February 6, 2003
FROM A PASTOR’S HEART

WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT?

God describes himself in one word in First John 4:16, “God is love.” The rest of the verse describes a Christian, “and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” If a person is truly a Christian, he will have the nature of God in him. It is a tragic thing when a Christian does not manifest the love of God in his life which is placed there at the time of salvation.

It is easy to serve or work in the church, but for a person to love requires a divine enablement. It is easy to study, preach, teach, and have the right doctrine, but to love as God requires supernatural enablement. The way a Christian reveals his spiritual life is not by operating in the spiritual gift he was given. It is by producing spiritual fruit in his life. Scripture tells us what spiritual fruit is in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” This Spiritual fruit is only produced in the life of an obedient child of God.

There are many people who claim to be Christians who do not manifest the character and nature of God. These people are either not Christians at all or they are being disobedient to the known word and will of God. When you stray from the source of love, it is impossible to be loving. Jude 1:21 says, “Keep yourselves in the love of God.” Anytime we disobey the word of God, we are acting in unbelief. Unbelief is when we think we know better than God does in a particular matter. Disobedience moves us to a position where the fruit of the Spirit of God is not being produced in us. Spiritual fruit is not produced in a rebel.

Anytime you see a “professed” Christian who lives and acts like the unsaved, they are walking after the flesh instead of the Spirit. That means they have turned aside to follow the dictates of the old nature received at birth instead of the new one received from God when they were born again.

The kind of love we are to show is not simply a warm feeling about someone. It is a self sacrificing act for someone with a pure motive. A young girl sought advice from her pastor about a certain incident. She told him that her boy friend had threatened suicide if she didn’t marry him. She wanted to know if that was love. His answer was, “No, that is not love. That is the height of selfishness. He does not love you. He is saying, “I love me and I want you.”
Sometimes a man will tell a woman, “I love you because...” Then he will proceed to tell her all the reasons he loves her. If he loves her because she is beautiful, when the beauty fades, the love will also. If he loves her because she is nice, what will happen when in the marriage she is not so nice? True love will not put conditions on it. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” This is the kind of love we are to have toward God and toward each other. It is doing right regardless of our feelings.

God’s kind of love was shown to an unloving people. It was self sacrificing love. It was love given because of the nature of the giver and not because of the appeal of the one loved. God loved us while we were enemies of His. If God can love His enemies and we have His nature, we ought to be able to love our enemies. This is the reason God can command us in Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

There must be two conditions met before any person can love like that. The first is that he must be saved. Salvation puts the nature of God in a person. The next condition is that the person must be living in obedience to God’s word. It is only as we walk in faith that God’s nature is revealed in us. Faith is learning, believing and obeying the Word of God. As we live like that, we free the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in us. Part of that fruit is the ability to love as God does.
This kind of love is so important that Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” It is only as we reveal the kind of love God has that others can know beyond any shadow of a doubt that we truly belong to Him.

Love is behind all obedience. Lovelessness is behind all disobedience. Until the love of God fills our heart, we have no other choice than to act in selfishness. First Corinthians 13 tells us that if we could speak as angels, know all the things of God, and be so sacrificial as to give our bodies to be burned, it would be useless if it was not motivated by the love of God in us.

Many Christians are hard to get along with. They will argue and fight at the drop of a hat and stand around ready to drop the hat. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 13:10 where the source of that kind of behavior lies, “Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.” When we are walking in the Spirit and obeying the truths of God, we can obey the command of God which says, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.’‘ If we are not in obedience to the Lord, we want to give others a “piece of our mind.”

When a person fails to walk in faith, he will walk after the dictates of the flesh. There will be envy and contention in his life. If we are walking in faith, which means a life of seeking, learning, and obeying the Word of God, we are walking in the Spirit. This means the Spirit produces His fruit in us which is love, joy, peace, etc.

James 3:14-15 tells us where envy and strife comes from, “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.” God’s people have a choice to walk according to the flesh or the Spirit. Galatians 5:16 says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

IMMANUEL CHURCH: Pastor Arnold Martin

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
February 13, 2003

THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST!

