FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
August 7, 2003

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT?

The best life we can have is to know and do God’s will which is revealed mostly in His word. He may lead by our desires, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4). Sometimes He leads by controlling the situations in our lives. As we study God’s word, we find there are things He wants us to do and other things He has promised He will do. Many problems are caused when we want to do and control things which God has reserved for Himself.

Many nervous break downs, self inflicted storms, and bad decisions could be eliminated if we would learn what God has told us to do and do them. A good example is, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron 7:14). This verse contains things we are to do and things God said He would do. Our responsibility is to humble ourselves before God, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. When we do that, God said He would forgive our sin and heal our land.

The problem is that we want to climb over into the responsibilities of God and get into the “healing of the land” business. Too many of God’s people spend time, energy, and effort in fighting abortion, homosexuality, alcohol and other drugs, and crime instead of doing what God has said. We need to stay on our side of the fence. The problem with our land is not these things mentioned above. The problem with our land is that Christians will not humble themselves before almighty God, pray, seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.

Psalm one gives another example, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” If we want to be blessed by God, then we must learn and do what God has instructed us to do. We must learn and do our duty. Our Lord has told us not to seek nor listen to the advice of those who do not know God or His principles in matters which concern spiritual life.

These verses tell us to meditate in the law of God day and night. This means to read, study, think about, and obey the truths and principles of scripture. God’s part is to see that we are blessed, happy, and contented people. His part is to see that we are like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit, and that whatsoever we do shall prosper. God tells us that if we run with the right crowd, live in the Bible, and obey it, He will see to it that we prosper.

Our problems come when we decide that we get in on the responsibilities God has reserved for Himself. When we do this, we are attempting to take over God’s job. This says by our actions, “Thus saith me,” rather than, “Thus saith God.”

Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” The first six words tell us what we are to do. The next six words tell us what God will do if we do our part. It is not our job to direct our paths. It is our job and responsibility to acknowledge God in all that we do. It is our job to praise Him, love Him, worship Him, honor, serve, exalt, and obey Him. It is His job to direct our paths.

We develop a serious problem when we get over into the “directing our path” business. We want to decide what we do and where we go. We need to learn that when we are on God’s side, we cannot accomplish what we want to do. It is not smart to try to do God’s job. We are not qualified; therefore, we will not only fail in our efforts, but we will have a lot of frustration as long as we try to do what God has reserved for Himself.

As long as we try to do God’s responsibility, we are neglecting our responsibility. We certainly will fail at doing what God said He would do, but we also fail at what we are suppose to do. Is it any wonder that things cannot turn our right when we are living like that? If we get concerned about learning God’s will for us and obeying it, we can be assured that God will direct our paths.

We need to quit thinking about how things are going to turn out and start doing what God has commanded. We need to leave the results up to Him. Peter made this mistake when he cut off a man’s ear. He got into the “directing path” business instead of acknowledging the Lord. He ended up running and denying his Savior.

America is becoming a heathen nation. We are turning from God at an alarming rate. The only hope is not political preachers, marches, politics, or the congress. The only hope for America is for God’s people to seek the face of God, turn from their evil ways, and pray. If God’s people will do that, we have the promise of God that He will heal the land.

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” There are so many things we want and need in life. We want and need love, material things, friends, money, and other things. How are we to get them? Almost everyone seeks them. They spend the time and energy seeking the things they want and need. They are trying to do what God said was His responsibility.

It is not our job to provide those things for ourselves. Our part is to seek God, His Kingdom, and His righteousness first. If we do that, we have the promise from God’s word that He will supply all these other things. Want success in life? Then learn your responsibilities and duty and do them. Trust God to take care of the rest!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
August 14, 2003

HOW TO LISTEN TO GOD!

God is creator of all, but He is the Heavenly Father of only those who receive Him as their Lord and Savior. He has a will for all lives, but He reveals His will to those who belong to Him. Revelation 2:7 says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” Only after salvation does a person has ears to hear what God is saying, but he needs to develop his spiritual hearing. God still speaks to His people. Our problem is that we are not hearing!

