It was Christmas Eve at my mother's husband's house and I was there. I said hello to everyone there and spent the next few hours studying something I'd printed out of a Systematic Theology book. It was the beginning. Everyone was celebrating, laughing, eating, and telling jokes and things. And then they saw me there, studying, with my bible open. 'What's he doing? Reading his bible.' I'd hear. I kind of seemed anti-social to them, but it was okay. As my previous posts say, I'm struggling lately with a hardened heart toward the lost. Well, it kept me from being hardened or harsh towards anyone to have my nose buried in reading. This way I was comfortabley tucked away in some corner out of the way. So anyway, someone at the end of the night asked, 'So, what are you reading about? Tell us, we want to know.' Or something like that. Well, I said, 'Where do you want me to start?' because I had no idea what to say, but knew that this was of the Lord to say something to them. So, I started talking about the first thing in the systematic theology book - Revelation.
Then Marley said, Oh! That's right in line with what we were reading in the car! She read to me Romans 2 and 3, I think, while I was driving. Well, it went well, and I didn't have anything to say, but what came out was just an amalgum of an intellectual approach to the doctrine of eternal judgment - that God can judge every single human being validly because we have the law of God written on our heart. We have inner revelation through conscience and morality and outer revelation through creation to know not only that there is a God, but that we've done wrong and are awaiting a judgment. This should herald someone to seek after the grace of God. Though I'd started out in the realm of saying that these were questions that philosophers have reveled over for centuries, I told them that the definitive answers lies in the bible. The law of God is a schoolmaster to drive the sinner to Christ that they might be justified by faith.
The philosopher scales a mountain of ignorance only to find the theologians have sat on the other side for centuries. While their fleshly minds debate over the meer existance of God, God Himself has been saving fallen man and redeeming mankind person to person by the Holy Spirit throughout human history for centuries.
But, then it took a turn where I didn't make myself clear, or they didn't understand. I mentioned, 'Sodom had no Bible.' It's a title of one of Leonard Ravenhill's books. I first heard about it through a Keith Green sermon and since haven't read the book, but, what he said really got me started on this whole Revelation business: Sodom and Gomorrah had no bible! They had very little revelation of who God was. How could God judge them for their wickedness if they had no bible? Keith Green thought about the title for a while, and one day it hit him, Sodom had no bible!
Here we are with our Gospel TV shows, Gospel radio, Gospel message from friends who are saved, from books, on the internet, and everywhere these days with themes and messages springing from and leading to the bible and to salvation and Jesus Christ. What did Sodom have? Nothing. They may have had a prophet, like how Jonah was sent to Nineveh, but other than that, I don't think they had anything. They were a wicked town that did much evil and other nations cried out against it, and so God wanted to take it out! But we have sooo much more of a revealing (revelation) of God's message of mercy and reconciliation, and God pleading and asking us to turn from our wicked way so that, individually, He doesn't have to judge us for our wickedness. Yet we as a generation have hardened our hearts, and have only amplified our arguments, 'What about other religions?' 'I'm a good enough person already.' and so many others. Instead of thanking God that there is a way, we harden our hearts and say why can't there be more than one right way or religion, for example. Well, as Keith Green said, if God doesn't judge this generation for not turning, even after so much Gospel and salvation message, then He's going to have to 'apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah' so to speak, because they got no message of reconciliation and were destroyed.
It's not a lack of revelation, like, 'Oh, those poor [Africans, Indians, Eskimos] in their far off country, having never heard the name of Christ or had a bible, how can God judge those people?' Because even they have a level of revelation from God! They have creation, which points to the fact that they have a Creator. They have their sin, which points to the fact of judgment of sin.' These, and a few others, as the bible says, 'leave them without excuse.' It's us who have a greater revelation. God's abundantly given us an availability of knowledge of Himself, and access to God's message of reconciliation, 24-hours, yet we haven't repented.
When Nineveh received its Jonah, Jonah came saying, '40 days and Nineveh will be destroyed.' He didn't add, '...if you don't repent.' There was no salvation plan for Nineveh. But the king said something to the effect of, 'Lets humble ourselves, and perhaps God will turn from destroying us.' They didn't know. Nineveh, with only a prophet for-warning the people that God was going to judge them: no bible, no Gospel message, no message of sparing Nineveh or any form of salvation, and God was going to completely obliterate them off of the face of the planet, like Sodom and Gomorrah. They repented! They put on sackcloth and sat on ash, and fasted. They even made the animals fast and deprived them of food! It's an interesting read, only 4 chapters long. They repented at the preaching of Jonah, and God accepted their repentance, even though all they had was the message of judgement! If Sodom and Gomorroh was destroyed for wickedness, but they had just about as much revelation as Nineveh, then what's going to happen to us in today's generation, who have so much revelation and so much message of God's judgement and His salvation and grace, but we've hardened our hearts and minds. fleshly and int ellectually? But, the important part comes from what Jesus would say a little while later on...
