Of Men & Devils

"Cowards never won heaven. Say not that thou hast royal blood running in thy veins, and art begotten of God,

except thou canst prove thy pedigree by this heroic spirit,

to dare to be holy despite men and devils."

-William Gurnall

In the American church we have various anti-biblical dares:

We have the prosperity dare- Just give some money and declare with your mouth and you've dared to challenge God, now He must give you riches regardless of His sovereign will.

We have the purpose dare- If you just live for a specific purpose with all that you have (regardless of whether or not it glorifies God or fulfills His will for your life) then you will be happy and blessed.

We have the theology dares- If you believe these 5 points, these 16 statements, these 19 convictions then you will be saved. Oh yeah, you may want to repeat the magical prayer as well just to be sure.

YET, the lofty thinkers of old had a different ideology of what it meant to take a bold dare. That dare was something that only a true follower of Christ could take- a dare to be holy despite men and devils.

Men represent society as a whole. Our perverse cultures throughout the generations and the most perverse of all in this day and age. To be bold enough to stand against the flow of the stream and stand out as an outcast, to push forward against the ebb and flow and to be hated because of your bull-headed determination.

Devils represent the internal and external forces of hell which cause us to fall. This can be the flesh which battles daily against the Spirit of God within true believers, or it can be the actual demonic forces which tempt, attack and devour us on a regular basis.

The call here by Gurnall is simple- dare to be a light in the darkness, a contrast to all that surrounds you. He says that "it requires another spirit than the world can give or receive to follow Christ fully." In other words, without the help of our God we CANNOT fulfill this dare to be holy. Even with His help we must wake up each day determined to do battle and lay our head down on our pillow only after violently grabbing hold of the kingdom of God (SEE: Matthew 11:12)

I would be a fool to say that a man or woman of God will never fall, even the best warriors will lose a battle or two- but they will stay resolute in their fighting until the greater war has been won! Anyone can fall into the mud, the question is how we react to our fall. Do we stay and wallow in the mud or jump back to our feet so that the Lord may cleanse us once again? Anyone can fall into the mud, but ONLY A PIG WILL STAY THERE TO PLAY.

William Gurnall also said "How uncomely a sight is it to see, a bold sinner and a fearful saint, one resolved to be wicked and a Christian wavering in his holy course." We are to have a BOLD HOLINESS about us in our actions, our beliefs, and our lifestyle. I've said this on various occasions and I'll say it again now...As Christians we should be the best neighbors, the best family, the best tippers, the best employees and it needs to be done for GOD'S GLORY not our own!

The call from Jesus is simple- be ye holy, for I am holy! Without holiness no man shall see the kingdom of God. In the midst of our sin-filled world, the sinful forces of hell, and our sinful inner-man we can still take a stand and boldly and PUBLICLY decree that though we stumble or fall we will keep our eyes fixed on the prize. Yesterday no longer matters and a fall ceases to be a fall once you've stood back up. It doesn't mean that the cuts, bruises and scars cease to exist- it simply means that EACH NEW DAY is filled with NEW MERCIES and NEW OPPORTUNITIES to live for Jesus Christ!

We will battle both men and devils and march on each day as we strive towards the finish line of this life and the beginning of eternity!

Darkness Often Yields The Brightest Light

In the midst of the darkness we can fit in with the shadows
or stand as a point of stark contrast by shining as a bright light.

The Good News Isn't Good News Until You've Heard The Bad News:

Imagine a man who is rotting from within. Yet, the man is fully unaware of his condition. He may see some signs on the exterior. Perhaps he notices a skin blemish or a low grade fever. He imagines that something small may be wrong, but assumes that he can fix it himself or take a tylenol in order to eradicate his condition. The man needs a trained eye who has studied the medical texts in order to point out the acute interior condition for him.

Without that assistance he will continue on with life as usual, fully unaware of what is truly wrong with him.

