Preaching and Converting (Part 1)

Satan tells believers they shouldn't "preach" or try to "convert" people.  

By "preaching" and "converting," Satan means "forcing people to believe what you believe."

As the liar and father of lies, he typically takes some truth and distorts it before he negates truth altogether.

However, believers shouldn't listen to Satan or allow him to contradict or negate God's words; this is exactly what he did with Eve.  God said, "You will surely die."  Satan said, "You will NOT surely die."

Jesus says, "Preach and convert people."

Satan says, "Do NOT preach and convert people."

Let's focus on what the word of God actually said about preaching and converting, and be clear on what He meant by preaching and converting.  Then we'll undermine the deception of Satan about preaching and converting.

GOD'S WORD ABOUT PREACHING AND CONVERTING (Part 1)

"Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside." Luke 4:14

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Matthew 4:17

So, Jesus's ministry involved preaching--which meant proclaiming the Kingdom of God in the power of the Spirit. He heralded the kingdom and urged people to enter it.  He said, "Repent!" Jesus preached.  He also made converts.  Observe the next verse:

"Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him."  Mark 2:13-14

Jesus commanded people to follow Him, to be His "converts," to be His followers, to be his disciples.

Not only did Jesus do this, He also commanded believers to do this.

"He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it." Mark 16:15-20

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples (converts) of all nations..."Matthew 28:18

Three things are crucial to see:

1. Jesus preached and "converted."

2. His followers are to preach and "convert."

3. Jesus and His followers preach and convert by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Number three is the most crucial of the three.

We'll see why next time.

The Cult Lie

I've been thinking about how cult leaders succeed.

I now know.

Because I thought about the supreme ultimate cult leader and the supreme ultimate cult:

Satan and the demons--and every human who follows Satan and demons.

Jesus said that Satan is the Father of Lies, that lying is Satan's native tongue.

What is "the lie?"

Worship the creation (Satan) instead of the Creator.

That. Is. The. Lie.

And within this lie is the cult lie:

Without the Creator, the creature can make creation heaven.

That is what every single cult is trying to do, 

and what every single cult leader promises.

Satan began this.  He promised it first.  Now really think about this.

If Satan, in heaven, can convince angels to follow him out of heaven...

If Satan can enter Eden, which was the literal paradise on earth, the literal heaven on earth and convince the first man and woman to follow him instead of the Creator of Eden...

Then how can any human attempt to recreate Eden and stand a chance against Satan?

In other words, how could Jim Jones promise Eden in Guyana and Satan not enter it and take over?

Heaven and Eden were far better than anything they had in Jonestown.

Yet Satan succeeded--in heaven, in Eden, in Jonestown, in every human attempt at Utopia--because Utopia is heaven without God.  

Any and every "heaven" without God is hell.

Satan will ultimately "succeed" before the end comes.

Yes.  Paul said that Satan, through the Antichrist, will rule the world, and the world will worship him.

Satan will for a short time get what he has wanted from the very beginning--to be worshipped as God.

This will happen.

In every cult, it does happen.

And every cult ends the same--with the death of the followers, and with the cult leader taking the cult down with him.

Isn't this what Satan is planning?

The scriptures state plainly that Satan knows his time is short.

Satan knows his destiny is the lake of fire.  So he wants to go down ruling.

He knows he is going down.  And out of complete spite, he is going to take as many down with him.

Will you be one of them?

Don't misunderstand.

When I speak of Satan "succeeding," I only mean that God will let him--and you and I--ultimately have what we want.  We "defeat" God by not yielding.  By our freewill we "win."  If you can even call it winning.  It means that if you really want God to leave you alone--he will.  

Or put this another way.

When Jesus says, "Everyone who seeks finds," He means everyone, and He means whatever anyone or everyone seeks, they will eventually find it--whatever it is.  

If someone seeks God, they will find Him.

If someone seeks Satan, they will also find him.

If someone seeks the true heaven--God's heaven, they will find it.

If someone seeks the false heaven--Satan's heaven, the human heaven, they will find it.

It's up to you and me.

We are all one step away from being in the ultimate cult, and in believing the cult lie.

C.S Lewis, Isis, and the Police: A Biblical Defense for Self-Defense (Part )3

So we've seen a biblical defense for self-defense illustrated by situations Abram, David, and Nehemiah were in, situations that focused on relatives and possessions versus nations and armies.  But what does this have to do with C.S. Lewis, Isis, and the Police?