Matthew 12:38-42 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
The generation that saw Jesus physically asked Jesus for a sign. He told them exactly why God would never do that. It was like this issue of revelation! Number 1, they were adulterous and evil. So, Jesus told them what revelation HAD been given to them. The sign of the prophet Jonah. Jesus would be buried for three days after the crucifixion. This hadn't happened yet at the time He was telling them, but the nature of the sign was that it concerned Jesus as a person. The whole of the 39 books of the Old Testament including the Torah the book of Moses, the very thing the Pharisees asking Jesus this request were required to memorize, prophecied about Jesus being there at that specific time, and behold He was there and they still hardened their hearts! So He told them, One greater than Jonah is there, but they did not repent. They would have been like the tax collectors and harlots that Jesus sat with, and would have believed on Jesus, but they were afraid of God taking away their place and control over Judea (John 11:48), the nation of the Jews. God visited His people and they rejected Him. Their revelation was the Son Himself, the one all of scripture declares and talks about! And they rejected Him.
So it isn't that the African or Native American who's never read the bible's revelation of God is so small, it's that our revelation of God is so great!
So today, since we have the ministry of the Holy Spirit to illuminate scripture, and such a great revelation whereas the Son of God has spoken about our salvation and the message of the grace of God from sin and mercy on the day of Judgment, how much more will God judge us and destroy us since we have sooo much revelation? We have a bible, which systematic theology calls special revelation, as opposed to what we just talked about - the outer revelation of creation testifying to the existance of God and the inner revelation of conscience testifying to the coming judgment all are natural or general revelation. And so what's in it is what the apostles heard from Jesus, directly from God's own lips. So, we have the apostles declaration the Gospel message, the death burial and resurrection of Jesus, like a Jonah. This is what it says, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;" (otherwise known as a bible). How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, considering our revelation is so great?
Paul Washer said in one of his sermons Offering Your Bodies: "When someone walks into your house, do they sense the fragrance of Christ? The beauty of Christ? The loveliness of Christ? ...A living sacrifice...just a fragrance about a person. You can't fake it! You can fake so much stuff! You can fake good doctrine, you can fake that you know something, you can fake good preaching, you can fake everything just about but that one thing, you can't fake that. Because it only comes from God. It's kind of His seal, His stamp. 'This is really my guy, this is really my daughter here. This is a person truly walking as a living sacrifice. It is so, so very important."
You can't fake the real power and fragrance of Christ. I always think about the Pharisees - I sort of see them sometimes as walking around in these white robes. And then I think of Christ being transfigured on the mount, and how His disciples saw Him with clothes made of light, whiter than anyone could bleach. This cannot be faked! I don't want to fake kindness or fake God's love. So I'm praying for the Lord to empower it by the Holy Spirit. And to complete my understanding, so I can operate by faith.
Lately, I struggle with my own pride and inward dryness. I'm very cold to everyone at the register and I'm particularly being cold to my own mother. I've been broken over this. I so much want to reflect the behavior and disposition of Jesus so that they can see Christ and I so much want them to respond to the Gospel that I'm frustrated with them. I show kindness in my actions and I don't do anything wrong that would defame the name of Christ, but I don't show forth the name of Christ - There's kindness, but no grace. There's no brimming smile on my face like the first year I was saved even though there's nothing different from that year, but my understanding the Word is more clear and scripture in my mind is more magnified, I'd suppose. I feel bad that I'm not showing them 'tender mercy.' God has tender mercy (James 5:11, Luke 1:78, 2 Cor. 1:3), and we're called to put on tender mercies, as God's people (Phil. 2:1, Col. 3:12). But, here's the thing - not on our own power or strength. God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in or our hearts! He did this to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So, I guess when others see a saved person's face in God's power, they see Christ's reflecting the glory of God. We have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us!
Because I can fake it! I don't want to fake it. I can be kind to people and kind to my mother, but it would all be out of and devoted to the flesh, because what's the source of that kindness? Myself. And I get the glory. I don't want to fake it because then I wouldn't shine the glory of Christ's face, but my own flesh's power. I want the excellency of the power behind my smiles and kindness to be of God, from the Holy Spirit within me, dishing it out. Otherwise, I'm just a fake.
