 1st off this is lengthy and I suggest you click the link above to "listen" to this one but for those of you who love to read here we go...
Where do these "Signs of the Times" want to lead people?… The question of whether or not we as Christians are able to see the signs is very important but it is directly connected to our ability to read the trajectory of the sign and figure out where it is trying to take people and why… Matthew 16:2-3 2 He (Jesus) answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; 3 and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. So discerning the “Signs of the Times” is critical… Last week as we looked at the “Coexist” movement we saw that it pointed us to a pseudo peace a pseudo love and a pseudo religious experience… So what is the “Sign of the Times” for week #2 and where will it point us?… The “Human Rights Campaign” logo is our “Sign of the Times” for this week… (Yellow = sign with a blue background) How many of you have seen this sticker?… The HRC is headquartered in Washington D.C. where the laws are being decided and they have the support of the famous, the wealthy, certain Presidents, and according to their website over 1.5 American members… This message is not an attempt to to discredit or drag the HRC through the mud or really even to focus on the organization… This message is about understanding that this symbol is a “Sign of the Times” that we live in and to help us discern where it is attempting to lead and take people… This is directly from the HRC website: The “Human Rights Campaign” logo is one of the most recognizable symbols of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. It has become synonymous with the fight for equal rights for LGBTQ Americans. We build support for LGBTQ people among families and friends, co-workers and employers, pastors and parishioners, doctors and teachers, neighbors, and the general public. Through the following programs and projects, we are enhancing the lived experiences of LGBTQ people and their families, as we change hearts and minds across America and around the globe. Isn’t it striking that the goal is to change the hearts and minds of people… Confusion and Inclusion are what I feel I must focus on for this “Sign of the Times”… I think many of us are “Confused” as to what this movement is really focused on and that’s because while it’s primary focus as they say is on the LGBTQ community by name Human Rights “Includes” so many other issues of justice and equality… Racial equality, equality of the sexes, children’s rights, the rights of the elderly and any other justice or equality issues you can think of… This is a tactic the enemy uses often… Even last week with “Coexist” the enemy said “who are you to think there is no higher power”… which is true… but then he added “and who are you to say that one higher power is better or more real than another”… And instead of saying I am a child of God created in His image and filled with His Spirit we often fall victim to this “Confusion and Inclusion” or what the bible often refers to as leaven… Galatians 5:7-9 7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. The real issue this sticker represents is the attack on the Christian understandings of Manhood, Womanhood, and Marriage… The leaven in their views on these issues leaven the whole lump of all the other issues with which we may agree upon… Similarly to last week its not an issue of disagreeing with respect for multiple points of view it is a demand to embrace the values and interpretations of freedom, justice, and liberty this group has developed for the LGBTQ community… Let’s define what these letters represent: Lesbian: A woman who is attracted to other women. Gay: A man who is attracted to other men. Bisexual: An individual who is attracted to both genders. Transgender: An umbrella term that seeks to incorporate individuals whose gender identities do not match their biological sex, for example, somebody who is born male-bodied and identifies as a woman. The term ‘Trans’ includes those who are pre or post surgery and those who do not wish to undertake surgery to alter their sex. A distinction is posed between sex (male/female) which is a biological given at birth, and gender (man/woman) which is a sociological and psychological construction concerned with characteristics that are not biological. Queer: Individuals who experience fluidity in their experience of sexuality or gender and therefore do not identify strictly as LGB or T. The term ‘Queer’ can also include those who do not identify as either gender. As I said I am going to focus on the main issue this sticker represents which is a viewpoint on the LGBTQ community as it relates to Manhood, Womanhood, and Marriage… I read a book on this issue this week which was very helpful to me and I believe that standing on the word of God and educating ourselves is so important… This may not be the most popular message for those in the world but I think many of us in the church will be challenged with this message as well… Before I go further into this very controversial area I’d like to say that God gave my peace with one simple statement when I started to see momentum of this movement and the ground they have already taken… He said to me… “Do not be afraid for I am God”… Isaiah 41:10-12 10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' 11 "Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish. 12 You shall seek them and not find them-- Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing. And I’ll give one of many controversial statements right here… I am all for the the rights of the LGBTQ community… When I look at all the “Signs of the Times” that we live in I do not believe that we live in a world or nation that will put God and His word first and govern that way which would be my first wish… Since that is not a reality and because I know that even when Jesus comes back to rule and reign from Jerusalem for 1,000 years sin will still rule over many men and women I am forced to ask then what?