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The Deceived Church

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (NKJV) says, “3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!”

There is so much deception among Christians today and it really comes down to one thing: people are willfully ignorant of the truth. I love what Paul wrote here because of its present truth and I want to break it down for you. First we must understand how scripture works. Romans 15:4 and 2 Timothy 3:16 tell us very similar things: that all scripture is meant to teach us something and that it’s no accident that we have each and every one of them. We need to cling to, learn from, and be guided by scripture first and foremost above every thought, idea, counsel, or experience. Scripture keeps us grounded and always points us to the Father and His will for our lives. Aren’t you glad that we have as 2 Peter 1:19 says, a sure Word. One that’s unchanging and firm. Our faith should always be built and strengthened upon His Word first, before any tradition of man!

So let’s look at 2 Corinthians 11:3 again, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Christ, His Word, His direction, and His will are not hard to know or comprehend. God DOES NOT work in mysterious ways. He has revealed or given us the ability to get everything He wants us to know. Notice Paul says here, “…as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness…” This is how people get off. God has given us His will and direction, written it down for us, sent His Son to show us, and sealed it all with His Holy Spirit, which He left to stay upon the earth until Jesus comes back. Yet, people constantly revert to what they have known, what they see, or what they feel exactly the way Eve did when she ate the fruit. I find it interesting that people often come to church seeking change and then spend so much time rejecting the way to have it. Though the Bible tells us not to lean on our own understanding, people generally won’t consider anything but their own understanding and this is why they fail. Hosea 4:6 tells us God’s people are destroyed through the willful lack of knowledge.

2 Corinthians 11:4 continues with, “For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached…” What does that mean exactly? What message did the apostles of our Lord bring and preach? What things did they see and what were the effects of that type of preaching? Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” Demonstration of the Spirit and power! Yet, today it is popular to reject this idea of Spirit and power because people are not seeing it, because though all things with God are clearly received by faith in Him and His works, people willfully reject them for a myriad of reasons. The church goes without, not because God wills it but rather because they are deceived into rejecting the very teaching that saves them.

God’s will is for His people to be knowledgeable and fruitful in that knowledge but this will not happen if we reject knowledge. Romans 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” God will let you have what you are settled on in your own mind. You choose life or you choose death, and deception is always and most definitely a choice.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Jeff

Join us at Family Church Mayville for a service Sundays at 10:30 am or 7 pm. We’d love to meet you and share the Word of God with you!

You Make or Break You

God is not in control. He is not sitting on His throne with a remote control or puppet strings determining which way we turn, what we say, what we do, where we do it, etc. He isn’t a slave master. He isn’t a dictator. Psalm 115:16 writes, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.” The book of Genesis records the Lord handing over dominion of the earth to mankind. (Genesis 1:26) He always intended and planned a hope and a future for mankind. (Jeremiah 29:11) He never wanted anything else. From the beginning, He also gave mankind direction on how to walk and live in that plan of blessing. Yes, dominion of the earth belonged to man, but man gave it over to Satan, as recorded in Genesis 3.

Later in scripture we see, when the devil came to tempt Jesus he didn’t lie when he said the kingdoms of the world were his. Matthew 4:9, “And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.'” The devil’s hands are all over this fallen world. We need to stop blaming God for our bad decisions. We need to stop using sovereignty as an excuse for tragedy and tribulation and start recognizing Who God really is in the situation and the part we have to play. In our churches, we’ve often heard this said: there are three parts to every service; there’s God’s part, there’s the minister’s part, and then there’s our part. Well, this doesn’t just apply to a church service. In this life here on earth for a Christian, there’s God’s part. God created us, God gave everything to us, and despite our failure, He forgave us. God sent His Word. God sent Jesus. God sent the Holy Spirit to guide us from the inside! He has done His part, and done His part well. Then there’s the minister’s part. God gave gifts onto men to help teach us, guide us, and unfold the Word of God to us. (Ephesians 4:8) You can’t blame your decisions on God, or the minister if you don’t show up to allow those gifts to work in your life. You will be responsible if you aren’t living the life spelled out in the Word if you won’t find a local church that will teach you the promises and the whole Gospel, uncompromisingly. Then, finally, there’s our part. We must be doers of the Word for the Word to work. We must take control and the authority we were given and stop giving the devil so much leeway!

People use this scripture out of context all the time: Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” See, God has a plan in everything. It’s all good. Everything happens for a reason. We just accept it and live with it. But John 14:15 lets us know that love isn’t just a feeling of fondness for God. It says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” So when we interpret scripture based on other scripture, we see that Romans 8:28 is letting us know that when we are doers of the Word of God, all things will work together for our good, whether it appears that way based on circumstance or not. See, God does not control what we do. God does not choose which way we go. But, when we choose to go His way, He will bring us through!

I love what Lester Sumrall, a faithful minister of the gospel for over 60 years, said, “You make decisions and decisions make you.” We decide. We choose. We go or we don’t. We say or we don’t. We succeed or we fail. God never fails. To say God is in control negates any responsibility we have and puts the ball in God’s court, so to speak. But that’s foolishness, to blame God for the devil’s handiwork or the results of our actions taking on the resemblance of the world instead of the resemblance of the Word. Let’s make good decisions, God’s way. Let’s let those decisions make our paths straight. Let’s let those decisions make our blessing sure, our cups running over, our bodies whole and well. Let’s live the God life, the blessed life He intended.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée

If you’ve been reading our weekly Faith Fix devotional, stop in and join us at Family Church Mayville for a service, Sunday mornings at 10:30 or Sunday night’s at 7. We’d love to meet you!

