Subject

Quote

Christian, Beliefs

Sermon: Profession

In this sermon, I ask two questions: “What do you believe?” and, “What is your profession?”  Later in the sermon I discuss the word, “profess” and the phrase, “professional firstfruit.”  Here is what I said:

“To profess something is to lay claim to. It is a declaration that you are making your calling your profession. You are professing your faith in God and your allegiance to Him. You set yourself on a path to make yourself skilled, knowledgeable and wise in all that God guides you to.”

“A professional firstfruit is one who professes his calling. He lives it. He invokes it. He is an example of it. The difference between a worker and a professional is diligence, zeal and fervency. It is a person with his eye on the Kingdom and who keeps moving toward it and perfection.”

 

Works

Sermon: Proliferate

This is a sermon about increasing and expanding spiritual works in your life.

In this sermon, I make references to the sermon, “Assiduity” which is a sermon about putting everything into the hands of God.  Both these sermons derive from the same verse of Proverbs 16:3, “Commit thy works unto the LORD…”  In the Assiduity sermon, I focus on the word, “Commit.”  In this one, I focus on the word, “Works.”

In this sermon, I say: “What we are going to discover today is that Proverbs 16:3 and its related verses are speaking to a specific procedure you are to apply to every aspect of your lives.  This procedure will dictate to you just how to deal with all trials and tribulations. Virtually every situation in your life can have a happy and joyous outcome if you invoke this commitment procedure.”

The rest of Proverbs 16:3 says that after you commit your works unto God, “thy thoughts shall be established.”  Later I say:

“ I want to discuss the third word of this verse, ‘Works.’  In my previous sermon we spoke at length about committing all our actions, burdens and concerns over to God.  He wants you to roll them over to Him.  My purpose today is to encourage all of us to commit all our works over to Him.

Let me use those two points of procedure I gave you from Assiduity for this additional procedure from Proverbs 16:3.

“1] Increase the number times a day or week in which you invoke works before God.  You must develop into an individual who has reflexive action [kneejerk reaction] to rolling over [committing] all works to God.

“2] Allow the experience to establish your thoughts for the next work you invoke.  When you see God taking action in the situation, coupled with your diligent immersion in the Word of God, your thoughts are established for the next work you do.

Each time we invoke a spiritual element, such as a fruit of the Spirit; what I call Godly principles, we are doing a work.  All spiritual works are carried out in the physical, mental and emotional situations of our life.  God’s Word is commanding us and encouraging us to invoke spiritual works into every aspect of our lives.  Nothing is too trivial to God and there is no situation too common or mundane for us to invoke or do a work.  The admonition of this sermon is to the expanding of spiritual works into every area of our lives.  To do this, we must begin with a discussion of ‘abounding.’  What does the Word of God have to say to us about abounding?”

Later in the sermon, I talk about expanding our spiritual works.  I say:

“We take spiritual works and:

1] increase them.
2] find more opportunities and areas to invoke them [‘drawn out to greater length’].
3] invoke more fruits of the Spirit.
4] gain greater insight and clarity regarding each fruit…each work.”

I then reference Philippians 4:8-9, ‘whatsoever things are true, honest, just and pure, etc. and the admonition to think on these things.  I then say…

“Firstfruits diligently think on these things and then do them.”  And this was months before I gave the sermon on thinking.

All principles are Spirit.  They are the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  God and Jesus Christ ARE principles.  God and Jesus Christ are Spirit.   The more we invoke principles the more we become like Christ.  You are, in essence becoming like and preparing to be a member of the God Family.
 

Purity

Sermon: Pure Occasions

My stated purpose in this sermon is, “ to encourage all of us to avoid all negative situations and actions by continually and diligently striving for spiritual purity.”