… I think “then what” is a society where Christians take the responsibility to protect and teach our families and prepare them for the reality of the times that we live in… I think that if we have a society that values the safety and fair treatment of all its citizens then we as Christians have the best opportunity to evangelize and share the truth about the hope that can only be found in Christ… I am aware that the freedoms lobbied for by some of these groups actually suppress the freedoms of Christians in the same way these groups claim they are being discriminated against but we have Christ and He told us to expect to live in these conditions… America as a nation doesn’t stand for God and on His word when it comes to how we govern and how we treat all of our citizens… I’m not saying we don’t have national pride or an amazing military and unparalleled safety and security and infrastructure but you will not here our leaders say that we are a Christian nation… Israel is unashamed to say “We are the people of God and it is God who protects us and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that we serve”… Muslim nations are not ashamed to say that they are muslim nations who serve allah and muhammad his prophet… So I choose not to be disillusioned and pretend to believe that we are fighting for marriage and Godliness on a national level as we seek to honor and serve Jesus… This is a fight for Christians who’s citizenship is in heaven to fight as pilgrims and sojourners who live in and fight for the lost who we live with in America… Heres the good news though… It doesn’t matter what anyone or any government or even what any church says... what God says is and always will be all that matters!!! I don’t want to see LGBTQ people beaten or spit on or imprisoned or discriminated against in our country or in the world… I do not agree with their movement and I believe it to be sin but I was also once dead in my sins and I know many other non-LGBTQ people who are dead in their sins… Ephesians 2:1-5 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) 1. Human Rights, Manhood, Womanhood, and Marriage are established by God Genesis 2:7-25 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." 18And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. This is the story of manhood and womanhood and marriage and it is the end of the story… This story is affirmed throughout scripture as is the reality of how men and women have fallen so far short of this in so many different ways both heterosexually and homosexually and through infidelity and without infidelity and in marriage and in singlehood… Some say that this is an old testament understanding and law and that Jesus did away with such laws and boundaries… In the new testament in Matthew 19:4-12 Jesus says… 4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' 5 and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." 7 They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?" 8 He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." 10 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." 11 But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” Jesus reaffirms God’s design and determination on Manhood, Womanhood, and marriage… He also declares something about celibacy that will be important later but first I feel compelled to talk at least briefly on the next thing Jesus says after this… Matthew 19:13-15 13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." 15And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. In May when my family went up to Aiyana’s college graduation I went in to a small restaurant to grab some food for us and there was a boy who couldn’t have been more than 3 years old and his parents had dressed him like a little girl… On the youtube page for the Human Rights Campaign there is a video about a mother who let her little boy change is gender to become a girl in 1st grade and how even though a planned reading of a book to his class on how to make the change was shut down 600 people showed up at the local library to participate in the reading of the book… Interestingly enough the name of the town they are from is Mount Horeb in Wisconsin and the name of the Mountain where Moses received the 10 commandments is Mount Horeb… I think what is happening to the kids is an important “Sign of the Times” because Jesus says "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”… This is about the kids innocence and fragility and trust and reckless love and purity and trust and hope and joy… The kids and their innocence is under attack and the very people who are supposed to be helping to reaffirm and strengthen their identity are doing the opposite and through confusion and inclusion trying to convince us that something is wrong with us who refuse to accept it… Don’t you think kids should be protected and have rights?… oh yeah and those rights should include choosing to be a boy or girl right… A little leaven leavens the whole lump… Isaiah 5:20 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! So this so called movement for equality and unity is actually pointing us in the direction separation and division from Christ… It is a movement again that appears to be rooted in love and justice but if Jesus is love and Jesus is justice how can a movement that is contrary and in direct opposition to His word also be rooted in love and justice… It can’t be!… 2. Failure and Fatality The failings of heterosexual marriages is often used as a justification for the possibility of a successful homosexual relationship or marriage… To fail within the will of God will still result in eternal life but to succeed outside the will of God will result fatally in eternal death… On Wednesday night at bible study we talked about the power of fear and condemnation as we looked at the Romans at the foot of the Lord’s cross when the earth shook violently as Jesus yielded up His Spirit… We talked about how we must tell people the truth about their condition apart from Christ and not waiver because of our personal struggles or insufficiency because it is our status “IN” Christ that justifies us not our perfect living… We can fail as we attempt to walk and live within the will of God and enter into eternal life but we cannot openly rebel against the will and word of God in any area of our lives and expect anything other than fatality… 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. We must cast down anything in us that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and we must bring our thoughts and actions into captivity and obedience to Christ… Genesis 19:1-38 1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2And he said, "Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the open square." 