The Apostle Paul was a highly motivated man. All he did was because of what he knew was going to happen to him at the Judgment Seat of Christ. He said in 2 Cor. 5:9-10, “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Paul’s great ambition was to be accepted or approved by Jesus Christ. He did not care what people thought of him, but he was very concerned about what his Lord thought. He said, “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1Cor 4:3-4).

Many times we do judge the actions of others, but we are not very good judges. We do not know all the facts nor do we know the motives behind peoples actions. Only God is qualified to judge in those areas. We are to leave the judging of others to the Lord. Scripture says, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (1Cor 4:5).

God is pleased when we acknowledge Him in all we do. He has given us a special promise in 1 John 3:22, “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.” The most beneficial things we can do in life will be those things which are pleasing to the Lord. It will benefit us for time and eternity.

Paul could endure the greatest suffering imaginable because of his great ambition to do those things which were pleasing to the Lord. His motive for this ambition was because of the judgment he knew all Christians would face. Our Lord said through Paul, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).

This is the judgment of believers immediately after the rapture of the church. Each person will be rewarded for those “things done in his body.” This is not a judgment for sin. Sin was judged at the cross. This is a judgment of the believers works in this life. Romans 14:12 says of this judgment, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” No one will have to answer for someone else. Since we do not have to give an account for anyone else, we cannot allow what someone else does influence us in the wrong way. God holds each person accountable for what he allows in his own life.

Scripture describes the believer’s judgment, “Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 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” (1 Cor 3:8-15).

There are 6 kinds of materials used to build our lives. Three are valuable and indestructible. Three are worthless will account for nothing. Every thing we do is comprised of one of these kinds of materials. Many things a Christian does is not sin but they will not count for eternity. You can go shopping for a day. This is not sin, but it does not count for eternity either. Wood, hay, and stubble can be useful in this life, but they are useless as far as eternity goes.

When we stand before the Lord Jesus and give an account of our lives, all the things which we have done which were made of wood, hay, and stubble will be burned. These are not necessarily sinful things. They are simply worthless. All we have done which benefit the kingdom of God and eternity will be left. These are the things we will be rewarded for. This judgment of believers motivated Paul in every facet of his life. It ought to motivate and encourage us in all that we do.

We are not told explicitly what the rewards will be, but there are indications that they will be our capacity to honor, exalt, worship, and serve the Lord Jesus. We believe Paul honored and served the Lord more than most because Paul knew and loved Jesus Christ as few men ever have. We do know heaven will not be the same for all just as hell will not be the same for everyone.
We get to heaven because of receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We will be rewarded based on our works in this body. Those who will spend eternity in hell do so because they rejected Jesus as their Lord. But we know that they will be judged based on their works.

Revelation 20:13, 15 describes the judgment of the unsaved dead, “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The wicked will have a worse hell while the dedicated, devoted, and faithful will have a better heaven.

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
February 20, 2003

HOPE FOR A WEARY WORLD!

It looks as though we may be in war within weeks. In addition to that, we see morals declining at an alarming rate. Things shown on T.V. now would not be seen on movies a few years back. Our school systems are infiltrated with atheism and humanism. Students in classrooms are subjected to profanity. We see liberalism and modernism in our pulpits. The church rolls are padded and the pews are empty. The world doesn’t blush anymore and the church doesn’t weep.

We are facing one of three things: revival, ruin, or the return of Jesus. Only God’s word can give us instruction about what we are to do in such critical times. Many say education is the answer; therefore, billions are spent on teaching programs which cause the heads to grow full but the hearts still remain empty.

Some say the answer is for Christians to get busy. They say a happy Christian is a busy one, but work is not the answer either. You can tell a sick man to get out of bed and go to work, but he has no ability to do so. The same is true in the church. We can get instruction about what we are to do, but the church is sick and has no ability to do what ought to be done.