There are some things we can do to help us to develop our spiritual ears. One is “LOOK.” Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” We can hear God speak as we observe the nature He has created. It would be a shame for a woman to cook a delicious meal, clean the house, have some flowers and candles on the table, and her husband come home, gulp down the food, get the paper and head for the living room to watch the television and never even look around to see what had been done for him!

Yet, this is what we do to God all the time. He has created a beautiful world for us to live in and enjoy, but most take it all for granted. We do not even look at the trees, animals, the sky, and nature and see the power, might, and majesty of a wonderful God. If we would hear God speak, we must LOOK!

The second word is “DO.” John 7:17 tells us, “If any man will DO his will, he shall know of the doctrine.” Our Lord is saying that when you come to God and say, “God show me your will, and I will DO it,” He promises to reveal the truth of God to you. No one will ever understand the great truths of God’s word until they are willing to DO His will. God never reveals His will for our consideration. When we are willing to sign a blank contract and turn it back to God and say, “God, fill it out and I will DO it,” then we can be assured of knowing what God is saying.

The third word is “CALL.” Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” One reason we do not hear what God is saying is because we do not call to Him. God is saying, “You talk to me and I will talk to you.” It is tragic that we will spend more time in a day talking to a salesman about something we don’t want to buy than we do our heavenly Father!

Most people will spend more time talking on the telephone to a complete stranger than they do talking to the best friend the human mind can imagine. Our God who laid down his life so that we might live eternally does not get 20 minutes a day of our time. That is tragic indeed! There is a friend who loves us so much that our own mother’s love would seem like hate in comparison to it, yet we give Him so little of our time.

The fact that we do not call reveals a terrible sin in our lives. It is the sin of unbelief. We call on those we believe can help us. We call on our friends in time of need. We call on those we love and enjoy being with. This means that if we are not calling on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we just don’t have the faith that it is worth our while to do so. This will prove we don’t know Him. To know Jesus is to love Him. To love Him is to want to spend time with Him and call on His name.

The fourth word is “TAKE.” We must learn to take everything that comes our way as a gift from our Father. God is sovereign. That means nothing can happen until it goes through His hands first. If anything comes to a child of God, God himself must have allowed it to happen. It may be because of someone’s sin or negligence, but by the time it gets to us, it becomes His will for us.

Can you imagine saying to Joseph in the Egyptian prison, “Joseph, I don’t understand why your brothers hated you, sold you into slavery, Potiphar’s wife trying to seduce you and lying to get you thrown into prison, or why the butler forgot about you when you interpreted his dream, but I do know that this is God’s will for you.”

Joseph may have said, “Man, if this is God’s will, what kind of God do I serve?” Joseph could not see the throne room from the prison. It would have been impossible to understand apart from faith in a loving God. Many times we cannot see what God is up to in our lives; therefore, we must rely on the fact that all that God does or allows, He will turn it into something for our good. We must take everything that God brings or allows into our lives as coming from His hand.

The next word is “HUSH.” The Bible says in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Much of our time is spent in the noise of the t.v., the telephone, and the recreation of our lives. There must come a time when we are quiet before God. Elijah heard and saw the great earthquake and fire, but God was not in them. God did speak to Elijah in a still, small voice. You cannot hear the impression God wants to make on your mind without being still and listening to what God wants you to know.

The last and most important word is “READ.” We must read God’s word if we are to know what His will is. If we are to develop our spiritual ears, we must exercise them. The best exercises we can have is to spend quiet time reading what God has said to us and be quiet in His presence. This is the time and place to call out to Him in prayer. This is the best spiritual exercises we can have.

