I Never Knew You

71% of Americans claim to be Christians. That means that over 215,000,000 people in the United States, are "christian".

So if so many Americans are "Christians", then we could assume the following.

Today 3,700 babies will be murdered in abortion clinics.

2627 will be killed by "christians"

Today there will be 36 DWI fatalities

25 of which will have been caused by "christians"

Today 45 people will be murdered

32 of them will die at the hands of "christians"

Today 243 rapes will be reported

173 of those will involve a "christian" aggressor.

Today 2,600 vehicles will be stolen

1,800 of those cars will be stolen by "christians"

6,088 burglaries will be reported today.

4,322 of those burglars will be "christian"

Today 2,284 violent physical assaults will take place.

over 1,600 of them will be perpetrated by a "christian"

Do you see a problem here?

"I Never Knew You!"

Matthew 7:23

1 John 5:3

"For this is the Love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are Not Burdensome."

Littered throughout the writings of John are clues, or evidences, that John gives us to let us whom believe in the Son of God know that we have Eternal Life. From the first verse to the last we see that there are many tell tale signs that we can rest assured in our salvation. Or, on the contrary, that we need to closely examine ourselves and our faith should we fall short of them. Today, I want to look at only one.

"For this is the Love of God"

In other words, we might re-phrase this "So we love God if" or "You know you have Gods love in you if".

"We keep his commandments"

This is not the first time we see this phrase in the New Testament. Remember in John 15:10 ~ "If you keep my commandments you will abide in My Love, just as I have kept my Fathers commandments and abide in His Love."

So we understand that when we abide in God's love and He abides in us, we will keep his commandments. But John takes it one very important step further in the latter part of verse 3 when he states "And his commandments aren't burdensome."

I think John went out of his way to phrase this like this for a reason.

What reason? I think there are at least two reasons.

1. I believe that he is simply trying to cut off at the knees any remaining belief system that would have you believe in a "works" based salvation.

2. I think he is showing and emphasizing the relationship we should have with God. i.e., that we hold the same views as our Father in Heaven on issues of sin and of the great commandments.

Here's an example of what I mean.

Before I found the love of my life and married her, I would have never imagined being "tied down" to just one woman. In fact, the thought of spending the rest of my precious, self centered, life with just one person seemed "burdensome" to say it mildly. But then, one day by the grace of God, I met Heather. Now, I can't imagine spending one day away from her. The thought of being close to another woman is repulsive and I can't believe how wrong I was in the past about monogamy.

In the same way, before we enter into a relationship with God through the blood of His Son Christ Jesus, we do not have the ability to love Him, much less the desire to. But, when we are truly born again, we are in a real relationship with God and we strive to keep His commandments. Not because we have to, but because we want to. And, to go one further, looking back we can't believe how we managed without Him for so many years.

Like any other relationship, we need to nurture our relationship with God if we want to grow in it. We should be willing to be in constant communication with him through prayer. We should desire to read his word daily so we can learn about our Lord. And we should naturally be drawn towards other brothers and sisters of our Father in Heaven. All of which should come naturally and with joy. None of which, to those of us who love Him, shall be burdensome.

Piper's 7

According to John Piper, there are 7 reasons for why preaching is not enough for real growth in a believers life and why a "small group" is just as necessary today as it was when the church was first forming.

1. The impulse to avoid painful growth by disappearing into a crowd in corporate worship is very strong.

2. Then tendency toward passivity in listening to a sermon is part of our human weakness.

3. Listeners in a big group can more easily evade redemptive crisis.

4. Listeners in a large group tend to neglect efforts of personal application.

5. Opportunity for questions leading to growth is missing.

6. Accountability for follow through is missing.

7. Prayer support is missing for individual issues.

An Exposition into The Baptism with The Holy Spirit

I recently had a friendly online debate with a gentleman whom pastors a local Assemblies of God church here in the Ozarks in regards to the biblical meaning of being "Baptized with the Holy Spirit". This or similar phrases appear in the text in many different locations and contexts, in both New and Old testaments, and has been the center piece for debates between denominations for years.

According to the local AOG church, this is the evidence that you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. (source: church website)

The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The baptism of Christians in the Holy Spirit is accompanied by the initial physical sign of speaking in other tongues (unlearned languages) as the Spirit of God gives them audible expression (Acts 2:4).

Let's look at Acts 2:1-4

¹ When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now, we all know that there is more to this particular story. Let's read on...

