Why Do We Expect the World To Act Like Christians When Christians Don't Act Like Christians?

We live in crazy times. It seems like with every passing day the world is getting worse and worse. Some Christians have started to cry foul. They have taken to Facebook to complain about the state of our nation or they will sit around their dinner table and discuss how terrible things have gotten. Some have turned to political activism and picket city hall or attend meetings. I am in no way criticizing political activism, but I have seen, especially lately, that some Christians have taken to political activism but have neglected their duty as a Christian. I hear complaints all the time about how our nation is going morally down the tubes, but the same people that complain are the ones that do not go to church. I said in my sermon yesterday, "If you do not take the time to go to church, then you have no business to complain about how our nation is becoming." Why? Because a strong nation is built by strong churches. Why does it seem like Christians are losing the battle in our country? Because we are not willing to act like Christians. In my independent Baptist circles there is so much infighting, so much hatred, so little reaching out that it is no wonder that the world doesn't take us seriously. What am I trying to say? As Christians, we need to take a good long look at ourselves and figure out what we are doing wrong. I believe that when we are honest with ourselves we will see that our biggest problem is that we are not as consecrated to God as we should be. We haven't given ourselves wholly to God, and now we are seeing the consequences of the world calling us out on it. Why is the United States failing morally? The Bible says that it is because of us, "If MY people, which are called by MY name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land." This nation is not being ruined by the homosexual crowd, the abortion crowd, or the evolution crowd; it is being ruined by Christians who are not willing to humble themselves, pray, and turn from their wicked ways. How sobering! So let me ask you, are you being part of the problem or part of the solution? If we had churches and Christians who were completely given to God, I believe we can see a revival the likes of which we have never seen before. Pray for revival! Start by praying for yourself.

Fully Rely On God

So, it has been years since I have posted. I am now the assistant pastor of a church plant in Frederick, MD.  Check out our web site at www.ballengercreekbaptist.org. As I embark on this new journey in my life: marriage, pastoring, parenting (a lot has happened in these few years!) I can't help but ask my self whether or not God really can use me. Why should he? There is nothing special about Curtis King; I am not some spiritual giant! But then I stop to think about some of the heroes in the Bible. You know, men like Moses, Abraham, and David were just normal everyday guys. They were a lot like you and me. The difference between the great Bible heroes of old and Christians today is that those men understood how big of a God they served. Yes, sometimes they faltered (Abraham and Hagar, David and Bathsheba) but it is pretty clear that when they were walking with God and fully relying on Him, that was when great things happened. So what? I see two thinks out of this: 1. As a pastor and a Christian I must fully rely on God. 2. As a church, we must fully rely on God. A lot of churches rely on programs, activities, musicals, and cook-outs for their growth. Other churches rely on their outreach ministry for growth. There is nothing wrong with these things, especially the outreach ministry, we must reach out to our community and we must do door to door visitation. But are we relying on that? Am I relying on how many doors I knocked this week instead of relying on God? I have often heard a phrase "Pray like it all depends on God; work like it all depends on you." I agree completely with this statement. God will not bless a church or a Christian who will not work, but on the flip side, God will not use a Christian or a church that is relying on their work rather than on their God. All that was to say this one simple thing: God WILL use Curtis King and Ballenger Creek Baptist Church when we sincerely believe that GOD will give the increase. I want to see a great work done in Frederick, so does God; I do not want to be the one to hold God's blessings back on my city. Ultimately, when we are fully relying on God, he will get the glory for the great work done in the church and in the changed lives of people. Isn't that what we are here for? to glorify God? Yes! So here is my challenge to myself and to whoever may read this (you know, the thousands of people just dying to read what I have to say!): Trust God! Everything else will fail you! People will fail you, programs will fail you, outreach ministries, yes, will fail you. There is only ONE person who we can trust and that is God. Lean not unto thine own understanding, in ALL thy ways acknowledge Him. Then and only then will we see God truly use our feeble attempts. If you are reading this, please pray for me and for Ballenger Creek Baptist Church, that we will fully rely on God and that we will reach the city of Frederick, MD for the glory of God. Thank you!

