(This is what was given by me at The Huntington Chapel on March 18, 2007)
Good Morning Everyone,
If someone were to ask you in five verses or less to describe Christianity, could you? I’d like to open with some verses from John, Mark, & Acts, which can be one of the many ways we define the definition of our belief. John, Mark, & Acts which I hold to be one of the definitions of our belief. Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.”, He follows the Truth with our Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation. Who ever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Although there are some who seem to have lost sight of this, let me be clear; you cannot be saved by Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Scientology. Even religions that claim to be Christian, but whose doctrine preaches a different Jesus, such as Mormonism, which believes among others, that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers, are not going to save you on Judgment Day. God does not work in mysterious ways thru these other religions to bring them to Him. If Jesus was not the only way, but one of many, how cruel a God we must be worshipping that he would crucify his only begotten Son for some, yet have a way to Him for others. It Kind of cheapens what Christ did on the cross, if you think in the same vein as some.
Here we don’t rely on human Reason and the Tradition that flows from Reason. Martin Luther’s call for ‘sola scriptura’ , or Scripture, Scripture, Scripture, is all that we need to rely on. That is why we do not believe in Infant Baptism, Purgatory, or same-sex union blessings. Not only can they not be supported by Scripture, but can be directly refuted by it.
Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor @ Parkside Church, in suburban Cleveland had a series of sermons on “The Seven Marks of an Effective Church.” Now, no one church can master all of these elements, but they should be the marks to which church leaders are guiding their people. Is our church on the right course?
First off, The Apostle’s teachings on these seven marks is key to know that they are not coming from the pastor’s own reasoning, but rather be able to point to Scripture for the foundations of the churches core. Though we can’t go into detail on each one, they are; 1)Fellowship, 2)The Sacraments, 3)The Biblical Basis for Baptism, 4)Prayer, 5)Mutual Care, 6)Worship, and 7)Continuous Evangelism.
The final one, Continuous Evangelism, is the one place we have not emphasized enough here; but how to go about it? There is a way to effectively bring this about, and for your consideration and prayers, I offer to give my services towards implementing this ministry here. What I find effective is, The Way of the Master Ministry from Pastor Ray Comfort. Its focus is on how to effectively share your faith thru Biblical Evangelism. What is that you may ask? The use of the Law, The Ten Commandments, to bring a person to the knowledge of their sin and need for a Savoir, then bringing them the Good News of Jesus Christ’s saving Grace. Paul says in Romans 3:20, “therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the Law, rather, thru the Law become conscious of sin.”
The first course, The Basic Training Course, is one part of a ministry that includes a T.V. & Radio show, books and CD’s, Bible Tracts, a variety to fit any occasion (Here are a few), all the way up to a Seminary-level Online Biblical School of Evangelism. Serious stuff. There is also a follow-up, called the Intermediate Training Course, which adds critical framework to the foundations set in the 1st series. I would hope that we would be able to add this to the ministry as well. There will be a sign up sheet for those interested, in Chamberlain Hall.
Doing this fulfills our obligation to Christ, and may bring the lost to worship here, let us not forget that Church is a Hospital for Sinners, not a Hotel for Saints and by the way just may give Doug a reason to cut his hair, it just may bring Revival! “If we raise our hands to God in praise, but do not reach out for him in evangelism, it is but empty hypocrisy. If we were to talk about God on Monday, as much as we do to God on Sunday, we would have revival” (Ray Comfort, Way of the Master, p. 267)
If we do not heed the words of our Savior as I mentioned earlier, the blood of those lost may be on our hands. In part, Ezekiel 33: 2-6 says, 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. …But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'
Now we are expected to bring our friends and family here, it is our first priority in Evangelism. It is how I came to know The Chapel, through a friend I have known since Kindergarten, Brother Ricky Mazzadra. Better than inviting everyone you see, witnessing to them is like a pre-screening of sorts, and we can then avoid a spike in the need for the kind of church discipline that Pastor Doug spoke of in January.
If it does bring more souls here, where to put them? A third service, or a fourth if we are really successful! I know that there are some here who did not agree with adding a second service, so a call for a third or even a fourth, must be like fingernails on the chalkboard! But I see it as an either/or proposition.