One day the man sees a small blotch on his skin and decides to go to a doctor. Once he arrives at the office, the doctor tells him all about this amazing medicine and the wonderful benefits that it will provide to the man. This medicine is incredible. The doctor even goes on to tell the man that the medicine is FREE of charge! He then asks the man if he would like the medicine and the man thinks to himself, "Well who wouldn't?" "It gives me a million benefits and costs nothing, why wouldn't I want it?"

The man takes the medicine home and sets it on the shelf in case he should some day feel the need for medicine. Perhaps the man even tries to apply the medicine, but his life stays the same. The blotches don't go away. In fact, though it may have been covered for a period, his condition is now even worse than before.

WHY?

THREE REASONS:

1- The man stood in front of a trained eye which saw that he was sick, but the doctor never told the man about his interior condition. The doctor only spoke to the man about the exterior signs which the man already knew about. He did not inform the man of the interior rotting which was taking place. Therefore, the man left knowing that a medicine existed, but he never knew his deep and urgent need for that medicine.

2- The man wasn't ever told how the medicine works. He heard about it and it's wonderful benefits, but he never heard what it actually did or how it worked. He was told about the miracle drug but never found out why he needed it or how to apply it in his life. He may have tried applying it as a cream, but never really knew that his issue wasn't a skin condition- it was an interior condition; and if he wasn't changed from the inside out then he would have remained sick forever.

3- The man wasn't told about the side-effects that the medicine would give him. He assumed he'd go home and live happily ever after- he didn't hear the FDA disclaimer which is so prevalent in today's pharmaceutical commercials. He only knew the benefits, but never heard about the cost. He couldn't make an educated decision because he was never actually educated about the medicine. He heard about the benefits but left fully unaware of the personal risks.

THIS IS A PICTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA TODAY!!

We have heard about the cross, but no one told us about the immense personal cost. We heard about the joy, but no one mentioned the tribulations. We've been told about grace, bit no one mentioned God's wrath. We've been told that we're saved, but no one had told us what we've been saved from or saved into. We have heard that Jesus will free us but no one told us He wants to change us. We've been told that God wants to hear our prayers, but we haven't been told that God demands to see our holiness.

Someone once said that half of the gospel only produces half of a Christian. And the Lord said that if we're lukewarm He will vomit us from His mouth. Therefore half of the gospel only produces luke warm vomit.

How can the Good News ever be considered as good news

if we don't start out with the bad news?

We live in a lost society surrounded by darkness. The darkness is both external and internal. In the midst of this dark world a light appeared just over 2,000 years ago. That light yielded immense brightness and to this day it is emitting infinite lumination to all whom would be willing to see it. BUT, if we don't draw attention to the darkness within and without, we cannot properly appreciate the light that comes from above. How can I know that I live in darkness unless I see that light exists, and how can I understand what light is unless the darkness has been properly explained to me?

How can I know the mercies of God if I have never experienced difficulty, sorrow, pain and suffering? In the midst of our highest conviction, in the midst of our deepest sorrow, in the midst of our greatest suffering, in the midst of our most trying hardships- that is when the light of Christ shines the brightest.

Rev. Stephen Hill (of the Brownsville revival) is just coming out of a long battle with cancer that nearly cost him his life. In the midst of he and his family's hardest hour is when God shined the brightest. In the center of darkness is when God showed Himself to be most faithful. So it is with the gospel- if we do not know the bad news, we cannot understand the Good News!

"Before I preach love, mercy and grace, I must preach sin, Law and judgment."

- John Wesley

"Evermore the Law must prepare the way for the Gospel; to overlook this in instructing souls is almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts."

- Charles Finney

"They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy Law." "

-Charles Spurgeon

Feed The Good Wolf

There's an old native story that goes something like this:

One day an elderly grandfather was sharing a story with his grandson. He began to tell the young man about the two wolves that are within every person. He said that there is a good wolf and a bad wolf within each of us and they are constantly fighting with each other. The good wolf wants us to do things that would glorify God, to have patience, to show love to one another, and to follow the commandments God has given to us. The bad wolf wants us to follow another path, to be disrespectful, to follow the lusts of our flesh, to have no self-control, etc...
These two wolves are constantly in a battle with one another and the wolf that wins will eventually control the person that it inhabits. That person will either become a good person or a bad person.