What’s Our Motive?

I love the testimony from 2 Kings Chapter 4 of the faithful Shunammite woman. Her testimony demonstrates a heart condition worth aspiring towards. The Old Testament prophet Elisha would frequently travel through Shunem, a small town on the way to Mt. Carmel. You may recall that Mt. Carmel was significant for Elisha because his mentor, Elijah had defeated the prophets of Baal there and proven the Almighty Father God was the only God who answers by fire! (1 Kings 18)

Look at 2 Kings 4:8-9, “Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly.” This Shunammite woman took note of Elisha’s travels, recognized this was a man of God, and saw to it that she provided for Him when he would travel through. There are so many things we can learn from this faithful woman of God.

First, she wasn’t afraid to show honor for the man of God in big, costly ways. Look what happens next in scripture, 2 Kings 4:9-11, “And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there.” This faithful woman wasn’t satisfied with her original giving. Her heart was to give more. Notice it started with something small like a meal, but increased to something much larger, an addition of a second story loft specifically for lodging Elisha during his travels. As Christians, our hearts should never be satisfied staying at the level of generosity we began with. Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” The heart of the Father is to give!

Next, she wasn’t interested in making a name for herself. I find it extremely telling that she will forever be a nameless example of a behind the scenes servant of the Lord. This is representative of what the Lord values in His people. Look at Philippians 2:5-7, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” The heart of Jesus was never to boast of His own doing or give Himself glory for any good deeds. Too often, people want the glory. People want a name for themselves. People want fame. We would do ourselves well to take upon us the name of Christ and learn from this humble Shunammite woman.

This brings me to another point worth noting; her motives were pure. When asked what kind of repayment she desired for her good deeds and her giving, she was quick to decline. 2 Kings 4:13, “….Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” In other words, “I didn’t do this for fame. I’m not looking for a reward.”

Finally, her miracle was found after her honor, her generosity, and her motives were proven. Elisha wasn’t content, because God isn’t content, for those who demonstrate such honor and faithfulness to go without good things. As the account continues, we see that a desire of this woman’s heart was to have a child and she and her husband were naturally unable to do so. God is faithful and performed a miracle in her life, giving her a son. 2 Kings 4:17, “But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.” I know many who are looking for the same kind of miracle and it is always found at the hands of the Lord, accessed by our faith and faithfulness.

This Shunammite woman has such a testimony and is such an example. Let’s remember why God chose to include this account in scripture, making our lives of similar testimony, always keeping our hearts and our motives pure before the Lord as we walk out His plan for our lives.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée

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Privilege Equals Responsibility

Privilege equals responsibility, or at least it ought to. Sometimes in society people get away with having privilege without responsibility, but that’s not a principle found in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 3:8 tells us that each will receive wages according to their labor and Galatians 6:5 tells us that each must bear his own load. We are responsible for and have a part to play in living out our own prosperity, privilege, and blessing.

Too often, people want the benefits of God without the responsibility that comes with being a child of God. It’s like a child in a household who resists the chores and the rules of the house. I have three children and I know first hand what this looks like. We look at our home as a place where all who live there have a part to play in maintaining good order and being good stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with. For each member of our household, there are responsibilities that must be upheld. A couple of my children have been known to resist these responsibilities. They want the benefits of living in the household without the responsibilities that come along with it. They don’t want to clean their rooms but always want more toys to put in there. They don’t want to help with the laundry but sure enjoy having fresh towels and clean clothes to wear. They don’t want to help with the dishes, but never complain when they have food to eat.

If you’re a parent you know this to be true, at least at times. It’s the same way in the body of Christ. Christians want the benefits of being a child of God, but don’t want the responsibilities that come along with this privilege. Christians want prosperity but won’t be faithful to tithe and give. (Malachi 3:8-10) Christians want to be used in great ways for the Lord but won’t be faithful to serve in the small things behind the scenes. (Luke 16:10) Christians want their marriages restored, peace in their minds, and health in their bodies but won’t be faithful to show up to church. (Hebrews 10:25) Do you see the problem in this?

If we are not careful to be responsible with the Word of God, as children of God, we can’t demand the benefits of our inheritance. If we aren’t doers of the Word, we can’t live the way God intended us to live. Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” We must choose to live responsibly and to present our lives to the Lord in such a way that is well pleasing to Him. After all, that’s our reasonable service. When Christ died for us and we accepted that salvation, we also agreed to put sin in our lives to death. We agreed to live in a different way, not to be our same old self. When Christ died for us and we accepted that salvation, our lives became no longer our own. Our lives aren’t only for our convenience, our personal goals, or our own entertainment.

Don’t be discouraged if you’re new to the faith thinking you haven’t figured it all out yet and you haven’t been living like I’ve described. Look at Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Our hearts should be to grow more and more into the character of Jesus. Our hearts should be to do our best to live by the truth and direction found in the Bible. Our heart should be to please the Father and to live in such a way that shows Him how thankful we are that He purchased our salvation with the blood of His perfect and only son, Jesus. The more time we spend in His Word, the more time we spend with Him, the more closely our lives will resemble this.

Philippians 3:12-14 says, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” It isn’t about whether you’ve already arrived. It’s about whether or not you’re pressing towards the higher calling. Let’s press on brothers and sisters. Let’s strive towards a life of honor, of moral excellence, and of resembling Jesus.

Be Blessed,
Pastor Renée

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