Now, more services means more room for additional members, but we may further dilute the fellowship and mutual care of the seven marks. More space means an ability to have only one or two services, but we may loose the intimacy that the barn presents, which is a feature some might not want to give up.
More services means that we may need to in-crease the Pastoral staff, which means more $$. More space means the need for more $$ as well.
A dilemma: If you don’t believe in tithing, how do we expand in either way?
It can be argued that tithing is an Old Testament command, and does not apply in a New Testament Church, because Jesus said to give what your heart tells you to give. Certainly in the Old Testament there were a multitude of tithes, the most common one that preachers today refer to being the ‘First Fruits’ tithe. However that was what was to be given to God, there were also tithes to run the country, and a separate tithe given to the Levites, or the Priests.
On top of that, in order to build the tabernacle, the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 25:2;
“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.” And they gave so much that they had to be told, ‘no more, no more’.
However, An argument for tithing being consistent with the New Testament can be found in Hebrews 7. It talks of Melchizedek the High Priest and draws a parallel of Jesus being like Melchizedek, the Final High Priest. Yes this is recounting the way it used to be, but it also draws a parallel to Jesus, and by appearing in the New Testament, I cannot in good conscious, argue against it with full certainty.
I think the standard we should ultimately go by is found in a part of the Gospel called ‘The Widow’s Offering’. Both in Mark 12: 41-44, and here in Luke 21: 1-4; As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
ALL of us who earn a living give from our wealth, but would you, if you were unemployed, do what this widow had done? What % shows that you have Jesus first and foremost in your lives. I cannot answer that for you, I can only give you my testimony, but remember that in the Old Testament they had only a covering of their sins, and we have a cleansing of ours, yet what they were commanded to give was more than what most preachers ask us to give.
My goal each paycheck is 10%, but don’t get me wrong, as my income fluctuates from paycheck to paycheck, there are just times that I cannot come up with that amount. Realistically, God would not want you to have your electricity cut off, oil not delivered, or have you foreclose on your house just to tithe ‘properly‘! My experience has been that when it looked as though I was going to come up a bit short, something would always come about to give me no excuses. A few times this year alone, I can point to cases where this has happened. On one occasion in February, I had already written out the check for half of what my goal was, without knowing how much I had written, my wife, who had a good week, put an additional C-Note into the envelope, making that offering above and beyond what I had originally intended.
Finally, once we fulfill the mark of Ongoing Evangelism, we will have met all marks of an effective church laid out by Pastor Begg. To go one better, Pastor Comfort was not satisfied with a 7 or 10 point plan, and came up with this, “How to Find a Good Church; almost 25 (24) questions that will save you a lot of Sundays.” I don’t have time to read them all now, but a copy of how this church did is also available in Chamberlain Hall, the skinny: we scored a 22 out of 24! Not bad, not bad at all, This IS a Good Church!! Understanding that not everyone will agree on everything that is done here, but let us let the non-essentials be a place where we agree to disagree. I would direct everyone who has some disagreements, to read and re-read, 1 Corinthians 3, on divisions in the church, and remember, 22 out of 24, this IS a good church.
End.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sermon on Evangelism and Tithing
(This is my original that had to be trimmed down because it was part of a tag-team effort with the Pastor)
Good Morning Everyone,
I’d like to open with some verses from John, Mark, & Acts, which can be one of the many ways we define the definition of our belief. John 14:6;Mark 16: 15,16;& Acts 4:12. Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.”, He follows the Truth with our Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation. Who ever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Although there are some mainline denominations who seem to have lost sight of this, let me be clear; you cannot be saved by Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Scientology. Even religions that claim to be Christian, but whose doctrine preaches a different Jesus, such as Mormonism, which believes among others, that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers, are not going to save you on Judgment Day. God does not work in mysterious ways thru these other religions to bring them to Him, unlike what the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church stated four months ago. If Jesus was not the only way, but one of many, how cruel a God we must be worshipping that he would crucify his only begotten Son for some, yet have a way to Him for others. It Kind of cheapens what Christ did on the cross, if you think in the same vein as Presiding Bishop Schori or Pope John Paul the second for that matter.
