POINTS OF TRUTH CHRISTIAN MINISTRIES

Newsletter

Crusade Church of God

By: Larry R. Lasiter

The sermon is over, and hundreds or even thousands begin to make their way toward the podium. They are responding to an altar call from the speaker. And as they come down the aisles they hear a song being sung in their behalf. The words "just as I am" resonate in their ears.

It is a very emotional moment for many. They have been afflicted with various problems and are even weary of living in some cases. But tonight they have hope, hope that this experience will change their lives, that it will be the answer to their problems.

Sadly, after this emotional experience, most will fall right back into the same state they had hoped to get out of. Why? Because emotional experiences don't last. They may motivate you temporarily to make some hard changes in your life, but when the energy wears off so does the desire to truly want God to transform you into the holiness of His likeness. It would mean letting go and letting God. Letting go of your own will and submitting to His.

It's easy to get in the "employment line" to go to work "serving God," but it's difficult to let God go to work at changing the specifics of our lives.

It's easy and even exciting to share the gospel with others in personal evangelism, handing out tracts etc., but it can be uncomfortable to our natural man when God begins asking us to leave behind what we think we must hold onto.

Though God always gives much, much more, still He always asks of things from those whom He calls into a relationship with Him.

He asked Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, even though He had placed it in the center of the Garden of Eden. He asked Abraham to leave Ur, possibly the greatest city ever, to wander in the desert, then later asked him to offer his only son in sacrifice.

He asked Moses to leave his safety in Midian and face off with the Pharaoh of Egypt. He asked a poor widow to give her last meal to Elijah, one of His prophets. Jesus asked a young Jewish ruler who was rich, to sell it all, give it to the poor and follow Him as a disciple though He often had no place to lay His head.

He asked faithful Daniel to endure captivity and enslavement to the Babylonians. He asked him later to be faithful even as he was being thrown into a den of hungry lions. He asked Daniel's three friends to remain faithful even when being threatened to be thrown into a fiery furnace. Jesus asked that eleven of His twelve disciples be martyred for the cause of the gospel, and the twelfth, John, was asked to endure rejection by the vast majority of the church and be imprisoned on an island called Patmos. As Hebrews Chapter 11 tells us, the faithful have always suffered. Some were martyred, others imprisoned and the prophet Isaiah was even sawn in two.

And He asks all who want salvation from their sins and from being thrown into a Lake of Fire to repent from practicing sin as a way of life.

To repent means to change, not just to be sorry. Without this change there can be no forgiveness.

Often, when someone who is living outside the will of their Creator hears the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they feel a sense of remorse. This remorse can lead to powerful enough emotions to cause them to rush to the altar, which is symbolic for the place before the Mercy Seat of God. There they cry out, expressing their regret for past sins and pleading for God's mercy and forgiveness.

But without real repentance there will be no lasting change and no entrance into the grace of salvation. Notice,- "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge His people." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:26-31)

The vast majority of those who make their way to the altar following an emotional plead are feeling temporary remorse not true repentance. Please don't think that I am speaking out against emotions because they are a creation of God and a gift to man. It is not wrong to be emotional in your approach to God, our heavenly Father and Jesus are emotional toward us, it is just wrong to be emotional without having a repentant heart. It's like saying "I'm really sorry for committing sin, but I'm going to continue to do it." Or, "Please forgive me of this sin, I know it puts distance between you and me, but I would rather hold it near than to have You near."

When people fall back into the same rut they had hoped to get out of, their last state is often worse than the first. They may feel that they have let God down so badly that He could not possibly forgive them. Some soon find themselves full of guilt and without hope. They feel unworthy to come before God in prayer and soon lose interest in attending worship services. After a time they find themselves in the very place their enemy, Satan wants them to be, alone and isolated from faithful Christian friends.

The truth is, God is both willing and able to forgive anyone who turns to Him with a repentant heart.