It's like Paul - Paul said that he welcomed tribulations because of what they were. He endured hardships as discipline from the Lord. And when God disciplines, we partake of His holiness and righteousness! That seemed drab to me before, but now it's so awesome! I'm only beginning to find out what the implications of that verse are. Anyway, if I welcomed tribulations, like Paul, just to copy him, and welcomed tribulations the same way without understanding why I'm doing it, but just because Paul did it, it's no good! Because there's no understanding behind it! I'm just welcoming tribulations! I don't understand why I'm doing it! I need Jesus Christ. I need the Lord's help. I need His power, I need to understand why I'm to be kind, why the excellency of the power must come from God. I need to know why God needs the glory! (Because He deserves it!) Otherwise, I'm not operating in faith per se. I don't think it would be ignorance, because I know I'd be doing it to be like Christ, to follow the good examples of Jesus and the apostles, to be like God, to fulfill the call to 'be holy, as He is holy.' But, I wouldn't understand why tribulations were welcomed by Paul, and I'd just take a beating to take a beating. I wouldn't know why Paul was doing it. I want to understand!
I heard Todd Friel say on WOTM Radio - Read the Word, Ask God for power to apply it, and then do it. Read the Word, Ask God for help, and then do it. I'm praying that God will show Himself through me, and give me more understanding on this matter. Please pray for me.
Recently went to D. James Kennedy's website for the first time, after hearing of him and hearing many of his audio clips on WOTM Radio and when I got there I looked at his commentaries section and I immediately went to the Apologetics section. This concerns me because my main focus being saved isn't on the intellectual defense of the message of salvation, the Gospel, but on sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing His good doctrine. Like, the Holy Spirit is training me to do evangelism I'm certain, but I know that the Spirit's intentions in that endeavor aren't to distract me from what He's teaching me about Christ through the doctrine of Christ... That He's showing me something, but it isn't the main thing He wants my heart on. He wants me to pursue God with all my heart, yes through evangelism, but also through fellowship, discipleship, worship, dcotrine, praise - with everything I am. I want to give the Lord my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law.
Psalm 94:12
The Lord's discipline has been very hard. Proverbs says somewhere that the rod of correction imparts wisdom, and the Lord is definately straightening me out. It's easier to cry and for the tears to come when the Lord lays something on my heart. Went to the Barber's to get a haircut today and I didn't notice at first, but my old Pastor from Old Landmark Cathedral was getting his hair cut there, too. He sat in the seat, and I waited for him to notice I was there, to see if he had anything to say to me. Well, he noticed, but he didn't say anything. After praying and telling the Lord first what I intended in my heart to say, I started talking to him. I told him about the piece of property that my mother was going to rent out to his church and that my mother was trying to get in contact with him. He didn't pay the first month's rent, even though a contract was signed, and never got back or tried to call-back the phone calls to my mother, which caused her great frustration and stress, which she then laid out on Marley and me. It was hard. He immediately said that he doesn't handle any of the business side of the church, but he's left that up to his mother and a few others, but if you need someone to visit someone in the hospital or know someone who needs saving. I told him that both of them were unsaved. He said, The great commission. After his hair cut was done, he got up and left without saying bye. Had nothing else to say to me. I was very distraught about his lack of care. There was no careful attention to the business of the church, no matter how small. No care. I felt awful. I don't need him to be a good pastor, I need him to be a good Christian. I needed him to represent Christ. I wanted him to say that he'd at least talk to someone and try to help get in contact to see what was going on. At least an apology to my mother who is unsaved and took this out on the church and God... I told him I've been praying for my mother and her husband for a very long time. There wasn't even an fained interest in how Marley and I were doing since we left their church or where we are going to church now or anything... What's happened to the hearts of these leaders today? I defended this man in arguments with my mother about how the church didn't come through and how she had to pay the mortgage on the house herself. When someone's unfaithful in the body of Christ, I know God always comes through, even if they're unfaithful. And I'm praying that the Lord will repair this crime because God's name's sake is being hurt. Moreover I feel like a hypocrit because I haven't treated my mother right and have been a lousy witness. I pray that the Lord will redeem my poor witness and make everything work out for good. I so much wanted my mother to respond to the Gospel that I've been frustrated that she remains unsaved, but it's that God hasn't saved her yet. I can expect the lost to behave just like the lost and the saved as saved. So it was never anything I had in my head - I was walking by sight. But it's to the glory of God, that whether someone's in His wrath, or is saved by grace through faith, God remains faithful.
