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THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT #15

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THE HUMILITY IN OFFERINGS AT THE TEMPLE

 lion and lamb

“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” Matthew 6:1-4.

 

The hypocrites were the Scribes and Pharisees. All their works they did to be seen of men. They loved titles and attention. The Lord is reminding the Apostles to keep their motives in check. If their deeds were for the praise of men, then they already had their full reward.

There is some debate as what the sounding of the “trumpet” really means. Some say the brass receptacle had a trumpet-like opening, and the hypocrites cast their coins so they would hit the metal and make a sound. This would draw attention to themselves. Dake’s Bible note says it was a literal trumpet to call the poor. Regardless, the lesson is clear.

The idiom, to not let the left hand know what the right is doing, simply means to take no thought of drawing attention to ones charity. Their heavenly Father knows, and can see, and He will reward them openly.

This advice is applicable to all dispensations. If we seek the praise of men, we will not have the praise of God. We are not told what that reward will be, but it will not be done in secret. Their Father will reward them openly. 

An Interview with Pastor Blue #1

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classify peopleHow to classify people if the church

Hi Folks,

I asked Pastor Blue if I could post to the blog. I help pastor with the administration of the blog.

If you keep track of Pastor Blue’s posts you can see he takes time to deal with objections. Many times the people who he is dealing with seem genuinely interested in gaining understanding, sometimes not so much. Those of us who know Pastor Blue know how patiently he will work us through our misunderstandings, misperceptions and blind spots concerning Doctrine. Thinking about these “mentoring sessions” both online and in person, I asked Pastor Blue to do this. Now to the interview:


Question #1
Pastor Blue, over the years you have dealt with many types of people. Although some people resist being typed or classified, I expect that you can give us some insights into what type of people you’ve dealt with and the characteristics of the conversations. I remember other preachers classifying people as “honest seekers” and the like. Some conversations are worthwhile and some useless. Could you give us insights in these different types of people, the characteristics of their conversation, and maybe how to know if they are worth our time?  Can you show us how you classify people in the church?


Scott, like all problems, some are identified immediately, while other take some time to figure out. This is also true of people. However, when you have been in the problem solving business for a while, it becomes easier to spot it.

If I were to classify people, I think they fall into three groups. I call them the VIP, VTP, VDP. When I speak of these, it is only in the context of people within a church, with whom the pastor must deal. Every church will have within it a group who are very important to the ministries (…The VIP). These are those we choose as assistant pastors, deacons, Sunday school teachers, etc. The pastor needs wisdom and patience to identify these people. A church cannot function without these called “VIP.”

Then there are the people who are very teachable (…The VTP). They are eager to learn the Scriptures, and how to serve the Lord. They are your next generation of VIP. Again, the pastor must watch for this crowd and spend his time training and nurturing them. They will display an ability to get along with people, an aptitude for learning, and strength of character.

Finally, there are those we are called to pastor who are very draining (…The VDP). They would like to have counseling sessions with the pastor after every service. The pastor must avoid the belief he can help these people. They do not want their problem solved, that would remove their excuse for counseling.

Then there are those who have a grievance about someone else, and they want you to deal with it. Don’t do it! They want the pastor’s finger prints on their murder weapon. When someone complains about another, NEVER give YOUR opinion about that person. Your comments will get back to the other party, and now you have another family to deal with.

Most complaints should be ignored. But, there are some that must be addressed. The pastor may need to seek outside advice on some issues. Remember, all three of these groups are in every church, and the pastor is the pastor of each of them. He must learn the difference, and learn the best way to deal with them. Jesus could not keep all His flock, neither can any pastor.

INVITATION GIMMICKS

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Manipulation at the Invitation

By Ken Blue

2 Peter 2:3 “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

 There is little that is more disgusting than some of the methods used by evangelist and pastors to get people to walk the aisle, or come to “the altar.” Every psychological trick in the bag has been used at invitation time.