⁵ And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶ And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. ⁷ Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? ⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

2 things jump out at me. 1) Each man heard his own native language. 2) They heard them speaking of the "Wonderful works of God."

Let's go back a bit in Acts to get some more Context. Lets look at Acts Chapter 1:4-8

And being assembled together with them, He (JESUS) commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵ for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸ But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Question. Why did they (the disciples) need to wait in Jerusalem?

Answer: To be "baptized by the Holy Spirit" and after which to receive the "power" to be witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Look again in Acts 2.

Question: What happened when the Pentecost came and they (the disciples) were baptized with the Holy Spirit?

Answer: They (the Jews from all over the world who happened to be in Jerusalem) heard the "Glory of God" being witnesses to them, in their own native tongue, from Gentiles. (Other tongues, i.e., "power")

I believe, and many commentators with me, that this act on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4) was a fulfillment of prophecy (Isaiah 28:11-12, Joel 2:28-32, John 15:26, Acts 1:4-8) and the speaking of tongues was a power given unto the disciples as a sign to the Jews.

Greek Commentator Kenneth S. Wuest addressed this issue in Volume III of "The Greek Studies of the New Testament".

~One might say "I am a Christian, but I do not have the Holy Spirit because I do not speak in tongues," quoting Acts 2:4, 10:46, and 19:6. But lets us be careful to note the Acts 2:4 refers to the languages of the individuals mentioned in Acts 2:8-11, that the speaking of tongues in Acts 10:46 was an evidence for that time given to the Jews, that the Gentiles had also received the Spirit, the need for which is now past, and that Acts 19:6 has to do with a special case where Jews had come into salvation under the Old Testament dispensation of law and were now receiving the added benefits of the Age of Grace, a case which cannot occur today.~

It's worth noting that the text that Peter quotes in Acts Chapter two is from the Prophet Joel. He quotes to the Jews present in Jerusalem Joel 2:28-32, which is clearly a prophecy focused on the Age of Grace that came at Pentecost.

¹⁷" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Paul tells us through his letter to the church of Corinth that tongues are a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers.

1 Corinthians 14:21-22

²¹In the Law it is written:
"Through men of strange tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me,"says the Lord.

²²Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers;prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

In verse 21 (above) "this people" are the Israelites, the Jews. And they will hear Gods word through the lips of foreigners.

Notice that Paul says in v22..."tongues are sign for unbelievers" and then in 23) he says. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

See the contrast? Here's why I believe Paul says this. In Context, the Unbelievers in verse 22 are the Jews Isaiah spoke of in Isaiah 28:11-12 (Paul gives reference to this in verse 21) However, the "unbelievers" and "some who do not understand" that Paul refers to in verse 23 are not Jews, or are unable to understand the language spoken by the Church.

Imagine at the Pentecost that instead of the disciples speaking in 12 different tongues that they all spoke of the "Glory of God" in 1 single language or tongue. Only one of the Jew's in Jerusalem would be effected by this miracle of God, and the rest would be left scratching their heads wondering what these crazy Galileans were saying. Hence what Paul writes above in verse 23. So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

So in review, to the best of my ability to understand the scriptures, given my studies in the Greek Translation and holding each text in light of it's context, I have to state that I differ with my brother in the Assemblies of God Church in my idea's of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. I believe that the speaking of Tongues was a gift of the spirit given to the disciples and other new believers as a sign to the Jewish people that the "Age of Grace" had begun. And that Jew and Gentile alike could be saved and baptized into the Body of Christ.

Not every gift from the Spirit is the Gift of Tongues.

⁵I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. (1 Corinthians 14:5)

In other words...I wish all of you could receive this gift of speaking in tongues, yet I know that all of you wont. Besides, I would rather you receive the gift of Prophecy.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

⁴There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

⁷Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,¹⁰to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.¹¹All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 12:29

²⁹Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? ³¹But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Lets' look at the actual "Baptism with the Holy Spirit"

Matthew 3:11 (New International Version)

¹¹"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Dr. A.M. Fairbairn said "He is no theologian who is not first a grammarian"

A.T. Robertson said "All correct theology must pay careful attention to the grammar of the Greek text, for a person is correctly understood only when his hearer or reader applies the rules of grammar which the speaker or writer uses."

If for example I said "Man, that car is really cool." If you were unfamiliar with "English Slang" you might translate that to say that "Man, that car is really cold." and could miss the meaning behind the statement.