I'm praying the Lord can make me a better witness for Christ, and to represent Him always, even in the little things. The proud are far from Him, but the humble are the soft clay in His hands that He can use to form what withstands the fire.
There once was a great king who ruled all the land. He had much honor from all his subjects and was well respected for his great wisdom and judgment. He ruled well, and his subjects and his nations had great love and respect for him. One year, natural disaster struck the crops and there was a famine throughout the land. The king heard that his many people were suffering from the lack of food. He heard of their great distress and suffering. Determined not to sit idly by and do nothing about it, he determined to not say a word to any in his court that he would secretly disrobe and leave his throne in order to go and see how much the peasants were suffering with his own eyes. So, he snuck out, leaving his fancy clothes, jewels, palace, servants, and all his luxuries behind, and put on a begger's clothes.
He walked down the street of a town he owned. He turned the street when he suddenly saw a man with a knife threatening a man and his family who were backed into a corner. The King raised his voice, "Stop that right now!" The man, not wanting to get caught, immediately put away his knife and ran across town. The King made sure the family was alright, and not wanting to be identified, hurried away unto the next town. The family said, "Wow, that gentleman looks like a begger, but he has the voice of a king!"
The King came to a very poor town, where there were many beggers lining the streets waiting for someone who came back from harvest to give them a little bread or some wheat-flour, or an alm to sell for food. The King had great compassion for his people. Still dressed in rags, he took out a pouch of gold coins of the royal currency and very quickly handed all of them out to each one. Each hurried away, running and rejoicing that the gold coin was more than enough to last them the entire length of the famine! They said amongst themselves, "No one but one who has the royal blood could ever afford to give us such a precious gift!"
As he was leaving the town, he spotted a blind man. He could not see. As he passed by, he got a whiff of the King's perfume. "Oh my - a king is passing by!" Not wanting to be identified, the King said, "Who told you that I am a king - I look like a begger." But the blind man said, "But you smell like a King. Only those who sit in royal palaces have the smell of Spikenard so strong. Though I cannot see, I know for sure that you are a king." The King left at once.
When he arrived home, he was moved with compassion over what he saw. Because he was a great king, wanting to rid the people of the famine, he took account of everything that he had, wrote down its worth, and sold it to all the surrounding regions. He sold his entire palace and raised enough to buy food and grain to feed all the people. For the next 7 years the people enjoyed free grain, without price. The surrounding regions were so impressed with the king's wisdom and compassion that they gave him back everything he had sold. Even while he was in rags, appearing as a begger, and even having sold everything that he owned, it was still plain to the people that he was King. Word of that king spread and his reputation was even greater than it was before.
Thus ends the typological discussion of the free grace afforded us from God through the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, who saves us from our sins. To the glory of God.
I once did something sexual in high school in public with a certain woman I was seeing on a bench with traffic passing by. I did it out in the open where everyone could see. I freely confess it to anyone who reads this blog that I was once addicted to pornography. I can say that because I'm saved! Those sins are completely forgiven! They're covered by the blood of Jesus, and God's promised in the Word that He'll forget them. All there is is His grace to those who are now saved.
Went to Ybor today with my friend Nadia. I said I'd be there at 8:30PM so that we aren't out late, but I was running late. The front left tire on the Nissan I drive (thank you Lord!) was bald. I took it to Wal-Mart and they changed it. It cost me $75, which I had to put on a credit-card, unfortunately, but the tire's on. On Friday, I was driving home from dropping Orlando off when there was this black VW on the side of the road with its entire back half sticking out into the intersection. It was a 2-lane intersection commonly called 'malfunction junction' because traffic slows there all the time and there are frequent accidents around that area. I stopped to get out and give them a hand (I do my works before God, in private, but I didn't actually get to do a good work, so I'll tell you) - one guy was on his cell phone and the other was handing him a wad of cash, which looked suspicious. I ask them if I can give them a hand to get it out of the busy intersection, and he pointed to the front - his front tire was completely gone, the shock was smashed into the pavement, the front-end of the car was smashed into the rail-way, and the back had dents. That car wasn't going anywhere - couldn't move it. Some guy showed up and said he was a mechanic and he had a tow, and so I just let him do the good work. I handed him a tract, told him I'd wished I could do more, and kept going. Well, he told me that it happened because his front tire was bald. :-Z My front tire was bald! So, today I definately made sure I went to get it changed, and I was thanking the Lord for giving me such great safely, even though I hydoplained in the rain like 5 times and came close to accidents many times. Thank the Lord! Grace, once again!