It is real repentance that "jump-starts" God's promise to give us a life of victory and a crown tomorrow. The lie is that you have betrayed God past the point of forgiveness. This is a lie straight from the Devil designed to engender fear and hopelessness so that you will not approach the Throne of Grace for forgiveness.

God is well aware of our sins and weaknesses, yet He loved us even while we were practicing sinners. God the Father loves us with a love so great that He gave His only Son, not only to die, but to endure a horrible beating and the shame of being nailed alive to a wooden cross. Jesus, the Savior of all who will receive Him as Lord of their lives, loved us to the point of willingly laying down His sinless life so that we might live.

If your conscience can still be pierced you have not become hardened of heart. It is very important though, to not put God off when He is working to make changes in your life,- He will not wait indefinitely.

Notice this parable of Jesus,- "A Certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, "Behold, for THREE YEARS I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any, Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?" And he answered and said to him, "Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year fine; but if not, cut it down." (Luke 13:6-9)

The "certain man" is analogous of God the Father and the "vineyard-keeper" analogous of Jesus. The "fig tree" is of course analogous of a Christian, one whom God has planted and is expecting to grow and produce useful spiritual fruits. Notice that there is a period of time which the tree is given to bear fruit. A tree which never bears fruit proves itself to be useless to the one who planted it, therefore it is cut down and removed so that another may be planted in its place. This of course is not what the owner of the vineyard nor the vineyard-keeper wants, it is the last resort after all attempts to stimulate growth has been exhausted.

Like the vineyard-keeper who digs around and fertilizes the plant, Jesus too works hard in us to stimulate spiritual growth which will produce wonderful fruits in our lives. Sometimes He lifts a spiritual mirror to our faces that we might see the real condition of our spiritual lives. This can be extremely painful, we do not like what we see,- it shakes up and rearranges our view of ourselves. It disturbs our comfort zone. He may convict us to give up something we know we should but don't really want to.

He may reveal a deadly hidden sin in us such as vanity or pride which we were not completely aware of before. Occasionally Jesus gives us a good hard reality slap to shake loose the shackles of delusion that we may see the light of truth.

It has often been said that truth is the first casualty of war. I believe this to be true, but I also believe that truth is the first casualty in any conflict, even in those which take place in the family, workplace and among friends. Jesus said of Himself, "I am the truth,"- he who receives Jesus receives truth. And he who leaves truth leaves Jesus.

Throughout our Christian walk Jesus reveals truth to us that lets us know where we have been in error that we might change.

We may find that we have been less than honest in business or with a friend and need to ask forgiveness. We may find that something we have been doing is wrong which calls for a change. We may even find that we have tried to worship God in a way in which He does not accept, then we must change.

It can be difficult to be a truth searcher in an age where there is no acceptance of absolute truth, but Jesus said that God is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. Notice,- "But an hour is coming and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit; and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24) Without truth there is only delusion.

A Christian's condition is often very different from his position. His position is one of purity and righteousness before God. He is clothed with the righteousness of Jesus.

The Apostle John says that sin is not even imputed to a Christian because he lives a repentant life.(1 John 3:9) He can boldly approach the Throne of God knowing that he has been purchased with the blood of Jesus and is forgiven of all moments of weakness past, present and future. Paul said that with his mind he agreed with the commandments of God, but that he found that his natural body and its desires constantly waged war against his spirit. But he concluded that though sin was present with him at all times, it did not belong to him for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. (Romans 7&8)

While our position is one of righteousness our condition is anything but. It is our condition which needs the transformation from being motivated and driven by the flesh to being motivated and guided by the spirit of God.

The old chains of disobedience, stubbornness and rebellion need to be broken that we might find the liberty of serving God and His glorious Son with a whole and devoted heart. That we may become a vessel worthy of receiving the blessings of God poured out on our lives and in our families.

Let us allow God to make us into His image and likeness instead of allowing Satan to deceive us into making God into our likeness.

The Bible says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) God says "I change not!" (Malachi 3:6) So, if there is any changing to do, and there is, it is we who must do the changing.

