july 11 the stuck record

The stuck record. One of the drawbacks of the old fashioned vinyl record was that if it got scratched it would skip or repeat the same spot over and over. Dan Rather was a CBS news reporter for 4 decades beginning in the 1960s. Before that he attended Sam Houston University in Huntsville, Texas and worked at the local radio station. On Sundays he opened the station and closed the station that night. He was the only employee on Sunday.  His only break came in the early evening when he put on a record of the bosses relative preaching for an hour. In his book, The Camera Never Blinks, Rather tells a story of what happened one Sunday evening. He would put the record on, go to the Hitching Post restaurant to order supper and as usual bring it back to the station to eat. One evening with the record going he noticed an attractive new waitress and decided there was no rush to get back to the station. As he was enjoying the scenery…scratch that, as he was enjoying his supper when the station owner called the restaurant. Said he: “Rather get back to the station. Now! And you’re fired!” Jumping into the truck he turned the radio on to hear the stuck record repeating the preacher over and over saying, “Go to hell. Go to hell. Go to hell.” Fortunately, his boss changed his mind and didn’t fire him. The record wasn’t supposed to get stuck. We make plans but many times our plans go south. Do you set goals? Do you make plans? The Bible instructs us to seek God’s will in our planning. James 4:13-15  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. We ought to say “If the Lord will…” Do you seriously seek God’s will for your life? Are you willing to let Him lead you to do that which He wants you to do? Many people make their plans and then expect God to bless their plans. Others think they can manipulate God by asking Him for what so ever they want and believe God is expected to be their genie in a bottle and obey their command. 1 John 5:14  And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: Who are you to command God to give you what you want? We must ask according to His will. Do you seek His will in your life?

Heat wave. It sure is hot. Climate change. Seems like only a few years ago we were warned that by now the polar bears would be gone because of Global warming. Seems like it was referred to as “an inconvenient truth.” Beaches would be flooded, and some islands would disappear with the rising water as the ice melted. Prophets of doom still chide us for not taking them seriously. Now I try to have an open mind and consider all the facts and pray before making my mind up. And I realize sometimes my conclusion is wrong and I need to reevaluate. I have no doubt that man contributes to climate change. A little. But the greatest force affecting climate change is Jesus Christ. He is trying to get the attention of a sinful world to tell them that they need to repent or suffer the consequences. We are experiencing what Jesus told us we would experience in the last days. Matthew 24:7-8 (KJV)
7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8  All these are the beginning of sorrows. The “beginning of sorrows.” We are experiencing the beginning. It will get worse. The sun will scorch the earth so much in the future that men will curse God for bringing it about. Revelation 16:8-9 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9  And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. It will definitely get hotter in the future. God is in control. He is allowing us inconvenience to get our attention. We can hear His message and repent, or we can continue living in rebellion and blaspheme His name. Revelation 4:1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. As I understand the Bible any day now we can expect to hear a trumpet call in the sky and all the Christians will make a flight through space to Heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Many people disagree with me on my belief. That is okay. We are free to believe as we desire. I desire the truth. I believe Jesus will take us Christians to Heaven in Revelation 4:1 which will be before the scorching heat of Revelation 16. Have you put your faith in Him?

Little cross. My friend and I were walking by the vendor booths at the Lone Star Rally in Galveston, Texas. One of the booths was for a Christian motorcycle organization. They were handing out little wooden crosses. An enthusiastic member held up the cross and asked, “Would you like to have a little cross?” I told him “No thank you.” But he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. “Oh, come on. Wouldn’t you like to have a little cross?” Thinking I would hurt his feelings if I said “no” I said, “Okay” and reached out for it.  Then he quickly pulled it away from me saying, “First you have to answer a question.” I was a little agitated but said, “Okay. What is the question?” Said he,  “On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rate your righteousness?” Where would I rate my righteousness? Humm. I told him “Zero.” He moved back with a look of surprise on his face. He wasn’t expecting that answer. He turned to my friend. “On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rate your righteousness?” My friend answered, “Same as him” pointing to me. This really perplexed the guy. I explained, “In my own righteousness I rate a zero. However, in the righteousness of Jesus that He has given to me when He saved me, I rate a 100.” Then I explained to him that when Jesus saved me, He blotted out all of my sins, came to live in my heart, and now in God’s eyes I am not guilty of sin. I am a new person in Christ. Now actually the question is clever, and I appreciate the witness he and his brothers were giving at the rally. I hope they led many people to the Lord. Most people I suppose would rate their righteousness at 6 or 8. After all we aren’t perfect, yet neither have we killed someone. So compared to most people we are not as bad as the worst. This would give the cross giver the chance to explain that according to the Bible we are all lost and unrighteous in the sight of God. Romans 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Then I suppose he could continue with Bible verses showing that we have all sinned and need to be saved. Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Then hopefully he would explain to them that if they are sorry for their sins, if they repent and cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, they would be saved. Romans 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. By the way. On a scale of 1 to 10 where would you rate your righteousness? 