Unlike the Episcopal and Catholic Churches, we don’t rely on human Reason and the Tradition that flows from Reason. Martin Luther’s call for ‘sola scriptura’ , or Scripture, Scripture, Scripture, is all that we need to rely on. That is why we do not believe in Infant Baptism, Purgatory, or same-sex union blessings. Not only can they not be supported by Scripture, but can be directly refuted by it.
Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor @ Parkside Church, in suburban Cleveland had a series of sermons on “The Seven Marks of an Effective Church.” Now, no one church can master all of these elements, but they should be the marks to which church leaders are guiding their people. Is our church on the right course?
First off, The Apostle’s teachings on these seven marks is key to know that they are not coming from the pastor’s own reasoning, but rather be able to point to Scripture for the foundations of the churches core. Though we can’t go into detail on each one, they are; 1)Fellowship, 2)The Sacraments, 3)The Biblical Basis for Baptism, 4)Prayer, 5)Mutual Care, 6)Worship, and 7)Continuous Evangelism.
The final one, Continuous Evangelism, is the one place we have not emphasized enough here; but how to go about it? There is a way to effectively bring this about, and for your consideration and prayers, I offer to give my services towards implementing this ministry here. It is, The Basic Training Course from The Way of the Master Ministry from Pastor Ray Comfort. Its focus is on how to effectively share your faith thru Biblical Evangelism. What is that you may ask? The use of the Law, The Ten Commandments, to bring a person to the knowledge of their sin and need for a Savoir, then bringing them the Good News of Jesus Christ’s saving Grace. Paul says in Romans 3:20, “therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the Law, rather, thru the Law become conscious of sin.”
This is one part of a ministry that includes a T.V. & Radio show, books and CD’s, Bible Tracts, a variety to fit any occasion (Here are a few), all the way up to a Seminary-level Online Biblical School of Evangelism. Serious stuff. There is also a follow-up, called the Intermediate Training Course, which adds critical framework to the foundations set in the 1st series. I would hope that we would be able to add this to the ministry as well. There will be a sign up sheet for those interested, in Chamberlain Hall.
Doing this fulfills our obligation to Christ, and may bring the lost to worship here, let us not forget that Church is a Hospital for Sinners, not a Hotel for Saints and by the way just may give Doug a reason to cut his hair, it just may bring Revival! (read p. 267 (blue) from ‘The Way of the Master’)
If we do not heed the words of our Savior as I mentioned earlier, the blood of those lost may be on our hands. In part, Ezekiel 33: 2-6 says, 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. …But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'
Now we are expected to bring our friends and family here, it is our first priority in Evangelism. It is how I came to know The Chapel, through a friend I have known since Kindergarten, Brother Ricky Mazzadra. Better than inviting everyone you see, witnessing to them is like a pre-screening of sorts, and we can then avoid a spike in the need for the kind of church discipline that Pastor Doug spoke of in January.
If it does bring more souls here, where to put them? A third service, or a fourth if we are really successful! I know that there are some here who did not agree with adding a second service, so a call for a third or even a fourth, must be like fingernails on the chalkboard! But I see it as an either/or proposition.
Now, more services means more room for additional members, but we may further dilute the fellowship and mutual care of the seven marks. More space means an ability to have only one or two services, but we may loose the intimacy that the barn presents, which is a feature some might not want to give up.
More services means that we may need to in-crease the Pastoral staff, which means more $$.
More space means the need for more $$ as well.
A dilemma: If you don’t believe in tithing, how do we expand in either way?
It can be argued that tithing is an Old Testament command, and does not apply in a New Testament Church, because Jesus said to give what your heart tells you to give. Certainly in the Old Testament there were a multitude of tithes, the most common one that preachers today refer to being the ‘First Fruits’ tithe. However that was what was to be given to God, there were also tithes to run the country, and a separate tithe given to the Levites, or the Priests.
On top of that, in order to build the tabernacle, the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 25:2;
“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.” And they gave so much that they had to be told, ‘no more, no more’.