Paul told Timothy, “Exercise thyself unto godliness.” If we are going to hear what God says, we must “EXERCISE.” No one can hear God without being godly. No one is godly by accident. If we will follow the following exercise program, we will hear what God is saying to us: Take 30 minutes each day to get along in some quiet place with God, read His word, call out to Him in prayer, and listen to what He has to say! HAPPY LISTENING!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
August 21, 2003

FROM DEPRESSION TO JOY!

Psalm 42 gives a picture of a lonely, depressed man who knows God, but some things had stolen his joy and peace. If a person is not saved, there can be no continuing or lasting joy. Isaiah 48:22 says, “There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.”
The wicked are classified as people who fail to submit themselves to the Lord when they have the ability to do so. The Bible says in Proverbs 21:4 “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.” Plowing is a good thing, but when you plow and reject the one who owns the ground, the seed, and all it takes to make it grow, God says it is wickedness.

This man in Psalm 42 feels abandoned and cut off from God. He says in verses 1 & 2, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” His heart was hungry for God but he didn’t know when God would be real to him again.

His condition is made worse by his enemies in verse 3, “My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” They were saying, “If your God is so great, where is He? How come you are so depressed and lonely?”
In verse 4 he remembers the way it use to be, “When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.” He use to go to church. He remembered how great it was to be right with God and rejoice and worship with God’s people, but for some reason, things were not like that now and it was causing him problems.

In verse 5, he is talking to himself, “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” He doesn’t know why he is so depressed. He does knows his privileges will be restored. As you read this psalm, you see this man almost getting on his feet, then seems to be knocked down again. Why?
The answer is that this man was focusing on His circumstances rather than on his God. Joy is found in God, but he kept looking at his circumstances. All of us have been there. We know biblical truth and how things are according to God’s word, but we tend to dwell on our circumstances which will steal our joy because our circumstances are not what we would like for them to be.

Most people cannot enjoy the multitude of blessings they have because of focusing on some circumstance they do not like. The fact is that we will always have something in our lives we would rather not have. If we get the habit of analyzing our circumstances too much, we will stay depressed most of the time.

True joy is a gift of God. It is a fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace...” When we walk by sight, we are looking at the physical things as they are now. If we walk by faith and by the Spirit, we walk and live by the way God says they are, not as they appear now!

The Apostle Paul was in a small jail cell with no ventilation, no bathroom facilities, little food and few friends. He did not know if he would be released or executed. If anyone had a reason to be depressed, it was Paul. But his writings sounds like he was living in a Holiday Inn. He was not “cast down nor lonely.”

The difference in these two men is that one was struggling with the circumstances while the other was rejoicing in his God. Paul was enjoying the work of the Holy Spirit in his life who produced love, joy, peace, gentleness, meekness, etc. The Psalmist did not have the bad circumstances as Paul did, but he had lost his joy and was depressed. Paul had the worse circumstances one could imagine, but retained his joy. How can that be?

We must first understand what joy is. “Spiritual joy is not related to circumstances. It is a gift from God produced in those who believe the gospel of Christ as they endure trials and focus on His eternal glory.” It has nothing to do our circumstances or how well things are going in our lives. Things could not be worse for Paul and yet he had an abundance of joy.

Paul’s memory of the blessings of God to him helped him to maintain a thankful and joyful attitude. He remembered the church at Philippi and Lydia, the first convert, and the jailor and his family who got saved. Paul remembered the good, but did not dwell on the negative things which happened to him. If we are to maintain our joy, we must remember the good and forget the bad.

Paul does not talk about his beatings and times of imprisonment. He said, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” As you think on the good things in life, you have a tendency to forget the hurts and wounds of life. Continually dwelling on negative things of life can lead to depression. The Bible says, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” When you cultivate a habit of thinking on the good things and good memories, you will promote joy. If you develop a habit of thinking on the bad things, you will be a depressed and lonely person.