So I met Nadia in Ybor and she was going through her purse. She showed me 'Save Yourself Some Pain' by Ray Comfort. She had a conversation with a man we met before. He has a rare disease that stripped him of his muscle-mass and left him skin and bones. He looks very frail and meek. He's homeless, and Nadia bought him a bite to eat once. We'd prayed with him once, and she got a chance to have another conversation with him again. It was a non-contagious disease, but I think he also said that it wasn't genetic, which is strange. We handed out gospel-tracts down Centro Ybor. They're these little cards with the Gospel message on them that say, 'What If.' The hands were very receptive! I thank God for that. It's illegal over there for anyone to hand out anything, but if it's considered prosyletizing then it's covered by a number of laws, I suppose, so the tracts are okay. Well, one time Nadia, Jason from church, and I were handing them out and the cops stopped us. There were two and they said, 'You know, it's illegal for clubs to hand out anything down here. It's a $250 penalty per card for handing them out.' Then one of us said, 'They're Gospel tracts.' And they said, 'Oh, okay!' And they left. I don't know how long that will be the case in this country, and in the world, but I thank God we have this time where we can share the Gospel without much fear of the authorities fining or punishing us, that God's protected this time by His sovereignty over man's laws, as it seems.
We had very few conversations - in fact, I didn't have any, and apart from the gentleman that was described earlier and a new Evangelist Nadia met, neither did Nadia. But, we handed out tracts, and we prayed over the people in Ybor. Ybor is a very traditional and old city, but that particular district and what makes Ybor Ybor is its night-clubs. People travel from Saint Pete and Tampa just to go to the clubs and play in the thriving night-life. There are a lot, and there's also a growing number of homosexual bars. As a man, I don't particularly enjoy having to battle so much enticement from women passing by - trying to provoke men, which I guess is apart of their night-life. They don't wear very much! God's given me through Christ power over the flesh, so no lust, and now a sexual advance is sickening to me and when I'm tempted, it's a disgust rather than ... a delight, or what it was before.
I was just thinking, like I don't even think the same thoughts I used to think. God's work on my heart has been so thorough that if I met myself before I was saved, I wouldn't know me anymore. Jesus says that those who profess the name of Jesus but yet they live a lifestyle that sent Him to the cross will come and cry to Him on that day and cry, 'Lord, Lord', professing His name, but He says, 'Depart from me you worker of sin, I never knew you.' Well, since this is true, I can look at myself before I was saved and say, 'Depart from me, I never knew you.' Those evil deeds that I hid from my mum and my family and kept in dark and in secret Jesus bore on the cross and paid my fine so that I can go free. I love the good news. :-) Praise God for what He has done! He's sooo good! And His mercy lasts forever.
The dream started out with me driving aroung in a black Lambroughini. It was real life-sized, but somehow, it wasn't really real and I was just driving around in my Nissan and the Lambroughini was a toy that was able to expand over the Nissan and make it look like a Lambroughini and then I came home and my sister Harriette and someone else were outside watching the police. They said that Toney, my old step-father, showed up and they could see his reflection in the window. And they couldn't figure out why he was itching so much. I told them he might not have taken a shower in a long time. So, my brother-in-law Billy popped out of nowhere and started talking. Then, I watched them take him away in hand-cuffs while he was itching around the cuffs. The house had like a side-street that you can drive into off of the main road that has this plot of land in the front where the front of the house is, sort of like near my friend in Tampa's house.
This is a recommended-listening-lis t from my buddy Joseph. I've had the opportunity to share the Gospel along-side of Joseph several times and he's definately a man who's listened to great preaching. I've listened to many of the men on this list and agree with Joseph. It's great stuff! I'd recommend them. Check it out:
Recommended listening from Joseph Pittano
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15.)
Some paragraphs here endorse ministries as whole or Christians and not particular messages.
Sermonindex.net will be referred to throughout as a great mp3 resource library.