A Christian's belief system must be based squarely on the teachings of the Bible. He must be a truth searcher.

Jesus said If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32) Jesus is not only the truth, but He is also the Word, abiding in Him through the Word sets us free from our enslavement to sin, it breaks the bonds of deception and delusion. Notice verse 34,- "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is the slave of sin." The Bible brings light where before there was only darkness. It reveals to us the things which God requires of His faithful children and also the things which He despises and forbids.

Having said these things, I should add that it is only by God's grace that any of us have the understanding of His will that we do. None of us have a perfect understanding of His Word, but God is well aware of this. He wants us to continually seek His will and faithfully submit to Him as we receive understanding.

Therefore we must be careful in our judgment of others, realizing that we cannot make the claim that we have never found that we have been wrong. The very evidence that we are growing and producing fruit is that we have discovered areas where we were in error and allowed God to lovingly correct us.

Every religious person on this earth has a set of beliefs, a standard by which he believes that if he is faithful to, he will find favor with God. This includes every religion and way of life that has ever been practiced. In the Old Testament of the Bible we find that one of the sins God had against the children of Israel was idolatry. At various times they burned their children in sacrifices to the pagan god Molech.

Their belief system compelled them to commit such a crime against God and humanity, because their priests taught them that they must offer these sacrifices to ensure blessings from Molech and to appease his anger. But this was a Satanic lie. The Bible forbids human sacrifice and plainly says that there are no gods other than the God who authored the Bible.

With this in mind, what about the countless thousands of innocent children who were burned for this erroneous belief? All who gave up sons and daughters did so believing that it was necessary to ensure blessings and avoid Molech's wrath. No doubt, they agonized and mourned bitterly as they watched their own offspring be slaughtered and burned in the flames. How will these parents feel when they are resurrected and learn that they were misled by their priests and that their children suffered in vain?

Perhaps the opposite of this belief of extreme sacrifice, is the concept so prevalent today, that of nothing really matters. That it really doesn't matter how you worship and serve God. There is an attitude even among Christians today that God will accept their worship and service to Him outside of the way in which He instructs. There are people who are bent on worshiping the God of the Bible according to their ways and desires instead of His.

These same people would never go fishing without checking the regulations and limits of the Lake they were fishing. They may carefully observe the traffic laws when they drive. They make sure their children are in school at the appointed dates, days and times. They make sure their tax return is in the mail by April 15^th.

And yet they do little research into the Bible to see if they are conforming to the will of God. God knows we will never get everything just right, but He does want us to try. He does want us to seek His will by prayerfully searching for the truths contained in His Word. After all, the Bible is His Word to us.

The Apostle Peter said that the problems experienced by ancient Israel were recorded for our benefit so that we Christians would not fall into the same examples of disobedience. Let's take a look at one of those lessons found in Exodus chapter 32. Moses was on Mt. Sinai and had been there for weeks. The children of Israel grew impatient and went to Moses' brother Aaron whom Moses had left in charge, and asked him to make them a representation of their God to go before them as they left the wilderness.

The people were concerned that Moses would never return from the mountain. They had seen God as a pillar of fire and also as a pillar of cloud, but they did not know His true likeness. Many of the idols representing the gods of Egypt where they had lived were made in the likeness of animals, so it was not an unusual thing that Aaron made a golden calf to represent God.

Let it not escape our understanding that this calf represented the God of Israel, not a pagan god. In this the children of Israel were trying to honor their God. They donated precious and costly jewelry made of silver, gold and precious stones for the making of this image. Notice verse 4,- "And he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it into a molten calf; and they said, THIS IS YOUR GOD, O Israel, WHO BROUGHT YOU UP FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT."

Aaron did not say, "Behold the god of Egypt," he said "Behold the God who brought you out of Egypt." In effect he was saying, -You have seen Him as a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud, now you see Him as a beautiful golden calf. Aaron was not presenting a different god, but a another likeness of the true God. Although, Aaron did not know God's true likeness and form, he believed that God would accept this calf in honor. After all, he had worked diligently to make it very beautiful and God's people had given so sacrificially.