Paul was in one of the worse conditions a person could be in, but he thought of the precious people God had saved and how they had helped him in starting the church. He though on how sacrificially they had given to the cause of Christ and their fellowship in the Gospel. Paul was not looking at the way things were, but how they were going to be in the future. Joy will be maintained in us as we dwell on spiritual realities. These are permanent things. The things we see, both the good and bad are temporary. This is why we must walk by faith, not by sight. Live for the permanent, not the temporary!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
August 28, 2003

WHICH FORGIVENESS SHOULD I ASK FOR?

Many people are confused about First John 1:9. It says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To understand this verse, we must know that there are two kinds of forgiveness. The first is forgiveness God will grant to a repentant sinner who asks for salvation. This is a one time forgiveness. It brings an eternal blessed state to the receiver according to Romans 4:7-8, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

The blessed person who has received forgiveness of his sins. He has eternal life with the promise that God will never impute or charge another sin to his account. This is the person described in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” This is judicial forgiveness. This is God as judge declaring a person forgiven of all sin as a result of the atonement of Jesus and making him a child of God. Jesus said in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

This judicial forgiveness begins a work of our faithful God in the forgiven sinner, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). The work that God begins in a person, He will complete it. Judicial forgiveness frees us from the penalty of our sin and frees us from condemnation from God.

In First John 1:9, we are told to continually ask for forgiveness with the promise that God will cleanse us. This is a different kind forgiveness. It is the forgiveness asked of a child to a loving Father. It is parental forgiveness and cleansing. This is the forgiveness Jesus told His disciples to ask for in the model prayer. This kind of forgiveness restores our fellowship with our Father after we have offended Him.

Sometimes God does get angry with His children and will bring severe consequences in their lives. Hebrews 12:5-8 describes this, “...My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

Our heavenly Father promises chastisement if we sin. This is also one of the proofs of salvation. A person who sins and is chastised by the Lord and endures it proves he is saved. When the trouble is over and he is still trusting in the Lord, it proves he has genuine salvation. Those who discard their faith in the trouble and trials prove they were not saved to begin with.

Also, those who can sin and not have the chastening of the Lord gives proof that they were never saved. God has no children who sin without chastisement. Please understand, those who sin without punishment prove that God is not their Father. Verse 11 says, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.” When God’s people sin, He brings the stripes to cause them to forsake the sin and reap the fruit of righteousness.

When God brings punishment to the unsaved, it is for justice. When God brings trouble to His people, it is for their good and development. Sometimes God gets angry with His people for repeated sin. It was said of Solomon in 1st Kings 11:9, “And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.” Jesus was angry with Peter on several occasions. He rebuked James and John in Luke nine. God sometimes will get angry with us when we sin after we should know better.

When Jesus washed the disciples feet, Peter refused. Jesus told Peter if He did not wash his feet that he had no part with Him. Peter then told the Lord to wash him all over. Jesus replied in John 13:10, “...He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.” He was saying, when you are saved, you have taken the bath of salvation. You don’t need that again. You just need to wash your feet as you travel in this dirty world. This is the cleansing meant in 1 John 1:9. Jesus knew that Judas had not trusted in Him and did not have the bath of salvation. He was the one not clean.

When we sin as believers, we are to come to the Lord confessing our sin. To confess means “to say the same.” This means when we confess our, we are to say the same thing about our sin that God says. God says that sin is wickedness. He says that sin is despising the commands of God. God tells us that sin offends Him. Once we confess the sin, we are to forsake it and ask for cleansing for it.

Our Lord has promised us in Proverbs 28:13, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” We must confess and forsake our sins quickly. It always brings God’s mercy and may alleviate some of the chastening of God. When David sinned with Bathsheba, he said in Psalm 51:3, “My sin is ever before me.” David’s sin had blocked his view of God. When David confessed his sin, he said in Psalm 16:8,  “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Confession of a child of God brings God’s mercy!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 3, 2003

THE REASON FOR JOY!

Whether we have joy and comfort or misery and heartache depends on where our focus in life is. We are reminded to set our affections on things above and not on things of the earth. People who have their minds on the things of this earth should prepare for a miserable life.