1. Ray Comfort – livingwaters.com, wayofthemaster.com. Three messages in particular: “Hell’s Best Kept Secret,” “True and False Conversion,” and “Axe of the Apostles.” The first two of these messages are free and available through various forms like video, print and audio but the last is a recommended purchase. Ray’s teaching gets at the heart of the knowledge of the Gospel like no other teacher I’ve ever heard. His evangelical exposition ties together the Testaments in a seamless evangelistic reality. This is the Gospel to every generation. Ray has teamed up with Kirk Cameron (the former teenage TV star) to host The Way of The Master Ministries. Kirk has been marvelously converted and has become one of the most heartfelt ministers I have had the privilege of hearing preach. Both Ray and Kirk are splendid evangelists worth your time to hear. On wayofthemaster.com you can watch TV episodes and on both living waters and wayofthemaster.com you can listen to a number of other excellent messages not by name mentioned here.
2. Ravi Zacharias – rzim.org. Ravi is a superb apologist. Roughly half of the book of Acts is an apologetic discourse defending either apostleship or the veracity of faith in Christ. Ravi is a lover of the Gospel engaged in a similar labor. He is well respected, even among his enemies, for his scholarship, brilliance, and gentlemanly discourse. He is frequently heard at large philosophically driven venues and debates around the world and is probably one of the most captivating minds in apologetics today. His doctrinal work was in the philosophy of religion. Ravi was born and raised in New Delhi, India and was converted as a young man to Christ. I urge you to bask in “The Uniqueness of Christ in History,” and “The Uniqueness of Christ among World Religions” both of which are lessons of more than one part. I also invite you to hear “Jesus As They Saw Him.” You can find these as well as hundreds of other lessons available from Ravi under the radio section of his site entitled “Let My People Think” or “Just Thinking.” These message titles seem to be re-used by him so you may see the same name more than once on a different date. Listen to this man.
3. John Piper – desiringGod.org. John is a pastor. John loves the Bible over his church week in and week out. He is surely one of the biggest brains behind the pulpit today and has caused me no little grief in his teaching. He is a lover of Christian history and doctrine and contends to preserve the precise declarations and creeds of Christianity from those who would vainly attempt to pull out its foundations. He has written over thirty books on Christian living and doctrine and gives his gifts to Christians in poetry, writing and speaking. His website is a large collection of grand works and he also has almost two hundred enthralling sermons available on sermonindex.net. Go here folks, listen and learn; get out of the twenty-first century for a bit I beg you. On Sermon Index under audio sermons you’ll find a number of John’s superb biographies detailing the lives, faith and works of some of the saints of old. Listen to these biographies, there is much preaching and historical data throughout. Listen and honor God for His great saints like Brainerd, Calvin, Luther, Spurgeon, Edwards, Augustine, Owen, and Bunyan just to name a few. These bios are recorded at Piper’s yearly pastor’s conference and make up an ongoing series entitled Men of Whom the World Was Not Worthy which title is of course borrowed from Hebrews eleven. They make for great listening. Shut the shop down, make ready for reflection, curl up on the couch with your Bible and listen about the lives and events of Christian men outside of your generation. It will bless you I promise you! I also commend to you the “Desiring God” series of messages that get to the Bible demanded task of setting God and God alone at the center of all things. This series is Piper’s theology.
4. John Macarthur – gracetoyou.org. John is a pastor, a scholar and a theologian. Every sermon he preaches seems to contain twenty years of reflections, conclusions and facts. He has great clarity in his communication and truly is a blessing to the body of Christ. John has a sermon that rocked my understanding of Catholicism. I mention it and recommend it because it hits so close to home for many in America today. I’ll say no more here but strongly recommend all of you to the message called “The Pope and the Papacy.” It is one of many on the subject that he has preached. This message is mp3 downloadable on the Grace To You website for a few bucks but is also available on wayofthemasterradio.com for free in two parts. To get it on WOTMR go into the website’s previous shows and pod casts link to November 9th, 2006 and be sure to get both hours one and two. Listen well! John’s messages are truly masterpieces of Christian exposition. John has a talent for saying much in little space. He is a puritan preacher if ever I’ve heard one. Go to his website, purchase his stuff. He also has messages available on Sermon Index. I recommend his two part sermon called “The Character of Scripture” as well as “The Sufficiency of Scripture.” Also see “How Can We Witness if We Don’t Know What the Gospel is”? John Macarthur has been seen on Larry King Live and is called upon in matters of Christian concern because he has been known for his accurate dealings of Christian faith for well over forty years.