As the grandfather went on his grandson asked the obvious question,

"Grandpa, which wolf will win the fight within me?"

The grandfather replied, "Whichever one you feed."

The moral of the story is that we should feed the good wolf so that it may win the battle.

The Bible doesn't quite put it the same exact way, but that story does point us toward very Biblical premises. We know that our flesh nature is corrupt and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9) If we feed the sin nature we can expect to reap a sinful lifestyle and eventually an eternity in Hell. (Romans 6:21) If we feed the righteous nature that has been planted in us by Jesus Christ's shed blood, then we will ultimately reap holiness and an eternity with Jesus Christ. (Romans 6:22)

We are called to submit ourselves to God and to 'resist the devil and he will flee' (James 4:7). Satan is like a bully with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). If you do not keep him entertained his attention will start to wander off elsewhere and he will move on to another target. He is like 'a roaring lion.. seeking whom he may devour', (1 Peter 5:8) but even a hungry lion will give up on it's target and find food elsewhere if the target proves difficult to obtain.

We are faced with a decision every time that we wake up, every time temptation comes our way, every time difficulty raises it's head, every time our flesh wants us to become lethargic and slack off in our spiritual endeavors or live for materialistic goals. Every day we have to wake up ready to go to battle. Every moment we must remember that we are in a war. The more we feed the sin nature, the materialistic nature, the self-serving nature, we are setting ourselves up for a lifestyle of rebellion and selfishness that bears no eternal fruit. The more we feed the righteous nature, the sacrificial nature, the life-giving nature, we are setting ourselves up to become more like Jesus Christ and to bear an abundance of eternal fruit.

John Piper once said that he hears "so many Christians murmuring about their imperfections and their failures and their addictions and their shortcomings", and he sees "so little war. Murmur, murmur, murmur. Why am I this way? MAKE WAR!!" We are in the midst of a cosmic struggle. This is not a game, THIS IS A WAR! If you lose a battle you get up and fight on to ensure that you win the war overall. Don't stay down when you fall, get up and get cleaned off before you lose the war! No matter what yesterday brought us, WE MUST MAKE WAR DAILY!!!

Sin nature vs. the Imparted Righteous Nature of Jesus Christ.

The good wolf vs. the bad wolf.

WHICH WOLF DO YOU CHOOSE TO FEED?

The True Amen

"The only real test of conviction is the desire and willingness to sacrifice."
-E. Gideon

I've shared before on various occasions from the pulpit that if the audience were to see me during the weakest points of my life they would drive me out of the church and never listen to me again.
Yet, if I were allowed the ability to share every thought they'd ever had (in traffic, at work, during those difficult moments or times of temptation) on a big screen with the entire congregation- then they'd be so ashamed that they'd run all the way to Mexico and never look back once.

I say that to state that I am far from a perfect individual and am in no way qualified to lead SGM, Inc. or to plant Teen Challenge in Peru- yet I am willing.
I will do whatever it takes to ensure that the Lord's name is glorified amongst the forgotten people of our world.

This, in my estimation, is the reason that the Lord is willing and able to use my wife and I- because we are willing to be used.

It is easy in a charismatic and many evangelical churches to get a hearty "AMEN" during a sermon. We're so used to saying "Amen" with our mouths in the church,

but as soon as Monday rolls around we say "No Man" with our actions.

The best AMEN we can give is to live out the message in it's fullness!

The truth is that our convictions don't mean ANYTHING if we aren't willing to change our lifestyle, our spending habits, our behaviors, etc... We can tell the world what we believe till we're blue in the face and NOT ONE HEART WILL BE MOVED. Yet, if we live out even a small fraction of what we believe we will see hearts all over our world melt in the light of our lived out convictions.