The people in First Peter were undergoing severe persecution. They needed a source of joy and they got it from the truth of Scripture. Peter reminds these suffering people in 1:2 that they are the elect of God. The world may persecute them but God has chosen them and has provided an great inheritance for all those who belong to him.

I Peter 1:3-4 tells us, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.”

If you received news of an inheritance, you would be so excited that you would not rest until you found out about it. The Bible tells us that God has given an awesome inheritance to all who come to Him. When a person is saved, he is given at that moment the great inheritance of our Lord. We receive part of it now, but all of the fullness of it will not be realized until our Lord comes for us.

Not only does God have an inheritance for us, He is our inheritance. Psalm 16:5 says, “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” When we get saved, we inherit God. Scripture says that when we see Christ, “we shall be like Him for we shall see him as He is”. We become joint heirs with the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit of God indwells us at the moment we get saved. He changes our lives so that we can never be what we were. We become new creatures in Christ and old things are passed away!
Since we have such a great inheritance, we ought to learn something about it. In verse three, we learn that God is the source of that inheritance. He is the one who hath begotten us again unto a living hope by Jesus’ resurrection unto an eternal inheritance.

Verse three gives us the motive of God in providing this inheritance. It is according to his abundant mercy. God is a merciful God. Man is in a cursed, depraved, fallen condition and is damned to an eternal hell and unable to do anything about it. He is in a pitiful condition. He is enslaved to sin with his heart and mind corrupted by the world, flesh, and Satan. The greatest thing man needs is mercy. God looks on the pitiful sinner and has mercy. When a person is saved, God is taking him from misery to glory. This knowledge will bring us joy.

We receive the great inheritance God has provided for us by “being born again.” When a person is “born again,” he not only receives an inheritance, he receives the mercy of God and the very Spirit of God in his soul. Jesus said in John 3:3 “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Turning over a new leaf will not do it! Going to church and doing good things will not do it. A person “must” be born again. The new birth gives new life. The result of this new birth gives us a living hope. All man’s hopes are dying. All his dreams and hopes are gone at his death, but for a child of God, death just brings the fulfillment of our hope.

This inheritance is incorruptible. Everything on this earth decays whether it is a new car, home, or relationship. We live in a polluted world. This is the reason we are to store our treasure in heaven where it will not be corrupted. Nothing can cause this inheritance to fade as things do on earth. Our inheritance is undefiled. It cannot be contaminated or touched by sin. It is eternal. Why should we keep our focus on things of the earth which are temporary when we have an eternal, non corruptible, non defiled, non fading inheritance in heaven?

This inheritance is secure. It is reserved in heaven. There is no safer place to keep anything. There will never be an invasion of heaven to steal what we have there. Someone may say, “ Well, I can see that our inheritance is safe and secure, but what about me. I’m saved, but how do I know I can make it?” Good question! Verse five describes what God does for those who are elect, saved, and chosen, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

The Christian has an inheritance which is secure, but he is also secure because it is God who keeps and preserves each child of God. Some may say, “I was saved. Jesus started a work in me, but how can I know that I will make it?” Philippians 1:6 gives a good answer, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It was God who started the work of salvation in us and it is God who will finish the work he started.

Some may say, “What if I stumble before I get to the finish line? What if I’m tempted and fall.” Jude 24 answers that, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.” You may stumble, but God will see to it that you don’t fall to the point of losing your salvation. Who gets the glory for that? God does, not you. If I had to keep myself, then when I got to heaven, I would have a right to brag, but if it is God who prevents me from falling and if it is God who is going to finish the work he started, he gets all the glory for me getting to heaven.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” What a great inheritance we have through our Lord Jesus. We ought to thank God and praise him for what he has provided for us. We will thank him for the endless ages to come. Why not start now?

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 17, 2003

ETERNAL LIFE OR HELL?