The emotionalists says that what we need to do is to get everyone stirred up by music and get certain kinds of feeling. If they get it, they go home and realize that they lost it and are in much worse shape than before. They try harder to get the emotions they desire and try harder to hold on to them. We must learn what God says and obey His word to do and be all that God wants.
Some say the problem is that the church is not separated enough. They say we need to stop doing certain things and start doing others. That is not right. All we are doing then is cutting the limbs and strengthening the roots. The answer to the problems of the church lie in Ephesians 5:15-18, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

The only hope for the world is for the church to quit acting like fools, start being wise, redeem the time, and understand what the will of the Lord is. That seems simple, but how are we going to be able to do that. The answer is to “be filled with the Spirit.” It does not say, “Get filled.” It says, “Be filled.” You may have been filled but are not now filled.

The most important thing a Christian can do in life is to be filled with the Spirit. We are told in Acts how the disciples were filled with the Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. To be filled with the Spirit is not a suggestion, it is a command. Any Christian who is not filled with the Spirit is living in open disobedience to a plain command of God.

How can you know if you are filled or not? Answer this question, “Was there ever a time in your life when you loved the Lord more than you do now? If so, you are not filled with the Spirit. It means you are a backslidden Christian. That means that there are things in God’s word you are being disobedient to. Disobedience will prevent the Spirit of God from producing His fruit in you. Many Christians do not have the love, peace, joy, etc. in their lives and wonder why. The reason is that there is sin and the sin prevents us from being filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

How does a person get filled with the Spirit? The Lord uses an analogy of drunkenness. Why? Because when a person is drunk with wine, he is controlled by the alcohol. How did he get under the control of the alcohol? That’s simple, he drank alcoholic beverages! How is he going to stay under the control of the alcohol? That is simple to, he keeps drinking.

The same thing is true spiritually in the Christian’s life. When a person gets saved, he has heard, understood, and believed the gospel contained in God’s word. At that time, he will be filled with the Spirit of God. The sad thing is that most do not stay filled. For the wine to continually control a person, it must continually be taken in his body. For the Spirit to continually control a person, he must continually take in the spirit. John 6:63 says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we are filled, it means He has the key and control of every room in the temple. When we cease to learn and obey His word, we begin to take back the keys to certain rooms in our temple. Then we are no longer filled by the Spirit.

The Spirit of God is a person, not a force. John 3:34 says, “For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” Sometimes we pray for more of God’s Holy Spirit, but if you have a person, you cannot have more of him. If you are saved, you do have the Holy Spirit of God. Romans 8:9 explains, “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

If a Christian is filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5 says he will be singing and making melody in his heart and being under subjection to the authority over him. Also, he would be wise and understand the will of God and have the ability to do that will. All of our problems stem from being disobedient to our Creator. When filled with the Spirit, we can reverse the curse to a certain extent and again perform God’s will in our lives. When the unsaved see this reality of Christ in our lives, it provides an attraction for the gospel.

We can be continuously filled by obeying Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” When you read what follows this verse, you find that it is exactly the same things that follows being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians five. If you want to be filled with the Spirit and have all the benefits that comes from it, you must fill your minds with His words.

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
February 26, 2003

HOW TO BE DECEIVED!

We hear about people being conned out of their savings by get rich quick schemes. People are deceived about all kinds of things from vacuum cleaners to cars to religion. How can we be assured that we will not be victims of some deception? The only protection is to know what the Bible teaches. God has given us both physical and moral principles which will keep us safe if we obey them.

Those who refuse to submit themselves to Jesus as their Lord and Savior cannot help but being deceived in this life. Galations 6:7-8 tells us, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Remember: “You do not have to sow your wild oats, but if you sow them, the harvest will come in.”

A major deception is that we can sow and then pray for a crop failure, but remember, God is not mocked. If you sow, you will reap. We can violate God’s laws. He gives us that choice, but we must pay the price for it. He tells us, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor 11:30). These people were deceived. They thought they could sin and get by with it, but many of them died prematurely because of their sin.