Further notice verses 5-6,- "Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord." So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play."

The feast Aaron proclaimed was "for the Lord." It was a festival celebrated in honor of God, a day set apart for offerings and worship. God's people sacrificed the choicest of their animals to God.

Now before we go on let's recap this story. God's chosen children approached Aaron and asked him to make them a likeness of the Lord. They gave of themselves gold, silver and precious stones as offerings for this project. It pleased Aaron so he built the golden calf and an altar to receive the sacrificial offerings. He then proclaimed a festival to be celebrated the following day to honor and worship the Lord.

This sounds like actions designed to please God. It appears that the hearts of Aaron and the people were properly motivated. But was it pleasing to God?

Notice verse 7,- "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves."

Not only did God not accept these sacrifices and method of worship, He was so angry with Israel that He wanted to destroy them and start over again with only the offspring of faithful Moses.

Verse 8 tells us that Israel had corrupted themselves by turning away from the commandment to not make and worship graven images. Obviously, they did not believe that it applied in this case because the image was not a pagan idol but an image made to represent the true God. The festival was not a pagan festival celebrated to honor a pagan god or idol, but a festival celebrating and honoring their divine Deliverer.

There are modern parallels today. All my youth I celebrated Christmas to honor the birth of Jesus. This is what I had been taught by my parents and by the Baptist church we attended. I believed that this observance was somewhere in the pages of the Bible.

I also celebrated Halloween and Valentine's Day though I really didn't think of them as Christian observances. I never thought at all they it might be wrong to participate in these practices. But I never really did any research either. I didn't question. Much like the children of Israel with the "festival to the Lord," and worship of the golden calf , I just accepted them because everybody else seemed to.

Every spring I would get new clothes for Easter, which I believed to be the time of Jesus' resurrection. I did wonder why we elaborately decorated boiled eggs, hid them for a "Easter Egg Hunt" and yet told everybody the "Easter Rabbit" did it. But again, much like the children of Israel, I enjoyed it because it was fun. I never really questioned whether it was right or not, and looking back, I don't think I would have truly cared. I was very comfortable in my state of delusion, thinking these things were honoring God, when I was really just in it for the fun.

But for me things changed in 1974 when I was a young married man 20 years of age. It was at this time that I turned to God for the first time in my life, truly seeking His will. I spent about three weeks alone praying and reading the Bible. Soon, I was forced to question many things I had previously assumed to be correct. As I learned from God's Word I changed, and the changes are still taking place 27 years later.

I learned that God wants His children to be obedient to what He reveals to them, and walk daily in His way of life. I learned that Christmas was an observance predating the birth of Jesus and was known in Rome as the Saturnalia. And that it was a festival to honor pagan gods. I learned that Easter was anciently known as a fertility festival to honor the Egyptian goddess Eostre. Then the "Easter Rabbit" and "Easter Eggs" associated with its observance began to make sense. I learned even more shocking things concerning Valentine's Day and Halloween.

I was very thankful that God had given me not only the truth of these shrouded holidays, but also a heart to despise them. When I stopped observing these holidays it immediately caused problems with my parents and other family members. My wife Treon and I already had a newborn baby girl and I didn't know if God was going to open her eyes or not. I understood clearly that one could only come to God when He specifically calls them, Jesus said,- "No one can come to Me unless the Father calls him." (John 6:44)

Thankfully, God did call Treon into His grace and gave her a heart to seek His will. Since that time we and our five children have been truth searchers and continue to receive God's out-pouring of blessings

Before I close this editorial, I want to make it clear, that by far, the greatest truth God has ever revealed to us is that He loves us so much that He gave His only Son to suffer and die on the cross for our sins. And the greatest gift God has ever given us is our beloved Savior, Jesus.

Making simple changes in religious observances etc, are the easiest of all the changes which God wants to make in our lives.