Research Paper on the Holy Spirit

I realized that I haven't posted in a while so I decided to post my research paper that I turned in today. It's not a masterpiece but you can read it. Maybe you can also give me more info for my oral exam coming up. Here it is:

The Holy Spirit is one of the most argued figures in the entire Bible. Most “Christian” religions claim him but most of them contradict each other. Jehovah’s Witnesses belief that He is nothing more than a force, Charismatic’s teach that His main ministry is gift’s giving, etc. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, with a distinct personality and many duties. The Bible has a whole lot of stuff to say about the Holy Spirit but the big problem is that you cannot simply go to one passage to learn about who the Holy Spirit is. Teachings of the Holy Spirit are mentioned a verse here and a chapter there throughout the Old and New Testament that it actually requires us to study deeply and compare Scripture with Scripture; this is why there are so many false teachings about the Holy Spirit, people aren’t willing to study deeply. It is important that one draws his conclusions of the Holy Spirit from Biblical teachings. In this paper, I will strive to show that the Holy Spirit is God from Scriptures.

One way that we can see that the Holy Spirit is God is that there are places in the Bible that say that he is God. Acts 5:3-4 says, “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” In this passage we see that Peter interchangeably uses the Holy Spirit and God, as if they are the same. The reason is, is that they are the same. Another passage where we see that God and the Holy Spirit are interchangeable is in 1^st Corinthians. Chapter 3:16 says that we are the temple of God but 6:19 says that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. This argument, that the Bible equates God and the Holy Spirit, is probably the strongest that there is on the Holy Spirit’s deity.

Another great argument for the deity of the Holy Spirit is that the Bible associates the Holy Spirit with the other members of the Trinity. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity but for those who don’t know, the Bible makes it very clear. Some would argue that there are times that the Bible puts God the Father and the Son together and exclude the Holy Spirit and this is true; but when the Trinity is mentioned, it never says, the Father, the Son, and Gabriel” or any other name. The third member of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, there is no one else who fills in that spot. One passage in particular where this occurs is in Matt 28:19 which says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Another passage that one should note is 1^st John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Of course, there are other times where the Holy Spirit is said to be part of the Trinity but will not be discussed for sake of paper space.

Another way that we can see that the Holy Spirit is God is by His attributes and actions. This argument takes up a lot of Scripture and a whole lot is to be said about the Holy Spirit’s attributes and actions. There are several attributes given to the Holy Spirit that are divine. For instance, Hebrews 9:14 calls the Holy Spirit eternal, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Eternality is an attribute that is only given to God because although us human beings will live forever either in Heaven or Hell that is not what eternality is. Eternality is eternally past and eternally future. So we see from this passage that the Holy Spirit had no beginning; the Holy Spirit was present during creation, he existed before creation, he always has been and he always will be. Another attribute that ascribes deity to the Holy Spirit is His holiness. The attribute of the Holy Spirit being holy is his greatest attribute. He is not called the Love Spirit or the Joy Spirit, he is called the Holy Spirit. In fact, the term “Holy Spirit” or “Holy Ghost” is used in the Bible 90 times. To be holy means to be set apart from sin and iniquity. The word “holy” literally means to be physically pure and morally blameless. Sinlessness is an attribute that only God can have. Another attribute that is given to the Holy Spirit is omnipresence. Psalm 139:7 says, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” So we see that the psalmist asks where he can be where the Holy Spirit is not at but then answers his own question and says that the Holy Spirit is everywhere. Another passage that should comfort every Christians heart concerning the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit is John 14:17 which says that the Holy Spirit will dwell in us. If the Holy Spirit can dwell in me, here in the United States and in a missionary in China all at the same time, it is not a great stretch to say that he is everywhere. After all, one cannot be in two places at the same time unless he were everywhere at the same time. The omniscience of the Holy Spirit is another great attribute that he possesses. First Corinthians 2:10-11 says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” For the Holy Spirit to know the “deep things of God” he would have to be God. God’s ways are not understood by anyone less than God (Isaiah 55:8) So we see, if God knows all things, and the Holy Spirit knows all things of God, then the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is also omnipotent, which means that he has the power to do anything that his will and nature allows Him to do. Zechariah 4:6 shows the contrast between the limitation of man and the limitlessness of the Holy Spirit. It says, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” So we see that if the Holy Spirit is making up for our lack of capability with his unlimited amount of power than he must be God.[1] Another interesting attribute that the Holy Spirit claims is being truth. First John 5:6 says that the Spirit is truth. This is important because not only does the Spirit claim to be truth but so does Christ. We see in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This paper is not to prove the deity of Christ, which we easily could but we know that Jesus is God and that he is a member of the Trinity. If Jesus is truth and the Holy Spirit is truth then they are one and the same which shows that the Holy Spirit is God. So we see through a handful of the Holy Spirit’s attributes that he is God.