Every sin we commit reveals to us and others that we are deceived. It is only the knowledge of and obedience to God’s word that can protect us. John 8:32 says, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” We live in a world where the deception is so strong that even the most intelligent will be deceived unless their mind is filed with God’s word.

We can easily be deceived by false teachers. These teachers have great power. They can sway great crowds. They teach in the name of the Lord. They can supposedly cast out devils. They will do many wonderful works. They will have people believing very strongly that they are men of God because of their Bible knowledge and spiritual power, but will be false and evil teachers.
The Bible says of these in 2 Tim 3:13, “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” These are people who believe they are speaking for God. They have great power and great followings and tremendous amounts of money for T.V. broadcasting. Yes, they deceive the masses, but it will be a tremendous surprise when they stand before the Lord and hear, “Many 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt 7:22-23).

Anyone who does not understand the principles of truth from the Bible is set up for some major deceptions. They can be deceived by false teachers of religion or teachers of the philosophy of this world. Earnest Hemingway thought he could get by with violating God’s Word. He said, “I am proof that you can do all you want to do and get by with it.” He did everything an immoral man could do. Ten years from the date he gave this statement, he put a gun to his head and took his own life. He was not an exception to the rule, he was an example of it!

Some people say, “I’ll let my conscience be my guide.” That is alright if you have a conscience trained by God’s Word, but if not, beware. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” This old heart of ours is controlled by the world, flesh, and Satan. It cannot be trusted. It will deceive us. Again, the Bible is the only source of truth.

Many are deceived who know truth. They think that because they have a knowledge of God’s word that they are alright and protected. Not so! James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Many people who know God’s truth are deceived and led astray simply because they do not obey what they have been taught.

We can sow bad seed by doing wrong things, but we can also sow bad by not doing things. When we do not obey the truth we know, we set ourselves up for deception. James 4:17 adds, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Anytime we sin, we reveal that we are deceived. We get the idea that we will not have to reap the consequences of our sin. Somehow, we think we can get by. But, God sees all sin and sees to it that the consequences are met.

All sin is sowing bad seed. Proverbs 24:9 says, “The thought of foolishness is sin.” We learn quickly that it is very easy to sin. Psalm 9:8 tells us where God is when we sin, “Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.” You cannot think a thought nor do any deed that God does not see. He has promised to reward the good and punish the bad.

Sinclair Lewis was a great writer, but he was a deceived man. He wrote a play called “Elmer Gantry” where he mocked Christianity. He died a slobbering alcoholic in a third rate clinic in Rome. Oscar Wild was also a great writer. He ended up in prison as a homosexual. In shame and disgrace, he said, “I forgot that somewhere along the line that what you are in secret will someday cry aloud from the housetop.”

We are continually sowing in one of two fields. The choice we have is, “Which field will I sow in?” Galatians 6:8 describes these two fields, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Every decision, thought, and deed we make is putting seed into one of these fields. Don’t be deceived. Why? Because God is not mocked! Why not right now make a commitment to the Lord that you will consistently sow your seed in the RIGHT field?

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor: Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
January 2, 2003

QUITTING BEFORE FINISHING!

Many start the new year with good new year’s resolutions. They want to do better and be a good influence for God, but something usually happens. They quit and their lives end up looking like half built houses. Why is it that we fail to keep our good new year’s resolutions? It is the same reason that many people stumble and fall before their race in life is finished?

The main reason for quitting is the lack of salvation. Any person who is not saved can do nothing to please God. Romans 8:8 says, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” A person must be saved and know that he is before he can maintain a never quit attitude. Salvation comes by believing, but assurance of that comes as we see God transforming us into new creatures.

Every Christian is tempted to quit. Jeremiah was commissioned by God to preach, but he quit as did Peter and John Mark, but after quitting, but they got right back into the battle. By understanding God’s principles, we to can be able to get back on the right path even after a fall.
Remember, if you stand, there will be those who stand with you. If you quit, there will be those who quit with you. Remember when Peter quit and went fishing? The disciples said, “We’ll go to?” Someone is watching you and will follow your lead. Don’t be guilty of leading someone the wrong way.