However, An argument for tithing being consistent with the New Testament can be found in Hebrews 7. It talks of Melchizedek the High Priest and draws a parallel of Jesus being like Melchizedek, the Final High Priest. Yes this is recounting the way it used to be, but it also draws a parallel to Jesus, and by appearing in the New Testament, I cannot in good conscious, argue against it with full certainty.
I think the standard we should ultimately go by is found in a part of the Gospel called ‘The Widow’s Offering’. Both in Mark 12: 41-44, and here in Luke 21: 1-4; As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
ALL of us who earn a living give from our wealth, but would you, if you were unemployed, do what this widow had done? What % shows that you have Jesus first and foremost in your lives. I cannot answer that for you, I can only give you my testimony, but remember that in the Old Testament they had only a covering of their sins, and we have a cleansing of ours, yet what they were commanded to give was more than what most preachers ask us to give.
My goal each paycheck is 10%, but don’t get me wrong, as my income fluctuates from paycheck to paycheck, there are just times that I cannot come up with that amount. Realistically, God would not want you to have your electricity cut off, oil not delivered, or have you foreclose on your house just to tithe ‘properly‘! My experience has been that when it looked as though I was going to come up a bit short, something would always come about to give me no excuses. A few times this year alone, I can point to cases where this has happened. In January I was going to be not only short on my tithing, but didn't even have enough for the spending money I need to do my job, getting newspapers for clients, coffee (a big necessity on my job), meals, parking, etc. I have a client whom I usually drive once a month at most, who gives me an extra C-note cash tip each time. This week, I drove him twice, allowing me to tithe and have my spending money. I actually had a chance to drive him on a third occassion, but that was on Sunday when I was supposed to be here, so I thanked God for what he had given me, instead of putting more importance in the $. On another occasion in February, I had already written out the check for half of what my goal was, without knowing how much I had written, my wife, who had a good week, put an additional C-Note into the envelope, making that offering above and beyond what I had originally intended. And just this past week, again I was going to end up short, and on my last trip Saturday night, a Wait and Return to NYC with two couples celebrating a birthday, I pledged to add what ever cash tip I recieved to what I could give from my paycheck. I recieved $80. , enough to bring the total to 10%!
In a recent sermon, Pastor Bryant Wright of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in East Cobb, a suburb of Atlanta, spoke of the time to come in Revelation that we will have to make a decision on whether or not we are willing to be left out of the worlds ecomony. Those that take the number of the beast on their wrists or foreheads will be part of the world economy, but will have no part of the heavenly kingdom. Some here, by their unwillingness to tithe, are already showing themselves to which route they will take when the time comes. Being stingy with your money now, shows that when push comes to shove, you will be the same ones who take the number of the beast, because you show by you tithing, or lack their of, of the inability to live outside of the world. To give of yourself through your tithing, shows you have the ability to do without when the times comes that your salvation will depend on just that.
Finally, once we fulfill the mark of Ongoing Evangelism, we will have met all marks of an effective church laid out by Pastor Begg. To go one better, Pastor Comfort was not satisfied with a 7 or 10 point plan, and came up with this, “How to Find a Good Church; almost 25 (24) questions that will save you a lot of Sundays.” I don’t have time to read them all now, but a copy of how this church did is also available in Chamberlain Hall, the skinny: we scored a 22 out of 24! Not bad, not bad at all, This IS a Good Church!! Understanding that not everyone will agree on everything that is done here, but let us let the non-essentials be a place where we agree to disagree. I would direct everyone who has some disagreements, to read and re-read, 1 Corinthians 3, on divisions in the church, and remember this letter from a pastor to Ray Comfort the next time you have an issue with Doug, compare your complaint with this letter and all that Doug has to handle, to see if it is that critical or not. (Read pp. 324-5 (yellow) from ‘The Way of the Master’)
End.
Good Morning Everyone,
I’d like to open with some verses from John, Mark, & Acts, which can be one of the many ways we define the definition of our belief. John 14:6;Mark 16: 15,16;& Acts 4:12. Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.”, He follows the Truth with our Great Commission to “go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation. Who ever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Although there are some mainline denominations who seem to have lost sight of this, let me be clear; you cannot be saved by Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, or Scientology. Even religions that claim to be Christian, but whose doctrine preaches a different Jesus, such as Mormonism, which believes among others, that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers, are not going to save you on Judgment Day. God does not work in mysterious ways thru these other religions to bring them to Him, unlike what the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church stated four months ago. If Jesus was not the only way, but one of many, how cruel a God we must be worshipping that he would crucify his only begotten Son for some, yet have a way to Him for others. It Kind of cheapens what Christ did on the cross, if you think in the same vein as Presiding Bishop Schori or Pope John Paul the second for that matter.
