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WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT MORMONISM

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(Colonizer, territorial governor, and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young (1801-1877) was born in Whitingham, Vermont, on June 1, 1801. Brigham and his 21 wives.)

By Ken Blue

This is not intended to be an attack on the moral character of individual Mormons. Rather, it is an exposure of their many false teachings. Mormons do not fall under the category of Christian, because of their heretical teaching about salvation, the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible.

First of all, Mormons are polytheistic in belief. Polytheism teaches that there is more than one god. In fact, Mormonism teaches that there are millions of gods. They teach that each god has his own world and possibly, his own universe. These gods were at one time men like you and me, and if we are worthy, we too will become a god.

Mormons believe and teach that each of these gods has multiple wives. They believe that the God of the Bible is just one of the many Mormon gods. Mormons teach that these gods and their multiple wives have sex and the result is the offspring of spirit babies.

In order for those spirit babies to have the opportunity to become gods and acquire their own world and wives, they must first have bodies of flesh and blood to work in. That is where and why the doctrine of polygamy was incorporated into Mormonism. It is one of their fundamental doctrines. Men are taught that it is their duty and responsibility to have as many children as possible so the spirit babies can be sent to earth to indwell them. Their belief is that you existed before your earthly parents conceived you, and you were then sent here to fulfill your Mormon mission.

Mormons teach that their wives on earth will be their wives in the afterlife, and that they too will continue to have sex and spirit babies, if their husbands are pleased with them and call them from the grave. (That is another subject). Most Mormons do not want the general public to know of these vital doctrines of their church. Mormons want you to believe they are part of main stream Christianity. Now you know.

WHAT IS THE GLORIOUS CHURCH? #1

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By Ken Blue

The question is not, which church is the glorious church, but rather, what constitutes a glorious church. What makes the church glorious? Of course, the answer is in the word usage, and the context itself. We will discuss that later.

The first thing to establish is what the text is not teaching. It is not suggesting that a glorious church is a religious denomination that adheres to a set of theological tenets. That is obvious from the text.

The glorious church in the Bible is not built on tradition, or religious history. Reading church history books is like reading books on science from Darwin to the present. Each writes forms his conclusions from his own prospective.

The glorious church is not one that fits a set of doctrinal statements. Right here is where the problem starts. It is a slippery sloop, and I am not sure those who assume their church is that glorious church understand what they are doing.

One may conclude that he knows the starting point of the church. Then he will search from Genesis to Revelation for passages he assumes that address the church. These will be inserted into his theology. Note, theology is created by men. Therefore, it is the hunt and search method that is used to prop up doctrines, they assume, makes a church glorious .

The glorious church is not one who practices replacement theology. Simply stated, replacement theology take passages from the Bible that are for Israel, and applies them to the church. This is done when one believes that the body of Christ, the church, is found in the four gospels, Matthew through John. Therefore, the parables are taken from Israel, and are ascribed to the church. That is replacement theology.

The church that is glorious does not mix the Kingdom of Heaven gospel with the gospel of grace preached by Paul.

(Continued)

SHOULD THE MINISTRY BE PRAGMATIC

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should the ministry be pragmaticBy Ken Blue

While discussing church growth with a young pastor, something was said, to which he responded, “Sounds pragmatic to me.” I ask him what the word meant; he was not able to give a correct definition. Like so many little lemmings, many follow the rodents over the cliff without any idea what they are talking about or where they are going.

One of the clever tricks of many is to give a negative connotation to a word, associate it with anyone they disagree with, and then smear others by applying it to them. I doubt the average critic has looked up the word or considered how they themselves practice it every day.

The American Heritage Dictionary says pragmatic is: “1. Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.”

However, those who would smear others, use it in a context that no matter what one does, they can justify it by the end result or outcome. However, they fail to give the definition that being practical, may in some cases, justify the end results. Let us see if the brethren will stay with us for this lesson.

  1.  God allowed Joseph to be sold into slavery and spend time in prison for a crime he never committed. He was later elevated to the second highest position in Egypt. “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5. The purpose in all this was to preserve Israel for the next 400 years. Did the end justify the means?
  2. God killed the firstborn in Egypt, did the end justify the means?
  3. God led the armies of Egypt into the Red Sea to destroy them. Did the end justify the means?
  4. God had Israel to destroy the people in the land. Did the end justify the means?
  5. God had Jesus to die on the cross, did the end justify the means?
  6. God will gather the nations against Israel for destruction. Will the end justify the means?
  7. When the Lord said, “ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.” Luke 14:28-30. Sounds like a practical approach when starting a building program.
  8. When God said, “Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.” Luke 14:31-32. This passage shows the wisdom of counting the cost before going to war.

Now I can hear those who say, “But, that was God.”  Now, let us discuss your daily decisions. Do you believe your choices and activities will be justified by the end results? If you don’t, there is something haywire in your brain. You believe the end justifies every decision you make, or you are a hypocrite.

Of course there are things that are wrong, and are not justifiable. But, most of the criticism by the brethren is not that you have done wrong, you have just failed to do it their way. I can already anticipate how the brethren will skirt these issues and continue their criticism. You see, when they are speaking of pragmatic; they confuse it with pragmatism. They are not the same. They fail to includes their own decisions as practical. What they really mean is, anyone who does anything practical they disapprove. In other words, If you don’t approve how the other guy does ministry, just tag him with pragmatism.