If we look at 1 Corinthians 12:13 ¹³For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body" This "body" is obviously the Body of Christ. (Quoting Wuest in "Word Studies in the Greek New Testament") "The word "Spirit" is in the instrumental case in Greek. Personal agency is expressed occasionally by the instrumental case. At such times, the verb is always in the passive or middle voice. The Greek construction here follows this rule of Greek grammar. The personal agent in this case who does the baptizing is the Holy Spirit. He places or introduces the believing sinner into the Body of which the Lord Jesus is the living Head. The verb is in the past tense, referring tot a past action, and is referring to a once and for all act....

In Acts 1:5 "ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.", thus the meaning of the Greek word, "to place" or "introduce into," gives us the purpose of the baptism by means of the Spirit into the body of Christ. In Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27, we have this same operation of the Spirit (only into a vital union with "The Head of the Body"."

Laymen's terms: When we believe, The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ.(1 Corinthians 12) We receive the Holy Spirit through the "anointing" of the Spirit (Acts 10:38, Luke 4:18, II Corinthians 1:21-22, 1 John 2:27) and the Spirit can and may give us "Spiritual" gifts as He determines. However, to say that because you do not speak in tongues is evidence that you have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit is biblically incorrect. If we are to take and hold Acts 2:4 up as (evidence of ALL baptisms with the Spirit) we must also expect to hear a mighty rush of wind and see flames of fire that appear as tongues upon our shoulders.

most of the work of the Holy Spirit in Acts comes in the form of "Boldness" to speak and witness the "Word" and teachings of Christ.

Acts 4:8, 4:31, 5:32, 9:28, 13:46, 14:3, 18:26, 19:8, 28:31 just to name a few.

Closing thoughts...

In my studies on this subject, I have found that over 300,000,000 people in the world claim to speak in some sort of "Unknown Language". Some of these professors of this gift are Christian, some profess similar gifts and practice Shamanism, or Paganism. (Even voodoo) all of which call it "tongues" or "Glossolalia".

We've already learned from Christ in Matthew 7:22-23 ²²Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ²³And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

So, I would suggest that if you speak in tongues, but have not love...Pray.

If you speak in tongues, but live in habitual patterns of sin...Pray

If you speak in tongues and hate your brother...pray

If you speak in tongues yet can blaspheme the Lords name without conviction....Pray.

^{1 Corinthians 13:8} Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away

Pregnancy photo

This is a picture of My wife and I with our Son Joseph Immanuel Minor. (33 weeks)

God has richly blessed our little family.

Theory + Speculation = FACT!

"In the beginning there was Nothing and nowhere. Then all of the sudden, there was something and somewhere. We call the something "Matter" and the somewhere "Space". Over billions of years that "matter" flew around aimlessly in space until one day it exploded for some reason. Then all that matter began a process of separation that continues today (although the matter doesn't really seem to be separating as matter should that comes from an explosion but hey, it works.) Some of that "matter" began to cool down around a bright hot piece of Hot "matter", otherwise known as our "Sun". The cooler matter "our planet earth" somehow or another, in spite of the Sun's unimaginable barrage of radiation and heat, managed to instantly form an atmosphere perfectly comprised of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Carbon Dioxide and some other gases that, "luckily for us" just happened to be the perfect "Instant" blend to allow life to form...somehow. Somehow billions of trees must have instantly formed too to insure a continuous flow of the Oxygen supply the atmosphere required. (or maybe the oxygen came from the Oceans that came out of nothing.) Then, out of that "nothing matter", that was also "lifeless", a single celled organism somehow came into existence. WOW. (Note: Some scientist believe that a Lightning Bolt may have struck a mud puddle and that is how life was formed.) Either way, Then that single cell organism (which in and of itself is more complex in nature than the electrical system on the Space Shuttle) managed to split and multiply into "multi-celled" organisms...somehow. After billions of years of this splitting and growing, that single celled organism had managed to change itself into things like dinosaurs, birds, lizards, fish, whales, bacteria, people, airplanes..(just kidding about the airplane, that's ridiculous! ha ha.) So now "Evolution" has led us all the way from when "Nothing" and "Nowhere" began, to modern day today where "Everything" and "Everywhere" exists. In a strange twist of Evolutionary Irony, "Man" (the pentacle of evolutionary design, i.e., "the fittest") is now in a slow but steady process of destroying all other life, and seemingly himself. Huh?