Unlike the Episcopal and Catholic Churches, we don’t rely on human Reason and the Tradition that flows from Reason. Martin Luther’s call for ‘sola scriptura’ , or Scripture, Scripture, Scripture, is all that we need to rely on. That is why we do not believe in Infant Baptism, Purgatory, or same-sex union blessings. Not only can they not be supported by Scripture, but can be directly refuted by it.
Alistair Begg, Senior Pastor @ Parkside Church, in suburban Cleveland had a series of sermons on “The Seven Marks of an Effective Church.” Now, no one church can master all of these elements, but they should be the marks to which church leaders are guiding their people. Is our church on the right course?
First off, The Apostle’s teachings on these seven marks is key to know that they are not coming from the pastor’s own reasoning, but rather be able to point to Scripture for the foundations of the churches core. Though we can’t go into detail on each one, they are; 1)Fellowship, 2)The Sacraments, 3)The Biblical Basis for Baptism, 4)Prayer, 5)Mutual Care, 6)Worship, and 7)Continuous Evangelism.
The final one, Continuous Evangelism, is the one place we have not emphasized enough here; but how to go about it? There is a way to effectively bring this about, and for your consideration and prayers, I offer to give my services towards implementing this ministry here. It is, The Basic Training Course from The Way of the Master Ministry from Pastor Ray Comfort. Its focus is on how to effectively share your faith thru Biblical Evangelism. What is that you may ask? The use of the Law, The Ten Commandments, to bring a person to the knowledge of their sin and need for a Savoir, then bringing them the Good News of Jesus Christ’s saving Grace. Paul says in Romans 3:20, “therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the Law, rather, thru the Law become conscious of sin.”
This is one part of a ministry that includes a T.V. & Radio show, books and CD’s, Bible Tracts, a variety to fit any occasion (Here are a few), all the way up to a Seminary-level Online Biblical School of Evangelism. Serious stuff. There is also a follow-up, called the Intermediate Training Course, which adds critical framework to the foundations set in the 1st series. I would hope that we would be able to add this to the ministry as well. There will be a sign up sheet for those interested, in Chamberlain Hall.
Doing this fulfills our obligation to Christ, and may bring the lost to worship here, let us not forget that Church is a Hospital for Sinners, not a Hotel for Saints and by the way just may give Doug a reason to cut his hair, it just may bring Revival! (read p. 267 (blue) from ‘The Way of the Master’)
If we do not heed the words of our Savior as I mentioned earlier, the blood of those lost may be on our hands. In part, Ezekiel 33: 2-6 says, 'When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. …But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.'
Now we are expected to bring our friends and family here, it is our first priority in Evangelism. It is how I came to know The Chapel, through a friend I have known since Kindergarten, Brother Ricky Mazzadra. Better than inviting everyone you see, witnessing to them is like a pre-screening of sorts, and we can then avoid a spike in the need for the kind of church discipline that Pastor Doug spoke of in January.
If it does bring more souls here, where to put them? A third service, or a fourth if we are really successful! I know that there are some here who did not agree with adding a second service, so a call for a third or even a fourth, must be like fingernails on the chalkboard! But I see it as an either/or proposition.
Now, more services means more room for additional members, but we may further dilute the fellowship and mutual care of the seven marks. More space means an ability to have only one or two services, but we may loose the intimacy that the barn presents, which is a feature some might not want to give up.
More services means that we may need to in-crease the Pastoral staff, which means more $$.
More space means the need for more $$ as well.
A dilemma: If you don’t believe in tithing, how do we expand in either way?
It can be argued that tithing is an Old Testament command, and does not apply in a New Testament Church, because Jesus said to give what your heart tells you to give. Certainly in the Old Testament there were a multitude of tithes, the most common one that preachers today refer to being the ‘First Fruits’ tithe. However that was what was to be given to God, there were also tithes to run the country, and a separate tithe given to the Levites, or the Priests.