The real dynamic changes take place deep within producing wonderful character transformations.

He wants us to become like His Son Jesus.

Without neglecting outward changes, we must never lose focus of the truth that the truly significant changes must take place within our minds and hearts. These are the weightier matters of Christianity. Let us move on to perfection in Christ.

I hope that you are like us, in that, we don't want to be known as the "family or church who keeps the Sabbath," or the "family or church who doesn't celebrate certain holidays." But the family, church and ministry who loves the Lord with a whole and devoted heart and is seeking to please Him.A people who seek the Lord as truth searchers because they want to be transformed into the likeness of His holiness. And a people like Joshua who said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Is Passover Observance for Christians?

By: Larry R. Lasiter

Mention that you observe the Passover, but with New Testament symbols to most "Christians" and you will often be asked,- "Are you a Christian Jew?" It is the common conception today that Christianity observes Easter and only Jews observe the Passover. But Why?

Did you know that Jesus, Himself commanded that the Gentile converts to Christianity be taught to observe the NT Passover? He most certainly did, and though it is easy to overlook, it is right there in your Bible.

A Little Background First

The Apostle Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles, Notice,- "Seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised (Gentiles) just as Peter with the gospel to the circumcised (Israelites)." (Galatians 2:7) Paul was not one of the original twelve Apostles, but was chosen by Jesus after the resurrection. In fact, Paul led a persecution against the early Christian converts, having many arrested. But on the road to Damascus the glorified Jesus struck Paul blind and revealed to him that He had indeed been the Messiah and commissioned him as Apostle to the Gentile converts. All but one of Paul's letters to the Churches were to predominately Gentile congregations.

Did Paul Teach Gentiles to Observe the Passover?

In his first letter to the Churches of God in the Gentile city of Corinth Paul wrote,- "For Christ, OUR PASSOVER also has been sacrificed. LET US therefore CELEBRATE THE FEAST, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the UNLEAVENED BREAD of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:7-8) Paul was not only teaching Gentile Christians to observe the Passover, but to "Celebrate the Feast" of UNLEAVENED BREAD which follows it. How can we know that Jesus instructed Paul to teach its observance? We will soon see in Chapter 11.

1 Corinthians is a "Letter" not a "Book"

What does that mean? It means that it was composed in a single time frame, and what is mentioned later may be connecting to something previously stated. And the letter was read in the Churches of Corinth from beginning to end in one sitting.

The reference to the Passover and Unleavened Bread in Chapter 5 would likely mean that the letter arrived in the spring about the time of their commanded observances.

There must have been a problem with HOW these new converts were observing the Passover, because later in his letter, Paul corrects them. It appears that some were bringing their own meals to eat before the actual Passover ceremony, and were eating freely in the presence of poorer brethren who had brought no food for themselves.

In Chapter 11, Verse 20, Paul reminds them that they are not coming together to eat the "Lord's Supper",- meaning that unlike the Jewish Passover where a lamb is eaten, that their "Lamb" is Jesus and His "meat" is unleavened bread.

Notice Verses 23-26,- "For I RECEIVED FROM THE LORD that which I ALSO DELIVERED TO YOU, that the Lord Jesus IN THE NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED took BREAD; and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said,- "THIS IS MY BODY which is for you, DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE of Me." In the same way He took THE CUP also, AFTER SUPPER, saying,- "THIS is the NEW COVENANT in MY BLOOD; DO THIS, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you PROCLAIM the LORD'S DEATH until He comes."

Notice carefully, that concerning the NT Passover observance, Paul said that he "DELIVERED" to the Gentile converts that which he had "RECEIVED" from the Lord.

Paul was not saying, "Do this ANYTIME or OFTEN." But "as often as you do" you proclaim the Lord's death. It is a memorial of the Lord's death. The memorial is 14^th Nissan, the Passover, the same day the first Passover lamb was slain in Egypt which foreshadowed the blessed Lamb to come. Remember Paul instructing them to "Celebrate the Feast" of Unleavened Bread earlier in his letter? This shows when they were partaking of the Bread and the Wine,- it was at Passover. Notice also that this is the "New Covenant" ceremony for Christians to observe, in its appointed time.