If we are to reach the goals God gives us, we must stay away from the negative influences. There is always someone to tell us why we can’t reach them. A failure does not mean we are to quit. There has never been anything done worthwhile without many failures. Failures make you evaluate your plans and procedures. They make us rely on God even more so than our victories do.

The emotion of discouragement has caused many to quit. When you get discouraged, you can know that Satan is on your back. Discouragement will make you overstate your problems. Remember Elijah when Jezebel was after him. He asked the Lord to kill him because he was the only one left. The Lord reminded him that there were 7,000 who had not bowed their knee to Baal.

When you do get discouraged, you are not thinking correctly. Immediately start counting your blessings. Think of all God has already done for you. Think about your salvation and what is going to happen to Satan and every unsaved person. Think about the positive things. Obey Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” If you think on the wrong things, you will end up doing wrong things!

Being around the wrong crowd will cause us to quit. We must learn to stay away from the grumblers, complainers, and fault finders. These are the ones who sow discord among the brethren. We become like the crowd we run around with, so stay away from those who drag you down. Get with people who build you up.

“Lack of prayer will cause us to quit. D. L. Moody said, “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” Prayer is the power to sustain us in the battle. If you do not begin with prayer, you will end in failure. There is no time ever wasted that is spent in prayer. If you quit praying, you will quit! If you cannot ask God to bless what you do, then don’t do it. Jesus said to watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation. If we fail to pray, we will fail. Lack of prayer means that there will be a lack of strength to resist the temptations that are common to all. Being overcome by temptations brings failure which brings consequences we must face.
Neglecting God’s word causes us to quit. Sin will destroy anything good. God told us in Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” It is only the word of God which has been learned, memorized, and obeyed that protects us from sin.

Anything that comes in our lives that prevents us from being alone with God in the study of His word is a major pitfall. The Bible is more than a reference book for us to use in a time of need. It is food for the soul. The Bible is like a mirror which correctly reveals what we are really like. It is like a hammer that breaks the rock of any resistence to God’s will. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He defeated Satan by using the same weapon you and I have to defeat him, the Word of God!

Neglecting God’s house leads to quitting. Just as a physically dead person does not desire physical food, a spiritually dead person does not desire spiritual food. People who neglect God’s house is either saved and on the way to the woodshed where God will chastise them, or they are lost and on their way to hell.

Friendship with the world causes us to quit doing the good things. The Lord tells us, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). There is great pressure on us to conform to the world. The world puts pressure on us to conform to Satan’s system while the Holy Spirit puts pressure on God’s people to conform us to the image of Jesus. Everyone will have pressure. Each of us must decide which pressure will we yield ourselves to.

Friendship with the world will sap our energy to do anything for God. It will rob us of our influence and testimony and it will cause us to quit whatever we have begun for God. Aren’t you glad that the person who told you how to be saved did not quit? Aren’t you glad the apostles did not quit? How can we quit when there are lost people on their way to hell and we have what they need to be saved and have eternal life?

Make those new year commitments you know you need to make and then commit yourself to God to help you keep them and never quit!

(Immanuel Baptist Church: Pastor, Arnold Martin.)

FROM A PASTOR'S HEART
January 10, 2003

WAS IT GOD’S WILL?

God has a plan for His people and it will be carried out. Our Lord is never at a loss for tools in bringing about His purpose in our lives. There are times He will even use Satan for His glory and for our good. Job is an example of a man who endured the attacks of Satan and brought glory to God. This story gives us some insight to the spiritual battles that go on every day.

In chapter one of Job, Satan is confronted about the goodness of Job. His reply to God begins in verse 9, “...Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." Was Satan right? What can drive a truly saved person from his faith in God?