Take my daughters. Genesis 19:8  Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.Queers. Back when I was a teenager the word “queer” was almost a cuss word. It was an insult to be called a queer. Today in this wicked society it seems to be a badge of honor. How perverted the world has become. In this passage Sodom had become so wicked God sent angels to deliver the only righteous man to be found in the entire city. Lot. Abraham’s nephew. The queers (I cringe to use that word) in the city tried to beat down Lot’s door to get to the “men” who were angels so they could have sex with them. The angels caused those outside the door to become blind. Lot lived with these perverts. They had an influence on his thinking. He was willing to give his two virgin daughters to these perverts if they would leave the “men” inside his house alone. Give them his daughters? Jesus said: 2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, Christians are in the world, but we are not to be of the world. 1 John 2:15   Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. We live among them. We were one of them before we got saved. Be careful who you chose as your friends because they will have an influence on you. I wonder how Lot’s daughters felt hearing their father offer their virginity to a mob of queers. How disappointing. And the men rejected the virgins. The angels led Lot’s family out of Sodom to safety. We remember Lot’s wife looked around at the fire and brimstone and was turned into a pillar of salt. That night in a cave homeless, wifeless and motherless, Lot got drunk. Drunkenness solves the problems doesn’t it? Wrong! Lot’s older daughter plotted to get him drunk and have sex with him. The next night his youngest daughter got him drunk and had sex with him. Lot didn’t have any recollection of having sex with either of his daughters. Both daughters got pregnant. One sexual encounter can lead to pregnancy? Yes. These bastard (another word I cringe to use) children born from incest became the fathers of two nations that hated God’s people. Abraham had given Lot a choice when he divided the land. Lot chose the land that appealed to the lust of the flesh. His choice messed up his life. My choices have messed up my life. Your choices have messed up your life. Jesus can take a mess and make something new and beautiful out of it. Will you let him make your life beautiful?

Take my concubine. God created Adam and Eve. His purpose was one man married to one woman for life. Man distorted God’s ideal and did things his own way. Mark Twain, (Samuel Clements) said the Bible clearly states a man should only have one wife. Matthew 6:24  No man can serve two masters: In the Old Testament it was common for a man to have multiple wives and even concubines. A concubine was a “female conjugally united to a man.” Illustrated Bible Dictionary. A concubine was a wife of secondary rank. Perhaps you remember back then women were considered possessions such as a camel or a donkey. Thank God Jesus changed that. But… even today many “educated” people cannot define what a woman is. What a sick world we live in. There was a Levite in Judges 19 that had a concubine. A Levite was a descendant of Levi and a man who assisted the priests in their service to the Lord. This Levites’s concubine played the whore against him. Judges 19:2   And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months. After 4 months he and his servant went to his father-in-laws’ house to get her. After several days of visiting they left to go home. When night came there was no room for them in the inn. (Inns in those days were in peoples houses.) Staying in the street an old man passed by and insisted they stay with him. That evening some homosexuals beat on the door demanding the Levite be handed over to them for sexual purposes. Instead of being abused this Levite handed the men his concubine. They wanted him but settled for her. They abused her all night. At dawn she crawled to the door where her husband was safe inside. She couldn’t  respond being dead when he opened the door, so he put her on his donkey, took her home and took a knife and divided her body into 12 pieces. He then sent a part of her body to each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Judges 19:29  And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. The rest of Israel became enraged and fought the tribe of Benjemin which refused to hand the murderers over for justice. Judges 17:6   In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. America. We are close to having lawlessness as Israel did. Men cannot do which is right in their own eyes and go against God and his people and us expect God to bless us. Stand up for truth. Stand up, stand up for Jesus. Vote for people who uphold the Bible. Lord have mercy on the USA.
 