"The Lord's APPOINTED TIMES which you shall proclaim as HOLY CONVOCATIONS,- MY APPOINTED TIMES ARE THESE. . .In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the Lord's PASSOVER." (Leviticus 23:1,5)

On that first Passover in Egypt, a lamb was slain, its blood smeared on the front of the Israelites homes to protect them from DEATH which would pass through the land THAT EVENING. More than 1000 years later, a Lamb called Jesus gave His life on this very day, the Passover, the Lord's appointed time to spill the precious blood that would save the world. This year it is the evening of April 6^th.

The Beggar Who Gave All

By Dustin McNeese

It was mid-December and the temperature was expected to drop into the sub-zero range. The boisterous north wind was almost unbearable making the need for shelter a must. As the weather ripped through the old man's skimpy jacket he began to mull over his options. Being homeless and without food or family, his options were very limited. His thoughts raced through his mind, knowing that if he didn't find shelter he wouldn't make it through the night.

In desperation he began going from door to door hoping that someone would afford a spare room in their garage or maybe even an empty bedroom for the night. Everyone's answers were as cold as the outside temperature. Defeated and humiliated, the old man found an overhang that offered a little protection from the wind. As he sat there he noticed that the lights were on in the church across the street. It was much like seeing a lighthouse on a stormy night. A ray of hope, a glimmer of possibility.

Instantly he was up and running toward the open door. As he walked in he notice that it was full, hardly an empty seat anywhere. As he forced his way down the aisle, he found an empty place next to a very well-dressed family. Truth of the matter was that everyone was very well-dressed but him. Soon after he found a seat, the minister began to speak. Although most of the sermon was about the direct correlation between God's love for you and how it is represented by the amount of money in your bank account, suddenly he began to talk about the sacrifice of Jesus and how He was the Way to salvation.

This deeply touched the poor, homeless man. After the message Ushers began to pass around the offertory plates. The old man looked around at the other people in the congregation and noticed that many were smiling and he began to wonder why. Then he realized that there was a sort of competition going on. Many were smiling because they believed that they had given more than others in their pew.

When the plate was brought to him, he asked the Usher to place it on the floor. Although, bewildered, the Usher did as the old man had asked. Then with every eye watching, the old man stood up and placed both feet into the plate. Then with a loud voice he said, "Money and possessions I have few, but everything I have and all that I am, I freely give to God." The people sat in stunned silence, in awe of the words that had just been spoken.

In that moment they realized that the offerings that they had given paled in comparison to the gift this old man had offered. They had all given out of their surplus not out of their need, but this old beggar was offering all to God, even his own life.

Let us ask ourselves how much we have placed in offertory to the God who offered the life of His own Son for us.

Have we been satisfied to merely give 10% which is already holy and is the Lord's?

It crossed my mind how terrible it would be if Jesus had died to cover only 10% of my sins. I would still be hopelessly lost and doomed forever. But He died for 100% of my sins, so should I not give Him 100% of my life?

Instead of being satisfied with the bare minimum it takes to be saved we should strive for the ultimate reward He so desires to give us. Let us take up our cross daily and in every circumstance and strive to live up to the example that was set before us in Jesus. Let us deny ourselves and place both feet in the offering plate.

Like the river written of in Ezekiel 47, let us desire to be in deep enough water that we no longer stand on our own power but are carried by the current of God's will. Let us not be satisfied to sit in the shallows where we are in control our movement.

I feel it is imperative that we place all our worries and problems at the altar of God so we can fully dedicate our lives to doing His work. We must jump headfirst into the unseen and have faith that God will work the details out. God desires us to place our all in the offering plate so that we can be a consistently useful tool for Him.