I have seen evangelist talk saved people out of their salvation, and make the believer believe they were never saved, in order to get them to walk the aisle again. They are told if they did not say the proper prayer, exercise real faith, did not accept Jesus as Lord of their life, and did not hold their mouth just right, they were not saved.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]If the Spirit of God is working, you don’t need manipulative tactics.[/pullquote]

In order to persuade others to come for greater commitment, a series of questions will be asked. Some of those questions go like this, “How many of you want to grow in your faith, if so, raise your hand?” After the hands are raised, the believer will next be told, if he is sincere, come on down to the altar. Another question might be, “How many are struggling with some sin in your life?” Again, all hands will go up, and again the believer is told that victory is at the altar. “Come, and be delivered.” Of course, nothing works like asking, “How many of you would like God to bless your finances?” All, except those who know what is going on, will raise their hands. You know the next step. “Come to the altar, and ask God to bless your finances.”

Don’t misunderstand me. I believe in preaching for results, but I despise being manipulated, or seeing it pulled on others. During my years in the ministry, I have seen evangelist continue the invitation for thirty to forty minutes. I am convinced that the real motive behind most of this is for the ego of the speaker, and not for the souls of men. If the Spirit of God is working, you don’t need manipulative tactics; if He is not, you aren’t getting spiritual results, no matter how it looks. Don’t resist the Spirit of God, and don’t be made merchandise by egotistical evangelist.

THE CHURCHES SECOND GREATEST NEED

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The Greatest Need is not Always Preaching

By Ken Blue

Recently I wrote an article about a pastor who responded to a question about the church’s greatest need, other than prayer and the Word of God. He informed me that the need of his church was more finances. We dealt with that need and suggested some things that might ease that burden. That blog is on this website.

The second greatest need, in most churches, is people to do the work of the ministry. After 40 years of preaching and pastoring, I am convinced that we have been misinformed that preaching is the most important part of the ministry. I am sure, if you love preaching, you will disagree with me and insist that preaching is the most important. I too, believed that for many years. But, as I step back and observe churches, I have changed my mind.

Preaching is a vital part of the ministry, but by itself, it will not produce or develop workers. The right kind of preaching will create a conviction to work in a ministry, but someone must recruit, train, inspire, and assist men and women in their task.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]People want to be an important part of an important organization.[/perfectpullquote]

Before you start preaching about service, decide on as many areas as possible to serve in the church. Have a job description for each ministry so people will know what is expected of them. Two things I learned years ago. People want to be an important part of an important organization. Secondly, “use me or loose me.” Provide training for workers. Make much of how important it is to serve the Lord and others in the church.

Yes, you must have money, but if you aren’t training and using your people, you are failing them. Stop being a one man show and let people serve where they are most fitted and comfortable. Don’t ever citizen them to anyone, rather, help them do a better job. Remember, Jesus preached to the multitudes, but He trained the Twelve.

HAS IT COME TO THIS?

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SOUL WINNING IN THE CONTEMPORARY CHURCH

soul winning

By Ken Blue

I never thought I would see the day when churches that emphasize soul winning would be castigated as the downfall of America. Yep, you heard me right. There are those who say the reason for the corruption in America is that pastors and evangelist have focused on soul winning instead of politics.

Someone has a screw loose in their head if they think there is anything more important than getting people saved and keeping them out of hell. Those who teach this are only excusing their own lack of soul winning and their unconcern for the lost. Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost. Also, as My Father hath sent me, even so send I you. In the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, we are told three times that there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who gets saved than 99 people who are already saved.

These deceived souls don’t believe a pastor can do more than one thing at a time. The pastor is to do the work of an evangelist/missionary by getting people saved and starting new churches. The pastor is also to feed the flock the Word of God so they can grow thereby. Any pastor who lays down the ministry of soul winning is disobedient to God and will watch his self-righteous church die.

It is strange we don’t hear any criticism of Dr. Jack Hyles or Dr. Rice who put soul winning at the top of the list. Pastors are commanded to preach the Word, not the ideology of other evangelist or pastors. Don’t go to seed on any subject, but if you must, make it soul winning. God will be pleased with you, and a sinner will thank you. Your soul winning church is not the cause of the downfall of America or anyone else.