On top of that, in order to build the tabernacle, the Lord said to Moses in Exodus 25:2;
“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.” And they gave so much that they had to be told, ‘no more, no more’.
However, An argument for tithing being consistent with the New Testament can be found in Hebrews 7. It talks of Melchizedek the High Priest and draws a parallel of Jesus being like Melchizedek, the Final High Priest. Yes this is recounting the way it used to be, but it also draws a parallel to Jesus, and by appearing in the New Testament, I cannot in good conscious, argue against it with full certainty.
I think the standard we should ultimately go by is found in a part of the Gospel called ‘The Widow’s Offering’. Both in Mark 12: 41-44, and here in Luke 21: 1-4; As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
ALL of us who earn a living give from our wealth, but would you, if you were unemployed, do what this widow had done? What % shows that you have Jesus first and foremost in your lives. I cannot answer that for you, I can only give you my testimony, but remember that in the Old Testament they had only a covering of their sins, and we have a cleansing of ours, yet what they were commanded to give was more than what most preachers ask us to give.
My goal each paycheck is 10%, but don’t get me wrong, as my income fluctuates from paycheck to paycheck, there are just times that I cannot come up with that amount. Realistically, God would not want you to have your electricity cut off, oil not delivered, or have you foreclose on your house just to tithe ‘properly‘! My experience has been that when it looked as though I was going to come up a bit short, something would always come about to give me no excuses. A few times this year alone, I can point to cases where this has happened. In January I was going to be not only short on my tithing, but didn't even have enough for the spending money I need to do my job, getting newspapers for clients, coffee (a big necessity on my job), meals, parking, etc. I have a client whom I usually drive once a month at most, who gives me an extra C-note cash tip each time. This week, I drove him twice, allowing me to tithe and have my spending money. I actually had a chance to drive him on a third occassion, but that was on Sunday when I was supposed to be here, so I thanked God for what he had given me, instead of putting more importance in the $. On another occasion in February, I had already written out the check for half of what my goal was, without knowing how much I had written, my wife, who had a good week, put an additional C-Note into the envelope, making that offering above and beyond what I had originally intended. And just this past week, again I was going to end up short, and on my last trip Saturday night, a Wait and Return to NYC with two couples celebrating a birthday, I pledged to add what ever cash tip I recieved to what I could give from my paycheck. I recieved $80. , enough to bring the total to 10%!
In a recent sermon, Pastor Bryant Wright of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in East Cobb, a suburb of Atlanta, spoke of the time to come in Revelation that we will have to make a decision on whether or not we are willing to be left out of the worlds ecomony. Those that take the number of the beast on their wrists or foreheads will be part of the world economy, but will have no part of the heavenly kingdom. Some here, by their unwillingness to tithe, are already showing themselves to which route they will take when the time comes. Being stingy with your money now, shows that when push comes to shove, you will be the same ones who take the number of the beast, because you show by you tithing, or lack their of, of the inability to live outside of the world. To give of yourself through your tithing, shows you have the ability to do without when the times comes that your salvation will depend on just that.
Finally, once we fulfill the mark of Ongoing Evangelism, we will have met all marks of an effective church laid out by Pastor Begg. To go one better, Pastor Comfort was not satisfied with a 7 or 10 point plan, and came up with this, “How to Find a Good Church; almost 25 (24) questions that will save you a lot of Sundays.” I don’t have time to read them all now, but a copy of how this church did is also available in Chamberlain Hall, the skinny: we scored a 22 out of 24! Not bad, not bad at all, This IS a Good Church!! Understanding that not everyone will agree on everything that is done here, but let us let the non-essentials be a place where we agree to disagree. I would direct everyone who has some disagreements, to read and re-read, 1 Corinthians 3, on divisions in the church, and remember this letter from a pastor to Ray Comfort the next time you have an issue with Doug, compare your complaint with this letter and all that Doug has to handle, to see if it is that critical or not. (Read pp. 324-5 (yellow) from ‘The Way of the Master’)
End.
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