Use it or lose it. What are some things that if left to themselves will ruin? Automobiles. (Actually, anything that uses gasoline with gas in the tank left unused for several years will need servicing to be productive again.) Buildings if left unattended will deteriorate. I could say children and be correct, but I am referring to inanimate things. Things that if left to themselves that will ruin. How about your arm? If for no reason you put your arm in a sling for 6 months do you agree you would lose the usefulness of that arm? It probably could become productive again with some exercise but immediately it is basically useless. Use it or lose it. Playing golf? Bowling? Target practice? There are some things that need to be used or they become worthless. What about money? Money? How could hoarding money make it useless? Even when you die someone will benefit from the money. Ecclesiastes 5:13 There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. How could riches kept for the owners end up hurting them? All of us should realize that when we leave this world, we can’t take our money with us. Ecclesiastes 5:15   As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. How much money did Howard Hughes leave behind? All of it. Money cannot get you into Heaven. However, for an obedient Christian to use his money for God’s glory, his reward will follow him to Heaven. Revelation 14:13 …that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. Let me give you an example. A wealthy Christian is led of the Lord to buy a new $400,000 airplane and donate it to a Christian organization which uses airplanes to minister to the needs of their missionaries. These missionaries live and serve in remote places that would take many hours or days to travel to by land. Airplanes land on dangerous grass runways cleared out of the jungle to bring food, medical supplies, mail and necessities to these servants of the Lord. Airplanes also evacuate the critically ill or injured for medical attention. If the Christian dies leaving his money behind when the Lord impressed upon him to buy and donate a plane, that Christian will have less rewards in Heaven. And… What happens to the money his heirs inherit? Proverbs 20:21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but the end thereof shall not be blessed. Many an inheritance dollar has ruined many a person. Wealth unearned frequently is quickly wasted. In today’s society drugs are frequently purchased to keep up a habit and the person who left the money left it in vain. Invest your time, talent and money in the Kingdom of God and it is not wasted. 

Three hours a week. This title brings a smile. Some people believe a preacher only works three hours a week. If he preaches three times, then he works three hours. In college one classmate told me he was going into the ministry because so few hours of work were required. A LifeWay Research Poll in 2008 showed 65% of pastors work over 50 hours a week. Of those 35% work over 60 hours a week. I would be interested in the results of an updated survey. It has been said, “Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” The ministry is a calling. God still calls men to be preachers. Are they special? No and yes. No in the sense they are sinners saved by grace as all Christians are. They are not perfect. They should reach for Christ like perfection but painfully are aware that they are still in the flesh and therefore not sinless. 1 John 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Jesus through John is telling us no Christian is without sin. How humbling it is to know that even though we have been redeemed and washed in the blood of Jesus we still have inconsistencies in our lives. Even men of God who were used greatly by God such as Charles H. Spurgeon remorsed that they were still wretched even though pastors. Are they special? No. They are sinners saved by grace. Are they special? Yes. Very few men are called into the ministry. As leaders for the Lord, they have been gifted to minister. Many in the ministry have not been called and are not equipped. Preachers live in a glass house. In other words, there is a higher expectation of them and their family. Many a preachers adult son or daughter do not attend church because of the way the family was treated by ungodly church members. Preachers have a greater accountability than others.  James 3:1  My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. Master meaning teacher or pastor. The more responsibility a person has the more accountability they have. For that reason, the man of God will be attacked by Satan more than the average church member. When they fall the enemy rejoices. 2 Samuel 12:14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme. Any Christian who sins is a disgrace. How much more so the preacher. Please love your pastor. Don’t worship him. Pray for him. Encourage him. Protect him. See that he gets the proper rest and provision he needs. Be there for him. Accept his weakness and imperfection. Sometimes he is very lonely. He can confide in very few. If any. Pray for his family. Thank God for him and listen to  learn as he shares what the Lord has taught him. 