If someone said, “I know I’m a sinner because God has said, “The wages of sin is death. I know that Jesus died on a cross to pay the penalty for my sin, rose the third day, and is coming back again. I want to be saved from eternal hell and I know the Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved,” but, what does “believe” mean? I know these things are true, but is knowing and believing the same?” Could you answer this question?

Knowing the definition of “believe” could mean the difference between getting eternal life or eternal death. It is by believing that one becomes a Christian. It is by believing that the Christian grows in grace and knowledge. Learning the Bible definition of “believe” will reveal to the unsaved professors of salvation that they have been deceived.

Romans 10:9-10 tell us what it takes to be saved, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” To be saved, we must BELIEVE that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with our mouth that Jesus is not only Lord, but that he is my Lord!

When a person believes the truth of the gospel to the degree that he is willing to tell others that Jesus is his Lord, he has exercised Bible believing. What must he believe? He must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. In that one belief is contained all the other parts of the gospel. He must know that Jesus is the Son of God who came to earth in human flesh, paid the penalty for our sin, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God. Since God raised Him from the dead, it means that Jesus accomplished all that God wanted accomplished in his life, ministry, and death. He will one day return to rule as King in all His glory.

Many people say, “Oh, I believe in God,” or “I believe in Jesus.” The only problem is that they are not believing as God said they must to receive eternal life. They are like the ones in John 2:23 who believed, but Jesus did not commit himself to them. He knew their hearts were not right. When you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and you are willing to confess Him as your Lord, you have a belief that results in salvation. When I confess that “Jesus is Lord,” I’m saying that He is Lord of my life and I submit myself to Him.

This is admitting that someone else accomplished my salvation because I could not do it by myself. Since I do believe that He is Lord, King, and Creator, I willingly submit myself to His lordship. I am saying, “He is my King. He is Lord of my life. I submit myself to Him.” This attitude reveals humility which is necessary for salvation. Scripture tells us that God rejects the proud but gives grace to the humble. Salvation comes to the one who knows he cannot save himself, but believes and trust in the ministry, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ who is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.

To those who are religious but lost, our Lord gives a salvation invitation in James 4:6-10, “...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”
James is talking to the sinners and double minded. No where is a Christian called a “sinner.” These are the ones described in James 1:22, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” These are those who are double minded. They have a mind to “hear” the word in the church, but their “doing” side is in the world. They have a mind to hear the things of God, but they do the things of Satan. They may be religious, but they are lost.

They have the kind of faith James 2:14 talks about, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” No, the kind of faith which only hears but does not do cannot save. When a person believes on Jesus Christ and confesses Him as Lord, this reveals the kind of faith that hears and obeys God’s word which will produce good works. Those who are really saved can look at their works and know they have true saving faith. If we look at our life and find all our hearing is in the church, but our doing is in the world, we are double minded and not saved.

James 4:4 again identifies these people, “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.” These people have their hearing in the church and their doing in the world. The Bible says of these that they are the enemies of God.

God gives His grace to the humble, not the proud. When we submit to God, we are enlisting under His command. We are changing our allegiance from the world, flesh, and Satan to the Lord Jesus. When we do that, we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.
Many are like the rich ruler who asked Jesus what to do to be saved. He was not willing to be submitted and follow Him. Many today recognize Jesus by their words, but fail to submit to Him as Lord. We want fire insurance from hell, but we still want to be in control of our own life. Those who listen to His words but will not confess and submit to Him as their Lord may be religious, but they are lost. We can believe the facts about Jesus and be lost! If we have the belief that is willing to obey, our belief leads to eternal life!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor; Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 24, 2003

OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF DEATH!

