ABSALOM; THE THIEF

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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?

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“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

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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?

DOES GOD CARE ABOUT NUMBERS

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By Ken Blue

Often we hear preachers, in their pious zeal, state that God does not care about numbers; He only cares about our spiritual condition. That is, God is more concerned about quality than He is quantity. Now, I agree that the last part of that statement is correct. God is more concerned about the spiritual condition of a church than He is about its attendance. However, I have observed that many pastors justify their lack of numerical growth by assuming their little group is ultra-spiritual.

If conditions are conducive in your location for growth, I doubt the health or spirituality of your church if you are not reaching the lost. A church is not spiritual because it is large or small. However, a small church that has no goals, plans, or desire to reach the lost is not spiritual. It is lazy. The way pastors justify their stagnation is by finding fault with those churches that are reaching the numbers. They suggest that these churches are not doing things God’s way; that is the reasons for the growth. The reasons given for their own lack of growth is; “we are doing things God’s way.”

God does care about numbers. John 3:16 says He loved the world enough to die for people. There is a book in the Bible called Numbers! God had the people numbered. The commission is to go to all the world and to every creature. In the parable of the great supper, God was upset that his house was not full. He re-commissioned His servant to get anyone who would come that His house might be filled. Also, He counted the sheep and noticed that one was missing. So, those pastors who are excusing their lack of outreach by pretending they would rather have a spiritual church, while criticizing growing churches, are hiding behind a spider web of hypocrisy.   

A wise pastor realizes that you don’t have to sacrifice spiritual maturity for outreach, nor do you sacrifice outreach for spiritual maturity. A healthy church will work to balance all that is required of the church. The church is commanded to reach the lost and get them into the church. It is commanded to mature the believers through sound doctrine and unity. Then, each believer is to be trained how to serve the Lord. This involves more than soul winning and tithing. Finally, the church should producing pastors and missionaries. You don’t drop or ignore any of these. Like the juggler, all four of these ministries must be in the air at all times.

A danger for all churches is that they turn inward and focus only on their little family. This may look good and feel good, but it is not good, nor a sign that your church is healthy or godly. God does care about numbers; numbers are people, and God wants your church to reach them and bring them into your church.

OPEN DOOR BAPTIST, PASTOR MURPHY, AND THE GRACE OF GOD DID IT AGAIN!

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By Ken Blue

Hey Pastor! Sunday, August 29th, Open Door Baptist had 2 professions of faith, 21 people joined the church, 14 baptisms, 27 visitors, 540 in attendance and 51 people to take the 101-401 disciple class! God continues to bless in an unusual way under the leadership of Pastor Murphy. This growth continued right through the summer months.

If you are tired of the same old negative hash, the axe grinding, the hobbyhorses, and the hairsplitting, you need to contact Pastor Murphy for some practical help on what they are doing to reach people and get them enrolled in their discipleship ministry.

Your church can grow if you have a vision, desire, and proper information on how to reach people. Someone has said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish, and where there are no people, the vision perishes.”

Pastor Murphy can be reached at: http://www.opendoorbaptist.com/index.asp.