There was something Lewis said in Perelandra that always struck me.  In the climax of the book, when Ransom is conversing with God (Maledil) about Ransom's purpose on Perelandra, Ransom comes to realize that physical resistance, a physical fight between Ransom and The Un-Man, would be the means by which Ransom overcame evil.  Ransom had always thought in terms of "spiritual warfare," but he realized that the line between spiritual and physical warfare on Perelandra was blurred. I apply this thought to resisting evil, resisting oppression.  I've thought about this when I make the distinction between defending myself according to my faith vs non-resistance according to my faith.  This is where my thoughts about Isis (or slave masters for that matter) come in.

It never seemed to me that Isis (or slave masters) were the "governing authorities" referred to by Paul.  I never perceived Isis (or slave masters, or gang members/thugs demanding submission) were the equivalent of a Nebuchadnezzar commanding Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to bow to Nebuchadnezzar as a god.  So with Isis (or slave masters), I don't see a biblical reason to submit to them, to allow them to beat or kill me.  It seems to me that I could defend myself against them, and indeed that I should.  That it would be sinful not to because I would be yielding to someone God had NOT put in authority over me.  But what about the police, who indeed ARE governing authorities?

Well, in America, a land of the people, by the people and for the people, a democracy with checks and balances, there are laws that address this very issue:

Assault and Battery § 15.4-- excessive force by officer -- right to repel

When there is evidence tending to show the excessive use of force by a law enforcement officer, the trial court is required to instruct the jury that the force used against the officer was justified or excused if the assault was limited to the use of reasonable force by the defendant in defending himself from excessive force.

Though there is great risk involved in a situation where a citizen would use force to resist the excessive force by an officer, the law does make room for this in America.  So I connect this thought with the thought from C.S. Lewis in Perelandra, thoughts about Isis (or slave masters) and thoughts about biblical self-defense, concluding that it is biblical to defend myself, my family, and my home against those who are sinfully seeking to attack me or my family or property, those who have no God-given authority over me; and even those who DO have God-given authority may be resisted in certain circumstances, but not one circumstance in particular.  

In situations where there is a true and bonafide governing authority that puts itself in the position of God and commands citizens to renounce God and worship the government, or the governing authority, I see that I should lay down my life in civil disobedience.  The difference?  I believe David's view of Saul as "God's anointed" helps me here.  Or Gideon's father, who said "let Baal defend himself." In other words, when Nebuchadnezzar, or Pharaoh, or the "man of lawlessness" for that matter, directly challenge God by commanding God's people to bow to them as idols, I believe this is a situation where I would not defend myself because I'm not the one being attacked.  I will "give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's" in that situation.  Caesar is abusing his God-given authority, claiming to be God, so it is God who needs to defend Himself, not me.  

I consider these thoughts especially relevant for me as a Black man, considering my history, considering slavery, considering police brutality.  For much of my history, it has been assumed by many in church history that slaves in general, and Christian slaves, in particular, should take the beatings and rapings of oppressors.  Fredrick Douglas, a Black Christian who used to be a slave, showed me otherwise.  He made it clear that when he physically fought his master and vowed to physically resist beatings for the rest of his days, he experienced the freedom and God-given humanity that had been stripped from him as a slave.  This is akin to what I learn from C.S. Lewis in Perelandra.  Douglas's spiritual warfare against slavery WAS PHYSICAL, like Ransom's spiritual warfare against the Un-man was physical.  At times this may still be the case for black people in this country who face police brutality, or brutality from racists who want to shoot us for simply going for a jog.  Therefore, until the Government, or some "man of lawlessness" commands us as the government/a governing official to bow to it/him as God, I don't see biblically why I should let anyone put their hands on me.

 

C.S Lewis, Isis, and the Police: A Biblical Defense for Self-Defense (Part 2)

 DAVID

"...David's two wives had also been taken captive..." 1 Samuel 30:5

In this scenario, the wives and children of David's men and David's two wives had been taken, along with possessions.  David strengthened himself in the Lord and did indeed inquire of the Lord.  Yet what I see again in this situation is that wives, children, relatives, and possessions had been taken.  Abram had "trained men," and David also had a significant number of trained men or seasoned warriors with him.  Five kings were responsible for the captivity of Abram's relatives, while a band of raiders was responsible for the captivity of David's wives and the wives and children of his men.  In other words, these scenarios with Abram and David didn't directly involve wartime scenarios for Abram and David but instead involved scenarios where family members and possessions were taken captive.  This is even more explicit in my final example with Nehemiah.

NEHEMIAH

"...I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with swords, spears, and bows."  Nehemiah 4:13, italics mine.

"Don't be afraid of them.  Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes."  Nehemiah 4:14, italics mine.

These to me are some of the most striking passages in terms of biblical self-defense.  Notice that these are not soldiers or warriors or armies, but families--armed families.  I see these biblical prerequisites for self-defense in the mind of Nehemiah, which also seems to be implied in the situations with Abram and David:

1. Focused faith in the Lord who empowers righteous/lawful self-defense:  "Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome..."