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. 4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." 6So Lot went out to them through the doorway, shut the door behind him, 7 and said, "Please, my brethren, do not do so wickedly! 8 See now, I have two daughters who have not known a man; please, let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you wish; only do nothing to these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof." 9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door. 12 Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city--take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it." 14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, "Get up, get out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city!" But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking. 15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." 16 And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed."18 Then Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lords!19 Indeed now, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, lest some evil overtake me and I die. 20 See now, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one; please let me escape there (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live."21 And he said to him, "See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. 22 Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 23 The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 27 And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt. 30 Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar. And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave. 31 Now the firstborn said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth. 32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father." 33 So they made their father drink wine that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 34 It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger, "Indeed I lay with my father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve the lineage of our father." 35 Then they made their father drink wine that night also. And the younger arose and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. 36Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day. Lot was a failure but the people of Sodom & Gomorrah’s rebellion against the will and word of God was fatal… Lot failed when he went to live in Sodom… Lot failed when he offered his daughters to the men of the city… Lot failed when he let his wife be destroyed… Lot failed when he allowed his daughters to sleep with him which may have been connected with his failure to value them in the city and show them their worth… Lot failed in so many ways and when you compare his life to Abraham’s who also failed in some ways it still is the tale of two drastically different lives… Both of them were “saved” as they came out of their country together but only one “surrendered” and lived for God… Neither of their failures were ultimately eternally fatal for them but it appears that many of the people they cared about were lost… Abraham’s first born Ishmael became the father of the Muslims and Lot’s incestuous children became the father’s of two of Israel’s other greatest enemies the Moabites and the Ammorites… Failure is not damning but rebellion is eternally fatal… and we see it confirmed in 2 Peter… 2 Peter 2:1-10 1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. 4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)-- 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. Wow… righteous Lot?… Remember it is about our status “IN” Christ that justifies us not our perfect living… I want to close with what I think the answer is… 3. Denial and Deliverance Earlier I said that Jesus said something about celibacy that was very important… Matthew 19:10-12 10 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry." 11 But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.” Eunuchs are men who have been castrated… Jesus says there are some who are born this way and others are made this way by men and others who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake… This is about a spiritual celibacy more than it is about the fact of being physically castrated… Choosing not to do what we want to do or act upon how we feel by the power of the Holy Spirit in order to honor our Lord and Savior is the answer… This is true for all of us in some area of our walk with God… To deny the reality of same sex attraction or homosexuality or the fact that there is a real desire to change gender in some people would be unwise… We can discuss why we think these things do exist and how we think we’ve gotten so far from the will of God as people but to deny this as a reality and “Sign of the Times” we live in again is foolish… It’s amazing that such a deep and complicated issue truly comes down to such a simple response… Everything must come under the rule and reign of Christ including our sexuality… It doesn’t matter who we are or what our preference is… if it doesn’t come into agreement with what God says about Manhood, Womanhood, and Marriage it must be denied and we must bear and carry that burden as Jesus bore our sins and carried the cross… Matthew 16:23-26 23But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? In addition to “Denial” I will always believe in “Deliverance”… We must be sensitive the fact that many people who struggle with LGBTQ identity do not see it as a sin to be delivered from or a sin to have victory over but as a Christian I do so I will always have hope for deliverance and victory over sin… Philippians 1:6 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; Just like it is true for many of us that there are sins we are delivered from and others we continue to fight for victory over the same is true for those who come to God from the LGBTQ community… This is just one of a long list of sins that separate us from God and we are called to tell people about Jesus and how He saves us from all sin and the consequences of sin… 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. In closing I encourage you to watch a video of Sam Allberry who is a Christian man with same sex attraction. Link: youtu.be/mCLms7J84JY
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
July 2018
Categories |
RSS Feed