I go on to say, “You and I would not generally say, ‘give none occasion’ but rather, ‘give no occasion.’  Give it no starting point.  Whatever the negative action or event is, do not allow the first step.  For the last several years, I have likened our journey as walking down the path of righteousness and should we see some sort of temptation off to the right or left at some one-hundred yards, we are not to take even the first step toward it.  Easily that first step could be while we are still on the righteous path.  That is, that first step is a thought process working on our mind which, if left alone, will conceive a plan of action to leave the path.  We, in purity, are to avoid that first step.”

I then speak to our great enemy, Satan.  I say, “You are being watched and rather closely I might add.  Satan and his ilk are watching us night and day looking for any opportunity to accuse us.  Any reading of Job shows Satan as the great accuser.  Do you think they only go after the named biblical servants of God?”

“Satan is the accuser of all the brethren and he accuses us before our God day and night.  Do we now see the seriousness of, ‘give no occasion’?  Personally, I want angels talking to God about me in the positive and not Satan in the negative.  Thank God and praise Almighty God for His Son Jesus Christ interceding on our behalf each time Satan opens his mouth against us.” 

Later in the sermon, I speak to the concept of “spirit-powered effort.”  Here is what I say:

“To the degree you put spirit-powered effort into your diligence toward pureness; the less often this type of negative occasion will manifest itself.  Stop sin at the first step!

“When we sin, this is a negative occasion, BUT we repent and that is among the BEST of occasions.  This is why we repent; to destroy certain negative occasions.”

Next, I speak about your spiritual journey in righteousness.  I say: “Purity; your continual journey toward purity, will beat the negative occasion virtually every time according to the will of God and I am here to tell you that God creates purity in you to pound the negative occasions to dust.

“God is the author of our purity and throughout His Word He gives us instructions, that if embraced and invoked, will make us pure.”

I end this sermon with several scriptures that admonish us to keep ourselves pure.  One scripture I read was Romans 12 and verse 2:

Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

“Avoid the traps of the world and you avoid bad occasions.

“Transform and constantly renew your mind and you will experience more and more positive occasions.

“Know the will of God and you will make good decisions as He does and thus have positive occasions.

“Jesus Christ gave up His life on earth that we might be delivered from negative occasions and live pure lives.”

After reading more “keep yourselves pure” scriptures I say:

“You are born of God and your faith [life in the Salvation Process] will see you to Victory.”

“Those diligently seeking purity have hope of eternal life and that hope is a driving force to get you to purity.”

“Avoid negative occasions, experience positive occasions and be pure as He is pure.”
 

Vain Jangling, False Doctrine,
Churches

Sermon: Raising Cain – Parts 1 and 2

This two-part sermon has a simple purpose: “Stop the vain jangling” or stop the flow of false doctrines.  I begin this sermon with an account of a false doctrine that affected at least one local church.  It is the doctrine on Cain.  Here is what I say:

There are variations on the Cain doctrine but primarily it is the idea that Cain is the offspring of a sexual encounter of Eve with Satan.  Cain then becomes the stem of a whole race of people that somehow has the blood and DNA of Satan running through its veins.  Apparently, depending on the version of the doctrine one believes, I am to hate, avoid and/or destroy this race of people.  In some belief systems, this race of people is either all black races and/or the Jewish race.  Clearly this gives rise to all manner of racism and hatred.

I, personally, find the Cain doctrine absurd.  To believe it one has to assume the following:

1] That spirit beings have the ability to have sexual intercourse.
2] That spirit beings have DNA and that it is compatible with humans.
3] That God would allow Satan to carry out sexual intercourse with Eve and therefore create an entire race and bloodline.
4] That even if Satan could carry out a sex act, that he would have the ability to get a human pregnant. 

These four items then give rise to a number of questions, including:

1] If Satan could create a race of people that is somehow cursed and damned, then why not contaminate all the races and thus defeat the plan of God?
2] If Satan and the demons could have sex with humans, why are they not doing it now? 
3] Even if this event took place, is it not a fact that this supposed race of people were killed off in the flood of Noah?

The most astounding defeat of this doctrine, for me, is found in Genesis 4:1.

Genesis 4:1  
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.