After speaking with a close friend tonight I was surprised at how someone he knew worked like a dog at two very high paying jobs putting in 90+ hours per week in order to purchase the house he desired. I was reminded of the times I worked 2 or 3 jobs at the same time in order to purchase something I wanted or to pay for a trip I desired to take. I pictured the average American worker who sweats, toils, suffers hardship and often insult and does it all so that they can have a better lifestyle.

We do it so that we can have a nicer car or a bigger home,

newer toys or better standards of living.

THEN I HAD TO ASK MYSELF- WOULD WE TOIL IN SUCH A MANNER

IF OUR ONLY REWARD WERE THE SOULS OF THE LOST?

I don't have to search long for an answer. The simple answer is NO.

The vast majority of Western Christians DO NOT toil and labor in order to advance God's will or His kingdom, we toil to advance OUR LIVES. We don't work hard to ensure that the lost hear the message of the Savior. We work so that our houses and attics can be filled with goods.

We are so focused on this temporal life that we are missing out on the ONLY REASON we are here on this Earth...TO DO GOD'S BIDDING.

The church is here on Earth for one reason only, and that is to glorify the name of Jesus Christ amongst mankind. Any other reason or motive for our labors, our lifestyle, our expenditures, etc.. is WORTHLESS in the light of eternity. Yet we've settled for smoke when we could have had the fire. We've settled for a message of prosperity when we could have had life change.

Lord help us to be eternally profound and temporally shallow. Help us God to live out the true amen and be willing to sacrifice everything if it means it will bring honor to Your name.

I INVITE EACH READER TO WATCH THIS 50 SECOND VIDEO

AND LET IT SPEAK TO YOUR HEART:

http://youtu.be/dZdMHZ5IZUI

What Are Your Reasons??

There is an ancient prayer that goes like this:

"Teach us, good Lord,

To serve Thee more faithfully;

To give and not to count the cost;

To fight and not to heed the wounds;

To toil and not to seek for rest;

To labour and not to ask for any reward

Save that of knowing that we do Thy will,

O Lord, our God. Amen."

After once again reading this prayer recently I was immediately thrown into a state of self-questioning. I began to ask myself what my reasons are. I know that such vague wording can lead to much confusion, so let me explain...

What are my reasons for serving the children in La Carbonera, Peru? Why do we provide food, education, clothing, medical care, etc... for them? Why have we sacrificed so much to help children that we hardly know personally? Why do so many other families give on a regular basis? Why do some sacrifice $100-$200 of their personal income each month to support these efforts? What are the reasons behind the giving, the toil, the laboring, and the hardship??

What are our reasons for planting Teen Challenge in Villa El Salvador? Do the churches that invite us to come share have an ulterior motive? Do the people who give towards these efforts have hidden agendas? Do we have some personal motive or selfish ambition in doing this work?

An amazing man of God, Paris Reihead, once said:

"If you'll ask me why I went to Africa, I'll tell you I went primarily to improve on the justice of God. I didn't think it was right for anybody to go to Hell without a chance to be saved. So I went to give poor sinners a chance to go to heaven."

Were his reasons noble from a humanistic perspective? ABSOLUTELY.

Were his reasons proper from a moral perspective? ABSOLUTELY.

Were his reasons selfless in nature and empathetic? ABSOLUTELY.

BUT, his motives were not right in the sight of God. Why?

Paris Reidhead explains his motives in his own words,

"I went out there motivated by humanism. I'd seen pictures of lepers, I'd seen pictures of ulcers, I'd seen pictures of native funerals, and I didn't want my fellow human beings to suffer in Hell eternally after such a miserable existence on earth."