To reveal the character of saving faith, God allows Satan to attack Job. He responds in 2:6, “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life." Job, probably the best in the world at this time, had not committed any sin but was turned over to Satan by God. Satan began immediately to try to attack Job and try to get him to turn his back on God. Satan had all his children killed and all his property stolen. Satan was in control of the enemies of Job and also the elements to bring Job to the lowest point of his life. Satan indeed has great power, but that power is still under the control of God.

Satan was allowed to do only what God allowed him to. Job's response to all this trouble and heartache is given in Job 1:20-22, "Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came l out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

Job did not know Romans 8:28, but he lived his life trusting in the principle of that verse which says, "all things work together for good to those who love God." He did not understand why all these bad things were happening to him, but He knew he was not going to turn his back on God. One reason God allowed this to happen was to show us the character of true saving faith. God is showing us that when a person is saved, he does not keep his trust in God simply because all the circumstances are right. Job is an example of the character of a true believer. The circumstances could not be worse for Job, but he would not turn his back on God.

It was Satan who controlled the minds of the criminals to steal all Job had. It was Satan who controlled the elements which brought death to Job's children. It was Satan who brought the disease that was bringing Job physical misery. Satan does have much power, but it is all under the control of our omnipotent God.

We learn from the book of Job that it makes no difference if it is Satan or God who brings heartaches or trouble to our lives. If you are a child of God, all that comes to you will be for your good. This means that there is never a reason to complain or gripe about our situation. It may be bad, but God can deliver you any time He wants to. For sure, the world, flesh, and Satan mean all the things that comes our way for our harm, but by the time it gets to us, it becomes God’s will for our life and God will turn it into good. If it is Satan who brings trouble to your life, he could not unless God allowed him, and God will turn those things meant for bad into good if we respond in obedience and faith!

Job was a good man. He had not sinned nor done anything to deserve what he was going through, but He knew God had to allow it for some reason. Job said in 10:2, "I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me." Job wanted some answers, but he never got the answers he wanted. Instead, he got a chewing out by God. In Job 38:2 God begins a series of 84 questions to Job. The first one was, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding."

Job could not answer one single question God asked. Job was being taught and we should be taught that is foolish to question God. God wants us to trust Him, not question Him. Every time we gripe or complain, we are doubting the goodness and wisdom of God. We are saying, "God, you have made a mistake. I do not deserve to be treated like this. I deserve better than what I am getting."

This is why we are commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." It is God's will that we give thanks in all things. It is never God's will that we gripe and complain. There is nothing that can come to a child of God unless it goes through the hands of the Lord first. We may not thank God for some bad thing that happened to us, but we can be thankful in every situation because we have a loving, mighty , merciful, just, holy, and righteous God who is in total control of every thing in this universe including Satan, disease, and death.

Job's trust in God increased because of his problems. He responds in Job 42:1-6, "Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Job demonstrates genuine godliness. For a truly redeemed soul, nothing will cause him to deny his faith.

Job 42:10 tells us when God ended Jobs' trial, "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends." Don't hold grudges against those who do things to you, pray for them and learn the lessons a loving God wants to teach you! A bad situation may reveal something in your life that needs to be changed.

God wanted to do something good for Job and for us. He wanted to bring Job to a new level of trust and faith. By allowing Satan to bring trouble and trials into his life, God was refining Job as a goldsmith would refine gold by a fiery furnace. When gold ore is put in the furnace, it is melted. The impurities come to the top and are removed. This makes the gold more pure and more valuable. When the refiner can see his face in the gold, he knows the impurities are removed.

The same is true with us. God brings or allows things in our lives that will remove impurities which hinder us from loving and trusting Him more.

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor: Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
January 23, 2003

WHEN DARKNESS COMES, THEN WHAT?

There will come a time in everyone's life when the “lights” go out. It will be a time when there will be no clear direction about which way to go or what to do. There will be no "light at the end of the tunnel." This is a time of discouragement. It is a time of darkness either physically, socially, mentally, or religiously. A simple story can illustrate this. Suppose a man is on a journey. He is walking toward a specific place. He knows where he is going and how to get there. Everything is going just fine, except for the fact that the sun is setting and the light is getting dimmer. After a while, he finds himself in complete darkness and unable to find his way. He cannot tell where the dangerous places are. He cannot distinguish friend from foe. He is walking in darkness. He does not know which way to go. He becomes discouraged. The darkness has sapped his energy, vigor, vitality, and courage.

