You are here: Home / Archives for Ken Blue

GOD’S TWO PROGRAMS

by

THE PROGRAMS OF PROPHECY AND THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH

PROGRAMSBy Ken Blue

“ These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 10:5-7.

“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24.

“Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:” Romans 15:8.

“ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Colossians 1:25-27.

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” Ephesians 3:9.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The church is never the subject of prophecy.[/perfectpullquote]

These are just a few of the many passages that explain that there are two programs in the Word of God. One is the program of prophecy and concerns Israel, and the other is the program of the mystery and concerns the church, the body of Christ. The church is never the subject of prophecy. Prophecy concerning Israel, their King, their land, and their kingdom; the subject of prophecy is from the very beginning.

But, the fact that there would be a body consisting of Jew and Gentile; where each is saved by grace alone, without Israel or the Law, was unknown until revealed to and by the Apostle Paul. This mystery church was unknown in every dispensation. This is why it is called a “mystery.”

The ministry of Peter and the Twelve concerned the fulfillment of prophecy and is called the gospel of the circumcision. “But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;” Galatians 2:7. The gospel preached by Paul was all grace and is the gospel of the un-circumcision. Some assume that Paul and Peter had the same gospel message, but that is not what the text says. It does not say to the circumcision; that would be contrary to the commissions in the gospels and early Acts.

Peter made it clear that Israel was living in the last days of prophecy for them, if they would repent. “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: Acts 2:16-20. Since they did not repent, the finalization of Joel’s last days of prophecy will be after the rapture of the body of Christ.

The two programs are crystal clear once we understand the purpose of Paul’s ministry. The two programs of God concern prophecy and the mystery. The unseen and unrevealed mystery of the church, the body of Christ, was hid from the foundation of the world until made known to and through Paul.

ANOTHER DAY’S GRACE; ANOTHER DAY’S GROANING

by

 

By Ken Blue

From Romans 8:17-25

 His children are heirs, who suffer with Him;

 Sustained by the glory, awaiting them. 

The whole creation now groaning in pain;

And all His saints experience the same.  

His grace is sufficient while they travail; 

Awaiting redemption from bodies frail.

Another day of grace, they live to see; 

Another day’s groaning to be set free! 

Hope now sustains them; their bondage He’ll break.

 All works together for good and their sake.

ABSALOM; THE THIEF

by

 

By Ken Blue

“And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.” 2 Samuel 15:6

Achan stole forbidden items at Jericho. It was said of Judas; he was a thief and stole money. But, Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel in order to take the kingdom from his father. 

In time, every pastor will discover that he has at least one Absalom in his church. Unless the pastor is vigilant, Absalom will work behind the scenes, and he will not be discovered until the kingdom is divided or stolen.

Absalom always has the advantage. He has nothing to do but court the people while the pastor manages the church. Absalom is usually hansom, shrewd and has a winning personality. He has one agenda; get a following. He may station himself where he will be seen by others. He will seek to win them to himself. This may be accomplished by the giving of gifts or dinners at home.

Many times Absalom will start Bible studies or fellowship groups in the home without the knowledge of the Pastor. Trouble will soon follow. These meeting will eventually turn into discussions about the Pastor, his family and how he runs the church.

One of the oldest and most clever methods is the use of questions. This was the Devils first approach. “Hath God said?” He used the same method concerning Job and the Lord Jesus Christ. The question method is safe. You can raise doubt, create suspicion, and make insinuations while appearing innocent.  The naive will never realize that they are being groomed and used for Absaloms devious end.

The best way to deal with Absalom is to preach sermons on his tactic so church members can identify him. Also, make it clear that all Bible studies must be approved by the church and attended to by a staff member. The church should also provide the lessons for these groups. Finally, Absalom must be confronted by the Pastor. If he is uncooperative, he must be sent down the road. “Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.” Proverbs 22:10.

WHO DID WHAT?

by

“I laboured… yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

labouredBy Ken Blue

“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10.

Balance in any area of life is difficult. It seems that we take credit for everything, or we are hesitant to acknowledge any involvement. Perhaps the problem is we fear others will think we are boasting. Paul had a proper perspective and balance when it came to serving Christ. We should learn from him.