Pastor Reidhead goes on to tell us that the Lord showed him that he didn't go to Africa for the sake of the people there or for the sake of the preacher, but for God's sake. Our only motivation should be that God would receive glory. Any humanitarian efforts MUST be done in Christ, for the glory of Christ, and in a manner that makes Christ known- otherwise we're simply putting a band-aid on a severed limb. Any preaching must be done in a manner that glorifies Jesus and honors Him alone; it must focus on His sacrifice and His righteousness- it cannot offer up humanitarian answers or temporal solutions or we've missed the point. If we offer temporal solutions to eternal problems then the results will have eternal implications for those we reach out to.

What are the reasons we are traveling around NY and working here in the US? What are our reasons for reaching out to 10 different nations across the globe? What are our reasons for continuing the work we've begun in Peru?

SIMPLY THIS-

THAT JESUS CHRIST MAY BE GLORIFIED AMONGST ALL MANKIND!!!

When our reasons are in alignment with God and His word we can easily fulfill the calling of the individual who wrote the prayer above. If we toil and labor and serve and give and suffer and fight for anyone or anything other than the glory of God then we do so in vain. But if our strivings are done to the glory of God then our hearts will not faint when hardship arises, rather our souls will strive onward to assure that we answer the call of our Lord in Matthew 28:19.

What are your reasons?

What drives you to do what you do on a daily basis?

Are your motives self-serving, humanitarian, or personal in nature?

OR are you living your life in such a manner that Jesus Christ, and Him alone, may receive the glory in all of your dealings??

Like A Weaned Child

Psalm 131 is one of the shorter chapters in the entire Bible, but it's words are potent!

"O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore." -ESV

I thought about that quite a bit the first time I ever read it. I began contemplating what it would have been like in the days before formula, the years before pacifiers. What was it like when the baby stayed at home 24/7 with mommy in their humble habitations and was then forced to be torn away from mother's breast and weaned in order to take on solid foods?

It must have been a brutal transition for both child and mother, especially without the comforts of modernity. Imagine a small baby receiving his comfort, his nutrition, his calm, and even his ability to rest from his mother's breast. Everything that he knows is found in this identity and now he must grow and must be weaned off of the breast and put onto something of greater substance- something that will cause greater growth and physical nourishment.

Though I am certainly no theologian I have studied the scriptures to a decent extent, but I had never heard a sermon or a theological dissertation on this particular passage of scripture. When I began contemplating what King David could have been referring to I came to a personal conclusion, I then went on to see if any Bible commentaries or theologians agreed with that assessment and they do.

LIKE A WEANED CHILD IS MY SOUL WITHIN ME.

When those infants were taken away from the one thing they found comfort in it became a difficult and trying experience for them and the hardest of their short little lives, but it opened the door to possibilities that they never knew existed. When a baby is weaned from the maternal milk he begins to try new flavors, new textures, etc.. A whole new world opens up to the baby and that one comfort that they couldn't do without quickly becomes a fading memory in the light of their new and much more abundant lifestyle.

When David said that he was like a weaned child he was in essence saying what each sincere Christian must say. I am not claiming to be someone great or haughty. I am no one and nothing before you, God! I am no greater than a small child, than an infant. Yet I want to be someone who is completely and utterly given over to you. Wean me from my sin, wean me from the worldly ways I've known. Though it aches me and tears my heart out from within me- wean me from my flesh and my sin Lord and teach me what it means to live abundantly in You!

This should be the cry of each believer- from day one until the day that we die. We are to calm and quiet the yearning for sin from within our sin filled selves. We are to be weaned from all that we once knew, painfully and sadly weaned.

There will be times when our flesh desires that old milk. We will yearn for it at times and we will look to it with affection and sadness- but to be torn from our past and brought into our future is going to be a costly and difficult task, yet it is necessary for a sincere follower of Christ.

I've watched as woman had to leave the man they've loved for years. I've watched as addicts had to be torn from their 'best friend' in drugs/alcohol/cigarettes. I've seen people give up friendships that meant the world to them. I've seen people give up even seemingly innocent things in order to bring glory to Christ's name.