Times of darkness will come to every person. To the non-Christian, it can be a time of evaluating his relationship with God who is the source of light. To the one who thinks he is saved, it can be a time of proving if his faith is real and strengthening the faith he has. Isaiah 50:10-11 tells us what to do and what not do in these times of discouragement and darkness, "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow ."

We must realize that these times of discouragement and darkness are as much a part of life as the good times are. Abraham found himself in darkness when a famine came to the land God had led him to. How was he going to feed his family? Where would he go and what would he do? He was discouraged and in darkness. Abraham said, "I know what I'll do. I'll kindle a fire myself and walk in the light of it. I’ll go to Egypt for food.” He went to Egypt and came back with Hagar. As a result, he did lay down in sorrow and produced sorrow for the nation of Israel.

Job found himself in darkness when his life was bombarded with calamities. He did not know of anything he had done wrong. He believed all was well between him and God. Why were all the bad things happening? He was in darkness and had no idea of what he should do. He was in darkness, but he kept doing right until God relieved the darkness.

Job illustrated two principles to live by when the darkness comes. One is that we "just keep right on walking." If you are driving at night and the lights go out, you stop as quickly as possible. But in the spiritual realm, when the lights go out, you keep on walking. You keep on doing those things you know are right. If it is right to pray, give, go to church, study the Bible, witness, and practice holiness when everything is going well, it is right to do these things when it seems like everything is going wrong.

We are not to do right simply because we feel like doing right. We are to do right because it is right. It is great to live as God wants us to live and be contented, healthy, happy, holy, and feel the sense of the blessing of God on our lives. The time will come however, when we pray and feel that God does not hear nor is anywhere around. We may even feel that God does not care. We may not be able to do anything about our emotions, but we can do something about our actions. Christians who live by their feelings live as the unsaved do. It is normal and natural to live by feelings, but Christians are to live by the word of God. We are to do right whether we feel like it or not.

When the darkness comes, we are in a test from God which will reveal if we really trust Him or not. The darkness reveals what we really trust. The degree that we live by the commandments of God is the degree of our Christian maturity. The truly dedicated ones will keep on doing those things they knew were right before the lights went out! The most common thing to do in darkness is to stop doing right and allow our emotions to dictate what we do rather than allowing the Word of God to direct us.

When Abraham went to Egypt, he substituted his way for God's way. He did what God said not to do. He kindled his own fire and then walked in the light of it. God has a way of doing things which is revealed in His word, but man has a way of doing things which is revealed in his feelings. When the dark comes, we must go on "automatic pilot" and trust God's word rather than our feelings.

Our society tells us there is a way to have happiness, peace, contentment, and fulfilment in life. They tell us to get a good education, get a good job, get a lot of money, and get a lot of material things, and then we can have happiness in life. That kind of thinking is "man lighting his own fire and walking in the light of it." The result of living like that is given in these verses in Isaiah. He tells us, "This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow."

Two kinds of sorrow will be experienced by those who choose to neglect God's way of living. They will have the sorrow of a wasted life. They cannot be and do what their Creator designed for them because they decided to light their own fire and do their own thing. They will have the sorrow of an eternity separated from God in a lake of fire. That is a high price to pay for selfish living.

God's way is given in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." If we put God and His word first in our lives and live by His commandments, we will have the best possible life here with an eternity that will be more than we could ever wish or hope for. The choice is yours. Live by feelings or commandments! Walk in His light or your own.

(Immanuel Baptist Church: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
January 30, 2003

MOLESTING THE PLACE OF WORSHIP!