Here is a list of synonyms: “Demonstrating pragmtic  and common sense: • prudent, • circumspect, • common sensical, • practical, • savvy (US), • wise, • useful.” The two legs of practical common sense is; prayer and the practical. This is the Scriptural approach to all issues in life.

THE BAPTIST BRIDER HOUSE OF CARDS

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There are many who suggest that the church of this dispensation began under the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus and the Twelve. However, they are hard pressed to deal with the following verses and define the content of the gospel preached by John, Jesus and the Twelve. The major fallacy is the failure to rightly divide the Scriptures. The other error is the reading of Paul’s gospel BACK into the gospels in an attempt to harmonize the two. It won’t work. We ask the reader to read each verse carefully and then answer the question, “What was the CONTENT of their gospel?”

NOTICE THAT THE DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION WAS NOT PART OF THEIR GOSPEL-

The reason the Baptist Brider ignores these Scriptures is because it brings into question what the ministry of Jesus and His disciples was, and why John was baptizing. What these verses imply is more than some Baptist Briders dare tackle. If they did, their house of cards would collapse.  Since no one believed in His death, burial, and resurrection, what was the content and the hope of their gospel, and in what way was John’s baptism associated with that gospel? What was its purpose?

a. Notice that His resurrection was not part of their gospel. “From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day” Matthew 16:21.

b. Notice that they had no knowledge of his coming death, burial and resurrection. “Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken” Luke 18:31-34.

c. Notice that the preparation of His body showed that they did not teach or believe in His resurrection. “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury” John 19:40.

d. Notice that the concern of the women was who could roll the stone away from the tomb. “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him… And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?” Mark 16:1, 3.

e. Notice the unbelief of the eleven when Mary Magdalene brought news of His resurrection. “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not” Mark 16:9-11.

f. Notice that Thomas did not believe the report of the other disciples. “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” John 20:24-25.

g. Notice that Jesus rebuked the eleven sharply for their unbelief. “Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen” Mark 16:14.

h.  Notice that they had no knowledge of the Scriptures that He must rise again. “For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.” John 20:9.

 i.  Notice that the two on the Emmaus Road did not believe He was to die to redeem Israel. “ And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.” Luke 24:17-24

We have yet to hear an answer to the above questions.

 

THE WRECKING CREW

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Critics in the Church.

By Ken Blue.

critics in the church

Every church has critics in the church.  They are like members of a demolition crew. These men/women cannot be detected by steel toed shoes or by hard hats. Most of them wear suits and ties, and have just the perfect hair cut. They will also be seen with their Bible and may sit in the “amen” section.

One of the ways you can detect them is by asking yourself, “What positive thing have they done for the ministry?” The answer, in most cases, will be “nothing.” They act big, talk loud and love attention, but are the first to give the pastor problems.

What is the “ball and chain” they use to wreck a church and its ministries? The first and most lethal is that of gossip. For this to happen, certain people must spend lots of time together without the pastor or staff present. There will always be a “foreman,” but it will be hard to identify him at first. Usually, a select family or more will be invited to their home for fellowship, prayer, and Bible study. This is done without the Pastors knowledge or approval.

You can never stop people from gossip. The best remedy is to preach a few sermons on it, and emphasize from the pulpit the positive things God is doing in the church. As a last resort, it may be needful to call the leader in and confront him about it. Be sure to have one or more staff or deacons present.

Another action that will hinder or demolish your teaching, is for some family or families to have their favorite pastor, evangelist or Bible teacher who is not connected with your church in any manner. You cannot pastor those who put their favorite teacher ahead of you, and are checking your teaching by what their “guru” teaches. One fellow who was reading my books said he checked by the writings of Dr._____.The only way to deal with this team is meet them head on and put a stop to their actions. If they are unwilling to do that, ask them to leave. Again, always have staff and deacons present when dealing with these problems.

A third wrecking crew is those who do not give, or they designate their money to their favorite missionary or ministry. If you have too much money designated, you cannot pay the needed expenses. Do not ask people to designate unless you have a specific project. However, ask them to give it above their tithe. Explain the problem designated monies cause. Most people will understand and work with you. However, there are those who never will cooperate. What should you do? Either return their money, or use it for their designated purpose.

Another area the wrecking crew loves to work on is the finances. The best way to handle this problem is to work with your deacons and one other person who is skilled in finances and develop a budget. Have everyone involved to sign a cover page indicating his or her involvement and approval. The cover page should be attached to the budget with information how it was compiled. Add a paragraph stating that anyone having a question about the budget may go to the deacons. Tell them to not to come to the pastor or staff. Also, state that the budget will not be discussed at any meeting. It will be voted on and approved or disapproved. This procedure disarms those who are seeking status and want to cause trouble. Make the budget and the cover page available 30 days prior to the vote.

The final area the wrecking crews seek to work is in the setting of policies. Remember, those who control the budget and policies, control the church. Policies should be finalized and approved by the pastor. If necessary, this procedure could be formalized in the same manner as the budget.

Be aware, that Jesus, the Twelve, and the Apostle Paul could not escape their critics, neither can you. All you can do is head off as many as you can, and ask God for wisdom. Every church has its wrecking crew; try not to provide equipment for them.

(THREE NEW SONGS)