Happy Holidays

I hope everyone ate plenty of turkey and dressing, or ham and stuffing if that’s what you prefer. I do apologize for the lack of posts and audio. We traveled for the holiday and I was working on my Tuesday night leading of the small group study. More on that later.

Right now I want to go back to the revisit of an old post. As before, here’s a link to the original -

Compelling Them to Enter

The last thing we talked about was the Great Commission. Next Charlie mentions a verse from the parable of the ‘great banquet.’ For context, it’s when the Master of the House wants to have a banquet and he calls his friends. They present one excuse after another, so the servants were sent to bring in the poor, the maimed, the invalids and the blind. Even after this there was still more room - so then this verse is given -

Luke 14:23 NIRV - “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads. Go out to the country lanes. Make the people come in. I want my house to be full.

Now I don’t believe we are to physically drag people to church, but we are to be persistent. We are to compel them. Do we truly believe that Jesus died for us - and for them? If we do, do we care enough to act on it?

The night I shared this lesson at church, our pastor had just that morning said something to the effect of, ‘if we really believed Christ could come back today, we’d be out there urgently sharing the Gospel with everyone we could find.’ The doctrine of imminence, which many believe, teaches that Jesus could return at any moment - that the Rapture could occur at any time. While I believe Scripture points to something else, that’s a discussion for another post.

The bottom line is that 100,000 people die every day. That person you encounter could be gone tomorrow. Don’t waste the opportunity! At the very least, invite them to church. Go back and listen to the last episode for more on that.

Holy Spirt MUST Be There

At the end of that particular lesson, Charlie mentions that if the Holy Spirit is not part of the church, then it truly is just a building! Remember, we as Christians are the Church; it’s not the building.

I have a question: Can we have a ‘good spirit’ - a positive vibe or uplifting atmosphere - without the Holy Spirit? Absolutely! We can get excited during the song service or enjoy seeing our friends; we all love a good fellowship supper. These are all wonderful experiences, but they can happen without truly inviting God’s presence into the space.

He goes on to say - “A church also needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach us all things or we will lose ourselves in the false doctrine of man. According to the Bible, a church left to itself will lose its love for Christ, turn to false doctrine, become prideful in its ways, and become void of God’s Spirit. May the Lord help us that we never become a church without the Holy Spirit.”

Is it really possible that we can “lose ourselves in the false doctrine of man?” Yes! It happens all the time! Any church that follows a spirit or ‘lower case gee’ god may have power, but it’s a false doctrine! Satan was the one that tempted Eve and introduced a doctrine where ‘mankind’ could be their own god! That’s a false doctrine of man that continues to this day. Some call it humanism.

History shows us that false doctrine often arises when people depart from God’s clear instructions. Take the Tower of Babel as an example. God commanded humanity to multiply and fill the earth, but instead, they settled on the plains of Shinar and built what they intended to be a doorway to Heaven. Did God tell them to do this? NO! This was yet another false doctrine of man - a choice to follow their own reasoning rather than God’s direction.

What about the Mosaic law? That was given of God - but what about the oral traditions of the Jews at the time of Christ? Would you say that the Pharisees had turned away from God and had added their own laws?

So why can’t it happen today? There are churches that are more concerned with numbers than truth. There are churches where the music service is more like a rock concert than a church service. There are churches where the Word of God has been labeled as outdated to allow for more people to be comfortable and come to church.

We must be on guard so that we don’t fall into this same trap! We must study and follow the Word of God. We must step aside and allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our hearts and minds. If we do that, then He will automatically have control of the services.

False Teachers Among Us

And one more for thing for this time… Charlie says the Bible teaches that a church without the Holy Spirit will lose God’s Spirit. There are several letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, but I want to look specifically at the one to the church in Pergamum.

Revelation 2:13-16 NIRV - ‘I know that you live where Satan has his throne. But you remain faithful to me. You did not give up your faith in me. You didn’t give it up even in the days of Antipas. Antipas, my faithful witness, was put to death in your city, where Satan lives. ‘But I have a few things against you. Some of your people follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to lead the people of Israel into sin. So they ate food that had been offered to statues of gods. And they committed sexual sins. You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So turn away from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon. I will fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.

To dive a little deeper here, in verse 13 He mentions Antipas. This is Greek for “a Christian.” I believe He is saying that they have held the faith, even when those among you were put to death for the faith.

In verse 14 He mentions Balaam, which is symbolic of a ‘false teacher.’ This also can mean Balac - Balak - or king of the Moabites. The impetus is that it is a false teacher in the midst of the people. It is not clear if they are being accused of the acts listed, or if it’s just the spirit of Balaam, but either way, they have allowed this spirit or this attitude to enter the church.

The bottom line is don’t allow those with false beliefs to teach the rest of the flock. If the entire local church that you are a part of doesn’t hold fast to the doctrine of Christ, then it is going to lose the Holy Spirit. It is up to the members to study, then study some more - and then study some more - so that they can help instruct others.

And then in verse 16 they are called to repent. When you realize that something like this - false teaching - is happening, you repent immediately. You don’t wait - you correct it.

When a ship goes off course, does the captain allow it to continue off course so as not to upset the passengers with a sudden change? What if that course is carrying you into dangerous waters? What’s more important, the safety or the comfort of the passengers?

What is more important at your church? The eternal safety of those there as well as those they will come into contact with? Or keeping them comfortable? What good is being comfortable if it puts you in hell? Remember the verses about plucking out your eye? Or cutting off your arm? Comfort is fleeting! Eternity is forever.

In Closing

Dear God I pray You take these words that You have led me to write and use them however You choose. I am a disciple only and in Your service. I pray that wherever they are read or heard that Your Spirit will open the hearts and the minds to Your presence only. In the name of the One and Only Jesus Christ I pray - amen.

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