Most people fear death because they don’t know what is going to happen when they leave this body. For others, fear comes because they do know what is going to happen. There is a way a child of God can live which will bring the best life possible here and then go through death without fear. First Peter 4:1-2 tells us how this is possible, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”

Understanding the meaning of these two verses will remove the fear of death and allow us to learn and do the will of God. The word “arm” is a military term. We must put on our spiritual armor if we to be successful. If we “arm” ourselves with the same mind Jesus had when he came to death, we can face death as He did. The phrase “suffered in the flesh” means that He died. Jesus knew His death would produce great benefits for Himself and mankind. He knew that He would be victorious and also remain in the will of God. He was “armed” with these thoughts which enabled Him to live and die in victory.

We to must be armed with the same mind Jesus had. We to must be willing to die to be in the will of God. Jesus said in Matthew 10:38-39, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” A cross was an instrument to kill the body. When we are willing to die for our Lord, we are truly denying “self.” That is when we are willing to say no to “self” and yes to the Lord.  Paul said, “I die daily.” He meant that he renewed his vow daily to die to his desires and wishes and submit himself to the will of God.

Jesus never sinned, but He had a lot dealings with sin in his human life. Scripture says He came in the “likeness of sinful flesh.” It says He came to this earth “for sin.” It says He “bore our sins in His body.” While on earth, He suffered the sinful acts of wicked men against Him.

When He “suffered in the flesh,” He was through with sin. No more will He be touched by sin. No more will sinful men do sinful things to Him. No more will He ever have to pay the penalty for our sin. Not only that, when He died or “suffered in the flesh,” He went back to heaven to return to the glory He had with the father. What Jesus was went through at His time of death was so painful that He even prayed to the Father that if there was any other way to let that “cup” pass from Him. But, with the mind that He was doing the will of God, He endured the cross, suffered the shame, and did it all with joy!

Every Christian should have as the greatest desire of his life to NOT sin. It was sin that caused Jesus to come and die on the cross. Sin destroys lives of Christians and causes untold hurt and harm to every human being. It is sin that causes people to be sent to an eternal burning hell. Behind every evil thing that happens is sin. The goal of the Christian life is to sin less and less.

Think about the fact that when you die, you also have “suffered in the flesh” as Jesus did. You to will go to be with your Lord and Savior who died in your place so that you could be saved. “What a day that will be when My Jesus I shall see. When I look upon His face, The one who saved me by His grace.” You will have a glorified body which will never think an evil thought nor do an evil deed. You will never suffer at the hands of an evil person again. There will not be any pain nor suffering in you again for all eternity. You will be with all the saints of all ages. You can sit down and talk with Adam, Eve, Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, Peter, Paul, James, and John. You will see and know every member of your family and every friend who has gone on to heaven before you.

Not only will you will be through with sin, but you will be with the Savior for ever. How bad can that be in comparison to what is going on here on earth? How bad can it be to leave this weak body for a glorious body? How bad can it be to spent all of our time in the presence of the Lord and with all His saints? How bad can it be to receive the full inheritance that Jesus has been preparing for us?
If we arm our self with this kind of thinking, it will produce in us a mind set that will allow us to see sin and the lust of the flesh for what it really is. Death to our Lord brought the greatest victory possible. When it comes time for us to die, we will be like our Lord for we shall see Him as He is. We to will be through with sin. This kind of thinking will arm us spiritually to see things as they really are. It will produce the kind of behavior given in verse 2, “That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”

The person who will have victory in death will be the person who has armed himself with the same mind Jesus had when He came to His time of death. That person will be so enlightened to the truth of how bad sin is, that he will start living his live pursuing the will of God rather than the lust of men.

This is the mind the martyrs were armed with that allowed them to be able to go through death victoriously. They knew that in death, they would cease from all sin. They knew they would be with their Lord and Savior and with the all the saints and angles of God. This mind will produce a boldness to live in the will of and depart from the lust of the sinful flesh. It will also produce peace and joy at the time of departure from the earth. The Apostle Paul had this kind of mind when he said, “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better” (Phil. 1:23).

