that Qutb is to Islamism what Karl Marx is to communism.

Qutb’s brilliance as a theorist was in how he applied Western-style literary criticism to the Koran to interpret God’s intentions. He concluded that the reason for the Muslim world’s decline were external cultural and political influences that diluted Islam: the culprits included everything from Greek empiricism and liberal democracy to socialism, Persian poetry and Hegelian philosophy. The only path to an Islamic renaissance was to cleanse Muslim societies of these contaminants and restore Islam to its seventh-century purity.

Today, Qutb’s outlook — Islamism — is the dominant political ideology in most Muslim-majority countries, often taking root in vacuums where secular politics have never had space to develop. Polls by the Pew Research Centre, such as last year’s The World’s Muslims, indicate that in many Muslim countries, the population is overwhelmingly in favor of veiling for women, the death penalty for leaving Islam and stoning as punishment for adultery; rabid anti-Semitism is rampant. The few exceptions to these statistics tend to be countries with a long history of militant secularism (like Turkey), or former communist states (Tajikistan, Bosnia, Albania, etc.) where religion was effectively wiped out of the public sphere. But Islamism is now growing even in those places.

The trend of history is being reversed. In Egypt, for instance, veiling was unheard of 50 years ago and was virtually extinct until the Islamists resurrected the practice in the 70s. Today an estimated 90 per cent of Egyptian women are veiled. In many other countries the veil — originally a tribal norm, not a religious one — is now ubiquitous, as are views on apostasy in countries that were far more progressive 50 years ago.

Many of my fellow Muslims are trying to reform Islam from within. Yet our voices are smothered in the West by Islamist apologists and their well-meaning but unwitting allies on the Left. For instance, if you try to draw attention to the stark correlation between the rise of Islamic religiosity and regressive attitudes towards women, you’re labelled an Islamophobe.

In America, other contemporary ideologies are routinely and openly debated in classrooms, newspapers, on talk shows and in living rooms.

But Americans make an exception for Islamism. Criticism of the religion — even in abstraction — is conflated with bigotry towards Muslims. There is no public discourse, much less an ideological response, to Islamism, in academia or on Capitol Hill. This trend is creating an intellectual vacuum, where poisonous ideas are allowed to propagate unchecked.

My own experience as a Muslim in New York bears this out. Socially progressive, self-proclaimed liberals, who would denounce even the slightest injustice committed against women or minorities in America, are appalled when I express a similar criticism about my own community.

Compare the collective response after each harrowing high-school shooting in America. Intellectuals and public figures look for the root cause of the violence and ask: Why?

Yet when I ask why after every terrorist attack, the disapproval I get from my non-Muslim peers is visceral: The majority of Muslims are not violent, they insist, the jihadists are a minority who don’t represent Islam, and I am fear mongering by even wondering aloud.

This is delusional thinking. Even as the world witnesses the barbarity of beheadings, habitual stoning and severe subjugation of women and minorities in the Muslim world, politicians and academics lecture that Islam is a “religion of peace”. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia routinely beheads women for sorcery and witchcraft.

In the US, we Muslims are handled like exotic flowers that will crumble if our faith is criticized — even if we do it ourselves. Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats alike would apparently prefer to drop bombs in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond, because killing Muslims is somehow less offensive than criticizing their religion? Unfortunately, you can’t kill an idea with a bomb, and so Islamism will continue to propagate.

Muslims must tolerate civilized public debate of the texts and scripture that inform Islamism. To demand any less of us is to engage in the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Aly Salem is an Egyptian writer based in New York.
The Wall Street Journal

- See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2014/10/the-wests-sanction-of-jihad-and-sharia-the-soft-bigotry-of-low-expectations.html/#sthash.njmiqPRX.dpuf

Humility by Andrew Murray

Here is a great quote by Andrew Murray from South Africa on humility. I trust it will be a blessing to  all of you. My prayer is that the Lord will give us a great day of worship at Berean tomorrow. We gather in church not for ourselves but for the Lord. We gather not to be intertwined but to give God the glory that is due to His holy name. Let us worship joyfully and reverently tomorrow!

"Humility is perfect quietness of heart, It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble."

- Andrew Murray

Nine Fruits of the Spirit

9 Fruits Of The Spirit

Those who walk with God will seek to be under the control of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit is present in a person's life the result will be these nine fruits. This is the evidence of the filling of the Spirit of God. When we are self-centered, bitter, unforgiving, condemning, filled with self-pity, unsubmissive to authority, and acting in the flesh we can be sure that we are not being controlled by the Holy One of Israel.  This material is from The Foundations of Godly Living that I hope to have for our Berean family soon!