What motivates you? Something drives you to be productive. Hunger will do it. Wanting things will do it. Necessity will do it. What motivates you? Many people are motivated by envy. Ecclesiastes 4:4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit. Here is that verse from the New Living Translation, Second Edition. Ecclesiastes 4:4 (NLT2) Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind. Are you motivated by envy? We see possessions others have and covet them. Sometimes this motivates us to become productive so we can enjoy what others enjoy. I believe that for the Christian we should have a different motivation. Our judgment will not be whether we are going to Heaven or not. That was decided when we knelt at the cross spiritually, repented of our sins and cried out to Jesus asking Him to save us. Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. At that moment our sins are forgiven, and we are bound for Heaven when we die. (Graduate) With a clean slate we have been born again. 1 Peter 1:23  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. From this point on our judgment will be based on our life as a child of God. How faithful we have been since we were saved. Christians are gifted and talented. Our talent is to be used to be a blessing to others. To bring the lost to Jesus and to feed His sheep. If you run your race obediently you will have rewards in Heaven. If you stumble and neglect the gift given to you, you will still be in Heaven but suffer loss of rewards. 1 Corinthians 3:14-15  If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15  If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. The Christian’s reasonable service is to live for Jesus. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. The Christians’ motivation should be to do as much for Jesus as we possibly can. Not for reward. Not to be noticed by others. But to please the One who saved us. Not comparing ourselves to others. Comparing ourselves to ourselves. Am I doing all that my Master expects me to do? Am I doing all I am capable of doing?  That I believe should be our motivation. 

Don’t bite me. I had a coworker years ago who was homeless. We brought him into our home. He paid no rent. He provided no food. He ate ours. We helped him as much as we could. Then he complained about something. I don’t remember what, but he made it clear we were not bringing him up to his expectations. I became indignant. It takes a bit to anger me but when I reach that limit, I best leave the room or blow my witness. I explained to him that we were providing him with free lodging and food. We asked him for nothing. And he had the gall to complain? I told him that he had best think twice before biting the hand that feeds him. Have you ever had a pet who was friendly one minute and bit you the next? You learn to not trust that animal. Your kindness to that animal lessens and you may get rid of him. Many people express their discontent instead of appreciating that which is given to them. Do you ever bite the hand of Jesus? This is an uncomfortable subject. Jesus is kind to us. He hears us. He saves us if we repent and ask for His forgiveness. He adopts us into His family. He promises to supply our every need. Matthew 6:33-34  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. But then if you are like me, I am sorry to say, I become angry at circumstances and take it out on God. (True painful confessions. I hope you are not as wretched as I.) We become angry with our circumstances and then complain to Jesus. In a sense we are biting the hand which feeds us. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. How does Jesus put up with us? (Me?) He certainly proves that He was not just a man. He was and is God. Only God can take that which we dish out and still put up with us. (Me.) How ungrateful we are sometimes. His compassion is fresh each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23   It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Oh, that we could learn to roll with the punches from Satan and not criticize, complain or condemn. Can we be Christian enough to thank the Lord for all things? Ephesians 5:20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 

I don’t care. Usually, my sermons at a funeral are short. Some preachers seem to have the attitude, “Now I have a captive audience. Many of them won’t go to church but they do go to funerals and I’m gonna get them.” These preachers are entitled to their opinion; I just don’t agree with them. My funeral messages are for the family. And for the Lord. I present clearly the plan of salvation that we are all sinners and need to repent and ask Jesus to have mercy and save us from our sin. I preach comfort from the Bible as nothing can comfort the grieving as much as the Bible and God’s Holy Spirit. I see no need to go on and on. I give honor to the deceased. It would be hard for most people to understand the frustration of preaching the funeral of someone who you did not know. The preacher dares not give assurance of Heaven to someone unknown by him because in the majority of funerals the deceased did not live a life displaying the fruits of the Spirit which testify of their faith. Matthew 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Galatians 5:22-23   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. One funeral director asked me after a service, “That was a short message. Do you think that is what the family wanted.” My answer, “I don’t care what the family wanted.” That afternoon I mulled over my answer. My message was evangelistic and preached from the viewpoint that the Bible is the Word of God. If anyone rejects the Bible that is their privilege. But it occurred to me that perhaps he meant the family would have appreciated a longer sermon. To that I do care. If I preach the Bible and you don’t accept it, so be it. If I preach a sermon and disappoint the family because it is too short that is another matter. I made an appointment to talk with this funeral director. He understood that I do care if the family is not pleased with the sermon, but I don’t care if the Bible is rejected or not. (I do care but I don’t care.) I am not preaching to please the people. My mission is to preach the Word of God. It is a blessing to preach the funeral of a person who lived for Jesus. Even then though many church members are not saved. We cannot preach the deceased from hell or some halfway house into Heaven. Death closes the door for salvation. Not sorrow for sin. The lost will most definitely be sorry for sin, but their decision to receive Christ will be sealed and closed. By the way, what will be said at your funeral?