Speech on Avarice from Basil the Great

“Who is the greedy person? It’s him, who doesn’t content himself with what he has. And who strips others? He who steals what belongs to the others. And you think that you are not greedy, and that you do not strip the others…. What was granted to you, in order for you to take care of the others, you took it and you made it your own. The bread that you possess belongs to the hungry. The clothes that you store in boxes, belong to the naked. The shoes rotting by you, belong to the bare-foot. The money that you hide belongs to anyone in need. You wrong as many people as you could help.” Basil the Great

Lord Save Me For The American Dream

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Watch the video above....

After watching the video, I was sickened to my stomach. I realized that we, as Americans, are scared about what our friends and family will think if we talk to them about Christ. We always hear about missionaries being persecuted in other countries for the gospel. It is not until you really see videos like this one that you understand the realness of people willing to die for the sake of Christ.

I asked myself.. Would I be willing to die for my faith? It is easy to answer yes as I sit here in the comfort of my own home. It would be a different story if people were beating me over the head with bats and sticks.

Would you be willing to be persecuted or killed for what you believe in? Whatever you believe in, regardless of what it is... do you believe so strongly in it that you are willing to give your life for it? I can remember before knowing Christ, I was enslaved to the love of money. I would give anything that I had to get an extra dollar. Even then, if someone would have been beating me senseless.. I would have given in and given up what I loved (money).

Let's remember those that are boldly standing up for Christ in our prayers. Lord, humble me to realize that life is not about what I have because as soon as I die it is all gone. I desire to be content and to be bold about sharing your Word with others. I know that the only thing that will last is that what I did for Christ, the maker of the heavens and the earth. "Lord, Save Me From The American Dream!"

God's Construction of Leaders

When God wants to drill a man
And thrill a man
And skill a man;
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part:
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed-
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands,
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses
And with every purpose fuses him,
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about!

From Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

Quote: Charles Swindoll

The Grace Awakening by Charles Swindoll


"Let’s imagine you have a six-year old son whom you love dearly. Tragically, one day you discover that your son was horribly murdered. After a lengthy search the investigators of the crime find the killer. You have a choice. If you used every means in your power to kill the murderer for his crime, that would be vengeance. If, however, you’re content to sit back and let the legal authorities take over and execute on him what is proper—a fair trial, a plea of guilty, capital punishment—that is justice. But if you should plead for the pardon of the murderer, forgive him completely, invite him into your home, and adopt him as your own son, that is grace."

Biblical Principals In The "Gray Areas"

These are questions that we should ask ourselves when dealing with "gray areas" (issues that Scripture doesn't directly address) of the Christian life.

1. It is beneficial?

• 1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."
• Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

2. Is it enslaving?

• 1 Corinthians 6:12 "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."

3. Will it hinder the spiritual growth of a brother/sister?

• Romans 8:13 "for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live."
• Romans 14:13 "Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way."
• Romans 15:21 "but as it is written, "THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND."

4. Does it edify (build up)?

• 1 Corinthians 10:23-24, 33 "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor."
• 1 Corinthians 10:33 "Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved."
• Romans 14:14 "I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."
• Romans 14:9 "For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."

5. Does it hinder work of God or shame the name of Christ?

• 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved."

6. Is it in the "gray area"? Then don't judge!

• Romans 14:1-12 "Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD." So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God."
• Romans 14:16-18 "Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men."

7. Are you violating your conscience?

• Romans 14:14 "I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."
• Romans 14:20 "Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense."
• Romans 14:22 "The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves."

8. Are you doing all things from faith?

• Romans 14:23 "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin."
  

9. Does it do harm to your body?

• 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."

10. Do you know the right thing to do? (Sin of omission)

• James 4:17 "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin."

11. Is it wise?

• Proverbs
  

Presented by Dr. Steve Sullivan (3/16/09)

Definition of Worship

Full Definition: Worship is an act by a redeemed man, of the creature toward the Creator, whereby his will, intellect and emotions gratefully respond in reverential fear and humble submission by means of spiritual offerings and sacrifices to the person, work, and presence of God which is supremely demonstrated in Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit illuminated God’s written Word to man’s heart.

Brief definition: Worship is the humble and reverent acknowledgement of the person, presence and work of God and responding with praise thanksgiving, spiritual sacrifices and obedience.

Be Seekers of Truth

Those who follow Christ, who is the truth (John 4:16), must never take truth for granted, be satisfied with meager helping of it, refuse to test their truth claims against objective reality or fail to work out the implications of their beliefs in all of life. If we are to resist truth decay, the truth must be our most prized possession. As Proverbs says, “Buy the truth and do not sell it” (23:23). Sadly some Christians believe without being able or even willing to fathom the depths of their faith. But as Machen said:

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"The Christian religion flourished not in the darkness but in the light. Intellectual slothfulness is but a quick remedy for unbelief; the true remedy is consecration of intellectual power to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ."

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For many Christians this would mean a radical rearrangement of one’s priorities. Making the search for truth pivotal means cutting against the grain of postmodern culture as well as postmodernist philosophy. It entails being countercultural for Christ, who commanded us to love him with all of our minds (Matthew 22:37-39). J.P. Moreland’s excellent book Love Your God with All Your Mind (1997) addresses in depth the matter of developing one’s mind for God. It should be carefully studied by any Christian who wants to resist the postmodernist spirit of the age.

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Although he was an atheist who hated Christianity and a precursors of postmodernism, Friedrich Nietzsche’s life can be in some ways challenge or even shame intellectually slothful Christians. Bernard Ramm’s excellent chapter n Nietzsche concludes with his rousing (if somewhat hyperbolic) provocation, which I often read aloud to my philosophy students after discussing Nietzsche’s work.

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"What is the devil’s due Evangelicals can glean from Nietzsche? It is the willingness to be driven like Nietzsche It is the willingness to spare no pains in the search for truth. It is the willingness… to work into the late hours of the night or to start in the earliest hours of the day; to pick up a new project as soon as we have finished an older one; to grow weary and exhausted in our quest for truth; to have…our eyes watery form too much reading, and our bodies bent over from long, weary hours at the study desk.
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No Evangelical whose reading habits are a disgrace to the seriousness of the Christian ministry, or who spends more time before a television set than he does in serious reading in his study has the right to damn Nietzsche from the pulpit to some gruesome place in the Inferno. "

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Ramm grants that Nietzsche was “a devil’s hack” and a vicious and unfair critic of Christianity. But if this brilliant but deceived man could expend so much cognitive energy without God’s direction and power, what is possible—and necessary – for those who believe the truth of the gospel?