5. RC Sproul – Ligonier.org. RC Sproul was a seminary professor for most of his life, but was commanded to the pastorate of late. RC, like all true shepherds, would say that his ministry is as much for the strengthening and equipping of the church as it is for taking the Gospel to the unsaved. He is a passionate man with great softness and skill as a teacher. I go to him for systematic theology. His teachings on theology and the history of the church have been staples in my understanding of the reformed faith and Biblical orthodoxy. RC really enjoys teaching and it reverberates in his voice and manner behind the pulpit. He hosts a Christian radio program called Renewing Your Mind that is available on his website in archives and I highly recommend it. With all my heart for your benefit I also highly recommend you purchase the 2007 Orlando Contending for the Truth Conference CD or mp3 set of messages. The conference includes the teachings of several of the ministers recommended here in my list. These messages are like assets – they only increase value with age so you can’t lose. RC shares two messages during the conference called “The Resurrection of Christ” and “The Task of Apologetics”. These two messages alone are worth the purchase of the whole series. If you click on the series itself and scroll down you can buy the messages individually if you choose. The mp3 version of the conference series is in his store under the philosophy and apologetics link and is currently on page three of those resources. Check to be sure you have the right date. Check out all of RC’s books or sermons for solid and clear Biblical counsel. He’s also hilarious by the way.
6. Todd Friel – wayofthemasterradio.com. Todd was a stand up comedian and got saved. As I understand it he was on his way through a seminary when God revealed in him that he was not a Christian. His mix of personality and brilliance makes for terrific Christian talk. He really is a scholar and a theologian though I strongly suspect that he’d deny it. He hosts a daily Christian radio talk show. This show makes for great listening. Todd is an evangelist, but the nature of his station on this battleship called Christianity makes him to function as a scholar. I love his take on the faith and his presentation of the Gospel. Todd is a refreshing breeze whenever I listen to him. He has a sermon series available for purchase called “Herman Who?” which is a teaching on Biblical hermeneutics (the art and science of interpreting scripture,) doesn’t that sound awesome? Well, it is. I recommend Way of The Master Radio wholeheartedly. Scroll through the archived messages under previous shows and pod casts and read the descriptions of any given day’s broadcast and let one catch your eye. Listen and repeat. The radio show is archived and all the episodes are available on the site for free.
7. Leslie Hale – lesliehale.com. I owe an unknown amount of thanks to this rather obscure pastor. His sermon outlining the book by AW Pink called The Attributes of God absolutely rocked my faith in delightful ways that I loved to hate if that makes any sense. Leslie’s sermon that I call the most pivotal in my faith is called “My Concept of God.” I heard it years ago and only have it on cassette tape now. I don’t know much about Leslie except that he is a strict Irish preacher from Belfast. I thank God for bringing this man into my life and that his teachings assisted my rescue from the corruption and wickedness of the word faith cult movement. I am certain that it would be nothing but an email and any gift amount to his ministry to get “My Concept of God” on tape mailed to you; it is worth it. It literally is THE sermon that changed my life forever. God is majestic and holy and this sermon approaches Him and describes Him as He is. This message changed me in many ways. Just one message from someone you’ve never met. I cannot but marvel at the power of God to change the heart, and that is why I have this list in your eyes right now. He also preached a sermon on Christmas entitled something like “The Christmas Story as you’ve Never Heard it.” I had no idea the true immense power behind the Nativity Story and also had no idea how wrong holiday gift cards were. If you can get it, go through the trouble and get these two messages especially the first one mentioned. On his website there are many free messages that look promising and I wholeheartedly endorse Leslie’s ministry. Thank You God for this man.
8. Leonard Ravenhill – ravenhill.org. The late Leonard Ravenhill was a preacher of a different breed. He has a heavy Methodist influence in his teaching. I love Leonard’s teaching on prayer. Prayer, to him, was the highest Christian duty. He has inspired me to pray hard and seek the truth of the position of a Christian on his knees before his God. Leonard is not a theologian; by his own definition he is a preacher. I relay that because I believe he is. There was one sermon video that captured my heart and just blessed my socks off from the man. It was a video called “Judgment Seat of Christ.” I really enjoyed the video as well as many of his other sermons. This video is available, along with many other Ravenhill messages on Sermonindex.net. Look for the video, and be specific in the words in the title. Leonard to me is iconic of an age of preachers long since gone. This man would walk through England, sleep in churches to preach, and hold revivals for weeks at a time wherever the Spirit led him. He died a modest and humble saint dearly missed by many. Leonard was a true preacher and his work was heart work. I thank God for his ministry and his love for holiness and fire in Christ. I don’t know too much about Leonard and strongly suspect that we would differ on many doctrinal points, but I can make the distinction for such a clear and loving man who was known to weep in the pulpit and travail for the honor of the Gospel he was born to proclaim.