• Love-This is agape love that is poured out within us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Agape love is a divine love that only believers can demonstrate. This is why those Christians who are filled with the Spirit should live head and shoulders above those who don’t know the Lord. Love is the distinguishing mark of a true believer. Agape love is describes by the apostle Paul in I Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in there truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endure all things. Love never fail…” 
• Joy- This is the second fruit that Paul mentions. A sad, depressed,  and discouraged Christian is not only a contradiction of what God’s purpose is for our lives, but it is also a very poor testimony to the world that is watching to see if our faith has indeed made any significant difference in our lives. The Christian life is filled with many trials and temptations. We understand that there is a real spiritual war that we face everyday. But in spite of this we should have an overflowing joy in our lives as a result of being filled with the Spirit of God. “The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10.
• Peace- This is the peace of God that floods our souls and is displayed  in our lives even in moments of suffering, persecution, and trials.  God’s people should not only be peace makers, they should also be characterized by the Spirit of peace that fills their lives and controls their emotions. While those who are non-Christians may be tossed about with stress and confusion the one who is filled with the Holy Spirit should be able to handle any situation that confronts them. Over the years I have witnessed many of the Lord’s people in times of great stress and difficulty and I have been amazed at the peace the Lord has given them at those moments. 
• Long-suffering- The Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit is characterized by patience. Patience is one of the marks and signs of the presence of God in our lives. Impatience is a sin. Those who get upset easily, who fret, worry, and respond in anger, yelling, or complaining are not filled with the Holy Spirit. God’s children should be the most patient in all situations in life for they know that God is sovereign and in control of every detail of their lives. The believer knows that “All things work together for  good to those that love God…” Rom. 8:28. A person who is long-suffering will be enabled by the Lord to show restraint in the tense situations in life. The Holy Spirit gives the believer the ability to refrain from retaliation and outburst of anger. This quality of being long-suffering is similar to the word forbearing. The believer is able to put up with those who are annoying, disturbing, and in return is able to show mercy, kindness and grace to those who don’t deserve it. A sign of a Spirit filled believer is one who does not surrender to difficult circumstances  or collapse under the pressure of trials. 
• Kindness- This is a very important evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. How kind are you in the situations in life? If a person says they know the Lord they should have this distinguishing mark as evidence of their salvation. Every Christian should be kind and thoughtful to one another. Through many years of ministry I have witnessed many professing Christians display anything but kindness in their dealings with others. The church business meeting, family life, our behavior at work, school, and in public should be characterized by a spirit of kindness that sets us apart from those who do not know the Lord. When I see professing Christians acting rude, snobbish, unkind,  hateful and are mean-spirited I am shocked. This is not the example of Christ. This is not how a Spirit filled believer should live. When the flesh is dominant in a person’s life we have every right to question if that person really knows the Lord. 
• Goodness- God’s people should be good. They should be known by the good things they do for and to other people. Whether we interact with believers or unbelievers we should be known as good people. Our testimony should be that when others are asked about us that they say of us, “They are good people and wonderful neighbors or friends.” Good deeds and good works should characterize all of our dealings with our fellow men. Someone defined goodness this way:

“Goodness is virtue and holiness in action. It results in a life characterized by deeds motivated by righteousness and a desire to be a blessing. It's a moral characteristic of a Spirit-filled person. The Greek word translated “goodness,” agathosune, is defined as "uprightness of heart and life." Agathosune is goodness for the benefit of others, not goodness simply for the sake of being virtuous.”

• Faithfulness- This is referring to our faithfulness to God, His Church,  and His calling in our lives. One of the evidences of the filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that we are faithful in all the things that the Lord commands us to do. Faithfulness makes us trustworthy, dependable, reliable and honorable. Can a person be a true Christian and not be faithful? Occasionally perhaps, but if a person is always unfaithful they have never been born again.
• Gentleness- Of all the people on this earth God’s people should be the most gentle and gracious to be around. What a testimony the Christian is when his or her life is filled with the spirit of gentleness. Our Savior is gentle, meek and kind. As His children and as those who are molded in His likeness and in His image we too should be gentle and meek. Meekness refers to the believer’s attitude whereas gentleness refers to actions and outward behavior. A Spirit filled Christian is known for his gentle, kind, and Christ like behavior towards those that he interacts with on a daily basis. The greatest example of gentleness was the God of Israel who was described in scripture as One who tenderly cares for His sheep, gently leads them and provides for them. In another example in Scripture we are told that the Lord reveals Himself to us in a “gentle whisper” I Kings 19:11-13. And finally, the Lord Jesus Himself is the example of gentleness for His disciples to follow. The prophet Zechariah tells us the Messiah comes in humility and gentleness, Zechariah 9:9. Those who are filled with the Spirit are characterized by this godly 
• Self-control- The spirit of self-control is the ability to control our fleshly passions and temptations. If we cannot control our lusts and the sinful passions of the flesh we must consider if we really know the Lord. No Christian is perfect. But there must be some measure of overcoming in our lives and there must be some measure of conviction when we sin that causes us to repent and to long for holiness.