This is the call of Christ- to leave all that is comfortable, familiar, easy, and all that our hearts desire and to follow Him with reckless abandon.

Like a weaned child our soul should eventually cease to long for the old ways and become content with the much greater things that God has given to us. Are we being weaned daily from the world and beginning to ingest the spiritual meat that our Father has prepared for us?

Like a weaned child has our sin slowly lost its place of comfort and fulfillment in our lives or are we a child in need of a weaning?

Two Christian Lizards

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF CHRISTIAN LIZARDS:

Every preacher has done it at one point or another, and it was bound to happen to me...

This past Sunday I was preaching in Albany and I felt a tug in my heart to preach from the heart and not from my notes so I threw the notes out the door and began allowing the Spirit of God to direct and guide me. As I was in the heat of the moment two great points hit me. The two types of Christian lizards.
I announced that I had two points to share...then, I touched on type one and completely forgot to share what the second lizard was. OOPS!
See what happens when we don't use notes ;-)

Since I missed the chance to share in Albany I figured now would be the suitable opportunity to share the two types of Christian lizards.

The way I look at it we have two types of lizards in many of our churches in America today. The unfortunate thing is that there is one lizard which is highly predominate across the modern western version of Christianity. That lizard looks much like you and much like me, perhaps one of the readers may do some soul-searching and find that they are part of this group.

The first lizard is a chameleon...

This type of lizard fits in at church. They worship with fervor and they give a hearty "AMEN" during the sermon. They tend to volunteer from time to time and like to socialize with church people. They speak 'Christianese' and act in a manner worthy of a Sunday morning service. They throw their money into the offering so all can see. This type of lizard is comfortable being around the church and around Christians.
The issue with this type of a lizard is that the chameleon doesn't only adapt to the church and the church people, the chameleon blends in wherever he goes. The chameleon fits in with the church, but the chameleon also fits in with the world.
This type of lizard looks just like the world and acts just like the world. They go out to all of the parties. They complain about their bosses in the workplace. They are comfortable being around the world and being around sin. Often when they encounter sin they choose to partake as well and do so gladly. They don't give good tips, they don't volunteer unless it gives them recognition. They are just like the world.
The 'Christian' chameleon isn't a Christian at all. They are social believers whom have learned to adapt to whatever situation they are in. In the church they are Christians, in the world they are sinners, in reality they are lost! These people fit in with everyone and live for nothing. They give Christ a bad name and they give the world an excuse to continue in their sin. This is the chameleon.

The second lizard is a lacertid lizard:

This type of lizard sheds it's skin frequently, nearly every day. They are famous for the constant shedding of their skin. These lizards are almost never comfortable. They are always striving for a new-self and striving to release the old-self. The lacertid lizard doesn't fit in anywhere and stands out everywhere he goes, because unlike the chameleon his colors don't adapt based on his environment. He stays the same everywhere he goes and sheds his old skin on a near-daily basis.
In the not-so-famous words of The Remnant Militia:
"I'm still shedding, crawling out of my old skin. You've been reintroduced again."

Far too many 'Christians' are content to be chameleons; adapting to church, adapting to the world, living in a world of self-delusion and never being true to their self.

Yet, for a Bible-believing Christian, EVERY new day should be a new US. As believers this isn't a petition- God commands it. We are to die to our flesh daily and pick up our cross EACH DAY. If we are made new in Christ then each new day is a new chance to shed the old man and reintroduce ourselves to Christ. We should wake up ready to shed off any of the dirt, filth and grime from yesterday and start each new day as a new man or woman.

Every believer should strive to be a lacertid- true to self, ridding themselves of their old nature daily, becoming new each day. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God, but we must ask if sin will rule or Christ...
WILL TOMORROW BE A DAY TO DIE TO SELF?
WILL TOMORROW BE A DAY TO BECOME RENEWED IN CHRIST?
OR will tomorrow be another day to try fitting in and continue living a lukewarm life despite the warnings in Revelation 3:16.