      Next let’s look at the actions of the Holy Spirit. Of course, there are times when the Holy Spirit’s attributes go hand in hand with his actions but his actions have a great significance in showing that he is God. First we see that the Holy Spirit created all things. The second verse in the entire Bible attests to the fact that the Holy Spirit created all things. Gen 1:2 says, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” So we become aware that not only was the Holy Spirit present for creation but that he was involved. Psalm 104:30 also says, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” Another great act we see, which we hold in our hands today is the inspiration of the Word of God. 2^nd Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” So we see that the Holy Spirit gave the prophets of old to say. If you compare that to 2^nd Timothy 3:16 you see that God inspired the Scriptures. So since they are used interchangeably we know that the Holy Spirit is God. 2^nd Samuel 23:2 also says, “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” So we see the work of inspiration was an act of the Holy Spirit.[2] Another action of the Holy Spirit which proves his deity is that he is the giver of life. 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.” The word quickeneth means “to make alive”. Life giving is an action of God. So we see that if the Holy Spirit gives life then he is God. Along those lines we see that Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20 says, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” I can’t begin to explain how this happened or how it worked but it is an act of God nonetheless. It is good for us to remember that God did say that his ways are not our ways. We cannot understand everything that God does but we can see that it was a divine work and miracle anyway. Another work that the Holy Spirit does is the act of regeneration. John 3 talks about Jesus and Nicodemus sitting and talking about being “born again” and then in verse eight he mentions being born of the Spirit. It does not need to be argued that our salvation has nothing to do with us but it has everything to do with God. The Holy Spirit does the action of regeneration when we get saved.[3] So we can see through these actions and others that are not in this paper that the Holy Spirit is God.

      In conclusion, I believe that to argue that the Holy Spirit is not God is a very uneducated belief. One cannot objectively search the Scriptures without seeing the deity of the Holy Spirit throughout. Let’s never forget that the very Bible that we hold in our hand and the simple fact that we are saved is a proof that the Holy Spirit is God. What an amazing truth!

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[1] The Holy Spirit, Charles Caldwell Ryrie. Moody Publishers, New York, New York. Pg. 22

[2] The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, R.A. Torrey. CreateSpace, New York, New York. Pg. 26

[3] The Holy Spirit, Arthur Pink. Bottom of the Hill Publishing, New York, New York. Pg. 49

100 Days!

100 Days til I get married to the most amazing girl in the world! Any words of wisdom you would like to give me?

Who Are You?