God has given us a divine resource to guide and protect us. It is called “the conscience.” This resource must be taught and trained correctly before it will function as God intended. Tragically, most people molest and abuse the conscience so badly that it ceases to function as intended. Everyone wants a quiet, peaceful, and joy filled life, but that is impossible for the person who has abused, molested, or failed to train his conscience.

Jesus describes the mind of the unsaved, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man.” (Matt 15:19). We are born with a sinful heart which produces sinful words and actions. The sin in us is revealed by a deliberate rebellion to God and His word. Isaiah 57:4 says we are like children who stick out their tongue at God.

God has given us a conscience which hammers at our minds when we do things contrary to what our conscience has been taught. This relentless ringing in our ears will be dealt with by obeying the conscience or over riding it. Failure to obey the conscience is a sin. Some try to hide their sin as Adam and Eve. Some will try to cover their sin as King David when he had Uriah killed to hide his sin with Bathsheba. Anyway of dealing with the conscience other than by proper training and obeying it a deadly molesting of this divine resource.

When we think or do anything contrary to our conscience, it begins to bother us. If we obey, our conscience will stay pure and strong. If we continually violate it, the sensitivity to sin lessens so that sinful deeds do not bother us as they once did. Violating the conscience is like putting a hot iron on it, “Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1Tim 4:2).

A constantly violated conscience becomes insensitive. This is spiritual suicide because the person will not be convicted of the sins he commits. The reason for filling our minds with God’s word is so that the conscience will be well informed as to God’s will for us. This is why many people think they are alright because they are not convicted of things they do. They don’t know that they are guilty of molesting their conscience by improperly training or by a failure to obey.

First John 3:4 defines sin, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” Any sin is an offense to God. A person who does not know what God has said in His word may be in sin and not even realize he is offending God. The wages of sin is death whether you know it or not. Failure to do what we know is right is a sin and a molestation of the conscience. James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” When your conscience tells you that something is right or wrong to do, but you fail to obey, you have sinned, molested your conscience, and will lose your peace, joy, and contentment.

Many years ago, theologians put together a list they called the seven deadly sins. They were lust, anger, coveting, pride, envy, gluttony, and laziness. All these sins are in the mind. They are sinful attitudes which will result in sinful deeds. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Whatever is in the mind will be revealed by words and deeds. These sins proceed from a mind thinking on the wrong things. Many things can help us from committing certain outward sins, but the properly trained conscience will help us from committing sins in the mind.

Many people who will not commit an outward evil deed will commit vile and wicked sins in their minds. A man who is faithful to his wife may be guilty in the sight of God of adultery because of his thought life. Jesus said “...That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt 5:28). We may call it a lustful thought, but God charges us with adultery. When the conscience is well informed by the Word of God continually going into the mind, it will convict us of the sins of the mind. Obedience to our conscience leaves it pure and sensitive. The molested or ignorant conscience leaves a person defenseless to the destructiveness of sin.

Titus 1:15 says, “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. When a person defiles his mind by sinful thinking, his conscience is also defiled and molested by the evil thoughts. Evil thinking does not require anyone, anything, or any place in order to take place.

There are certain sins you can flee, but not sins of the mind. We tend to think that because sinful thinking is not on the outside where others see it, that it must not be too bad. But bad thinking eventually breeds bad conduct. The more you think and meditate on something, the more it grows in the mind until it is expressed by outward actions. The sins that began in the mind will be seen by the actions it produces. When you sow a thought, you reap a deed. Sow a deed, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap a destiny. This means that the destiny of people can begin with a thought.

You can’t prevent a sinful thought from popping into your mind, but you can decide if you will fondle and think about it. You could not prevent a bird from landing on your head, but you could prevent it from building a nest there. This is why people do not “fall” into sin. When a person’s sin becomes visible on the outside, it was nurtured a long time ago in the mind. It all starts on the inside!

Jesus said the Pharisees were clean on the outside, but inside they were full of dead men’s bones. The mind is where we worship God, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Sin in the thought life desecrates our place of worship and molests our conscience at the same time.

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: PASTOR: Arnold Martin)