Let us awaken to Christ, shed off the old man, and become new in Him once again!! Just as the lacertid needs the light of day in order to shed his skin, so we need the light of God to shed off our old man.
AWAKE OH SLEEPER AND ARISE FROM THE DEAD AND CHRIST WILL SHINE ON YOU!

THY ROD AND THY STAFF

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

-PSALM 23:4-

As a youth I had a horrible habit of skimming over assigned reading in school. I would skim the entire book but absorb just the main points so that I could say that I finished the task at hand.

In like fashion, many of us approach the Bible in this same manner. We have a tendency to pick out the catchy parts and set the rest aside. Psalm 23:4 is no exception to this habit. If you took away my emphasis above what would stand out to all readers would be "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me". This is an amazing statement and it stands the test of time as one of the most famous verses in all of the 31,102 verses in the Bible.

BUT- In case the title of this blog and the highlighted portion of the Scripture above have eluded you I'd like to focus for a moment on a specific portion of Psalm 23:4.

"Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

By reading the above verse a simple lesson in deductive logic would lead us to an interesting conclusion:

The psalmist feared no evil because God comforted him with His rod and staff.

The questions we are then led to is "What does that mean? How does God comfort us with His rod and His staff?"

THE ROD:

When a shepherd would care for his sheep he would carry two instruments with him at all times. The first instrument was a rod.

The rod was meant for a two-fold purpose.

1- If any enemy would come to attack the sheep the shepherd would beat that predatory animal over the head with his rod and thus drive away the threat to his sheep.

2- When a sheep was really pushing his luck and was being rebellious against the shepherd it would receive a blow. The shepherd would give the sheep a nice knock on the head to remind it who was boss and to break it's rebellious spirit.

Simply put, Psalm 23:4 is telling us that God's rod of correction will keep us from attacks from our enemy (Satan) and it will keep us from attacks from our biggest enemy (our own flesh) which constantly leads us to rebel against Him.

THE STAFF:
The shepherd had another instrument that was always on hand, and that second instrument was his staff.

The shepherd's staff was a long stick, much like a walking stick and at the end of it was a crook. There was a large lip on the end of the staff that was designed much like the hooks used in the Vaudeville shows of old. We've all seen the clips on television- where someone had a bad act and they were forcefully pulled off the stage with a shepherd's crook.

In like manner a shepherd would watch his sheep diligently and when a sheep would begin to stray off of the path of safety the shepherd would wrap his crook around it's neck and guide it back onto the path of certainty.
The shepherd's number one concern for his sheep was their safety and their arrival at the proper destination.

Likewise God has a shepherd's staff that He uses to keep us off of paths that lead us away from Him and into danger. He will gladly direct us back to the path of safety with his staff.

THE GOOD NEWS:

In order to fully appreciate the Good News of Jesus Christ and the nature of God's comforting power we need to first come to grips with the bad news.

We read the good news in Psalm 23:4 and sometimes ignore the bad news, but you see; The Good News doesn't really shine through in it's fullness until it is contrasted with the bad news.

The bad news simply put is this: WE ARE DEPRAVED BEINGS.

Mankind is sin-sick and cannot cure himself, the answer is not within himself- the answer is the external, eternal Almighty God.

We are under the curse of sin and death and because of our sin we deserve nothing more from God than an eternity in Hell- that is the HORRIBLE NEWS.

Yet, while we were still sinners Jesus Christ came and died for us so that we could be free- nothing that we could have done would free us, but Jesus came to offer Himself as an atonement to reconcile us to God the Father.

That is what makes the Good News so GOOD! When we were at our worst Jesus gave us His best!!

What better news could there possibly be?

God Himself stepped out of eternity and into the temporal

solely to receive the just punishment meant for us.

There is no better news!