2. Courage:  "Don't be afraid of them."  (God consistently commands strength and courage.)

3. Being armed (as a minimum) or trained/able to defend yourself.  (Abram's trained men, David's mighty men, the swords, spears, and bows given by Nehemiah.)

4.  A righteous cause:  "Fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes..."  Notice who is primarily being addressed by Nehemiah, notice who is fighting, and whom they are fighting for-"your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes"--fathers and husbands are doing the fighting.  Though of course sons and daughters and wives have the potential to fight, they are not the ones being called upon to fight.  It is the husbands and fathers being called upon to fight for sons and daughters, wives, and homes.

Again, these are families, fighting as families, for families and homes.  Not warriors, or soldiers, or armies.  

Click here for part 3

C.S Lewis, Isis, and the Police: A Biblical Defense for Self-Defense (Part 1)

I've written on this before, yet I'm thinking about it again as it relates to me being a Black Christian in this country specifically, but also for Christians in general.  I'm thinking about when believers can and should defend themselves according to our faith, versus when we should not defend ourselves because of our faith.  I believe Abram, David, and Nehemiah (and C.S. Lewis) give me a biblical defense for Christian self-defense, while Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego show me when Christians should yield their lives for their faith (and how this relates to Isis and the Police.)

ABRAM

"When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.  ...He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people."  Gen. 14:14,16, NIV

In reading this I notice that Abram did not stop and pray about this situation at all.  Of course, God had promised Abram that whoever blessed Abram would be blessed and whoever cursed Abram would be cursed.  In other words, God had already promised Abram protection.  Nevertheless, Abram seems to assume that he can take his trained men and rescue "his relative" who "had been taken captive."  Abram simply heard about it, then acted.  And he was successful in bringing back not just his relative, but the goods and possessions that had been taken, with others who had been taken as well.  Something very similar seems to happen to David.

Click here for part 2

How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit and Know It (Right Now!) Part 1

I write to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead.  I write to those who have received and accepted Jesus for who He is:  the Son of God.  I write to those who believe in Him as their Savior from sin and from sinning.  I write to those who believe that Jesus died for their sins according to the scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead after three days, according to the scriptures.  If you believe all that I just wrote, I'm talking directly to you.  If you don't believe what I just wrote, believe it now and you will become a child of God, indwelt by the Spirit of God.  (You can say these words:  "I believe in the name of the Son Jesus Christ, I believe that He is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead."  If you say that and mean it, you are saved from a life without God, and thus without purpose.)

To those who believe, we are commanded by God to follow the Spirit, to be completely under His influence and control--to be filled with the Spirit.  This is not an option for us because we can't live as followers of Christ without the Spirit's presence and power.  I'm writing to tell you how to experience the presence and power of the Spirit and know it.  I'm following what I learned from R.A. Torrey in a small book entitled "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit."  I'm writing from memory, paraphrasing what I learned. 

First, I'll tell you what the filling of the Spirit is and what it does.  Next, I'll tell you why it's necessary.  Third, I'll tell you why it's possible.  And finally, I'll tell you how to be filled with the Spirit and know it.

If you read no further, if you remember nothing else remember this:

To be filled with the Spirit means you boldly and effectively bear witness to the Lord Jesus.  

That's it.  If you're a believer and you want that, ask for it, and you will have it immediately, right now.  And you'll know it. 

• You will pray with a power that you didn't have before (possibly in a language you didn't know before.)  
• You will praise God with a power you didn't have before.  
• You will feel God's presence in a way that you didn't before.  
• You will be a man of God, woman of God, husband, wife, father, mother, employer, or employee with a power that you didn't have before.  

And this power will be bold effectiveness as a witness of the Lord Jesus in whatever context you are in. 

If you want to know more, keep reading.

The Called Out Ones

I knelt in my room in the dark, wanting to die.  I didn't or couldn't or wouldn't kill myself.  But I wanted to die.  To go to sleep and not wake up.  Or something like that.  But worse than that.  I felt condemned to death because of what I had done.  Most wouldn't think it was that bad, nowhere near bad enough to be condemned to death.  But to me, it was the worst thing I could do.  The one thing I never wanted to do.  And the thing is, I didn't know if I had even really done it at all.  I didn't know what it was, or how it was supposed to feel.  I think I had gotten close, but how close is close enough to be it?  That doesn't matter.  Even being close made me feel like dying.

But for some reason, I said what I think I'd hear in Sunday school without realizing I remembered it.

"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He died for my sins."  I felt peace cover me like a blanket, and I no longer wanted to die.  Then I remembered what happened before I came close to doing the thing that made me want to die in the first place.

***