I asked this question to my roommates the other day. Each of them gave me a good answer. I expected them to talk about their families, calling in life, passion, walk with God, etc. When they were done I turned them to Isaiah chapter 6. I have been reading Isaiah in my devotions and this thought came to my mind. I have noticed it before, I've heard it preached on before, but on this day it particularly touched me and I'd like to share it with you. I was reading verses one through four of the passage. Wow! What an incredible passage. What a privilege Isaiah had to get to stand in the throneroom of God! The verses explain the majesty of God: God's train filling the temple, the angels having six wings: two to cover their face in respect, two to cover their feet in worship, and two to fly in service, and the many other things that I believe Isaiah saw that he was certainly to overwhelmed to write about. In verse 5 Isaiah then says, "is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Here is my thought. Isaiah did not see his flaws until he saw God. We cannot see ourselves for who we are until we see God for who he is. You may be reading this right now and saying to yourself, "I'm good! I've got no problems." But maybe you think this because you haven't been near the searching light of the character of God lately. Let's try to keep in mind who we are serving.
Woe
The story is told of two families in the hills of West Virgina. The first family (We will call them the Hattfields for sake of story) were discussing with the second family (the McCoys) how they were making the decision to install electric lights into their house. The McCoys didn't like that idea and decided to be content with the natural light from the sun during the day. The day came and the Hattfields installed their electric lights. They flipped the switch and were amazed by the clear and beautiful light that these bulbs up in the ceiling could give out. When the Oohing and Ahhing was over they began to look around. They realized that their home was a mess! With the new light source in their house they could now see into places that had never been cleaned. The Hattfields went on a cleaning spree to get their house into top shape. Meanwhile the McCoys enjoyed their lives with no electricity. They never worried about a messy house. The McCoys lived forever content with their condition in a filthy house because they never knew how messy it truly was. I hope that we will not be like the McCoys. Turn the lights on! Let God near so that he can expose the dirty grime of sin. Most people don't because they are too scared to see where they are wrong. Are you to scared? I hope not. Who are you today? I bet that your answer would be different if you dwelt on the holiness of God.

Revival in Our Time

Revival has been a buzz word in our circles these days. Everybody talks about how they want revival. My roommates and I were talking last night about revival and wandering why God doesn't pour out His Spirit like he did in the days of Jonathon Edwards, D.L. Moody, and Billy Sunday. We didn't figure out anything incredibly groundbreaking (we are only college students after all), but we were reminded of a simple fact, "If my people, which are called by my name will humble themselves..." In these modern times, we are far too self-reliant. We will pray and ask God for help when someone has cancer or we are going through financial struggles but when was the last time we asked God to provide for our simple needs such as allowing us to live another day or providing us with food. One of my roommates said last night, "I am convinced that we will not see revival until we are willing to humble ourselves enough to believe that we can't get out of bed in the morning without God's help." I do not think this is far from the truth. Again, nothing profound, but something that challenged my heart last night. Let's pray for revival, but let's not rely on our technology, or music, or even fiery preaching, let's pray for the pouring down of God's Spirit on our land.

Giving Glory to God

This is my first semester at West Coast Baptist College as a room leader. Despite the fact that I am anxiously awaiting my wedding in 118 days, I am sincerely excited about leading these guys in the time I have. I gave a devotion this Tuesday with a challenge for the semester from 1st Cor. 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." This is my life verse and it has challenged me in many ways in my life. Me and the guys talked about room cleanliness and how it either glorifies God or disglorifies (unglorifies, whatever the word is, I have no clue) God. The question I am challenging my room and myself to ask is this, "Is what I am doing right now glorifying God?" It doesn't have to be a spiritual thing like reading your Bible or going soulwinning. It can be something as simple as how clean your room is or how well you listen in class or even the way in which we eat and drink. Let me ask you: Are you glorifying God with your actions?
The times of Christians blending in with the world must end. Glorifying God in every aspect of our lives will require us to be a little (more like a whole lot!) different from the world. Let us strive to be Distinct Christians by glorifying our Saviour. Because if we don't decide to be distinct we will soon be extinct.