9. Walter Martin – waltermartin.org. The late Walter Martin was awesome. I like this man because of his exhaustive examinations of the cults and false religions. He teaches on many false religions and is a trustworthy authority in such studies. He was a scholar and a lover of the precision of the Greek language. If you want to learn about false religions, which I hope you all do, here is one great source. He has a large and hugely influential series of messages called “The Kingdom of The Cults.” On his website you can listen to hours of teaching on false religions like the Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, Scientologists, Christian Scientists, etc. Walter was well hated in his day as a Christian, which in his case means he was doing something right. Walter was the founder of the Christian Research Institute which is still available online.
10. Paul Washer – heartcrymissionary.com. Paul is a gentle giant. Spending most of his life in the mountains of central and South America, Paul is a little different than what we normally hear here in the states. Paul’s message “A Sermon That Has Angered Many - Examine Yourself” was something very real for me. It is available on sermonindex.net. Following a man like Paul Washer in his teaching is of the type that automatically weeds out the fake. Paul is the type you are drawn to fellowship with whether he’s in the pulpit or the prison. Paul is a humble servant of his Lord and I love the man very much.
11. Mark Cahill – markcahill.org. Loving a man like Mark is easy when you love the Gospel. His messages “Lukewarm No More”, “Engaging the Culture” and “It’s Not Blind Faith” are pumped full of his ideology on sharing the faith with strangers. He ministers a lot with youth in churches in America. Mark has many interesting stories of how Jesus has put him into the ears of famous people in his life and he freely shares of his failures and successes in those encounters. Mark has written several books and is involved and supportive of a great number of ministries in the country and around the world. He is without a doubt primarily an evangelist. Mark’s fire as an evangelist is, as Ephesians four says, for the equipping of the church.
12. Alistair Begg – truthforlife.org. Alistair is a pastor. He is a lover of sound doctrine and a terrific shepherd. I recommend any teaching that may catch your interest in its title. He’s also got a really cool accent.
13. Ken Ham – answersingenesis.org. Ken is a creation scientist. He teaches, as do all Christians and even just people who have a clue about the stupidity of Darwinian Evolution. Ken has wonderful resources available in both written and media form on his site. I have listened to several messages of Ken’s, but I don’t wish to recommend any specifically. I’d like to recommend this ministry because of their dealing with scientific issues. You can search their database with pretty much any question relating to creation. Ask them a question about science as it relates to the Bible and I hope they will answer your questions as well as they have mine.
14. D James Kennedy – coralridge.org. The late D James Kennedy Has many interesting messages archived and available free of charge on his website called Truths That Transform. He shared on a lot of interesting topics and guest speakers to his programs have impacted me greatly. Pick a topic and search for it. You may find it with Mr. Kennedy.
15. David Guzik – enduringword.com. David literally sprang up out of nowhere in my life. His teaching on the Old Testament was unlike any other teaching I’d ever heard. Often I just hated that his messages had to end at all. If you’ve not been well versed in a lot of Old Testament books like I and II Kings, I and II Samuel, Daniel, Isaiah, etc, let him walk you through them in the multitude of messages available on Sermon Index. This is expository preaching through most of these books. He also does a lot of great teaching on church history all the way up through the Reformation and beyond. He is an awesome preacher and one I highly recommend.
Just some other names and men I’ve heard and loved of the past and present.
1. Adrian Rogers
2. Charles Spurgeon
3. Jonathan Edwards
4. Chuck Missler
5. James Walker- watchman.org. His message Unmasking Mormonism is awesome. James was a former Mormon.
6. Paris Reidhead – His message on Sermon Index called Ten Shekels and a Shirt may start out slow, but it is awesome.
7. James White
8. Josh Mcdowell
9. Keith Green
10. Eric Meyer
11. Me – Biblecia.com. Boy is this on going work, bear with us. On the site you can listen to my audio sermon oddly enough entitled A Letter to a Stranger. I don’t know how an audio message got called a letter but we managed to pull it off. It is a general Christian apologetic and Gospel presentation. It originally went to a bunch of scientists and skeptics but is directed to any general audience. On this site you can see me and my young friend Isaac interview people on the streets on camera. The website is a work in progress…
I could recommend so many more and I’m sure I’m not remembering everybody I’d like to list right now but one thing is certain: All of these messages and/or Christians listed above in God’s glorious and merciful ways have contributed to my death in Christ. I thank them all for that and pray that as I submit them to you they might bless you as they have blessed me.
Grace to you in Jesus name. Listen to these resources and get their truths in your bones. Contend for this faith and do not lose heart.
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