To go through death without fear and to live our lives in the will of God, arm yourself with the same mind Jesus had!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)

FROM A PASTOR’S HEART
July 31, 2003

THE ONLY SIN THAT DAMNS!

There is a sin Christians commit that is a “mother” sin. It gives rise to every other sin committed in thought or action. It is the sin that prevents a Christian from being what he should be and prevents the unsaved from receiving eternal life. It is the sin of unbelief.
Unbelief is a sin that will produce wrong behavior in the midst of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. God used the people of Israel to demonstrate to us the wickedness of this sin. The Lord had done all He could to convince them that He was the only omnipotent God. He brought the ten plagues on Egypt which resulted in their being delivered from slavery.

At the Red Sea, He divided the waters to give them safety and then closed it to destroy their enemies. He gave them water from the rock and food from heaven. He presented Himself to them in a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day. He protected them and provided their every need.

What will they do when a problems come? Numbers 14:1-4 gives an illustration of what the sin of unbelief produces, “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”

Those people did then just like we do today. They walked by sight and not by faith. They never learned to trust the invisible God; therefore, they ended up worshiping idols and complaining against God. We commit the same sin today as they did then when circumstances come into our lives that we don’t like and we complain, murmur, worry, or gripe about them. The same God who brought the good things to our lives allows the bad also. He is sovereign. Nothing can come into our lives unless He knows, brings or allows.

When we worry, complain, or murmur, we are accusing God of not being good to us. We accuse Him of lying because He said he would meet our every need. He said He would be friend that sticks closer than a brother. He said that all things work together for good to those who love God. When we murmur, complain, gripe, or worry, we commit the same sin Israel did in this situation.
The sin of continued unbelief provokes the Lord to anger. God said of these people He had done so much for verse 11, “And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have showed among them?”

God had been good to them. He had delivered them from the slavery in Egypt. He had opened the Red Sea to provide for their safety, He fed them, clothed them, and met every need they had. He had showed them great signs and wonders. What would their response be when some need came in their life? Would they respond in faith and trust to God or act in unbelief? They acted in unbelief in the midst of overwhelming evidence to trust God. The Lord Himself said He was provoked by their sin of unbelief.

God is a God of mercy, love, compassion, kindness, and generosity, but even God has a limit. There came a time when the mercy was replaced with judgment. It was when they failed to enter the land God promised. The 12 spies said the land was everything that God said and more, but ten of the spies said, “There are giants in the land. We are like grasshoppers in their sight. We cannot take the land.” This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. God’s mercy came to a pause. He refused to allow them to go into the land until every person from 20 years old and up died in the wilderness. God is a God of mercy, but the continuance in the sin of unbelief will cause the mercy to be replaced by wrath.

The Israelites did then as we tend to do now. They looked at the situation and said, “This is a bad situation. There are giants in the land. We are not a trained army. They have walled cities and iron chariots. We cannot take the land.” Yes, there would have been reason to fear if they had been ordinary people, but they had the promise of God that He would bring them into the land in safety.
How did God analyze the situation? He knew it made no difference how weak they were. He delivered them from Egypt and they were weak then. He protected them and provided for them in the desert. His estimation of the circumstance was given in verse 11, “How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me.” God looked past all their excuses to the real reason. It was because of the sin of unbelief. It was not that they could not believe God. Their sin was that they would not believe God.

The sin that caused Israel to provoke God to wrath was unbelief in the midst of overwhelming evidence that they served a loving, merciful, omnipotent God. The continued in their unbelief and caused God to bring judgment on their sin. Any time believers gripe, murmur, complaint, or worry, we are committing the sin of unbelief to our Sovereign God.

What is the reason a person goes to hell? Is it because of all the sins he has committed? No! It is because he commits one sin of unbelief. He refuses to believe in Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the cross. The sin that sends people to hell is the sin of unbelief. The sin that prevents Christians from living in the will of God is unbelief. Unbelief is the mother of all sins!

(IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH: Pastor, Arnold Martin)