This may mean falling into uncomfortable circumstances, but He knows the end result. Just as in the above story, God used a poor, homeless beggar to bring an entire congregation to the knowledge of where they were lacking in their service to God.

Sometimes God may ask us to be that poor, homeless man, but we know that He will always use us for the glory and purpose of His divine will, which benefits both Him and us. Simply put, to love, is to give.

SUBMISSION From Your Will to God's Will

PART ONE: By: Larry R. Lasiter

Perhaps never before in history has there been so little respect for authority, especially in the United States of America. We live in a time when it seems that every rule is subject to challenge. A time when citizens openly and boldly ridicule their leaders publicly. Not to defend President Clinton's actions, but America's attitude was ever apparent during the impeachment hearings. Certainly, any leader, especially an elected one, must be held accountable for his actions, but if the process is not done with dignity the respect, the office itself suffers damage. The partisanship involved in this situation sickened many Americans, as they witnessed one side try to minimize the seriousness of the President's actions, while the other side was trying to show that the charges were so serious that he should be removed from office. Personally, I was hoping he would be removed from office, but knew that it is God who appoints and removes leaders. As we will see in this study, -there is no authority that has not been established by God, and that he who resists authority opposes the ordinance of God, for they are all ordained by God. "Ordain" means to "appoint" or "set in place." Though we should not follow them in sin nor condone their sinful behavior, God tells us not to even speak against our leaders.

America's police officers, established to serve and protect its citizens are routinely treated with disrespect. Often belittled, called names such as "pigs", and used as the butt of jokes. In times past, I myself have made the comment,- "He's in a hurry to get to the donut shop" as an officer in emergency alert sped by. Even if sometimes true, that was so disrespectful of me, and unfair to the families who have lost loved ones in serving and protecting citizens. They are regularly put into harm's way to serve us, with some getting killed, and we still tend to argue with them over a traffic ticket. In our society, God has placed our leaders in authority, and our leaders govern through various agencies, including law enforcement. As citizens, God expects us to respectfully submit to them as long as they don't violate the rights given to us by the Constitution, or give us orders contrary to God's orders.

We live in the days of "I'm out of here!" More than half of America's marriages end in divorce, with more than two-thirds failing in their second marriage. So often it is heard by the wife,- "He's not going to tell me what to do. . .Nobody's going to tell me what to do!" Sadly, children can be heard to echo the same as they reach their teen years. Because of an independent, unsubmissive mind-set so many run away from home and end up involved in prostitution and on drugs or dead.

Most of America's children speak nicer and more respectful to their friends than to their parents. And what pleases their peers often means more than what pleases their parents. God thundered from Mt. Sinai,- "Honor and Obey your Father and Mother so that your days on the earth will be prolonged." To "honor" means "to weigh heavily." What your parents say and how they want you to be should weigh heavily on you so as to cause you to do what is pleasing to them as long as it is not contrary to God's Word.

Notice that "father" was named before "mother", it is because the father is placed as the head of the family. A wife should never allow herself to be deceived into believing that her family does not need her husband as its head, for God has ordained the husband for that responsibility. A family where the husband is not the head stands outside the covering of God's blessing. God's protective covering shelters like an umbrella, stand under it and be protected, move outside it and you are subject to satanic attack. God's covering is His shield of faith which extinguishes the Devil's fiery darts. (Ephesians 6) But a shield only works when you stay behind it. God's blessing is like a flow of water falling in a straight and narrow line, to receive the blessing you must be in line and directly under the flow. The blessing will not fall on you if you move outside the flow. Those out of line, or unruly, will not receive blessing and protection.

Because I am an artist, people sometimes say to me,- "I don't know how you are able to create such art, I can't even draw a straight line." To which I always reply,- "I can't either, that's why I use a ruler." I can draw "unruly" lines easily, but not "straight" lines without a ruler. The rule of faith for the Christian is the Bible, it shows us how to be straight and in line with God, and instructs us to admonish the unruly. In the family, God has placed the husband in authority over his wife, and both parents in authority over the children. Thus, God has placed the wife under submission to her husband and children under submission to their parents.