The beauty of Psalm 23:4 isn't that we have comfort in times of distress. The beauty is that we can know that God is there in the times of hardship and the times of abundance. He is there to correct our rebellion and to pull us back on the path of safety when we have wandered astray!

God has a rod to protect us from external attacks and to correct us when we rebel within ourselves.

God has a staff to direct us towards His path which leads unto salvation.

Next time we are struggling or going through difficulty; next time we receive a heavy blow to the head- instead of immediately saying "The devil is attacking me".

Let us ask the questions:

"Is the Lord trying to show me something?

Is this heavy blow from the rod of God's holy correction?

Is this yank in another direction because God is pulling me back onto His perfect path?"

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me!

ARE YOU BEARING FRUIT?

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament comes from Acts chapter 4.

Let me set the stage for you..
John and Peter were taken before the rulers, the elders, the teachers of the law and even the high priest, Annas, was there to question them. Peter and John were basically on a preliminary trial because they were uneducated shlubs who didn’t have the right to teach on religion but they were out preaching Jesus around town. Therefore the religious leaders were asking them how they could dare to teach about Jesus without proper theological doctrine and proper credentials to support them (sound like any churches you’ve seen today?).
John and Peter even went so far as to heal a man- how dare they! They healed a the lame beggar and various people were aware of the miracle. Because of their actions Peter and John were brought before the religious authorities to be questioned as to how and why they would do such a horrible thing like healing a man without having a THD or PHD attached to their name first.

They replied in an amazing manner which you can look up on your own in Acts 4.
What struck me wasn’t necessarily their reply in the matter, what stood out to me was the reaction of the crowd. “When they (the religious leaders and the crowd of likely onlookers) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished.” In other words they were ignorant men, or as one Bible commentary states of the original Greek term used to describe them- Peter and John were idiots. Obviously the people couldn't understand how foolish men could do such amazing works and preach with such authority, but the Bible goes on to tell us how the rulers and the crowd came to understand the source of their authority...

“They took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

How did they know that these men had been with Jesus?
Was it because they saw it with their own eyes? Perhaps but not likely. Was it that someone whispered into their ear telling them that they were the ones who walked with Jesus? Not likely. The reason I don’t believe that is because even at the death of Christ on the cross only one person recognized Peter; but once Peter cussed that twelve year old girl out and swore he wasn't with Jesus she backed off of him. These men were basically unknown.

How then did the people know that they had been with Jesus?
BY THEIR ACTIONS.
Their lifestyle was a testimony to the fact that they had been with Jesus Christ.

Is your lifestyle a testimony that you have been with Jesus or like so many others are you living the same life you once lived but now doing it with the banner of Christ above it?

Matthew Henry said in his commentary:
“And the followers of Christ should act so that all who converse with them, may take knowledge that they have been with Jesus. That makes them holy, heavenly, spiritual, and cheerful, and raises them above this world."

Various other commentaries on the Bible take the same stance. These men were known to be of the fold of Christ by their actions and lifestyle. Their power and authority came from above and it was evident to all present. People knew that they had been with Jesus because their lifestyle looked like an old park bench wrought with the carvings of youthful dereliction.. The words "JESUS WAS HERE" were carved into their lives for all to see.

Are you recognizable as a part of God’s fold? Are you bearing fruit in keeping with repentance? Do you bear the scars of a bond-servant, have you been sealed with the seal of the one who owns you? Is it apparent to all that you are of the fold of Jesus Christ or are you indistinguishable from the world?

Does your life preach for you or do your words have to justify before others what your actions never could- that you are of the true vine of Christ? We have churches that tell us that if we say the magical prayer we're set for life regardless of how we live after saying that prayer. If Jesus is truly all-sufficient for us then our lifestyle will reflect it and we won’t have to seek out preachers who will justify our sin. We will stand firm in the work Christ did on the cross and stand certain of our faithfulness to Him because of the evidence visible in our daily life.

Are you bearing fruit in keeping with repentance or does your lifestyle negate your verbal declaration of faith?