I read through a number of commentaries and found absolutely no text that supports the idea that Satan had any part in this.  His name is never mentioned in these commentaries on this verse.  Notice also that the verse quotes Adam as saying he received a man from the Lord.  All children come from the Lord.  Would the Great God produce or allow children from a union between Satan and Eve?

After this introduction I give the purpose of the sermon and then explain the title, “Raising Cain.”  I say:

“Stop the vain jangling.

“The phrase, ‘Raising Cain’ has the meaning of one causing trouble or creating an uproar.  That is what vain jangling does to the Church of God.

“In this sermon, I read from a Minister’s Notebook piece with the title, ‘Give Me a Church in Peace and Harmony’ where I ask some questions:

“What does God’s word have to say about the condition of the churches in the end time?  Does God promise peace and harmony in the Body of Christ in the end time?  What does our church doctrine have to say; should members of the church separate themselves when they witness trouble and turmoil?  Should one flee when his brother smites or betrays him?  What does God’s Word have to say about ‘enduring until the end’?

“First, let us look at a number of familiar verses that describe conditions in the churches in the end time.”

What follows in that sermon are a set of scripture readings but the headings for each scripture reading are mine and derive from that scripture reading.  I want you to be overwhelmed with the facts and reasons why there may be trouble in certain churches as we approach and enter the end time.  Here are those headings:

One: Vain Jangling – 1 Timothy 1:1-8.
Two: Apostasy and Heresy – 1 Corinthians 11:19.
Three: Why the Division – we will come back to this one.
Four: The Parable of the Wedding Banquet – Matthew 22:1-14.
Five: The Parable of the 10-Virgins – Matthew 25:1-13.
Six: Members shall betray brothers and shall hate them – Matthew 24:10-14.
Seven: “Let Him Be Unjust Still” – Revelation 22:10-12.
Eight: Some Shall Be Betrayed by Brethren – Luke 21:16-19.
Nine: Some Will Falsely Accuse the Good Conversation of the Righteous – 1 Peter 3:15-18.
Ten: Examples from the Scripture:  Jesus-Isaiah 53:3.  Paul-2 Timothy 4:14,16.
Eleven: Liars in and Around the Body of Christ. – Matthew 5:19; Matthew 7:15-20; Matthew 7:22-23; Matthew 15:9; Matthew 15:14; Matthew 24:4; Matthew 24:24; Acts 20:29-30; Romans 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 11:18-19; Galatians 1:6-7; Ephesians 4:14; Philippians 3:2; Colossians 2:4,8; 1 Timothy 1:19, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, 20-21; 2 Timothy 3:13 and 2 Timothy 4:3.
Twelve: Our Doctrine on the Fellowship of the Brethren.

I said that we would come back to the third item on why there might be division in the church.  I give eleven reasons with the understanding there could be more:

THREE: WHY THE DIVISION?
Reasons for division and factions:

1] People are human.

2] Not all in the church have the Spirit of God.

3] Not all are converted (even if baptized and members of the church).

4] Not all are at the same level of spiritual growth.  Some may be babes in Christ---1 Corinthians 3:1; 1 Peter 2:2.

5] Some are wolves in sheep's clothing---Matthew 7:15.

6] Some have mental and/or social disorders OR personal problems (envy, jealousy, greed, desire for position or power, etc.)

7] Some have quenched the Spirit of God--1 Thessalonians 5:19.

8] Some become tossed to and fro on every wind of doctrine--Ephesians 4:14

9] Some will come to a point where they will not endure sound doctrine

10] The church will shift and change their doctrine upsetting some or many.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to

themselves teachers, having itching ears;

4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

11) Some get obsessed about a specific doctrine or seemingly Bible truth (actually false) and hinder or destroy their own salvation in their obsession with it.  They will show a great need to propagate it and/or need to be right about it.

I end the sermon by giving a promise about salvation as stated in Matthew 24:13

“He that endures unto the end shall be saved.”