In the work-place we find employees submitting to their employers only out of fear of losing their jobs. For most, their heart is not in it, in fact many harbor a rebellious, insubordinate attitude toward their superiors and employers. Many go to their family members and friends with grumbling complaints about those over them at work. How often have you been told how incompetent a superior is, meaning how much better the person telling you could do the job? God expects us to give honor to our employers. The Apostle Paul even instructed slaves who had been converted to Christianity, to honor and submit to their masters, even if they were ill-treated by them.

The Church of God has similar problems with lack of submission. While attending two separate church conventions the past two years I had the privilege of hearing two heads of different ministerial organizations speak.. Each freely admitted publicly that they no longer gave corrective sermons. The reason, as one honestly said,- "People leave my church." The "I'm out of here" attitude is alive and well in the churches. Pastors find themselves with unruly members who will not accept correction.

Yet God has ordained Pastors not only to oversee and teach, but to correct. So Pastors stand at the cross-roads of pleasing men or pleasing God.

And the church stands at the cross-roads of submission or insubordination. Not that a Pastor has dominion over one's faith, or has the authority to dictate what your conviction must be.

The Apostle Paul said brethren stand on their own faith, and instructed tolerance for minor differences in knowledge and understanding. But he also taught that the Church should "submit" (Gr. hupeiko-"yield to") to its leaders because they are held accountable to God for them. And, although Peter instructed Pastors not to lord it over the brethren, the church was told to hold them in "high honor", meaning their counsel should "weigh heavily" on the ears of those who hear.

Paul told the Hebrew Church to "Obey them", from the Greek Peitho meaning to "depend on", "trust in" and "have confidence in." One should never be a part of a fold in which the shepherd is not dependable or trustworthy, or a fold without a shepherd, for this is how Christ built His church. But we should understand that God calls His chosen, His "sheep", and that Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd has "under-shepherds" for every fold of His. Pastor and shepherd have the same meaning, so an assembly without a Pastor is like a flock without a shepherd. If you are truly called by God to be one of His sheep, then understand that He has prepared a fold for you who is overseen by a under-shepherd. The Flock of God has enemies, and must be protected, just as a real flock must be protected. The shepherd is among the Flock to lead, watch over, minister to the needs of the injured or sick, and protect the sheep from predators.

Paul told the Ephesians, that leadership in the church is a gift from Christ. But so many today grumble and find fault with every thing their Pastor says or does. Sadly, they have a rebellious heart and discredit their Pastor in order to convince themselves he is not trustworthy or dependable; nor can confidence be put in him. This attitude always leads to malicious slander and when confronted about it they often say,- "I'm out of here!" All authority in the church and out is ordained by God, if one will not submit to their government, their employer, their husband, their parents, their Pastor, they stand in opposition to God.

My friends listen to these warnings from Jude, the brother of Jesus, and the Apostle Peter, concerning those insubordinate and marked out for condemnation. Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and REJECT AUTHORITY, and REVILE ANGELIC MAJESTIES. But Michael, the archangel, when he disputed with the Devil and argued about the body of Moses, DID NOT DARE PRONOUNCE AGAINST HIM A RAILING JUDGMENT, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." (Jude vs 8-9) Notice these are those who "reject authority" and disrespect angelic authority. Even God recognizes Satan's authority because He gave it to him. Christ will remove him at His return.

"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and DESPISE AUTHORITY. Daring, SELF-WILLED, they do not tremble when they REVILE ANGELIC MAJESTIES, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord." (2 Peter 2:9-11) "Self-Willed" rather than God-Willed.

GOD COMMANDS SUBMISSION IN FIVE AREAS OF OUR LIVES

(1) To HIM personally (2) King/Government (3) Employer (4) Family (5) Church

God tells us to conduct ourselves in fear during the time of our stay upon the earth, carefully submitting to God and His instruction. (1 Peter 1:17)

Email: lasiter@pointsoftruth.com