We must acknowledge, without Christ we can do nothing of eternal value. However, in this dispensation, God will do little without your cooperation. Read the above verse again, and you will see that Paul was not ashamed to say, “I laboured more abundantly than they all.”

In II Corinthians 11 he says, “ Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.  Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?  If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.  In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:  And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.” 2 Corinthians 11:22-33.

In the above, Paul uses the word “I” sixteen times! Notice the words “me” and “my”. Paul is not bragging. However, he is demonstrating that he was everything, and more than what some others claimed for themselves. It is said that D. L. Moody heard a preacher say, “The world is yet to see what God can do through a man wholly surrendered to Christ.” It is reported that Moody said, “By the grace of God, I’ll be that man.” God will do no more in the ministry than the pastor and the people are willing to do.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]God will do no more in the ministry than the pastor and the people are willing to do.[/pullquote]

However, we must never forget to maintain the balance. Paul went on to say, “yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Anything accomplished for Christ is by His grace. It is by His power, mercy, love, goodness, provision, leading, compassion, and enabling we are able to do His work.

Allow me to speak foolishly for a moment. I prayed hard about what God wanted me to do prior to going to Bible College. I worked a full time job at night, attended classes each weekday for five years, while pastoring a small church in Iowa. I came to the Seattle and founded the Open Door Baptist Church. I laboured, preached, prayed, won souls, trained men for ministry, loved our people; and I wept and rejoiced with them for 39 years. Today, a great soul winning church stands as a testimony to human effort and God’s grace.

But, let me be clear. It was God who called me, provided my every need, enabled me, gave me souls for my labor, and met my every need. It was by His grace that anything was accomplished! “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it…” Psalms 127:1.

Therefore, “I laboured… yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” What I am trying to say is, Pastor, give it your all. Do and be your best. In most cases the smarter you work, the luckier you will get. Just don’t forget, everything you accomplish will be by His enabling grace!

STEPHEN HAWKING SAYS GOD NOT NECESSARY

by

 

By Ken Blue

Stephen Hawking may be the smartest man alive, But, I personally doubt it. He says his IQ may be 160 or more. He also said people who boast about their IQ are losers. Those who claim he is the smartest living man use the same logic when denying the existence of God. To prove that Hawking is smarter than all other men, you would have to test every living man. That is not going to happen.

I can assure you that Mr. Hawking is not the smartest man who ever lived. I personally know two preachers that have at least 150 IQ. So what does that prove? Jesus Christ, Paul and Solomon would have scored off the chart. One professor said of the Apostle Paul that he would have been a genius, had he not been a Christian. (?) There are High School dropouts that could probably score higher on a Bible exam than Mr. Hawking.

I have sympathy for Mr. Hawking and his battle with ALS. I too am losing the battle to ALS. So, I understand something of his affliction. However, Mr. Hawking is like the rest of us. He has taken in the information available to him and then formed his opinion. Opinions are not facts; whether in religion or science.

The article in the Wall Street Journal, “Why God Did Not Create the Universe” left me searching for the reason why. The article did not give a scientific answer to the supposition. In fact, the Bible seems to be more in line with the findings of Mr. Hawking than he might imagine. For instance, Hawking says that which appears comes from nothing! “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. There was a time when these did not exist, and they were created out of nothing.

The oldest book ever written says, “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.” Job 26:7. Talk about Greek mythology all you like. How did Moses know that the universe came into being from nothing, and how did Job know it was hanging in space, on nothing? How did Job know that there is an empty place in the North?

Finally, critics assume that everyone at one time thought the world was flat until science proved otherwise. Well let’s see what the prophet Isaiah said about this elementary ignorance. “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:” Isaiah 40:22. Job 22:14 also speaks of the “circuit” of the earth.

One’s IQ is irrelevant when it comes to matters of science, theology or any other field. We take the information we have and draw our conclusions. There is a world of difference between science and philosophy. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding are not the same. Mr. Hawking says he has knowledge of how thing are, but he admits he doesn’t know why they are that way. The two things missing from Mr. Hawking are wisdom and understanding. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10. God loves Stephen Hawking and Christians should pray for him.

If anyone can prove from science that God doesn’t existence, we welcome those facts. Until then, we will not cast aside our faith in the God of creation for some primeval soup. Let’s see, the soup also requires faith, doesn’t it?