We don't fully understand things like "Moral Law" or "Miracles" or the story of some guy named "Jesus" who healed and walked on water and then came back to life after dying or something... we can't explain all those fulfilled prophecies in that old outdated bible. We can't just put our faith in some "God", not when we obviously "know better."

Love God. Serve Christ. Have Faith!

Amen.

Denial

Matthew 10:33

33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

I had this question pop into my mind this morning. How do we "Deny" Christ?

Sure we can deny Him with our lips. (not confessing him as Lord when asked by another)
We can deny him with our lifestyle. (living in sin)

The big one that I think goes unnoticed is a form of denial regarding "entrance".

Do we deny Him entrance or access into our lives, i.e., our workplace, our facebooks, our friendships, our Blogs, our lives, ETC...?

If we deny Him this access to our "Circle" of friends, co-workers, etc... WHY?

Here are some possible reasons why we keep him out of our little circles.

*We are afraid of persecution

*We are ashamed of Him

*We don't really believe

*We have never felt his Power

*We don't feel that others deserve to know Him

*We aren't really Christian

*We're afraid we'll be mocked and lose friends

If I were married (which I am :) ) and I never talked to anyone about my wife or never took her anywhere with me, what would you think of me?

What if my co-workers didn't know I was married, or my friends, or my Blog followers, or my facebook family? What then?

If we never talk about Christ, Isn't that kind of denial a bit like slipping a wedding band off your finger when you leave your home?

I believe that when Christ is talking about "Denial" here, he's not just referring to the kind of denial that comes from your lips, but rather from your heart.

What would Paul the apostles life look like today?

33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

Will Jesus tell God the Father about you today?

Powerful Video

"You Got Me!"

It's always nice to meet a brother or sister in Christ.

He was wearing a baseball cap with studded stars on the bill.

He had long hair, pulled back into a pony tail.

He walked up as I rounded the counter and had a big smile on his face. (amazing how many times I notice that the happiest people are usually the ones who follow Christ! Amen)

As I greeted him with a "Good afternoon" he said "well hello" and presented his hand for a handshake. Pleasantly surprised I reciprocated the kind gesture only to have him pull his hand away in a whimsical way. I laughed and said "You got me" to the amusement of his wife, who rolled her eyes as if this weren't the first time he's pulled this move on an unsuspecting fellow. After a laugh he again extended his hand, sincerely this time, for a handshake.

As I took his hand he looked me right in the eye and said "You know Jesus loves you right?" Surprised and delighted I said "oh yeah, I know he loves me more than I deserve." and he responded "He's the only way to Heaven", smiled, and walked away.

I was glad to have the reminder. And even though I never got his name, I'm sure I'll see him again...ya know, someday. ;)

Spiritual Gifts: An Ongoing Study

It is no secret that among the "Bible" based religions of the world, there are many different theories derived from the Scriptures. This is why we have so many different denominations.

When it comes to Spiritual Gifts I know that people's opinions range from total rejection to complete and wholesome belief. I, currently, am still studying up on the matter and have many unanswered questions.

Matthew 7:21-23. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Ever notice that these people are actually asking Jesus a question?

Question: Have we not.......in your name? i.e., "Didn't' we? Weren't we?"

Answer: I never knew you.

So how do we know if HE knows us?

John 10:23

²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

So Christ is teaching us that if we are truly one of His "Sheep" he "knows" us and we follow him.

But those he speaks of in Matthew 7 performed miracles, prophecies, and wonders...and were not his "Sheep" for he didn't "know" them.

This is profound! It points us to a possible conclusion that one can be able to perform mighty and miraculous works and yet the power comes from somewhere other than God. (Beelzebub?)

What about the idea that some have regarding the Cessation of the Spiritual gifts?

What is the apostle Paul trying to teach in 1 Corinthians 13:8-13

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Alan Cairns gives an interesting exposition of this verse in this video below. But I'm sure there are hundreds of other expositors out there that would disagree.

So there are a couple of things I've noticed in my studies in the Bible.

One is that over and over and over again there is an emphasis on "Love" or "Charity". Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless. You speak in tongues but have not love, you have nothing!! You prophecy but have not love, your prophecy is useless. (1 Cor 13:1-3)You fast and have not love your fasting is meaningless! (Isaiah 58:6-9)

And the other is that you can be given an super human ability that looks like a Spiritual Gift, smells like a Spiritual Gift, and tastes like a Spiritual Gift; that doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit gave it to you and it doesn't ensure your position in Heaven. Matthew 7:21-23